64 



S.MITIISOXIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIO-XS VOL. 63 



to medicine and love. This deficiency may be supplied by future 

 gatherings, but for the formulas already translated, it may be con- 

 fi<lentlv affirmed that no important additional light is now procurable. 



\\ hile the formulas constitute the largest body of aboriginal Amer- 

 ican literature extant, the plant collection constitutes probal)ly the 

 largest ethno-l)otanic collection from any one tribe, comprising some 

 700 species with Cherokee names and uses, nearly all of which have 

 been scientifically identified by expert botanists. This collection 

 re])resents the comljined plant knowledge of the ]irincipal doctors in 

 the trilje. 



( )pportunitv was also afforded for si)ecial studies and ol)servations, 

 jjarticularlv of the ceremonial " going to water," and augury with the 

 beads to forecast the health prospect and life-span of each member 

 of the family, before partaking of the first corn of the new crop. 



CERiaVlONIAL DANCES OF THE CREEKS IN OKLAHOMA 

 In Julv and August, Dr. John R. Swanton of the Hureau of I^thnol- 

 oyv A'isited the territorv of the old Creek Nation in ( )klahoma, 



l'"ii;. (ji. — 'I'lic ■' l'"(.'ather " dance, Fish Pond square ground. 

 Pliotiigrapli liv Swantori. 



to attend several of the ceremonial dances or busks about which he 

 had collected much information in previous years. He witnessed 

 four of these ceremonials ; that of the Eufaula Creeks near Eufaula. 

 .Mcintosh County, those of the Hilibi and Fish Pond Creeks near 

 llanna, in Hughes County, and that of the Tukaba'tci near Yeager. 

 Notes were taken on all of them and a numlier of photographs were 

 ol)tained of the first three. Considerable su])i)lementarv information 



