Some warriors of Chilhowee town, on Little Tennessee, organized a
war party, as they said, to go against the Shawano. They started
off north along the great war trail, but when they came to Pigeon
river they changed their course, and instead of going on toward the
Shawano country they went up the river and came in at the back of
Cowee, one of the Middle settlements of their own tribe. Here they
concealed themselves near the path until a party of three or four
unsuspecting townspeople came by, when they rushed out and killed them,
took their scalps and a gun belonging to a man named Gûñskali'ski,
and then hurriedly made their way home by the same roundabout route to
Chilhowee, where they showed the fresh scalps and the gun, and told
how they had met the Shawano in the north and defeated them without
losing a man.
According to custom, preparations were made at once for a great scalp
dance to celebrate the victory over the Shawano. The dance was held
in the townhouse and all the people of the settlement were there
and looked on, while the women danced with the scalps and the gun,
and the returned warriors boasted of their deeds. As it happened,
among those looking on was a visitor from Cowee, a gunstocker, who
took particular notice of the gun and knew it at once as one he had
repaired at home for Gûñskali'ski. He said nothing, but wondered much
how it had come into possession of the Shawano.
The scalp dance ended, and according to custom a second dance was
appointed to be held seven days later, to give the other warriors also
a chance to boast of their own war deeds. The gunstocker, whose, name
was Gûlsadihi', returned home to Cowee, and there heard for the first
time how a Shawano war party had surprised some of the town people,
killed several, and taken their scalps and a gun. He understood it
all then, and told the chief that the mischief had been done, not
by a hostile tribe, but by the false men of Chilhowee. It seemed too
much to believe, and the chief said it could not be possible, until
the gunstocker declared that he had recognized the gun as one he had
himself repaired for the man who had been killed. At last they were
convinced that his story was true, and all Cowee was eager for revenge.
It was decided to send ten of their bravest warriors, under the
leadership of the gunstocker, to the next dance at Chilhowee, there to
take their own method of reprisal. Volunteers offered at once for the
service. They set out at the proper time and arrived at Chilhowee on
the night the dance was to begin. As they crossed the stream below the
town they met a woman coming for water and took their first revenge by
killing her. Men, women, and children were gathered in the townhouse,
but the Cowee men concealed themselves outside and waited.
In this dance it was customary for each warrior in turn to tell
the story of some deed against the enemy, putting his words into a
song which he first whispered to the drummer, who then sang with
him, drumming all the while. Usually it is serious business, but
occasionally, for a joke, a man will act the clown or sing of some
extravagant performance that is so clearly impossible that all the
people laugh. One man after another stepped into the ring and sang
of what he had done against the enemies of his tribe. At last one
of the late war party rose from his seat, and after a whisper to the
drummer began to sing of how they had gone to Cowee and taken scalps
and the gun, which he carried as he danced. The chief and the people,
who knew nothing of the treacherous act, laughed heartily at what
they thought was a great joke.
But now the gunstocker, who had been waiting outside with the
Cowee men, stripped off his breechcloth and rushed naked into the
townhouse. Bending down to the drummer--who was one of the traitors,
but failed to recognize Gûlsadihi'--he gave him the words, and then
straightening up he began to sing, "Hi! Ask who has done this!" while
he danced around the circle, making insulting gestures toward everyone
there. The song was quick and the drummer beat very fast.
He made one round and bent down again to the drummer, then straightened
up and sang, "Yu! I have killed a pregnant woman at the ford and
thrown her body into the river!" Several men started with surprise,
but the chief said, "He is only joking; go on with the dance," and
the drummer beat rapidly.
Another round and he bent down again to the drummer and then began to
sing, "We thought our enemies were from the north, but we have followed
them and they are here!" Now the drummer knew at last what it all meant
and he drummed very slowly, and the people grew uneasy. Then, without
waiting on the drummer, Gûlsadihi' sang, "Cowee will have a ball play
with you!"--and everyone knew this was a challenge to battle--and then
fiercely: "But if you want to fight now my men are ready to die here!"
With that he waved his hand and left the townhouse. The dancers looked
at each other uneasily and some of them rose to go. The chief, who
could not understand it, urged them to go on with the dance, but it
was of no avail. They left the townhouse, and as they went out they
met the Cowee men standing with their guns ready and their hatchets
in their belts. Neither party said anything, because they were still
on friendly ground, but everyone knew that trouble was ahead.
The Cowee men returned home and organized a strong party of warriors
from their own and all the neighboring Middle settlements to go and
take vengeance on Chilhowee and on Kuwâ'hi, just below, which had also
been concerned in the raid. They went down the Tennessee and crossed
over the mountains, but when they came on the other side they found
that their enemies had abandoned their homes and fled for refuge to
the remoter settlements or to the hostile Shawano in the north.