NOTES AND PARALLELS TO MYTHS (continued 2)

The earliest notice of the Ulûñsû′tĭ is given by the young Virginian officer, Timberlake, who was sent upon a peace mission to the Cherokee in 1762, shortly after the close of their first war with the whites. He says (Memoirs, pp. 47–49):

“They have many beautiful stones of different colours, many of which, I am apt to believe, are of great value; but their superstition has always prevented their disposing of them to the traders, who have made many attempts to that purpose; but as they use them in their conjuring ceremonies, they believe their parting with them or bringing them from home, would prejudice their health or affairs. Among others there is one in the possession of a conjurer, remarkable for its brilliancy and beauty, but more so for the extraordinary manner in which it was found. It grew, if we may credit the Indians, on the head of a monstrous serpent, whose retreat was, by its brilliancy, discovered; but a great number of snakes attending him, he being, as I suppose by his diadem, of a superior rank among the serpents, made it dangerous to attack him. Many were the attempts made by the Indians, but all frustrated, till a fellow more bold than the rest, casing himself in leather, impenetrable to the bite of the serpent or his guards, and watching a convenient opportunity, surprised and killed him, tearing his jewel from his head, which the conjurer has kept hid for many years, in some place unknown to all but two women, who have been offered large presents to betray it, but steadily refused, lest some signal judgment or mischance should follow. That such a stone exists, I believe, having seen many of great beauty; but I cannot think it would answer all the encomiums the Indians bestow upon it. The conjurer, I suppose, hatched the account of its discovery; I have however given it to the reader, as a specimen of an Indian story, many of which are much more surprising.”

A few years later Adair gives us an account of the serpent and the stone. According to his statement the uktenas had their home in a deep valley between the heads of the Tuckasegee and the “northern branch of the lower Cheerake river” (i. e., the Little Tennessee), the valley being the deep defile of Nantahala, where, by reason of its gloomy and forbidding aspect, Cherokee tradition locates more than one legendary terror. With pardonable error he confounds the Uktena with the Chief of the Rattlesnakes. The two, however, are distinct, the latter being simply the head of the rattlesnake tribe, without the blazing carbuncle or the immense size attributed to the Uktena.

“Between two high mountains, nearly covered with old mossy rocks, lofty cedars and pines, in the valleys of which the beams of the sun reflect a powerful heat, there are, as the natives affirm, some bright old inhabitants or rattlesnakes, of a more enormous size than is mentioned in history. They are so large and unwieldy, that they take a circle almost as wide as their length to crawl around in their shortest orbit; but bountiful nature compensates the heavy motion of their bodies, for, as they say, no living creature moves within the reach of their sight, but they can draw it to them....

“The description the Indians give us of their colour is as various as what we are told of the camelion, that seems to the spectator to change its colour, by every different position he may view it in; which proceeds from the piercing rays of the light that blaze from their foreheads, so as to dazzle the eyes, from whatever quarter they post themselves—for in each of their heads, there is a large carbuncle, which not only repels, but they affirm, sullies the meridian beams of the sun. They reckon it so dangerous to disturb these creatures, that no temptation can induce them to betray their secret recess to the prophane. They call them and all of the rattlesnake kind, kings, or chieftains of the snakes, and they allow one such to every different species of the brute creation. An old trader of Cheeowhee told me, that for the reward of two pieces of stroud cloth, he engaged a couple of young warriors to shew him the place of their resort, but the head-men would not by any means allow it, on account of a superstitious tradition—for they fancy the killing of them would expose them to the danger of being bit by the other inferior species of that serpentine tribe, who love their chieftains, and know by instinct those who maliciously killed them, as they fight only in their own defence and that of their young ones, never biting those who do not disturb them.”—History of the American Indians, pp. 237–238.

In another place (page 87) he tells us of an ulûñsûtĭ owned by a medicine-man who resided at Tymahse (Tomassee), a former Cherokee town on the creek of the same name near the present Seneca, South Carolina. “The above Cheerake prophet had a carbuncle near as big as an egg, which they said he found where a great rattlesnake lay dead, and that it sparkled with such surprising lustre as to illuminate his dark winter house, like strong flashes of continued lightning, to the great terror of the weak, who durst not upon any account approach the dreadful fire-darting place, for fear of sudden death. When he died it was buried along with him, according to custom, in the town of Tymahse, under the great beloved cabbin [seat], which stood in the westernmost part of that old fabric, where they who will run the risk of searching may luckily find it.”

Hagar also mentions the “Oolunsade,” and says, on the authority of John Ax: “He who owns a crystal can call one of the Little People to him at any time and make him do his bidding. Sometimes when people are ill it is because some evil invisible being has taken possession of him. Then the Little Man called up by the crystal can be placed on guard near the ill man to prevent the evil spirit from re-entering after it has been expelled” (MS Stellar Legends of the Cherokee).

The Southern Alleghenies, the old Cherokee country, abound with crystals of various kinds, as well as with minerals. The Ulûñsû′tĭ is described as a triangular crystal about two inches long, flat on the bottom, and with slightly convex sides tapering up to a point, and perfectly transparent with the exception of a single red streak running through the center from top to bottom. It is evidently a rare and beautiful specimen of rutile quartz, crystals of which, found in the region, may be seen in the National Museum at Washington.

Other small stones of various shapes and color are in common use among the Cherokee conjurers to discover lost articles or for other occult purposes. These also are frequently called by the same name, and are said to have been originally the scales of the Uktena, but the Ulûñsû′tĭ—the talisman from the forehead of the serpent—is the crystal here described, and is so exceedingly rare that so far as is known only one remained among the East Cherokee in 1890. Its owner, a famous hunter, kept it hidden in a cave, wrapped up in a deerskin, but refused all inducements to show it, much less to part with it, stating that if he should expose it to the gaze of a white man he could kill no more game, even were he permitted to live after such a sacrilege.

The possession of the talisman insures success in hunting, love, rain making, and all other undertakings, but its great use is in life divination, and when it is invoked for this purpose by its owner the future is mirrored in the transparent crystal as a tree is reflected in the quiet stream below.

When consulting it the conjurer gazes into the crystal, and after some little time sees in its transparent depths a picture of the person or event in question. By the action of the specter, or its position near the top or bottom of the crystal, he learns not only the event itself, but also its nearness in time or place.

Many of the East Cherokee who enlisted in the Confederate service during the late war consulted the Ulûñsû′tĭ before starting, and survivors declare that their experiences verified the prediction. One of these had gone with two others to consult the fates. The conjurer, placing the three men facing him, took the talisman upon the end of his outstretched finger and bade them look intently into it. After some moments they saw their own images at the bottom of the crystal. The images gradually ascended along the red line. Those of the other two men rose to the middle and then again descended, but the presentment of the one who tells the story continued to ascend until it reached the top before going down again. The conjurer then said that the other two would die in the second year of the war, but the third would survive through hardships and narrow escapes and live to return home. As the prophecy, so the event.

When consulted by the friends of a sick man to know if he will recover; the conjurer shows them the image of the sick man lying at the bottom of the Ulûñsû′tĭ. He then tells them to go home and kill some game (or, in these latter days, any food animal) and to prepare a feast. On the appointed day the conjurer, at his own home, looks into the crystal and sees there the picture of the party at dinner. If the image of the sick man rises and joins them at the feast the patient will recover; if otherwise, he is doomed.

51. Âgan-uni′tsĭ’s search for the Uktena (p. 248): This is one of the most important of the Cherokee traditions, for the reason that it deals with the mythic monster, the Uktena, and explains the origin of the great talisman, the Ulûñsû′tĭ. As here given it was obtained from Swimmer (east) with additions and variants from Wafford (west) and others. It is recorded by Ten Kate as obtained by him in the Territory (Legends of the Cherokees, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, January, 1889), and is mentioned in connection with the Ulûñsû′tĭ, by Adair, in 1775, and by Timberlake as early as 1762 (see notes to number 50, “The Uktena and the Ulûñsû′tĭ”). One variant makes the Ulûñsû′tĭ a scale from the seventh ring of the serpent.

The Shawano, who at one time occupied the Cumberland region of Tennessee immediately adjoining the Cherokee, were regarded as wizards by all the southern tribes. Brinton says: “Among the Algonkins the Shawnee tribe did more than all others combined to introduce and carry about religious legends and ceremonies. From the earliest times they seem to have had peculiar aptitude for the ecstacies, deceits, and fancies that make up the spiritual life of their associates. Their constantly roving life brought them in contact with the myths of many nations, and it is extremely probable that they first brought the tale of the horned serpent from the Creeks and Cherokees” (Myths of the New World, p. 137).

Localities—Utăwagûn′ta mountain, Walâsi′yĭ gap, Duniskwaʻlgûñ′yĭ gap and Atagâ′hĭ (mythic) lake, are all points in the Great Smoky range, which forms the dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee. Tlanusi′yĭ is the native name for the site of Murphy, at the junction of Hiwassee and Valley rivers, North Carolina. Gahû′tĭ is Cohutta mountain in Murray county, Georgia. According to Wafford there are on the sides of this mountain several stone inclosures which were built by Âgan-uni′tsĭ for shelter places before attacking the Uktena (see also Glossary).

52. The Red Man and the Uktena (p. 300): This story was obtained from John Ax. Swimmer had heard it also, but remembered only a part of it. For more in regard to the Uktena and the talisman derived from it, see numbers 50 and 51, with notes.

Asga′ya Gi′gage′ĭ—The “Red Man,” or lightning spirit, who is frequently invoked in the sacred formulas.

Struck by lightning—As has been explained elsewhere, the wood of a tree that has been struck by lightning plays an important part in Cherokee folklore.

Strong and dangerous—It is a common article of Indian belief that the presence of a powerful talisman, no matter how beneficent in itself, is enervating or positively dangerous to those in its vicinity unless they be fortified by some ceremonial tonic. For this reason every great “medicine” is usually kept apart in a hut or tipi built for the purpose, very much as we are accustomed to store explosives at some distance from the dwelling or business house.

53. The Hunter and the Uksu′hĭ (p. 301): This story was told by Swimmer and John Ax as an actual fact. The uksu′hĭ is the mountain blacksnake or black racer (Coluber obsoletus). The name seems to refer to some peculiarity of the eye, aktă (cf. uktena). Hickory-log, properly Wane′asûñ′tlûñyi, “Hickory footlog,” was a Cherokee settlement on Hiwassee river, near the present Hayesville, Clay county, North Carolina. Another of the same name was on Etowah river in Georgia.

Perspiration—The Indian belief may or may not have foundation in fact.

54. The Ustû′tlĭ (p. 302): This story was told by Swimmer and John Ax (east) and by Wafford (west), and is a common tradition throughout the tribe. The name ustû′tlĭ refers to the sole of the foot, and was given to the serpent on account of its peculiar feet or “suckers.” The same name is given to the common hoop-snake of the south (Abastor erythrogrammus), about which such wonderful tales are told by the white mountaineers. Cohutta (Gahû′tĭ) mountain, in Murray county, Georgia, was also the traditional haunt of the Uktena (see number 51, “Âgan-Uni′tsĭ’s search for the Uktena,” and compare also number 55, “The Uwʻtsûñ′ta.”)

55. The Uwʻtsûñ′ta (p. 303): This story was obtained from James Blythe. Nûñdaye′ʻĭ, whence Nantahala, was on the river of that name below the present Jarrett’s station.

56. The Snake Boy (p. 304): This myth was told by Swimmer.

Âsĭ—The Cherokee âsĭ, or “hot-house,” as it was called by the old traders, is the equivalent of the sweat-house of the western tribes. It is a small hut of logs plastered over with clay, with a shed roof, and just tall enough to permit a sitting or reclining, but not a standing, position inside. It is used for sweat-bath purposes, and as it is tight and warm, and a fire is usually kept smoldering within, it is a favorite sleeping place for the old people in cold weather. It is now nearly obsolete.

57. The Snake Man (p. 304): This myth, obtained from Chief Smith, seems designed to impress upon the laity the importance of a strict observance of the innumerable gaktûñ′ta, or tabus, which beset the daily life of the Cherokee, whether in health or sickness, hunting, war, or arts of peace (see the author’s “Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees,” in the Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology).

Similar transformation myths are found all over the world. One of the most ancient is the story of Cadmus, in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses,” with the despair of the wife as she sees the snaky change come over her husband. “Cadmus, what means this? Where are thy feet? Where are both thy shoulders and thy hands? Where is thy color? and, while I speak, where all else besides?”

In a Pawnee story given by Grinnell two brothers, traveling, camp for the night. The elder eats some tabued food, and wakes from his sleep to find that he is changing into a great rattlesnake, the change beginning at his feet. He rouses his brother and gives him his last instructions:

“When I have changed into a snake, take me in your arms and carry me over to that hole. That will be my home, for that is the house of the snakes.” Having still a man’s mind, he continues to talk as the metamorphosis extends upward, until at last his head changes to that of a snake, when his brother takes him up and carries him to the hole. The relatives make frequent visits to the place to visit the snake, who always comes out when they call, and the brother brings it a share of his war trophies, including a horse and a woman, and receives in return the protection of the snake man (Pawnee Hero Stories, pp. 171–181). A close Omaha variant is given by Dorsey (“The warriors who were changed to snakes,” in Contributions to North American Ethnology, VI).

58. The Rattlesnake’s vengeance (p. 305): This story, told by Swimmer, exemplifies the Indian reverence for the rattlesnake and dread of offending it already explained in number 49, “The Snake Tribe,” and the accompanying notes.

Prayer song—See other references under number 3, “Kana′ti and Selu.” Many of the Indian ceremonial prayers and invocations are in the form of songs or chants.

Large horned beetle—This beetle, variously called by the Cherokee crawfish, deer or buck, on account of its branching horns, is probably the “flying stag” of early travelers. Says Timberlake: “Of insects, the flying stag is almost the only one worthy of notice. It is about the shape of a beetle, but has very large, beautiful, branching horns, like those of a stag, from whence it took its name” (Memoirs p. 46). Lawson, about 1700, also mentions “the flying stags, with horns,” among the insects of eastern Carolina.

60. Why the Bullfrog’s head is striped (p. 310): The first version is from John Ax, the second from Swimmer, who had forgotten the details.

61. The Bullfrog lover (p. 310): The first amusing little tale was heard from several story-tellers. The warning words are sometimes given differently, but always in a deep, gruff, singing tone, which makes a very fair imitation of a bullfrog’s note. The other stories were told by Tsĕsa′ni (Jessan) and confirmed by Swimmer.

In a Creek variant of the first story, in the Tuggle collection, it is a pretty girl, who is obdurate until her lover, the Rabbit, conceals himself in the same way near the spring, with a blowgun for a trumpet, and frightens her into consent by singing out: “The girl who stays single will die, will die, will die.”

62. The Katydid’s warning (p. 311): Told by Swimmer and James Blythe.

63. Ûñtsaiyĭ′, the Gambler (p. 311): This story was obtained from Swimmer and John Ax (east), and confirmed also by James Wafford (west), who remembered, however, only the main points of the pursuit and final capture at Kâgûñ′yĭ. The two versions corresponded very closely, excepting that Ax sends the boy to the Sunset land to play against his brothers, while Swimmer brings them to meet him at their father’s house. In the Ax version, also, the gambler flees directly to the west, and as often as the brothers shoot at him with their arrows the thunder rolls and the lightning flashes, but he escapes by sinking into the earth, which opens for him, to reappear in another form somewhere else. Swimmer makes the Little People help in the chase. In Cherokee figure an invitation to a ball contest is a challenge to battle. Thunder is always personified in the plural, Ani′-Hyûñ′tikwălâ′skĭ, “The Thunderers.” The father and the two older sons seem to be Kana′tĭ and the Thunder Boys (see number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu”), although neither informant would positively assert this, while the boy hero, who has no other name, is said to be the lightning. Nothing is told of his after career.

Ûñtsaiyĭ′—In this name (sometimes E′tsaiyĭ′ or Tsaiyĭ′) the first syllable is almost silent and the vowels are prolonged to imitate the ringing sound produced by striking a thin sheet of metal. The word is now translated “brass,” and is applied to any object made of that metal. The mythic gambler, who has his counterpart in the mythologies of many tribes, is the traditional inventor of the wheel-and-stick game, so popular among the southern and eastern Indians, and variously known as gatayûstĭ, chenco, or chûnki (see note under number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu”). He lived on the south side of Tennessee river, at Ûñ′tiguhĭ′.

The Suck is thus described by a traveler in 1818, while the whole was still Indian country and Chattanooga was yet undreamed of:

“And here, I cannot forbear pausing a moment to call your attention to the grand and picturesque scenery which opens to the view of the admiring spectator. The country is still possessed by the aborigines, and the hand of civilization has done but little to soften the wild aspect of nature. The Tennessee river, having concentrated into one mass the numerous streams it has received in its course of three or four hundred miles, glides through an extended valley with a rapid and overwhelming current, half a mile in width. At this place, a group of mountains stand ready to dispute its progress. First, the ‘Lookout,’ an independent range, commencing thirty miles below, presents, opposite the river’s course, its bold and rocky termination of two thousand feet. Around its brow is a pallisade [sic] of naked rocks, from seventy to one hundred feet. The river flows upon its base, and instantly twines to the right. Passing on for six miles farther it turns again, and is met by the side of the Rackoon mountain. Collecting its strength into a channel of seventy yards, it severs the mountain, and rushes tumultuously through the rocky defile, wafting the trembling navigator at the rate of a mile in two or three minutes. The passage is called ‘The Suck.’ The summit of the Lookout mountain overlooks the whole country. And to those who can be delighted with the view of an interminable forest, penetrated by the windings of a bold river, interspersed with hundreds of verdant prairies, and broken by many ridges and mountains, furnishes in the month of May, a landscape, which yields to few others, in extent, variety or beauty.”—Rev. Elias Cornelius, in (Silliman’s) American Journal of Science, I, p. 223, 1818.

Bet even his life—The Indian was a passionate gambler and there was absolutely no limit to the risks which he was willing to take, even to the loss of liberty, if not of life. Says Lawson (History of Carolina, p. 287): “They game very much and often strip one another of all they have in the world; and what is more, I have known several of them play themselves away, so that they have remained the winners’ servants till their relations or themselves could pay the money to redeem them.”

His skin was clean—The idea of purification or cleansing through the efficacy of the sweat-bath is very common in Indian myth and ceremonial. In an Omaha story given by Dorsey the hero has been transformed, by witchcraft, into a mangy dog. He builds a sweat lodge, goes into it as a dog and sweats himself until, on his command, the people take off the blankets, when “Behold, he was not a dog; he was a very handsome man” (“Adventures of Hingpe-agce,” in Contributions to North American Ethnology, VI, p. 175).

From the bottom—The choice of the most remote or the most insignificant appearing of several objects, as being really the most valuable, is another common incident in the myths.

Honey-locust tree—The favorite honey-locust tree and the seat with thorns of the same species in the home of the Thunder Man may indicate that in Indian as in Aryan thought there was an occult connection between the pinnated leaves and the lightning, as we know to be the case with regard to the European rowan or mountain ash.

All kinds of snakes—It will be remembered that the boy’s father was a thunder god. The connection between the snake and the rain or thunder spirit has already been noted. It appears also in number 84, “The Man who Married the Thunder’s Sister.”

Elder brother—My elder brother (male speaking), ûñgini′lĭ; my elder brother (female speaking), ûñgidă′; thy two elder brothers (male speaking), tsetsăni′lĭ.

Sunset land—The Cherokee word here used is Wusûhihûñ′yĭ, “there where they stay over night.” The usual expression in the sacred formula is usûñhi′yĭ, “the darkening, or twilight place”; the common word is wude′ligûñ′yĭ, “there where it (the sun) goes down.”

