|
|||
 |
 
|
||
|
As told by Marian E. Miller The natives of the Florida swamps, the Seminoles, were on the warpath and many lives were lost, and they retreated from their enemy, the Cherokee. One young, handsome Seminole brave was captured and taken prisoner by the Cherokees. He was a strong lad with jet black hair and black eyes, but he had been seriously wounded and was an easy target. He was condemned to die at the stake by burning until his body was consumed by fire. This was the custom of treating enemy captives in the Cherokee culture. The young man fell ill on top of being wounded. He was too sick to stand on his feet, so the execution was postponed until the young man became well. The Cherokees wanted to see a strong, healthy warrior die, not a sick one, weak as a woman. "Let him be fed until he is strong again and then we will punish him," the Chief said. And so it was decided. The young Seminole warrior was brought to a Cherokee lodge to be nursed back to health. In that home lived a Cherokee warrior and his wife and daughter. When the daughter saw the young captive, she felt sorry for him. As she tended him each day, feeding him nourishing soups and binding his wounds with herbs, her feelings of tenderness grew. With each day's passing, the two grew to appreciate each other even if they were enemies. The feelings of sorrow and sadness turned to love for both of them. "You must not die!" the young maiden said to him. And of course, the young brave did not want to die. He wanted to live his life with this lovely Cherokee girl. Finally one day, the young man said, "I am getting well. You have nursed me back to health and soon they will realize that I am ready for burning at the stake and I will soon be with Our Creator. The wood is dried and ready to be fired, but I am not ready. I don't want to leave you. "We must run away together," said the young Cherokee girl. "As soon as night comes and it is dark, we must go-or it will be too late!" When night came, the Bull Alligator was heard in the distance and then the croaking song of the frogs was carried on the night air; the girl crept to where the young warrior was lying, his eyes wide open. "We must go now while the night noises are loud," the girl whispered. "My people will not hear us, and they are probably asleep by now." So the two crept out of the lodge slowly and once out of the lodge, they began running swiftly through the paths of the Georgia swamp. The girl was in the lead for she had known these paths well since early childhood. There were as many strange noises in that swamp as there were stars in the sky. The noises in the woods were many. After they had gone a little way, the girl suddenly stopped. "Why are you standing still?" the young warrior asked. "I feel sad to leave my tribe and my father and mother," she answered. "Do you want to go back?" "No.! will go with you-but I want to take something from my home to remember my family and our home by." "Go," he said. "I will wait here for you. You must take care." She turned and went swiftly back along the trail they traveled while he waited for her in the dark. After a time she returned with something in her hand. "What did you bring?" he asked. "I took a lovely vine with the roots that grew on my old home. It has a beautiful, small white flower with a little yellow sun in the middle that smells sweetly. This lovely flower with its sweet scent will remind me of my home and my father and mother." They resumed their journey. When the young couple came to his home in Seminole Country, they built a home to live in. She
planted the vine with the lovely white flower nearby where
it grew and flourished and spread all over the land in Georgia
like a lovely white song. People
there called it the Cherokee Rose in remembrance of the Cherokee
bride who planted it so long ago. Oh-Neh-Nih-Hoh
Selu
lived with her husband, Kanati, and two sons. Everyday, she
would go away from the house and return with a basket full
of corn. The boys wondered where the corn came from, so they
followed her one day. They saw her go into a storehouse, and
they got where they could peek in and watch her. There
they saw her place her basket and shake herself. The corn started
falling from her body into the basket. They then thought that
their mother must surely be a witch! Selu
could read the boys' thoughts. She told them that after they
put her to death, they would need to follow her instructions
so that they would continue to have corn for nourishment. "After
you kill me, you must clear some ground in front of our house.
Then drag my body in a circle seven times. Then, you must stay
up all night and watch." The
boys did this, but they got the instructions backwards. They
cleared seven areas of ground, and drug her body twice in a
circle. Where her blood dropped, corn began to grow. Because
the boys were careless in listening to the instructions, corn
must now be planted and taken care of in order for it to grow.
