All Brave Dogs- Yellow Ribbon

 

By the time of the Rosebud the Plains People were frantic.  No matter what they did, and they did a lot, nothing improved. More land was gone, more people were lost.  They felt, rightly, that their backs were against the wall.  Everlasting treaties barely saw a decade out. If the Government found Indian decision making trying the Indians found the converse utterly baffling.

Black Kettle died at Washita as a direct result of his sustained attempts at diplomacy.  He was emulating Red Cloud.  He lacked the Red Cloud touch.  He also wanted for Red Cloud's massed warriors.  

Custer claimed he had killed 110 Cheyenne warriors at Washita.  In fact he got 11 warriors.  The rest were women and children.  The bulk of the Band's fighters were off on a hunt.

All the same Red Cloud's inspirational military and diplomatic win was not all it seemed. True, Forts were abandoned, True, the Bozeman Trail was closed to American settlers.  Yet, Washington had simply placed its strategic eggs in the railroad basket.  The aim had not changed.  This was a world beyond Indian experience.

Crook's winter attack on a Powder River Cheyenne village was the final straw.  At some point we will look at that action in detail.

The Cheyenne, en masse, joined the Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse lobby. Their policy was admirably direct- if they won't leave us alone we fight. 

Old enmities were perforce forgotten. The Black Foot reported for duty.  Like many another before them the tribes resolved to combine and teach the interlopers a lesson they wouldn't forget.

The concept was sound, the actuality fraught.  The best weapons came from the people they intended to fight.  Sometimes they were freely given, betimes traded and of course, captured the hard way.  

The fact remained the other side had a monopoly on the good stuff.  No doubt many Indians recognised the problem.  It didn't matter.  To fight and die was better than just dying. Also, it might possibly work and the tribes were better armed than they ever had been. Today we are rating the Sioux All Brave Dogs Warrior Band.

All Brave Dogs	Sioux Band	Leader, Little Wolf
Movement Foot	Indian
Movement Mounted	Crack
Exhaustion Foot	11
Exhaustion Mounted	12
Field Craft	Crack
Close Combat	Crack
Marksmanship	Good
Weapon	Well Armed
Medicine	14

 

Man for man the Indian was confident of his superiority in combat. It was not misplaced.  He was acclimatised to killing from an early age.  He killed to eat via hunting. He killed men for social prestige or simply to protect others and to survive himself.  He knew not just when and how to strike but also where to strike for the best result.

We can note he was not especially muscled.  Women did most of the physical work.  He was generally tall or at least of middle height. He was inured to bearing hardship.

His ultimate accolade came from striking an armed foe with an open hand or a stick.  Thus demonstrating combat primacy and no small degree of contempt.  It was an irresistible cultural priority.  Men died attempting it.

You might be interested to know it was colour coded. A green paint spot for touching a Crow, Red for a white man, Yellow for a Shoshone.  You could decorate your gear or pony accordingly.  Then everyone would know. 

Obviously living that way came at a price.  The tribes were never rich in man power.  Each man lost to battle was a local disaster. This shaped the Indian approach to war. The aim was to dish out the maximum punishment for the minimum attrition.

War Chiefs could not command, rather they advised.  Mostly they led by example. All the same every Indian was his own General.  His decisions were his alone and could not be criticised.

Indian camps were often surprised in dawn attacks. Leaders could ask for sentries but nothing could compel those sentries to stay at post or awake.

All of this made it difficult to mount a co-ordinated campaign.  The Rosebud was a trial run at it.  It stopped Crook dead.  Little Bighorn was an ad hoc response to an incursion by the 7th Cavalry.  Once again the Indians were surprised.

All this brings us to the appearance of the Plains Warrior.  Eclectic doesn't do it.  He dressed with great care.  He might wear anything that he considered suitable, highly decorated buckskins, parts of silk dresses, bits of Spanish armour, tail coats, stuffed birds. Buffalo caps with horns. Things he had seen in dreams especially. Feathers. The scalps of previous opponents. Magical charms. The list was endless.  

Added to this he painted himself and his pony with a stylised visual record of his martial accomplishments. More paint was added as suited. No two warriors looked the same.  In combat the effect was terrifying.  Then we have war cries and for the Sioux the screech of eagle whistles.

The Plains People wanted to live as Indians.  For the US Government that was an impossible demand.

We may dip further into the subject further as we see other Warrior Bands. For moment I'll just say Yellow Ribbon delivers on the Plains Indian Way of War.  No mean accomplishment.