Many, many years ago when the world was new, there was a beautiful river. Fish in great numbers lived in this river, and its water was so pure and sweet that all the animals came there to drink.
A giant moose heard about the river and he too came there to drink. But he was so big, and he drank so much, that soon the water began to sink lower and lower.
The beavers were worried. The water around their lodges was disappearing. Soon their homes would be destroyed.
The muskrats were worried, too. What would they do if the water vanished? How could they live?
The fish were very worried. The other animals could live on land if the water dried up, but they couldn't.
All the animals tried to think of a way to drive the moose from the river, but he was so big that they were too afraid to try. Even the bear was afraid of him.
At last the fly said he would try to drive the moose away. All the animals laughed and jeered. How could a tiny fly frighten a giant moose? The fly said nothing, but that day, as soon as the moose appeared, he went into action.
He landed on the moose's foreleg and bit sharply. The moose stamped his foot harder, and each time he stamped, the ground sank and the water rushed in to fill it up. Then the fly jumped about all over the moose, biting and biting and biting until the moose was in a frenzy. He dashed madly about the banks of the river, shaking his head, stamping his feet, snorting and blowing, but he couldn't get rid of that pesky fly. At last the moose fled from the river, and didn't come back.
The fly was very proud of his achievement, and boasted to the other animals, "Even the small can fight the strong if they use their brains to think."
Ojibway - an explanation:
The tribes called "Chippewa" (a corruption of Ojibway, itself not the native name) generally call themselves Anishnabeg people. This linguistic/ethnic/cultural group, which is located around the Great Lakes in the U.S. and Canada, is comprised of many tribes and reserves--most of these defined by modern (that is 19th century) treaties with the respective governments of the U.S. and Canada.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
This legend is from the Squamish Nation, Coast Salish, on the west coast of Canada. The Cheakamus River is north of the town of Squamish and flows into Howe Sound.
The Legend of Wountie
A long time ago, even before the time of the flood, the Cheakamus River provided food for the Squamish people. Each year, at the end of summer, when the salmon came home to spawn, the people would cast their cedar root nets into the water and get enough fish for the winter to come.
One day, a man came to fish for food for his family for the winter. He looked into the river and found that many fish were coming home this year. He said thanks to the spirit of the fish, for giving themselves as food for his family, and cast his net into the river and waited. In time, he drew his nets in, and they were full of fish, enough for his family for the whole year. He packed these away into cedar bark baskets, and prepared to go home.
But he looked into the river, and saw all those fish, and decided to cast his net again. And he did so, and it again filled with fish, which he threw onto the shore. A third time, he cast his net into the water and waited.
This time, when he pulled his net in, it was torn beyond repair by sticks, stumps and branches which filled the net. To his dismay, the fish on the shore and the fish in the cedar bark baskets were also sticks and branches. He had no fish, his nets were ruined.
It was then he looked up at the mountain, and saw Wountie, the spirit protecting the Cheakamus, who told him that he had broken the faith with the river and with nature, by taking more than he needed for himself and his family. And this was the consequence.
And to this day, high on the mountain overlooking the Cheakamus and Paradise Valley, is the image of Wountie, protecting the Cheakamus.
The fisherman? Well, his family went hungry and starved, a lesson for all the people in his family.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
A lore of the Luiseņo People of Southern California
Once a year the People of Kamak left their village and went up Palomar Mountain to gather acorns. Everyone went, young and old, and even the ill were carried along on litters so that the village could stay together at this important time. The house were left empty, no one was afraid to thieves in those days.
While the village was deserted, a man from anther nearby village called Ahoya came to Kamak. He found everyone gone. He knew where they had gone, and why, so he knew he could not see his friends this trip. He decided to spend the night and go on his way the next morning. He did not go into anyone's house, but rather he took a large basket normally used to store grain and turned it over. He crawled under the basket, where the wind could not bother him. He fell asleep.
