60 [S3] TRANS. ST. LOUIS ACAD. SCIENCE. 



Iroquois myth made public by Mrs. E. A. Smith in American 

 Antiquarian, iv. 36. 



The Eagle, lamhi — in Hitchiti, hadshitulami — is here placed 

 in juxtaposition to the thunder-bird. He is regarded as a mighty 

 bird (great king) and as a bird of peace, for his white feathers 

 outnumber the red ones. Of the southern species of eagles de- 

 scribed by W. Bartram (p. 8), the bald eagle* is meant here, not 

 the grey eagle. The symbolic meaning of the eagle's feathers 

 among Southern Indians is made plain by a passage in the speech 

 delivered by Tomochichi, when presented to King George II. 

 in 1734: 



These are the feathers of the eagle, which is the swiftest of birds, and 

 who flieth all round our nations. These feathers are a sign of peace in our 

 land, and have been carried from town to town there; and we have 

 brought them over to leave with you, O great king! as a sign of everlast- 

 ing peace. 



And on another occasion he said to Gov. Oglethorpe : 



The eagle signifies speed, and the bufl'alo strength; that the feathers 



of the eagle were soft and signified love, etc.f 



But the eagle is, more especially, a bird of peace, because its 

 feathers are white; and the legend further states. 



If an enemy approaches with white feathers and a white mouth, J and 



cries like an eagle, they dare not kill him The Palachucolas gave them 



(the Cussitaws) white feathers and asked to have a chief in common. 



To dream of eagles is of good foreboding among most North- 

 ern Indians. The Kalapuyas of Oregon believe that dreaming of 

 eagles will make them rich, or, what amounts to the same thing, 

 make chiefs of them. Tail- and wing-feathers of that bird sell at 

 fair prices. The eagle also occurs in Creek names : Lamhi tchati 

 or Red Eagle was the name of William Weatherford, the leader 

 in the war of 1813-1S14. 



IsTi-PAPA, or "man-eater," may be used to designate any large 

 carnivorous animal, as the alligator, tiger, or lion ; or monsters 

 which are creations of the imagination. The mythic animal 

 referred to in the legend is generally rendered lion by the 

 modern Creeks, who have other stories about him, and the par- 



* Haliaijtus leucocephalus. f Ch. C. Jones, Tomochithi, p. 6\. 



X Spittle flowing from the mouth. 



