--- title: VII. the Thunder-bird of the Dakotas — Wigwam stories told by North American Indians · full text with trees description: VII. the Thunder-bird of the Dakotas, «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: (Sioux, 1895) --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/76/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Wigwam stories told by North American…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/) / VII. the Thunder-bird of the Dakotas # VII. the Thunder-bird of the Dakotas VII. the Thunder-bird of the Dakotas of «Wigwam stories told by North American Indians» by Mary Catherine Judd: the whole text, 54 sentences and 527 words. The small number after every sentence leads to its own page with its syntax tree and pragmatics, parsed by Mova itself. (Sioux, 1895)[1](1/ "tree and pragmatics") “What is thunder?” a white man asked a Sioux or Dakota Indian.[2](2/ "tree and pragmatics") “Thunder is a big bird flying in the air.[3](3/ "tree and pragmatics") It makes tracks like fire.[4](4/ "tree and pragmatics") You can hear it clap its wings.[5](5/ "tree and pragmatics") It is the young thunder-birds that hurt the Sioux.[6](6/ "tree and pragmatics") The old birds will not touch us.[7](7/ "tree and pragmatics") They are our friends.”[8](8/ "tree and pragmatics") “Did you ever see a thunder-bird?” was asked by the white man.[9](9/ "tree and pragmatics") “I never did, but my father’s brother, Little Crow, saw one fall dead out of the sky.[10](10/ "tree and pragmatics") It had wings wide as a white man’s house, and it had lightning on its wings.[11](11/ "tree and pragmatics") It had a face like a man; its nose was like an eagle’s bill.”[12](12/ "tree and pragmatics") “Who else ever saw one?” was the next question.[13](13/ "tree and pragmatics") “One fall our tribe was out hunting, and a thunder-bird flew down on the ground just a little way from them.[14](14/ "tree and pragmatics") It did not hurt them; they saw that it had on snowshoes.[15](15/ "tree and pragmatics") They found the track of the shoes when it flew away.[16](16/ "tree and pragmatics") Our tribe had good hunting that winter.[17](17/ "tree and pragmatics") They killed many bears.”[18](18/ "tree and pragmatics") “We have only one God; why do you have so many?” was next asked.[19](19/ "tree and pragmatics") “The Great Spirit is the god of the Dakotas,” said the Indian.[20](20/ "tree and pragmatics") “He made everything but wild rice and thunder.[21](21/ "tree and pragmatics") We must do as our fathers have done or the spirits of the dead will punish us.[22](22/ "tree and pragmatics") It is not good to change.[23](23/ "tree and pragmatics") We believe what they told us when we were children.[24](24/ "tree and pragmatics") We worship the Great Spirit.”[25](25/ "tree and pragmatics") “Who rules the water?” asked the white man.[26](26/ "tree and pragmatics") “Unktahe, the spirit of the water.”[27](27/ "tree and pragmatics") “What do you call the thunder?”[28](28/ "tree and pragmatics") “Wahkeon.[29](29/ "tree and pragmatics") He and Unktahe are always fighting.[30](30/ "tree and pragmatics") It is a great battle; when there is a storm Unktahe sends the thunder-birds back to the sky, sometimes.”[31](31/ "tree and pragmatics") “Tell me more about the thunder-birds,” said the white man.[32](32/ "tree and pragmatics") “Wahkeontonka is the father of all the birds.[33](33/ "tree and pragmatics") He is Big Thunder.[34](34/ "tree and pragmatics") He lives on a great mountain in the west.[35](35/ "tree and pragmatics") His wigwam has four doors.[36](36/ "tree and pragmatics") A caribou stands at the north door.[37](37/ "tree and pragmatics") He is swift like the north wind.[38](38/ "tree and pragmatics") At the south door is a red deer; he is very beautiful.[39](39/ "tree and pragmatics") His eyes are like the little lakes in summer.[40](40/ "tree and pragmatics") “A butterfly watches at the east door of the wigwam.[41](41/ "tree and pragmatics") He is like the morning light.[42](42/ "tree and pragmatics") A bear watches the west door, and when the wind blows from the west even the white people can hear the bear growling.[43](43/ "tree and pragmatics") This is true.”[44](44/ "tree and pragmatics") “What has Wahkeontonka done for the Indian?”[45](45/ "tree and pragmatics") “The thunder spirit gave the Indians thunder and wild rice.[46](46/ "tree and pragmatics") They eat rice and are strong.[47](47/ "tree and pragmatics") He showed them how to use the bow and arrow.[48](48/ "tree and pragmatics") “He dug iron from the ground and made tomahawks.[49](49/ "tree and pragmatics") He made spears.[50](50/ "tree and pragmatics") The Indians know Wahkeontonka is wise.”[51](51/ "tree and pragmatics") The Dakotas believe that their god of storm lives on Thunder Cap, a high promontory in Minnesota overlooking Lake Superior; from here he sends the rain, hail, or snow.[52](52/ "tree and pragmatics") Thunder Bay lies at his feet; on its shore lies the great giant turned to stone, who, ages ago, dared to defy Big Thunder.[53](53/ "tree and pragmatics") Wahkeontonka is the Dakotas’ Jupiter.[54](54/ "tree and pragmatics") - ← previous: [VI. Menabozho Swallowed By a Large Fish](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/75/) - next →: [How He United the Five Nations](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/77/) - ↑ back to [Wigwam stories told by North American Indians](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73136/)