In the early evening, but long after dark, he was awakened by someone calling People out to dance. At first he thought the People of Kamak had come back from acorn gathering. Then, being a old man, he began to recognize the voices of People he had known many years ago, but who were now long dead He began to realize that the voices were spirits of the Dead! While the People of Kamak were away, the Dead had returned to dance.
The old man lay quietly under the basket, listening to the voices of all the People, all the way back to the ancient days. He heard the Woman-who-was-turned-into-rock as she sang, He heard the Man-who-scooped-rock-with-his-hand as he sang. All the People of the ancient days were here n the village again.
The old man could not stand to wait any longer. After he had listened for hours, he wanted to look at the People he had known as a young man and the faces of the People he had only heard about in old stories. He threw the basket off and looked where the Dead had been dancing.
There was only a flock of birds, and they flew away, startled by the basket overturning. The turtle-shell rattle the Dead had played all night as they danced lay on the ground. It was now just a piece of soaproot.
The old man was not allowed to see the Dance of the Dead.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
Southeastern Indian traditions indicated their belief in an Upper World, a Lower World, and This World, where they, the animals and plants, lived and thrived. Early on in This World, some extraordinary humans and animals came down to visit from Upper World. Later, they returned to their previous world, where they felt more comfortable. Mankind of This World in time learned to resolve frictions and to maintain some order between themselves and the other two worlds. They became mostly villagers and agriculturists with more permanent tribal homes, since they were not nomadic by nature. Their tribes enlarged and prospered as hunters, fishermen, builders, and skilled craftsmen, including the women's abilities in weaving, basketry, and herbal medicines; the latter maintaining the good health of their people.
In the beginning, water covered everything. Wind asked, "Who will make the land? Who will make the land appear?"
Lock-chew, the Crawfish, said, "I will make the land appear."
So he went down to the bottom of the water and began to stir up the mud with his tail and his claws. He brought up some mud to a certain place and piled it up until it made a mound.
The owners of the land at the bottom of the water said, "Who is disturbing our land?" They kept careful watch and discovered it was Crawfish. When they started toward him, Crawfish stirred up the mud so much with his tail that they could not see him.
Lock-chew continued to pile up mud, until it came out on top of the surface of the great water. This is how land first appeared. It was so soft that Wind said, "Who will spread the land to make it dry and hard?"
Hawk and Buzzard appeared. Because Buzzard's wings were larger, he tried first. He flew, fanning the soft earth and spreading it all about. When he flapped his wings, hills and valleys were formed.
"Who will make the light?" Wind asked. It was very dark.
Yo-hah, the Star, said, "I will make light." It was agreed. The Star shone forth, but its light only remained close to the Star.
"Who will make more light?" Wind asked.
Shar-pah, the Moon, said, "I will make enough light for all my children and I will shine forever." But the world was still too dark.
T-cho, the Sun, said, "Leave it to me to make enough light for everyone everywhere."
Sun went to the East and suddenly enough light was everywhere. As Sun travelled over the earth, a drop of blood fell from the sky to the ground. From this spot sprang the first people, the children of the Sun they were called, the Yu-chis.
The Yu-chis wished to find their medicine since a large monster had destroyed some of their people. The Yu-chis cut off its head, but the next day its head and body were together again. They killed the monster a second time. Again, its head grew back on its body.
A third time, they cut off its head. They placed the head on top of a tall tree, so the body could not reach the head. The next morning, the tree was dead and the head had rejoined the monster's body. They killed it once more, putting its head at the top of a cedar tree. The next morning the cedar tree was still alive, but covered with blood from the head. The monster remained dead.
This is how the Yu-chis found their great medicine, the Cedar Tree. Fire was soon discovered by boring a stick into some hard, dry weeds.
The Yu-chis selected a second medicine, as each one made a picture of the Sun upon their door.
In the beginning, all of the animals could talk with one another. All animals and people were at peace. The deer lived in a cave watched over by a Yu-chis keeper. When the Yu-chis became hungry, the keeper selected a deer and killed it for their food. Finally, all of the deer were set free with the other animals, and a name was given to every animal upon the earth.