Lightning at every stroke—In the Omaha myth of “The Chief’s Son and the Thunders,” given by Dorsey, some young men traveling to the end of the world meet a Thunder Man, who bids the leader to select one of four medicine bags. Having been warned in advance, he selects the oldest, but most powerful, and is then given also a club which causes thunder whenever flourished in the air (Contributions to North American Ethnology, VI, p. 185).

Strike the rock—This method of procuring water is as old at least as the book of Exodus.

The brass rubbed off—The beautiful metallic luster on the head of Phanæus carnifex is thus accounted for. The common roller beetle is called “dung roller,” but this species is distinguished as the “horned, brass” beetle. It is also sometimes spoken of as the dog of the Thunder Boys.

Beavers gnaw at the grapevine—Something like this is found among the Cheyenne: “The earth rests on a large beam or post. Far in the north there is a beaver as white as snow who is a great father of all mankind. Some day he will gnaw through the support at the bottom. We shall be helpless and the earth will fall. This will happen when he becomes angry. The post is already partly eaten through. For this reason one band of the Cheyenne never eat beaver or even touch the skin. If they do touch it, they become sick” (Kroeber, Cheyenne Tales, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, July, 1900).

64. The nest of the Tlă′nuwă (p. 315): This story was obtained first from John Ax and Ta′gwadihi′, and was afterward heard of frequently in connection with the cave at Citico. It is mentioned by Ten Kate in “Legends of the Cherokees,” obtained in the Indian Territory, in the Journal of American Folk-Lore, January, 1889.

Tlă′nuwă—The Tlă′nuwă (Tsă′nuwă or Sû′năwă in the Middle dialect) is a mythic bird, described as a great hawk, larger than any bird now existing. There is a small hawk called tlă′nuwă usdi′, “little tlă′nuwă,” which is described as its smaller counterpart or image, and which the Cherokee say accompanies flocks of wild pigeons, occasionally when hungry swooping down and killing one by striking it with its sharp breast bone. It is probably the goshawk (Astur atricapillus). The great Tlă′nuwă, like the other animals, “went up.” According to Adair (History of the American Indians, p. 17) the Cherokee used to compare a miserly person to a “sinnawah.” When John Ax first recited the story he insisted that the whites must also believe it, as they had it pictured on their money, and holding up a silver coin, he triumphantly pointed out what he claimed was the figure of the Tlă′nuwă, holding in its talons the arrows and in its beak the serpent. He was not so far wrong, as it is well known that the Mexican coat of arms, stamped upon the coins of the republic, has its origin in a similar legend handed down from the Aztec. Myths of dangerous monster serpents destroyed by great birds were common to a number of tribes. The Tuscarora, formerly eastern neighbors of the Cherokee, told “a long tale of a great rattlesnake, which, a great while ago, lived by a creek in that river, which was Neus, and that it killed abundance of Indians; but at last a bald eagle killed it, and they were rid of a serpent that used to devour whole canoes full of Indians at a time” (Lawson, Carolina, p. 346).

Tlă′nuwă′ĭ—“Tlă′nuwă place,” the cliff so called by the Cherokee, with the cave half way up its face, is on the north bank of Little Tennessee river, a short distance below the entrance of the Citico creek, on land formerly belonging to Colonel John Lowrey, one of the Cherokee officers at the battle of the Horseshoe bend (Wafford). Just above, but on the opposite side of the river, is Uʻtlûñti′yĭ, the former haunt of the cannibal liver eater (see number 66, “Uʻtlûñta, the Spear-finger”).

Soon after the creation—As John Ax put it, adopting the Bible expression, Hĭlahi′yu dine′tlănă a′nigwa—“A long time ago the creation soon after.”

Rope of linn bark—The old Cherokee still do most of their tying and packing with ropes twisted from the inner bark of trees. In one version of the story the medicine-man uses a long udâ′ĭ or cohosh (Actæa?) vine.

Holes are still there—The place which the Cherokee call Tlă′nuwă-a′tsiyelûñisûñ′yĭ, “Where the Tlă′nuwă cut it up,” is nearly opposite Citico, on Little Tennessee river, just below Talassee ford, in Blount county, Tennessee. The surface of the rock bears a series of long trenchlike depressions, extending some distance, which, according to the Indians, are the marks where the pieces bitten from the body of the great serpent were dropt by the Tlă′nuwă.

65. The hunter and the Tlă′nuwă (p. 316): This myth was told by Swimmer.

66. Uʻtlûñ′ta, the Spear-finger (p. 316): This is one of the most noted among the Cherokee myths, being equally well known both east and west. The version here given was obtained from John Ax, with some corrections and additions from Swimmer, Wafford (west) and others. A version of it, “The Stone-shields,” in which the tomtit is incorrectly made a jay, is given by Ten Kate, in his “Legends of the Cherokees,” in the Journal of American Folk-Lore for January, 1889, as obtained from a mixed-blood informant in Tahlequah. Another version, “The Demon of Consumption,” by Capt. James W. Terrell, formerly a trader among the East Cherokee, appears in the same journal for April, 1892. Still another variant, apparently condensed from Terrell’s information, is given by Zeigler and Grosscup, “Heart of the Alleghanies,” page 24 (Raleigh and Cleveland, 1883). In Ten Kate’s version the stone coat of mail broke in pieces as soon as the monster was killed, and the fragments were gathered up and kept as amulets by the people.

There is some confusion between this story of Uʻtlûñ′ta and that of Nûñ′yunu′wĭ (number 67). According to some myth tellers the two monsters were husband and wife and lived together, and were both alike dressed in stone, had awl fingers and ate human livers, the only difference being that the husband waylaid hunters, while his female partner gave her attention to children.

This story has a close parallel in the Creek myth of the Tuggle collection, “The Big Rock Man,” in which the people finally kill the stony monster by acting upon the advice of the Rabbit to shoot him in the ear.

Far away, in British Columbia, the Indians tell how the Coyote transformed himself to an Elk, covering his body with a hard shell. “Now this shell was like an armor, for no arrow could pierce it; but being hardly large enough to cover all his body, there was a small hole left underneath his throat.” He attacks the people, stabbing them with his antlers and trampling them under foot, while their arrows glance harmlessly from his body, until “the Meadow-lark, who was a great telltale, appeared and cried out, ‘There is just a little hole at his throat!’” A hunter directs his arrow to that spot and the Elk falls dead (Teit, Thompson River Traditions, pp. 33–34).

Uʻtlûñ′ta—The word means literally “he (or she) has it sharp,” i. e., has some sharp part or organ. It might be used of a tooth or finger nail or some other attached portion of the body, but here refers to the awl-like finger. Ten Kate spells the name Uilata. On Little Tennessee river, nearly opposite the entrance of Citico creek, in Blount county, Tennessee, is a place which the Cherokee call Uʻtlûñtûñ′yĭ, “Sharp-finger place,” because, they say, Uʻtlûñ′ta used to frequent the spot.

Nûñyû′-tluʻgûñ′ĭ—“Tree rock,” so called on account of its resemblance to a standing tree trunk; a notable monument-shape rock on the west side of Hiwassee river, about four miles above Hayesville, North Carolina, and nearly on the Georgia line.

Whiteside mountain—This noted mountain, known to the Cherokee as Sanigilâ′gĭ, a name for which they have no meaning, is one of the prominent peaks of the Blue ridge, and is situated southeast from Franklin and about four miles from Highlands, or the dividing line between Macon and Jackson counties, North Carolina. It is 4,900 feet high, being the loftiest elevation on the ridge which forms the watershed between the tributaries of the Little Tennessee and the Chattooga branch of Savannah. It takes its name from the perpendicular cliff on its western exposure, and is also known sometimes as the Devil’s courthouse. The Indians compare the appearance of the cliff to that of a sheet of ice, and say that the western summit was formerly crowned by a projecting rock, since destroyed by lightning, which formed a part of the great bridge which Uʻtlûñ′ta attempted to build across the valley. Lanman’s description of this mountain, in 1848, has been quoted in the notes to number 13, “The Great Yellow-jacket.” Following is a notice by a later writer:

“About five miles from Highlands is that huge old cliff, Whitesides, which forms the advanced guard of all the mountain ranges trending on the south. It is no higher than the Righi, but, like it, rising direct from the plain, it overpowers the spectator more than its loftier brethren. Through all the lowlands of upper Georgia and Alabama this dazzling white pillar of rock, uplifting the sky, is an emphatic and significant landmark. The ascent can be made on horseback, on the rear side of the mountain, to within a quarter of a mile of the summit. When the top is reached, after a short stretch of nearly perpendicular climbing, the traveler finds himself on the edge of a sheer white wall of rock, over which, clinging for life to a protecting hand, he can look, if he chooses, two thousand feet down into the dim valley below. A pebble dropped from his hand will fall straight as into a well. On the vast plain below he can see the wavelike hills on which the great mountain ranges which have stretched from Maine along the continent ebb down finally into the southern plains”—Rebecca H. Davis, Bypaths in the Mountains, in Harper’s Magazine, LXI, p. 544, September, 1880.

Picking strawberries—For more than a hundred years, as readers of Bartram will remember, the rich bottom lands of the old Cherokee country have been noted for their abundance of strawberries and other wild fruits.

My grandchildren—As in most Indian languages, Cherokee kinship terms are usually specialized, and there is no single term for grandchild. “My son’s child” is ûñgini′sĭ, plural tsûñgini′sĭ; “my daughter’s child” is ûñgili′sĭ, plural tsûñgili′sĭ. The use of kinship terms as expressive of affection or respect is very common among Indians.

Taking the appearance—This corresponds closely with the European folk-belief in fairy changelings.

To burn the leaves—The burning of the fallen leaves in the autumn, in order to get at the nuts upon the ground below, is still practiced by the white mountaineers of the southern Alleghenies. The line of fire slowly creeping up the mountain side upon a dark night is one of the picturesque sights of that picturesque country.

The song—As rendered by Swimmer, the songs seem to be intended for an imitation of the mournful notes of some bird, such as the turtle dove, hidden in the deep forests.

