Tooker] ETHNOGRAPHY OF THE HURON 121 



a man found a stone of a peculiar shape, as one resembling a disli, 

 spoon or small earthen vessel, in a tree or in the ground, he kept 

 the stone as a charm ; he believed that it belonged to some spirit who 

 dwelt in the woods and who had lost it there (JE, 33 : 211).^^ These 

 charms might alter their shape and appearance; the stone or snake 

 found in the entrails of a deer might change into a bean, a grain of 

 corn, a raven's beak, or an eagle's talon ( JR 33 : 211-213) . 



Charms made the owner lucky in hunting, fishing, trading, and 

 gambling (JR 15: 79; 17: 209; 20: 217; 23: 185; 26: 267; 33: 213- 

 215 ; and see p. 114, "Games") . Some had power for all these things, 

 some were limited to a particular thing (JR 33: 213), and some were 

 more powerful than others (JR 17: 211). The owner had to be ad- 

 vised, in a dream, of a charm's proper use ( JR 33 : 213) . Some people 

 had many charms (JR 17: 211). One man had three: one each for 

 success in hunting, fishing, and trading (JR 23: 91)- Some charms 

 could bring success in love (JR 26: 267). Some charms were in- 

 herited from relatives (JR 10:193; 15:79; 17: 211). ^^ 



One man attributed his fishing success to the ashes of a certain little 

 bird (ohguioTie) which he said penetrated the trunks of trees without 

 resistance. T\^en he went fishing, he mixed these ashes with a little 

 water and rubbed this on his nets to insure an abundant catch ( JR 

 10: 193). 



Another used a charm when he went to trade. He would open the 

 pouch where the charm was, request of it a wampum collar of so many 

 beads or a robe of so many beaver skins and put some beads and a 

 piece of beaver in the pouch. Then he would make a feast in honor 

 of the charm. Having done all this, he would get what he wished 

 in his trading. Such charms were powerful : this man's wife trem- 

 bled whenever he brought it out in order to speak to it (JR 17: 209). 



The owner of a charm commonly would give it a feast from time 

 to time in order to make it more propitious to him. At other times, 

 he would invoke it in his songs and would ask his friends to join him 

 and help him in his prayers (JR 15: 181; 33: 213). If the charm 

 had lost its power, it might be restored by giving a feast (JR 17: 

 209) ." 



"WItthoft and Hadlock (1946: 420) mention a Cayuga medicine bundle from Six Na- 

 tions that contained a tiny sling and several sling stones which had belonged to the Little 

 People (Pygmies), a species of tiny beings who live In the woods and rocky places and who 

 hunt with slings. The skill of these people was probably thought to be transferred to the 

 owner of the charm. Some Iroquois charms are found after a tree has been struck by 

 lightning (Jackson 1830 b: 33 ; Converse 1908 : 40 n.). 



^Finley (1840: 64) mentions that Wyandot girls could purchase love charms from an 

 old woman. Shimony (1961 a: 285-288) suggests that the hunting charms, now that 

 hunting is no longer practiced by the Iroquois, have become charms to aid in witchcraft. 

 These charms are inherited. 



" Wyandot hunters similarly feasted the contents of their medicine bundles (Flnley 

 1840: 53). De Cost Smith (1889 b: 283) In describing an Iroquois hunting fetish (a bone 

 from a large snake) mentions that the owner gave it a feast, and the erstwhile bunting 

 fetishes are also given feasts now among the Iroquois (Shimony 1961 a: 285-288; Speck 

 1949: 113-114). 



