284 M\THS OF TUK CHEROKEE [etfi. a.n.s-.19 



varieties of owls are recognized, eaoii under a different name, viz: 

 tsklh! ^ the dusliy horned owl {Jiuho rirginianus saturatm); u'gtiku', 

 the barred or hooting owl {Syrniuiii nehidosum), and vxi'huliu' , the 

 screech owl {Mega«c(>px aitlo). The first of these names signifies a witch, 

 the others being onomatopes. Owls and other night-crying birds are 

 believed to be embodied ghosts or disguised witches, and their cry is 

 dreaded as a sound of evil omen. If the eyes of a child be bathed 

 with water in which one of the long wing or tail feathers of an owl 

 has been soaked, the child will be al)le to keep awake all night. The 

 feather must be found l)y chance, and not procured intentionally for 

 the purpose. On the other hand, an application of water in which 

 the feather of a h\uQ jay, procured in the same way, has been soaked 

 will make the child an early riser. 



The buzzard (sidi') is said to have had a part in shaping the earth, 

 as was narrated in the genesis myth. It is reputed to be a doctor 

 among birds, and is respected accordingly, although its feathers are 

 never worn by ball players, for fear of becoming bald. Its own bald- 

 ness is accounted for by a vulgar story. As it thrives upon carrion 

 and decay, it is held to be imnuine from sickness, especially of a con- 

 tagious character, and a small quantity of its flesh eaten, or of the 

 soup used as a wash, is believed to be a sure preventive of smallpox, 

 and was used for this purpose during the smallpox epidemic among 

 the East Cherokee in 1866. According to the Wahnenauhi manu- 

 script, it is said also that a buzzard feather placed over the cabin door 

 will keep out witches. In treating gunshot wounds, the medicine is 

 blown into the wound through a tube cut from a buzzard quill and 

 some of the buzzard's down is afterwards laid over the spot. 



There is very little concerning hawks, excepting as regards the 

 great mythic hawk, the Tla'nmvd'. The tld'imwd' usdi\ or '"little 

 tla'nuwa," is described as a bird about as large as a turkey and of a 

 grayish blue color, which used to follow the flocks of wild pigeons, fly- 

 ing overhead and darting down occasionally upon a victim, which it 

 struck and killed with its sharp l)reast and ate upon the wing, witliout 

 alighting. It is prol)ably the goshawk {Asftir afrit'apil/ii,s). 



The common swamp gallinule, locally known as mudhen or didapper 

 ( G((ll inula (jali'iitd)^ is called diga! gmwnl' (lame or crippled), on account 

 of its habit of flj'ing only for a very short distance at a time. In the 

 Diga'gwani dance the performers sing the name of the bird and 

 endeavor to imitate its halting movements. The dagCdl'u. or white- 

 fronted goose {AnrSer alhifronii), appears in connection with the myth 

 of the origin of tobacco. The feathers of the iskwdi/i, the great white 

 heron or American egret [Ilerodias egretta)^ ai'e worn l)y liall jjlayers, 

 and this bird probal)ly the "swan" whose white wing was used as a 

 peace emblem in ancient times. 



A rare bird said to have been seen occasionally upon the reservation 



