The thunder is a very important deity among all the Indians of the
Plains, and is usually associated with military exploits. While the
Dakota generally regard the thunder as a bird, usually symbolized by the
eagle, yet they sometimes speak of it as a horse, a man, or a dog. The
horse always appealed to them as a creature of mysterious origin, and in
many cases was assumed to have been given by the thunder. In any event
there is an association in their minds between the power of a war-horse
and the thunder. The thunder is often represented by a zigzag or wavy
line, usually in red; but this symbol really represents the power of the
phenomenon in the abstract, because the Indian does have the conception
of a force in nature. Consequently this graphic symbol is also a general
sign for the presence of mysterious supernatural power. The whistles
made from the leg and wing bones of eagles, and used among the Plains
tribes, are generally employed by the Dakota to symbolize the cry of the
eagle as a representative of the thunder-bird. In battle, or sometimes
in stress of great trial, they are sounded to call up the power of the
thunder to rescue the unfortunate one. As a rule, a zigzag line is
scratched down the sides of these whistles. In this connection it is
interesting to note the following:—
“Before daylight I set off with five Indians. . . . This caused
a halt, as we were surrounded and began to suspect that the
enemy had planned to cut us off. The Indians put on their
war-caps, uttering some few words which I could not hear
distinctly, and then began to whistle with a small bone
instrument which they hung around their necks for that
purpose.”[18]
This account (1807) by an acute observer is interesting, because our
present knowledge enables us to understand the muttered prayers and the
use of the whistle.
[Illustration: Fig. 22 (50-3023). Whistle, of Bone.
Length, 19 cm. ]
The whistle shown in Fig. 22 is interesting because of the objects that
accompany it. The whistle is from the wing-bone of an eagle, and near
the top is a small bag containing the medicine of the owner. The
feathers of the yellow-winged woodpecker are attached thereto, because
this bird is considered as an associate of the thunder-bird, or at least
it holds some relation to the thunder, since the Dakota have observed,
that, when a storm is approaching, this bird gives a peculiar shrill
call not unlike the sound of the whistle spoken of above. This they
interpret as speaking to the thunder. Consequently, the feathers of this
bird, when attached to the whistle, are supposed to put the individual
also in a position to speak to the thunder. This bird has a large dark
spot on the throat, which is said to represent the moon and to be
further evidence of the sacred character of the bird. Thus we have a
combined charm representing the woodpecker and the eagle,—two birds
closely associated with the thunder.
The ceremony of offering a filled pipe to the thunder was frequently
observed by the Dakota. One man stated that once, when the camp was
threatened by an approaching storm, he filled a large pipe, went to the
top of a hill, and, facing the storm, made an offering to the thunder by
extending the stem upward, and praying, with the result that the storm
divided, and passed around the camp without serious damage to his
people. In the decoration of pipe-stems, a bunch of horsehair is
attached (usually colored red), and this is often spoken of as an emblem
of the thunder-horse. This horsehair is to signify the presence of the
power of the thunder, as manifest in the horse, in all ceremonies
connected with the pipe. It is worth while noting that in this case we
have an illustration of a peculiarity of religious lore,—the indirect
symbolizing of a power by one of a series of objects in which that power
is manifest.
The United States emblem of the eagle with outstretched claws, holding
arrows and the lightning, is regarded by the Dakota as an appeal on our
part to the thunder-bird; and statements to the contrary are usually
interpreted as white men’s lies to deceive the Indians and to guard the
power. There is little doubt that the Dakota manner of drawing the
thunder-bird has been modified by the United States emblem, and that
their own idea of his power has been influenced accordingly.
-----
[18] New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest, p. 436.