24 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



The Cherokee pretend that the Thunder is the friend of all Indians, 

 and that he never kills one; not one case can be cited, they say, of a 

 Cherokee having been "struck by the Thunder," whereas white people 

 have frequently been killed on the reservation, and scores of trees are 

 struck every year. 



The Thunder's role is that of a disease expeller rather than that of 

 a disease causer. He and his two sons are the enemies of the Black 

 Man and of anything and anybody having his abode in the "Black 

 Land," in the "Evening Land," in the "Dark Land," or in the West. 



The only case, it seems, where the Thunder gets angry is when we 

 do not observe the taboo relating to him, and which prohibits refer- 

 ring to him as "Red" in the everyday language. The epithet "Red" 

 should only be bestowed on him in the ceremonial language, whereas 

 in everyday speech he is to be referred to as "White." 



The Two Little Red Men (the Cherokee never explicitly call 

 them "Thunder Boys") always rove about together; they are reputed 

 to be about 60 centimeters high and to wear a cap, half red, half 

 purple, surmoimted by a peak, the whole looking "like a German 

 military helmet," which some of the Cherokee have seen or have 

 heard described, s^we'^ai and tsa^'ni (John), both now dead, 

 claim to have seen the Thunder Boys; they looked exactly as they 

 had always heard them described; which does not surprise us. 



According to Og., the Two Little Red Men are to be identified 

 with the two sons of k^ana'^ti (cf. Mooney, Myths, p. 242); k^oma'ti 

 himself being no one else than the Thunder in person. 



Purple Man, Blue Man, Black Man, etc. — There is not much defi- 

 nite infoi-mation to be gathered about these spirits, neither from the 

 texts themselves nor from oral information. 



Possibly they owe their existence merely to the desire to oppose 

 to the Red Man corresponding men of the different colors, to con- 

 form to the color symbolism. 



The Black Man, living in the West, seems in many cases to be 

 identical with a ghost. (See p. 26 et seq.). The diseases they cause, 

 the nature of their activities, their opponents and antagonists, all 

 this supports this impression, and many informants expUcitly and 

 spontaneously state that this identity exists. 



The Purple Man is generally called upon to assist in nefarious 

 machinations, such as incantations, love conjurations, etc. That 

 purple is the color of witchcraft will appear from other facts listed in 

 these pages. 



The Blue Man, living in the North, is called upon to act as an 

 antagonist in diseases sent by the scorching sun (insolation, blisters, 

 etc.). He himself causes such pains and ailments as usually follow in 

 the wake of severe frost. 



