A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
When Brass escapes after losing his life in a wager, the unnamed young Lightning asks his elder brothers for help. They take their dog, identified as the Horned Green Beetle, on the pursuit. At first a woman making pottery seems to deny knowledge of the fugitive. The beetle circles above and strikes her forehead, producing the ringing metal sound that reveals Brass.
A similar strike exposes an apparently elderly pipe-carver. The beetle recognizes the gambler in every later shape, allowing the brothers to keep pressing him until he reaches the western water and is bound. The first impact rubs brass onto the insect’s forehead, explaining its visible metallic marking. The source does not name a scientific beetle species. Nor does the use of dog in this narrative turn the insect into a canine-bodied creature; it identifies its tracking role.
Origins & earliest records
Mooney’s inspected Myths of the Cherokee edition is dated 1902. The named contributor is preserved in the appended story notes; publication is not a date for the beginning of oral transmission.
Records & interpretation
Complete selected narrative and corresponding contributor note were inspected. Story63, Ûñtsaiyi’, the Gambler, pp.311–315; complete pursuit and contributor notes.
In the literature
“could know Brass under any shape”
Complete story63, printed pp.311–315; complete corresponding commentary pp.463–466
The brothers bring Horned Green Beetle as their dog. It strikes the apparent potter woman and stone-pipe carver, recognizes Brass in every disguise and retains a brass mark after the strike. It enables pursuit but does not itself imprison or kill Brass; the final underwater binding and crow guards belong to the brothers’ action. Mooney’s historical beetle name is a comparative collector identification, not independently verified taxonomy.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Myths of the Cherokee
Story63, Ûñtsaiyi’, the Gambler, pp.311–315; complete pursuit and contributor notes.
- 02
Myths of the Cherokee — Horned Green Beetle (Cherokee) encounter
Selected Washington Government Printing Office1902 offprint of Myths of the Cherokee, Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology; title independently read.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Myths of the Cherokee — Horned Green Beetle (Cherokee) encounter
Selected Washington Government Printing Office1902 offprint of Myths of the Cherokee, Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology; title independently read.
- The brothers bring Horned Green Beetle as their dog. It strikes the apparent potter woman and stone-pipe carver, recognizes Brass in every disguise and retains a brass mark after the strike. It enables pursuit but does not itself imprison or kill Brass; the final underwater binding and crow guards belong to the brothers’ action. Mooney’s historical beetle name is a comparative collector identification, not independently verified taxonomy.
Complete story63, printed pp.311–315; complete corresponding commentary pp.463–466
No whole collection or independent oral recording reviewed; comparative genealogical or biological identification remains qualified. Practical ceremonial/treatment sequences deliberately omitted.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textMooney 1902: Story63, Ûñtsaiyi’, the Gambler, pp.311–315; complete pursuit and contributor notes.Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.