The Chemawa American, May 06, 1931, Image 1

OREGON STATE LIBRARY
HAY 7
1931
'J .'b 't ,
c-'
CHEMAWA
AMERICAN
Printed at Chemavia, Oregon, and Devoted to the Interests of Indian Education
orexsow j Voi. XXXII
COI.LECITOSI
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Wednesday, May 6, 1931
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The Thunderbird
INDIANS believed th a t th u n ­
der and lig h tn in g were pro­
duced by beings, or a num ber
of beings, different from all
the o t h e r s . On th e great
plains, w here th e p h enom ­
e n a o f thundersto rm s are
very striking, an d northw estw ard to th e Pacific
Coast, they w ere supposed to be caused by birds
of enorm ous size, w hich produced th u n d e r by
flapping th e ir w ings and lig h tn in g by opening
and closing th e ir eyes. T he great dow npour
w hich often accom panies th u n d e r was som e­
tim es accounted for by supposing th a t th e bird
carries a lake of fresh w ater on its back.
A lthough th e species of th e b ird is often quite
indefinite, on th e N o rth Pacific Coast it is con­
ceived of as sim ilar to, if not indentical w ith,
a large haw k found in th e h ig h m ountains. On
the plains a th u n d ersto rm was supposed to be
due to a contest betw een a th u n d e rb ird and a
huge rattlesn ak e or an underg ro u n d or sub­
aqueous m onster. On th e N o rth Pacific Coast
a thunderbird was supposed to be catching
w hales durin g a thunderstorm , using his w ings
as a bow to shoot arrow s. T he rebound of th e
w ings in the air m akes th e th u n d er, and for
th is reason th u n d e r is heard in different p arts
of the sky a t th e same tim e, being th e noise
from each wing.
The th u n d erb ird was naturally held in awe,
an d a person who had been struck by lig h tn in g
and who recovered becam e an efficient sham an
or m edicine m an. (F rom H andbook of A m eri­
can Indians, Bureau of American E thnology,
B ulletin No. 30.)
•g'M-
No. 34
H E H A S D EPA R TED
Supt. O. H. Hipps bade Chemawa farewell last
Thursday and proceeded to Sacramento, California,
where on May 1st he assumed charge of the govern­
ment Indian Agency. It is not necessary for us to
state that Supt. Hipps will prove the man for the place,
important and difficult to fill as it undoubtedly is, for
his ability is known and recognized throughout the
Service. There is nothing that we can say that will
in any way add to his fine reputation. All that we
can hope to do is to remind our readers of our retir­
ing Superintendent’s manifold merits and of his labors
in behalf of our great school.
Four years as the head of our institution gives us
an insight into his aims, his aspirations, his instincts,
his great ability, and makes us feel our local loss all
the more keenly. Of the many changes made here in
a material way by Supt. Hipps it is not necessary for
us to speak—these things are visible monuments and
speak for themselves. That they are many and varied
will be granted by all. We would like to draw atten­
tion, in our feeble way, to another and higher quality
of Mr. Hipps—finer, perhaps, than we can define.
The mind of a man, his very soul, is difficult of
discussion, but of Mr. Lapps we claim at all times a
wonderful fairness and impartiality in his judgments,
and also remarkably keen ability for mental analysis.
He, himself, declared that he could not be “ jazzy”
and we must all respect and honor him for Ihe stand
that he took where pure frivolity, utter abandonment,
was to be banned. His are high ideals and in their
working but there was ever uppermost in his mind the
welfare of the hundreds of students under his control.
He is a studious and scholarly man, and we have not
found his equal in the Service in the matter of Indian
history—knowledge of the various tribes. He has
maintained to the present his faith in the Indian people
and any act of his of an official character will always
be taken with their good in mind.
But why go on? We can only fall short of what we
would like to state. Not only do we of Chemawa feel
badly over his departure, but the people of Salem, and
other sections of Oregon as well, regret the necessity
of this move. In our hearts we follow Mr. Hipps to
his new field and our good wishes will be with him
always.
Mr. Kirk and Mr. Briggs were Roseburg visitors
during the week-end.