296 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [kth.ann.I'i 



18 a common trick of Iiuliiui medicine men. Outsiders desirinji' to 

 acquire this secret knowledge are discouraged by being told that it is a 

 dangerous thing to learn, for the reason that the new initiate is almost 

 certain to be bitten, in order that the snakes raa_y "try" him to know 

 if he has correctly l(>ained the foi-nuxla. When a rattlesnake is killed 

 the head must be cut ort' and tiuried an arm's length deep in the ground 

 and the body carefully hidden awaj' in a hollow log. If it is left ex- 

 posed to the weather, the angry snakes will send such torrents of rain 

 that all the streams will overflow their banks. Moreover, they will tell 

 their friends, the deer, and the ginseng in the mountains, so that these 

 will hide themselves and the hunters will .seek tliein in vain. 



The tooth of a rattlesnake whii'h has been killed by the priest with 

 the proper ceremonies while the snake was lying .stretched out from 

 east to west is u.sed to scarifj' patients preliminary to applying the 

 medicine in certain ailments. Before using it the doctor holds it 

 between the thuml) and finger of his right hand and addres.ses it in a 

 prayer, at the end of which the tooth "})ecomes alive," when it is ready 

 for the operation. The explanation is that the ten.se, nervous gi-asp of 

 the doctor causes his hand to twitch and the tooth to move slightly 

 betM'een his fingers. The rattles are worn on the head, and sometimes 

 a portion of the flesh is eaten by ball players to make them more terri- 

 ble to their opponents, but it is said to have the bad effect of making 

 them cross to their wives. From the lower half of the body, thought 

 to be the fattest portion, the oil is extracted and is in as great repute 

 among the Indians for rheumatism and .sore joints as among the white 

 mountaineers. The doctor who pi'epares the oil must also eat the 

 flesh of the snake. In certain .seasons of epidemic a roa.sted (barbe- 

 cued) rattlesnake was kept hanging up in the house, and every morn- 

 ing the father of the family ))it otf a small piece and chewed it, mixing 

 it then with water, which he spit upon the bodies of the others to pre- 

 serve them from the contagion. It was said to be a sui'e curejbut apt 

 to make the patients hot tempered-. 



The copperhead, ?«f(/*(/r-'AvM7<, "brown-head," although feared on 

 account of its poisonous bite, is hated, instead of being regarded with 

 veneration, as is the rattlesnake. It is believed to be a descendant of 

 a great mj'thic serpent (sec number 5) and is .said to have "' eyes of 

 tire," on account of their intense brightness. The black.snake is called 

 (/uh-'gu "the climber." Biting its body is said to be a preventive of 

 toothache, and there is also a belief, perhaps derived from the whites, 

 that if the body of one be hung upon a tree it will bring rain within 

 three (four ^) days. The small greensnake is called ■■^illikim'i/l, the same 

 name being also applied to a certain plant, the Eryngiam ciiyinianum, 

 or bear grass, whose long, slender leaves bear some resemblance to a 

 greensnake. As with the blacksnake, it is believed that toothache 

 may be prevented and sound teeth insured as long as life lasts by 



