The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-13


illustrates the advantage of brain over
bulk, leads him TO suspect that Uncle
,Remus' now famous "Br'er Rabbit had
his true origin among the Cherokees, and
that he was handed down by them to the
Southern negro.
Il think" said he, that the Uncle Re-
mus stories are largely borrowed from
these Indians by the negro. That seems
reasonable when we consider that, before
the removal of the greater number of the
Cherokees to the West, there were 5000
negroes living among them in their noun
tain territory, which covered several
Southern states. Negroes are character
istieaHy initiative. and fond of story-tell-
ing
Brer Rabbits short tail and split lip
are accounted for in this one of the many
Cherokee stories in which the ethnologist
finds him The animal had a council
to devise means for disposing of Flint,
who they all hated because he had
helped to kill SO many of them All were
afraid save the rabbit, the boldest leader
among them all. He enticed Mr.. Flint
TO his house to supper. After the meal,
and while Flint was sleeping upon the
grass outside the hole, Rabbit drove
wedge into him with mallet. The blow
caused a great explosion, during when
pieces of Flint flew in all directions
While rabbit was escaping to his hole
one fragment struck him behind and trim
med off his tail. Inside his house he sat
listening until all seemed quiet again.
When he inquisitively put his head out
too look about another fragment struck
him upon the lip and split it, The ex-
plosion of his victim accounts for the
wide distribution of flint
His Revenge on the Deer.
Another story tells how Rabbit acquir-
ed his gnawing propensities. A race be-
Ii nj flna
the animals who offered a pair of antlers
to the victor. The contestants were TO
start together from one side of thicket
go through ii and return. Previous to the
race Rabbit slyly gnawed hole through
the thicket and was caught in the act. Inc
horns were awarded to the Deer, While
Rabbit was compelled ever afterward TO
earn his living by cutting down bushes
But Rabbit, becoming jealous of the
Deer with his beautiful antlers, devised
revenge. He gnawed part way through
grape vine and, jumping at 1t, pretended
that he had severed it at one bile. The
Deer said that the task was easy, so Rab-
bit produced a larger vine which had not
been gnawed. As the Deer's efforts to bite
it in twain were futile Rabbit proposed
that he file the formers teeth to make
them sharp like his own. The Deer COM
scented and Rabbit filed them nearly to the
gums, as they have remained ever since:
Now, you have paid for your horns, said
he as he escaped through the bushes.
A curious superstition of these people,
according to the ethnolcgist, pertains to
taIsmanic stone in the custody of a GER
tain medicine man who keeps 1t in deer
skin bag hidden in a secret cave. Judging
from descriptions, it is evidently large
crystal of transparent quartz having a
stripe of rutil which the Cherokees believe
to be vein of blood and TO replenish
which they at certain intervals sacrifice
deer and battle the talsman with It's
gore A long NEUROLOGICAL narrative des-
cribes the heroic adventures of man who
hunted monstrous serpent in Georgia and
obtained the sacred crystal from its head
Another myth has it that the Indians of
Macon county, North Carolina, were once
annoyed by giant yellow jack
ct. which darted from its secret
hiding place in the mountains and
bore away little children. Some
hunters tracked the monster 10 its cave
by means of long cord tied to q yearling
deer, which it carried off. They smoked
the giant insect to death in its great nest,
but its young escaped to infest the earth
as they have done ever since.
The Mink, Mole, Terrapin, Etc.
The peculiarities of nearly all creatures
of their territory are accounted for in
various tales, many of them as ingenious
as our common nursery yarns. The mink,
for instance, was such great thief that
at last the animals held a council about
the matter II was decided to burn him,
so they effected his capture and built
great fire into which they threw him.
AS the blaze went up emitting the order
of roasting flesh, they decided that he
had been sufficiently punished, so they
took him out of the fire. But the mink
was already burned black, and has been
so ever since, and whenever attacked or
. tod
| The lesson did no good, however, anu
he is still as great a thief as ever.
The mole compelled to live under
Ground because of the Jealousy Of his
| brother animals, excited by service he
| once rendered lover unable to win the
affections of his sweetheart The mole
| b,lrrowed underground to the maiden
house and stole her heart while she slept.
| bringing il to her lover he instructor him
| 10 swallow it, which the young swain did,
with the result that his love was re-
| emitted. The magician, who had become
| awed at and the jealous OF the mole
| power, threatened TO Kill him, ana TINS
| ie whv he always hides in the earth.
7 The terrapin's shell is believed to have
become riged during an escapado with
| certain wolves which threw him against
| a ROCK. cracking his back into dozen
| pieces. 49,.
The turkeys CORY throat is said to have
been transmitted by an ancestor VINO
| stole a bloody scalp and wore it about
his neck; while his "gobble" is dated
from time when a forefather, who was
| taking music lessons, became excited ana
| made a horrible discord.
Similarly, the owl inherited ms pecu-
liarities from a progenitor who on nc
no,,nt of a matrimonial misadventure
nined away in the forest until he had
lost all of his flesh, save that upon his
mead.
SAYS 1T IS UNCONsTIFUTIoNAL'