Reading Notes: Great Plains, Part B

 Bibliography:  Myths and Legends of the Great Plains by Katharine Berry Judson (1913)

The Ghost and the Traveler

Teton

There was a man who was at the edge of a forest during a storm. He waited and noticed a light in the forest after it got dark. He followed it and found a sweat lodge with two ghosts in it. The man fled but the ghosts followed. He heard a woman cry out, and thought of her, and a woman appeared. She had no legs, but she kept up with the man all the same. The man feared her, and the woman vanished.

 

The Man Who Shot a Ghost

Teton

A man who was traveling alone killed several rabbits. He made a fire and cooked one of the rabbits. He heard a great many people talking and figured they must be ghosts. A ghost kicked the man, so the man shot him. The ghost went off to find the rest of them, and the man found bones at the base of a tree.

 

The India Who Wrestled With a Ghost

There was a young man who had to spend the night in the forest. He heard and owl and walked on. That night, he laid down in front of his fire and heard a woman crying out for her son. He tore a hole in his blanket to see through and waited. A woman, dressed for a time long past, came up to him and drew a knife. The man scared the woman away. In the morning, he saw a burial scaffold. The next night, he heard someone singing. The singer found him by the fire, and they shared a pipe. The man saw that the singer was a skeleton. The singer and the man wrestled, and after a long battle, the man won.

 

The Wakanda, or Water God

There was a couple who had one child whom they loved very much. The child fell into the river and drowned. The father could hear the child crying underground. The family gathered up horses and other riches. Two old men came who said they were sacred. The father offered them the horses and riches if they could bring his child back. The old men found the child, but because he had eaten the food of the wakandas, he had to stay there or he would die. They brought the child back and he died. The parents later lost a girl the same way, but she had not eaten the food, so she got to return.

 

The Spirit Land

Crow leads the people in the Spirit World. The Crow dropped a pebble which became a mountain, dirt which became solid land, blades of grass which covered the land, and twigs which became a forest of trees. The Crow came to the land of the living.

 

Why the Possum Plays Dead

Rabbit and Possum both wanted a wife, but they could not find one in their village. Rabbit and Possum decided that they would carry a message to the next village saying that everyone must marry at once. Because Rabbit traveled faster, he got there first. He gave his message, and everyone married, including Rabbit. Possum only got there after everyone else had married. Rabbit pretended he was sorry and said he would carry the same message to the next village. Rabbit instead told the next village that there had been peace for too long, and now there must be war. When Possum came, the village beat him until he pretended to be dead, and then they left him alone.

 

Coyote and Snake

Coyote was walking when he heard a voice. He did not see anyone when he looked around. However, when he looked down, he saw Snake. Snake told Coyote to go around, and Coyote said he would just walk on Snake. Snake said that if he did that, he would die. Coyote walked on him anyway, and Snake bit him, which poisoned him. Coyote died.

 

Two More Rabbit Stories

How Rabbit Lost His Fat

Omaha

The person who made the animas grabbed Rabbit by the scruff of his neck and scraped the fat off him, which is why Rabbit has that hollow space between his shoulders.

 

How Rabbit Caught the Sun in a Trap

Omaha

Everyday, when Rabbit set off, there was already a trail of footprints. He set a snare for this person, and he ended up catching the Sun. He freed the Sun, but he got burnt in the patch between his shoulders.

 

How the Rabbit Killed the Giant

There once was a Giant who kept all the meat his village brought in for himself. Rabbit, who knew that meat was supposed to be shared equally, asked an insect to bite the Giant. The Giant died the next day, and Rabbit returned to his own village.

 

Rabbit and Deer

How the Deer Got His Horns

Cherokee

Rabbit and Deer wanted to know who was the fastest. They decided they would race, and the winner would get a pair of antlers. Rabbit, who was not from this place, told all the other animals who had showed up to watch the race that he wanted to scout the terrain. He was gone so long they went looking for him and found him creating a road for him to run through. The animals decided Deer was the better runner and gave the antlers to him.

 

Why the Deer Has Blunt Teeth

Cherokee

The day after the race that did not happen, Rabbit told Deer that he could bite through grapevine with one try. However, he had nibbled the vine beforehand, so that it was easier for him. Deer tried and tried, but he could not do it. Rabbit said he would sharpen Deer’s teeth, but instead he blunted them.

 

Legend of the Head of Gold

There was a boy who was given to Wakantanka. The boy made friends with a horse, who said that Wakananka and the other men who lived in the little house were going to eat them. The boy stuck his head in the basin in the little house and turned gold, and then he and the horse made a run for it. Other people thought very highly of the boy and his horse, for they were golden, and enemies could not get near them.

 

Ictinike and the Turtle

Ictinike tricked Turtle into walking with him, and then clubbed him over the head with a bone and beat him until he killed Turtle. He began to cook Turtle, but got tired and went to sleep, sure that he would wake when Turtle was done cooking. Coyote came along and ate the meat off Turtle’s bones, then left. When Ictinike woke and found only bones, he decided he had already eaten Turtle and forgotten about it.

 

Ictinike and the Creators

Beaver and Ictinike killed one of the Young Beavers, and Ictinike split one of the toe bones on accident. The Young Beaver came back to life on with a hurt toe. Ictinike wished to do the same to his child and was hitting him when Beaver came up. Beaver caught a Young Beaver and they ate him. Ictinike visited Muskrat, who could boil a kettle and have wild rice appear. When Ictinike tried it, he could not do it. Muskrat came over and left plenty of rice. Ictinike went to visit Kingfisher, who could dive in the water and catch fish. When Ictinike tried, he almost drowned and Kingfisher had to rescue him.

                                                                        Kingfisher