Pitfall—The pitfall trap for large game was known among nearly all the tribes, but seems not to have been in frequent use.

Chickadee and tomtit—These two little birds closely resemble each other, the Carolina chickadee (Parus carolinensis) or tsĭkĭlilĭ being somewhat smaller than the tufted titmouse (Parus bicolor) or utsuʻgĭ, which is also distinguished by a topknot or crest. The belief that the tsĭkĭlilĭ foretells the arrival of an absent friend is general among the Cherokee, and has even extended to their neighbors, the white mountaineers. See also number 35, “The Bird Tribes,” and accompanying notes.

Her heart—The conception of a giant or other monster whose heart or “life” is in some unaccustomed part of the body, or may even be taken out and laid aside at will, so that it is impossible to kill the monster by ordinary means, is common in Indian as well as in European and Asiatic folklore.

In a Navaho myth we are told that the Coyote “did not, like other beings, keep his vital principle in his chest, where it might easily be destroyed. He kept it in the tip of his nose and in the end of his tail, where no one would expect to find it.” He meets several accidents, any one of which would be sufficient to kill an ordinary creature, but as his nose and tail remain intact he is each time resurrected. Finally a girl whom he wishes to marry beats him into small pieces with a club, grinds the pieces to powder, and scatters the powder to the four winds. “But again she neglected to crush the point of the nose and the tip of the tail,” with the result that the Coyote again comes to life, when of course they are married and live happily until the next chapter (Matthews, Navaho Legends, pp. 91–94).

In a tale of the Gaelic highlands the giant’s life is in an egg which he keeps concealed in a distant place, and not until the hero finds and crushes the egg does the giant die. The monster or hero with but one vulnerable spot, as was the case with Achilles, is also a common concept.

67. Nûñyunu′wĭ, the Stone Man (p. 319): This myth, although obtained from Swimmer, the best informant in the eastern band, is but fragmentary, for the reason that he confounded it with the somewhat similar story of Uʻtlûñ′ta (number 66). It was mentioned by Ayâsta and others (east) and by Wafford (west) as a very old and interesting story, although none of these could recall the details in connected form. It is noted as one of the stories heard in the Territory by Ten Kate (Legends of the Cherokees, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, January, 1889), who spells the name Nayunu′wi.

Nûñyunu′wĭ, “Dressed in stone”; adâ′lanûñstĭ, a staff or cane; asûñ′tlĭ, asûñ′tlûñĭ, a foot log or bridge; ada′wehĭ, a great magician or supernatural wonder-worker; see the glossary.

A very close parallel is found among the Iroquois, who have traditions of an invasion by a race of fierce cannibals known as the Stonish Giants, who, originally like ordinary humans, had wandered off into the wilderness, where they became addicted to eating raw flesh and wallowing in the sand until their bodies grew to gigantic size and were covered with hard scales like stone, which no arrow could penetrate (see Cusick, in Schoolcraft, Indian Tribes, V, p. 637). One of these, which preyed particularly upon the Onondaga, was at last taken in a pitfall and thus killed. Another, in tracking his victims used “something which looked like a finger, but was really a pointer made of bone. With this he could find anything he wished.” The pointer was finally snatched from him by a hunter, on which the giant, unable to find his way without it, begged piteously for its return, promising to eat no more men and to send the hunter long life and good luck for himself and all his friends. The hunter thereupon restored it and the giant kept his promises (Beauchamp, W. M., Iroquois Notes, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, Boston, July, 1892.) As told by Mrs Smith (“The Stone Giant’s Challenge,” Myths of the Iroquois, in Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1883), the pointer was a human finger. “He placed it upright upon his hand, and it immediately pointed the way for him to go.”

Menstrual woman—Among all our native tribes it is believed that there is something dangerous or uncanny in the touch or presence of a menstrual woman. Hence the universal institution of the “menstrual lodge,” to which the woman retires at such periods, eating, working, and sleeping alone, together with a host of tabus and precautions bearing upon the same subject. Nearly the same ideas are held in regard to a pregnant woman.

Sourwood stakes—Cherokee hunters impale meat upon sourwood (Oxydendrum) stakes for roasting, and the wood is believed, also, to have power against the spells of witches.

Began to talk—The revealing of “medicine” secrets by a magician when in his final agony is a common incident in Indian myths.

Whatever he prayed for—Swimmer gives a detailed statement of the particular petition made by several of those thus painted. Painting the face and body, especially with red paint, is always among Indians a more or less sacred performance, usually accompanied with prayers.

68. The hunter in the Dăkwă′—This story was told by Swimmer and Ta′gwadihĭ′ and is well known in the tribe. The version from the Wahnenauhi manuscript differs considerably from that here given. In the Bible translation the word dăkwă′ is used as the equivalent of whale. Haywood thus alludes to the story (Nat. and Aborig. Hist. Tenn., p. 244): “One of the ancient traditions of the Cherokees is that once a whale swallowed a little boy, and after some time spewed him upon the land.”

It is pretty certain that the Cherokee formerly had some acquaintance with whales, which, about the year 1700, according to Lawson, were “very numerous” on the coast of North Carolina, being frequently stranded along the shore, so that settlers derived considerable profit from the oil and blubber. He enumerates four species there known, and adds a general statement that “some Indians in America” hunted them at sea (History of Carolina, pp. 251–252).

In almost every age and country we find a myth of a great fish swallowing a man, who afterward finds his way out alive. Near to the Cherokee myth are the Bible story of Jonah, and the Greek story of Hercules, swallowed by a fish and coming out afterward alive, but bald. For parallels and theories of the origin and meaning of the myth among the ancient nations, see chapter IX of Bouton’s Bible Myths.

In an Ojibwa story, the great Manabozho is swallowed, canoe and all, by the king of the fishes. With his war club he strikes repeated blows upon the heart of the fish, which attempts to spew him out. Fearing that he might drown in deep water, Manabozho frustrates the endeavor by placing his canoe crosswise in the throat of the fish, and continues striking at the heart until the monster makes for the shore and there dies, when the hero makes his escape through a hole which the gulls have torn in the side of the carcass (Schoolcraft, Algic Researches, I, pp. 145–146).

69. Atagâ′hi, the enchanted lake (p. 321): This story was heard from Swimmer, Ta′gwadihĭ′, and others, and is a matter of familiar knowledge to every hunter among the East Cherokee. If Indian testimony be believed there is actually a large bare flat of this name in the difficult recesses of the Great Smoky mountains on the northern boundary of Swain county, North Carolina, somewhere between the heads of Bradleys fork and Eagle creek. It appears to be a great resort for bears and ducks, and is perhaps submerged at long intervals, which would account for the legend.

Prayer, fasting, and vigil—In Indian ritual, as among the Orientals and in all ancient religions, these are prime requisites for obtaining clearness of spiritual vision. In almost every tribe the young warrior just entering manhood voluntarily subjected himself to an ordeal of this kind, of several days’ continuance, in order to obtain a vision of the “medicine” which was to be his guide and protector for the rest of his life.

70. The bride from the south (p. 322): This unique allegory was heard from both Swimmer and Ta′gwădihĭ′ in nearly the same form. Hagar also (MS Stellar Legends of the Cherokee) heard something of it from Ayâsta, who, however, confused it with the Hagar variant of number 11, “The Milky Way” (see notes to number 11).

In a myth from British Columbia, “The Hot and the Cold Winds,” the cold-wind people of the north wage war with the hot-wind people of the south, until the Indians, whose country lay between, and who constantly suffer from both sides, bring about a peace, to be ratified by a marriage between the two parties. Accordingly, the people of the south send their daughter to marry the son of the north. The two are married and have one child, whom the mother after a time decides to take with her to visit her own people in the north. Her visit ended, she starts on her return, accompanied by her elder brother. “They embarked in a bark canoe for the country of the cold. Her brother paddled. After going a long distance, and while crossing a great lake, the cold became so intense that her brother could not endure it any longer. He took the child from his sister and threw it into the water. Immediately the air turned warm and the child floated on the water as a lump of ice.”—Teit, Traditions of the Thompson River Indians, pp. 55, 56.

71. The Ice Man (p. 322): This story, told by Swimmer, may be a veiled tradition of a burning coal mine in the mountains, accidentally ignited in firing the woods in the fall, according to the regular Cherokee practice, and finally extinguished by a providential rainstorm. One of Buttrick’s Cherokee informants told him that “a great while ago a part of the world was burned, though it is not known now how, or by whom, but it is said that other land was formed by washing in from the mountains” (Antiquities, p. 7).

Volcanic activities, some of very recent date, have left many traces in the Carolina mountains. A mountain in Haywood county, near the head of Fines creek, has been noted for its noises and quakings for nearly a century, one particular explosion having split solid masses of granite as though by a blast of gunpowder. These shocks and noises used to recur at intervals of two or three years, but have not now been noticed for some time. In 1829 a violent earthquake on Valley river split open a mountain, leaving a chasm extending for several hundred yards, which is still to be seen. Satoola mountain, near Highlands, in Macon county, has crevices from which smoke is said to issue at intervals. In Madison county there is a mountain which has been known to rumble and smoke, a phenomenon with which the Warm springs in the same county may have some connection. Another peak, known as Shaking or Rumbling bald, in Rutherford county, attracted widespread attention in 1874 by a succession of shocks extending over a period of six months (see Zeigler and Grosscup, Heart of the Alleghanies, pp. 228–229).

72. The Hunter and Selu (p. 323): The explanation of this story, told by Swimmer, lies in the myth which derives corn from the blood of the old woman Selu (see number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu”).

In Iroquois myth the spirits of Corn, Beans, and Squash are three sisters. Corn was originally much more fertile, but was blighted by the jealousy of an evil spirit. “To this day, when the rustling wind waves the corn leaves with a moaning sound, the pious Indian fancies that he hears the Spirit of Corn, in her compassion for the red man, still bemoaning with unavailing regrets her blighted fruitfulness” (Morgan, League of the Iroquois, p. 162). See number 126, “Plant Lore,” and accompanying notes.

