NORTHWEST COAST INDIANS 39 
in the tribe. The people of this coast formerly were very much given to 
holding potlatches, but the government officials and missionaries believed 
that the ceremonies entailed a wasteful throwing away of property and 
were accompanied by many indiscretions and by much gambling and 
intemperance, so that a law was passed some years ago making the 
giving of a potlatch a criminal offence. I am informed now, however, 
that the cases are thrown out of court by the judges as being unconsti- 
tutional or else out of their jurisdiction. Blankets are usually distributed 
at such potlatches, not only those belonging to the person holding the 
potlatch, but also those of his relatives, friends and retainers. Sometimes 
the potlatch is for the benefit of children, so that they will have a certain 
prestige when older. ‘his sort of a potlatch may be compared to our 
endowment insurance. ‘The cultus potlatch, however, from which no 
direct return is expected, may be likened to a dinner or banquet among 
our own people. So the visiting Indians at Rivers Inlet were given pilot 
bread and tea to uphold the honor and hospitality of the local tribe. 
We next went to Bella Coola, at the extreme eastern end of Burke 
Channel, about sixty miles inland beyond the usual course of steamers. 
The Bella Coola River is building out a delta here, so that steamers have 
to land at a wharf at least a mile long. ‘The outer end of this is only a 
few feet from the steep mountain side to the north and follows along it 
until the low delta land is reached. On the end of the wharf is an open 
shed where all freight is placed until called for by the owners. This 
shed is never locked, yet nothing is ever stolen from it. 
The population of Bella Coola is scattered through the valley and is 
made up of Norwegians, Indians and Canadians. ‘There is an Indian 
village on each side of the River. ‘The one on the north consists of 
Christianized Indians who have settled here, leaving the pagan Indians 
on the south side. ‘The houses in the Christianized village are similar 
to those of the white people of the vicinity. Near the pagan village 
dwell Mr. John Clayton and his family. He is the venerable Hudson’s 
Bay man who keeps the store and is one of the richest and best known 
men living on the coast of British Columbia north of Vancouver. In 
the Christianized village are the church and the home of the missionary, 
the Rev. W. H. Gibson. Both Mr. Gibson and Mr. Clayton were in- 
strumental in assisting us to secure totem poles for the Museum. 
On both sides of the valley the mountains rise abruptly, the upper 
portions rocky, the lower portions heavily timbered with spruce, hemlock, 
