From Pawnee Folklore
A man went away to a far-away country. For many, many days he traveled and at last he came to a prairie country. As he was going through the prairie country he saw something at a distance that sparkled. He went up to the object that sparkled, and found that it was a man made of flint. The flint man spoke to the man and said, “Nawa,” and then spoke again and said: “Sit down and smoke with me.” The flint man reached and took a pipe which was made from a stick, for there was no stone bowl at the end. The stone man filled the stick with native tobacco, gave it to the man, and told him to light it. The man began to smoke, and as the smoke got into his eyes, the stone man spoke and said: “You shall not see me for a while.” The man looked to the place where the flint man sat, but could not see him. He again heard the voice of the flint man saying: “I can see people far away. I am made of flint, but I have powers from the gods to transform myself into anything that I want to be. Now I want to turn into a man.”
The man looked and saw a man sitting in the place where the flint man had been. The man then said: “I shall give you power to turn into stone, and I shall also give you power to call the rain. When there is no rain, and the people need the rain very badly, then take this flint that I shall give you and lift it to heaven and then place it on the ground, sprinkle water on it, and clouds will form in the west, and the clouds will come and it will rain. You are poor, but I shall make you a powerful man. I shall now become a piece of flint, and shall go with you wherever you go. When you have returned to your people, heal the sick by placing me upon the pains. I will remove the pains and the sick will become well. Now I shall turn into a small stone. Take me and carry me to your people. Smoke with me and talk to me and I will listen to your prayers.” The man who was sitting down turned into flint and the stone grew smaller and smaller until it became a very little stone. The man picked it up and he saw that on one side of the stone was the picture of the sun; on the other side, the picture of the moon and several stars.
He took the stone home and placed it on the altar in the west of the lodge. He invited several of his friends, and as his friends came in their brought presents of black handkerchiefs and buckskin to make a covering for the stone. The man who found the stone filled his pipe and gave four whiffs to the stone, four whiffs to the ground, and then dumped the ashes in front of the stone. Then he wrapped a black handkerchief about the stone, and then wrapped buckskin about it for an outer covering. The bundle was tied and placed to the side of the lodge.
The possessor of the stone heard of a wonderful being that lived close to a big lake. He was told that the monster lay upon the banks of the great lake, and killed all who came near. This man made up his mind that he would go and visit this monster. He started, and when he got close to the lake he saw the monster lying upon the banks of the lake. He saw many human bones and skulls scattered around the monster. As the man came nearer, the monster began to groan as if in pain. The man went close to the monster and asked what the trouble was. The monster said: “I have a pain in my back. If you will be kind enough to step upon my back I will be thankful.” The man said that he would do so, but before he did he spoke to his stone and said: “My brother, turn me into flint so that I may kill this monster.” The man jumped on the monster and as he jumped he saw several sharp bones sticking up from the monster’s back. Instead of sticking into the flesh of the man, the bones broke as they struck him, for he had turned into flint. After all of the bones were broken by striking against the man of flint, the man walked to the monster’s head and jumped until he had pounded the monster’s brains out with his flint feet.
The man went home and told the people that he had killed the monster which was upon the banks of the lake. The people went there and found the monster dead. They cut the monster up, took fat and flesh from different parts of its body, and mixed their medicines with it.
The man heard that in a certain part of the country there were seven spotted calves that tried to kill people and were very dangerous. He went to the place and saw the spotted calves sliding down a hill on sleds strung together with buffalo ribs. When the spotted buffalo calves saw the man coming they asked him if he would like to slide down the hill with them, and he said that he would. They gave him a sled and told him to take the lead and that they would follow. The man was suspicious of the spotted calves, and so he spoke to his brother, the flint, and asked him to help turn him into stone, as he thought the spotted calves were going to try to kick him to death. The man got into his sled, and the spotted calves followed him down the hill. The man got into his sled, and the spotted calves followed him down the hill. They kicked him in every way, but they could not hurt him or even make a mark on his flesh. When they reached the foot of the hill, the man said: “Now it is my turn. You take the lead and I will follow.” Then the man asked of the spotted calves why there were so many human skeletons at the bottom of the hill. They did not answer, but he knew that they were the bones of the people whom they had killed. They went up the hill again, and the calves got into their sleds and started down first. The man followed, and whenever he was close enough he would reach out and kick one of the calves. Whenever he kicked one it fell from the sled and was killed. By the time the man reached the foot of the hill he had killed all. He went to the village and told the people that he had killed the seven spotted calves. Some of the men went and skinned the spotted calves, and brought them to the village, so that the people knew that the spotted calves were no longer living, but that the man had killed them.
Several days afterwards the man was told that there was a certain being in the west who ate so much that nothing was left for the people, but if that being were killed or removed the people would then have plenty to eat. This man went to the place and when he arrived there he found a Buffalo bull standing upon a hill. When the Buffalo bull saw the man it grunted, rolled, and groaned. Then it hooked the earth; dug up pieces of earth with its horns. It ran towards the man, but the man had turned into stone. When the poor bull tried to hook him it only broke its horns on the hard stone. The man killed the Buffalo with his arrows. No sooner had he killed it than he found out that the bull was chief of all the Buffalo. He was frightened and went home. He told the people that he had killed the buffalo, and for them to make haste and prepare arrows, for thy must try to kill some of the Buffalo. The man’s father became frightened and said: “My son, what shall our people do to be saved? You have killed the chief of all the Buffalo. They will now come and try to kill us.” The man went to work and took stones from the hillsides and placed them around the village, about three feet apart; then he told the people to stay inside. The stones grew and made a high wall around the village, with many openings, through which the people could shoot their arrows.
All at once the people saw a cloud of dust in the west reaching up to the sky. They then knew that the buffalo were coming. The buffalo came and in their fury they did not see the stones which encircled the village, and they ran into them and broke their horns and skulls against the hard wall. They became wild with excitement and began to kill one another. After that they ran in every direction and scattered all over the land. The next day the stones which were around the village had become small again and were their natural size. The people left these stones in a circle and went off to another country to kill buffalo. The stones were left in a circle, to remind the people that at one time one of their number had placed them in a circle to save his people from being destroyed by the buffalo.
Years afterwards the man lost the stone which he had in his possession. He tried to find it, but he could not, for some one had stolen it from him. The gods in the heavens were angry at him because he had lost the stone. They sent a rain storm from the west. He saw the storm coming and told the people that Lightning was going to take him and that he was to be placed in the heavens as one of the gods. The storm came and lightning struck the man and killed him instantly. The people were afraid to touch him, and so they let him alone, and moved away to another country.
Source:
The Pawnee Mythology: Part 1, George A. Dorsey, 1906
Kotharian Lightning 