73. The Underground Panthers (p. 324): This story was told by John Ax. For an explanation of the Indian idea concerning animals see number 15, “The Four-footed Tribes,” and number 76, “The Bear Man.”

Several days—The strange lapse of time, by which a period really extending over days or even years seems to the stranger under the spell to be only a matter of a few hours, is one of the most common incidents of European fairy recitals, and has been made equally familiar to American readers through Irving’s story of Rip Van Winkle.

74. The Tsundige′wĭ (p. 325): This curious story was told by Swimmer and Ta′gwădihĭ′ (east) and Wafford (west). Swimmer says the dwarfs lived in the west, but Ta′gwădihĭ′ and Wafford locate them south from the Cherokee country.

A story which seems to be a variant of the same myth was told to the Spanish adventurer Ayllon by the Indians on the South Carolina coast in 1520, and is thus given in translation from Peter Martyr’s Decades, in the Discovery and Conquest of Florida, ninth volume of the Hakluyt Society’s publications, pages XV-XVI, London, 1851.

“Another of Ayllon’s strange stories refers to a country called Inzignanin, ... The inhabitauntes, by report of their ancestors, say, that a people as tall as the length of a man’s arme, with tayles of a spanne long, sometime arrived there, brought thither by sea, which tayle was not movable or wavering, as in foure-footed beastes, but solide, broad above, and sharpe beneath, as wee see in fishes and crocodiles, and extended into a bony hardness. Wherefore, when they desired to sitt, they used seates with holes through them, or wanting them, digged upp the earth a spanne deepe or little more, they must convay their tayle into the hole when they rest them.”

It is given thus in Barcia, Ensayo, page 5: “Tambien llegaron a la Provincia de Yncignavin adonde les contaron aquellos Indios, que en cierto tiempo, avian aportado à ella, unas Gentes, que tenian Cola ... de una quarta de largo, flexible, que les estorvaba tanto, que para sentarse agujereaban los asientos: que el Pellejo era mui aspero, y como escamoso, y que comìan solo Peces crudos: y aviendo estos muerto, se acabò esta Nacion, y la Verdad del Caso, con ella.”

A close parallel to the Cherokee story is found among the Nisqualli of Washington, in a story of three [four?] brothers, who are captured by a miraculously strong dwarf who ties them and carries them off in his canoe. “Having rounded the distant point, where they had first descried him, they came to a village inhabited by a race of people as small as their captor, their houses, boats and utensils being all in proportion to themselves. The three brothers were then taken out and thrown, bound as they were, into a lodge, while a council was convened to decide upon their fate. During the sitting of the council an immense flock of birds, resembling geese, but much larger, pounced down upon the inhabitants and commenced a violent attack. These birds had the power of throwing their sharp quills like the porcupine, and although the little warriors fought with great valour, they soon became covered with the piercing darts and all sunk insensible on the ground. When all resistance has ceased, the birds took to flight and disappeared. The brothers had witnessed the conflict from their place of confinement, and with much labour had succeeded in releasing themselves from their bonds, when they went to the battle ground, and commenced pulling the quills from the apparently lifeless bodies; but no sooner had they done this, than all instantly returned to consciousness” (Kane, Wanderings of an Artist, pp. 252–253).

75. Origin of the Bear (p. 325): This story was told by Swimmer, from whom were also obtained the hunting songs, and was frequently referred to by other informants. The Ani′-Tsâ′gûhĭ are said to have been an actual clan in ancient times. For parallels, see number 76, “The Bear Man.”

Had not taken human food—The Indian is a thorough believer in the doctrine that “man is what he eats.” Says Adair (History of the American Indians, p. 133): “They believe that nature is possessed of such a property as to transfuse into men and animals the qualities, either of the food they use or of those objects that are presented to their senses. He who feeds on venison is, according to their physical system, swifter and more sagacious than the man who lives on the flesh of the clumsy bear or helpless dunghill fowls, the slow-footed tame cattle, or the heavy wallowing swine. This is the reason that several of their old men recommend and say that formerly their greatest chieftains observed a constant rule in their diet, and seldom ate of any animal of a gross quality or heavy motion of body, fancying it conveyed a dullness through the whole system and disabled them from exerting themselves with proper vigour in their martial, civil, and religious duties.” A continuous adherence to the diet commonly used by a bear will finally give to the eater the bear nature, if not also the bear form and appearance. A certain term of “white man’s food” will give the Indian the white man’s nature, so that neither the remedies nor the spells of the Indian doctor will have any effect upon him (see the author’s “Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees,” in Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1891).

Shall live always—For explanation of the doctrine of animal reincarnation, see number 15, “The Four-footed Tribes.”

The songs—These are fair specimens of the hunting songs found in every tribe, and intended to call up the animals or to win the favor of the lords of the game (see also deer songs in notes to number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu”). As usual, the word forms are slightly changed to suit the requirements of the tune. The second song was first published by the author in the paper on sacred formulas, noted above. Tsistu′yĭ, Kuwâ′hĭ, Uya′hye, and Gâte′gwâ (-hĭ) are four mountains, under each of which the bears have a townhouse in which they hold a dance before retiring to their dens for their winter sleep. At Tsistu′yĭ, “Rabbit place,” known to us as Gregory bald, in the Great Smoky range, dwells the Great Rabbit, the chief of the rabbit tribe. At Kuwâ′hĭ, “Mulberry place,” farther northeast along the same range, resides the White Bear, the chief of the bear tribe, and near by is the enchanted lake of Atagâ′hĭ, to which wounded bears go to bathe and be cured (see number 15, “The Four-footed Tribes,” and number 69, “Atagâ′hĭ, the Enchanted Lake”). Uyâhye is also a peak of the Great Smokies, while Gâtegwâ′hĭ, “Great swamp or thicket (?),” is southeast of Franklin, North Carolina, and is perhaps identical with Fodderstack mountain (see also the glossary).

76. The Bear Man (p. 327): This story was obtained first from John Ax, and has numerous parallels in other tribes, as well as in European and oriental folklore. The classic legend of Romulus and Remus and the stories of “wolf boys” in India will at once suggest themselves. Swimmer makes the trial of the hunter’s weapons by the bears a part of his story of the origin of disease and medicine (number 4), but says that it may have happened on this occasion (see also number 15, “The Four-footed Tribes,” and notes to number 75, “Origin of the Bear”).

In a strikingly similar Creek myth of the Tuggle collection, “Origin of the Bear Clan,” a little girl lost in the woods is adopted by a she-bear, with whom she lives for four years, when the bear is killed by the hunter and the girl returns to her people to become the mother of the Bear clan.

The Iroquois have several stories of children adopted by bears. In one, “The Man and His Stepson,” a boy thus cared for is afterward found by a hunter, who tames him and teaches him to speak, until in time he almost forgets that he had lived like a bear. He marries a daughter of the hunter and becomes a hunter himself, but always refrains from molesting the bears, until at last, angered by the taunts of his mother-in-law, he shoots one, but is himself killed by an accident while on his return home (Smith, Myths of the Iroquois, in Second Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology). In line with this is the story of a hunter who had pursued a bear into its den. “When some distance in he could no longer see the bear, but he saw a fire and around it sat several men. The oldest of the three men looked up and asked, ‘Why did you try to shoot one of my men. We sent him out to entice you to us’” (Curtin, Seneca MS in Bureau of American Ethnology archives).

In a Pawnee myth, “The Bear Man,” a boy whose father had put him under the protection of the bears grows up with certain bear traits and frequently prays and sacrifices to these animals. On a war party against the Sioux he is killed and cut to pieces, when two bears find and recognize the body, gather up and arrange the pieces and restore him to life, after which they take him to their den, where they care for him and teach him their secret knowledge until he is strong enough to go home (Grinnell, Pawnee Hero Stories, pp. 121–128).

In a Jicarilla myth, “Origin and Destruction of the Bear,” a boy playing about in animal fashion runs into a cave in the hillside. “When he came out his feet and hands had been transformed into bear’s paws.” Four times this is repeated, the change each time mounting higher, until he finally emerges as a terrible bear monster that devours human beings (Russell, Myths of the Jicarilla, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, October, 1898).

Read the thoughts—Thought reading is a very common feature of Indian myths. Certain medicine ceremonies are believed to confer the power upon those who fulfil the ordeal conditions.

Food was getting scarce—Several references in the myths indicate that, through failure of the accustomed wild crops, famine seasons were as common among the animal tribes as among the Indians (see number 33, “The Migration of the Animals”).

Kalâs′-Gûnahi′ta—See number 15, “The Four-footed Tribes.”

Rubbed his stomach—This very original method of procuring food occurs also in number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu.”

Topknots and Splitnoses—Tsunĭ′stsăhĭ′, “Having topknots”—i. e., Indians, in allusion to the crests of upright hair formerly worn by warriors of the Cherokee and other eastern tribes. Timberlake thus describes the Cherokee warrior’s headdress in 1762: “The hair of their head is shaved, tho’ many of the old people have it plucked out by the roots, except a patch on the hinder part of the head about twice the bigness of a crown piece, which is ornamented with beads, feathers, wampum, stained deer’s hair, and such like baubles” (Memoirs, p. 49). Tsunû′ʻliyû′ sûnĕstlâ′tă, “they have split noses”—i. e., dogs.

Cover the blood—The reincarnation of the slain animal from the drops of blood spilt upon the ground or from the bones is a regular part of Cherokee hunting belief, and the same idea occurs in the folklore of many tribes. In the Omaha myth, “Ictinike and the Four Creators,” the hero visits the Beaver, who kills and cooks one of his own children to furnish the dinner. When the meal was over “the Beaver gathered the bones and put them into a skin, which he plunged beneath the water. In a moment the youngest beaver came up alive out of the water” (Dorsey, in Contributions to North American Ethnology, VI, p. 557).

