74 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 99 



this taboo simply that he may not be visited Avith toothache. If his 

 Nvife is careful not to leave any offal of dressed game about the yard 

 this again is done in order that none of the household may contract a 

 disease. 



Similarly, amulets and charms are, usually worn with the definite 

 object of averting evil under aD its multifarious forms, of which 

 disease is by no means the least miportant. 



Another reason for the lack of prophylactic measures among these 

 peoples may be that the thought of a sporadic illness or ailment is not 

 of so serious a nature as to impress their minds enough to set them to 

 actively thinking of an expedient to avert the calamity. In this 

 respect it is interesting to note how thoroughly and generally "pro- 

 phylaxis" is practiced against all contagious diseases and epidemics, 

 such as primus inter pares, smallpox, that terrible scourge of American 

 Indians in general and of the Cherokee in particular. 



Yet, with the Cherokee, beliefs and practice with regard to prophy- 

 laxis in disease are not quite so hopeless as we find them elsewhere; 

 I do not mean to say that they pay such attention to rules of hygiene 

 as we would approve of, nor that they practice certain prophylactic 

 measures that we would consider efficacious, but we are confronted 

 with a more pronounced exertion to forestall sickness and pain than 

 we are wont to find; this has to be accounted for, no doubt, by the 

 tremendous stress which is laid in Cherokee tribal life on the very 

 problems of disease and curing. 



As we have seen, according to the Cherokee theory of disease and 

 its causes, disease preferably attacks — whether of its o^^^l accord or 

 by the activity of a powerful disease causer — those people who are 

 "constitutionally predisposed" as we would put it. Witches 

 especially, and man-killers, evil wizards, attack people that are w^eak 

 and in poor health, because these wiU far more easily fall a victim and 

 a prey to their nefarious machinations than would the stronger, 

 healthier, more robust mdividuals. 



As soon, therefore, as anybody is grievously ill, one or more medi- 

 cine men or lay assistants (the latter often relatives of the patient) 

 take turns to watch in his cabin from sunset to sunrise in order to 

 "guard against witchcraft." The smoldering ashes of the hearth 

 are raked to one side and nicely trimmed into a neat little cone-shaped 

 heap. A tiny pinch of crushed "old" tobacco {Nicotiana rusiica L.) 

 is dropped over the smoldering ashes. If a particle of the tobacco 

 dust should flare up on any of the sides of the cone of ashes this shows 

 that a witch is on the way to the dwelling of the sick person to aggra- 

 vate his condition; should the worker of evil happen to be right 

 overhead, or should he, though invisible, be inside the room, the 

 sacred tobacco would land right on the top of the heap of ashes, and 

 there flare up with a loud burst; this burst is beheved to kill the witch. 



