256 WEATHER MAKING, ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



Americau quail is also said to " call for rain," and its cry is inter- 

 preted to be, " More wet, more wet" (Dr. Eobert Fletcher). The call 

 of the loon is given the same meaning in so widely separated localities 

 as Cape Breton, the State of Washington, and Florida (Mr. C. A. 

 Smith). The same power is attributed, generally in the Old World, 

 to many other birds, as ducks, geese, crows, and ravens. From Penn- 

 sylvania (William Schrock) comes the quaint conceptiou expressed in 

 the following rhyme : 



The gooso auil the gauder 

 Begin to ineauder ; 

 The matter is plaiu, 

 They are danciug for rain. 



But the birds are not only efit'ective in making rain ; they can exert 

 still greater intiuence. The kildee, or killdeer plover, is said, in Mary- 

 land, to call up the wind by his cry of " Kildee! kildee!" while to kill 

 him would cause a violent storm (Dr. Fletcher). The Kiowa of Indian 

 Territory attributes to the killdeer the bringing of spring (James 

 Mooney, Washington). 



Another popular association between animals and rain is the idea 

 that by certain treatment of some animals definite results in the way 

 of rain making can be obtained. For instance, on Santee River, in 

 South Carolina, it is believed that if you catch an alligator, tie him to a 

 tree, and whip him to death it will be certain to bring rain (Dr. W. W. 

 Anderson). This seems to be a fragment of negro folklore. In Massa- 

 chusetts it is said that if you see or step on a frog it is a sure sign of 

 rain, while in Maine they say, " Kill a frog and it will rain before 

 morning" (Miss F. D. Bergen). This association of rain with the toad 

 is general over the United States. Still another folklore remnant of 

 the same sort relates to snakes. It is a curious fact that among many 

 races the snake is supjDosed to have some relations with the weather. 

 Mr. James Mooney says, *' The belief in a connection between rain and 

 snakes is quite general among Indian tribes. The snake dance is 

 intended to bring rain. The Indians of Indian Territory turn a dead 

 snake on its back to bring rain." It is a jiiece of negro folklore that 

 hanging a dead snake on a tree will bring rain in a few hours. Farther 

 northward it runs, "Hang up a snake skin and it will bring rain." 

 This refers to the cast-off skin. In northern Illinois the exi)ression is, 

 " Hang uj> a snake's cast-off skin on the crab-api)le tree and it will 

 bring rain." The snake has i)layed a very imi)ortant part in weather 

 making, and to it has been attributed many other magical ijowers. 



An interesting series of superstitions with reference to weather 

 making are those which are common to sailors, who have a well-known 

 half-serious belief that one can raise wind by whistling. In New- 

 foundland they say, " Stick a knife in the mainmast and whistle, and 

 it must produce wind." In ]!^ewfoundland, also, they have an idea 

 that if a vessel is becalmed wind can be produced by throwing over- 



