So now some of you young’uns might be rethinking their choices 😂. Here’s my thoughts on each.

Just came into today!

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THE BUFFALO GO
A Kiowa Legend
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Everything the Kiowas had come from the buffalo.
Their tipi's were made of buffalo hides; so were their clothes and moccasins.
They ate buffalo meat.
Their containers were made of hide, bladders, or stomachs.
The buffalo were the life of the Kiowas.
Most of all, the buffalo was part of the Kiowa religion.
A white buffalo calf must be sacrificed in the sun dance.
The priests used parts of the buffalo to make their prayers when they healed people or when they sang to the powers above.
So when the white men wanted to build railroads, or when they wanted to farm and raise cattle, the buffalo still protected the Kiowas.
They tore up the railroad tracks and the gardens.
They chased the cattle off the ranges.
The buffalo loved their people as much as the Kiowas loved them.
There was war between the buffalo and the white men.
The white men built forts in the Kiowa country, and the woolly-headed buffalo soldiers (the Tenth Cavalry, made up of Negro troops) shot the buffalo as fast as they could, but the buffalo still kept coming on, coming on, even into the post cemetery at Fort Sill.
Soldiers were not enough to hold them back.
Then the white men hired hunters to do nothing but kill the buffalo.
Up and down the plains those men ranged, shooting sometimes as many as a hundred buffalo a day.
Behind them came the skinners with their wagons.
They piled the hides and bones into the wagons until they were full, and then took their loads to the new railroad stations that were being built, to be shipped east to the market. Sometimes there would be a pile of bones as high as a man, stretching a mile along the railroad track.
The buffalo saw that their day was over.
They could protect their people no longer.
Sadly, the last remnant of the great herd gathered in council, and decided what they would do.
The Kiowas were camped on the north side of Mount Scott, those of them who were still free to camp.
One young woman got up very early in the morning.
The dawn mist was still rising from Medicine Creek, and as she looked across the water, peering through the haze, she saw the last buffalo herd appear like a spirit dream.
Straight to Mount Scott the leader of the herd walked.
Behind him came the cows and their calves, and the few young males who had survived.
As the woman watched, the face of the mountain opened.
Inside Mount Scott the world was green and fresh, as it had been when she was a small girl.
The rivers ran clear, not red.
The wild plains were in blossom, chasing the red buds up the inside slopes.
Into this world of beauty the buffalo walked,
never to be seen again.

My map Ruhdinya is my world for my dnd campaign and maybe book. The shaded and white spots are fog which can be shipped in and have weird creatures. The bottom circle is a desert and jungle combo. The left circle is a earring planes and the right circle is pirates and mountains. What do y’all think? Have a good day!

In his groundbreaking book ‘The Saturn Myth’ (inspired by the work of Immanuel Velikovsky who has correspondence with Albert Einstein about his ideas) researcher David Talbott analyzed myths from ancient cultures around the world and found that they all described the same phenomenon surrounding Saturn. He found that symbolism for Saturn is the same throughout ancient Mesopotamia, India, Greece, the Americas, and Egypt — and as documented by ancient cultures, explains how there was once a celestial alignment involving Saturn that occurred thousands of years ago. Based on ancient accounts throughout the world, Talbott describes a period of “great upheaval” in celestial bodies, when Saturn, Venus, and Mars descended and aligned overhead Earth in a spectacular astronomical event dubbed the “Saturn Polar Configuration”. As Talbott says in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “[The Saturn Polar Configuration is] the idea based on comparative mythology, that the Earth was once in close proximity, or even a satellite of the planet Saturn”. During this celestial upheavel, Mars descended from its position in the sky and formed a connection or stairway to Saturn which became known by the ancients as the heaven-sustaining giant Atlas, Mount Olympus, and the Tower of Babel, inter alia. Various cultures around the world recorded this celestial stairway. For example, the Makirtare Indians of the Amazonian rainforest tell of a time where the hero Ahishama, identified as Mars, climbed a stairway to Heaven. The Mesopotamian god Nergal also climbed a stairway to Heaven and was identified as Mars. Talbott calls this stairway the “Cosmic Mountain”. There are various illustrations of how this alignment would have looked here.
