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oIbrechts] the swimmer MANUSCRIPT 25
Dawi'skulo"', or Flint, does not play so important a part in Chero-
kee medicine as he does in the mythology. To his reputation of
being an ogrelike being he owes the appeal made to him to come and
frighten the little girls at birth, thus enticing them "to jump down"
from their mothers. (See texts, p. 277.)
Various Little People.—Finally there are to be mentioned the vari-
ous kinds of "Little People," y9"'''^wi tsu'nsti'' fairylike beings of
either sex, very small (about 40 cm. high, informants say) with long
hair falling down to their heels.
They very seldom are mentioned as individuals, and usually act as
a group. There are colonies of Little People in the mountains, in
the rocks, in the water, and in the forests. They live in settlements
just as usual human beings, have clans, town houses, hold dances
and councils, etc., and frequently their music and dancing can be
heard at night by lonely travelers. As a rule they are invisible, but
there are a few cases on record where some rarely gifted individuals
(e. g., twins that are being brought up to be witches, cf. p. 129) can
see them and talk with them. They can speak Cherokee.
They are as a rule kindly inclined toward mankind and maj^ help
a hunter to find his arrows, or they may care for and feed a lost and
spent traveler. But they are also feared as disease causers and are
believed to especially choose children as their victims.
Animal Spirits
The animal spirits so frequently mentioned in the Cherokee formulas
are by no means to be thought of as identical with the specimens
of our earthly fauna. They are the prototypes of our common
animals and are far more considerable in size, power, swiftness, and
all other qualities than their earthly successors. They can not be
seen or heard, nor can their presence be felt by any of our senses;
yet we know what they are Uke, and how they behave; we know
even of what color they are. White, Red, Blue, etc., "because the
old people have always addressed them by those epithets."
It is needless to say that these colors are mainly imaginary; there
is not only a Brown Otter, but also a Red one, a Blue one, etc. The
same applies to all other animal spirits, as Deer, Bear, Dog, Weasel,
Raven, Eagle, Frog, Leech, etc. The same remarks we made with
regard to the colors of the Purple, Blue, etc.. Men (p. 24) no doubt
also hold here; we have only the color symbolism (p. 51) to blame
or to thank—for the existence of this multicolored spirit fauna.
The motives of these animal spirits in sending disease are mainlj'dictated
by considerations of self-defense, or in a spirit of vengeance
for the wrong done and the relentless warfare waged against them and
their species by the human race. This is lucidly shown by the myth
—