[115-1]
The charm which the Creeks presented their young men when they set out
on the war path was of very similar character. It was composed of the
bones of the panther and the horn of the fabulous horned snake.
According to a legend taken down by an unimpeachable authority toward
the close of the last century, the great snake dwelt in the waters; the
old people went to the brink and sang the sacred songs. The monster rose
to the surface. The sages recommenced the mystic chants. He rose a
little out o[TN-3] the water. Again they repeated the songs. This time
he showed his horns and they cut one off. Still a fourth time did they
sing, and as he rose to listen cut off the remaining horn. A fragment of
these in the "war physic" protected from inimical arrows and gave
success in the conflict.[116-1]
In these myths, which attribute good fortune to the horn of the snake,
that horn which pierces trees and rocks, which rises from the waters,
which glitters as a gem, which descends from the ravines of the
mountains, we shall not overstep the bounds of prudent reasoning if we
see the thunderbolt, sign of the fructifying rain, symbol of the
strength of the lightning, horn of the heavenly serpent.
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