16

They lived together in the tepee
for four days and on the fourth day
the girl said to the warrior, “Well, I
must be going now. You had better go
northward and join the encampment.
The encampment is four days walking
distance from here.” She then said.
“When you get there tell my father
what happened here. Tell him that
you are to marry my sister who is the
oldest of his daughters now.”

They both came out of the tepee
and the girl kissed the young warrior
good-bye and left.

Ue ee
vivy hurd

Ty



10

When the sun rose next morning the boy’s father shook
him to wake him up. When the boy woke up his father said,
“Why are you wearing your good buckskin clothes and your
best moccasins?” The boy was surprised to be alive but he was
very glad. He told his father about the day he and his three
friends left the celebration to visit the burial ground. “I tricked
my friends into going with me. When we got there we took
many of the dead man’s belongings,” he said. He told his father
how the dead man had chased them. It didn’t matter how fast
the boys made their horses run, the dead man continued to
follow them. The boy described how his friends had thrown the
dead man’s belongings onto the ground but he still followed
them. The boy said, “I finally realized the Sun Dance Whistle I
had taken from him was still around my neck. I threw it to the
ground and then the dead man finally stopped chasing us.”

The boy’s father told him the reason he didn’t die was
because he painted his face red. “The dead man’s spirit had
come for you but when he saw the red paint he knew you were
sorry and had learned about feelings and respect for others.
The dead man let you live so you could tell the story to others,”
said the boy’s father.

The young man learned a valuable lesson. This story has
been told many times to remind everyone that they must al-

ways respect the people who have died as well as to respect
their possessions.



True Story of A Ghost


She went southward. As she was going she started to rise
slowly and she finally disappeared into the sky.

Because the young warrior gave all his horses to the man who
was guarding the tepee, he had to walk. It took him four days to get
to the encampment, just as he was told.

After he got there he found his parents were very glad to see
him. His parents asked where the other warriors were. The young
man told them, “They are coming back with the horses, plus more
stolen from the enemy.” He also told them what happened with the
chief’s daughter who had died. He told his parents, “She told me that
I am to marry her sister, now the oldest daughter.”

He went to find the chief. He told the chief, “Your daughter and
I lived together for four days. On the fourth day she returned to the
spirit world, telling me that I am to marry her sister. Then she was
gone.”

The chief told this to his daughter, and she married the young
warrior and they lived happily ever after.

17



i) THE INDIAN READING SERIES:
‘% Stories and Legends of the Northwest



All the young warriors got
together and had a medicine man
pray for them. One young warrior
who was going on this war path
was planning on marrying the
chief’s oldest daughter.

When the warriors left, the
chief’s oldest daughter was
broken hearted. She thought she
would never see her lover again.
She became so sick that she died.

She was wrapped in buffalo
robes and buried in a tepee. They
left a man outside the tepee to
guard the body against any
flesh-eating animals. The entire
camp packed up and moved.



va
ety
(774?

woe
2

m -
,

Vow a

2

The boys made their horses go faster but it didn’t help.
No matter how fast they went the dead man was getting closer.
They couldn’t get away. They ran their horses hard but it was
no use. The dead man was gaining.

One of the boys yelled, “He wants his things. Give them
back!” The boys began throwing his belongings onto the
ground.



At the celebration there were four teenage boys. The old-
est boy was about sixteen and his three friends were younger.

Although they were all having a good time at the celebra-
tion the oldest boy wanted to leave and ride out to the burial
grounds. The boy was curious about the dead man and what
kind of belongings he was buried with. He really didn’t want to
go alone but he knew his friends would never agree to go there
with him. It was a scary place and a long ride to get home
before dark.



A ghost is a spirit of someone who has died and is earth
bound. This story is about a ghost that chased four teenage
boys. It happened long ago, even before the White Man came.

The Plains Indians buried their dead by placing the body
on a scaffold. It was customary to bury the person with their
most valuable possessions.

Aman had died and he was buried in the traditional way
of the Plains Indians. At the same time the burial was taking
place, there was a celebration going on about eight miles away.



That same day the young warrior returned, bringing with him
the horses that had been recovered, plus more that he had stolen
from the enemy. The entire camp was nowhere in sight. He saw one
tepee with a man standing guard by it. He went up to the man. He
asked the man where everyone had gone. The man told him,
“Everyone left after they buried the chief’s oldest daughter. That is
why I am standing guard here. I am to stand here for four days.”

