The suburban citizen., 1900-03-10
PRIMITIVE RA1N0IAKER.

PRIMITIVE RAINMAKER.
The Great Spirit had a good many
lesser deities, who were given power
over animals and things. Onkteri
was the god of water. This deity in
outward appearance resembled an OK,
being much larger. A great part of
the religion OF the Indians came from
the wakan influence of this god.
There are both male and female, the
former having control of the water and
tho earth beneath the water, and the
latter having an influence over the
land by the side Of the water. When
the god of water wants rain to fall he
lifts his tail and horns to the clouds
and Immediately the rain falls. Onke-
tri assumes an important part in the
juggling and superstitous beliefs Of
the Indians. The medicine men OBJ
tain their supernatural power from
this source. The god and goddess
are mortas and can propagate their
kind. They have power to impart
from their bodies a mighty wakan in
tluence.
Cha-o-ter-dah is the god of the for
est. His home is at the foot of the
highest mountain and he lives most
OF the time in the top of the highest
tree on the mountain-top. His COM
panions are the birds of the air, who
act as guards aud sentinels. When he
wants anything he flies to his perch
in the tree-top, which is as smooth as
glass. He calls together his friends
and seLds them hither and thither.
He is in constant war with the god of
thunder, Wah-keen-yon. When Wah-
keen.yon passes over the mountain
top, casting here and there his bolts
of lightning, Cha-o-ter- the god of
the forest, enters the water at the foot
of the tree and the lightning cannot
touch him.
To tho Indian, Wah-keen-yon is
q mighty bird, and the noise that is
made, which shakes the foundations
of the mountains, is caused by the
big bird flying through the air with
his young ones. The old bird will
not injure the Indians, but the young
birds are foolish and do all the harm
they can. The name Wah kenyon
signifies a flyer. There are four
varieties OF the gods among tho Wah.
kenyon The image of the first one
is that of q great bird, black in color,
with a very long beak and four joints
in each pinion. The second variety
is yellow in color, beakless, and also
has four Joints in its pinions. The
fourth god has remarkably long wings,
each of them containing eight joints.
It is scarlet in color. The fourth god
is blue in color, aud has no face, eyes
or ears. Immediately above where
the face should appear is a semicircu-
lar line, resembling an inverted halt
moon. The Wah.keen-yon gods live
on the top Of lofty mountain at the
western end Of the earth's surface.
Guards stand at the open doors, which
look out to the four points Of the COM
pass. A butterfly stands at the east
door, bear at the west door, at the
north door O reindeer, and beaver at
the south. The Wah-keen-yon are
! destructive and are at war with most
Of the other gods. The Indians be.
ieve that the fossil remains OF the
mastodons that are found 80 fire.
| quenty in the bad lands are the bones
of the fallen god of water, and the
burial places are held as most sacred.
J When the white man discovered these
remains and, knowing their origin,
commenced excayating them for rare
relics, the Indians resented this in.
yasion of the burial ground Of their
gods.
GOD OF GRASS AND WEEDS.
White ko.kak -gah is the god Of the
grass aud weeds. The word, trans.
lated, means "to make crazy" The
god is a weed himself and he has the
power Of giving whomsoeyer he will
tits which make them crazy. The god
has the figure Of man. In his right
hand, he carries a rattle of deer hoofs
with siEty-four deer claws IN his