Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Footnotes 27:1 The hero of this story can not have belonged to the Panther clan, because the panther called him "My friend." Had he been of the same clan he would have said "my brother." 21. THE HUNTER, THE MONSTER LIZARD, AND THE PANTHER (33) (SECOND VERSION) There was a great hunter who owned many dogs, with which he would beat up a bottom and frequently kill bear. One time he heard them barking and thought they had discovered a bear, but when he reached them he found them around a hollow tree on which p. 29 an hatckkliba lived. The hatckkliba would come out, take a dog, and carry it back into his den. Then the man ran off, and when he got nearly out of sight he could hear a few dogs still barking. The .number was presently reduced to one, and soon this one stopped. Then the man looked back and saw the hatckkliba coming after him, glittering as it came. When it came jumping up to him he shot it, but it seized him by the middle, knocked his gun out of his hands, and started back with him. He was not hurt, but he thought that when it got him to its young ones, they would eat him up. The hatckkliba took him down a valley and as they passed between two pine trees, he caught sight of something yellow and thought, "Now they are going to devour me." What he had seen, however, was a Panther which jumped upon the hatckkliba and made the hatckkliba let go of him. Then it jumped back upon the tree. Every chance it got the Panther would jump down upon the hatckkliba and then back to the tree, and in this way it tore the hatckkliba's back to rags and killed it. Then the Panther came to where the man lay and the latter thought he was going to be eaten, but the Panther said, "Are you dead yet?" "No," he answered, "I am not dead yet." "Well, get up." So he got up, and the Panther marched around him mewing like a cat, and said, "Nothing will disturb you. Stay there." The man started a fire, and the Panther brought up some wood for him. Then it went off, killed a deer, and brought it back. So he cut up and roasted the deer, and, after he got better, the Panther said to him, "Never kill anything of my species. Get your gun and go home." By and by the man took a notion to hunt and discovered a turkey on a tree. He discovered, however, that a wildcat was creeping toward it, so he stopped and watched it. But, when the wildcat jumped at the turkey, it missed and fell to the ground with a squall as if it were hurt. It seemed to be in pain, and in fact the man saw that one of its eyes was out. When he came up to help it, however, the wildcat pulled out its other eye and threw that away also and ran away. This is said to signify the separation of man and beast. 22. THE RACING SNAKE (34) One time two men were off hunting, and one of them said to the other, "They say there is a very swift snake, seldom seen, from which nothing that he pursues can escape, but I believe I could get away from him. If you find one, let me know." Some time later his companion saw something glittering on the side of a hill, and when he returned to the other hunter he said, "I thought I saw on the side of a hill the kind of snake about which You were speaking. I will show him to you." The other thought at first that he was joking, but he insisted, so they started off to find p. 30 Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page him. When they reached the place the man who believed he could overcome this snake prepared himself. He stripped off his clothing, prepared his bow and arrows, and started up toward the snake. As he went by, the snake chased him. There were coils and coils of him which made a shrill noise as they were dragged along on the ground. The man ran on ahead whooping, this whoop being his charm. When his companion saw the huge snake in pursuit of his friend he wished that he had not brought him there. Presently they got so far away that the man's whoop could be heard no longer, although the noise made by his pursuer was still audible. By and by they circled around and came back again, and they kept making circles back and forth, sometimes nearly out of hearing and sometimes quite close. After a time the whooping stopped and also the noise made by the snake traveling along the ground. The person looking on was sure his friend had been killed, but the contrary had happened. There was a big pine log lying in such a situation that the man could pass under it and he went under and over too fast for the snake to catch him. Instead, the snake wrapped himself up about the log and the man shot at him until he killed him. He was made strong by means of his magic formula. file:///I|/mythology/american indian/41/41.html (28 of 164) [01/24/2004 9:03:18 AM]