COSMIC MOUNTAIN TO SATURN
During this time of celestial upheaval, Saturn and the other bodies that were aligned with it went through various configurations in the sky (see the documentary series ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’) and at one point the light emanating from Venus behind Mars formed what appeared to be a pupil inside a triangle that Talbott associates with the All-Seeing-Eye. As Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “It’s impossible to pursue Saturn’s ancient image without encountering the paradise of Eden, the lost Atlantis, or the All-Seeing-Eye of heaven”. The Saturn Polar Configuration was mostly characterized by an 8-pointed star or 8-spoked wheel. Here is an image of Saturn holding an 8-spoked wheel (as shown in ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’). The crescent under Saturn was morphed and anthropomorphized. The Saturn-crescent was morphed into wings — with the solar disc (Saturn) placed in the centre, such as with the Egyptian winged Kheper. Quote from ‘The Saturn Myth’: “Of the crescent in the primary images and ancient sources present these basic forms: The horns of the bull-god or the uplifted arms of the heaven-sustaining giant [such as Atlas]. The outstretched wings of the mother goddess (or winged god). But these same wings, or arms, constitute the great god’s sailing vessel [Saturn Ship] which in turn is depicted as two shining horns”. As Talbott points out in ‘The Saturn Myth’, the fundamental themes of Saturn imagery include the the Saturn Ship, the All-Seeing-Eye, the two sacred pillars of Heaven (morphed into the Hercules and Masonic pillars) — the two shining horns and uplifted arms of the heaven-sustaining giant which were all based on the same celestial alignment in the sky.
https://preview.redd.it/66tfb9crav2b1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2c9f5dd75b84ca829e00d094d5669d4d3482229
The 8-pointed star (as seen in the Saturn Polar Configuration and as shown above) is a symbol of Freemasonry. The Masonic image below has a circle inside the 8-pointed star (called the circumpunct — an ancient symbol of the Sun). In his book ‘Morals and Dogma’, 33 degree Freemason Albert Pike connects the ancient Sun to the All-Seeing-Eye and the Masonic Blazing Star, saying: “The Blazing Star has been regarded as an emblem of Omniscience, or the All-Seeing-Eye, which to the ancients was the Sun”. This is curious, because we know that the ancients considered Saturn to be the Sun — as explained by Talbott in ‘The Saturn Myth’. The Babylonians associated Saturn with the Sun (as “son of Shamash” and “star of Helios”) and the name for Saturn in Chaldean astronomy was Alap-Shamas, meaning “Star of the Sun”. In the article ‘Saturn as the Sun of Night in Ancient Eastern Tradition’, Peter James says, “attested in Mesopotamia and followed by the Greeks and Hindus, there’s a long-standing association with Saturn as the Sun”. Troy McLachlan, says, in his book ‘The Saturn Death Cult’: “The ancients did indeed see a Sun-like object residing in their skies — and that object was Saturn”. According to political scientist Alfred De Grazia in his book ‘Homo Schizo: Human Nature’, Isaac Vail (who was an amateur scientific theorist) connected the All-Seeing-Eye (which remember was the Masonic Blazing Star) to the Saturn Polar Configuration, saying: “The All-Seeing-Eye is one of the earliest and most nearly universal symbols. Isaac Vail believed that the primordial eye was the boreal opening from which Saturn on his throne looked down upon his domain”. The letter G in the image below takes the place of Venus in the Saturn Polar Configuration. 33 degree Freemason Arthur Waite quotes famous occultist Eliphas Levi telling us that the letter “G” stands for Venus (see his book ‘The Mysteries of Magic: A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi’).
