MouNEY] u'TLtrS'TA, THE SPEAB-FINGER 817 



form slu" looked vorv iiiiuli like an old woiiuui. I'xccplino- that iior 

 whole body was covered with a skin as hard as a rock that no weapon 

 could wound or penetrate, and that on her right hand she had a long, 

 stony forefinger of bone, like an awl or spearhead, with which she 

 stabbed everj'one to whom she could get near enough. On account of 

 this fact she was called U'flun'fd, "Spear-tinger," and on account of 

 her stony skin she was sometimes called Nun'yiinii'n^1, ""Stone-dress." 

 There was another stone-clothed monster that kilUnl ])eo])lc. Init that is 

 a difl'erent story. 



Spear-tinger had such powei's over stone that she I'ould easily lift 

 and cany immense rocks, and could cement them together by niereh' 

 striking one against another. To get over the rough country more 

 easily she undertook to l)uild a great rock bridge through the air from 

 Nunyu'-tlu'guii'j'i, the '"Tree rock," on Hiwassee, over to Sanigila'gi 

 (Whiteside mountain), on the Blue ridge, and had it well started from 

 the top of the "Tree rock" when the lightning struck it and scattered 

 the fragments along the whole ridge, where the pieces can still be seen 

 by those who go there. She used to range all over the mountains 

 aljout the heads of the streams and in the dark passes of Nantaiiala, 

 alwa3's hungry and looking for victims. Her favorite haunt on the 

 Temiessee side was about the gaj) on the trail where Chilhowe(> moun- 

 tain comes down to the river. 



Sometimes an old woman would a])pr()ach along the trail where the 

 children were picking sti'awl)erries or playing near the village, and 

 would say to them coaxingly. "Come, my grandchildren, come to your 

 granny and let granny dress your liair." When some little giil ran 

 up and laid her head in the old woman's lap to Ije petted and coml)ed 

 the old witch would gently run her lingers through the child's hair 

 until it went to sleep, when she would stab the little one through the 

 heart or back of the neck with the long awl tinger, which she had kept 

 hidden under her robe. Then she would take out the liver and eat it. 



She would enter a house by taking the appearance of ()ni> of tiie 

 family who happened to have gone out for a short time, and would 

 watcli her chance to stab some one witii her long tinger and take 

 out his liver. She could stab him witliout being noticed, and often tiie 

 \ictim did not even know it himself at the time — for it left no wound 

 and caus(Hl no pain — l)ut went on about his own att'airs, until all at 

 once lie felt weak and began gradually to ])ine away, and was always 

 sui'c to die, l)ecause S|)ear-tinger had taken his liver. 



Wh(Mi the Cherokee went out in the fall, according to their custom, 

 to bui'n the leaves otf from llic mountains in ordei' to get the chestnuts 

 on the ground, they were never safe, for the old witch was always on 

 the lookout, and as soon as she saw the smoke rise she knew there 

 were Indians there and sneaked u[) to try to surprise owq alone. So 

 as well as they could they tried to keep together, and were very 