23. THE MAN WHO BECAME A SNAKE (35) Two men went hunting together. They traveled all day and when they encamped for the night exchanged stories with each other. One said that if you mixed together the brains of a black snake, a black squirrel, and a wild turkey and ate them you would turn into a snake. The other replied, "If that is the case I believe I will try it." "That is the story," said his companion, "and I do not believe it would be well to try it." The other was anxious to test its truth, however, so he got the three different kinds of brains, mixed them together, and ate them. "I have eaten the things we were talking about," he said to his comrade, and the latter answered, "When I told the story I did not think you would do that. You have done wrong." They were very fond of each other. Then the hunters lay down to sleep and during the night the one who had eaten the brains called out, "My friend, the story you heard was a true one. It is coming to pass." From his thighs down he was already a serpent. The next time he spoke to his friend his entire body had turned into a snake. He told him to go along with him, saying, "I must now find a place to which I can retire." They went on until they came to a small, deep pool made by an uprooted tree, and the Snake said, "When you return to camp move some distance back. Come to see me in the morning and discharge your gun and we will have a talk before you go home." p. 31 The hunter did as he had been directed and when he returned to the place next day found that the pool had expanded into a large, deep pond. He discharged his gun and the Snake came up in the middle of the sheet of water. Then he sank out of sight and soon came crawling up the bank. He said, "When you get through hunting and return home tell my parents of the accident which has befallen me. If they want to come to see me tell them to discharge a gun at this place. Tell my parents not to be afraid of me. I am their child." The friend could do nothing more, so he returned home and related what had happened. But all thought that he had killed his friend and they would not be satisfied until they saw for themselves, so they went back with him. He conducted them to the place where their camp had been and said, "Right here is where he lay when he turned into a snake." Then they went to the shore of the lake and discharged a gun. The Snake then showed himself in the middle and disappeared again. "That is he," said the man. "He will come out right here at the edge of the water and you must not be afraid of him." So the father and mother sat down there side by side. Presently the Snake came up and crawled over them and then returned and laid its head against its mother's jaw. It shed tears, but could not speak. It wrapped itself around them in all kinds of ways and then unfolded and returned to the lake. The parents wept but they could not help themselves, so they returned home. That was what they call the tie-snake. 24. THE MAN WHO BECAME A SNAKE (35). (SECOND VERSION) Two young men once went out hunting together. One was a jolly fellow, the other more thoughtful. The former always wanted to do everything he heard of anyone else doing. As they were going along the sober one said he had heard that if anyone ate the brains of a male squirrel and of a gobbler he would turn into a tie-snake. The jolly one said, "I have a notion to try that." The other tried to dissuade him, but he went secretly and ate these brains. After they had made their camp that night and had gone to sleep the thoughtful youth was awakened by hearing his companion groaning and acting as if in misery. He asked him if he were sick, but the young man answered, "No, I am not sick, but that thing you told me not to eat I ate." His friend answered, "The old Indians always told people not to do that." He made a light and found that his companion was already becoming a tie-snake. When the transformation was completed the Tie-snake asked him to go and look for some water. His friend went and reported that all he could find was a small pool. The Snake followed him to it and curled himself up in the water. Then the Snake told p. 32 Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page him to go to his mother and tell her that he had become a snake, but that she must not be afraid and must come and see him. Before he started off the youth told his snake friend that when he returned he would give four whoops as a signal for him to come out of the water. Then he went away. When he came back, along with his companion's mother, he found that the pool had become a big lake. They sat down by the shore of this lake and he uttered four whoops. At first the water in the center of the lake began to rise up, and at the fourth the Snake came right up to his mother. Then they saw that horns had grown upon his head like those of a stag. His friend tried to talk to him but he could not reply. He merely laid his head across his mother's lap. Then the friend tied the Snake's gun across his horns so that it could not slip off, and told him that he should stay there and see what would happen. So he and the Snake's mother started home and the Snake disappeared in the water. (My interpreter, Sanford Scott, told me that he had heard a story of two young men who caught a queer fish in a pond and one of them who ventured to cook and eat this was turned into a tie-snake.) file:///I|/mythology/american indian/41/41.html (29 of 164) [01/24/2004 9:03:18 AM]
