426 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [eth.asn.I9 



a decoction of the .small tu.sIi (Junctis tenuis), which, thcv .say, always 

 recovers its erect position, no matter how often tramj)lcd down. The 

 white seeds of the viper's buo-loss {EcJilani I'liUjdrr) were formerly u.sed 

 in many importsmt ceremonies of which the purpose was to look into 

 the future, but have now been superseded by the ordinarv glass Ijeads 

 of the traders. The culver root {LipUtnd m) is used in love conjura- 

 tions, the omen being taken from the motion of the root when held in 

 the hand. The campion {Siletie steNata), locally known as •'rattle- 

 snake's master." is called ffamdaicu'sli, "it disjoints itself." because the 

 dried stalk is said to break off by joints, beginning at the top. As 

 among the white mountaineers, the juice is held to be a sovereign 

 remedy for stiake bites, and it is even believed that the deadliest snake 

 will flee fi'om one who carries a small portion of the root in his mouth. 



Almost all varieties of burs, from the Spanish needle up to the 

 cocklebur and Jimsonweed. are classed together under the genei'ic 

 name of u'ni.dlMn'istu which may be freely rendered as "stickers."' 

 From their habit of holding fast to whatever oV)ject they may happen 

 to touch, they are believed to have an occult power for improving the 

 memory and inducing stability of character. Very soon after a child 

 is born, one of the smaller species, preferably the Lrspedeza rej)i.n><, is 

 beaten up and a portion is put into a bowl of water taken from a fall 

 or cataract, where the .stream makes a constant noise. This is given to 

 the child to drink on four successive days, with the intention of 

 making him quick to learn and retain in memory anything once heard. 

 The noise of the cataract from which the water is taken is believed to 

 be the voice of Yunwi Gunahi'ta. the "Loug Man," or river god, 

 teaching lessons which the child may understand, while the stream 

 itself is revered for its power to seize and hold anything cast upon its 

 surface. A somewhat similar ceremony is sometimes used for adults, 

 but in this case the matter is altogether moi"e difficult, as there are 

 tabus for four or seven days, and the mind must be kept fixed upon 

 the purpose of the rite throughout the whole period, while if the sub- 

 ject so far forgets himself as to lose his temper in that time lie will 

 remain of a quarrelsome disposition forever after. 



A flowering vine, known as nunlyu'stl^ '"potato-like." which grows 

 in cultivated rields. and has a tuberous root somewhat reseml)ling a 

 potato, is used in hunting conjurations. The bruised root, from which 

 a milky juice oozes, is rubbed upon the deer bleat, <t,wi'-ahye1i'slu with 

 which the hunter imitates the bleating of the fawn, under the idea 

 that the doe. hearing it, will think that her ofl'spring desires to suck, 

 and will therefore come the sooner. The putty-root (Adam-and-Eve, 

 ApJeatruiii hleinale), which is of an oih', mucilaginous nature, is car- 

 ried b}^ the deer hunter, who, on shooting a deer, puts a small piece 

 of the chewed root into the wound, expecting as a necessary result to 

 find the animal unusually fat w-hen skinned. Infants which seem to pine 



