No^^T?^' ^^^' "^^^ WAHNENATJHI MANUSCRIPT — KILPATRICK 193 



The men provided meat, and when game was plentiful, there was 

 no lack of such food. 



Boys were taught when very young, to shoot with bow and arrows, 

 to hunt and to fish. Wrestling, foot-racing, ball-playing and corn- 

 stalk-shooting [*°] were continually practiced, not only as a pastime, 

 but as a necessary exercise. 



Before starting on an expedition, or, engaging in a contest of 

 any kind, they were obliged to take medicine, scratch and bathe, the 

 scratching was done with a small instrument having six points, some 

 said the points were rattle-snake teeth, but the one I saw was made 

 of a half dozen pins [*^] fastened together with two pieces of wood or 

 bone. 



This practice was strictly observed by ball-players when preparing 

 for a "big play"— it was thought to make them brave and strong, 

 and, before the Annual Festival of the Green Corn Dance, which 

 lasted seven days, all must be scratched, none might partake of the 

 feast unless he had performed this operation; After this Festival, 

 green corn and all other vegetables were freely eaten. 



At the Stomp Dances, [*^] terrapin shells enclosing pebbles, were 

 worn, fastened to the ankles, by the dancing women. 



When the English came to America they were peaceably received 

 by the Cherokees, who presented them with food in token of their good 

 will. 1730 [*^] is the earliest recorded date of a Treaty being made by 

 the Cherokees with the English; in 1755 [**] they ceded territory to 

 the British Colonists, and permitted them to build forts. Prior to 

 any treaty, a band of Cherokees utterly rejecting proposals of Peace, 

 used all their powers of eloquence to prevent the Tribe from making 

 a treaty. 



They said that the Foreigners would get possession of a little now, 

 then a little more and would not be satisfied until they had taken all 

 the land, and there would be nothing left for the Indians. 



Finding their efforts were unsuccessful, they determined to abandon 

 the Tribe, going far away into the Wilderness, crossing the "Ummie 

 Aquah," p] and on to the "Cuh-too-sa Aqua," [^^ they would find a 

 Country for themselves, where the "Yuh-wi-na-kah" could not follow: 

 Possessed by this one wild idea — to retreat from the neighborhood of 



■"' A Study of these sports is much needed. 



" A ceremonial scratcher customarily has seven teeth, not six (see Mooney and Olbrechts, 1932, pp. 68-69). 



" The Green Corn Festival and the stomp dances, as performed in Oklahoma, also stand in need of investi- 

 gation. 



*3 This was the Treaty of Nequassee, negotiated by Sir Alexander Cuming (Mooney, 1900, p. 35). 



" This was the Treaty of Saluda, negotiated by Gov. James Glen of South Carolina (Corkran, 1962, pp. 

 59-61). 



*' Ame:gwa ('Big Water'), contraction of ama e:gwa: 'the Mississippi River.' 



« Oadu:se:gwa ('Big Mountain[sJ'), contraction of gadu:si e:gwa: 'the Rocky Mountains.' 