https://preview.redd.it/6utnkyytav2b1.png?width=467&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf8ccc7bf37d0ddae3b5b4aa0285d8f2c64f859b
Another instance of the 8-pointed star on a Freemason building in Lisbon:
https://preview.redd.it/08azng1wav2b1.png?width=639&format=png&auto=webp&s=f512374111edcaf0ef5b48f2689ef9a910b87fd3
During the various configurations of the Saturn Polar Configuration that produced various visual characteristics, the smaller orb of Venus (and also at different times Mars which produced a darker dot as shown here from ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’) appeared as a circumpunct that passed in front of the larger orb of Saturn. As Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’: “From one section of the world to another the planet-god’s worshippers drew pictures of the Saturnian Configuration and these pictures become the universal signs and symbols of antiquity. In the global lexicon of symbols, the most common images are the enclosed Sun ⊙ [the ancient Sun corresponding to Saturn according to Talbott] and the enclosed Sun cross ⊕. It appears that every ancient race revered these signs”. Author Dan Brown explains the circumpunct as follows: “In the idiom of symbology, there was one symbol [the circumpunct] that reigned supreme above all others. The oldest and most universal, this symbol fused all the ancient traditions in a single solitary image that represented the illumination of the Egyptian Sun-god, the triumph of alchemical gold, the wisdom of the Philosopher’s Stone, the purity of the Rosicrucian Rose, the moment of Creation, the All, the dominance of the astrological Sun, and the omniscient All-Seeing-Eye that hovered atop the unfinished pyramid”. According to Wikipedia: “Throughout history, the circumpunct has been all things to all people — it’s the Sun-god Ra, alchemical gold, and the All-Seeing-Eye”. In ‘The Saturn Myth’, Talbott identifies Ra as Saturn, saying: “One finds of interest an Egyptian ostrakon (1st century B.C.) cited by Franz Boll: The ostrakon identifies the planet Saturn as the great god Ra”. The circumpunct can be seen in Freemason artwork (as shown below). The image on the bottom right is an illustration of the Saturn Polar Configuration from the documentary ‘Symbols of an Alien Sky’ (with Venus as the luminous dot).
https://preview.redd.it/8xsmwgezav2b1.png?width=750&format=png&auto=webp&s=adc33c03e84d3d3f973ccb9ff44d812cb8875516
The luminous U-shape created by the Saturn-crescent became morphed into pillars. Talbott says in ‘The Saturn Myth’ when explaining the twin-pillar or twin-peaked crescent of the Saturn Polar Configuration: “In all ancient myths of the lost paradise, the land of peace and plenty rests upon a cosmic pillar — “Earth’s highest mountain”. One of the peculiarities of the Mount is that it possesses two peaks, rising to the right and left of the central column. The Egyptian Mount of Glory (Khut) reveals two peaks between which rests the Aten or enclosed Sun 𓈌. Depicted by this sign are “the two great mountains on which Re appears”. And what is most interesting about the Egyptian symbol of the cleft peak 𓈋 is that it finds strikingly similar parallels in other lands. The Mesopotamian Sun-god rests upon a twin-peaked world mountain of identical form and the same dual mount occurs also in Mexico — here too revealing the Sun-god between the two peaks. In Hebrew and Muslim thought “the mountain of paradise is a double one” observes Wensinck. To the Hebrews Sinai, Ebol, and Gerezim were all conceived as images of a twin-peaked mountain, states Jeremias. In the primeval Tyre (paradise) according to the description of Nonnus, a “double rock” rises from the ocean. In its centre is an olive (the central Sun) which automatically emits fire, setting it in a perpetual blaze. The Syrian and Hittite great gods stand equally balanced upon two mountains. In the beginning, according to a central Asiatic legend related by Uno Holmberg, “there was only water, from which the two great mountains emerged”. From the central mount of Hindu cosmology rise two secondary peaks. Of course, the twin pillars of Hercules point to the same idea”. In his book ‘Mortal Jigsaw Puzzle’, Grieving Patriot says: “In ancient history, this twin pillar construct is also referred to as the pillars of Hercules, a gateway beyond which lay the path to enlightenment”.