Page 1 and 2: MYTHS AND TALES OF THE SOUTHEASTERN
Page 3 and 4: Myths and Tales of the Southeastern
Page 13 and 14: p. 1 MYTHS AND TALES OF THE SOUTHEA
Page 15 and 16: sharp one for each. The man's suspi
Page 17 and 18: certainly do so," he answered. The
Page 19 and 20: he married. Then he said to his mot
Page 21 and 22: When he grew older she said, "Go an
Page 23 and 24: of the hitci påkpågi, which is th
Page 25 and 26: screamed around their poles. "At la
Page 27: contest with him. You had better no
Page 31 and 32: Ever after people avoided that pond
Page 33 and 34: (SECOND VERSION) (Tuggle collection
Page 35 and 36: "He does not want any." they said,
Page 37 and 38: 41. RABBIT GETS MAN-EATER OVER TO T
Page 39 and 40: 45. RABBIT TRIES A GAME OF SCRATCH
Page 41 and 42: 51. RABBIT ENGINEERS A TUG OF WAR B
Page 43 and 44: wondered how the Rabbit could stand
Page 45 and 46: Then Dr. Buzzard came in haste and
Page 47 and 48: measure you and see if I am not rig
Page 49 and 50: "And then I heard it on the other s
Page 51 and 52: house where the girl lived. Rabbit
Page 53 and 54: p. 70 rumbling in the west will pre
Page 55 and 56: His grandmother was asleep, but the
Page 57 and 58: 84. THE ORDERING OF FIELD WORK (5)
Page 59 and 60: oad. The smallest boy started off o
Page 61 and 62: gained it, it seemed to fly before
Page 63 and 64: HITCHITI STORIES 1. BEAR, TIGER, RA
Page 65 and 66: the thing sitting on the eggs flew
Page 67 and 68: we had better move from here. Do yo
Page 69 and 70: 16. THE HUNTER AND THE TIE-SNAKE (2
Page 71 and 72: He stuck a stick into his nose, ran
Page 73 and 74: to prove it." When Rabbit told the
Page 75 and 76: p. 109 31. RABBIT AND WILDCAT Rabbi
Page 77 and 78: 36. RABBIT IS SENT WITH MEDICINE A
Page 79 and 80:
p. 116 Some time afterwards a man o
Page 81 and 82:
to fight. But the Alabama who had r
Page 83 and 84:
8. HOW WATER WAS LOST AND RECOVERED
Page 85 and 86:
she approached. The third night the
Page 87 and 88:
"Cut off a piece of your body and r
Page 89 and 90:
walks about," and she answered, "Th
Page 91 and 92:
They went on and came to another pe
Page 93 and 94:
am a panther," and jumped up upon i
Page 95 and 96:
lying. He came to the camp. The oth
Page 97 and 98:
32. THE BEAR PEOPLE (29) The people
Page 99 and 100:
its young ones. Then it followed an
Page 101 and 102:
could not be detected. Then no Choc
Page 103 and 104:
adly hurt. In the morning Rabbit sa
Page 105 and 106:
up again. After this had happened s
Page 107 and 108:
3. THE STARS-IN-A-ROW Three persons
Page 109 and 110:
my grandmother's basket." "No, she
Page 111 and 112:
He went on until he came to where t
Page 113 and 114:
But when they got home, their mothe
Page 115 and 116:
17. THE OBSTACLE FLIGHT (9) Big Man
Page 117 and 118:
21. THE GIANT ELK (46) A man travel
Page 119 and 120:
26. STORY OF TWO BROTHERS WHO TRIED
Page 121 and 122:
threw him down to be food for an ea
Page 123 and 124:
38. THE MAN WHO TREATED A GHOST (24
Page 125 and 126:
"Opossum called me 'LMfga tail.' Wh
Page 127 and 128:
Big Man-eater said, "I can bring it
Page 129 and 130:
on the rock and when he began chopp
Page 131 and 132:
63. RABBIT FOOLS WILDCAT (69) While
Page 133 and 134:
him and then go back to the limb, s
Page 135 and 136:
218:2 An old Natchez story. Footnot
Page 137 and 138:
p. 224 The boys played around in th
Page 139 and 140:
Not long afterwards the boys said,
Page 141 and 142:
to him. "I am going to my mother's.
Page 143 and 144:
oy said, "If you have any relations
Page 145 and 146:
11. ADOPTION OF THE HUMAN RACE The
Page 147 and 148:
"Your wife and the one who stole he
Page 149 and 150:
19. THE PYGMIES (28) There is a rac
Page 151 and 152:
troubled with headache, and I don't
Page 153 and 154:
answer, "It is hurting him where I
Page 155 and 156:
whooping. 34. RABBIT AND WILDCAT (6
Page 157 and 158:
39. THE INDIAN MUNCHAUSEN (74) A ma
Page 159 and 160:
COMPARISON OF MYTHS The accompanyin
Page 161 and 162:
ut it so happens that something of
Page 163 and 164:
49. The Wolves and the Fawn: Natche
show all

Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians: Title Page

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?