Contact Us
Glacial Lakes and Prairies Tourism Association
P.O. Box 244
Watertown, SD 57201
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1-800-244-8860 |
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(605) 886-7305 |
Contact@sdglaciallakes.com
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Legend of Sica Hollow
Sica Hollow once protected many peaceful Indian camps. Its trees blocked the North Wind. But then a stranger came. The young girls grew afraid. The Old women wished to send him away. The old men said, "When it is warm again outside the Hollow, he will go."
The sly stranger, Hand, did not leave when the Sun returned to the north. Instead he taught the young boys to strike and kill. Blood flowed. The old men sought help from Wicasa Wakan, Medicine Man. "What shall we sacrifice to make our Hollow as it was long ago?" they asked.
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Wicasa Wakan returned to his lodge and waited for Wakantanka, the Great Spirit, to reply. Soon Wakantanka sent his messenger, Thunderer. Thunderer's eyes flashed. His dark wings beat the air, and he brought a cloud that rained over the Hollow. Madness seized Hand. He tried to run, but vines encircled his ankles. The water filled his screaming mouth. Thunderer's talons ripped out his eyes so he would never see the Happy Hunting Ground.
Of all the people in the Hollow, only a raven-haired maiden called Fawn was saved from the rising water. She fled to the top of the highest hill and sang her grief and remorse to the Great Spirit. Then she slept many days. When she awoke, the Hollow was clean and bright. Yet the memory and the evil name-Sica Hollow, Bad Hollow-linger.
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Even today, Sica Hollow remains mysterious. Small waterfalls moan and groan as trapped air escapes. Swamp gas makes stumps glow in the dark. Indians see water and moss, colored rusty-red by iron deposits, as the blood and flesh of their ancestors.
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