20 TRUE STORIES OF THE HEAVENLY BEINGS. 
sticks home, but the man remained at the playground. Just as he was 
about to get up, he heard a grunting sound like that of a woman. He 
looked and he saw in the dusk a woman coming to the gambling grounds. 
She passed through the grounds and went around and back over the hill 
again. The man went home and told the people that he had seen a 
strange woman; that the woman had a covering over her which was all 
over her hair. Early the next morning this man went to the ground and 
he looked for the footprints of the woman. Instead of footprints of 
the woman he found tracks of an animal whose hoofs were split. He 
then cried toward the village for the people to come and see the tracks. 
The people came and saw them. The people did not like to play again 
upon the ground, but some said, ‘“‘Play on, for we have seen the tracks.” 
So the people began to play with the sticks again. 
Late in the afternoon they saw a woman coming from a hill. When 
she reached the bottom of the hill she ran across the playground and passed 
the man who was seated nearby. She passed in front of him, and circling 
around, went over the hillsand turned into abuffalo. The man who was 
seated jumped up and ran after the Buffalo. ‘The man ran after the Buf- 
faloformany,many days. Aftera while they cameto a place where there 
was nothing but water. Themanknew no more. Some time afterwards 
the Buffalo touched him and said, ‘‘Come with me.’’ The man followed the 
Buffalo, andit led himintoalodge. In the lodge sat four men in the west. 
When the man entered the lodge these four old men greeted him with, 
‘““‘Nawa.”’ Then the four men said: ‘‘We are the four gods in the west. 
The gods gave us power to create everything. Wesentfor you, for here 
in our lodge we havea buffalo. Wewant the people to live on buffalo, and 
before we turn these buffalo loose we wish to show you how to prepare 
your meat. You see this lodge is half filled with parfleches, and inside 
of the parfleches is dried meat. Each parfleche has a whole buffalo in it. 
We shall show you how your people must do.’”’ Then they opened a par- 
fleche. They took therefrom the heart and tongue of a buffalo. They 
made a fire. They put the heart and tongue upon the fire. They said: 
“This you shall do for us when you have killed the buffalo. Take these 
seeds and give them to your people.’’ The seeds were tied up in a little 
piece of buffalo skin. The seeds were corn, beans, squash, and native 
tobacco. Theysaid: ‘‘Wewillnow turn the buffaloloose. You must not 
go far from them, for we wish them to follow you to your village.” A 
robe was placed upon the man and he was told to go. When he went 
out of the lodge he knew no more until a little blue bird touched him upon 
the back of his neck and he seemed to wake up. He had the robe on and 
so he knew that it was all true. He went to the people and told them 
