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OPONOCHK OPOTHLEYAHOLO 



141 



boro CO., \y. Fla. — Bell in Morse, Rep. to 

 Sec. AVar, ;?00, 18l'2. 



Oponoche. A tribe, probably Yoknts 

 (Maripo^aii) , mentioned as living on 

 Kings r., Cal., in 1858. — Wess^ella (1858) 

 in H. R. Ex. Doc. 70, 34th Cong., 3d 

 sess., 81, 1857. 



Opossian. An unidentified tribe living 

 in the neighborhood of Albemarle sd., 

 N. C, in 158(). 



0possian8.— Hiikhiyt (ICOO), Voy., Hi, 312, repr. 

 1810. Opposians.— Lane (1586) in Smith (1629), 

 Va., I, 87, roprlSl'X 



Opossum (Renape of Virginia dpas^iim, 

 'wliite beast', cognate with Chippewa 

 wdbihim, applied specitically to a white 

 dog). A North American marsupial, 

 DiddpJiys virginiatKt, about the size of the 

 domestic cat, with grayish-white hair, 

 with face pure white near the snout, and 

 with black ears. When captured or 

 slightly wounded, it has the habit of 

 feigning death, and by this artifice often 

 escapes from the inexperienced hunter. 

 The name, which was first mentioned in 

 a brief account of A'irginia published in 

 1610, has, with various adjuni'ts, since 

 been extended to species of the genera 

 Sarcophilus, Tlujlac'mus, Bdident^, Micour- 

 eus, Cliiro)U'€tes, and Acrobates. The name 

 enters intoseveral compounds, as: "Opos- 

 sum mouse," Acrobates ]>y(jm;nis, a pygmy 

 species of opossum of New South AVales; 

 " opossum rug," a commercial name for 

 the skin of an Australian species of J'lta- 

 langer; "opossum shrew," an insectivor- 

 ous mammal of the genus Soledon; ' ' opos- 

 sum shrimp," a crustacean, the female of 

 which carries its eggs in pouches between 

 its legs. "Possum," the common aphre- 

 retic form of the name, is often used as 

 an epithet with tlie meaning of "false," 

 "deceptive," "imitative," as in the name 

 "possum haw" {]'iburnuni nudum), the 

 berries of which counterfeit the edible 

 fruit of the black haw ( I', prunifol'mni), 

 but differ therefrom in being very insipid; 

 and "possum oak" {Qnercus aquatica), 

 from the deceptive character of its leaves, 

 which vary in shape and size and often 

 imitate those of <J. iinbrimr'm, and thus 

 lead to a confusion between the two spe- 

 cies. Used as a verb, the word means ' ' to 

 pretend," "feign," "dissemble," this 

 sense, as well as that of the attributive, 

 being derived from the animal's habit of 

 throwing itself upon its back and feign- 

 ing death on the approach of an enemy; 

 and hence the expression "playing pos- 

 sum" or "possuming." The opossum of 

 English-speaking people of the West In- 

 dies and South America is DidelpJnis opoi^- 

 sum. (w. K. (i.) 



Oposura. A former Opata pueblo and 

 seat of a Spanish mission founded in 1644; 

 situated on the w. bank of Rio Soyopa, 

 N. central Sonora, Mexico. Pop. 334 in 

 1678, 300 in 1730. The town, now known 



as Moeteznma, once suffered greatly from 

 Apache raids. 



Opasura. — Hiuidolier, (iildoil Mim, 179, 1893. 

 Oposura. — Croix (17t!91 in Uov. Hi.st. Mi'X., 4tlis., 

 II, '.Ti, ISfMi. San Miguel de Oposura. — Ziipiitu ( 1678 ), 

 ibi(i., Ill, ;((;2, 18.">7. 



Opothleyaholo (properly Huj)ueheith 

 Yaholo; from kupucwa 'child,' In' hie 

 'good', ifoholo, ' w hooper,' 'halloer,' 

 an initiation title. —G. W. (.Trayson). .\ 

 Creek orator. He wa^ speaker of tlie 

 councils of tlie Upper Creek towns, and 

 as their representative met tlie (lov- 

 ernment coninii.ssioners in Feb., 1825, 

 at Indian Springs, (Ja., where they 

 came to transact in due form the ces- 

 sion of Creek lands already arranged 

 with venal Lower Creek ciiiefs. Opoth- 

 leyaholo informed tiieni tliat these cliiefs 

 had no authority to cede lands, wiiich 

 could be done only by the consent of tlu' 

 whole nation in council, and JMaclntosh lie 

 warned oniinously of tlie doom he \\<iuld 

 invite by signing the tn-aty. Opothleya- 

 holo headed tlu' Creek (ieputation that 

 went to AN'ashington to proti'st against 

 the A'alidity of the treaty. Jkivving to 

 the inevitable, he put his name to the 

 new treaty of cession, signed at Wash- 

 ington Jan. 24, 1826, but afterward 

 stood out for the technical riglit of the 

 Creeks to retain a strip that was not 

 included in the description because it was 

 not then known to lie within the limits 

 of Oeorgia. After the death of the old 

 chiefs he became the leader of the nation, 

 though not head-chief in name. When 

 in 183t) some of the Creek towns made 

 prei)aration to join the insurgt-nt Semi- 

 nole, he jnarclied out at the head of his 

 Tukabatchi warriors, cajitured sonic of 

 the young men of a neighlioring village 

 who hail donned war paint to start tlie 

 revolt, and delivered them to the United 

 States military to expiate the crimes they 

 had committed on travelers and settlers. 

 After holding a council of warriors he led 

 1,500 of them again.st the rebellious 

 towns, receiving a commission as colonel, 

 and when the regular troops with their 

 Indian auxiliaries apjieared at llatche- 

 chubbee the hostiles surrendered. The 

 UnitedStates authorities then took advan- 

 tage of the assemblage of the C'reek war- 

 riors to en force the emigration of thetrilie. 

 Opothleyaholo was reluctant to take his 

 people to Arkansas to live with the Lower 

 Creeks after the bitter contentions that 

 had taken place. He bargained for a 

 tract in Texason which they could settle, 

 ])ut the ]\Iexican g<jvernnient was unwill- 

 ing to admit them. .After the renuival 

 to Arkansas tlu; old feud was forgotten, 

 and Opothleyaholo became an important 

 counselor and guide of the reunited tribe. 

 When Cen. Albert Pike, at the beginning 

 of the Civil war, visited tjie Creeks in a 

 great council near the present town of 



