Rolling Thunder: Medicine Man of the Shoshonee and Cherokee

[holistichealer]

Rolling Thunder was a very famous and accomplished, yet humble "medicine person", widely known for his command of nature in particular. 3 books that I know of have been written about him, one of which, "Rolling Thunder", by Doug Boyd, I have read. And it is a fascinating read.

www.amazon.com/Rolling-Thunder-Doug-Boyd/dp/038528859X/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1363542237&sr=8-19&keywords=Rolling+Thunder

But I had the pleasure of meeting Rolling Thunder personally, in the Autumn of 1977, at Rock Eagle, in Georgia, when I was a Psychology student and went to a presentation he did there.

The man had a presence about him that anyone, regardless of their sensitivity, would be aware of. When he looked at you, it was if he was looking "into" you.

The most interesting thing I personally saw him do, was when he was speaking at night, next to a camp fire. There was a slight wind, which caused the smoke from the fire to blow at him, into his face. And he reached into his medicine pouch, got a few herbs, and threw them into the fire, as he seemed to mumble a few words that I didn't understand.

Almost immediately, the wind shifted, and it stayed that way until he finished his talk.

Rolling Thunder never moved from where he began. He made the wind move the smoke instead.

One of the stories I heard about him was that he called up a tornado and pointed it at a prison, that was holding someone he knew, unjustly. He walked up to the gate and told them to let the guy go, which they refused to do, while the tornado was off in the distance, behind him. As they refused and he continued, the tornado moved closer and closer, until the winds began to impact the gate of the prison. He made it clear that he was in control of the tornado and would send it into the prison if necessary, to get the release of the person he wanted released.

Finally, they gave in and released the guy.

This may sound like some "wild tale" to many. But I don't doubt it, having met the man personally.


Years later, at Sun Dance, I saw a similar "tornado occurrence" first hand. I was told before we went, that on the 4th day, a tornado would come and clear the energy out of the Sun Dance grounds. It was a matter- of- fact statement, by a friend who had been there previously as an Eagle Dancer, as well as other people. So, my natural "thing" was to wonder about such a thing happening and not injuring people- not if such a thing was true. And I was told not to worry, that no one would get hurt.

So, on the day predicted, my girlfriend and I were sitting at the tent we had set up, which was less than 100 feet from the Arbor (the central area of the Sun Dance), when the wind kicked up. We looked up and there was this large whirlwind, about 10 to 12 feet tall, moving closely along the outside of the fence that was built around the Arbor. At one point, the fence had a break in it, about 6 feet wide, to form an opening, like a gate location. And this "tornado", continued moving along the fence until it got to that opening, then moved sideways, through the "gate", then continued along the inside of the fence, then into the Arbor itself, where it basically vanished.

The whole thing took maybe 1 minute. And I'm very glad that I wasn't distracted from seeing it at the time.

[holistichealer]