ta'ladu', nurHgt" "sixteen, four, sixteen, four." The
elephant, which a few of the Cherokee have seen in show-, is called
by them Je&ma'md u'tdnu, "great butterfly," from the supposed resem-
blance of its long trunk and flapping ears to the proboscis and wines
<>1 that insect. The anatomical peculiarities of the opossum, of both
sexes, are the subject of much curious speculation among the Indians,
many of whom believe that its young are produced without an) help
from the male. It occurs in one or two of the minor myths.
The fox (tsu''ld) is mentioned in one of the formulas, but doc- no
appear in the tribal folklore. The black fox is known by a differenf
name {in&'U). The odor of the skunk (dUd') is believed to keep off
contagious diseases, and the scent bag is therefore taken outto
the little formula which is familiar to nearly every mother in the tribe,
when the loosened milk tooth is pulled out or drops out of itself, the
child runs with it around the house, repeating four times, " Dd'yi,
sl'nitu' (Beaver, put a new tooth into my jaw)'* after which he throws
the tooth upon the roof of the house.
In a characteristic song formula to prevent frostbite the traveler,
before starting out on a cold winter morning, rubs his feet in the ashes
of the tire and sings a song of four verses, by means of which, accord-
ing to the Indian idea, he acquires in turn the cold-defying powers of
the wolf, fleer, fox, and opossum, four animals whose feet, it is held,
are never frostbitten. After each verse he imitates the cry and the
action of