Among the papers thus obtained was a large number which for various
reasons it was found difficult to handle or file for preservation.
Many of them had been written so long ago that the ink had almost
faded from the paper; others were written with lead pencil, so that in
handling them the characters soon became blurred and almost illegible;
a great many were written on scraps of paper of all shapes and sizes;
and others again were full of omissions and doublets, due to the
carelessness of the writer, while many consisted simply of the prayer,
with nothing in the nature of a heading or prescription to show its
purpose.
Under the circumstances it was deemed expedient to have a number of
these formulas copied in more enduring form. For this purpose it
was decided to engage the services of Ayâsta’s youngest son, an
intelligent young man about nineteen years of age, who had attended
school long enough to obtain a fair acquaintance with English in
addition to his intimate knowledge of Cherokee. He was also gifted
with a ready comprehension, and from his mother and uncle Tsiskwa had
acquired some familiarity with many of the archaic expressions used in
the sacred formulas. He was commonly known as “Will West,” but signed
himself W.W. Long, Long being the translation of his father’s name,
Gûnahi´ta. After being instructed as to how the work should be done
with reference to paragraphing, heading, etc., he was furnished a
blank book of two hundred pages into which to copy such formulas as it
seemed desirable to duplicate. He readily grasped the idea and in the
course of about a month, working always under the writer’s personal
supervision, succeeded in completely filling the book according to
the plan outlined. In addition to the duplicate formulas he wrote
down a number of dance and drinking songs, obtained originally from
A‛yûⁿ´inĭ, with about thirty miscellaneous formulas obtained from
various sources. The book thus prepared is modeled on the plan of
an ordinary book, with headings, table of contents, and even with an
illuminated title page devised by the aid of the interpreter according
to the regular Cherokee idiomatic form, and is altogether a unique
specimen of Indian literary art. It contains in all two hundred and
fifty-eight formulas and songs, which of course are native aboriginal
productions, although the mechanical arrangement was performed under
the direction of a white man. This book also, under its Cherokee
title, _Kanâhe´ta Ani-Tsa´lagĭ E´tĭ_ or “Ancient Cherokee
Formulas,” is now in the library of the Bureau.
There is still a considerable quantity of such manuscript in the hands
of one or two shamans with whom there was no chance for negotiating,
but an effort will be made to obtain possession of these on some
future visit, should opportunity present. Those now in the Bureau
library comprised by far the greater portion of the whole quantity
held by the Indians, and as only a small portion of this was copied by
the owners it can not be duplicated by any future collector.