https://preview.redd.it/lvcvkrq2bv2b1.png?width=669&format=png&auto=webp&s=dc0fe919e01594a12065de19fe5ef2c278d62ec2
Notice the Saturn-crescent below which appears as two pillars:
https://preview.redd.it/6x1zyhb5bv2b1.png?width=231&format=png&auto=webp&s=c2cf5fa59523763971c1545cfa46ee1b9887a9fe
This same symbol is seen throughout the ancient world such as the Phoenician Tanit symbol where the Saturn-crescent has become fully morphed into pillars:
https://preview.redd.it/6bus33k7bv2b1.png?width=220&format=png&auto=webp&s=c0fe6fd3b9553294d3fabfbb66cbb46885c86e25
The symbols above became the basis for Freemason Tracing Boards showing the Blazing Star placed between two pillars:
https://preview.redd.it/478ni6s9bv2b1.png?width=430&format=png&auto=webp&s=096f861563619f6a8a60cd69bc57e87eaced8d8c
In ‘The Saturn Myth’, Talbott corresponds the Saturn Polar Configuration to a gateway, saying: “The god “comes out” and “goes in” on the [Saturnian] mountaintop through the “gate”, but he accomplishes this without moving from his fixed abode”. Talbott also cites Coffin Text talking about how the Saturn Polar Configuration was a portal. The text reads: “I did four good deeds within the portal of the Mount of Glory. I made the four winds that every man might breathe”. Talbott explains that the sign 𓈌 is the Mount of Glory. This is the same sign given by Talbott for the Saturn Polar Configuration. Talbott expands on the idea that the Saturn Polar Configuration was a kind of gate in his article here in which he says: “One of the archetypal forms I had discussed involved the global myths and symbols of the “Chain of Arrows”, a theme inseparably connected to another archetype, the “Ladder of Heaven”. As the story was told, a great warrior launches arrows into the sky, each embedding itself in the one above to form a ladder or stairway to the land of the gods”. The Saturn Polar Configuration went through various configurations that produced various visual characteristics, but was mostly characterized by an 8-pointed star. The 8-pointed star was known as the “Cross of Ilu” or “Bab-Ilu” which means “Gate of God”. According to investigative mythologist William Henry, author of over 18 books in alternative science, the 8-pointed star represented a portal or a Gate of God, saying: “Wherever archaeologists discovered remains of the early Sumerian civilizations the symbol of the “Gate of the Gods” was prominently displayed. The Sumerians depicted this gate as an 8-pointed star”. Since the beginning of the written word, countless stories have begun by ripping holes in the fabric of reality and pulling their protagonists through. Portals date back to the oldest written text we have on record — the 4,000-year-old Sumerian tale Epic of Gilgamesh — in which the hero travels through a mountaintop portal to the land of the gods. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero travels to the gate of the Sun-god Shamash at the mountain of Mashu.
The same 8-pointed star keyhole symbolism as the Saturn Polar Configuration is shown below on a Masonic stained-glass window:
https://preview.redd.it/oow7tgmhbv2b1.png?width=445&format=png&auto=webp&s=3fb43f1b14b2c6588e39e2ecd93aa0255508e922
Even though the Saturn Polar Configuration corresponds to the Masonic image above of the Blazing Star between the pillars, it’s generally assumed that the Blazing Star between the Masonic pillars is Sirius — not Saturn or Venus. Masonic historian Henry Coil says: “But whether the Blazing Star refers to Saturn or the Sun or some other heavenly body is not ascertainable”. In his book ‘Myth, Magick, and Masonry’, Jaime Lamb connects the Masonic Blazing Star to Venus, saying: “The Blazing Star’s relationship to Venus (also anciently known as the Morning Star) may best be illustrated by the fact that it’s represented in the form of a pentagram. This significance comes primarily from the fact that Venus traces [a perfect pentagram across the sky every eight years when observed from Earth”]. The fact that the Masonic Blazing Star is also sometimes represented by an 8-pointed star (as shown in the image above) might also point towards it being Venus. The Mesopotamian goddess Inanna was worshipped as the embodiment of Venus and her symbol was the 8-pointed star. In the 1875 of ‘Freemason’s Monthly Volume 6’, we read: “Venus, whose orbit is within but on a level with our own… is the brilliant “Blazing Star” that heralds the rising or attends the setting Sun”. While some argue that the Masonic Blazing Star is Venus, some have suggested that it could be Jupiter. The ancient Greeks knew Jupiter as Phaethon (Φαέθων) meaning “Shining One” or “Blazing Star”. Whether the Masonic Blazing Star is Sirius, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Alcyone, Aldebaran, the Moon, or some other heavenly body, it’s acknowledged by some that Freemasons misguide people as to the true meaning of their symbols. For example, the prominent Freemason, Albert Pike, said in his book ‘Morals and Dogma’: “Part of the symbols are displayed there to the initiate, but he is intentionally misled by false interpretations. It’s not intended that he shall understand them; but it’s intended that he shall imagine that he understands them”. Part of the problem is that much of what Freemasons are doing is buried under layers of armour-clad secrecy so many strata deep that only archaeologists of the distant future will have any hope of disinterring any of these things.