And to this day, it only grows in certain spots and not the
enire earth. Visit any traditional Cherokee home, and the woman of the house will provide a delicious meal. As a matrilineal society, it is the woman who carries the clan, gives nourishment to the growing baby, continues his growth by providing her milk, and continues to nourish all who come to her home by providing lovingly prepared food. Go to recipes for wonderful, traditional Cherokee meals.
The
Ballgame Between the Birds and the Animals The
birds had Wohali, the eagle, as their captain. Tawodi,
the hawk, and other strong birds were on their side. Although
they were swift and strong, they were still a little afraid
of the animals. After the dance, they were all pruning
their feathers while perched in the trees, and waited for the
captain to give the word. All of a sudden, here came
two little things hardly bigger than field mice, and they climbed
up the tree where Wohali, the bird captain, was sitting. They
asked to join in the game. The captain looked at them,
and seeing that they were four-legged, asked why they didn’t
go down to the animal team. They said they had, but the
animals laughed at them, and made fun of them, because they
were so small. Wohali felt sorry for them, and wanted
to take them. But
they had no wings. Wohali, Tawodi, and the others consulted,
and finally decided to make some wings for the little ones. They
tried for a very long time to think of a solution, when finally
someone thought about the drum they had used in the dance. The
head was made of ground-hog skin, and maybe they could take
off a corner of it and make some wings. They took two
pieces from the drum head and cut them into shape for wings,
and stretched them with cane splints and fastened them to the
front legs of one of the little animals. This
is how Tlameha, the bat, came to be. They
threw the ball to him and told him to catch it. He dodged
and circled about, and always kept the ball in the air and
never let it hit the ground. The birds soon felt that
he would be one of their best players. Now
they figured they better fix the other poor animal, but they
had no more leather to make wings. Somebody thought of
stretching his skin, the way the leather had been stretched
on the drum. Two large birds took hold from each side
of him with their strong beaks, and pulled at his fur for several
minutes. They managed to stretch the skin between his
front and back legs, until they had Tewa, the flying squirrel. To
see how well he could play, the captain threw the ball up in
the air, and Tewa leaped off the limb, caught it in his teeth,
and carried it through the air until he reached another tree,
far, far away. When
everyone was ready, the signal was given and the game began. Almost
at the very first, Tewa caught the ball and carried it to a
tree, from which he threw it to the other birds. They
kept it in the air for a very long time, but it finally dropped. Yona
rushed to grab it, but Tlutlu, the martin, darted after it
and threw it to Tlameha. By his dodging and circling,
he kept it out of the way of even Awi, until he finally threw
it to the pole and won the game for the birds. Yona and Dagasi, who had bragged about how good they were and what they would do to the birds, never even got a chance to play. For saving the ball when it dropped, they gave Tlutlu a beautiful gourd in which he could build his nest. Today, he still has it.
