A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Tawi’skala lives in the mountains and is hated by the animals because he has helped kill so many of them. They discuss removing him but fear approaching his home. Rabbit volunteers, visits and discovers a reserved host who does not invite him inside. Instead, Rabbit offers hospitality at his own riverside home and persuades Flint to accompany him immediately.

After supper outdoors, Flint sleeps while Rabbit prepares a wooden mallet and wedge, explaining them away as casual handiwork. A blow into Flint’s body causes an explosion. Scattered fragments account for flint found in many places. Rabbit escapes into his hole but receives injuries during the flight, including a final falling piece which splits his lip. The mineral’s dispersal and Rabbit’s bodily mark are linked by this episode.

Mooney’s note distinguishes slightly different tellings by John Ax and Swimmer and confirmation by Wafford. His argument that the story descends from a universal cosmogonic contest with other named flint figures is a comparative reconstruction. It does not establish that this Cherokee neighbour is simply an alias for each of those beings.

Mountain-dwelling personified flintAccepts Rabbit’s invitationExplodes into scattered stoneFragment splits Rabbit’s lip
01

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.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete selected narrative and corresponding contributor note were inspected. Story25, Flint visits the Rabbit, pp.274–275; note25 names John Ax, Swimmer and Wafford.

In the literature

“pieces of flint flew all about.”
James Mooney · Myths of the Cherokee
Complete story25, printed pp.274–275; complete corresponding note pp.451

Rabbit invites the feared Flint to supper, attacks him while he sleeps, and takes shelter as Flint explodes into scattered pieces. The final falling fragment splits Rabbit’s lip. Note25’s proposed shared cosmogonic origin and reported northern twin genealogy are collector comparisons, not genealogy established by this selected Cherokee narrative.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Myths of the Cherokee

    James Mooney, collector · 1902

    Story25, Flint visits the Rabbit, pp.274–275; note25 names John Ax, Swimmer and Wafford.

  2. 02

    Myths of the Cherokee — FLINT VISITS THE RABBIT

    James Mooney; contributor(s): John Ax and Swimmer (east), confirmed by Wafford (west) · 1902

    Selected1902 Washington Government Printing Office offprint of Myths of the Cherokee, Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology; title independently read. Historical English collector-mediated narratives.

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 — FLINT VISITS THE RABBIT

Selected1902 Washington Government Printing Office offprint of Myths of the Cherokee, Extract from the Nineteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology; title independently read. Historical English collector-mediated narratives.

  1. Rabbit invites the feared Flint to supper, attacks him while he sleeps, and takes shelter as Flint explodes into scattered pieces. The final falling fragment splits Rabbit’s lip. Note25’s proposed shared cosmogonic origin and reported northern twin genealogy are collector comparisons, not genealogy established by this selected Cherokee narrative.

    Complete story25, printed pp.274–275; complete corresponding note pp.451

No whole collection, independent oral recording, scientific verification or separate comparative work reviewed. Collector’s broad ethnographic and historical interpretations remain attributed, not asserted as universals.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textMooney 1902: Story25, Flint visits the Rabbit, pp.274–275; note25 names John Ax, Swimmer and Wafford.Research access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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