This is how it was in the beginning with the first people, the Yu-chis Indian tribe.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
In the heart of the woods there lay a cool, green pond. The shores of the pond were set with ranks of tall bulrushes that waved crisply in the wind, and in the shallow bays there were fleets of broad water lily leaves. Among the rushes and reeds and in the quiet water there dwelt a large tribe of Frogs.
On every warm night of spring, the voices of the Frogs arose in a cheerful chorus. Some voices were low and deep---these were the oldest and wisest of the Frogs; at least, they were old enough to have learned wisdom. Some were high and shrill, and these were the voices of the little Frogs who did not like to be reminded of the days when they had tails and no legs.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" croaked a very large bullfrog, sitting in the shade of a water lily leaf.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" replied a hoarse voice from the opposite bank.
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!" boasted a third old Frog from the furthest shore of the pond.
Now a long-legged white Crane was standing near by, well hidden by the coarse grass that grew at the water's edge. He was very hungry that evening, and when he heard the deep voice of the first Bullfrog he stepped briskly up to him and made a quick pass under the broad leaf with his long, cruel bill. The old Frog gave a frightened croak, and kicked violently in his efforts to get away, while over the quiet pond, splash! splash! went the startled little Frogs into deep water.
The Crane almost had him, when something cold and slimy wound itself about one of his legs. He drew back for a second, and the Frog got safely away! But the Crane did not lose his dinner after all, for about his leg was curled a large black water snake, and that made a fair meal.
Now he rested awhile on one leg, and listened. The first Frog was silent, but from the opposite bank the second Frog croaked boastfully:
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!"
The Crane began to be hungry again. He went round the pond without making any noise, and pounced upon the second Frog, who was sitting up in plain sight, swelling his chest with pride, for he really thought now that he was the sole chief of the pond.
The Crane's head and most of his long neck disappeared under the water, and all over the pond the little Frogs went splash! splash! into the deepest holes to be out of the way.
Just as he had the Frog by one hind leg, the Crane saw something that made him let go, flap his broad wings and fly awkwardly away to the furthest shore. It was a mink, with his slender brown body and wicked eyes, and he had crept very close to the Crane, hoping to seize him at his meal! So the second Frog got away too; but he was so dreadfully frightened that he never spoke again.
After a long time the Crane got over his fright and he became very hungry once more. The pond had been still so long that many of the Frogs were singing their pleasant chorus, and above them all there boomed the deep voice of the third and last Bullfrog, saying:
"Kerrump! kerrump! I'm chief of this pond!"
The Crane stood not far from the boaster, and he determined to silence him once for all. The next time he began to speak, he had barely said "Kerrump!" whe the Crane had him by the leg. He croaked and struggled in vain, and in another moment he would have gone down the Crane's long throat. But just then a Fox crept up behind the Crane and seized him! The Crane let go the Frog and was carried off screaming into the woods for the Fox's supper. So the third Frog got away; but he was badly lamed by the Crane's strong bill, and he never dared to open his mouth again.
It is not a wise thing to boast too loudly.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
A long time ago there were no stones on the earth. The mountains, hills, and valleys were not rough, and it was easy to walk on the ground swiftly. There were no small trees at that time either. All the bushes and trees were tall and straight and were at equal distances. So a man could travel through a forest without having to make a path.
At that time, a large buffalo roamed over the land. From the water, he had obtained his spirit power--the power to change anything into some other form. He would have that power as long as he only drank from a certain pool.
In his wanderings, Buffalo often travelled across a high mountain. He liked this mountain so much that one day he asked it, "Would you like to be changed into something else?"
"Yes," replied the mountain. "I would like to be changed into something nobody would want to climb over."
"All right," said Buffalo. "I will change you into something hard that I will call 'stone.' You will be so hard that no one will want to break you and so smooth that no one will want to climb you."