Like a man again—It is a regular article of Indian belief, which has its parallels in European fairy lore, that one who has eaten the food of the spirit people or supernaturals can not afterward return to his own people and live, unless at once, and sometimes for a long time, put under a rigid course of treatment intended to efface the longing for the spirit food and thus to restore his complete human nature. See also number 73, “The Underground Panthers.” In “A Yankton Legend,” recorded by Dorsey, a child falls into the water and is taken by the water people. The father hears the child crying under the water and employs two medicine men to bring it back. After preparing themselves properly they go down into the deep water, where they find the child sitting beside the water spirit, who, when they declare their message, tells them that if they had come before the child had eaten anything he might have lived, but now if taken away “he will desire the food which I eat; that being the cause of the trouble, he shall die.” They return and report: “We have seen your child, the wife of the water deity has him. Though we saw him alive, he had eaten part of the food which the water deity eats, therefore the water deity says that if we bring the child back with us out of the water he shall die,” and so it happened. Some time after the parents lose another child in like manner, but this time “she did not eat any of the food of the water deity and therefore they took her home alive.” In each case a white dog is thrown in to satisfy the water spirits for the loss of the child (Contributions to North American Ethnology, VI, p. 357).

77. The Great Leech of Tlanusi′yĭ (p. 329): This legend was heard first from Swimmer and Chief Smith, the latter of whom was born near Murphy; it was confirmed by Wafford (west) and others, being one of the best known myths in the tribe and embodied in the Cherokee name for Murphy. It is apparently founded upon a peculiar appearance, as of something alive or moving, at the bottom of a deep hole in Valley river, just below the old Unicoi turnpike ford, at Murphy, in Cherokee county, North Carolina. It is said that a tinsmith of the town once made a tin bomb which he filled with powder and sank in the stream at this spot with the intention of blowing up the strange object to see what it might be, but the contrivance failed to explode. The hole is caused by a sudden drop or split in the rock bed of the stream, extending across the river. Wafford, who once lived on Nottely river, adds the incident of the two women and says that the Leech had wings and could fly. He asserts also that he found rich lead ore in the hole, but that the swift current prevented working it. About two miles above the mouth of Nottely river a bend of the stream brings it within about the same distance of the Hiwassee at Murphy. This nearest point of approach on Nottely is also known to the Cherokee as Tlanusi′yĭ, “leech place,” and from certain phenomena common to both streams it is a general belief among Indians and whites that they are connected here by a subterranean water way. The legend and the popular belief are thus noted in 1848 by Lanman, who incorrectly makes the leech a turtle:

“The little village of Murphy, whence I date this letter, lies at the junction of the Owassa and Valley rivers, and in point of location is one of the prettiest places in the world. Its Indian name was Klausuna, or the Large Turtle. It was so called, says a Cherokee legend, on account of its being the sunning place of an immense turtle which lived in its vicinity in ancient times. The turtle was particularly famous for its repelling power, having been known not to be at all injured by a stroke of lightning. Nothing on earth had power to annihilate the creature; but, on account of the many attempts made to take its life, when it was known to be a harmless and inoffensive creature, it became disgusted with this world, and burrowed its way into the middle of the earth, where it now lives in peace.

“In connection with this legend, I may here mention what must be considered a remarkable fact in geology. Running directly across the village of Murphy is a belt of marble, composed of the black, grey, pure white and flesh-colored varieties, which belt also crosses the Owassa river. Just above this marble causeway the Owassa, for a space of perhaps two hundred feet, is said to be over one hundred feet deep, and at one point, in fact, a bottom has never been found. All this is simple truth, but I have heard the opinion expressed that there is a subterranean communication between this immense hole in Owassa and the river Notely, which is some two miles distant. The testimony adduced in proof of this theory is, that a certain log was once marked on the Notely, which log was subsequently found floating in the pool of the Deep Hole in the Owassa” (Letters, pp. 63–64).

78. The Nûñnĕ′hĭ and other spirit folk (p. 330): The belief in fairies and kindred spirits, frequently appearing as diminutive beings in human form, is so universal among all races as to render citation of parallels unnecessary. Every Indian tribe has its own spirits of the woods, the cliffs, and the waters, usually benevolent and kindly when not disturbed, but often mischievous, and in rare cases malicious and revengeful. These invisible spirit people are regarded as a sort of supernatural human beings, entirely distinct from ghosts and from the animal and plant spirits, as well as from the godlike beings who rule the sun, the rain, and the thunder. Most of the Nûñnĕ′hĭ stories here given were told by Wafford, who believed them all firmly in spite of his white man’s blood and education. The others, excepting that of the offended spirits (Wahnenauhi MS) and the Fire-carrier (Wafford), were heard from various persons upon the reservation. For other Nûñnĕ′hĭ references see the stories of Tsuwe′năhĭ, Kăna′sta, Yahula, etc.

Nûñnĕ′hĭ—This word (gûñnĕ′hĭ in a dialectic form and nayĕ′hĭ in the singular) may be rendered “dwellers anywhere” or “those who live anywhere,” but is understood to mean “those who live forever,” i. e., Immortals. It is spelled Nanehi by Buttrick and Nuhnayie in the Wahnenauhi manuscript. The singular form, Nayĕ′hĭ, occurs also as a personal name, equivalent to Edâ′hĭ, “One who goes about.”

Some invisible townhouse—The ancient Creek town of Okmulgee, where now is the city of Macon, in Georgia, was destroyed by the Carolina people about the time of the Yamassee war. Sixty years later Adair says of the Creeks: “They strenuously aver that when the necessity forces them to encamp there, they always hear at the dawn of the morning the usual noise of Indians singing their joyful religious notes and dancing, as if going down to the river to purify themselves, and then returning to the old townhouse; with a great deal more to the same effect. Whenever I have been there, however, all hath been silent.... But they say this was ‘because I am an obdurate infidel that way’” (Hist. Am. Indians, p. 36).

Nottely town—Properly Na′dûʻlĭ, was on Nottely river, a short distance above Raper creek in Cherokee county, North Carolina. The old townhouse was upon a large mound on the west side of the river and about five miles below the Georgia line. The town was practically deserted before the removal in 1838 (see glossary).

Hemptown—Properly Gatûñlti′yĭ, “Hemp place,” existed until the Removal, on Hemptown creek, a branch of Toccoa river, a few miles north of the present Morganton, in Fannin county, Georgia.

Noted circular depression—This may have been a circular earthwork of about thirty feet diameter, described as existing in 1890 a short distance east of Soquee post-office near the head of Soquee creek, about ten miles northwest of Clarkesville, Habersham county, Georgia. There are other circular structures of stone on elevated positions within a few miles of Clarkesville (see author’s manuscript notes on Cherokee archeology, in Bureau of American Ethnology archives). The same story about throwing logs and stones into one of these sacred places, only to have them thrown out again by invisible hands, is told by Zeigler and Grosscup, in connection with the Jutaculla old fields (see note under number 81, “Tsulʻkălû′”).

Bewildered—“Crazy persons were supposed to be possessed with the devil or afflicted with the Nanehi” (Buttrick, Antiquities, p. 14). According to Hagar’s informant: “The little people cause men to lose their minds and run away and wander in the forests. They wear very long hair, down to their heels” (MS Stellar Legends of the Cherokee). In Creek belief, according to the Tuggle manuscript, “Fairies or little people live in hollow trees and on rocky cliffs. They often decoy people from their homes and lose them in the woods. When a man’s mind becomes bewildered—not crazy—this is caused by the little people.”

Loaves seemed to shrink—The deceptive and unsatisfactory character of all fairy belongings when the spell is lifted is well known to the European peasantry.

Tsăwa′sĭ and Tsăga′sĭ—These sprites are frequently named in the hunting prayers and other sacred formulas.

Scratching—This is a preliminary rite of the ballplay and other ceremonies, as well as the doctor’s method of hypodermic injection. As performed in connection with the ballplay it is a painful operation, being inflicted upon the naked skin with a seven-toothed comb of turkey bone, the scratches being drawn in parallel lines upon the breast, back, arms and legs, until the sufferer is bleeding from head to foot. In medical practice, in order that the external application may take hold more effectually, the scratching is done with a rattlesnake’s tooth, a brier, a flint, or a piece of glass. See author’s Cherokee Ball Play, in American Anthropologist, April, 1890, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees, in Seventh Annual Report Bureau of Ethnology, 1891. The practice seems to have been general among the southern tribes, and was sometimes used as a punishment for certain delinquents. According to Adair the doctor bled patients by scratching them with the teeth of garfish after the skin had been first well softened by the application of warm water, while any unauthorized person who dared to intrude upon the sacred square during ceremonial performances “would be dry-scratched with snakes’ teeth, fixed in the middle of a split reed or piece of wood, without the privilege of warm water to supple the stiffened skin” (Hist. Am. Indians, pp. 46, 120).

The Fire-carrier—This is probably the gaseous phenomenon known as the will-of-the-wisp, which has been a thing of mystery and fear to others beside Indians.

79. The removed townhouses (p. 335): The first of these stories was told by John Ax. The second was obtained from Salâ′lĭ, “Squirrel,” mentioned elsewhere as a self-taught mechanic of the East Cherokee. Wafford (west) had also heard it, but confused it with that of Tsalʻkălû′ (number 81).

Excepting Gustĭ′, the localities are all in western North Carolina. The large mound of Sĕʻtsĭ is on the south side of Valley river, about three miles below Valleytown, in Cherokee county. Anisgaya′yĭ town is not definitely located by the story teller, but was probably in the same neighborhood. Tsudayeʻlûñ′yĭ, literally “where it is isolated,” or “isolated place,” is a solitary high peak near Cheowa Maximum, a few miles northeast of Robbinsville, in Graham county, on the summit of which there is said to be a large rock somewhat resembling in appearance a circular townhouse with a part wanting from one side. Du′stiyaʻlûñ′yĭ, “Where it was shot,” i. e., “Where it was struck by lightning,” is the territory on Hiwassee river, about the mouth of Shooting creek, above Hayesville, in Clay county (see also glossary).

