336 MYTHS OF THE CHKROKEE [eth. ann.19 



The people of another town, on Hiwas.see, at the place which we call 

 now Du'stiya luii'yi. where Shootiny creek conies in. also ))rayc(l and 

 fasted, and at the end of seven days the Nufine'hi came and took them 

 away down undei- the water. They are there now. and on a wai'm sum- 

 mer day. when the wiTid ripples the surface, those who listen well can 

 hear them talking- helow. When the Cherokee drag th(> river for tish the 

 fish-dray always stops and catches there, although the water is deep, 

 and tile people know it is being held by their lost kinsmen, who do not 

 want to be forgotten. 



When the Cherokee were forcibly removed to the West one of the 

 greatest regrets of those along Hiwassee and Valley" rivers was that 

 they were compelled to leave l)ehind forever their relatives who had 

 gone to the Nufine'hi. 



In Tennessee river, near Kingston, 18 miles below Loudon. Ten- 

 nessee, is a place which the Cherokee call Gusti'. where there once 

 was a settlement long ago, l)ut one night while the people were gath- 

 ered in the townhouse for a dance the bank ca^'ed in and carried them 

 all down into the river. Boatmen passing the spot in their canoes see 

 the round dome of the townhouse — now turned to stone — in the water 

 below them and sometimes hear the sound of the drum and dance 

 coming up. and they never fail to throw food into the water in return 

 for being allowed to cross in safety. 



80. THE SPIRIT DEFENDERS OF NIKWASi' 



Long ago a powerful unknown tril)e invaded the country from the 

 southeast, killing people and destroying settlements wherever they 

 went. No leader could stand against them, and in a little while they 

 had wasted all the lower settlements and advanced into the mountains. 

 The warriors of the old town of Nikwasi', on the head of Little 

 Tennessee, gathered their wives and children into the townhouse and 

 kept scouts constantly on the lookout for the presence of danger. 

 One morning just before daybreak the spies saw the enemy approach- 

 ing and at once gave the alarm. The Nikwasi' men seized their arms 

 and rushed out to meet the attack, but after a long, hard tight they 

 found themselves overpowered and began to retreat, when suddenly a 

 stranger stood among them and shouted to the chief to call off his men 

 and he himself would drive back the enemy. From the dress and 

 language of the stranger the Nikwasi' people thought him a chii'f 

 who had come with reinforcements from the Overhill settlements in 

 Tennessee. They fell back along the trail, and as they came near the 

 townhouse they saw a great company of warriors coming out from the 

 side of the mound as through an open door\vay. Then they knew that 

 their friends were the Nunne'hi, the Lmuortals, although no one had 

 ever heard Ijefore that they lived under Nikwasi' mound. 



The Nunne'hi poured out by hundreds, armed and j)aiuted for the 



