The Buffalo and the Grizzly Bear Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913):
A Grizzly Bear found a buffalo near a stream and decided to confront it. The bear told the buffalo that he heard rumors saying the buffalo wanted to fight him. Of course the buffalo denied all of it. But the bear decided to go after the buffalo anyways. The bear then began to walk away but returned to fight the buffalo again. Eventually the buffalo got tired of this and decided to fight back against the bear. The two were wrestling and eventually ended up at a cliff. The bear went over and the buffalo walked up and down the edge. Finally the bear told the buffalo they should be friends because they are so similar.
Buffalo. Mark Byzewski, 2016. Flickr.
The Three Ghost Stories Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913):
Forked Roads (Omaha):
A man died and was buried by his village and for 4 nights he had to walk a dark path until he reached the bright milky way. This is why they believe you should keep the fire burning for 4 nights, so they do not have to walk in the dark.
After reaching the milky way the road forked. There was an old man that sat at the fork and pointed which road each ghost would get to walk. One was short and led to happiness. One was long and led to misery. Suicide ghosts cannot travel either and must hover above their graves. A murderer is never happy and forced to live in constant annoyance.
Tattooed Ghosts (Dakota):
A person must be tattooed at the forehead or wrists in order to go down the ghosts path. There is an old women who sits at the path and looks for the mark as each ghosts comes and if found they may pass on but if not then she pushes them back down to earth. Here they will wanders forever.
If a ghost calls to a loved one and they answer then they will probably die soon. People are afraid of the ghosts.
Ghost Story (Ponca):
A group of Ponca's were camped for the night and made a fire. Suddenly they began to hear singing. They put out the fire and grabbed their bows. They made a circle around the leader. They still heard the singing. They began making their way to a tree and when they got near the singing stopped and they saw a pile of human bones.
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