MooNEY] THK EAOLE 281 



woods), and nlxhni'ia (tuinc). Th(> I'obiii is called ts!s\-inii'</irii, a name 

 which can not 1><> analyzed, while the little sparrow is called fslxkira yd 

 (the real oi- ])riiicii)al l>ird). jieriiaps. in accord with a ])i-iMciple in 

 Indian nonienclatun>. on account of its wide distribution. As in other 

 lant;uages, many of the bird names are onomatopes, as ?/v/ ludm' (the 

 screech owl), u'ffxkn' (the hootini;- owl), vjagult' (the whippooi'will), 

 hdgi'i (the crow), ijCKin'r' (the quail), JniJni (the yellow mocking-hird), 

 M'klllll' (the chickadee), sa'sa' (the o-oose). The turtledove is called 

 guW -diskd niM' (it cries for acorns), on account of the resemblance of 

 its crv to the sound of the word for acorn (c/u/e'). The meadow lark 

 is called ndkt/ys/' (atnv), on account of the appearance of its tail when 

 spread out as it soars. The nuthatch {Sitta caroline)h><lf<) is called 

 tsuJit'nii (deaf), and is supposed to be without hearint^, possil)ly on 

 account of its fearless disregard for man's presence. Certain tliseases 

 are diagnosed by the doctors as due to birds, either revengeful l)ird 

 ghosts, bird feathers about the house, or bird shadows falling u])(in the 

 patient from overhead. 



The eagle (aio&lMi) is the great sacred bird of the Cherokee, as of 

 nearly all our native tribes, and tigures prominently in their ceremo- 

 nial ritual, especially in all things relating to war. The partit'ular 

 species prized was the golden or war eagle {Aquila ch7'y8wtm), called 

 by the Cherokee the "pretty-feathered eagle," on account of its })eau- 

 tiful tail feathei-s, white, tipped with ])lack, which were in such great 

 demand for decorative and ceremonial purposes that among the west ■ 

 ern tribes a single tail was often rated as equal in value to a horse. 

 Among the Cherokee in the old times the killing of an eagle was an event 

 which concerned the whole settlement, and could be undertaken only 

 l)V the professional eagle killer, regularly chosen for the purpos(> on 

 account of his knowledge of the prescribed forms and the prayers to 

 be said afterwards in order to obtain pardon for the necessary sacrilege, 

 and thus ward otf vengeance from the tribe. It is told of one man upon 

 the reservation that having deliberately killed an eagle in defiance of 

 the ordinances he was constantly haunted by dreams of tierce eagles 

 swooping down upon him, until the nightmare was finally exorcised 

 after a long course of priestly treatment. In 1890 there was but one 

 eagle killer remaining among the East Cherokee. It does not appear 

 that the eagle was evei- captured alive as among the plains tril)es. 



The eagle must be killed only in the winter or late fall after the 

 crops were gathered and the snakes had retired to their dens. If killed 

 in the summertime a frost would come to destroy the corn, while the 

 songs of the Eagle dance, when the feathers were brought home, 

 would so anger the snakes that they would become doubly dangerous. 

 Conse((uently the Eagle songs were never sung until after the snakes 

 had gone to sleep for the winter. 



A\'hen the people of a town had decided upon an Eagle dance the 



