The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1916-03-17
SOUTH OF THE LINE
Folk Lore and Other Lore Of the Cherokee Indians


ners and customs with view to the
betterment of the Cherokee nation.
One of the visiting chiefs was the
young Oconostota, known to history
in his latter years as the hostile king
of the Cherokee who had become en-
FILTERED against all white people by
the treachery of the English.
1t is not surprising to read that
the magnificent proportions and the
statuesque forms Of the Indian dele
cation excited the unbounded admira-
ton of the court at Whitehall when,
with savage dignity and grace, they
laid at the feet of the English king
the "ancient crown of Tenassee," to-
gether with other pledges of friend
ship and fealty. Five widespread ca
gle tails, arranged to stand up mag
nificently around the head of the
wearer, composed the crown. And
from the royal circle depended the
scalps of four tribal enemies-sym-
bolic, may we not assume, OF Ten
nessee's ultimate crown of freedoms
full plumage, to be completed with
the subduing of her four worst enc
IllcS. lIiDSIdIy, tliISS3 NAN-N
apathy, and immortality.
The eagle being considered sacred
bird by the Cherokee, no one except
the regularly appointed eagle-killer
of the nation was allowed to shoot
or trap the creature whose feathers
were reserved strictly for the use Of
the king and his chiefs, or for deco
rating the throne in the great coun-
Gil house at Echota, the Sacred or
Beloved Town of the Cherokee, in the
eastern part of the present state Of
Tennessee. Old records state that
the council house was situated on
top of a prehistoric mound several
acres in extent. The outer wall Ct
thick-set stakes was circular in form
and was interspersed at regular dis
tances with posts on which were
placed the plates to hold rafters. Ten
feet inside the wall was a circle of
posts taller than the outside row, and
not connected together by wall. A
third, inner, circle of posts, which
were taller still, surrounded an enor-
nous post, about twenty feet in
height, that marked the center of the
vast building. The plates that
reached from post to post held raft.
ers that inclined coneshape to the tor
of the central post. The whole was
tightly covered with bark to turf
rain, except that an opening was left
near the top to emit the smoke Of
the council fire.
Very near the central post wa.
built the mystic council fire. The
manner of its building has been inter
estingly described by John Howard
Payne, who lived some time among
the Cherokees, and who, it is said, wa!
inspired to write the lines of "Home
Sweet Home" by the suffering of thu
simple folk who were being forced t;
yield their humble homes to intru
ders.
Payne's account states that at tn,
beginning of council two youns
men entered the curtained doorway
with armfuls of canes cut in gradual
ed lengths. Four of the longest cane
were laid on the ground to form
square with their ends tapping a
the corners. On these were place.
other canes, by tours, of shorter an,
shorter length till pyramid abou
six feet high was formed, when tn
young men retired.
In little while, although no on
was near enough to apply torch,
tpallid light began to glimmer anon,
the canes at the base of the pyramid
Slowly, very slowly, the myteriou
flame crept around the canes and cir
cled upward until it reached the tor
without having consumed the pile
At this juncture the council was end
ed.
Payne tells of various ceremoni2
and dances that took place in tn
council house, to which he was freel
: admitted. But no stranger was al
lowed to be present at the annual eel
ebration of the Green Corn Dance, be
cause at that time the whole histor
of the Cherokee people was recited b
the official story teller of the nation
who was only second in importanc
to the official eagle-killer. Also
manv lamentations, songs and charm
words which were never divulged t
outsiders were repeated by the story
teller. Although the United State
government sent an agent at on
time to learn these secret words tn
errand was unsuccessful. mo-" sal
the wise head-men, of you take ther
to Washington they will be locked u
: there and will be lost to our people.
: Among the valuable secrets Withheld
by them from the world was a strin
of charm-words that would cause
persons sweetheart to hate and des
pise ones rival. There are thous
: ands of young people today VIII
, would give great deal to know thos
1 charm words.
Outside the council house the story
teller was at liberty to tell many ar
other charm-word, song and folk
story. He would sit down quite W
: tremendously, anywhere, under tn
. shade of tree, beside a path or o
the bank of stream, and tell to an
e who would listen the legend of wher
the partridge got his whistle, no,
: the turkey came to have beard, q
how it happened that Tsistu, the raj
bit 1.-THE trickster among animals
had his lip split.