MOONEYl 



THK SHAWANO WARS 373 



and tx'oan to sinjj'. Soon lu> licjird a stealthy stop comintf tlirouiili tho 

 V)usb("s and {gradually ai)])roa(liin<;- the tirt', until sudtlcnly an onoiuy 

 sprang out upon him i'roni t\w darkness and l>oie him to the earth. 

 But the Chcrokfi' was watchful, and puttino- np his hands he seized 

 the other by the arms, and with u niiyhty eti'ort threw him l)ackward 

 into the tire. The dazed Shawano lay there a moment squirming upon 

 the eoals. then l)ounded to his feet and lan into the woods, howling 

 with pain. There was an answering laugh from his comrades hidden 

 in the bush, but although the Cherokee kept wateh for some time the 

 enemy made no further attack, jtroliably led liy the very boldness of 

 the hunter to suspect some ambush. 



On another occasion a small hunting party in the Smoky mountains 

 heard the go1)ble of a turkey (in tcdling the story Swinuner gives a 

 good imitation). Some eager young liunters were for going at once 

 toward the game, but others, more cautious, suspected a ruse and 

 advised a reconnaissance. Accoi'dingly a hunter went around to the 

 back of the ridge, and on coming up from the other side found a 

 man posted in a large tree, making the gobble call to deco}^ the hunters 

 within reach of a Shawano war party concealed behind some bushes 

 midwa}- between the tree and the camp. Keeping close to the ground, 

 the Cherokee crept up without being discpvered until within gunshot, 

 then springing to his feet he shot the man in the tree, and shouting 

 "Kill them all," rushed upon the enemy, who, thinking that a strong- 

 force of Cherokee was upon them, fled down the mountain witliout 

 attempting to make a stand. 



Another tradition of these wars is that concerning Tuna'i, a great 

 warrior and medicine-man of old Itsa'ti, on the Tennessee. In one 

 hard tight with the Shawano, near the town, he overpowered his man 

 and stabbed him through both arms. Running cords through the 

 holes he tied his prisoner's ai'ms and brought him thus into Itsa'ti, 

 where he was put to death ])y the women with such tortures that his 

 courage broke and he begged them to kill him at once. 



After retiring to the upper Ohio the Shawano were received into the 

 protection of the Delawares and their allies, and being thus strength- 

 ened felt encouraged to renew the war against the Cherokee with 

 increased vigor. The latter, however, proved themselves more than a 

 match for their enemies, pursuing them even to their towns in western 

 Pennsylvania, and accidentally killing there some Delawares who occu- 

 pied the country jointly with the Shawano. This involved the Cherokee 

 in a war with the powerful Delawares, which continued until l)rought 

 to an end in 1768 at the I'equest of the Cherokee, who made terms of 

 friendship at the same time with the Iroquois. The Shawano being 

 thus left alone, and being, moreover, roundly condenuu'd by their 

 friends, the Delawares, as the cause of the whol(> tronl)le, had no heart 

 to continue the war and were obliged to make tinal peace.' 



1 Heckewelder, Indian Nations, p. 88, reprint of 1S76. 



