“The Great Spirit is the god of the Dakotas,” said the Indian. “He made everything but wild rice and thunder. We must do as our fathers have done or the spirits of the dead will punish us. It is not good to change. We believe what they told us when we were children. We worship the Great Spirit.”
“Who rules the water?” asked the white man.
“Unktahe, the spirit of the water.”
“What do you call the thunder?”
“Wahkeon. He and Unktahe are always fighting. It is a great battle; when there is a storm Unktahe sends the thunder-birds back to the sky, sometimes.”
“Tell me more about the thunder-birds,” said the white man.
“Wahkeontonka is the father of all the birds. He is Big Thunder. He lives on a great mountain in the west. His wigwam has four doors. A caribou stands at the north door. He is swift like the north wind. At the south door is a red deer; he is very beautiful. His eyes are like the little lakes in summer.
“A butterfly watches at the east door of the wigwam. He is like the morning light. A bear watches [[243]]the west door, and when the wind blows from the west even the white people can hear the bear growling. This is true.”
“What has Wahkeontonka done for the Indian?”
“The thunder spirit gave the Indians thunder and wild rice. They eat rice and are strong. He showed them how to use the bow and arrow.