SWANTON] THE FATE OF SOULS 255 
would not contract the accursed sickness on account of any evil thing they eat, 
but that the people who ate of the flesh of the swine that fed on such polluting 
food, would certainly become mad.’ ” 
“Tn the year 1766 a madness seized the wild beasts in the remote woods of 
West Florida, and about the same time the domestic dogs were attacked with 
the like distemper; the deer were equally infected. The Indians in their win- 
ter’s hunt, found several lying dead, some in a helpless condition, and others 
fierce and mad. But though they are all fond of increasing their number of 
deerskins, both from emulation and for profit, yet none of them durst venture 
to flay them, lest they should pollute themselves and thereby incur bodily evils. 
The headman of the camp told me he cautioned one of the Hottuk Hakse, who 
had resided a long time at Savannah, from touching such deer, saying to him 
Chehaksimma, “Do not become vicious and mad,” for Isse Hakset Illehtahah, 
‘the deer were mad and are dead’; adding that if he acted the part of 
Hakse he would cause both himself and the rest of the hunting camp to be 
spoiled; nevertheless he shut his ears against his honest speech and brought 
those dangerous deerskins to camp. But the people would not afterward asso- 
ciate with him, and he soon paid dear for being Hakse by a sharp-splintered 
root of a cane running almost through his foot, near the very place where he 
first polluted himself; and he was afraid some worse ill was in wait for him.” * 
Adair is also very insistent regarding the blood taboo, and cites the case of 
a woman who believed “she had Abeeka Ookproo, ‘the accursed sickness,’ be- 
cause she had eaten a great many fowls after the manner of the white people 
with the Jssish Ookproo, ‘accursed blood, in them.’ Afterwards she would 
never eat fowls unless they had been bled to death.” This must also be left 
unverified. While there was probably truth in it, it is doubtful whether it had 
the importance attributed to it by Adair, who is again anxious to make a point 
for his Hebrew theory. The taboo against eating a newly weaned animal is 
probably correct, since one kind of disease was traced to such an animal in 
later times. .. Adair says that the old men not merely refrained from eating 
it but thought “ they would suffer damage even by the bare contact.” ™ 
He also cites instances of Indians refusing to eat with the traders for fear of 
pollution,” but this was less on account of the whites themselves than what 
might be contained in their dishes. Taboos were so numerous with the old-time 
Indians that parallels with the taboos of any other nation could be found 
without a great deal of difficulty. 
An interesting statement was made to me in connection with 
dreams. It was said that only those dreams were prophetic which 
impressed the sleeper so profoundly that he did not forget them or 
did not forget them readily; other dreams were of no consequence. 
THE FATE OF SOULS 
Creek and Chickasaw beliefs regarding a post-mortem state of 
existence seem to have been practically the same, and therefore I 
will again quote from the sections of my Creek report dealing with 
this subject, the authorities there used having been equally familiar 
with the usages of the two peoples. 
™ Adair, Hist. Am. Inds., pp. 131-132. 'Tbid.,, Dp; 136. 
 Tbid., p. 135.  Tbid., pp. 133-134. 
