The association between the spider, the spider-web, and the thunder, is very close—so close, that it is difficult to understand the conception of the power of the spider without considering the power of the thunder. The spider is often spoken of as the “spider-man.” It is also associated with the mythical elk. It was supposed to have great power. The observed fact that a spider manufactures a web, and that this web is not destroyed by bullets or arrows (since they pass through it, leaving only a hole), is cited by some individuals as the basis for the conception that the spider has power to protect people from harm. On the other hand, the spider is spoken of as a friend of the thunder; and it is a general belief that the thunder will never harm the spider-web, or, what amounts to the same, that the spider-web itself is a protection against thunder. As previously stated, the spider-web is represented by a peculiar four-cornered design. This design is sometimes said to represent the heavens, in which case the four points represent the four directions, the home of the winds, the four thunders, etc.; the supernatural character of the design being indicated by lightning-symbols extending from the four corners. [Illustration: Fig. 23 (50-3095). Design of a Spider-web.] In a preceding paper,[19] the spider-web design was discussed in its relation to decorative art, where it was noted that among some divisions of the Dakota is a belief in a double woman,[20] to whom, among other things, certain ceremonial uses of this design are attributed. According to information secured by the writer, this character was also associated with the elk ceremonies, where she was often represented by two women tied together by a cord (about two feet in length), from the middle of which hung a doll or a ball. Women often receive power by dreaming of this character. Some such women are supposed to perform a kind of ceremony, somewhat secret, in which a child is taken out to a lonely place, where a swing or hammock-like structure is made in the form of the spider-web design, supported by the four corners, and the child is placed upon it. This is to bring good fortune to the child. A design of the spider-web might then be placed upon the robe of the child as a symbol of its having experienced the ceremony (Fig. 23).