No one must shout—The same injunction occurs in the legend of Tsulʻkălû′ (number 81). The necessity for strict silence while under the conduct of fairy guides is constantly emphasized in European folklore.

Townhouse in the water below—Breton legend tells of a submerged city which rises out of the sea at long intervals, when it can be seen by those who possess the proper talisman, and we know that in Ireland

“On Lough Neagh’s banks as the fisherman strays,

When the clear cold eve’s declining,

He sees the round towers of other days

In the wave beneath him shining.”

80. The spirit defenders of Nĭkwăsĭ′ (p. 336): This story was obtained from Swimmer. Nĭkwăsĭ′ or Nĭkwʼsĭ′, one of the most ancient settlements of the Cherokee, was on the west bank of Little Tennessee river, where is now the town of Franklin, in Macon county, North Carolina. The mound upon which the townhouse stood, in a field adjoining the river, is probably the largest in western Carolina and has never been explored. The Cherokee believe that it is the abode of the Nûñnĕ′hĭ or Immortals (see number 78) and that a perpetual fire burns within it. The name, which can not be translated, appears as Nucassee in old documents. The British agent held a council here with the Cherokee as early as 1730. Although twice destroyed, the town was rebuilt and continued to be occupied probably until the land was sold in 1819.

Bring the news home—It was a frequent custom in Indian warfare to spare a captive taken in battle in order that he might carry back to his people the news of the defeat. After the disastrous defeat of the French under D’Artaguette by the Chickasaw in upper Mississippi in 1736, D’Artaguette, Lieutenant Vincennes, Father Senac, and fifteen others were burned at the stake by the victors, but “one of the soldiers was spared to carry the news of the triumph of the Chickasaws and the death of these unhappy men to the mortified Bienville” (Pickett, History of Alabama, p. 298, ed. 1896).

81. Tsulʻkălû′, the slant-eyed giant (p. 337): The story of Tsulʻkălû′ is one of the finest and best known of the Cherokee legends. It is mentioned as early as 1823 by Haywood, who spells the name Tuli-cula, and the memory is preserved in the local nomenclature of western Carolina. Hagar also alludes briefly to it in his manuscript Stellar Legends of the Cherokee. The name signifies literally “he has them slanting,” being understood to refer to his eyes, although the word eye (aktă′, plural diktă′) is not a part of it. In the plural form it is also the name of a traditional race of giants in the far west (see number 106, “The Giants from the West”). Tsulʻkălû′ lives in Tsunegûñ′yĭ and is the great lord of the game, and as such is frequently invoked in the hunting formulas. The story was obtained from Swimmer and John Ax, the Swimmer version being the one here followed. For parallels to the incident of the child born from blood see notes to number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu.”

In the John Ax version it is the girl’s father and mother, instead of her mother and brother, who try to bring her back. They are told they must fast seven days to succeed. They fast four days before starting, and then set out and travel two days, when they come to the mouth of the cave and hear the sound of the drum and the dance within. They are able to look over the edge of the rock and see their daughter among the dancers, but can not enter until the seventh day is arrived. Unluckily the man is very hungry by this time, and after watching nearly all night he insists that it is so near daylight of the seventh morning that he may safely take a small bite. His wife begs him to wait until the sun appears, but hunger overcomes him and he takes a bite of food from his pouch. Instantly the cave and the dancers disappear, and the man and his wife find themselves alone on the mountain. John Ax was a very old man at the time of the recital, with memory rapidly failing, and it is evident that his version is only fragmentary.

Haywood notes the story on the authority of Charles Hicks, an educated halfbreed (Nat. and Aborig. Hist. Tenn., p. 280): “They have a fabulous tradition respecting the mounds, which proves that they are beyond the events of their history. The mounds, they say, were caused by the quaking of the earth and great noise with it, a ceremony used for the adoption of their people into the family of Tuli-cula, who was an invisible person and had taken a wife of one of their town’s people. And at the time when his first son was born the quaking of the earth and noise had commenced, but had ceased at the alarm whoop, which had been raised by two imprudent young men of the town, in consequence of which the mounds had been raised by the quaking noise. Whereupon the father took the child and mother and removed to near Brasstown, and had made the tracks in the rocks which are to be seen there.”

From Buttrick we get the following version of the tradition, evidently told for the missionary’s special benefit: “God directed the Indians to ascend a certain mountain—that is, the warriors—and he would there send them assistance. They started and had ascended far up the mountain, when one of the warriors began to talk about women. His companion immediately reproved him, but instantly a voice like thunder issued from the side of the mountain and God spoke and told them to return, as he could not assist them on account of that sin. They put the man to death, yet the Lord never returned to them afterwards” (Antiquities, p. 14). On the next page he tells it in a somewhat different form: “It is said that before coming to this continent, while in their own country, they were in great distress from their enemies, and God told them to march to the top of a certain mountain and He would come down and afford them relief. They ascended far up the mountain and thought they saw something coming down from above, which they supposed was for their aid. But just then one of the warriors,” etc.

Zeigler and Grosscup give another version, which, although dressed up for advertising purposes, makes a fairly good story:

“But there is another legend of the Balsams more significant than any of these. It is the Paradise Gained of Cherokee mythology, and bears some distant resemblance to the Christian doctrine of mediation. The Indians believed that they were originally mortal in spirit as well as body, but above the blue vault of heaven there was, inhabited by a celestial race, a forest into which the highest mountains lifted their dark summits. * * *

“The mediator, by whom eternal life was secured for the Indian mountaineers, was a maiden of their own tribe. Allured by the haunting sound and diamond sparkle of a mountain stream, she wandered far up into a solitary glen, where the azalea, the kalmia, and the rhododendron brilliantly embellished the deep, shaded slopes, and filled the air with their delicate perfume. The crystal stream wound its crooked way between moss-covered rocks over which tall ferns bowed their graceful stems. Enchanted by the scene, she seated herself upon the soft moss, and, overcome by fatigue, was soon asleep. The dream picture of a fairyland was presently broken by the soft touch of a strange hand. The spirit of her dream occupied a place at her side, and, wooing, won her for his bride.

“Her supposed abduction caused great excitement among her people, who made diligent search for her recovery in their own villages. Being unsuccessful, they made war upon the neighboring tribes in the hope of finding the place of her concealment. Grieved because of so much bloodshed and sorrow, she besought the great chief of the eternal hunting grounds to make retribution. She was accordingly appointed to call a council of her people at the forks of the Wayeh (Pigeon) river. She appeared unto the chiefs in a dream, and charged them to meet the spirits of the hunting ground with fear and reverence.

“At the hour appointed the head men of the Cherokees assembled. The high Balsam peaks were shaken by thunder and aglare with lightning. The cloud, as black as midnight, settled over the valley, then lifted, leaving upon a large rock a cluster of strange men, armed and painted as for war. An enraged brother of the abducted maiden swung his tomahawk and raised the war whoop, but a swift thunderbolt dispatched him before the echo had died in the hills. The chiefs, terror-stricken, fled to their towns.

“The bride, grieved by the death of her brother and the failure of the council, prepared to abandon her new home and return to her kindred in the valleys. To reconcile her the promise was granted that all brave warriors and their faithful women should have an eternal home in the happy hunting ground above, after death. The great chief of the forest beyond the clouds became the guardian spirit of the Cherokees. All deaths, either from wounds in battle or disease, were attributed to his desire to make additions to the celestial hunting ground, or, on the other hand, to his wrath, which might cause their unfortunate spirits to be turned over to the disposition of the evil genius of the mountain tops.”—Heart of the Alleghanies, pp. 22–24.

Kănu′ga—An ancient Cherokee town on Pigeon river, in the present Haywood county, North Carolina. It was deserted before the beginning of the historic period, but may have been located about the junction of the two forks of Pigeon river, a few miles east of Waynesville, where there are still a number of mounds and ancient cemeteries extending for some miles down the stream. Being a frontier town, it was probably abandoned early on account of its exposed position. The name, signifying “scratcher,” is applied to a comb, used for scratching the ballplayers, and is connected with kănugû′ʻlă, or nugû′ʻlă, a blackberry bush or brier. There are other mounds on Richland creek, in the neighborhood of Waynesville.

Tsulʻkălû′ Tsunegûñ′yĭ—Abbreviated Tsunegûñ′yĭ; the mountain in which the giant is supposed to have his residence, is Tennessee bald, in North Carolina, where the Haywood, Jackson, and Transylvania county lines come together, on the ridge separating the waters of Pigeon river from those flowing into Tennessee creek and Cany fork of the Tuckasegee, southeastward from Waynesville and Webster. The name seems to mean, “at the white place,” from une′ga, “white,” and may refer to a bald spot of perhaps a hundred acres on the top, locally known among the whites as Jutaculla old fields, from a tradition, said to be derived from the Indians, that it was a clearing made by “Jutaculla” (i. e., Tsulʻkălû′) for a farm. Some distance farther west, on the north side of Cany fork and about ten miles above Webster, in Jackson county, is a rock known as Jutaculla rock, covered with various rude carvings, which, according to the same tradition, are scratches made by the giant in jumping from his farm on the mountain to the creek below. Zeigler and Grosscup refer to the mountain under the name of “Old Field mountain” and mention a tradition among the pioneers that it was regarded by the Indians as the special abode of the Indian Satan!

“On the top of the mountain there is a prairie-like tract, almost level, reached by steep slopes covered with thickets of balsam and rhododendron, which seem to garrison the reputed sacred domain. It was understood among the Indians to be forbidden territory, but a party one day permitted their curiosity to tempt them. They forced a way through the entangled thickets, and with merriment entered the open ground. Aroused from sleep and enraged by their audacious intrusion, the devil, taking the form of an immense snake, assaulted the party and swallowed fifty of them before the thicket could be gained. Among the first whites who settled among the Indians, and traded with them, was a party of hunters who used this superstition to escape punishment for their reprehensible conduct. They reported that they were in league with the great spirit of evil, and to prove that they were, frequented this ‘old field.’ They described his bed, under a large overhanging rock, as a model of neatness. They had frequently thrown into it stones and brushwood during the day, while the master was out, but the place was invariably as clean the next morning ‘as if it had been brushed with a bunch of feathers’” (Heart of the Alleghanies, p. 22).

