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57 Some Cherokees used to wear a long beard, and others pulled it out with a wire. But if they had not a wire they daubed pitch on their faces, and by means of that pulled out the beard with their fingers. citation: T. Smith. Formerly many wore a long beard, yet some considered it unbecoming, and therefore pulled out their own beards, and doctored their sons by rubbing something on their faces to prevent the beard from growing. citation: Zacheriah. The Raven, supposed to be considerably over one hundred years old, & now blind, says that anciently the Cherokee men uniformly wore a long beard, as their fathers had done, & considered it peculiarly ornamental. It seldom grew over six inches long. It was considered an almost unpardonable offense to seize a man by his beard. When one did it, he was generally killed by witches before another morning. The Raven says that when a lad, he feared his beard would not be so thick and long as was desirable; and being told what to do to promote its growth, he commenced doctoring it. He accordingly took the skin, with the long hair on it, from the underside of the lower jaw of a Buffalo, and chestnut burrs, and burnt them together, and took the ashes and coal of the skin, and mixed them with bears oil, and rubbed the mixture on his face. The medicine, however, proved ineffectual, and he never had as heavy a beard as he had desired.
Some platted their beards, one braid hanging from each side of the mouth, & one from the chin; though more generally it hung loose. That on the upper lip, was either pulled out, or kept cut about half an inch long, so as not to hang over the mouth. The Raven says that the old men used to tell them that the ancient Cherokees had always been in the habit of wearing a long beard. About the same time that the Cherokees commenced pulling out their beards (probably 80, or 100 years ago) they also began the custom of pulling out the hair, so as to form a ring round the crown, about two inches wide, leaving a tuft on the crown about as large as the palm of the hand. Men began thus to pull out the hair when about forty or forty five years old, and would continue pulling it till at length it would not grow, and the skin from which it was pulled appeared as if no hair had ever grown on it. Thus, though the Indians are far from being beardless, yet their manner of living, and their not shaving when young men, are evident causes of their not having early or heavy beards. -- Certain Cherokees who have been with the Creeks say that some of them are uncircumcised. The Cherokees call this by a name which signifies cutting off the end. citation: Nutsawi. E. Hicks Anciently all the Cherokees wore a long beard on their chin. -- citation: MG. Hicks Grand mother