"'They all tried, but the Cussitaws covered their pole first, and so thickly that it was hidden from sight. Therefore, they were looked upon, by the whole Nation, as the oldest.
"'The Chickasaws covered their pole next; then the Atilamas; but the Obikaws did not cover their pole higher than the knee.
"'At that time, there was a bird of large size, blue in color, with a long tail, and swifter than an eagle, which came every day and killed and ate their people. They made an image, in the shape of a woman, and placed it in the way of this bird. The bird carried it off, and kept it a long time, and then brought it back. They left it alone, hoping it would bring something forth. After a long time, a red rat came forth from it, and they believe the bird was the father of the rat.
"'They took council with the rat, how to destroy its father. Now the bird had a bow and arrows; and the rat gnawed the bow-string, so that the bird could not defend itself; and the people killed it. They called this bird the King of Birds. They think the eagle is also a great King; and they carry its feathers when they go to War or make Peace: the red mean War, the white, Peace. If an enemy approaches with white feathers and a white mouth, and cries like an eagle, they dare not kill him.
"'After this, they left that place, and came to a white foot-path. The grass and everything around were white; and they plainly perceived that people had been there. They crossed the path, and slept near there. Afterward, they turned back to see what sort of path that was, and who the people were who had been there, in the belief that it might be better for them to follow that path. They went along it, to a creek, called Coloosehutche, that is Coloose-creek, because it was rocky there and smoked.
"'They crossed it, going toward the sunrise, and came to a people and a town named Coosaw. Here they remained four years. The Coosaws complained that they were preyed upon by a wild beast, which they called man-eater or lion, which lived in a rock.
"'The Cussitaws said they would try to kill the beast. They digged a pit and stretched over it a net made of hickory-bark. They then laid a number of branches, crosswise, so that the lion could not follow them, and going to the place where he lay, they threw a rattle into his den. The lion rushed forth, in great anger, and pursued them through the branches. Then they thought it better that one should die rather than all, so they took a motherless child, and threw it before the lion, as he came near the pit. The lion rushed at it, and fell in the pit, over which they threw the net, and killed him with blazing pinewood. His bones, however, they keep to this day; on one side, they are red, on the other, blue.
"'The lion used to come every seventh day to kill the people. Therefore, they remained there seven days after they had killed him. In remembrance of him, when they prepare for War, they fast six days and start on the seventh. If they take his bones with them, they have good fortune.
"'After four years, they left the Coosaws, and came to a River which they called Nowphawpe, now Callasihutche. There, they tarried two years; and as they had no corn, they lived on roots and fishes, and made bows, pointing the arrows with beaver teeth and flint-stones, and for knives they used split canes.