THE ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO CEREMONY. 365 
Her grandfathers, the old bulls, will decide whether she shall remain 
a ring or whether she shall become a Buffalo again. My son, you will see 
me in your dreams. I will come to you and speak with you. Take this 
piece of mud. It has my power, and with it you can cure people. This 
mud you must spread across your mouth. When you go to the sick 
you are to blow your breath, and the smell that is in the mud will reach 
them. Now take the ring and string and tie the ring fast upon my head, 
so that it will not fall.”’ 
Howling-Fox took the ring and string and tied the two parts on 
opposite sides of the ring. He placed the ring upon the top of the 
Buffalo’s head and with the strings tied it very tightly to the Buffalo’s 
horns. The Buffalo snorted, for she was satisfied. She ran toward 
the west and was soon out of sight. The man lingered around the 
grounds and repeated over and over to himself, ‘‘So I really have seen a 
Buffalo, a wonderful Buffalo.’’ As he looked to heaven, he said: 
_“*Thanks to you in the heavens! I am a poor man. I had not seen 
anything so wonderful. I thank you.’”’ 
Howling-Fox went home and lay down. In the morning he took 
two of the rings and returned them to the owners. He went to the man 
whose ring was gone. He laid his hands upon the man’s head, passed 
them over it, and said: ‘‘My brother, your ring is gone. Ask nothing 
about it. I have one pony. You shall have it in place of the ring. I 
shall let you know more about the ring in the future, and I shall again 
pay you.” The owner of the ring was satisfied and said: ‘‘My brother, 
it shall be as you have said. If there is anything wonderful I want to 
hear from you again.’’ Howling-Fox was satisfied and went home. 
In the fall all the people went toward the southwest on a Buffalo 
hunt, but there were no Buffalo to be found anywhere; not even bulls. 
They went far into the southwest and the people began to complain, for 
they were getting hungry. The chief kept giving commands for the 
people to go south. One time when the people had made a camp, Howl- 
ing-Fox went out of the tipi and met a woman who spoke to him and said: 
‘‘Myson,I am here. I am the woman whowas with you and talked with 
you. I know the people are starving. You know what I promised you. 
Now I come to tell you that I am here to help you call the Buffalo. Tell 
the chief that you want them to stop going south, and that you want 
them to go northwest.’’ Howling-Fox had to be careful how he talked 
to the chief, for the chief was hard to please. He asked his friend for 
meat. She gave him dried meat, which he had the women boil. He 
then invited the chief, and when the chief came in, Howling-Fox said: 
‘Chief, I present to you this dried boiled meat for you to eat. As the 