Legend of the Cherokee Creation Well, in the beginning also, water covered everything. Though living creatures existed, their home was up there, above the rainbow, and it was crowded. "We are all jammed together," the animals said. "We need more room." Wondering what was under the water, they sent Water Beetle to look around. Water Beetle skimmed over the surface but could'nt find any solid footing, so he dived to the bottom and brought up a little dab of soft mud. Magically the mud spread out in the four directions and became this island we are living on - this earth. Someone Powerful then fastened it to the sky celing with cords. In the beginning the earth was flat, soft, and moist. All the animals were eager to live on it, and they kept sending down birds to see if the mud had dried and hardened enough to take their weight. But the birds will flew back and said that there was still no spot they could perch on. Then the animals sent Gandfather Buzzard down. He flew very close and saw that the earth was still soft, but when he glided low over what would become Cherokee counrty, he found that the mud was getting harder. By that time Buzzard was tired and dragging. When he flapped his wings down they made a valley where they touched the earth; when he swept them up, they made a mountain. The animals watching from above the rainbow said, "If he keeps on, there will only be mountains," and they made him come back. That's why we have so many mountains in Cherokee land. At last the earth was hard and dry enough, and the animals descended. They couldnt see very well because they had no sun or moon, and someone said, "Lets grab Sun from up there behind the rainbow! Lets get him down too!" Pulling Sun down, they told him, "Here's a road for you," and showed him the way to go....from east to west. Now they had light, but it was much to hot, because Sun was too close to the earth. The crawfish had his back sticking out of a stream, and Sun burned it red. His meat was spoiled for ever, and the people still won't eat crawfish. Everyone asked the sorcerers, the shamans, to put Sun higher. They pushed him up as high as a man, but it was still to hot. So they pushed him farther, but it wasn't far enough. They tried four times, and when they had sun up to the height of four men, he was just hot enough. Everyone was satisfied, so they left him there. Before making humans, Someone Powerful had created plants and animals and had told them to stay awake and watch for seven days and seven nights. (This is just what young men do today when they fast and prepare for a ceremony.) But most of the plants and animals couldn't manage it, some fell asleep after one day, some after two Among the trees and other plants, only the cedar, pine, holly, and laurel were still awake on the eighth morning. Someone Powerful said to them: "Because you watched and kept awake as you had been told, you will not lose your hair in the winter." So these plants stay green all the time. After creating plants and animals, Someone Powerful made man and his sister. The man poked her with a fish and told her to go give birth. After seven days she had a baby, and after seven more days she had another, and every seven days another came. The humans increased so quickly that Someone Powerful, thinking there would soon be no more room on this earth, arranged things so that a woman could have only one child every year. And that's how it was. Now, there is still another world under the one we live on. You can reach it by going down a spring, a water hole; but you need underworld people to be your scouts and guide you. The world under our earth is exactly like ours, except that it's winter down there when its summer up here. We can see that easily, because spring water is warmer than the air in winter and cooler than the air in summer.
Then one day as the man sat alone in his despair, Mole came along, and finding the man so low in his mind, asked what the trouble was. The man told him the whole story of the woman he loved, and her dislike of him, and when he had finished, Mole said, "I can help you. Not only will she like you, but she will come to you of her own free will." That night, while the village slept, burrowing underground to the place where the girl was in bed asleep, Mole took out her Spirit Heart. He came back by the same way and gave her heart to the discouraged lover, who couldn't see it even when it was in his hands. "There," said Mole. "Swallow it, and she will be so drawn to you that she has to come to you."
The man swallowed her heart and felt a warmth in his soul as it went down, and in the morning when the girl woke up she somehow thought of him at once. She felt a strange desire to be with him, to go to him that minute. She couldn't understand it, because she had always disliked him, but the feeling grew so strong that she was compelled to find the man and tell him that she loved him and wanted to be his wife. And so they were married.
All the magicians who knew them both were surprised and wondered how it had come about. When they found that it was the work of Mole, whom they had always thought too insignificant to notice, they were jealous and threatened to kill him. That's why Mole hide under the ground and still doesn't dare to come up. The
Sun lived on the other side of the sky vault, but her
daughter lived in the middle of the sky, directly above
the Earth. Every day as the sun was climbing along the
sky arch to the west, she used to stop at her daughters
house for dinner. Now, the Sun hated the people of this
Earth, because they never looked straight at her without
squinting. She said to her brother, the Moon, "My
grandchildren are ugly, they screw up their faces whenever
they see me. But the Moon said, "I like my younger
brothers, I think they are handsome." This was because
they always smiled pleasantly at his mild glow in the
night sky.
The
Little Men made medicine to change two of the humans
into snakes, the spreading
adder and copperhead, who could hide near the daughter's
door and bite the old Sun. The Snakes went up to the
sky and lay in wait until the sun arrived for dinner.
