No.^TTr* "^-^^ WAHNENAUHI MANUSCRIPT — KILPATRICK 187 



saw it; if it appeared to several persons a National Calamity was 

 apprehended. [^^] 



A buzzard feather placed over the door prevented the witches from 

 entering their cabins. [^*] 



The Cherokees had many Traditions. Some are interesting, some 

 appear simply foolish, but hold some hidden meaning; others sound 

 strangely familiar, and are so like the Bible stories tliat Christian 

 mothers tell their little children, as to make one say, "Where, or, how 

 did they obtain them? Such is the one about the Boy who was 

 swallowed by a fish. 



The Cherokee Story is, that the boy was sent on an errand by his 

 father, and not wishing to go, he ran away to the river. After playing 

 in the sand for a short tune, some boys of his acquaintance came by in 

 a canoe, who invited Imn to join them. Glad of the opportunity to 

 get away, he went with them, but had no sooner got in than the canoe 

 began to tip and rock most unaccountably, the boys became very 

 much frightened, and in the confusion the bad boy fell into the water 

 and was unmediately swallowed by a large fish. After lying there for 

 some time he became very hungry, and on looking around he saw the 

 fish's liver hanging over his head. Thinking it was dried meat, he 

 tried to cut off a piece with a mussle shell that he had been playing 

 with and which he still held in his hand the operation sickened the 

 fish and it vomited the boy.p] 



The story of how the world was made is this, — Observe that in 

 telling of the Creation, the plural nmnber "They" is used for the 

 Creator. 



It is said. They took a turtle and covered its back with mud. This 

 grew larger and continued to increase until it became quite a large 

 island. 



They then made a man and a woman, and led them around the 

 edge of the island. On arriving at the starting place, They planted 

 some corn and then told the man and the woman to go around in the 

 way they had been led, this they did; returning, they found the corn 

 up and growing nicely. 



They were then told to continue the circuit; each trip consumed 

 more time, at last the corn was ripe and ready for use. Then fire 

 was wanted. 



'3 This "Ground snake" is undoubtedly the mytliical soa-dragon, tiie Vgh(a)dlie;n{i) (the spelling of tliis 

 word in manuscripts Is variable). (Cf. Moonoy, 1900, pp. 458-401.) 



2< I liave found no evidence to support tiiis statement, parapiirased by Mooney (1900, p. 284), nor that 

 of Mooney and Olbrechts (1932, p. 76) to the effect that buzzard feathers arc hung over doorways for the 

 purpose of warding off disease. In Oklahoma a buzzard feather is placed above a front door to serve as an 

 agh{a)dhi:di:sgi ('watcher of it [the house], it'), and this is a representative chann that accompanies tlie plac- 

 ing of the feather: A^hni gv7iv:dhodhe:sdl hno:gwo nihi niga:i go:hu:sdi tsugv:wahl(o)di sgihwa:dhve:hi ge:se:sdi 

 (T am going to leave you on watch here. Now you will be the finder for mo of all valuable things') [AtsL- 

 3yviinayesd^:yi dialect]. 



*> This myth is quoted In Mooney (1900, p. 321). 



