The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-10-21
ALL ABOUT THUNDERBIRDS
THE STORY or a REM4RKABIE nv
DIIy sUPERsTITION.
The Origin, tiroSvth. ssa Career or y ne
msrksbie Persousge-Known rrou, the
coast 20 the Great Lakes-who and
whnt Skam-son, the Thunderer, Is.

/
| Savages the world over are STEPPED in super
stltlous myths, traditions, and In folk lore which
Is peculiar each to its own tribe clan. OF gems;
| but through It all there are threads which con-
| meet one tribe or people with another, though
miles Of distance may intervene The stories
| vary In detail and In the telling. but the main
| points are Identical, showing conclusively that
at some prehistoric time men had means Of
| intcrcommunlcstion without telegraph, ships, or
| railroads. and that II myth originated Ivy the
| medicine men or prophets Of one tribe or nation
| would spread far beyond the boundaries of the
| tribe which first practsed Il.
Thsrs are today .wG rsmarsa aG inssnS%s Of
| ing with the medicine men. The first IL the
Ehost dHTSe: made was mel. iamiIl ar, Gy t h
| Dakota Bad Lands, The other Is the myth OF
| the Thunderbrd, the Skam-son Of the llaides,
The idea OF Great Spirit, as generally taken
Sp as na sSSa G %GRS9'''% we'll AXE aa,
fact fact H the old Greek mythclosy, IS pa good
| Hence we find the thunder personihed by an i'm
mense bird with some tribes, and with others As
skin. but ali agree that the parsonage is OF col.
losel proportlons, and give II the name OF Thun;
features of this mythical being TO great. e1-
| tent and account for the different descriptions
| OF IL given by different tribes.
| The Twanas believe 1t to be an immense
bird which lives on the top OF high
Su U eagle WR quill feathers IN sns SR
oms long in each wing. With them 4 is g2cl
glance from its eye, which is. the lightning.
that the Image OF il carved on their implements
Of war or the chase gives the owner strength In
| hunter-warriUr-r rain god. The Rev. Mr. Eells
ports q carving OF the Twans version cut ina
the Indians say is the face OF the Thunderbird
and they believe that 4 the rock is shaken or
Among the IlaIdas OF queen C6arottes Island
It Is belieyed 70 be an Immense y, ereaSttuTe; half
view by heavy clouds, the main difference in the
story being in the lightning. which Is here per.
nnas ~ the hs 'e eys S s sr
the ''her %RS s Ro WITCH Ss aar
This Lightning Ash is pictured as the Killer
whale: which is feared by the Indians, as IL at.
their canoes, hence they credit him as compa-
MON Of the Thnnasreird or sk am s%n as
the crss,uPs dies I from EskSm-:Sn TGis i
fishermen, who gain thelr living from the ocean,
some kind with any tradition myth where 1t
| could be used.
| 1ney IattOt Tue Image VI lne -DlTu DH litlr
bodies rs elan or family mark IN the same
manner that they do the otter. halibut skate,
dSdua belong to. or . IS one REMARKED to fudge
Swan of Port Townsend, II you had the image
w"aa H tnS% your family 0G% TIE The
figure If carved on their totem posts
and canoe stems and painted on the house front
among the Twanas, that Il gives them power.
and luck in hmn haSa 81 ne or % TH
worn In the Tamah-na-wis dances and cer"-
monies which have, something TO do with the
been Clearly ascertained, as the Indians will not
allow whites 20 witness these Tamah-na-wtn
Society among is" civilized people. The Twanss
and the Clallams also use mask Of different ,en
the figure on their person. so far as known. out
| side of the Hadas.
| Leaving the coast and going eastward we find
| the Thunderbird among the sioux Of Dakota
and eastern Montana again, this time being per
the wing and which dwells in a lodge on the top
OF high knoll or butte. The lodge has four
pass, and at each door there is "a guardian spirit.
These spirits are beaver butterfly. an otter,
| and one other animal not clearly defined. whose
duty Il IL Ia guard and act rs messengers for the
| Az with The Twanas the lightning s a glance
from the eve and person who has n PRESENT.
ment that the Thunderhlrl Is dspleasetl with
hill TO await his doom. after having bid his
farewell. Sometimes owing to the Isolated
By iightnine during some Of the heavy thunder
| storms Of the region. and that settles the myth
all the firmer In the Indian mind, for the Thun;
| derbirtl II was who killed him, Just ~ he said
| IL would.
| rather, u FANNY of thnnderers some good. some
evil. some who guard the destiny OF the warrior
and strike terror into the heart OF the enemy:
| others who see that tho hunter does not come
| empty handed. some ara headless and haze
wings; some are wingless but provided With
who is the rain god and thunder creator and
good spirt-in,cnief, is described rs a very large
/ tR.l l.t.sls HtnE fnEf hlFI n
big thunderer, and make the long rumble
nee o9 bird IS wse and SoSa srm
Ing no enc and causing rain which makes
like young men, very, mischlevous and will not
listen Ia counsel, and are continually doing
pe % purely In playful way. but when they
grow old they settle down and become good
| spirits. too. Nothing can kill or destroy the
Thunderbird but an immense giant, who can
| stride over rivers and mountains and can Kill
nobody Knows where, and Is always hunting for
| the thunderer, who has to fly from place To place
storms by flying about. The old bird starts with
| the loud crash OF noise and then the little ones
not so loud AS the old one, which rles Very fast
The gan. killed one Of The old ones long.
nsaT tie head Of the Mississippi River and the
medicine men stu have totums made OF the
like man, nose Ike an eagle III, body Long
and slender, and four Joints To- each wing, which
| were painted Zlgzag like the Tightening, and lac
| back OF the head was rough and red, according
TO the Dakota trad tiun. This il the Sioux story
! OF the Thunderbird,
| Gong little further east We find the OIL
| who live In Minnesota aud around the
| shores OF Lake superior, with myth OF
| the thunderer, which makes il entirely
| good spirit a sort OF servant ~ the medi-
| cine men. shaman, or priest, and who helpB
| them TO work cures, find good medicine plants,
| and many other things which have "A good in
| fuence. With the Ojibwa II II also an immense
| eAglelike bird, but without any supertiuity Of
| wing joints. The thunder l. the noise Of is ny
/ ing and II causes rain which makes medicine
I plants grow, and also IL can apparently ind
| medicine plant Ia III the particular dis.as" rs
looking ON the earth, IN the sk or ~ the inside
/ at will under the INSTRUCTIONS of the medicine
man who holds a controlling power over II.
! There il no record III any masks being used to
represent the thunderer, east Of the coast tria's
the only representations bring from Indian
| drawings, which Interpret their idea and which
! arr presented with this article
| There are carvings or images except those
: 4 L. ....L 49,. -L-.L-L