Myths of the Iroquois. (1883 N 02 / 1880-1881 (pages 47-116))

s powers and influences. Sorcerers, men believed to be skilled in occult arts, have been known among them all. An examinat

some of their customs indicate that they may have had such a notion. The only word for Heaven in the different dialects is evidently a literal translation of the Christian idea, and signifies "i

f their followers. I do not believe that the Iroquois lives to-day who is not a believer in sorcery or who would not in the night time quail at seeing a bright light the nature of which he did not understand. The most intelligent, the wisest, and the best Christian whom I ever met among them told me of the wonderful marvels he himself had wrought. He had stayed the flames of a burning church by holding forth his right han

ions will serve to illustrate some of th

. The crystal placed in a gourd of water, rendered visible the apparition of a person who had bewitched an

rbs, and by covering the head with a blanket and holding it over the kettle cou

ing out with alder tubes, hairs, pieces of skin, leaves,

yu?-n?-rhi: Super

rnivorous ghost bodie

ting ghost who will r

il spirit, from whom all wi

e who could assume a

The ghost of a

An apparition which cou

natural-born

A witch under the influence

h these personages or

y exist at the same time in another, explains much of the phenomena of witchcraft, and accounts f

the death of an adult his accustomed portion of food is often dealt out for the supposed hungry spirit, and on the death of a nursing child two pieces

rubs it on the face of the child so that the spirits will not trouble it, because they say tha

WITCHES AND

a bark bowl in which he kept it. He put fibers, down, and small feathers into the water with the snake, and soon found that these things had become living beings. From this fact he naturally conjectured that the snake was endowed with supernatural powers. He then continued his experiments, and discovered that whatever he p

he put into the waters the more powerful would be the liquid. He therefore hung a large number of snakes so

fingers into the liquid and pointing it at any per

become invisible, and could travel faster than any other mortal. An arrow dipped into this liquid and shot at any living being, even if it did not hit its object, would nevertheless kill it. A feather dipped into this snake water and then pointed at any wished-for game, would immediately start for the desired thing and would always kill it, and when the game was dissect

THE SENE

bited. On the one hand was a hill of corn, on the other a large squash vine with three squashes on it, and three ears of corn grew apart from all the others. He was unable to guess what it meant, but started off on his hunting once more, determined to return some evening, being both curious and uneasy. In the night, as he slept near by, he again heard a nois

and a laurel bush which looked like iron. The crowds danced around it singing,

the medicine to prove to him how quickly it could heal the wound. Then they did the same to hi

all flew off as he looked. They had given him directions to take one stalk of corn and dry the cob and pound it very fine, and to take one squash, cut i

th very great success, and made enough bef

administered to a patient they sing the medicine song, while they rattle a gourd-shell as accompaniment, and burn tobacco. Burning tobacco is the sa

epared now with th

" WITCH

nt and then began to sing, keeping time with his hand. After a while he returned to her and said: "You are bewitched. You refused to give milk to a poor woman who came to beg of you, and

h-bone of a beaver from a man who is the child of Molly Brant, the child of Governor W. Johnson." The bone was brought, and by the time it arrived she had scoured a brass kettle, and had clean water poured into it. As soon as she received the bone, which was hollow, she placed it against the eye that wa

OF WITC

ages, which greatly relieved her. She saw a dog as an apparition coming toward her, and directed her friends to shoot it, but they did not succeed in killing it. In like manner a cat,

ATION TO

thunder-heads, it was customary to burn what is called

order to get some rain. Every family was supposed to have a private altar upon which its offerings were secretly made; after which said family must repair, bearing its ti

ark banks of rain clouds and took personal charge of the gathering storm to guide it to wet the

ALL BODIL

n bird, beast, and fish. Equal portions of this flesh were mixe

THE SHAPE

and did assume

outh. Crossing a creek and obtaining his gun the man returned and saw a dog at no great dis

len, by the marks of blood from its wound. Tracking it by this means he followed its path until it had reached a bridge, where the woman's tracks took the plac

SUMED THE SH

ally kicked it, and it retaliated by biting at them at times. It retreated toward the bank of a small creek, reaching which it suddenly disappeared. They saw no reason to suppos

as he, himself, whom they had been chasing, a

RANSFOR

it had passed him, he pursued. He had never seen so large a bull, or in fact any white bull, upon the reservation. As it p

ITION ABO

uld destroy them. Their homes were in trees, on which their poisonous tracks could be traced. They often entered the horns of a deer; hence, the Indian hunter's first move after sho

r ever congregated, seemingly bewitched

them for food was colored black and yellow. In the evening it came f

were used as charms, being fastened to the arrows of the hunt