274 TRIBES AND DIALECTS OF CONNECTICUT |eth ann. 43 



When you pull a child's tooth, keep it. If thrown out an animal 

 might get it and the child would have large, crooked teeth. (^Vlso 

 Virginia Powhatan.) 



If you wish to fdl your basket with berries pick a few and throw 

 them over your right shoulder for luck before putting any in your 

 basket. 



If a fire sputters and cracks when you attempt to add more fuel it 

 is a sign that someone thinlcs ill of you. If you spit m it, that per- 

 son's thoughts will cease to be unkind.^ 



A whistling sound in the fire is a sign of news. 



Spit over a wall or fence before climbing over, for luck. 



When children are heard to sing at their meals their parents silence 

 them, through the belief that the father or mother will die. 



Dreams 



Among the Mohegan there is a belief that dreams are messages 

 from their ancestors who are in the spirit world. These spiritual 

 advisers appear in dreams to guide and instruct the dreamer. Some- 

 times they bear messages of hope and encouragement and on other 

 occasions warn one of impending danger or death. If a person has 

 the same dream three nights in succession the dream will come true. 

 To prevent its recurrence the dreamer must turn the soles of his 

 shoes upward before retiring at night. Never tell dreams which 

 denote ill luck before breakfast. 



Several informants said that they had recurrent dreams and one 

 young woman told the following dream which occurs before or during 

 illness of a relative: 



"On Fort Hdl, near the ruins of the ancient council seat of Uncas, 

 a blazing fire is seen. A huge pot is suspended over the flame. An 

 Indian, tall and straight, wrapped in a bright-colored blanket and 

 wearing a war bonnet, is stirring the contents of the pot with a long- 

 handled wooden paddle. If the boiling substance rises to the top 

 and flows over the sides the person who is ill dies. If it does not 

 overflow and ceases to boil the person will recover."* 



Another informant told a recurrent dream in which a black mon- 

 ster with terrible claws and wide spreading wings appears. This is 

 a sign that death will claim one of the tribe within a short time. 



Nearly everyone in this group believes that to dream of black 

 animals or objects is an evil omen. To dream of negroes is a sign 

 of trouble and disappointment in the future. 



During the past summer a Mohegan woman had a dream in which 

 the spirit of her mother came and told her to tell the people to con- 



3 The Nanticoke spit three times in a new fire to drive away witches. 



* The life token of this nature is current in Wabanaki folk-lore and has interesting possibilities as a topic 

 for comparative study in Europe and Asia. 



