The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-10-04
INDIAN SUfERSTITIONS.
Ths Whirlwind and the Thunder Oh
jeets OF Curious Theories.


jeets OF Curious Theories.
The Dahotas believe that there Is
close relation between the whirlwind
and the nuttering wings of a moth
The COCOON is regarded as the mysre
rious object from which a power sim
liar to that Of the whirlwind emanates
as attested by the emersence from Il
of the moth.
DR.. Wissler explains in Discovery
that the whlrlwind meant by the Da
kota is the harmless little whirl on,
sees upon the plains every clear day
The long. slender column betraying iu
presence makes profound impression
upon the Indian.
In the whirlwind somehow ant
somewhere resides the power to pro
duce confusion of mind. Thus it wa,
natural that its aid should have beer
invoked by the warriors on going int
battle, for to be as intangible, invisible
and destructive as the wind was theii
one great desire. When a man loses
his presence of mind he is said to hay,
been overcome by the whirlwind.
a cocoon of a moth taken with q
portion OF the twig upon which IL wa,
found and wrapped in an eagle plume
or down is regarded as a perpetual
prayer to the power OF the whirlwind
This prayer is not only symbolized BY
the genuine cocoon worn upon the per
son. but also by its image in stuffed
buckskin or by its sketched or paint
ed representation.
The BIackfeet see n relation between
the moth and sleep and appeal to Il
when they desire TO have dreams, fo
with them power is always conferred
| in dream. In the case of unrequitet
love the whirlwind is invoked. 1t II
| believed that it can confuse the mint
of girl to such a degree that she
cannot resist the pleadings of the en-
amored swain.
Some Of the Dakotas believe that tn,
bear controls the power of the whirl
| wind and that prayer must be ad
dressed to the animal for the assist
ance Of the whirlwind. Sometimes q
person will receive power from the
bear in a dream or vision and thut
come to have the aid Of the whirlwind
because of the conceived relation be
tween the two. Finally the power OF
the whirlwind is also supposed to b.
| associated with the buffalo and the
| spider web.
| A deity Of equal importance amonl
the Indians Of the plains is the thun
der. which usually is associated Will
| military exploits. While the Dakotai
! generally regard the thunder as a bird
usually symbolized by the eagle. they
! sometimes speak of 1t as q horse, q
man or a dog.
The horse has always appealed t.
them as q creature of mysterious orr
gin and in many cases is assumed to
have been given by the thunder. II
their minds between the power of q
warhorse and the thunder.
The thunder is often represented By
a zigzag or wavy line, usually In red
But DR.. Wissler says that this symbo
really represents the power of the
phenomenon In the abstract, because
the Indian lacks the conception OF 9
force in nature, SO that the symbol ID
also a general sign for the presence d
mysterious supernatural power.
/ Whistles made from the leg and
wing bones Of eagles are employed b.
the Dakotas to symbolic the cry Of
the eagle as a representative of thu
thunder bird. In battle or sometim et
in stress Of great trial they are sound
ed to summon the aid of the power d
the thunder. As a rule, a zigzag LIND
Is scratched down the sides OF thes<
| whistles.
The yellow winged woodpecker Il
looked upon as an associate of thu
thunder bird, because when q storm
Is approaching 1t utters a shr1l cry no,
unlike the sound Of the whistle and
is believed to he speaking to the thun
| der.
The spider is spoken Of as q friend
Of the thunder, and 1t is the general
belief that the thunder will neveI
harm IT, so that II IL itself protection
against thunder. The observed fact
that a spider manufactures a web and
that this web is not destroyed by ar
rows or bullets, since they paA
through 1t, leaving only a hole. Is citsd
as the basis for the conception thai
the spider has power to protect people
from harm.