But when the spreading adder was about to spring, her
bright light blinded him and he could only spit out yellow
slime, as he does to this day when he tries to bite.
The Sun called him a nasty thing and went into the house,
and the copperhead was so discouraged that he crawled
off without trying to do anything. The people still dying
from the terrible heat, went a second time to the Little
Men for help. Again the Little Men made medicine and
changed one man into the great Uktena, the water monster,
and another into a rattlesnake. Forgetting to wait for the old Sun, he went back to the people, and Uktena was so angry at the rattlesnake's stupidity that he went back too. Since then we pray to the rattlesnake and don't kill him, because he wishes people well and never tries to bite if we don't disturb him. But Uktena grew angrier and more dangerous all the time. He became so venomous that if he even looked at a man, the man's whole family would die. Eventually the people held a council and decided that he was just too dangerous, so they sent him to Galun'lati, the world, where he still is. When the Sun found her daughter dead, she shut herself up in the house and grieved. Now the people were no longer dying from the heat, but they lived in darkness. Once more they sought help from the Little Men, who said that in order to coax the Sun out, they must bring her daughter back from Tsusgina'i. This is the ghost country, which lies in Usunhi'yi, the Darking Land in the west. The people chose seven men to make the journey. The Little Men told the seven to take a box, and told each man to carry sourwood rod a handbreadth long. When they got to Tsugina'i, the Little Men explained, they would find all the ghost at a dance. They should stand outside the circle, and when the Sun's daughter danced past them, they must strike her with the rods and she would fall to the ground. Then they could put her in the box and bring her back to her mother. But they must not open that box, not even a crack, until they arrived home. The seven men took the rods and the box and traveled west for seven days until they came to the Darkening Land. There they found a great crowd of ghost having a dance, just as if they were alive. The Sun's daughter was in the outside circle. As she danced past them, one of the seven men struck her with his rod, and then another and another, until at the seventh round she fell out of the ring. The men put her into the box and closed the lid, and the other ghost never seemed to notice what had happened. The seven took up the box and started home toward the east. In a while the girl came to life again and begged to be let out, but the party went on without answering. Soon she called again and said she was hungry, but they did not reply. When at last the group was very near home, the daughter of the sun cried that she was toward the east. In a while the girl came to life again and begged to be let out, but the party went on without answering. Soon she called again and said she was hungry, but they did not reply. When at last the group was very near home, the daughter of the sun cried that she was smothering and begged them to raise the lid just a little. Now they were afraid that she was really dying, so they barely cracked the lid to give her air. There was a fluttering sound, and something flew past them into the bushes. Then they heard a redbird cry, "Kwish! Kwish! Kwish!" Shutting the lid, they went on again. But when they arrived at the settlements and opened the box, it was empty. So we know that the redbird is the daughter of the sun. And if the party had kept the box closed, as the Little Men told them to, they could have brought her home safely, and today we would be able to recover our friends from the Ghost Country. Because the seven opened the box, however, we can never bring back people who die. The Sun had been hopeful when the party had started off for the Darkening Land, but when they came back without her daughter, she wept until her tears caused a great flood. Fearing that the world would be drowned, the people held another council and decided to send their handsomest young men and women to amuse the Sun and stop her crying. This group danced before her and sang their best songs, but for a long time she kept her face bowed and paid no attention. At last when the drummer suddenly changed the song, she looked up and was so pleased at the sight of the beautiful young people that she forgot her grief and smiled.
The
animals knew it was there, because they could see
the smoke, but they could not get to it because of the
water. They hold a council to see what to do, and every
animal
that could fly or swim was anxious to go after
the fire. The Raven, large and strong was sent first.
He
flew to
the sycamore, but while hr was wondering what to
do next, the fire scorched all his feathers black and
he came
back without the fire. Next, the little Screech-owl
(Wa'huhu')
volunteered to go, but once in the island, a blast
of hot air came up and nearly burned out his eyes.