The Egyptian symbol of the Ankh was based on the Saturn Polar Configuration, as Talbott explains in ‘The Saturn Myth’, saying: “The Ankh (whose origins experts have long debated) is but a conventionalized image of the [Saturn] Polar Configuration”. In his book ‘Secret Societies: Revelations About Freemasons’, Philip Gardiner explains that the Ankh was seen as a gateway or portal into a higher dimension. Quote: “The Ankh is known as the Crux Ansata. It’s a simple T-cross, surmounted by an oval — called the Ru. The Ru is often seen as a gateway or portal to another dimension, such as Heaven. The Ankh therefore becomes the symbol of transition from one place to another. It outlived Egyptian domination and was widely used by the Christians as the [Latin] Cross”. As well as being linked to the Ankh, the Saturn Polar Configuration can be linked to other symbols, such as the symbol of the All-Seeing-Eye. Probably the most recognizable Masonic symbol is the All-Seeing-Eye, included in the architecture of the Great Seal of the U.S. Dollar Bill. Fixed within a triangle, the disembodied eye is surrounded by rays of light and rests upon an unfinished pyramid. The All-Seeing-Eye finds its roots in ancient Egypt as the Eye of Horus (or Ra) and can be traced back to the Saturn Polar Configuration. During the alignment of Saturn, Venus, and Mars, in their different configurations, they formed a triangle and 8-pointed star. Quote from ‘The Saturn Myth’: “Saturn wears the band as a golden girdle, collar or crown. He dwells in it as the pupil of the All-Seeing-Eye”. To see this All-Seeing-Eye alignment explained see ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky#5’. The image below is loosely how this would have looked. In his (co-authored) book ‘The Ark of Millions of Years’, physicist Alexander Agnew, who has published thousands of technical papers, says: “The portal into Heaven is marked by the All-Seeing-Eye”. So, could this be what the Saturn Polar Configuration essentially is, then? Some portal or gateway into Heaven?
THE SATURN POLAR CONFIGURATION FROM ‘DISCOURSES ON AN ALIEN SKY’
This is likely the inspiration for the All-Seeing-Eye on the U.S. Dollar Bill.
https://preview.redd.it/uwxl1cipbv2b1.png?width=641&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8f880f2d3343a38e88b941370f234ff869c1023
Some have suggested that the symbols on the U.S. Dollar Bill were created by Freemasons. After all, some of the Founding Fathers were apparently Freemasons (such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin) and the All-Seeing-Eye was ostensibly adopted by Freemasonry in 1797 and only 5 years later was adopted on the reverse-side of The Great Seal. Many believe that Freemasons are responsible for the eye-excruciatingly small image of the owl; a Masonic symbol for “knowledge”. So, what’s the goal of Freemasons, then? Assuming the All-Seeing-Eye on the U.S. Dollar Bill is a respresentation of the Saturn Polar Configuration, which Talbott has associated with the Tower of Babel, we then have a connection between Freemasons and the Tower of Babel. Indeed, some have suggested that the pyramid on the U.S. Dollar Bill is a representation of the Tower of Babel. According to researcher Jim Cornwell: “The pyramid on the Great Seal represents the unfinished Tower of Babel”. In his book ‘Antichrist Osiris: The History of the Luciferian Conspiracy’, Chris Relitz writes: “The unfinished [pyramid] seen on the American Dollar Bill may be a reference to the Tower of Babel”. According to Christopher Hodapp in his book ‘Freemason Symbols and Ceremonies For Dummies’: “Freemasonry’s legends claim that the group was descended from the great builders of the Old Testament — Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, and King Solomon’s Temple”. Researcher Alexander Slade describes how Freemasons were possibly responsible for the Tower of Babel. Tentatively then, it would make sense if the goal of Freemasons was to recreate the Tower of Babel and reconnect Heaven with Earth.
Below is an old Freemason Tracing Board showing the All-Seeing-Eye over a pillar, with the pillar likely representing the Cosmic Mountain:
https://preview.redd.it/lf6u7dxwbv2b1.png?width=476&format=png&auto=webp&s=bfc01b8fd71b15fb116ec32fea46fbf6393fac64
The image below is a comparison between the Masonic Square and Compass (on the left) the Stargate logo (in the centre) and the Cosmic Mountain to Saturn and Venus (on the right) also called the “Saturn Polar Configuration”. The design of the Square and Compass corresponds to the configuration of Saturn, Venus, and the Cosmic Mountain, as seen in ‘Discourses on an Alien Sky’. In this interpretation, the circle at the apex of the Masonic Compass represents the Blazing Star and the triangular appearance of the Compass itself represents the Cosmic Mountain or pathway.
https://preview.redd.it/f90wb6wzbv2b1.png?width=645&format=png&auto=webp&s=e26ff16f7d653d84831ce8f7e2af04a0c0d1077e
The connection between Freemasonry and the Saturn Polar Configuration becomes more apparent when we compare the stained-glass painting above to the front cover of ‘The Saturn Myth’ book as shown here.

