killed an eagle in defiance of
the ordinances he was constantly haunted by dreams of tierce eagles
swooping down upon him. until the nightmare was finally exorcised
after a lone- 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 tlie 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 sleepfor the winter.
When the people of a town had decided upon an Eagle dance the
282
MYTHS OF THE CHKKoKKK
[ETH. ANN. 19
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 con-
1 .r™i|Pr
s
IT! IP
j
Fig. 1 — Feather wand of Eagle dance (made by John