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SWANTON] CHOCTAW SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL. LIFE 215
men because on the night before one of his people had dreamed
that all of them had been killed. To dream of seeing a ghost
presaged sickness or death and a nightmare was thought to be
occasioned by a disembodied soul who had come to get the dreamer.'
The following regarding " mesmerism " and ventriloquism may
have little value but at least it was from the pen of a native Choc-
taw, Israel Folsom, already several times quoted.
Mesmerism was known among them, though they regarded it with wonder
and dread, and it was looked upon as injurious and hurtful in its results
while those who practiced this curious art had often to pay very dearly for it,
for they were frequently put to death. Ventriloquism has also been found
among them, and used solely for vain, selfisli and evil designs, but to the great
danger of the life of the person practicing it, for the Choctaws believe that
whatever appears supernatural, is suspicious and likely at any time to be
turned to evil purposes.*
Charms
Charms or fetishes were carried by each Choctaw man, and Cushman
says that there was one tribal fetish or medicine, but probably
we are to understand a fetish belonging to a town or a local group
otherwise more would have been reported regarding it. Very likely
this collective charm was of the same nature as that which a war
party carried.'
What we have called a charm or fetish Cushman designates a
" totem " in the following quotation
. . . every warrior had his totem ; i. e. a little sack filled with various
ingredients, the peculiarities of which were a profound secret to all but him-
self ; nor did any Indian ever seek or desire to know the contents of another's
totem, it was sacred to its possessor alone. I have more than once asked
some particular warrior friend concerning the contents of his totem but was
promptly refused with the reply : " You would not be any the wiser thereby."
Every warrior kept his Totem or " Medicine " about his person, by which he
sincerely believed he would be enabled to secure the aid of the Good Spirit in
warding off the evil designs of the Evil Spirit, in the existence of which they
as sincerely believed, and to whom they attributed the cause of all their mis-
fortunes, when failing to secure the aid of the Good Spirit.*
Pneumatology
The narrative by Alfred Wright is again our best guide to an
understanding of prehistoric Choctaw beliefs regarding the soul.
He says
The present generation of Choctaws believe that the soul, which they call
shilup, survives the body; but they do not appear to think that its condition
» See p. 217.
< Cushman, Hist. Inds.. p. 368.
^ See p. 165 ; Romans, Nat. Hist. E. and W. Fla., pp. 75-76.
« Cusliman, Hist. Inds., p. 38.