﻿MOONEY.] 
  

  

  THE 
  GAHUNI 
  MANUSCRIPT. 
  313 
  

  

  fall 
  into 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  Swimmer, 
  who, 
  he 
  was 
  determined, 
  should 
  

   never 
  see 
  his 
  father's 
  papers. 
  Thus 
  the 
  negotiations 
  came 
  to 
  an 
  end 
  

   for 
  the 
  time. 
  

  

  ( 
  hi 
  returning 
  to 
  the 
  reservation 
  in 
  July, 
  1888, 
  another 
  effort 
  was 
  

   made 
  to 
  get 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  Gatigwanasti 
  manuscripts 
  and 
  any 
  

   others 
  of 
  the 
  same 
  kind 
  which 
  could 
  be 
  procured. 
  By 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  

   Indians 
  had 
  had 
  several 
  months 
  to 
  talk 
  over 
  tin- 
  matter, 
  and 
  the 
  

   idea 
  had 
  gradually 
  dawned 
  upon 
  them 
  that 
  instead 
  of 
  taking 
  their 
  

   knowledge 
  away 
  from 
  them 
  and 
  locking 
  it 
  up 
  in 
  a 
  box, 
  the 
  inten- 
  

   tion 
  was 
  to 
  preserve 
  it 
  to 
  the 
  world 
  and 
  pay 
  them 
  for 
  it 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time. 
  In 
  addition 
  the 
  writer 
  took 
  every 
  opportunity 
  to 
  impress 
  

   upon 
  them 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  acquainted 
  witli 
  the 
  secret 
  knowl- 
  

   edge 
  of 
  other 
  tribes 
  and 
  perhaps 
  could 
  give 
  them 
  as 
  much 
  as 
  they 
  

   gave. 
  It 
  was 
  now 
  much 
  easier 
  to 
  approach 
  them, 
  and 
  on 
  again 
  vis- 
  

   iting 
  Wilnoti. 
  in 
  company 
  with 
  the 
  interpreter, 
  who 
  explained 
  the 
  

   matter 
  fully 
  to 
  him, 
  he 
  finally 
  consented 
  to 
  lend 
  the 
  papers 
  for 
  a 
  

   time, 
  with 
  the 
  same 
  condition 
  that 
  neither 
  Swimmer 
  nor 
  anyone 
  

   else 
  but 
  the 
  chief 
  and 
  interpreter 
  should 
  see 
  them, 
  but 
  he 
  still 
  re- 
  

   fused 
  to 
  sell 
  them. 
  However, 
  this 
  allowed 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  papers, 
  and 
  

   after 
  repeated 
  efforts 
  during 
  a 
  period 
  of 
  several 
  weeks, 
  the 
  matter 
  

   ended 
  in 
  the 
  purchase 
  of 
  the 
  papers 
  outright, 
  with 
  unreserved 
  per- 
  

   mission 
  to 
  show 
  them 
  for 
  copying 
  or 
  explanation 
  to 
  anybody 
  who 
  

   might 
  be 
  selected. 
  Wilnoti 
  was 
  not 
  of 
  a 
  mercenary 
  disposition, 
  and 
  

   after 
  the 
  first 
  negotiations 
  the 
  chief 
  difficulty 
  was 
  to 
  overcome 
  his 
  

   objection 
  to 
  parting 
  with 
  his 
  father's 
  handwriting, 
  but 
  it 
  was 
  an 
  

   essential 
  point 
  to 
  get 
  the 
  originals, 
  and 
  he 
  was 
  allowed 
  to 
  copy 
  

   some 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  important 
  formulas, 
  as 
  he 
  found 
  it 
  utterly 
  out 
  of 
  

   the 
  question 
  to 
  copy 
  the 
  whole. 
  

  

  These 
  papers 
  of 
  Gatigwanasti 
  are 
  the 
  most 
  valuable 
  of 
  the 
  whole, 
  

   and 
  amount 
  to 
  fully 
  one-half 
  the 
  entire 
  collection, 
  about 
  fifty 
  pages 
  

   consisting 
  of 
  love 
  charms. 
  The 
  formulas 
  are 
  beautifully 
  written 
  in 
  

   bold 
  Cherokee 
  characters, 
  and 
  the 
  directions 
  and 
  headings 
  are 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  explicit, 
  bearing 
  out 
  the 
  universal 
  testimony 
  that 
  he 
  was 
  a 
  

   man 
  of 
  unusual 
  intelligence 
  and 
  ability, 
  characteristics 
  inherited 
  by 
  

   his 
  son, 
  who, 
  although 
  a 
  young 
  man 
  and 
  speaking 
  no 
  English, 
  is 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  progressive 
  and 
  thoroughly 
  reliable 
  men 
  of 
  the 
  

   band. 
  

  

  THE 
  GAHUNI 
  MANUSCRIPT. 
  

  

  The 
  next 
  book 
  procured 
  was 
  obtained 
  from 
  a 
  woman 
  named 
  

   Ayasta, 
  "The 
  Spoiler," 
  and 
  had 
  been 
  written 
  by 
  her 
  husband, 
  Ga- 
  

   lium, 
  who 
  died 
  about 
  30 
  years 
  ago. 
  The 
  matter 
  was 
  not 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   arrange, 
  as 
  she 
  had 
  already 
  been 
  employed 
  on 
  several 
  occasions, 
  so 
  

   that 
  she 
  understood 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  the 
  work, 
  besides 
  which 
  her 
  son 
  

   had 
  been 
  regularly 
  engaged 
  to 
  copy 
  and 
  classify 
  the 
  manuscripts 
  

   already 
  procured. 
  The 
  hook 
  was 
  claimed 
  as 
  common 
  property 
  by 
  

  

  