140 TRADITIONS OF THE ARIKARA, 
went up on the top of a hill, to see if the Bear was still going, but_he 
did not see him. Then the Coyote yelled, and said, “You Bear, you 
claim to be a fierce animal, and here I have ridden upon your back!” 
The Bear, hearing this, became mad. He turned around, and said: “I 
will kill that being, whoever he is. No matter where he goes, I will 
follow him.” So the Bear ran up the hill, and when the Coyote saw 
the Bear coming he ran. The Bear caught up with the Coyote on the 
next hill, and killed the Coyote and tore him up. 
53. THE COYOTE RIDES THE BUFFALO.* 
There was a village, and in the village lived one young girl who 
was very pretty. All the young men courted her, but she did not care 
to marry. A Buffalo came who wanted to marry her. Once in a while 
he would turn into a young man, nicely dressed and smelling very fine. 
The girl became very much attached to the Buffalo. 
The Coyote came to visit the girl, and he talked to her. The girl 
said she did not care to talk to anybody now, because she had a young 
man, and that young man was the Buffalo. The Coyote said: “Why, 
that Buffalo is my horse. I ride him.” The girl said, “If you will 
ride that Buffalo here I will marry you.” The Coyote went home, took 
a club and hit himself very hard on the knee, so as to make it sore. 
The Buffalo came to the girl to talk with her. The girl told the Buffalo 
what the Coyote had said. The Buffalo was mad, and said, “I am going 
to bring the Coyote here and kill him.” The Buffalo pawed the ground 
and threw up the dirt. The Coyote saw the Buffalo coming. The 
Buffalo called to the Coyote to come out. Hesaid: “I want you to go 
with me to the girl’s tipi; I am to kill you.” The Coyote said, “I am a 
cripple, I can not go.” “It is not true,” said the Buffalo. “Come out, 
uncle, can’t you? Come on.” Said the Coyote, “If you want me to go, 
and can carry me to the girl’s tipi, I will go.” The Buffalo agreed to 
carry the Coyote. The Buffalo got down on his knees and the Coyote 
got on top of him and sat upon him. The Coyote had a cane that he 
was to hit the Buffalo with. 
The Coyote jumped up and ran back to the village and married 
the girl. The Buffalo was so ashamed that he never came back to 
the village. For this reason, the descendants of the Coyote are bad and 
tricky. By foul means, they marry. _ 
*Told by Cut-Arm. 
