MOONEY] NOTES AND PARALLELS 461 



all otlier imdertakings, but its great use is iu life divination, and when it is invoked 

 for this purpose hy its owner the future is mirrored in the trans]iar(>nt crystal as a 

 tree is reflected in the quiet stream below. 



When consulting it the conjurer gazes into the crystal, and after some little time 

 sees in its transparent depths a jiicture of the perst)n or event in question. By the 

 action of the specter, or its position near the top or bottom of the crystal, he learns 

 not only the event it.self, but also its nearness in time or place. 



Many of the East Cherokee who enlisted in the ("onfederate service during the late 

 war consulted the Uluiisu'tl before starting, and survivors declarer that tlieir exiieri- 

 ences verified the prediction. One of these had gone with two others to consult the 

 fates. The conjurer, placing the three men facing him, took the talisman upon the 

 end of his outstretched finger and bade them look intently into it. After some 

 moments they saw their own images at the bottom of the crystal. The images grad- 

 ually ascended along the red line. Those of the other two men rose to the middle 

 and then again descended, but the presentment ol the one who tells the story con- 

 tinued to ascend until it reached the top before going down again. The conjurer 

 then said that the other two would die in the second year of the war, but the third 

 would survive through hardships and narrow escapes and live to return home. As 

 the prophecy, so the event. 



When consulted by the friends of a sick man to know if he will recover, the con- 

 jurer shows them the image of the sick man lying at the bottom of the iniinsu'ti. 

 He then tells them to go home and kill some game (or, in these latter days, any f(3od 

 animal) and to prepare a feast. On the appointed day the conjurer, at his own home, 

 looks into the crystal and sees there the picture of the party at dinner. If the image 

 of the sick man rises and joins them at the feast the patient will ret'over; if other- 

 wise, he is doomed. 



51. Ag.vn-uni'tsI's search fok the Uktena (p. 248): This is one of the most 

 important of the Chferokee traditions, for the reason that it deals with the mythic 

 monster, the Uktena, and explains the origin of the great talisman, the T^lunsiVtl. As 

 here given it was obtained fn.)m Swimmer (east) with additions and variants from 

 Wafford (west) and others. It is recorded by Ten Kate as olitained l)y him in the 

 Territory (Legends of the Chcrokees, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, January, 

 1889), and is mentioned in connection with the Ulufisft'tl, by Adair, in 1775, and 

 by Timberlake as early as 1762 (see notes to number 50, "The Uktena and the 

 Ulunsu'tl"). One variant makes the UWnsfl'tl a scale from the seventh ring of the 

 serpent. 



The Shawano, who at one time occupied the Cumberland region of Tennessee 

 immediately adjoining the Cherokee, were regarded as wizards by all the southern 

 tribes. Brinton says: "Among the Algonkins the Shawnee tribe did more than all 

 others combined to introd uc(> and carry al )out religions legends and ceremc in ies. From 

 the earliest times they seem to have had peculiar aptitude for the ecstacies, deceits, 

 and fancies that make up the spiritual life of their associates. Their constantly rov- 

 ing life brought them in contact with the myths of many nations, and it is extremely 

 probable that they first brought the tale of the horned serpent from the Creeks and 

 Cherokees" (Myths of the New World, p. 187). 



LoralitieK — Utiwagun'ta mountain, Wal.'isi'yt gaj), Duniskwa'lgun'yl gap and 

 Ataga'hl (mythic) lake, are all points in the (jreat Smoky range, which forms the 

 dividing line between North Carolina and Tennessee. TIanusi'yl is the native name 

 for the site of Murphy, at the junction of Hiwassee and Valley rivers. North Caro- 

 lina. Gahii'tl is Cohutta mountain in Murray county, Georgia. According to 

 Wafford there are on the sides of this mountain several stone inclosures which were 

 built by Agan-uni'tsI for shelter places before attacking the Uktena (see also Glos- 

 sary ) . 



52. The Keo Max a.nd iiik I'ktexa (p. 300): This story was obtained fmm John 



