462 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [kth.ann.19 



Ax. Swiiiniit'f hail lit-anl il alsn, l)iit reiiiembereil i>nly a i)art nf it. Kor more in 

 regard to tlu- T'ktena ami the falisiiiaii dcriwil from it, >^cc' inimluM';' ."id ami ."'1, with 

 note^i. 



Asr/a'iia >ii'i/a(/i''l — The " Kcd Man," or liirhtnin^; spirit, who i.« Ireijui-ntly invoked 

 in the sacred formulas. 



Strucl: hii liijhtniny — As has been explained elsewhere, the wood of a tn-e that 

 has been strnek by lightning plays an imjKirtant part in Cherokee folklore. 



Strong and liungeroun — It is a conimon article of Indian belief that the presence of 

 a powerful talisman, no matter how beneficent in itself, is enervating or jjositively 

 dangerous to those in its vicinity unless they be fortified by some ceremonial tonic. 

 For this reason every great "medicine" is usually kept apart in a hut or tipi built 

 for the purpose, very much as we are accustomed to store explosives at some distance 

 from the dwelling or business house. 



53. The Huniku and thk Uksu'hI (p. 301): This story was told by Swimmer and 

 John Ax as an actual fact. The uksu'hi is the mountain blacksnake or black racer 

 (Coluber olmiletun). The name seems to refer to some peculiarity of the eye, aktCi 

 (of. uktena). Hickory -log, properly Wane'asuii'tluiiyi, "Hickory footlog," was a 

 Cherokee settlement on Hiwassee river, near the present Hayesville, Clay county. 

 North Carolina. Another of the same name w'as on Etowah river in Georgia. 



Perspiration — The Indian belief may or may not have foundation in fact. 



54. The TJstij'tlI (p. 302): This story was told by Swinnner and John Ax (east) 

 and by Wafford (west), and is a common tradition througliout the tribe. The name 

 ustu'tli refers to the sole of the foot, and was given to the serpent on account of its 

 peculiar feet or "suckers." The .same name is given to the common hoop-snake of 

 the south (Abagtor erythroyrarninus) , about which such wonderful tales are told- by 

 the white mountaineers. Cohutta (Gahu'tl) mountain, in Murray county, Georgia, 

 was also the traditional haunt of the Uktena (see number 51, "Agan-Uni'tsi's search 

 for the Uktena," and compare also number 55, "The Uw'tsian'ta.") 



55. The Uw'tsuS'ta (p. 303): This story was ol)tained from James Blythe. NCiii- 

 daye''li, whence Nantahala, was on the river of that name below the present Jarrett's 

 station. 



56. The Snake Boy (p. 304); This myth was told by Sw'immer. 



As'i — The Cherokee :VsI, or "hot-house," as it was called by the old traders, is the 

 eijuivalent of the sweai-house of the western tribes. It is a small hut of logs plas- 

 tered over with clay, with a shed roof, and just tall enough to permit a sitting or 

 reclining, liut not a standing, position inside. It is used for sweat-bath purjioses, and 

 as it is tight and warm, and a fire is u.sually kept smoldering within, it is a favorite 

 sleeping place for the old people in cold weather. It is now nearly obsolete. 



57. Thh Snake Man (p. 304): This myth, obtained from Chief Smith, seems 

 designed to impress upon the laity the importance of a strict observance of the innu- 

 merable gaktun'ta, or tabus, which beset the daily life of the Cherokee, whether in 

 health or sickness, hunting, war, or arts of peace (see the author's "Sacred Formulas 

 of the Cherokees," in the Seventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology). 



Similar translormation myths are found all over the world. ( )ne of the most ancient 

 is the story of Cadmus, in Ovid's " Metamorphoses, ' with the despair of the wife as 

 she sees the snaky change come over her husband. "Cadmus, what means this? 

 Where are thy feet? Where are both thy shoulders and thy hands? Whei'e is thy 

 color? and, while I speak, where all else besides?" 



In a Pawnee story given liy Grinneil two brothers, traveling, camp for the night. 

 The elder eats some tabued food, and wakes from his sleep to find that heischang- 

 ing into a great rattlesnake, the change beginning at his feet. He rou.ses his lirother 

 and gives him his last instructions: 



" When I have changed into a snake, take me in your arms and car ry me over to 