He managed to fly back home, but his eyes are red to
this
day.
Then
the Hooting Owl ( U'guku') and the Horned Owl (Tskili')
went, but by the time they arrived, the fire was
burning so fiercely that the smoke nearly blinded them,
and
the ashes carried up by the wind made white rings about
their
eyes and they were never able to get rid of them.
Now no more birds would venture, and so the little Uksu'hi
snake, the black racer, said he would swim to the
island
and bring the fire back. He swam across the to
the island and crawled through the grass to the tree,
and
went in
by a small hole at the bottom. The heat and smoke
were too much for him, and after dodging about blindly
over
the hot ashes until he was almost on fire himself,
he managed to get out, but his body had been scorched
black, and he has ever since had the habit of darting
and doubling
on his track as if trying to escape from close
quarters. He came back, and the great blacksnake, Gulegi, "The
Climber", offered to go. He swam over to the
island and climbed out the tree on the outside,
but when he
put his head down into the hole, the smoke choked
him so that fell into the burning stomp and before
he could
climb out again he was as black as the Uksu'hi.  One
night a hunting party camping in the mountains noticed
two lights like large starts moving along the top of
a distant ridge, They wondered and watched until the
light disappeared on the other side. The next night,
they saw the lights moving along the ridge, and after
discussing the matter decided to go and see what was
going on. In the morning, they went to the ridge and
after searching some time, they found two strange creatures
so large ( making a circle with outstretched arms ) ,
with round bodies covered with fine fur or downy feathers,
from which small heads stuck out like the heads of terrapins.
As the breeze played upon these feathers, showers of
sparks flew out.
The hunters carried the strange creatures back to the camp. They kept them several days, and noticed that every night they would grow bright and shine like great stars, although by day they were only balls of grey fur. They kept very quiet, and no one thought of their trying to escape when, on the seventh night, they suddenly rose from the ground like balls of fire and were soon above the tops of the trees. Higher and higher they went, while the wondering haunters watched, until at last they were only two bright points of light in the dark sky, and then the hunters knew that they were stars.
One
day, in the moon when the cold nights return, an urgent message
came to the village of the four hunters. A great bear, one so
large and powerful that many thought it must be some kind of
monster, had appeared. The people of the village whose hunting
grounds the monster had invaded were afraid. The children no
longer went out to play in the woods. The long houses of the
village were guarded each night by men with weapons, who stood
by the entrances.
Each morning, when the people went outside, they found the huge tracks of the bear in the midst of their village. They knew that soon it would become even bolder. Picking up their spears and calling to their small dog, the four hunters set forth for that village, which was not far away. As they came closer they noticed how quiet the woods were. There were no signs of rabbits or deer and even the birds were silent. On a great pine tree they found the scars where the great bear had reared up on hind legs and made deep scratches to mark its territory. The tallest of the brothers tried to touch the highest of the scratch marks with the tip of his spear. "It is as the people feared," the first brother said. "This one we are to hunt is Nyah-gwaheh, a monster bear." "But what about the magic that the Nyah-gwaheh has?" said the second brother. The first brother shook his head. "That magic will do it no good if we find its track." "That's so," said the third brother. "I have always heard that from the old people. Those creatures can only chase a hunter who has not yet found its trail. When you find the track of the Nyah-gwaheh and begin to chase it, then it must run from you." "Brothers," said the fourth hunter who was the fattest and laziest, "did we bring along enough food to eat? It may take a long time to catch this big bear. I'm feeling hungry." Before long, the four hunters and their small dog reached the village. It was a sad sight to see. There was no fire burning in the centre of the village and the doors of all the long houses were closed. Grim men stood on guard with clubs and spears and there was no game hung from the racks or skins stretched for tanning. The people looked hungry. The elder sachem of the village came out and the tallest of the four hunters spoke to him. "Uncle," the hunter said, "we have come to help you get rid