424 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE tETH.ANN.19 



for the bloodjr death of Schi, a.s the women of Byhlos were wont to 

 weep for Adonis. 



Next to corn, the bean {ti(ya) is the most important food plant of the 

 Cherokee and other southern Indians, with whom it is probablj- native, 

 but there does not appear to be much special ceremony or folklore 

 in connection with it. Beans which crack open in cooking are some- 

 times rubbed bj- mothers on the lips of their children in order to 

 make them look smiling and good-tempered. The association of ideas 

 seems to be the same as that which in Ireland causes a fat mealy 

 potato, which cracks open in boiling, to be called a "laughing" potato. 

 Melons and squashes must not be counted or examined too closely, 

 while still growing upon the vine, or they will cease to thrive; 

 neither must one step over the vine, or it will wither before the fruit 

 ripens. One who has eaten a May-apple must not come near the vines 

 under any circumstances, as this plant withers and dries up verv 

 quickl V, and its presence would make the melons wither in the same way. 



Tobacco was used as a sacred incense or as the guarantee of a solemn 

 oath in nearly every important function — in binding the warrior to 

 take up the hatchet against the enemy, in ratifying the treat}^ of peace, 

 in confirming sales or other engagements, in seeking omens for the 

 hunter, in driving away witches or evil spirits, and in regular medical 

 practice. It was either smoked in the pipe or sprinkled upon the fire, 

 never rolled into cigarettes, as among the tribes of the Southwest, 

 neither was it ever smoked for the mere pleasure of the sensation. Of 

 late years white neighbors have taught the Indians to chew it, but 

 the habit is not aboriginal. It is called tmlCi, a name which has lost 

 its meaning in the Cherokee language, but is explained from the 

 cognate Tuscarora, in which charhil', "tobacco," can still be analyzed 

 as "tire to hold in the mouth," showing that the use is as old as 

 the knowledge of the plant. The tobacco originally- in use among 

 the Cherokee, Ii'oquois, and other eastern tribes was not the common 

 tobacco of commerce {jVicotlana tabacum), which has been introduced 

 from the West Indies, but the Nicotiana rustica, or wild toltacco, now 

 distinguished by the Cherokee as tsnl-agayfm'U, " old tobacco," and by 

 the Iroquois as "real tobacco." Its various uses in ritual and medi- 

 cine are better described under other headings. For the myth of 

 its loss and recovery see number G, "How They Brought Back the 

 Tobacco." The cardinal flower {Lohdia), mullein ( Ve7'hascum), and one 

 or two related species are called tsaliyidM, "like tobacco." on account 

 of their general resemblance to it in appearance, but thev were never 

 used in the same waj'. 



The poisonous wild parsnip {Peucedmmm ?) bears an unpleasant lep- 

 utation on account of its frequent use in evil spells, especially those 

 intended to destroy the life of the victim. In one of these conjura- 

 tions seven pieces of the root are laid upon one hand and rubbed gently 



