Fig. 5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a
Drawing by a Native.
The design represented in Fig. 6 was dreamed of by the owner himself, and in this dream he was presented with a shield bearing a design similar to the sketch. As he was almost blind, the sketch is very crude. In it appear again the thunder-bird, the stars, the yellow clouds, the red and blue lightning, the new moon, and the bear. It was claimed that the curved double line at the bottom represented both the moon and the lightning; the former by the colors, the latter by its form. Another interesting point in this design is the representation of an eagle-feather upon the head of the bear. This is the conventional way of representing a supernatural bear as distinguished from a real bear.[[5]] The owner of this shield-design claimed, that, while he did not now and had not for years carried or kept about him a drawing of the design, he felt it as a kind of magic presence hovering around him, shielding him from harm. He stated, further, that, while he knew that other men used the symbols represented in his shield-design as the signs of particular powers and ideas, he himself had no such interpretation; for in the dream he saw nothing more than a shield bearing these designs, and received no instruction or information as to their significance. Their protecting power to him lay in the peculiar supernatural presence which he always felt.
The shield-design in Fig. 7 represents a thunderstorm. At the top, the clouds are represented in blue. Below this, falling rain is represented by short irregular lines, and the lightning and thunder by zigzag lines extending downward from the clouds on a background of clear sky. This design originated in the same manner as did the preceding; that is, a finished shield was seen in a dream.
Fig. 6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it.
Fig. 7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a Native.
[Plate vii] is the reproduction of a model of a shield made of shrunken bull-hide covered with buckskin. It was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker. The design is somewhat similar to the preceding. The upper part is painted in blue to represent the clouds, and the lower part in bluish-green to represent the sky. In the cloud-area is the drawing of a horse, symbolizing a dream-horse (probably the thunder-horse). The thunder, or power, is symbolized by red zigzag lines extending downward from the cloud-area. An eagle-feather and twelve hawk-feathers are tied to a small buckskin bag of medicine, fastened to the shield in a manner suggesting their attachment to the mane of the horse. The circumference of the shield is decorated with small feathers, and four pairs of eagle-feathers are also arranged symmetrically around the circumference.
Fig. 8 (50-5456). Model of a Shield
with Pictographic Design. Diameter, 47 cm.
A shield (Fig. 8) similar to the preceding represents a vision in which the dreamer was apparently supported by the thunder-horse in a contest with the mythical turtle. A small bag of medicine and a pendant eagle-plume are attached to the shield, as in the previous case. Feathers are again arranged in four pairs. This specimen was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker.