Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians

Book excerpt: First published in 1929, John R. Swanton’s Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians is a classic of American Indian folklore. During the years 1908-1914 Swanton gathered the myths and legends of the descendants of Muckhogean-speaking peoples living in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, and in this volume he preserved more than three hundred tales of the Creek, Hitchiti, Alabama, Koasati, and Natchez Indians. Myths and Tales of the Southeastern Indians stands as the largest collection of Muskhogean oral traditions ever published. Included are stores on the origin of corn and tobacco, the deeds of ancient native heroes, visits to the world of the dead, and encounters between people and animals or supernatural beings in animal form. Animal tales abound, especially those on the southeastern trickster Rabbit.