According to the Assiniboine Indians, when a person died, that
person’s spirit stayed around for four days. That is the reason for a
feast on the fourth day. A medicine man prays and talks to the spirit,
telling him or her that they are no longer with us. He tells them it is
time to return to the spirit world and not to look back. They are to
keep going until they arrive there.

The young man told the man
guarding the body, “You go on and
catch up with the rest of the camp.

This is the girl I was supposed to
marry. The least I can do is stay and
guard her.”

The man left. After he was gone
the young warrior went into the tepee |
and sat down beside the dead girl’s on
body. He started crying and said, TM
“Why did you have to leave me?” He
thought he heard something. He
looked over at the girl. To his surprise
the girl sat up. He said, “Oh, you came
back.”

The young warrior was so glad
to see her sit up and talk that he
grabbed here and held her.

15



B38

‘ f |
\
A doable (or i

Tegel Cre

Se -
Lay
V

w

The boys were scared and didn’t want to keep them. The
oldest boy said, “The man is dead and has no use for them. Go
ahead and keep them.” The older boy was about to climb down
when he saw the dead man’s Sun Dance Whistle around his
neck. He decided to keep it for himself and put it around his
own neck.

The younger boys were scared and anxious to leave. They
were already on their horses and called to the older boy to
hurry up.

The older boy climbed down, got on his horse, and they
all started back to the celebration.

felt very nervous and uneasy. He felt like someone was watch-
ing them. He nervously looked back toward the burial ground
and was terrified at what he saw. The dead man was climbing
down off the scaffold. He shouted to the others, “Look! Look!”
When the other boys looked back they too saw the dead man
climbing down from the scaffold. They were all shaking and
scared and wanted to get away as fast as they could. The dead
man was heading straight for them.



Ghost
Stories



The boys were exhausted
and so were their horses. Their
hearts were still pounding but
they felt safe and could continue
back to the celebration at a slower
pace.

It had been a long and
frightening day for all the boys.
Since it was getting late they de-
cided to go straight home. When
the boys arrived at home they
went their separate ways to their
own tepees and went to bed.

During the night the oldest
boy woke up. He heard strange
sounds. It sounded like people cry-
ing and praying. He was so tired
he fell back to sleep. He didn’t
wake up again until morning.
When he saw his parents he knew
something was wrong. His par- /;
ents told him, “One of your friends /t
died during the night.” He won-
dered if it had something to do
with taking the things from the
dead man that didn’t belong to
them. (e



When the dead man arrived
at the spot where the boys had
thrown his things he just stopped
and looked at them. He started
after them again even faster. He
was getting closer and closer. The
older boy realized he still had his
Sun Dance Whistle around his
neck. He threw it down so hard it

broke into many pieces. ‘
vP gg BH tt
cy lege

«c
wee Ne eos

ra 7
NC na

bece. Ler

When the dead man got to
the spot where the oldest boy
threw his whistle he stopped and
picked up all the pieces. He stood
there for a moment staring at all

the pieces. He turned around and
slowly walked back toward the
burial ground.
pole Mabey
a hie nO
ate go re we “
Ny fix. ul ‘i Mee oe oo ;

ay



He decided to make up a story about going hunting. He
knew his friends would leave the celebration for that. They all
liked to hunt and he knew they would be anxious to go along.

The boys left the celebration and rode their horses to-
ward the burial grounds. The oldest boy did not tell them
where they were going. He just told them they would hunt
something good in a secret place. So the boys rode along and
did not ask any questions. They took their time and only made
their horses walk.

grounds. The boys were surprised
their friend had tricked them into

Aad
going there. The younger boys didn’t ‘ “
like being there. They became scared ‘ ih ee Oe
and wanted to leave. a

the dead man and see what kind of valuables he has.” The
younger boys protested, “We better leave now or it will be dark
before we get home and we will all be in trouble!”

The oldest boy paid no attention and began to climb up
onto the scaffold where the dead man was lying. He was sur-
prised to see all the valuable belongings the dead man had. He
decided to take them for himself and his friends. He then gave

each of his friends some of the dead man’s things.

4



Booklets available in the Level IV sequence are listed below. Numbers refer to the Planned Sequence of use
in the Teacher’s Manual. Materials developed by these tribes and others in the Northwest are included in
the Levels I, II and III sequences.

1.

10.

11.

