Myths and Legends of the Great Plains

<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg&nbsp;117]</SPAN></span></p> <h2>TATTOOED GHOSTS</h2> <p class="subtitle">Dakota</p> <p><span class="dropcap">I</span>f a ghost wishes to walk the Ghost Road safely, then during living the person must tattoo himself either in the forehead or on the wrists. An old woman sits in the Ghost Road and she examines each ghost who passes. If she finds the tattoo marks, then the ghost travels on at once to Many Lodges. If the tattoo marks are not there, the old woman pushes the ghost from a cloud and he falls to this world again. Then he wanders all over the world. He is never quiet. He goes about whistling, with no lodge, and people are afraid of him.</p> <p>When these ghosts visit the sick, they are driven away by smoke from the sacred cedar, or else cedar is laid outside the lodge. When a person hears a ghost whistling he goes outside the lodge and makes a loud noise. If a ghost calls to a loved one and he answers, then he is sure to die soon.</p> <p>If a ghost meets a man who is alone, he will catch hold of him and pull his mouth and eyes until they are crooked. Indeed, a ghost did this to a person who only dreamed about one.</p> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />