SWANTONl INDIAN THIMKS OF THK LOWER MISSISSI PPF VALLKY 177 



less Initli lliMii f.-ililc. Tlu-y snid lluil ii ^'r(>;it rnin fell on Hh- cirlli so ;i1mim- 

 (lanlly niid dnriii;: sncli ;i loiiy time that it was coiiiiilctcly covered exeepl a 

 very liif,'li iiiountaiii where sniiie men saved themselves; that ail fire helii;; extin- 

 guished on the earth a little liird named ('0/V//-0/V//, whic-h is entirely red (it is 

 that which is called in Louisiana tlie cardinal l»ird), hron^ht It from lieaven. 

 I understood by that tliat thi'y had for^rolleii almost all tlie history of tlie 

 tlehi^e, etc." 



Ill order to hriiio- aljoiit certain results or nc'('oiii])lish certain imder- 

 takin^s the Natchez often fasted. Such a fast has been referred to 

 ah'eady as undertaken by the great Sun to brin<»: on rain, and further 

 information is given by Du Pratz: 



* * * I believe I have said that tliese people think in .general that besides 

 the (Jreat Spirit and tlie evil spirit tliere are little si)irits which f^overn the air 

 and the seasons. When they think they have need of rain or of heat to ripen 

 the grains they address themselves to an old man, or a uiaii well advanced 

 in years, who has always appeared to them to live wisely, and they pray him 

 to invoke tlie aerial spirits in order to obtain what they want. This man, who 

 never refuses his countrymen, sets himself to fast for uiue successive days.^ 



This old man who fasts makes his wife withdraw, and during twenty-four 

 hours she sees him only after sunset in order to bring him a dish of coarse meal 

 cooked in water without salt. He eats only at this time and this single dish 

 and drinks nothing but water. As soon as he has taken this refreshment his 

 wife carries away the dish and retires and he does not see her until the next 

 day at the same hour. This is all I am able to tell of their fasts, which ap- 

 peared to me Aery rigorous and as a recompense for which they wonld never 

 accept anything. To excuse themselves they say that the siiirits would be 

 angry." 



The existence of various " superstitions " is also recognized by 

 Dumont. and these were said to vary according to the nations and 

 countries, but the only case he cites is among the Quapaw."* 



" It has been noticed,'" says Dmnont — 



That the Natchez, for example, had fast days in which they daubed the face 

 black and ate only after the sun had set ; besides, it was tirst necessary that 

 their faces be washed. If during these fast days they entered some French 

 house where bread was given tlieui, although they were very fond of it, they 

 refused it, and it was not possible to get them to eat it.'' 



Fasts, it is to be noted, were not undertaken by a sj^ecial class of 

 diviners or shamans, but by ordinary individuals. A set of men cor- 

 responding to the shamans or medicine men of other American tribes 

 was recognized, as noted in the section on medicine, and though Du 

 Pratz declares that their functions were confined to doctoring the 

 sick it .seems unlikel}'^ that the supernatural features of their office, 

 elsewhere so prominent, should have been entirely wanting, and, in 



" Dumont, M^m. Hist, sur La Louisiane, i, 16.^-104. 



'' In a footnote this writer saj's : ' It miisl Up rcinonibcrcd tliat the Natchez are here 

 I)rincii)ally r(>ferred to." 



"■ Du Tratz, Hist, de La Louisiane, lu, l.';-14. 



<* Dumont, Mem. Hist, sur La Louisiane, i, 166—168. 



" Ibid., 1.58. 



83220— Bull. 43—10 12 



