42'2 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [eth.axnM9 



the .soutlifi'ii mountains ahvay.s .seeks its shelter. From its stringy 

 bark are twisted the hunting belts worn about the waist. Sourwood 

 {Oxydt-ndniiii) is used })y the hunters for l)arbeeue sticks to roast meat 

 before the tire, on account of the a(nd flavor of the wood, which they 

 believe to be thus couununicated to the meat. Spoons and combs are 

 also-carved from the wood, but it is never burned, from an idea that 

 lye made from the ashes will bring sickness to those who use it in pre- 

 paring their food. It is said also that if one should sleep beside a tire 

 containing sourwood sticks the sourwood "will barbecue him." which 

 may possibh' mean that he will have hot or feverish pains thereafter. 



The laurel, in its two varieties, large and small (li/iododeiidron and 

 Ktdiitia, or "iv}'"), is much used for spoons and combs, on accountof 

 its close grain, as also in medicine, but is never burned, as it is believed 

 that this would bring on cold weather, and would furthermore destroy 

 the medicinal virtues of the whole species. The reason given is that 

 the leaves, when Vnirning, make a hissing sound suggestive of winter 

 winds and falling snow. When the doctor is making up a compound 

 in which any part of the laurel is an ingredient, great precautions are 

 taken to prevent anj' of the leaves or twigs being swept into the tire, 

 as this Avould render the decoction worthless. Sassafras is tabued as 

 fuel among the Cherokee, as also among their white neighbors, per- 

 haps for the practical reason that it is apt to pop out of the fire when 

 heated and might thus set the house on fire. 



Pounded walnut bark is thrown into small streams to stupefy the fish, 

 so that they" may be easily dipped out in baskets as they float on the 

 surface of the water. Should a pregnant woman wade into the stream 

 at the time, its eti'ect is nullified, unless she has first taken the precau- 

 tion to tie a strip of the bark about her toe. A tire of post-oak and 

 the wood of the tdun'lclU oi' summer grape ( Vifis (esti-valis) is Ijelieved 

 to bring a spell of warm weather even in the coldest winter season. 



Mysterious properties attach to the wood of a tree which has been 

 struck by lightning, especially when the tree itself still lives, and such 

 wood enters largely into the secret compounds of the conjurers. An 

 ordinary person of the laity will not touch it, for fear of having cracks 

 come upon his hands and feet, nor is it burned for fuel, foi- fear that lye 

 made from the ashes will cause consumption. In preparing ballplayers 

 for the contest, the medicine-man sometimes burns splinters of it to 

 coal, which he gives to the players to paint themselves with in order 

 that they may be able to strike their opponents with all the force of a 

 thunderbolt. Bark or wood from a tree struck by lightning, but still 

 green, is beaten up and put into th(^ water in which seeds are soaked 

 before planting, to insure a good crop, l)ut, on the other hand, any 

 lightning-struck wood thrown into the field will cause the crop to 

 wither, and it is believed to have a ))ad efl'ect even to go into th(> tield 

 immediatelv after having been near such a tree. 



