iiOLMEs.) BIkD MYTHS. 281 



of the (lead, ami the Navajos are said to believe tbat four whit(s swans 

 dwell ill the four quarters of the heavens and rule tiie winds. 



The storm-bird of the Dakotas dwells in the uppei' air, beyond the 

 range of human vision, carryiugf upon its back a lake of fresh water ; 

 when it winks its eyes there is lightning; when it flaps its wings we 

 hear the thunder ; and when it shakes out its plumage the rain de- 

 scends. Myths like this abound in the lore of many peoples, and the 

 story of the mysterious bird is interwoven with the traditions which 

 tell of their origin. A creature which has suflicient jiower to guide 

 and rule a race is constantly embodied in its songs, its art, and its 

 jihilosophy. Thus highly regarded by the modern tribes, it must have 

 been erpially an objecit of consideiation among i)reliistoric races. We 

 know Unit the Natchez and the Greeks included the bird among their 

 deities, and by the relics placed within his sepulcliers we know that it 

 held an important place in the esteem of the mound builder. 



Our prehistoric peoples seem to have taken special cloliglit in carving 

 its form in wood and stone, in modeling it in clay, in fashioning it in 

 cojiper and gold, and in engraving it ui)on shell. One of the most in- 

 teresting of all the specimens ])reserved to us is illustrated in l*latc 

 LVIII. The design with which this relic is embellished possesses no 

 little artistic excellence, and doubtless embodies some one of the many 

 charming myths of the heavens. 



I am perfectly well aware that a scientific writer should guard aguiinst 

 the tendency to indulge in flights of fancy, but as the myths of the 

 American aborigines are highly poetical, and abound in lofty rhetorical 

 figures, there can be no good reason why their graphic ait should not 

 echo some of these rhythmical i)assages. To the thoughtful mind it will 

 be apparent that, although this design is not necessarily full of occult 

 mysteries, every line has its purpose and every figure its significanci-. 

 Yet of these very works one writer has ventured the opinion that 

 "they do but express the individual fancy of those by whom they 

 were made;" that they are even without "indications of any intelli- 

 gent design or pictographic idea." I do not assume to iiiterj)tet 

 these designs; they are not to be interi)reted. liesides, there is 

 no advantage to be gained by an interiiretation. We have hundreds 

 of primitive myths within our easy reach that are as interesting and 

 instructive as these could be. All I desire is to elevate tiiese works 

 froiu the category of trinkets to what I believe is their rightful 

 jilace — the serious art of a people with great capacity for loftier 

 works. What the gorgets themselves were, or of what particular 

 value to their possessors, aside from simple ornament, must be, in a 



