26. THE HORNED SERPENT RUNS AWAY WITH A GIRL WHO IS RESCUED BY THE THUNDERER.
There was a Thunderer named Hi’´non who often hovered about a village where he sought to attract the attention of a certain young woman. He was a very friendly man and would have nothing to do with witches. He hated all kinds of sorcery and his great chief up in the sky whom we call Grandfather Thunder hated all wizardry and sorcery too. All the Thunderers killed witches when they could find them at their evil work.
Now, this Hi’´non was very sure that he would win the girl he wanted and he visited her lodge at night and took a fire brand from the fire and sat down and talked with her, but she kept saying, “Not yet, perhaps by and by.”
Hi’´non was puzzled and resolved to watch for the coming of a rival. He told the girl’s father that he suspected some witch had cast a spell on her or that some wizard was secretly visiting her. So they both watched.
That same night a strange man came. He had a very fine suit of clothing, and the skin had a peculiar tan. It was very clean, as if washed so that it shone with a glitter. Over his back and down the center there was a broad stripe of black porcupine quills with a small diamond-shaped pattern. He had a long neck and small beady eyes, but he was graceful and moved without noise. He went directly to the lodge and taking a light sat at the girl’s bedside.
“Are you willing?” he asked her. “Come now, let us depart. I want you for my wife. I will take you to my house.”
The girl replied, “Not yet, I think someone is watching, but in three days I will be ready.”
THE HORNED SERPENT.
This is a magical underwater creature with the power to transform itself into the form of a human warrior. The Thunder Spirit wages war against the whole tribe of Horned Serpents and tries to kill them by lightning. This is one of Jesse Cornplanter’s finest drawings.
The next day the girl worked very hard making a new dress and spent much time putting black porcupine quills upon it as an ornamentation. It was her plan to have a dress that would match her lover’s suit. Upon the third day she finished her work and went to bed early. Her apartment was at the right side of the door and it was covered by a curtain of buffalo skin that hung all the way down.
Hi’´non again called upon her, taking a light and seating himself back of the curtain. “I am willing to marry you,” he said. “When will you become my wife?”
“Not yet,” she replied. “I am not ready now to marry.”
“I think you are deceiving me,” answered Hi’´non, “for you have on your new dress and have not removed your moccasins.”
“You may go,” the girl told him, and he went away.
Soon there came the stranger and he too took a little torch and went behind the curtain. Soon the two came out together and ran down the path to the river.
“I shall take you now to my own tribe,” said the lover. “We live only a short way from here. We must go over the hill.”
So onward they went to their home, at length arriving at the high rocky shores of a lake. They stood on the edge of the cliff and looked down at the water.
“I see no village and no house,” complained the girl. “Where shall we go now? I am sure that we are pursued by the Thunderer.”
As she said this the Thunderer and the girl’s father appeared running toward them.
“It is dark down there,” said the lover. “We will now descend and find our house.”
So saying he took the girl by the waist and crawled down the cliff, suddenly diving with a splash into the lake. Down they went until they reached the foot of the cliff, when an opening appeared into which he swam with her. Quickly he swam upward and soon they were in a dimly lighted lodge. It was a strange place and filled with numerous fine things. All along the wall there were different suits of clothing.
“Look at all the suits,” said the lover, “when you have found one put it on.”
That night the couple were married and the next day the husband went away. “I shall return in three days,” he announced. “Examine the fine things here, and when you find a dress that you like put it on.”
For a long time the girl looked at the things in the lodge, but she was afraid to put on anything for everything had such a fishy smell. There was one dress, however, that attracted the girl and she was tempted to put it on. It was very long and had a train. It was covered all over with decorations that looked like small porcupine quills flattened out. There was a hood fastened to it and to the hood was fastened long branching antlers. She looked at this dress longingly but hung it up again with a sigh, for it smelled like fish and she was afraid.
In due time her husband returned and asked her if she had selected a suit. “I have found one that I admire greatly,” said she. “But I am afraid that I will not like it after I put it on. It has a peculiar fishy smell and I am afraid that it may bring evil upon me if I wear it.”
“Oh no!” exclaimed her husband, “If you wear that suit I will be greatly pleased. It is the very suit that I hoped you would select. Put it on, my wife, put it on, for then I shall be greatly pleased. When I return from my next trip I hope you will wear it for me.”
The next day the husband went away, again promising soon to return. Again the girl busied herself with looking at the trophies hanging in the lodge. She noticed that there were many suits like the one she had admired. Carefully she examined each and then it dawned upon her that these garments were the clothing of great serpents. She was horrified at the discovery and resolved to escape. As she went to the door she was swept back by a wave. She tried the back door but was forced into the lodge again by the water. Finally mustering all her courage she ran out of the door and jumped upward. She knew that she had been in a house under water. Soon she came to the surface but it was dark and there were thunder clouds in the sky. A great storm was coming up. Then she heard a great splashing and through the water she saw a monster serpent plowing his way toward her. Its eyes were fiercely blazing and there were horns upon its head. As it came toward her she scrambled in dismay up the dark slippery rocks to escape it. As the lightning flashed she looked sharply at the creature and saw that its eyes were those of her husband. She noticed in particular a certain mark on his eyes that had before strangely fascinated her. Then she realized that this was her husband and that he was a great horned serpent.
She screamed and sought to scale the cliff with redoubled vigor, but the monster was upon her with a great hiss. His huge bulk coiled to embrace her, when there was a terrific peal of thunder, a blinding flash, and the serpent fell dead, stricken by one of Hi’´non’s arrows.
The girl was about to fall when a strong arm grasped her and bore her away in the darkness. Soon she was back at her father’s lodge. The Thunderer had rescued her.
“I wanted to save you,” he said, “but the great horned serpent kept me away by his magic. He stole you and took you to his home. It is important that you answer me one question: did you ever put on any dress that he gave you? If you did you are no longer a woman but a serpent.”
“I resisted the desire to put on the garment,” she told him.
“Then,” said he, “you must go to a sweat lodge and be purified.”
The girl went to the women’s sweat lodge and they prepared her for the purification. When she had sweat and been purged with herbs, she gave a scream and all the women screamed for she had expelled two young serpents, and they ran down and slipped off her feet. The Thunderer outside killed them with a loud noise.
After a while the young woman recovered and told all about her adventure, and after a time the Thunderer came to her lodge and said, “I would like to take you now.”
“I will give you some bread,” she answered, meaning that she wished to marry him. So she gave him some bread which he ate and then they were married.
The people of the village were now all afraid that the lake would be visited by horned serpents seeking revenge but the Thunderer showed them a medicine bag filled with black scales, and he gave every warrior who would learn his song one scale, and it was a scale from the back of the horned serpent. He told them that if they wore this scale, the serpent could not harm them. So, there are those scales in medicine bundles to this day.