42 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



from more than one disease; he may have infracted more than one 

 taboo; he may have offended more than one animal spirit. At the 

 time of the diagnosis the medicme man was satisfied when he had 

 found one cause, whereas there were two. Hence repetition of the 

 diagnosis and begiiming of another treatment. There may be yet 

 other explanations — a complication may have set in, in that the 

 ailment was due to a mere breach of taboo at its outset, but has since 

 been aggravated by the machinations of an enemy or a witch. Or, 

 again, maybe the patient has not paid heed to the taboos while under 

 treatment. Maybe a change of medicine man would do no harm? 



It is possible that the changes that are expected in the patient's 

 condition after a set number of days (officiaUy four or seven, accord- 

 ing to the Cherokee sacred number) coincide with the crisis of certain 

 ailments. Some such facts the Cherokee have not been slow to 

 observe, although their explanation of them is, of course, always in 

 keeping with the general trend of their beliefs. I feel sure, for in- 

 stance, that it is the phenomenon of the rising temperature of certain 

 patients toward nightfall that has contributed considerably toward 

 the clever explanation of the "witches wallving round at night," 

 tormenting the sick and the feeble. Hence the special care with which 

 a patient is surrounded after dusk by his friends and relatives. 



The favorite phrase used when prognosticating is that the patient 

 "will soon be able to walk about"; but "soon" and "w^alk about" 

 as used by the Cherokee medicine man are both very vague and 

 elastic expressions. Occasionally the death of a patient may be pre- 

 dicted, but this in no way influences the treatment. Even in the face 

 of a losing battle the medicine man bravely and pluckily sticks to 

 the job. 



After aU, the most common and the most "efficacious" means of 

 prognosis is the one by the beads, the beads being the instruments 

 "par excellence" for discovering the truth, in prognosis as in diag- 

 nosis, as they are, indeed, in all ceremonies of a divinatory nature. 

 (See p. 132.) 



List of Spirits 



The Cherokee pantheon of disease-causing spirits is quite consider- 

 able and the number of spirits that are called upon to eat, pull out, 

 carry away, destroy, or in any other way eliminate disease is even 

 greater. 



Since in the aboriginal belief as well as in the formulas these spirits 

 always appear and behave accordmg to most rigidly circumscribed 

 patterns, a complete survey can best be given in an index, in which 

 the particular traits of each of these beings are listed analytically. 



As for the method of finding out which particular spirit or what 

 agent has caused the disease, see Diagnosis, p. 139. 



