THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO RUN A RACE. I4I 
54. THE COYOTE AND THE BUFFALO RUN A RACE.* 
Once when a Coyote was sauntering along he looked up and saw a 
Buffalo a long distance off. The Coyote ran, and nearly caught up with 
the Buffalo. The Coyote saw the Buffalo drop chips. He went and 
ate some of them. The Buffalo looked around and saw the Coyote eat- 
ing the chips. The Buffalo turned back and asked the Coyote what he 
was doing. The Coyote said: “O, you shaggy-looking thing; why 
do you not go on your way and not bother a poor fellow like me? I 
am eating some pemmican that some fellow must have dropped.” 
After a while, the Coyote said, “Say, grandfather, can you run?” 
“Yes,” said the Buffalo, “I can run fast.” “But,” said the Coyote, “I 
do not see how you can run with such big feet. Then there is danger 
of your breaking your legs. Ah, grandfather,’ said the Coyote, “I 
think I can beat you. I am a man who has fought in battles, and have 
killed many people on account of my swiftness. If you are willing 
to run with me, do not stand there and laugh at me. I can beat you.” 
So the Buffalo said, “If you want to run a race, I will run with you, 
and I will show you that my legs can carry me a long way and beat 
you.” “All right,” said the Coyote, “I will go and measure the ground, 
and we will run.” So the Coyote went away and selected a place. The 
place selected was a tableland, and there was a steep bank at the other 
end. The Coyote set landmarks near the steep bank and winked to 
himself, and said, “Now I will have a whole buffalo to eat,” for at the 
bottom of this steep place there was a rock. The Coyote went where 
the Buffalo stood, and said: “Now we will run. As soon as we 
get to the two landmarks I have made we will run fast. At this place 
we will close our eyes. When we have gone a short distance we will 
open our eyes and see who is in the lead.” The Buffalo agreed. They 
began the race, and as they came to the landmarks, the Coyote said, 
“Now run your best and close your eyes.” The Coyote, being on the 
right side of the Buffalo, closed his left eye. The Buffalo ran with his 
eyes closed and jumped over the steep bank. The Coyote stopped, 
looked, and saw the Buffalo lying dead at the bottom of the steep bank. 
The Coyote went down and skinned the Buffalo and cut him up. 
He then took the meat to a place where there was a creek, and there he 
put up a small lodge for himself. He made a fire and roasted some 
meat. ‘Then he went out to see if he could see any one. He saw a 
Fox coming along. He waited for the Fox. When the Fox came up, 
*Told by New-Man. 
