XXXVIII BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY 



chief" sources of infovniatiim concerning the tribal develop- 

 ment; l)ut as the work proceeded it was found ilesii'able to 

 verify doubtful and incomplete records by comparison with 

 the tribal traditions, so that it became necessary to incorpo- 

 rate the traditional history of the tribe; and at tlie same time 

 it was found desirable to rectify certain imi)ortant misappre- 

 hensions, and even actual errors, connected with the people 

 and the i>'rowtli of knowdedjjfe concerniii"; them. One of the 

 more imjiortant rectifications relates to the route taken Ijy De 

 Soto in his memorable joiu-uey, and this alone cost much 

 reseai'ch among- rare original publications in Spanish, in addi- 

 tion to involving extended personal acquaintance with the 

 ground. Tlie several verifications and corrections will doubt- 

 less serve to render this sketcli tlie most trustworthy as well 

 as the most convenient outline of Cherokee history extant. 



Although the myths recited in the memoir are those of a 

 single tribe, the method of study is comparative; the Chero- 

 kee tribe is treated as a sophic type, and numerous parallels 

 drawn from the author's personal knowledge as well as from 

 the literature of the aborigines ai-e introduced. One of the 

 ends of research among the natives of the Western Hemisphere 

 is the systemization of knowledge concerning aboriginal 

 beliefs and their attendant ceremonies; and Mr Mooney's 

 memoir forms a step in the progress toward that end. 



Mr Mooney's collection comjirises an extensive series of the 

 myths and traditions of the type tribe, cosmogonic, historical, 

 interpretative, and trivial; for among the Cherokee, as among 

 other primitive peoples, the traditions vary widely in character 

 and purpose. The collections are peculiarly valuable in that 

 they are so complete as to indicate the genesis and develop- 

 ment of the tribal traditions. It would appear that the parent 

 myth usually begins as a trivial story or fable, perhaps carry- 

 ing a moral and thus introducing and fixing some precept for 

 the guidance of conduct. The great majority of these fables 

 drop out of the current lore within the generation in which they 

 are born, but those chancing to touch the local life strongly or 

 happening to glow with local genius survive and are handed 

 down to later generations. The transmitted fables form a part 



