Before the riders in the cloud went away they gave me a charm (wo'tahe), which I always carried. If I were in great danger and escaped alive I attributed it to the charm and sang a song in its honor. The song relates to the swallow whose flying precedes a thunderstorm. When I sang the song of my charm I fastened the skin of a swallow on my head. This bird is so closely related to the thunderbird that the thunderbird is honored by its use. The action of a swallow is very agile. The greatest aid to a warrior is a good horse, and what a warrior desires most for his horse is that it may be as swift as the swallow in dodging the enemy or m direct flight. For this reason my song is in honor of the swallow as well as of my charm.

Teton Sioux Music p. 161