So Buffalo changed the mountain into a large stone. "And I give you the power to change yourself into anything else as long as you do not break yourself."
Only buffaloes lived in this part of the land. No people lived here. On the other side of the mountain lived men who were cruel and killed animals. The buffaloes knew about them and stayed as far away from them as possible. But one day Buffalo thought he would like to see these men. He hoped to make friends with them and persuade them not to kill buffaloes.
So he went over the mountain and travelled along a stream until he came to a lodge. There lived an old woman and her grandson. The little boy liked Buffalo, and Buffalo liked the little boy and his grandmother. He said to them, "I have the power to change you into any form you wish. What would you like most to be?"
"I want always to be with my grandson. I want to be changed into anything that will make it possible for me to be with him, wherever he goes."
"I will take you to the home of the buffaloes," said their guest. "I will ask them to teach the boy to become a swift runner. I will ask the water to change the grandmother into something, so that you two can always be together."
So Buffalo, the grandmother, and the little boy went over the mountain to the land of the buffaloes.
"We will teach you to run swiftly," they told the boy, "if you will promise to keep your people from hunting and killing buffaloes."
"I promise," said the boy.
The buffaloes taught him to run so fast that not one of them could keep up with him. The old grandmother could follow him wherever he went, for she had been changed into Wind.
The boy stayed with the buffaloes until he became a man. Then they let him go back to his people, reminding him of his promise. Because he was such a swift runner, he became a leader of the hunters. They called him Eagle Wing.
One day the chief called Eagle Wing to him and said to him, "My son, I want you to take the hunters to the buffalo country. We have never been able to kill buffaloes because they run so very fast. But you too can run fast. If you will kill some buffaloes and bring home the meat and the skins, I will adopt you as my son. And when I die, you will become chief of the tribe."
Eagle Wing wanted so much to become chief that he pushed from his mind his promise to the buffaloes. He started out with the hunters, but he climbed the mountain so fast that they were soon left far behind. On the other side of the mountain, he saw a herd of buffaloes. They started to run in fright, but Eagle Wing followed them and killed most of them.
Buffalo, the great one who got his power from the water, was away from home at the time of the hunt. On his way back he grew so thirsty that he drank from some water on the other side of the mountain not from his special pool. When he reached home and saw what the hunter had done, he became very angry. He tried to turn the men into grass, but he could not. Because he had drunk from another pool, he had lost his power to transform.
Buffalo went to the big stone that had once been a mountain.
"What can you do to punish the hunter for what he has done?" he asked Stone.
"I will ask the trees to tangle themselves so that it will be difficult for men to travel through them," answered Stone. "I will break myself into many pieces and scatter myself all over the land. Then the swift runner and his followers cannot run over me without hurting their feet."
"That will punish them," agreed Buffalo.
So Stone broke itself into many pieces and scattered itself all over the land. Whenever the swift runner, Eagle Wing, and his followers tried to run over the mountain, stones cut their feet. Bushes scratched and bruised their bodies.
That is how Eagle Wing was punished for not keeping his promise to Buffalo.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
"I have heard it told on the Cheyenne Reservation in Montana and the Seminole camps in the Florida Everglades, I have heard it from the Eskimos north of the Arctic Circle and the Indians south of the equator. The legend of the flood is the most universal of all legends. It is told in Asia, Africa, and Europe, in North America and the South Pacific." Professor Hap Gilliland of Eastern Montana College was the first to record this legend of the great flood.
This is one of the fifteen legends of the flood that he himself recorded in various parts of the world:
He was an old Indian. his face was weather beaten, but his eyes were still bright. I never knew what tribe he was from, though I could guess. Yet others from the tribe whom I talked to later had never heard his story.
We had been talking of the visions of the young men. He sat for a long time, looking out across the Yellowstone Valley through the pouring rain, before he spoke. "They are beginning to come back," he said.
"Who is coming back?" I asked.
"The animals," he said. "It has happened before."
"Tell me about it.'
