<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</SPAN></span></p>
<h2>BIRD OMENS</h2>
<p class="subtitle">Sioux</p>
<p><span class="dropcap">W</span>hen whippoorwills sing together at night,
“<i>Hohin, hohin,</i>” one says in reply, “No.”
If the birds stop talking at once, then the
person will die soon. But if the birds continue talking,
then the man will live a long time.</p>
<p>The gray screech owl foretells cold weather. When
the night is to be very cold, then the owl cries out;
it sounds just as if a person’s teeth chattered. When the
owl cries out, all people wrap themselves in their thickest
robes; and they put plenty of wood on the fires.</p>
<p>The Ski-bi-bi-la is a small gray bird, with a black
head, and spotted on the breast. It lives in the woods,
and it answers a person who calls to it. When this
bird says, “Has it returned?” people are glad. They
know that spring is near. When a boy hears the bird
ask this question, he runs to his mother; she tells him
he must answer, “No; it has not yet returned.”</p>
<p>When the people first hear the cry of the nighthawk
in the spring, they begin to talk of hunting buffalo.
This is because when the hawk returns, the buffaloes
have become fat again and the birds bring the news.</p>
<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />
1 of 2
2 of 2
Previous
Next
Update Required
To play the media you will need to either update your browser to a recent version or update your Flash plugin.