•420 MYTHS OF THK CHEROKEE [eth. a.n.n. 19 



125. PLANT LORE 



The Chei'okeo havK always Iweii an auricultural people, and their old 

 counti\y iw a region of luxuriant flora, with tall trees and tangled under- 

 growth on the slopes and ridges, and niyiiad hright-tint(>d blossoms 

 and sweet wild fruits along the running streams. The veget'ible king- 

 dom consequently holds a far more important place in the mythology 

 and ceremonial of the tribe than it does among the Indians of the 

 treeless plains and arid sage deserts of the West, most of the beliefs 

 and customs in this connection centering around the practice of medi- 

 cine, as expounded by the priests and doctors in every settlement. In 

 general it is held that the plant world is friendly to the human species, 

 and constantly at the willing sei'vice of the doctors to counteract the 

 jealous hostility of the animals. The sacred formulas contain many 

 curious instructions for the gathering and preparation of the medicinal 

 roots and barks, which are selected chiefly in accordance with the 

 theory of coi'respondences. 



The Indians are close observers, and some of their plant names are 

 peculiarly apt. Thus the mistletoe, which never grows alone, but is 

 found always with its roots flxed in the bark of some supporting tree 

 or shrub from which it draws its sustenance, is called by a name which 

 signifies '* it is married" {ud(i''ji). The violet is still called by a plural 

 name, dinda's^'irafe'sM, "they pull each other's heads ofl'," showing that 

 the Cherokee children have discovered a game not unknown among 

 our own. The bear-grass {Eryngium), with its long, slender leaves like 

 diminutive blades of corn, is called mh'kicd'i/i, ■"greensnake," and the 

 larger grass known as Job's tears, on account of its glossy, rounded 

 grains, which the Indian children use for necklaces, is called .sel-ittsi', 

 ''the mother of corn." The black-eyed Susan {Rudhcckia) of our chil- 

 dren is the "deer-eye" {airV-alid') of the Chei'okee, and our \iiA.Y- 

 aVippev {Cypripedkwi) is their " partridge moccasin" {gugvie'-ula-m'Ja). 

 The May-apple {Podoplojllian), with its um))rella-shaped top. is called 

 u'nifikweti/gf,, meaning " it wears a hat," while the white puft'ball fungus 

 is ndho'Ul'-mdi'. "the little star," and the common rock lichen bears 

 the Muisical, if rather unpoetic, name of utxdJc'ta. "pot scrapings." 

 Some plants are named from their real or supposed place in the animal 

 economy, as the wild rose, tslst-im.i'glstt, "the rabbits eat it" — refer- 

 ring to the seed ))erries — and the shield fern {Aiipid'iuiii), ydn-ufxe'stu^ 

 "the bear lies on it." Others, again, are named from their domestic or 

 ceremonial uses, as the flealiane {Er'igermi canadense), called atsiV -sun ti^ 

 "fire maker." because its dried stalk was anciently employed in pro- 

 ducing Are by friction, and the bugle weed {LycopuK I'/'rgi/i/.cu.sj, known 

 as an/'.vjani'skl, "talkers," because the chewed root, given to children to 

 swallow, or nibbed ujion their lips, is supposed to endow them with 

 the gift of eloquence. Some few, in addition to the ordinary term in 

 use among the common people, have a sacred or symbolic name, used 



