This story was told to Wash-a-ghe-zik by his father, and was told to
his father by his grandfather.
A young Indian, many years ago, went out to hunt early one morning, and
coming on noon he got hungry and started back to camp. In passing a
pine stub that had been struck by lightning he saw “something” sticking
in the tree where the lightning hit. He pulled this “something” out and
looked at it. It was about two fingers broad, and about one hand long.
He put it back again in the tree exactly like he found it, and went on.
When he came to camp he told his father about it, and his father and
several other men, together with the young man, went back to examine
it. Neither his father or the men with him could pull this “something”
out, but the young man could; so he pulled it out, wrapped it up and
took it to camp. This “something” would tell the young man some hours
before a storm came up that the storm was coming, so that the Indians
could make camp. The young man used to dream that he could split trees
by pointing this “something” at them, but never tried it. He kept this
for many years. He was about eighteen years old when he found it, and
lived to be forty-seven. He died unmarried and his name was forgotten.
The “something” was shiny and quivering, and nobody knew what it was
made out of. It was lost shortly before the man died. Wash-a-ghe-zik
had no name for this “something,” and said the Indians could not make
up a name for it.