of the monster." Then the fattest and laziest of the four brothers spoke. "Uncle," he said, "is there some food we can eat? Can we find a place to rest before we start chasing this big bear. I'm tired." The first hunter shook his head and smiled. "My brother is only joking, Uncle." he said. " We are going now to pick up the monster bear's trail." "I am not sure you can do that, Nephews," the elder sachem said. "Though we find tracks closer and closer to the doors of our lodges each morning, whenever we try to follow those tracks they disappear." The second hunter knelt down and patted the head of their small dog. "Uncle," he said, that is because they do not have a dog such as ours." He pointed to the two black circles above the eyes of the small dog. "Four-Eyes can see any tracks, even those many days old." "May Creator's protection be with you," said the elder sachem. "Do not worry. Uncle," said the third hunter. "Once we are on a trail we never stop following until we've finished our hunt." "That's why I think we should have something to eat first," said the fourth hunter, but his brothers did not listen. They nodded to the elder sachem and began to leave. Sighing, the fattest and laziest of the brothers lifted up his long spear and trudged after them. They walked, following their little dog. It kept lifting up its head, as if to look around with its four eyes. The trail was not easy to find. "Brothers," the fattest and laziest hunter complained, "don't you think we should rest. We've been walking a long time." But his brothers paid no attention to him. Though they could see no tracks, they could feel the presence of the Nyah-gwaheh. They knew that if they did not soon find its trail, it would make its way behind them. Then they would be the hunted ones. The fattest and laziest brother took out his pemmican pouch. At least he could eat while they walked along. He opened the pouch and shook out the food he had prepared so carefully by pounding together strips of meat and berries with maple sugar and then drying them in the sun. But instead of pemmican, pale squirming things fell out into his hands. The magic of the Nyah-gwaheh had changed the food into worms. "Brothers," the fattest and laziest of the hunters shouted, "let's hurry up and catch that big bear! Look what it did to my pemmican. Now I'm getting angry." Meanwhile, like a pale giant shadow, the Nyah-gwaheh was moving through the trees close to the hunters. Its mouth was open as it watched them and its huge teeth shone, its eyes flashed red. Soon it would be behind them and on their trail. Just then, though, the little dog lifted its head and yelped. "Eh-heh!" the first brother called. "Four-Eyes has found the trail," shouted the second brother. "We have the track of the Nyah-gwaheh," said the third brother. "Big Bear," the fattest and laziest one yelled, "we are after you, now!" Fear filled the heart of the great bear for the first time and it began to run. As it broke from the cover of the pines, the four hunters saw it, a gigantic white shape, so pale as to appear almost naked. With loud hunting cries, they began to run after it. The great bear's strides were long and it ran more swiftly than a deer. The four hunters and their little dog were swift also though and they did not fall behind. The trail led through the swamps and the thickets. It was easy to read, for the bear pushed everything aside as it ran, even knocking down big trees. On and on they ran, over hills and through valleys. They came to the slope of a mountain and followed the trail higher and higher, every now and then catching a glimpse of their quarry over the next rise. Now though the lazy hunter was getting tired of running. He pretended to fall and twist his ankle. "Brothers," he called, "I have sprained my ankle. You must carry me." So his three brothers did as he asked, two of them carrying him by turns while the third hunter carried his spear. They ran more slowly now because of their heavy load, but they were not falling any further behind. The day had turned now into night, yet they could still see the white shape of the great bear ahead of them. They were at the top of the mountain now and the ground beneath them was very dark as they ran across it. The bear was tiring, but so were they. It was not easy to carry their fat and lazy brother. The little dog, Four-Eyes, was close behind the great bear, nipping at its tail as it ran. "Brothers," said the fattest and laziest one. "put me down now. I think my leg has gotten better." The brothers did as he asked. Fresh and rested, the fattest and laziest one grabbed his spear and dashed ahead of the others. Just as the great bear turned to bite at the little dog, the fattest and laziest hunter leveled his spear and thrust it into the heart of the Nyah-Gwaheh. The