260 MYTHS OF THK CHKROKEE 1etii.ann.19 



13. THE GREAT YELLOW-JACKET: ORIGIN OF FISH AND FROGS 



A long time ago the people of the old town of Kanu'ga la'yi ("' Brier 

 place," or Bi-ii^-town), on Nantahala river, in the pre^^ent Macon 

 countj\ North Carolina, were much anno^^ed b}' a great insect called 

 U'la'gu', as large as a house, whic-h used to come from some secret 

 hiding place, and darting swiftly through the air. would snap up cliil- 

 dren from tlieir play and carry them away. It was unlike any other 

 insect ever known, and the people tried many times to track it to its 

 home, but it was too swift to ])e followed. 



They killed a squirrel and tied a white string to it, so tiiat its course 

 could be followed with the eye, as bee hunters follow the flight of a 

 bee to its tree. The U'la gu' came and carried off the squirrel with 

 the string hanging to it, but darted away so swiftly through the air 

 that it was out of sight in a moment. They killed a turkey and put a 

 longer white string to it. and the U'la'gu' came and took t\w turkey, 

 but was gone again before they could see in what direction it flew. 

 They took a deer ham and tied a white string to it, and again the 

 U'la'gu' swoop(>d down and l)ore it off so swiftly that it could not l)e 

 followed. At last they killed a yearling deer and tied a very long 

 white string to it. The U'la'gii' came again and seized the deer, but 

 this time the load was so heavy that it had to fly slowly and so low 

 down that the string could be plainly seen. 



The hunters got together for tlie pursuit. They followed it ak)ng 

 a ridge to the east until they came near where Franklin now is. when, 

 on looking across the valley to the other side, they saw the nest of 

 the U'la'gu' in a large cave in the rocks. On this they raised a great 

 shout and made their way rapidly down tlie mountain and across to the 

 cave. The nest had the entrance Ijelow with tiers of cells built up one 

 above another to the roof of the cave. The great U'la'gu' was there, 

 with thousands of smaller ones, that we now call yellow-jackets. The 

 hunters built tires around the liole. so that the smoke flUed the cave 

 and smothered the great insect and multitudes of the smaller ones, 

 but others which were outside the cave were not kil](>d, and these 

 escaped and inci'eased until now the yellow-jackets, which before 

 were unknown, are all over the world. The people called the cave 

 Tsgagufi'yl. " Where the yellow-jack(>t was." and the place from which 

 they flrst saw the nest the}' called Atalii'ta, " Where they shouted," and 

 these are their names today. 



They say also that all tlie fish and frogs came from a great monster 

 fish and frog which did nuich damage until at last they were killed 

 by the people, who cut them up into little pieces wiiich were tlirown 

 into the water and afterward took shape as the smaller fishes and 

 frogs. 