Definitely recommend 👍 Flavor profile - Mountain Dew baja blast with piney undertones. This cart leans more on the nova cane profile and doesn’t resemble the peach soda flavor profile fyi. Effects - Clear high, head bake, sativa dominant, mellow but enjoyable high.. Overall enjoying this one!

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THE BIRD TRIBES
A Cherokee Legend
Winged creatures of all kinds are classed under the generic term of aninâ'hilidâ'hï (flyers). Birds are called, alike in the singular and plural, tsi'skwa, the term being generally held to exclude the domestic fowls introduced by the whites.
When it is necessary to make the distinction they are mentioned, respectively, as inägëhï (living in the woods), and uluñni'ta (tame).
The robin is called tsiskwa'gwä, a name which can not be analyzed, while the little sparrow is called tsikwâ'yä (the real or principal bird), perhaps, in accord with a principle in Indian nomenclature, on account of its wide distribution.
As in other languages, many of the bird names are onomatopes, as wa`huhu' (the screech owl), u'guku' (the hooting owl), wagulï' (the whippoorwill), kâgû (the crow), gügwë' (the quail), huhu (the yellow mocking-bird), tsï'kïlï' (the chickadee), sa'sa' (the goose).
The turtledove is called gulë'-diska`nihï' (it cries for acorns), on account of the resemblance of' it cry to the sound of the word for acorn. (gulë')
The meadowlark is called näkwïsï' (star), on account of the appearance of its tail when spread out as it soars.
The nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis) is called tsulie'na (deaf), and is supposed to be without bearing, possibly on account of its fearless disregard for man's presence.
Certain diseases are diagnosed by the doctors as due to birds, either revengeful bird ghosts, bird feathers about the house, or bird shadows falling upon the patient from overhead.
The eagle (awâ'hïlï) is the great sacred bird of the Cherokee, as of nearly all our native tribes, and figures prominently in their ceremonial ritual, especially in all things relating to war.
The particular species prized was the golden or war eagle (Aquila chrsætus), called by the Cherokee the pretty-feathered eagle, on account of its beautiful tail feathers, white, tipped with black, which were in such great demand for decorative and ceremonial purposes that among the western tribes a single tail was often rated as equal in value to a horse.
Among the Cherokee in the old times the killing of an eagle was an event which concerned the whole settlement, and could be undertaken only by the professional eagle killer, regularly chosen for the purpose on account of his knowledge of the prescribed forms and the prayers to be said afterwards in order to obtain pardon for the necessary sacrilege, and thus ward off vengeance from the tribe.
It is told of one man upon the reservation that having deliberately killed an eagle in defiance of the ordinances he was constantly haunted by dreams of fierce eagles swooping down upon him, until the nightmare was finally exercised after a long course of priestly treatment. In 1890 there was but one eagle killer remaining among the East Cherokee.
It does not appear that the eagle was ever captured alive as among the plains tribes.
The eagle must be killed only in the winter or late fall after the crops were gathered and the snakes had retired to their dens.
If killed in the summertime a frost would come to destroy the corn, while the songs of the Eagle dance, when the feathers were brought home, would so anger the snakes that they would become doubly dangerous.
Consequently the Eagle songs were never sung until after the snakes had gone to sleep for the winter.
When the people of a town had decided upon an Eagle dance the eagle killer was called in, frequently from a distant settlement, to procure the feathers for the occasion.
He was paid for his services from offerings made later at the dance, and as the few professionals guarded their secrets carefully from outsiders their business was a quite profitable one.
After some preliminary preparation the eagle killer sets out alone for the mountains, taking with him his gun or bow and arrows.
Having reached the mountains, he goes through a vigil of prayer and fasting, possibly lasting four days, after which he hunts until he succeeds in killing a deer.
Then, placing the body in a convenient exposed situation upon one of the highest cliffs, he conceals himself near by and begins to sing in a low undertone the songs to call down the eagles from the sky.
