20. Thunder

20. THUNDER (45)

There were four Indian brothers and one sister, making five, living with their mother. After a rainy spell the girl went in search of wood when lightning struck the ground, "pås." Thunder stood there, called her to him, and said, "Where do you lie down to sleep?" "I lie down to sleep by my mother," she said. "To-night I will come for you," he said to her, and she answered, "All right, I will lie down inside of the corncrib." That night she lay down in the corncrib and Thunder went there and carried her off. He went on with her to his house. And her mother, none of her brothers, no one, knew where she had gone. Her mother wanted to see her so much that she wept.

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By and by one of her brothers went hunting along the trail, got to the house where she was staying, and saw her sitting there. "I have come in search of you. Our mother wants to see you," he said. She did not want to go. "Roll that big thing for me," said Thunder. The man tried to roll it for him but it rolled upon himself and injured him so severely that he died. When he did not come home, another tried to find his sister and came to the same house. "Roll that big thing for me," Thunder said. When he tried to roll it it rolled upon him so that he died. Then another came hunting and he said, "Roll that big thing for me." He tried to roll it and it hurt him so badly that he died.

After that the last one wanted to hunt and he made some arrows. He made two red arrows and two white arrows to carry with him. He went on after his elder brothers, and when he crossed a creek with a good current, something red (a star) passed rolling along with the current. "Take me and go on," it said to him. So he took it and went on. He went on with it and when he got to the place Thunder said, "Roll for me that big thing over there." Then he rolled it so that it fell off of the bluff with a great noise and disappeared.

"Let the person who has just come get water for me," said Thunder. And he gave him a bucket. He took it together with his arrows and started on. When he arrived at the place he found two supernatural snakes, one on either side of the water. He pinned their heads to the ground with his arrows. Then he got water and came back.

When night came they lay down and slept, and just before day Thunder went off hunting. Then the man seized his sister, who did not want to go, and started off dragging her with him. When he had nearly reached the creek the noise of thunder was heard behind him. Before he had crossed the creek Thunder struck down upon a tree and stood there. Then the thing that he had brought with him said, "Let me get down," so he threw it upon the ground and it fought for him. After they had fought and rested at intervals, the star beat Thunder, and he disappeared with a great reverberation in the direction from which he had come.

Then the man carried his sister home. When they got there and her mother saw her she was very happy.