40 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



We may at first be shocked by the "unreasonable," the "preposter- 

 ous/ ' etc., in these practices. If, however, on second thought, we endeav- 

 or to make an honest effort to understand them, we will soon see how 

 remarkably logical they are, if only we bear the premises in mind. For 

 whatever there has been said about "the primitive mind," there is at 

 least this tribute to be paid to it, that it invariably gives proof of a 

 most rigorous congruency and a perfect harmony in its reasoning. 



The first thing the medicine man endeavors to find out, when he 

 calls on a patient, is the seat of the pain. Since Cherokee medical art 

 does not aim so much at "curing a disease" or "allaying pain" as at 

 removing the cause of the ailment, of the agent causing the pain, the 

 medicine man forthwith sets out upon his quest after the cause of the 

 ailment. In this he is actively seconded by the patient, whose aid may 

 prove the more efficacious the more he is versed in the traditional lore. 



If we are not dealing with one of the very few cases where a natural 

 cause is accepted (see p. 17) the medicine man inquires whether the 

 patient has by any chance infringed upon a taboo (see p. 38) or whether 

 the patient has had any dreams or omens (see p. 36). The patient 

 is, of course, but rarely sufficiently versed in this body of lore to be 

 able to answer in a satisfactory manner, and the medicine man usually 

 has to go over with the patient the very extensive collection of 

 dreams and omens that may affect the particular situation. The 

 patient, being only too anxious to find relief, would not thinlv of with- 

 holding any information of a nature to help the final discovery of 

 "the important thing." 



The dreams investigated may go back several months, or even as 

 much as two or three years; there is no definite rule as to this, and it 

 rests with the personal opinion of every individual medicine man how 

 deeply into the past he chooses to probe to find the dream that would 

 plausibly explain the "case." Sunilarly, the very emphasis on dreams 

 as diagnostic means varies more or less with individual conceptions. 

 It appears, for example, from Mr. Mooney's notes that Ay. held 

 dreams of secondary importance, and that he gave primary attention 

 to such symptoms as headache, Hvidness in the face, blue-black rings 

 round the eyes, etc. This point of view does not seem to predominate 

 with the average Cherokee medicine man, as, indeed, it hardly could, 

 if we bear in mind this very important axiom of Cherokee medical 

 practice, that whatever the ailment in question may seem to be, we 

 must be sure to hit upon the real disease causer, so as to be able to 

 "work" against him, and to force him "to let go his hold" on the 

 patient. The identity of the disease causer is found out much more 

 readily and far more accurately by the patient's dreams and experi- 

 ences than by such symptoms as described above, which the Cherokee 

 medicine men, as well as Mr. Mooney and I, have noticed are identi- 

 cally the same for a score and more of radically different diseases. 