monster bear fell dead. By the time the other brothers caught up, the fattest and laziest hunter had already built a fire and was cutting up the big bear. "Come on, brothers," he said. "Let's eat. All this running has made me hungry!" So they cooked the meat of the great bear and its fat sizzled as it dripped from their fire. They ate until even the fattest and laziest one was satisfied and leaned back in contentment. Just then, though, the first hunter looked down at his feet. "Brothers," he exclaimed, "look below us!" The four hunters looked down. Below them were thousands of small sparkling lights in the darkness which. they realized, was all around them. "We aren't on a mountain top at all," said the third brother. "We are up in the sky." And it was so. The great bear had indeed been magical. Its feet had taken it high above the earth as it tried to escape the four hunters. However, their determination not to give up the chase had carried them up that strange trail. Just then their little dog yipped twice. " The great bear!" said the second hunter. "Look!" The hunters looked. There, where they had piled the bones of their feast the Great Bear was coming back to life and rising to its feet. As they watched, it began to run again, the small dog close on its heels. "Follow me," shouted the first brother. Grabbing up their spears, the four hunters again began to chase the great bear across the skies. So it was, the old people say, and so it still is. Each autumn the hunters chase the great bear across the skies and kill it. Then, as they cut it up for their meal, the blood falls down from the heavens and colors the leaves of the maple trees scarlet. They cook the bear and the fat dripping from their fires turns the grass white. If you look carefully into the skies as the seasons change, you can read that story. The great bear is the square shape some call the bowl of the Big Dipper. The hunters and their small dog (which you can just barely see) are close behind, the dipper's handle. When autumn comes and that constellation turns upside down, the old people say. "Ah, the lazy hunter has killed the bear." But as the moons pass and the sky moves once more towards spring, the bear slowly rises back on its feet and the chase begins again. The great yellow-jacket: origin of fish and frogs  A
long time ago, the people of the old town of Kanu'ga'la'yi
on Nantahala river, in the present Macon County, North Carolina,
were much annoyed by a great insect called Ulagu, as large
as
a house, which used to come from some secret hiding place and
snap up children and carry them away. It was unlike any other
insect ever known and the people tried many time to track it
to its home, but it was too swift to be followed.They killed a squirrel and tied a white string to it, so that its course could be followed with the eye, as bee hunters follow the flight of a bee to its tree. The Ulagu came and carried off the squirrel with the string hanging to it, but darted away so swiftly through the air that it was out of sight in a moment. They repeated the operation with a turkey, a deer ham and nothing worked. At last they killed a deer and tried again. This time the load was so heavy that it had to fly slowly and so low down that the string could be plainly seen. The hunters got together for the pursuit. They followed it along a ridge until they saw the nest of the Ulagu in a large cave in the rocks. On this, they raised a great shout and made their way rapidly down to the mountain and across to the cave, The nest had the entrance below with tiers of cells built up one above another to the roof of the cave. The great Ulagu was there, with thousands of smaller ones, that we now call yellow-jackets. The hunters built fires around the holes, so that the smoke filled the cave and smothered the great insect and multitudes of the smaller ones, but others which where outside the cave were not killed, and these escaped and increased until now the yellow-jackets, which before were unknown, are all over the world. The people called the cave Tsgagunyi "Where the yellow-jacket was", and the place from which they first saw the nest they called "Atahita" "Where they shouted" and these are their names today. They say also that fish and frogs came from a great monster fish and frog, which did much damage until at last they were killed by the people, who cut them up to little pieces which were thrown into the water and afterward took shape as smaller fishes and frogs. |
Thanks,for
the feather icon to:
Some of these stories have been taken from www.cherokee.org and some from "History, Myths and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees" by James Mooney Titles and illustrations by We-sa, © 2002,2003 Designed and maintained by We-sa ( The Cat )
Best viewed in 800 x 600
|
