Chapter III: Part 3

When the father of the Thunder Men saw that the youth was strong, and could roll the ball well, he said, “You shall go with my sons to-morrow. You shall see greater sport than this.”

In the morning, when the Thunder Men put on their great purple wings, the maiden brought forth another pair and fastened them upon the shoulders of the youth. Then they all flew away to the south. They carried bows, and their arrows were of gold.

Their wings made a mighty roaring and crashing as they flew, and the people on the earth said, “Listen, how the thunder roars and crashes!”

Then they shot their golden arrows from their bows, and the earth people cried, “See, how the lightning flashes across the sky!” And some of the earth people ran and hid, for they were afraid.

But the old man of the Thunder World had said to his sons: “Shoot your arrows only at the great bird of the south, which is our enemy. Destroy not the people of the earth. And fly not too low. Touch not the trees, for they are our friends.”

So they flew about for a time, taking care where they sent their arrows. And when they had grown tired of their sport, they flew back to their home in the clouds and took off their great purple wings.

For many moons the youth enjoyed the company of the Thunder Maiden, and took part in the sports of her brothers. But at last there took possession of him a great longing to visit again his brothers and sisters of the earth. He longed to chase the deer in the forest, to follow his chief in battle, to smell the fire of his lodge.

He told his longing to the old man of the Thunder World, and the old man said he should have his way. So for the last time the Thunder Maiden fastened his purple wings to his shoulders, handed him the golden arrows, and bade him good-bye. Then away he flew with the Thunder Men.

Closer and closer to the earth they went, and the people covered their ears to keep out the crash and roar of the thunder; and they covered their eyes to keep out the sight of the dazzling, flashing lightning.

“Oh, what a storm!” cried the earth people, as they looked toward a hill outside their village where the noise seemed most deafening, and the glare seemed most blinding.

And there, on the hill, the Thunder Men left their Indian brother; then, with many a rumble and flash, they flew away back to their home in the clouds.

When the people looked again, the storm had lifted, and a warrior was seen descending from the hill to the village. They recognized him as the youth who had been lost for many, many moons.

As they sat together around the fire of the lodge, the youth told them the tale that I have told you, of the Thunder People who dwell in the purple clouds.

KEEPER OF THE WINDS

(Algonquin)

MUDJEKEEWIS, father of the four winds of heaven, had three sons. Their names were Wabun, Kabibonokka, and Shawondasee. Mudjekeewis said to the chiefs of his people, “You have named me Kabeyun, the West Wind, and have given to me all the four winds of the heavens. I will appoint my three sons to be keepers of the north wind, the east wind, and the south wind.”

So to Kabibonokka he gave the north wind, to Wabun he gave the east wind, and to Shawondasee he gave the south wind.

Wabun was a hunter. He liked to rise early and to leap upon the mountains in pursuit of the wild deer. He liked to shoot with his bow and arrows. He was glad that the east wind had been given to him, for he loved to watch the heavens in the early morning when the sun shot its first rays across the mountain tops where he hunted. He said to Mudjekeewis, “I am most grateful, my father, that the east wind has been given into my keeping. When I hunt in the early morning I will shoot away the clouds of darkness with my silver arrows; I will chase away the shadows.”

So Wabun cared for the east wind, and each morning he painted the sky with wonderful colors. He sent his silver arrows down to the earth to waken the people, and to light up the lakes and meadows.

At last Wabun grew lonely in his home in the eastern sky, and he began to watch day by day for a beautiful maiden who walked upon the prairie gathering grasses for her baskets. And Wabun wooed her with his soft breezes, and with sweet flowers, and with the songs of birds. And when he had won her heart he changed her into a beautiful star, which he set in his home in the heavens.

Kabibonokka, the second son, was very different from Wabun. He was cold and cruel, and he was glad that the north wind had been given to him. When he sent his winds across the earth the leaves upon the trees turned to crimson and gold, and were very lovely, but they whirled and twisted in the wind and said to each other, “Our days will soon be at an end. We shall soon turn dry and brown and fall to the earth. Kabibonokka laughs when we put on our beautiful colors.”

Then Kabibonokka sent icy blasts, and the waters of the lakes froze, and the snows fell, and the winds came through the door of the tepee, and life became hard for the people. And Kabibonokka laughed, and his laugh was like the whistling of the wind through the bare tree tops. The fish were deep beneath the frozen waters; the snow covered the tracks of the animals of the forest. Food was scarce, and hard to obtain.

Only the bravest of the Indians could fish and hunt when the north wind blew its coldest. Shingebis was one of these, and he never lacked for fish or fuel.

“I will get the best of Shingebis,” said Kabibonokka, and so one morning he went to Shingebis’ tepee. And Shingebis asked him to eat with him, and he gave him a meal of fish. And Kabibonokka ate greedily. But the warmth of Shingebis’ tepee was too great for him, and he had to go away. As he left he tried to put out the tepee fire, but Shingebis blew upon it and it burned more brightly, so that Kabibonokka had to hasten. In revenge he froze the waters more deeply, but Shingebis only laughed, for no weather was too cold for him to find fish for his dinner.

But the Indians did not love Kabibonokka, for he was cold and cruel.

Shawondasee was not like either of his brothers. He was fat and lazy. He loved to lie upon green banks under shady trees. He loved the sweet flowers, and the warmth of the South Land. He was far too lazy to send strong winds such as came from the North Land. His breezes were soft and traveled slowly, and they were sweet with the perfume of southern groves and meadows.

Shawondasee, like his brother Wabun, saw a beautiful maiden that he loved. Do you remember the story? Her hair was of golden yellow, and she nodded and swayed in the breeze. Her home was in the meadows, and Shawondasee looked for her day by day, and wafted sweet odors and fair flowers to her, and he won her love, even as Wabun won the love of the prairie maiden. But he was too sluggish to go himself to win her, and to bring her to his home in the South Land. Instead he said to himself each morning, “To-day I will go and seek the golden-haired maiden, and bring her to my home,” but each day he was too indolent.

The days went by, and at last the golden hair of the maiden turned silvery white, and when Shawondasee saw this he heaved a great sigh, so great a sigh that it reached even to the maiden, and lo, all the silver white of her hair was scattered over the meadow!

So Shawondasee still lives alone in the South Land, and sends gentle sighing breezes to the meadows of the North.

Transcriber’s Note

Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.

Pukwudjee was also spelled as Puckwudjee in the table of contents and illustration captions. These have been amended to Pukwudjee for consistency with the story _The Pukwudjee and the Morning Star_.

On page 15, be amended to he--... but neither could he break ...

The list of other books by the author and the frontispiece have been moved to follow the title page. Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are not in the middle of a paragraph.