280 BIRDS IN LEGEND 



white, and its head is spotted. It flies swiftly over the 

 water, and when it sees a fish it dives down into the 

 water to catch it. This bird is a servant or a messenger 

 for the Nahurac." The Nahurac are an assemblage of 

 imaginary animals by whom many wonderful things are 

 done ; and it communicates to living men their wishes or 

 orders, and acts as a guide when men are summoned to 

 come or go somewhere. But this is perilously near the 

 purely mythical, and it is mentioned only as an example 

 of the widespread conception of birds as messengers 

 and interpreters. 



I hope I may be pardoned if I add to this group of 

 Indian bird-stories one or two told in the Negro cabins 

 of North Carolina, and probably elsewhere, and written 

 down in Volume XI of the American Folk-Lore 

 Journal-, among many other tales of the out-door crea- 

 tures to which the rural darkies like to attribute human 

 attributes, and to use as puppets in their little comedies 

 of animal life, which are likely to be keen satires on 

 humanity. The one to be quoted is a parable of how 

 Ann Nancy (a spider) got caught in a tight place by 

 Mr. Turkey Buzzard, and how she escaped, for Mr. 

 Buzzard was going to eat her. 



"But," says the narrator, "she beg so hard, and com- 

 pliment his fine presence, and compare how he sail in 

 the clouds while she 'bliged to crawl in the dirt, till he 

 that proud ful and set up he feel mighty pardonin' spirit, 

 and he let her go." 



Ann Nancy, however, did not enjoy the incident, and 

 "jess study constant how she gwine get the best of 

 every creeter, ,, and particularly of the tormenting bird. 



"She knew Mr. Buzzard's weak point am he stomach, 

 and one day she make it out dat she make a dining, 



