574 MEDICINE-MEN OF THE APACHE. 



East Indies could be traced back to an ophic origin, and it has also 

 been shown that, until the present day, among the peasantry of Europe, 

 there has obtained the practice of making girdles of snake skin which 

 have been employed for the cure of disease and as an assistance in 

 childbirth. The snake itself, while still alive, as has been shown, is 

 applied to the person of the patient, by the medicine-men of the Amer 

 ican Indians. 



In connection with the remarks taken from Eorlong s Eivers of Life 

 on this subject, I should like to call attention to the fact that the long 

 knotted blacksuake whip of the wagoners of Europe and America, 

 which, when not in use, is worn across the body from shoulder to hip, 

 has been identified as related to snake worship. 



There is another view to take of the origin of these sacred cords 

 which it is fair to submit before passing final judgment. The izze-kloth , 

 may have been in early times a cord for tying captives who were taken 

 in war, and as these captives were offered up in sacrifice to the gods of 

 war and others they were looked upon as sacred, and all used in con 

 nection with them would gradually take on a sacred character. The 

 same kind of cords seem to have been used in the chase. This would 

 explain a great deal of the superstition connected with the whole sub 

 ject of &quot;hangman s rope&quot; bringing luck, curing disease, and averting 

 trouble of all sorts, a superstition more widely disseminated and going 

 back to more ancient times than most people would imagine. One of 

 the tribes of New Granada, &quot;quando iban a la Guerra llevaban Cor- 

 deles para atar a los Presos.&quot; 1 This recalls that the Apache themA 

 selves used to throw lariats from ambush upon travelers, and that the 

 Thugs who served the goddess Bhowani, in India, strangled with cords, 

 afterwards with handkerchiefs. The Spaniards in Peru, under Jorge 

 Robledo, going toward the Itio Magdalcna, in 1542, found a large body 

 of savages &quot;que llevaban Cordeles, para atar a los Castellanos, i sus 

 Pedernales, para despedacarlos, i Ollas para cocerlos.&quot; 2 The Austral 

 ians carried to war a cord, called &quot;Nerum,&quot; about 2 feet 6 inches 

 long, made of kangaroo hair, used for strangling an enemy. 3 



The easiest method of taking the hyena &quot;is for the hunter to tie his 

 girdle with seven knots, and to make as many knots in the wbip with 

 which he gui&amp;lt;les his horse.&quot; 4 Maj. W. Cornwallis Harris 5 describes a 

 search made for a lost camel. A man was detailed to search for the 

 animal and provided with the following charm to aid him in his 

 search : &quot; The rope with which the logs of the lost animal had been fet 

 tered was rolled betwixt his (the Eas el Kafilah s) hands, and sundry 

 cabalistic words having been muttered whilst the Devil was dislodged 



1 Herrera, dec. 6, lib. 8, cap. 1, p. 171. 



2 Ibid., dec. 7, lib. 4, cap. 5, p. 70. 



3 Smyth, Aborigines of Victoria, vol. 1, p. 351. See also previous references to the use of such cords 

 by the Australians. 



4 Pliny, Nat. Hist., lib. 28, cap. 27. 



Highlands of Ethiopia, vol. 1, p. 247. 