The footprints can still be seen—Shining rock or Cold mountain, between the Forks of Pigeon river, in Haywood county, North Carolina, is known to the Cherokee as Datsu′nălâsgûñ′yĭ, “where their tracks are this way,” on account of a rock at its base, toward Sonoma and three miles south of the trail, upon which are impressions said to be the footprints made by the giant and his children on their way to Tsunegûñ′yĭ. Within the mountain is also the legendary abode of invisible spirits. Haywood confounds this with Track Rock gap, near Blairsville, Georgia, where are other noted petroglyphs (see number 125, Minor Legends of Georgia).

The rapid growth of the two children is paralleled in many other tribal mythologies. The sequence of growth as indicated by the footprints reminds us of the concluding incident of the Arabian Nights, when Queen Scheherazade stands before the king to make a last request: “And the king answered her, ‘Request, thou shalt receive, O Scheherazade.’ So thereupon she called out to the nurses and the eunuchs and said to them, ‘Bring ye my children.’ Accordingly they brought them to her quickly, and they were three male children; one of them walked, and one crawled, and one was at the breast.”

Must not raise the war whoop—See note under number 79, “The Removed Townhouses.”

82. Kăna′sta, the lost settlement (p. 341): This story, obtained from Swimmer, bears resemblance to those of Tsulʻkălû′, Tsuwe′năhĭ, The Removed Townhouses, and others, in which individuals, or even whole settlements, elect to go with the invisible spirit people in order to escape hardships or coming disaster.

Kăna′sta—Abbreviated from Kănastûñ′yĭ, a name which can not be translated, is described as an ancient Cherokee town on the French Broad where the trail from Tennessee creek of the Tuckasegee comes in, near the present Brevard, in Transylvania county, North Carolina. No mounds are known there, and we find no notice of the town in history, but another of the same name existed on Hiwassee and was destroyed in 1776.

Tsuwaʻtel′da—Abbreviated from Tsuwaʻteldûñ′yĭ, and known to the whites as Pilot knob, is a high mountain in Transylvania county, about eight miles north of Brevard. On account of the peculiar stratified appearance of the rocks, the faces of the cliffs are said frequently to present a peculiar appearance under the sun’s rays, as of shining walls with doors, windows, and shingled roofs.

Datsu′nălâsgûñ′yĭ—Shining rock. See note under number 81, “Tsulʻkălû′.”

Fast seven days—This injunction of a seven days’ fast upon those who would join the spirit people appears in several Cherokee myths, the idea being, as we learn from the priests, to spiritualize the human nature and quicken the spiritual vision by abstinence from earthly food. The doctrine is exemplified in an incident of the legend of Tsuwe′năhĭ, q. v. In a broader application, the same idea is a foundation principle of every ancient religion. In ordinary Cherokee ceremonial the fast is kept for one day—i. e., from midnight to sunset. On occasions of supreme importance it continues four or even seven days. Among the plains tribes those who voluntarily enter the Sun dance to make supplication and sacrifice for their people abstain entirely from food and drink during the four days and nights of the ceremony.

The Thunders—See number 3, “Kana′tĭ and Selu” and notes, and number 8, “The Moon and the Thunders,” with notes.

83. Tsuwe′năhĭ, a legend of Pilot knob (p. 343): This story, from Swimmer, is of the same order as the legends of Tsulʻkălû′, Kăna′sta, etc. The people whom the hunter met inside the enchanted mountain are evidently the same described in the last-named story (number 82), with the guests from the lost settlement.

The name Tsuwe′năhĭ can not be translated, but may possibly have, a connection with uwe′năhĭ, “rich.”

Kanu′ga and Tsuwaʻtel′da—See notes under number 81, “Tsulʻkălû′,” and number 82, “Kana′sta.”

The seat was a turtle—This incident also occurs in number 84, “The Man who Married the Thunder’s Sister.” The species meant is the săligu′gĭ or common water turtle.

Like dogs’ paws—No reason is given for this peculiarity, which is nowhere else mentioned as a characteristic of the mountain spirits.

Old tobacco—Tsâl-agăyûñ′li, “ancient tobacco,” the Nicotiana rustica, sacred among all the eastern tribes. See number 6, “How they Brought back the Tobacco,” and number 126, “Plant Lore.”

Thorns of honey locust—This incident occurs also in number 63, “Ûñtsaiyĭ′, The Gambler.”

84. The man who married the Thunder’s sister (p. 345): This story was heard first from John Ax, and afterward with additions and variants from Swimmer and others. It is also briefly noted in Hagar’s manuscript “Stellar Legends of the Cherokee.”

As explained elsewhere, the Thunder spirits are supposed to have their favorite residence under cataracts, of which Tallulah falls is probably the greatest in the Cherokee country. The connection of Thunder and Rain spirits with snakes and water animals is a matter of universal primitive belief and has already been noted. One Cherokee informant told Hagar (see above) that “Thunder is a horned snake (?), and lightning its tongue, and it lives with water and rains.” It is hardly necessary to state that the dance was, and is, among all the tribes, not only the most frequent form of social amusement, but also an important part of every great religious or other ceremonial function.

Sâkwi′yĭ—Abbreviated Sâkwi′, an ancient town about on the site of the present village of Soquee on the creek of the same name near Clarkesville, in Habersham county, Georgia.

Marry him—Among nearly all the tribes, with the exception of the Pueblo, the marriage ceremony was simple, consisting chiefly of the giving, by the lover, of certain presents to the parents of the intended bride, by way of compensating them for the loss of their daughter, after she herself had first signified her consent to the union. Although this has been represented as a purchase, it was really only a formal ratification of the contract, which the girl was free to accept or reject as she chose. On the other hand, should the presents be insufficient to satisfy the parents, they were refused or returned and the marriage could not take place, however willing the girl might be. The young man usually selected a friend to act as go-between with the girl’s family, and in all tribes—as now in the West—the result seems to have been largely at the disposal of her brother, who continued to exercise some supervision and claim over her even after her marriage.

Lawson’s statement concerning the eastern Carolina tribes in 1700 will hold almost equally good to-day in any part of the West: “As for the Indian marriages, I have read and heard of a great deal of form and ceremony used, which I never saw; nor yet could learn in the time I have been amongst them any otherwise than I shall here give you an account of, which is as follows:

“When any young Indian has a mind for such a girl to his wife, he, or some one for him, goes to the young woman’s parents, if living; if not, to her nearest relations, where they make offers of the match betwixt the couple. The relations reply, they will consider of it; which serves for a sufficient answer, till there be a second meeting about the marriage, which is generally brought into debate before all the relations that are old people, on both sides, and sometimes the king with all his great men give their opinions therein. If it be agreed on and the young woman approve thereof—for these savages never give their children in marriage without their own consent—the man pays so much for his wife, and the handsomer she is the greater price she bears” (History of Carolina, pp. 302–303).

According to Adair, who makes it a little more formal among the Gulf tribes, “When an Indian makes his first address to the young woman he intends to marry, she is obliged by ancient custom to sit by him till he hath done eating and drinking, whether she likes or dislikes him; but afterward she is at her own choice whether to stay or retire” (Hist. Am. Indians, p. 139).

Would surely die—In Cherokee myth and ritual we frequently meet the idea that one who reveals supernatural secrets will die. Sometimes the idea is reversed, as when the discovery of the nefarious doings of a wizard or conjurer causes his death. The latter belief has its parallel in Europe.

Smooth as a pumpkin—This is the rendering of the peculiar tautologic Cherokee expression, i′ya iya′-tăwi′skage—tăwi′skage i′ya-iyu′stĭ, literally, “pumpkin, of pumpkin smoothness—smooth like a pumpkin.” The rendering is in line with the repetition in such children’s stories as that of “The House that Jack Built,” but the translation fails to convey the amusing sound effect of the original.

A large turtle—This incident occurs also in number 83, “Tsuwe′năhĭ.”

A horse—Although the reference to the horse must be considered a more modern interpolation it may easily date back two centuries, or possibly even to De Soto’s expedition in 1540. Among the plains tribes the horse quickly became so essential a part of Indian life that it now enters into their whole social and mythic system.

The bracelets were snakes—The same concept appears also in number 63, “Ûñtsaiyĭ′,” when the hero visits his father, the Thunder god.

85. The haunted whirlpool (p. 347): This legend was related by an East Cherokee known to the whites as Knotty Tom. For a description of the whirlpool rapids known as The Suck, see notes under number 63, “Ûñtsaiyĭ′, the Gambler.”

86. Yahula (p. 347): This fine myth was obtained in the Territory from Wafford, who had it from his uncle, William Scott, a halfbreed who settled upon Yahoola creek shortly after the close of the Revolution. Scott claimed to have heard the bells and the songs, and of the story itself Wafford said, “I’ve heard it so often and so much that I’m inclined to believe it.” It has its explanation in the beliefs connected with the Nûñnĕ′hĭ (see number 78 and notes), in whom Wafford had firm faith.

Yahula—This is a rather frequent Cherokee personal name, but seems to be of Creek origin, having reference to the song used in the “black drink” or “busk” ceremony of that tribe, and the songs which the lost trader used to sing may have been those of that ceremony. See the glossary.

Tinkling of the bells—Among the southern tribes in the old days the approach of a trader’s cavalcade along the trail was always heralded by the jingling of bells hung about the necks of the horses, somewhat in the manner of our own winter sleighing parties. Among the plains tribes the children’s ponies are always equipped with collars of sleigh bells.

In his description of a trader’s pack-train before the Revolution, Bartram says (Travels, p. 439): “Every horse has a bell on, which being stopped, when we start in the morning, with a twist of grass or leaves, soon shakes out, and they are never stopped again during the day. The constant ringing and clattering of the bells, smacking of the whips, whooping and too frequent cursing these miserable quadrupeds, cause an incessant uproar and confusion inexpressibly disagreeable.”