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Show 266 MYTHS OF THE CHEROKEE [ ETH. ANN. 19 smallpox epidemic of 1866, the entire body of the animal was thus hung up, and in some cases, as an additional safeguard, the meat was cooked and eaten and the oil rubbed over the skin of the person. The underlying idea is that the fetid smell repels the disease spirit, and upon the same principle the buzzard, which is so evidently superior to carrion smells, is held to be powerful against the same diseases. The beaver ( d&' yi), by reason of its well- known gnawing ability, against which even the hardest wood is not proof, is invoked on behalf of young children just getting their permanent teeth. According to the little formula which is familiar to nearly every mother in the tribe, when the loosened milk tooth is pulled out or drops out of itself, the child runs with it around the house, repeating four times, " D&' yl, sklntit ( Beaver, put a new tooth into my jaw)" after which he throws the tooth upon the roof of the house. In a characteristic song formula to prevent frostbite the traveler, before starting out on a cold winter morning, rubs his feet in the ashes of the fire and sings a song of four verses, by means of which, according to the Indian idea, he acquires in turn the cold- defying powers of the wolf, deer, fox, and opossum, four animals whose feet, it is held, are never frostbitten. After each verse he imitates the cry and the action of the animal. The words used are archaic in form and may be rendered " I become a real wolf," etc. The song runs: T* tt, fi/ wa/ iya- ya/ ( repeated four times), wa-\- u! ( prolonged howl). ( Imitates a wolf pawing the ground with his feet.) TsftRf'kaf'im.' yef ( repeated four times), sauh! sauh/ sauh! sauh! ( Imitates call and jumping of a deer.) Tstifi/- t8U/ ila- ya/ ( repeated four times), gaih! gaih! gaih! gaih! ( Imitates barking and scratching of a fox.) Tsufl'- sl'kiva- ya' ( repeated four times), ht-\-. ( Imitates the cry of an opossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when feigning death.) 16. THE RABBIT GOES DUCK HUNTING The Babbit was so boastful that he would claim to do whatever he saw anyone else do, and so tricky that he could usually make the other animals believe it all. Once he pretended that he could swim in the water and eat fish just as the Otter did, and when the others told him to prove it he fixed up a plan so that the Otter himself was deceived. Soon afterward they met again and the Otter said, " I eat ducks sometimes." Said the Rabbit, " Well, I eat ducks too." The Otter challenged him to try it; so they went up along the river until they saw several ducks in the water and managed to get near without being seen. The Rabbit told the Otter to go first. The Otter never hesitated, but dived from the bank and swam under water until he reached the ducks, when he pulled one down without being noticed by the others, and came back in the same way. While the Otter had been under the water the Rabbit had peeled |