A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
Brass lives beside the Tennessee at Ûñtiguhi’ and challenges travellers to a wheel-and-stick game. His house contains the wealth he has won. When defeated, he wagers even his life but escapes by changing shape. A boy travelling to Thunder for healing refuses an initial challenge; after being recognized and equipped as Thunder’s son, he returns with an inexhaustible string of beads and wins repeatedly.
Brass loses his goods, then wagers his wife and finally his life. On the pretence of telling her to receive a new husband, he escapes through the back door. The boy calls his older brothers, who pursue with the Horned Green Beetle. Brass disguises himself as a pottery-making woman and a man carving a pipe, but each time the beetle strikes his forehead and exposes its ringing metal. Further changes fail to stop the chase.
At the western water the brothers bind him and fix him beneath the surface, placing two crows above as guards. He does not die: the ending says he remains until the world’s end. Beavers sometimes try to free him by gnawing his bonds, and the crows drive them away. John Ax’s version sends the pursuit directly west and lets Brass escape through openings in the earth; Swimmer adds Little People to the chase. Wafford recalled principally the pursuit and capture. These differences remain distinct from the printed composite route.
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; note63 distinguishes Swimmer, John Ax and James Wafford.
In the literature
“Brass never died, and can not die until the end of the world”
Complete story63, printed pp.311–315; complete corresponding commentary pp.463–466
Brass repeatedly wagers possessions and ultimately his life, but escapes his loss through two doors and successive disguises. The young Lightning and elder brothers pursue with their discerning beetle. Captured Brass is bound underwater, watched by crows that deter beavers; he explicitly has not died and cannot die until world’s end. The opening boy’s recognized Thunder parentage is distinct from Brass. Note63 qualifies the father/brothers’ possible identification with Kanati/Thunder Boys because neither teller positively affirmed it. Practical treatment sequences omitted.
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; note63 distinguishes Swimmer, John Ax and James Wafford.
- 02
Myths of the Cherokee — Ûñtsaiyi’ (Brass) 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 — Ûñtsaiyi’ (Brass) 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.
- Brass repeatedly wagers possessions and ultimately his life, but escapes his loss through two doors and successive disguises. The young Lightning and elder brothers pursue with their discerning beetle. Captured Brass is bound underwater, watched by crows that deter beavers; he explicitly has not died and cannot die until world’s end. The opening boy’s recognized Thunder parentage is distinct from Brass. Note63 qualifies the father/brothers’ possible identification with Kanati/Thunder Boys because neither teller positively affirmed it. Practical treatment sequences omitted.
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; note63 distinguishes Swimmer, John Ax and James Wafford.Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.