He thought for a long while before he lifted his hands and his eyes. "The Great Spirit smiled on this land when he made it. There were mountains and plains, forests and grasslands. There were animals of many kinds--and men."
The old man's hands moved smoothly, telling the story more clearly than his voice.
The Great Spirit told the people, "These animals are your brothers. Share the land with them. They will give you food and clothing. Live with them and protect them.
"Protect especially the buffalo, for the buffalo will give you food and shelter. The hide of the buffalo will keep you from the cold, from the heat, and from the rain. As long as you have the buffalo, you will never need to suffer."
For many winters the people lived at peace with the animals and with the land. When they killed a buffalo, they thanked the Great Spirit, and they used every part of the buffalo. It took care of every need.
Then other people came. They did not think of the animals as brothers. They killed, even when they did not need food. They burned and cut the forests, and the animals died. They shot the buffalo and called it sport. They killed the fish in the streams.
When the Great Spirit looked down, he was sad. He let the smoke of the fires lie in the valleys. The people coughed and choked. But still they burned and they killed.
So the Great Spirit sent rains to put out the fires and to destroy the people.
The rains feil, and the waters rose. The people moved from the flooded valleys to the higher land.
Spotted Bear, the medicine man, gathered together his people. He said to them, "The Great Spirit has told us that as long as we have the buffalo we will be safe from heat and cold and rain. But there are no longer any buffalo. Unless we can find buffalo and live at peace with nature, we will all die."
Still the rains fell, and the waters rose. The people moved from the flooded plains to the hills.
The young men went out and hunted for the buffalo. As they went they put out the fires. They made friends with the animals once more. They cleaned out the streams.
Still the rains fell, and the waters rose. The people moved from the flooded hills to the mountains.
Two young men came to Spotted Bear. "We have found the buffalo," they said. "There was a cow, a calf, and a great white bull. The cow and the calf climbed up to the safety of the mountains. They should be back when the rain stops. But the bank gave way, and the bull was swept away by the floodwaters. We followed and got him to shore, but he had drowned. We have brought you his hide."
They unfolded a huge white buffalo skin.
Spotted Bear took the white buffalo hide. "Many people have been drowned," he said. "Our food has been carried away. But our young people are no longer destroying the world that was created for them. They have found the white buffalo. It will save those who are left."
Still the rains fell, and the waters rose. The people moved from the flooded mountains to the highest peaks.
Spotted Bear spread the white buffalo skin on the ground. He and the other medicine men scraped it and stretched it, and scraped it and stretched it.
Still the rains fell. Like all rawhide, the buffalo skin stretched when it was wet. Spotted Bear stretched it out over the village. All the people who were left crowded under it.
As the rains fell, the medicine men stretched the buffalo skin across the mountains. Each day they stretched it farther.
Then Spotted Bear tied one corner to the top of the Big Horn Mountains. That side, he fastened to the Pryors. The next corner he tied to the Bear Tooth Mountains. Crossing the Yellowstone Valley, he tied one corner to the Crazy Mountains, and the other to Signal Butte in the Bull Mountains.
The whole Yellowstone Valley was covered by the white buffalo skin. Though the rains still fell above, it did not fall in the Yellowstone Valley.
The waters sank away. Animals from the outside moved into the valley, under the white buffalo skin. The people shared the valley with them.
Still the rains fell above the buffalo skin. The skin stretched and began to sag.
Spotted Bear stood on the Bridger Mountains and raised the west end of the buffalo skin to catch the West Wind. The West Wind rushed in and was caught under the buffalo skin. The wind lifted the skin until it formed a great dome over the valley.
The Great Spirit saw that the people were living at peace with the earth. The rains stopped, and the sun shone. As the sun shone on the white buffalo skin, it gleamed with colours of red and yellow and blue.
As the sun shone on the rawhide, it began to shrink. The ends of the dome shrank away until all that was left was one great arch across the valley.
The old man's voice faded away; but his hands said "Look," and his arms moved toward the valley.
