Turner County herald. (Hurley, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1890-11-13
Peruse and shiver.
TBE INDIAN PROPHET ON THE WINTER
WEATHER.

In the judgement of the Sioux In
dians to winter of 189O-Y1 Will be the
most severe one in years. and Lo Is Civ
ing emphasis to his representations by
moving into the more sheltered valleys
for the winter. and beginning to lay in
his supply of fuel.
Old settlers who have had experience
with the Indians, and know the value
of the knowledge of the aborigines in
matters concerning weather indica-
tions agree with the latter almost in
variably. BY putting two and two
together-Los two, however, are
worth a dozen-the old-tlmers all seem
strong in the belief that the coming
winter will be a "snorter," and that the 1
coal dealers and storm-door manufac-
turers will be in clover.
The reasons for the prediction above
stated are as numerous as Tascott's hid
ing-places, but the natural reticence of
the Indian. coupled with tribal tradi-
tion which oppose his divulging all his
knowledge of the subject, make some
of them very hard to obtain.
With much ditliculty-for Indians
are scarce in this vicinity, and all of
them seem to think the coming of their
Messiah, (whose advent they believe to
be a matter of the near future, when
earth is to receive a new coating of
soil, under which the white man and
everything civilized, excepting whisky,
will be buried, leaving the redskin in
full possessioD precludes the coming of
any more winters, and insures perenni-
al autumn weather-The journal cor
respondent found an old Sioux who
was willing to talk little, and receiv-
ed several pointers from him some of
which are not generally known. The
old fellow was among the Pottawatto-
mics and Sacs and Foxes when lad,
and states that their methods of pre-
dieting weather are much the same as
those of the Sioux. heprincipal basis
for the prediction of the Indians for
the coming winter is the theory of the
government of dry and moist periods
by cycles. which originated with them
These cycles consist of ten years each
divided OF follows: Seven years of
moisture, followed by three somewhat
dryer seasons; then seven years of COM
parative dryness, preceding three
years of extreme drouth.
This year of grace, 1880, is the clos
ing one of the three years of drouth,
and, OF course, the final one of the dry
cycle. Believing as these Indians do,
that the cycle theory is an established
rule-they claim that it has never. in
the history of their nation, failed of
veritication-they argue that inasmnch
as.ncxt year begins the moist period,
much snow may be looked for, and
they say that the first real cold snap
will witness heavy snow falls, proba-
bly, in the northwest. The snow Will
remain on the ground or the soil will
be well under cover--all winter, and
the probably result. Indians, and some
old settlers say, will be a repetition, on
a smaller scale, the floods of 1881, which
were preceded by a winter of heavy
SHOWS which, however, with the ex-
ception of one heavy fall in October of
80, nearly all fell after the beginning
OF the year.
Then, also, there is the lake and
spring theory, which the Indians rely
upon to a considerable extent. 1t is
established that lakes and springs have
subteranean sources, are contemporary
in their period of high and low stages
with the cycles of surface moist or dry
conditions, which have no action on
| them.
The Indians say that this is due to
planetary action, the nature of which,
however. they either cannon or will not
explain, stating only that they know it.
This has been a year OF low water
marks with Dakota lakes, and Lo says
the extreme low water mark is fore
runner of a season of considerable pre-
/. cipitation of moisture.
Among the lesser indications are the
breast. bone OF the wild goose. the con-
dition of which is a prognosticator of
weather great many people consider
infallible, and the legs OF prairie chick
ems and grouse, which are more heavily
covered with feathers this year than
usual.
The scarcity of prairie fires this year
is one cause for anticipating heavy
SHOWS, as it is established that the de-
struction and annihilation of vegeta.
tion is responsible to great degree for
scarcity of precipitation, and, therefore,
the great quantity of grass and uncut
grain left standing this season is looked
upon as favorable condition.
| 1t will be noted also that the coats of
fur-bearing animals are much thicker
this year than usual, and the Indians
consider this an infallIble indication of
severe winter weather. Then, also, the
covering of fruit and the husks OF corn
are taken by many as warning of a
hard winter, if unusually thick.
My Indian informant intimated that
the exceptional brilliancy Of the even
l . y . e
ing star this month had something to
do with his reason for anticipating a
hard winter, but failed to explain why
or wherefore.
The fact that trees have shed their
leaves earlier than in ordinary seasons,
is accepted by some as indicating a
future long cold period.
1 From the indications just stated, as
well as many others most OF the farm
| ers in this section are making prepara-
tions for a severe winter, and are look
ing hopefully forward to great harvests
next year.
| Those who scorn "signs are likely
to wish before the winter is over that
they had taken Los unsupported state
ment as to the coming weather, for he
has never been known to make any
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