492 MYTHS OF THK CHEKOKEE [kth.ann.19 



KAitsefi'kci, of whirli the i-efrain is: "() earth, ymi remain forever, but we Kditsen'ko 

 must die" (M'e tlie aiithdr'u Calemlar History of the Kiowa Indians, in Seventeenth 

 Annual Report of the Bureau American Etlnioloiry, part 1, 1901). 



97. OitUiiN OF THE YoxToSwis.vs DA.vcE (p. .305): This i.s evidently the one called 

 by ilorgan ( League of Iroquois, p. 290) the Untowesus. He describes both this and 

 the Oaskanea a,s a "shufHe dance" for women only. The spelling of the Seneca 

 names in the story is that given in the manuscript. 



Xol to (ji) after — Morgan, in his Wf>rk (pioted above, asserts that the Iroquois never 

 made any effort to recover those of their people who have been captured by the 

 enemy, choosing to consider them thenceforth as lost to their tribe and kindred. 

 This, if triie, is doubly remarkable, in view of the wholesele adoption of prisoners 

 and subjugated tribes by the Iroquois. 



Blazing pine knots — Torches of seasoned pine knots are much in use among the 

 Cherokee for lighting up the way on journeys along the difficult mountain trails 

 by night. Owing to the accumulation of resin in the knots they burn with a Vjright 

 and enduring flame, far surpassing the cloudy glow of a lantern. 



Willi potators — As is well known, the potato is indigenous to America, and our first 

 knowledge of it came to us from the Indians. Many other native tubers were in 

 use among the tribes, even those which practiced no agriculture, but depended almost 

 entirely upon the chase. Favorites among the Cherokee are the Cynara scolymus or 

 wild artichoke, and the Phaseolus or pig potato, the name of the latter, nuna, being 

 now used to designate the cultivated potato. 



Sky peoj)le — These spirit messengers are mentioned also in the story of Hatcinoiidon 

 (number 94), another Seneca tradition. Every tribe has its own spirit creation. 



Muxt do all thin — Every sacred dance and religious rite, as well as almost every 

 important detail of Indian ceremonial, is supposed to be in accordance with direct 

 instruction from the spirit world as communicated in a vision. 



98. Ga'na's adventures among the Cherokee (p. 367): This story, from Curtin's 

 Seneca manuscript, is particularly rich in Indian allusion. The purificatory rite, 

 the eagle capture, the peace ceremonial, the ballplay, the foot race, and the bat- 

 tle are all described in a way that gives us a vivid picture of the old tribal life. 

 The name of the Seneca hero, Ga'na', signifies, according to Hewitt, "Arrow" (cf. 

 Cherokee {/iml, ' ' arrow " ) , while the name ( if the great eagle, Shada'gea, may, accord- 

 ing to the same authority, be rendered " Cloud-dweller." The Seoqgwageono, living 

 east of the Cherokee and near the ocean, can not be identified. They could not have 

 been the Catawba, who were known to the Iroquois as Toderigh-rono, but they may 

 possibly have been the Congaree, Santee, or Sewee, farther down in South Carolma. 

 In the Seneca form, as here given, ye {ge') is a locative, and ono [onnon) a tribal suffix 

 qualifying the root of the word, the whole name signifying ' ' people of, or at, Seoqgwa" 

 (cf. Oyadageono, etc., i. e., Cherokee, p. 186). 



Oo to wetter — This rite, as practiced among the Cherokee, has been already noted 

 in the chapter on stories and story tellers. Ceremonial purification by water or 

 the sweat bath, accompanied by prayer and fasting, is almost universal among the 

 tribes as a preliminary to every important undertaking. With the Cherokee it pre- 

 cedes the ballplay and the Green-corn dance, and is a part of the ritual for obtaining 

 long life, for winning the affections of a woman, for recovering from a wasting sick- 

 ness, and for calling down prosperity upon the family at each return of the new 

 moon. 



Get the eagle feathers — The Cherokee ritual for ])rocuring eagle feathers for ceremo- 

 nial and decorative purposes has been described in number 3.5, "The Bird Tribes." 

 The Seneca method, as here described, is practically that in use among all the Indians of 

 the plains, although the hunter is not usually satisfied with a single feather at a capture. 

 Among certain western tribes the eagle was scjmetimes strangled before being stripped 



