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.

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.