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07 - How The Thunder Pipe Came · Blackfeet Native American Stories

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  Speaker 1: Chapter seven a black Feet Indian Stories. This is a
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
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  Speaker 1: Read by Lucy Burgoyne. Blackfeet Indian Stories by George B. Grinnell,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter seven, How the thunder pipe came? You have heard
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  Speaker 1: the thunder that he is everywhere. He roars in the mountains,
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  Speaker 1: and far out on the prairie is heard his crashing.
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  Speaker 1: He strikes the high rocks and they fall to pieces.
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  Speaker 1: A tree and it is broken in slippers the people,
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  Speaker 1: and they die. He is bad. He does not like
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  Speaker 1: the high cliff, the standing tree, or living man. He
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  Speaker 1: likes to strike and crushed them to the ground. Of
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  Speaker 1: all things, he is the most powerful. He cannot be resisted.
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  Speaker 1: But I have not told you the worst thing about him.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes he takes away women. Long ago, almost in the beginning,
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  Speaker 1: a man and his wife were sitting in their lodge
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  Speaker 1: when thunder came and struck them. The man was not killed.
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  Speaker 1: At first he lay as if dead, But after a
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  Speaker 1: time he lived again, and standing up, looked about him.
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  Speaker 1: He did not see his wife. Oh, he thought she
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  Speaker 1: has gone to get wood or water, and he sat
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  Speaker 1: down again. But when night came he went out of
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  Speaker 1: the lodge and asked the people about her. No one
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  Speaker 1: had seen her. He looked all through the camp, but
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  Speaker 1: could not find her. Then he knew that the thunder
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  Speaker 1: had taken her away, and he went out on the
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  Speaker 1: hills and mourned all night. He sat there, trying to
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  Speaker 1: think what he might do to get back his wife.
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  Speaker 1: When morning came, he rose and wandered away, And whenever
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  Speaker 1: he met any of the animals, he asked if they
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  Speaker 1: could tell him where the thunder lived. The animals laughed,
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  Speaker 1: and most of them would not answer. The wolf said
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  Speaker 1: to him, do you think that we would look for
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  Speaker 1: the home of the only one we fear? He is
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  Speaker 1: our only danger. From all other enemies, we can run away,
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  Speaker 1: but from him no one can run. He strikes and
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  Speaker 1: there we lie. Turn back, go home. Do not look
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  Speaker 1: for the place of that dreadful one. The man kept
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  Speaker 1: on and traveled a long distance. At last, after many days,
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  Speaker 1: he came to a lodge, A strange lodge, for it
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  Speaker 1: was made of stone, just like any other lodge it looked,
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  Speaker 1: only it was made of stone. This was the home
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  Speaker 1: of the raven chief. The man entered. Welcome, friend, said
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  Speaker 1: the chief of the ravens. Sit down there, and he
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  Speaker 1: pointed to a place. Soon food was placed before the
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  Speaker 1: poor man. When he had finished eating, the raven chief asked,
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  Speaker 1: why have you come here? Thunder has stolen my wife.
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  Speaker 1: The man answered, I am looking for his dwelling place
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  Speaker 1: that I may find her. Are you brave enough to
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  Speaker 1: enter the lodge of that dreadful person? Asked the raven.
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  Speaker 1: He lives near here. His lodge is of stone like
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  Speaker 1: this one, and hanging in it our eyes the eyes
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  Speaker 1: of those he has killed or taken away. He has
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  Speaker 1: taken out their eyes and hung them in his lodge. Now, then,
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  Speaker 1: dare you enter there? No, answered the man. I am afraid.
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  Speaker 1: Who could look at such dreadful things and live? No
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  Speaker 1: man can, said the raven. There is only one, old
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  Speaker 1: Thunder fears there is but one he cannot kill. It
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  Speaker 1: is we. It is the raven's. Now, I will give
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  Speaker 1: you some medicine, and he shall not harm you. You
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  Speaker 1: shall enter there and try to find among those eyes
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  Speaker 1: your wife's, And if you find them, tell the Thunder
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  Speaker 1: while you came, and make him give them to you.
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  Speaker 1: Here now is a raven's wing. Point this at him
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  Speaker 1: and he will be afraid and start back. But if
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  Speaker 1: that should fail, take this arrow. Its shaft is made
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  Speaker 1: of elk horn. Take this, I say, and shoot it
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  Speaker 1: through the lodge. Why make a fool of me, the
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  Speaker 1: poor man asked, my heart is sad. I am crying.
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  Speaker 1: He covered his head with his robe and wept. Oh,
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  Speaker 1: said the raven. You do not believe me. Come outside,
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  Speaker 1: Come outside, and I will make you believe. When they
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  Speaker 1: stood outside, the raven asked, is the home of your
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  Speaker 1: people far a great distance? Said the man. Can you
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  Speaker 1: tell how many days you have traveled? No, he replied,
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  Speaker 1: my heart was sad. I did not count the days
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  Speaker 1: since I left. The berries have grown and ripened. Can
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  Speaker 1: you see your camp from here, asked the raven. The
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  Speaker 1: man did not end, sir. Then the raven rubbed some
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  Speaker 1: medicine on his eyes and said, look. The man looked
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  Speaker 1: and saw the camp. It was near. He saw the people.
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  Speaker 1: He saw the smoke rising from the lodges. He saw
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  Speaker 1: the painting on some of the lodges. Now you will believe,
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  Speaker 1: said the raven. Take then the arrow and the wing,
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  Speaker 1: and go and get your wife. The man took these
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  Speaker 1: things and went to the thunder's lodge. He entered and
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  Speaker 1: sat down by the doorway. The thunder sat at the
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  Speaker 1: back of the lodge and looked at him with awful eyes.
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  Speaker 1: The man looked above and saw hanging there many pairs
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  Speaker 1: of eyes. Among them were those of his wife. Why
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  Speaker 1: have you come, said the thunder in a dreadful voice.
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  Speaker 1: I seek my wife, said the man whom you have.
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  Speaker 1: Stop there hung her eyes. No man may enter my
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  Speaker 1: lodge and live, said the thunder, and he rose to
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  Speaker 1: strike him. Then the man pointed the raven wing at
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  Speaker 1: the thunder, and he fell back on his bed and shivered.
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  Speaker 1: But soon he recovered and rose again. And then the
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  Speaker 1: man fitted the elkhorn arrow to his bow and shot
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  Speaker 1: it through the lodge of stone. Right through that stone,
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  Speaker 1: it pierced a hole and let the sunlight in. Wait,
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  Speaker 1: said the thunder. Stop. You are the stronger, you have
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  Speaker 1: the greater medicine. You shall have your wife take down
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  Speaker 1: her eyes. The man cut the string that held the eyes,
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  Speaker 1: and his wife stood beside him. Now, said the thunder.
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  Speaker 1: You know me. I have great power. In summer I
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  Speaker 1: live here, but when we to comes, I go far
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  Speaker 1: south I go south with the birds. Here is my pipe.
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  Speaker 1: It has throng power. Take it and keep it. After this,
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  Speaker 1: when first I come in the spring, you shall fill
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  Speaker 1: this pipe and light it, and you shall smoke it
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  Speaker 1: and pray to me, you and the people. I bring
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  Speaker 1: the rain which makes the berries large and ripe. I
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  Speaker 1: bring the rain which makes all things grow. And for
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  Speaker 1: this you shall pray to me, you and all the people.
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  Speaker 1: Thus the people got their first medicine pipe. It was
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  Speaker 1: long ago. End of chapter seven