>|"<'NKV) LIZARDS AXI) KISHES 307 



very hiruf lizsiid. nearly as laryc as a water iloi;-. witli the tlii'oat and 

 corners df the mouth red. as thoueh t'rcini drinking blood. It is 

 believed to !»> not a true lizard but a transformed u(/i'/usf,'/i tish 

 (desiTil)ed below) on aecount of the similarity of t'oloring and the faet 

 that tile tish di.sappears about the time the giga-tsuha''li begins to 

 eome out. It is ferocious and a iiard biter, and pursues other lizards. 

 In dry weather it cries or makes a noise liki> a cicada, raising its(>lf 

 up as it cries. It has a habit of approacliing near to where some per- 

 .son is sitting or standing, then lialting and looking tixedlv at liini. and 

 constantly pulling out its throat until its head assumes a l)right red 

 color. It is thought then to be sucking the blood of its victim, and is 

 dreaded and shunned accordingly. The small scorpion lizard {fudm-'ri!) 

 is .sometimes called also (ji(jd-(.hinf'(/i't<kh "blood taker." It is a striped 

 lizard which frequents sandy beaches and r(\seinble the diva'hali. but is 

 of a brown color. It is believed al.so to be sucking blood in some mys- 

 terious way whenever it nods its head, and if its heart be eaten by a 

 dog that animal will be able to extract all the nutrient properties from 

 food by simply looking at tho.se who are eating. 



The small spring lizard ((hitci'''(/it). which lives in springs, is supposed 

 to cause rain whenever it crawls out of the spring. It is frecpiently 

 invoked in the fornuilas. Another spring ( '.) lizard, red. with black 

 spots, is called <la<j<tn' tu' or <nuyauti'i<M "the rain maker," because its 

 ci'3' is said to bring rain. The water dog (tsu'wd'. mud puppy. Meno- 

 jifliiKi or I'roftitiops/x) is a very large lizard, or rather .salamander, 

 frequenting muddy water. It is rarely eaten, from an unexplained 

 belief that if one who has eaten its meat goes into the Held immediately 

 afterward the crop will lie ruined. There are names for one or two 

 other varieties of lizard as well as for the alligator {ti-ulu'tski), but no 

 folklore in coimection with them. 



Although the Cherokee country abounds in swift-flowing streams 

 well stocked with tish, of which the Indians make free use, there is but 

 little fish lore. A number of '• dream" diseases, really due to indiges- 

 tion, are ascribed to revengeful fish ghosts, and the doctor usually 

 tries to efl'ect the cure b}- invoking some larger tish or tish-eatiug bird 

 to drive out the ghost. 



Toco creek, in ^lonroe county. Tennessee, derives its name from a 

 mythic monster tish, the Dakwa', considered the father of all the tish 

 tribe, which is said to have lived formerly in Little Tennessee river at 

 that point (.see story, "The Hunter and the Dakwa'"). A tish called 

 itgCirintc'lt, '"having horns," which appears only in spring, is believed to 

 be transformed later into the giga-tsuha'li lizard, already mentioned. 

 The fish is described as having horns or projections upon its nose and 

 beautiful red spots upon its head, and as being attended or accompanied 

 by many smaller red lish. all of which, including the ugunste'li. are 

 accustomed to pile up small stones in the water. As the season 



