THE TIirNUERBIRD 



969 



people tell how a hunter one.' shot and wounded a large bird which 

 fell to the ground. Being afraid to attack it alone on account of its 

 size, be returned To camp for help, but on again approaching the spot 

 the hunters heard the thunder rolling and saw flashes of lightning 

 shooting out from the ravine where the bird lay wounded. On corn- 

 in- nearer, the lightning blinded them so that they could not sec the 

 bird, and one flash struck and killed a hunter. His frightened com- 

 panions then tied back to cam]-. Tor they knew it was the Thunderbird. 



Fig. 92 — The Thunderbird. 



With both < 'heyenne and Arapaho the thunder {ha' a') is a large bird. 

 with a brood of smaller ones, and carries in its talons a number of arrows 

 with which it strikes the victim of lightning. For this reason they call 

 the eagle on our coins haa. When it thunders, they say ha' a' nanitu'- 

 hut, "the thunder calls."' In Indian pictography the Thunderbird is 

 figured with zigzag lines running out from its heart to represent the 

 lightning. A small figure of it (represented in figure 02), cut from 

 rawhide and ornamented with beads, is frequently worn on the heads 

 of the dancers. 



