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56 whoop, and the sound was long and protracted the warriors were killing their enemies, but if the sound was short and hasty they were getting killed. Should a bird fly into a house some visitor was coming. When the Cherokees heard a whipperwill in the day time, they supposed it was a witch. citation: Nutsawi When a certain blue bird sings there will soon be a storm. Should a whipperwill come near a house & sing repeatedly it was a sign that some one of the family would die. The general opinion however was that the whipperwill was a witch who had assumed the appearance of a bird. In case one who had been trained for holy offices desired to know at any time whether he had long to live, he would sometimes determine this by means of a rattle snake. On seeing one going along, or lying, not coiled, he approached it, and put his right hand towards it. Now if the snake began to look cross or coiled to jump at him, he desisted, being aprised he had not long to live. But if the snake looked pleasantly, he put his hand on him, and clasping it about where the heart lay in the body, lifted it up slowly, and then put it down again gently on the ground. Now if the snake directed his course toward the west, the man knew that he had not long to live, but if it went toward the east he felt aprised of a long life.