280 ART IN SHELL OF THE ANCIENT AMERICANS. 



SHELL. 



STONE. 



N. M., National Musenm. 



P. M., Peabody Mnsenm. 



THE BIRD. 



Witli all peoples the bird has been a most important symbol. Pos- 

 sessing the mysterious power of flight, by which it could rise at pleas- 

 ure into the realms of space, it naturally came to be associated with 

 the phenomena of the sky — the wind, the storm, the lightning, and the 

 thunder. In the fervid imagination of the red man it became the act- 

 ual ruler of the elements, the guardian of the four quarters of the 

 heavens. As a result the bird is embodied in the myths, and is a 

 prominent figure in the philosophy of many savage tribes. The eagle, 

 which is an important emblem with many civilized nations, is found to 

 come much nearer the heart of the superstitious savage ; its plumes 

 are the badge of the successful warrior ; its body a sacred offering to 

 his deities, or an object of actual veneratiou. The swan, the heron, 

 tlie woodpecker, the paroquet, the owl, and the dove were creatures of 

 uuusnal consideration : their flight was iioted as a matter of vital im- 

 portance, as it could bode good or evil to the hunter or warrior who 

 consulted it as an oracle. 



The dove, with the Hurons, is thought to be the keeper of the souls 