The rain had stopped and a rainbow arched across the Yellowstone Valley. A buffalo calf and its mother grazed beneath it.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
It was only yesterday, as time is told in the old stories, before the coming of the white man. It was a time when "The People" lived with respect for all living things. It was a time when "Yah na see", the mighty Buffalo, still roamed the great plains of this vast land, a time when Brother Wolf still howled at Grandmother Moon in the night. It was also a time of change, as the white man was building a road across the land for his Iron Horse.
It was late in the afternoon; Wakan Tanka was watching the Mighty Buffalo on the land below. There was stillness in the air and the smell of rain. The clouds in the distance said that Mother Earth would soon be replenished with rain and there was the smell of danger in the air. If you listened carefully you could hear the sound of Thunder in the distance. As Father Sun moved closer to the edge of the world, the sky darkened, lightning played among the clouds and Old Man Thunder roared with a mighty voice. The Mighty Buffalo lifted their heads from grazing and gathered their young about them. The young calves moved closer to their mothers as thunderbolts filled the sky. The herd milled aimlessly and watched with fear and with anger knowing that death was near at hand.
There was the sound of a mighty wind and a dark shadow crossed over the land. The Bird of Thunder dropped lower over the edge of the herd and a young calf was lifted into the air. Soon other shadows dropped near the earth and more of the young calves were taken. Lightning streaked across the sky and the voice of Old Man Thunder spoke with a vengeance. The Mighty Birds that brought the storm disappeared in the distance as Mother Earth opened her arms to receive the rain. The herd returned to their grazing now that the danger was past. Again the Mighty Thunderbird had stolen from the herd and loosed another storm upon the land. Everything was as it should be, the herd had grown too large and Mother Earth had needed the rain. As the Giant Birds disappeared into the distance, "She Who Ran Away", a young heifer with her second calf gave thanks to Wakan Tanka that this calf had been spared. Her first calf had been given to the Thunder Birds. Many of her friends had also lost their offspring to these storm bringers and spoke often of the ache this had instilled in their hearts. She thought again of the pain she had suffered at this great loss and gave another silent prayer that this would happen no more. "She Who Ran Away" prayed this prayer with a pure heart and asked only to improve life for the herd and for future generations. Sometimes prayers are best not prayed.
The road for the Iron Horse was cutting deeply into the plains and many white men were filling the land. Many times in their migration the Mighty Buffalo herds had to cross these iron tracks to better grazing. The white man, not knowing Mother Earth, found great sport hunting many of the herd members as they traveled near the Iron Horse. The white man took the hides of these Buffalo east in his journey and found they were worth much barter. Soon many white men came and slaughtered all the Buffalo, leaving Mother Earth strewn with the carnage, a graveyard filled with the bleached bones of a once mighty race. "Yah na see" had disappeared from the land.
Old Man Winter had lost his hold on the land. The North Wind was weak from his long stay and soon would be the time to plant. Where once the lands rolled like the sea with the Mighty Buffalo, there was only grass. The birds of the air had finished their winter sojourn in the south and would soon be returning to the land. The Giant Thunderbirds would soon be bringing the storms and rain to feed the new growths. Every year the Giant Birds returned to the north to build their nests in the high places and bring their young into the world. As the Thunderbirds moved over the plains and looked upon the Earth, they found that the Buffalo were no more. Without the Buffalo there was not enough food for these Mighty Giants and many died on their journey to the north. So few reached the nesting area that only a few chicks were hatched this season. The loss of these mighty herds made migration very difficult and many of the young birds died on their way south that fall. Soon they were no more. Wakan Tanka looked down and cried.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
This story was sent to us by Peaceseeker, who said it is a true story that came to him from "beyond the mists," perhaps from an Ancestor.
The Giant BirdBy Llewellyn Clark - Peaceseeker
How long ago was it?
