Boums.] BIRD MYTHS. 281 



of the dead, and the Navajos are said to believe that four white swans 

 dwell in the four quarters of the heavens and rule the winds. 



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

 range of human vision, carrying 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 sufladent power to guide 

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

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

 been equally an object of consideration among prehistoric races. We 

 know that the Natchez and the Creeks included the bird among their 

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

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



Our prehistoric peoples seem to have taken special delight in carving 

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

 copper and gold, and in engraving it upon shell. One of the most in- 

 teresting of all the specimens preserved to us is illustrated in Plate 

 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 against 

 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 art should not 

 echo some of these rhythmical passages. 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 significance. 

 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 interpret 

 these designs; they arc not to be interpreted. Besides, there is 

 no advantage to be gained by an interpretation. 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 these works 

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

 place — 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 