When the eagle alights upon the carcass, which will be almost immediately if the singer understands his business, he shoots it, and then standing over the dead bird, he addresses to it a prayer in which he begs it not to seek vengeance upon his tribe, because it is not a Cherokee, but a Spaniard (Askwa'nï) that has done the deed.
The selection of such a vicarious victim of revenge is evidence at once of the antiquity of the prayer in its present form and of the enduring impression which the cruelties of the early Spanish adventurers made upon the natives.
The prayer ended, he leaves the dead eagle where it fell and makes all haste to the settlement, where the people are anxiously expecting his return.
On meeting the first warriors he says simply, A snowbird has died, and passes on at once to his own quarters, his work being now finished.
The announcement is made in this form in order to insure against the vengeance of any eagles that might overhear, the little snowbird being considered too insignificant a creature to be dreaded.
Having waited four days to allow time for the insect parasites to leave the body, the hunters delegated for the purpose go out to bring in the feathers.
On arriving at the place they strip the body of the large tail and wing feathers, which they wrap in a fresh deerskin brought with them, and then return to the settlement, leaving the body of the dead eagle upon the ground, together with that of the slain deer, the latter being intended as a sacrifice to the eagle spirits.
On reaching the settlement, the feathers, still wrapped in the deerskin, are hung up in a small, round hut built for this special purpose near the edge of the dance ground (detsänûñ'lï) and known as the place where the feathers are kept, or feather house.
Some settlements had two such feather houses, one at each end of the dance ground.
The Eagle dance was held on the night of the same day on which the feathers were brought in, all the necessary arrangements having been made beforehand. In the meantime, as the feathers were supposed to be hungry after their journey, a dish of venison and corn was set upon the ground below them and they were invited to eat.
The body of a flax bird or scarlet tanager (Piranga rubra) was also hung up with the feathers for the same purpose.
The food thus given to the feathers was disposed of after the dance, as described in another place.
The eagle being regarded as a great ada'wehï, only the greatest warriors and those versed in the sacred ordinances would dare to wear the feathers or to carry them in the dance. Should any person in the settlement dream of eagles or eagle feathers he must arrange for an Eagle dance, with the usual vigil and fasting, at the first opportunity; otherwise some one of his family will die.
Should the insect parasites which infest the feathers of the bird in life get upon a man they will breed a skin disease which is sure to develop, even though it may be latent for years.
It is for this reason that the body of the eagle is allowed to remain four days upon the ground before being brought into the settlement.
The raven (kâ'länû) is occasionally seen in the mountains, but is not prominent in folk belief, excepting in connection with the gruesome tales of the Raven Mocker (q. v.).
In former times its name was sometimes assumed as a war title.
The crow, so prominent in other tribal mythologies, does not seem to appear in that of the Cherokee.
Three varieties of owls are recognized, each under a different name, viz tskïlï', the dusky horned owl (Bubo virginianus saturatus); u'guku', the barred or hooting owl (Syrnium nebulosum), and wa`huhu', the screech owl (Megascops asio).
The first of these names signifies a witch, the others being onomatopes.
Owls and other night-crying birds are believed to be embodied ghosts or disguised witches, and their cry is dreaded as a sound of evil omen.
If the eyes of a child be bathed with water in which one of the long wing or tail feathers of an owl has been soaked, the child will be able to keep awake all night.
The feather must be found by chance, and not procured intentionally for the purpose.
On the other hand, an application of water in which the feather of a blue jay, procured in the same way, has been soaked will make the child an early riser.
The buzzard (sulï') is said to have had a part in shaping the Earth, as was narrated in the genesis myth.
It is reputed to be a doctor among birds, and is respected accordingly, although its feathers are never worn by ball players, for fear of becoming bald. Its own baldness is accounted for by a vulgar story.
As it thrives upon carrion and decay, it is held to be immune from sickness, especially of a contagious character, and a small quantity of its flesh eaten, or of the soup used as a wash, is believed to be a sure preventive of smallpox, and was used for this purpose during the smallpox epidemic among the East Cherokee in 1866.
According to the Wahnenauhi manuscript, it is said also that a buzzard feather placed over the cabin door will keep out witches.
In treating gunshot wounds, the medicine is blown into the wound through a tube cut from a buzzard quill and some of the buzzard's down is afterwards laid over the spot.