It was only yesterday, as time is told in the old stories, before the coming of the white man. It was a time when "The People" lived with respect for all living things. It was a time when "Yah na see", the mighty Buffalo, still roamed the great plains of this vast land, a time when Brother Wolf still howled at Grandmother Moon in the night. It was also a time of change, as the white man was building a road across the land for his Iron Horse.
It was late in the afternoon; Wakan Tanka was watching the Mighty Buffalo on the land below. There was stillness in the air and the smell of rain. The clouds in the distance said that Mother Earth would soon be replenished with rain and there was the smell of danger in the air. If you listened carefully you could hear the sound of Thunder in the distance. As Father Sun moved closer to the edge of the world, the sky darkened, lightning played among the clouds and Old Man Thunder roared with a mighty voice. The Mighty Buffalo lifted their heads from grazing and gathered their young about them. The young calves moved closer to their mothers as thunderbolts filled the sky. The herd milled aimlessly and watched with fear and with anger knowing that death was near at hand.
There was the sound of a mighty wind and a dark shadow crossed over the land. The Bird of Thunder dropped lower over the edge of the herd and a young calf was lifted into the air. Soon other shadows dropped near the earth and more of the young calves were taken. Lightning streaked across the sky and the voice of Old Man Thunder spoke with a vengeance. The Mighty Birds that brought the storm disappeared in the distance as Mother Earth opened her arms to receive the rain. The herd returned to their grazing now that the danger was past. Again the Mighty Thunderbird had stolen from the herd and loosed another storm upon the land. Everything was as it should be, the herd had grown too large and Mother Earth had needed the rain. As the Giant Birds disappeared into the distance, "She Who Ran Away", a young heifer with her second calf gave thanks to Wakan Tanka that this calf had been spared. Her first calf had been given to the Thunder Birds. Many of her friends had also lost their offspring to these storm bringers and spoke often of the ache this had instilled in their hearts. She thought again of the pain she had suffered at this great loss and gave another silent prayer that this would happen no more. "She Who Ran Away" prayed this prayer with a pure heart and asked only to improve life for the herd and for future generations. Sometimes prayers are best not prayed.
The road for the Iron Horse was cutting deeply into the plains and many white men were filling the land. Many times in their migration the Mighty Buffalo herds had to cross these iron tracks to better grazing. The white man, not knowing Mother Earth, found great sport hunting many of the herd members as they traveled near the Iron Horse. The white man took the hides of these Buffalo east in his journey and found they were worth much barter. Soon many white men came and slaughtered all the Buffalo, leaving Mother Earth strewn with the carnage, a graveyard filled with the bleached bones of a once mighty race. "Yah na see" had disappeared from the land.
Old Man Winter had lost his hold on the land. The North Wind was weak from his long stay and soon would be the time to plant. Where once the lands rolled like the sea with the Mighty Buffalo, there was only grass. The birds of the air had finished their winter sojourn in the south and would soon be returning to the land. The Giant Thunderbirds would soon be bringing the storms and rain to feed the new growths. Every year the Giant Birds returned to the north to build their nests in the high places and bring their young into the world. As the Thunderbirds moved over the plains and looked upon the Earth, they found that the Buffalo were no more. Without the Buffalo there was not enough food for these Mighty Giants and many died on their journey to the north. So few reached the nesting area that only a few chicks were hatched this season. The loss of these mighty herds made migration very difficult and many of the young birds died on their way south that fall. Soon they were no more. Wakan Tanka looked down and cried.
Author's Note: There have been several sightings in the last few years of a very large bird with a wingspan of over 20 feet. It has been estimated that a bird of this size would be capable of lifting a young buffalo calf off the ground. Any bird this large would need a large thermal updraft to help hold it aloft in any long flight. There is almost always a large thermal updraft in front of a moving storm. This would of course give the impression that these large birds, "Thunder Birds", were bringing the storm with them. Hence the name, "Thunder Birds". The loss of the Buffalo would have a devastating effect on the migratory habits of a bird of this size.
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zina : As the wind blows, as the eagle soars,
as the wolf runs, such are the ways nature,
from them we must learn, freedom.