Warm Springs Animal Stories
The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

. Snail Women at Sqa’le

The Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison
Reservation

. Blue Jay - Star Child/Basket Woman

Muckleshoot Tribe

Assiniboine Woman Making Grease
Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Peck Reservation

. Coyote

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

How the Summer Season Came
Assiniboine Tribe of the Fort Belknap
Reservation

. Little Weasel’s Dream

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

Fort Hall Stories
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation

The Bear Tepee

Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Sioux Stories and Legends

Sioux Tribe of the Fort Peck Reservation
Kootenai Stories

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

Chief Mountain’s Medicine

Gros Ventre Tribe from the Fort Belknap
Reservation

Coyote the Trickster

Burns Paiute Reservation

Running Free

Shoalwater Bay

Salish Coyote Stories

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

Coyote and the Cowboys
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall
Reservation

Napi’s Journey

Blackfeet Tribe

Warm Springs Stories

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs
Reservation of Oregon

Tepee Making

Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead
Reservation

Baskets and Canoes
Skokomish Tribe

Warrior People
Blackfeet Tribe


This work has not as yet been published and is afforded all
protections under the U.S. Copyright Law (PL. 94-553) effective
January 1, 1978.

Copyright in the published edition will be held by and in the name of the
Members of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservatior

No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transcribed, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written
permission of the author agency identified below.

The project presented or reported herein was performed
pursuant to a grant from the National Institute of Education,
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. However, the
opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the
position or policy of the National Institute of Education,

and no official endorsement by the National Institute of
Education should be inferred.

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
710 S.W. Second Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204


A Young Warrior

11


The Assiniboine Indian
boys, around the ages of 10-14
years old, had the job of feeding
the horses and taking them to
water every day.

One day, early in the morning, ....-
an enemy made a sneak attack on the’
young boys while they were tending
the horses. All these boys were killed
and the horses stolen. SS

Luckily there were some more
boys over the hill from where the at-
tack took place. They were also tend-
ing horses. When these boys went
back to where the other boys were,
they found them all dead and the
horses stolen.



THE INDIAN READING SERIES
EC% Stories and Legends of the Northwest

True Story of A Ghost
A Young Warrior

Level V Book 7

Assiniboine Stories

Jerome Fourstar, Coordinator
Madonna Fourstar

Josephine Tapaha

Geraldine Clancy

Illustrated by Joseph Clancy
Stories told by Jerome Fourstar

Joseph Coburn, Director
Pacific Northwest Indian Program
Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory



THE INDIAN READING SERIES: Stories and Legends of the
Northwest is a collection of authentic material cooperatively devel-
oped by Indian people from twelve reservations. Development ac-
tivities are guided by a Policy Board which represents the Indian
community of the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwest Indian
Reading and Language Development Program Policy Board mem-
bers are:

+ Warren Clements — Warm Springs
Chairman

+ Clement Azure — Devils Lake Sioux

+ Walter Moffett — Nez Perce

+ Emmett Oliver — Quinault

+ Bob Parsley — Chippewa

+ Lloyd Smith — Warm Springs

+ Max Snow

+ Jeanne Thomas — Yakima


The following night he heard the sounds again. People
were crying and praying. In the morning his parents told him,
“Another one of your friends has died during the night.” The
boy was very scared now that two of his friends were dead.

On the third night it happened again. Sounds of people
crying and praying in the night, and the news in the morning
that another friend had died. The boy was scared because he
knew he would be next. He knew the dead man’s spirit was
getting even with them for taking his things.

Tonight would be his night to die. As the boy got ready
for bed he prepared himself for his own death. He put on his
good buckskin clothes and his best moccasins. He didn’t think
anything or anyone could help him now.

He thought of painting his face red to keep away the bad
spirits but it seemed too late for even that. He didn’t want to
die and decided to use the red paint anyway. It was worth a try.
As he was putting the paint on he had many thoughts. He felt
he was to blame for his friends deaths. How wrong he had been
to take things that didn’t belong to him. He was sad and sorry
for what he had done.



L

12

Ma oggr hk bh

ane

A long time ago there was a large encampment of As-
siniboine Indians. In those days when a boy wanted to marry a
girl, he had to present her parents with gifts of horses and
other items such as bear, buffalo robes, and buckskins. That
was an Assiniboine warrior’s way of proposing to the girl he
loved.

In those days parents never let their daughters marry
until they were fully mature (that being about 18 or 19 years
old). Until then, they watched their daughters very close,
never letting them chase after boys.

With the young men it was the same way. Elderly men
would always watch over them, teaching them everything, like
hunting. They were lectured and were told stories.

Parents never scared a child by telling them about ghosts
or such things. The reason for not scaring them is that when
they grew up, they would be brave men with courage to fight
the enemy. They were taught to face the enemy and fight back,
even if they were alone, never turning their backs on them.

In those days other tribes of Indians were often enemies,
fighting and stealing horses from each other.