There is very little concerning hawks, excepting as regards the great mythic hawk, the Tlä'nuwä'. The tlä'nuwä' usdi', or little tlä'nuwä,) is described as a bird about as large as a turkey and of a grayish blue color, which used to follow the flocks of wild pigeons, flying overhead and darting down occasionally upon a victim, which it struck and killed with its sharp breast and ate upon the wing, without alighting.
It is probably the goshawk (Astur atricapillus).
The common swamp gallinule, locally known as mud hen or didapper (Gallinula galeata), is called diga'gwanï' (lame or crippled), on account of its habit of flying only for a very short distance at a time.
In the Diga'gwanï dance the performers sing the name of the bird and endeavor to imitate its halting movements.
The dagûl`kû, or white-fronted goose (Anser albifrons) appears in connection with the myth of the origin of tobacco.
The feathers of the tskwâyï, the great white heron or American egret (Herodias egretta), are worn by ball players, and this bird probably the swan whose white wing was used as a peace emblem in ancient times.
A rare bird said to have been seen occasionally upon the reservation many years ago was called by the curious name of nûñdä-dikanï', it looks at the sun, sun-gazer.
It is described as resembling a blue crane, and may possibly have been the Floridus cerulea, or little blue heron.
Another infrequent visitor, which sometimes passed over the mountain country in company with flocks of wild geese, was the gu'wisguwï', so called from its cry.
It is described as resembling a large snipe, with yellow legs and feet unwebbed, and is thought to visit Indian Territory at intervals. It is chiefly notable from the fact that the celebrated chief John Ross derives his Indian name, Gu'wisguwï', from this bird, the name being perpetuated in Cooweescoowee district of the Cherokee Nation in the West.
Another chance visitant, concerning which there is much curious speculation among the older men of the East Cherokee, was called tsun'digwûntsu'`gï or tsun'digwûn'tskï, forked, referring to the tail.
It appeared but once, for a short season, about forty years ago, and has not been seen since.
It is said to have been pale blue, with red in places, and nearly the size of a crow, and to have had a long forked tail like that of a fish.
It preyed upon hornets, which it took upon the wing, and also feasted upon the larva in the nests.
Appearing unexpectedly and as suddenly disappearing, it was believed to be not a bird but a transformed red-horse fish (Moxostoma, Cherokee âligä'), a theory borne out by the red spots and the long, forked tail.
It is even maintained that about the time those birds first appeared some hunters on Oconaluftee saw seven of them sitting on the limb of a tree and they were still shaped like a red-horse, although they already had wings and feathers.
It was undoubtedly the scissor-tail or swallow-tailed flycatcher (Milvulus forficatus), which belongs properly in Texas and the adjacent region, but strays occasionally into the eastern states.
On account of the red throat appendage of the turkey, somewhat resembling the goitrous growth known in the South as kernels (Cherokee, dule'tsï), the feathers of this bird are not worn by ball players, neither is the neck allowed to be eaten by children or sick persons, under the fear that a growth of kernels would be the result.
The meat of the ruffed grouse, locally known as the pheasant (Bonasa umbellus), is taboo to a pregnant woman, because this bird hatches a large brood, but loses most of them before maturity.
Under a stricter construction of the theory this meat is forbidden to a woman until she is past child bearing.
The redbird, tatsu'hwä, is believed to have been originally the daughter of the Sun (see the story).
The huhu, or yellow mockingbird, occurs in several stories.
It is regarded as something supernatural, possibly on account of its imitative powers, and its heart is given to children to make them quick to learn.
The chickadee (Parus carolinensis), and the tufted titmouse, (Parus bicolor), utsu'`gï, or u'stûtï, are both regarded as news bringers, but the one is venerated as a truth teller while the other is scoffed at as a lying messenger, for reasons which appear in the story of Nûñyunu'wï (q. v.).
When the tsïkïlilï' perches on a branch near the house and chirps its song it is taken as an omen that an absent friend will soon be heard from or that a secret enemy is plotting mischief.
Many stories are told in confirmation of this belief, among which may be instanced that of Tom Starr, a former noted outlaw of the Cherokee Nation of the West, who, on one occasion, was about to walk unwittingly into an ambush prepared for him along a narrow trail, when he heard the warning note of the tsïkïlilï', and, turning abruptly, ran up the side of the ridge and succeeded in escaping with his life, although hotly pursued by his enemies.