| Northwest Indian Legends of a Cascadia Megathrust Earthquake | |
| To the Totems | To the Stories | To the Geologic Evidence |
"Thunderbird ... soared from her .. dark hole in the mountains....far out over the placid waters and there poised herself high up in the air and waited for [Whale] to come to the surface of the water ... It came and as quick as a flash, the powerful bird darted and seized it in her flinty talons. Then above the watery surface she lifted it and with great effort soared away toward the land areas."(2)
"Passing beyond the oceans with her ponderous load, she ... was compelled to alight and rest her wings; and each and every time the bulky beast was allowed to reach solid land there was a terrible battle; for it was powerful and fought for its life with terrible energy."(2) "Again Thunderbird would seize him... Again ...Whale would escape. Again Thun- derbird caught ... Whale."(3) "High into the air the bird carried it over the land, ... dropping it to the land surface at Beaver prairie. Then at this place there was another great battle."(2)
"The great thunderbird finally carried the weighty animal to its nest in the lofty mountains, and there was the final and terrible contest fought."(2) "There were ... a shaking, jumping up and trembling of the earth beneath, and a rolling up of the great waters."(2)
"The waters receded...and...again rose. The water of the Pacific flowed through what is now the swamp and prairie westward from Neah Bay on the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific, making an island of Cape Flattery. Again the waters suddenly receded ... and numerous sea monsters and whales were left on dry land. Also each time that the waters rose, the people took to their canoes and floated off as the winds and currents wafted them, as there was neither sun nor land to guide them. Many canoes also came down in trees and were destroyed, and numerous lives were lost."(4)
(1) Reagan, Albert. B. and L.V.W. Walters, 1933,Thunderbird, p. 320, IN Tales from the Hoh and Quileute, The Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol. 46, No. 182, pp. 297-346.
(2) Reagan, A.B., 1934, A Hoh version of the Thunderbird Myth, IN Myths of the Hoh and Quileute Indians, Utah Academy of Sciences, Vol. 11, pp. 17-37.
(3) Reagan, A.B., 1934, A story of the flood, IN Myths of the Hoh and Quileute Indians, Utah Academy of Sciences, Vol. 11, pp. 17-37.
(4) Reagan, Albert. B. and L.V.W. Walters, 1933, Thunderbird fights Mimlos-Whale, IN Tales from the Hoh and Quileute, The Journal of American Folk-lore, Vol. 46, No. 182, pp. 297-346.