Myths of the Cherokee by James Mooney

tribes generally Adair says: "They use the feathers of the eagle's tail in certain friendly and religious dances, but the whole town will contribute, to the value of 200 deerskins, for killing a large eagle--the bald eagle they do not esteem--and the man also gets an honorable title for the exploit, as if he had brought in the scalp of an enemy." [543] Timberlake says that the Cherokee held the tail of an eagle in the greatest esteem, as these tails were sometimes given with the wampum in their treaties, and none of their warlike ceremonies could be performed without them (Memoirs, p. 81). The figurative expression, "a snowbird has been killed," used to avoid offending the eagle tribe, is paralleled in the expression, "he has been scratched by a brier," used by the Cherokee to mean, "he has been bitten by a snake." Professional eagle killers existed among many tribes, together with a prescribed ceremonial for securing the eagle. The most common method was probably that described in a note to number 98, "Gana's Adventures among the Cherokee." A detailed account of the Blackfoot method is given by Grinnell, in his Blackfoot Lodge Tales, pp. 236-240. The eagle, being a bird of prey, as well as a sacred bird, was never eaten. The shifting of responsibility for the killing to a vicarious victim is a common feature of Indian formulas for obtaining pardon, especially for offenses against the animal tribe or the spirits of the dead. A remarkable parallel to the Cherokee prayer, from the Quichua of Peru, is given by Dr G. A. Dorsey. Having started, with a party of Indian laborers and a Spanish gentleman who was well acquainted with the native language, to examine some cave tombs near the ancient city of Cuzco, they had arrived at the spot and he was about to give the order to begin operations, when the Indians, removing their blankets and hats, knelt down and recited in unison in their own language a prayer to the spirits of the dead, of which the following translation is an extract: "Chiefs, sons of the sun, you and we are brothers, sons of the great Pachacamac. You only know this, but we know that three persons exist, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. This is the only difference between you and us.... Chiefs, sons of the sun, we have not come to disturb your tranquil sleep in this, your abode. We come only because we have been compelled by our superiors; toward them may you direct your vengeance and your curses." Then followed sacrifices of coca leaves, aguardiente, and chicha, after which they called upon the snow-capped mountain to witness their affection for their ancestors, and were then ready to begin work (Dorsey, A Ceremony of the Quichuas of Peru, in Journal of American Folk-Lore, October, 1894). Night birds--Says Adair of the Southern tribes (History of the American Indians, p. 130, 1775): "They reckon all birds of prey, and birds of night, to be unclean and unlawful to be eaten." The mixed feeling of fear and reverence for all night birds is universal among the Western tribes. Owls particularly are believed to bring prophetic tidings to the few great conjurers who can interpret their language. The hawk--This, being a bird of prey, was never eaten. The following incident is related by Adair, probably from the Chickasaw: "Not long ago when the Indians were making their winter's hunt and the old women were without flesh meat at home, I shot a small fat hawk and desired one of them to take and dress it; but though I strongly importuned her by way of trial, she as earnestly refused it for fear of contracting pollution, which she called the 'accursed sickness,' supposing disease would be the necessary effect of such an impurity" (Hist. Am. Indians, p. 130). Chickadee and titmouse--Adair speaks of having once observed a party of Southern Indians "to be intimidated at the voice of a small uncommon bird, when it pitched and chirped on a tree over their camp" (op. cit., p. 26). At a conference with the Six Nations at Albany in 1775 the Oneida speaker said: "We, the Six Nations, have heard the voice of a bird called Tskleleli (Tsikilili'?), a news carrier, that came among us. It has told us that the path at the western connection, by Fort Stanwix, would be shut up by either one party or the other." In reply, the commissioners said: "We apprehend the bird Tskleleli has been busy again; he seems to be a mischievous bird and ought not to be nourished or entertained" (New York Colonial Documents, VIII, pp. 612, 628, 1857). The bird name is in the Oneida dialect. Bruyas gives teksereri as the Mohawk name for the tomtit.