jamesinalaska
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- Joined
- Feb 9, 2015
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I just finished reading a remarkable book about the Plains Indians. It is called Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer. The ISBN number is: 0-8032-5124-6.
Although the focal point of the book is the famous battle at the Little Big Horn River, the book is really more about the lives and customs and social world of the plains tribes, particularly the Northern Cheyenne, of which Wooden Leg was a teenage member -and warrior- at the time of the famous battle.
Wooden Leg spoke very little English, and his story was translated and interpreted by Thomas B. Marquis, a medical doctor at the Indian Agency where the Cheyenne were eventually settled sometime after the battle. In a preface to the book, Dr. Marquis gives a testimonial to the validity of Wooden Leg's stories, saying Wooden Leg was not one given to lying or embellishments, and that his accounts matched the accounts of other warriors he had interviewed who were also at the battle. Wooden Leg and the Doctor seemed to be friends and so Dr. Marquis was able to talk with Wooden Leg extensively.
Because this is a firearms forum, If THR readers will allow, I would like to share some of the firearms related insights I learned from the book. (I apologize, but I did not take notes as I read so I don't have page numbers to share.) Here are some of the elements that struck me:
1) Their use of firearms at the time (Civil War Era and past) was far more limited than what we are led to believe from television and History Channel dramas. Cartridge loading rifles were prized, but muzzle loading rifles were predominate apparently because they were more available as surplus and second-hand firearms as the cartridge loading rifles became predominate.
2) Cap and ball revolvers were also available and were prized for there usefulness in self defense and close quarters combat, and these only seemed to be the pistols' main purpose. Hunting with pistols was never mentioned. (It was interesting to me how the concept of some firearms, and the particular roles they play, has changed very little.)
3) Short rifles were favored. The Springfield Trapdoor Carbine was highly regarded. The carbine rifles were favored for the same reasons then as they are today: they could be swung faster, they were easier to carry, they were lighter. Long distance shooting was not the goal. The tribal members were mounted and the ability to swing the rifle quickly around the horse (for hunting, as they rode close to the buffalo) was the greater necessity.
4) The Plains Indians enjoyed sporting competitions and betting at their festivities. Several events included marksmanship. There were two types of competitions with the rifles: the first was for distance and the second was for accuracy. The same is true for competition with their bows: accuracy, distance, and a third category of throwing the arrow by hand. The target for the rifle competitions was a black circle inside a white circle, while the archery targets were representations of the human torso.
5) At the battle of The Little Big Horn River, the Sioux and Cheyenne did have firearms but not nearly the number as purported on the television or at the cinema. Some had the then decade old, and quite famous, Henry Repeating Rifle, but most had muzzleloaders or other "soldier rifles". Ammunition at the start of the battle was a problem for the indians; each warrior with a rifle probably had only a few shots (Wooden Leg doesn't give a number but as he tells the story he repeats often how glad he is to find a box of ammunition or to secure some powder. How happy are we, nowadays, to find some powder?)
6) Although rifles were used somewhat effectively against the attacking soldiers, it was really the thousands upon thousands of raining arrows that whittled against the then huddled, and surrounded soldiers to their defeat. Wooden Leg noted that when an arrow pierced a soldier horse a particular destructive mayhem would be created as the wounded horse stomped and kicked its way through the huddled soldiers.
7) The 7th Cavalry committed suicide. Literally. Wooden Leg and other warriors testified that as the situation grew obviously inescapable for the soldiers, they began to turn their revolvers onto themselves. Dr. Marquis makes a special note in the book that this account is true and was verified by many of the warriors he interviewed. Dr. Marquis noted most of the soldiers were young and inexperienced and lived with the notion to "save the last bullet for yourself". This they apparently did except it was not their last bullet. Wooden Leg tells how after the battle many boxes of bullets were found, sometimes cases of cartridge boxes -all unopened- and nearly all saddle bags had boxes of bullets.
8) Wooden Leg never mentions cleaning a rifle or pistol. And since black powder was still in use in cartridges I can't help but imagine the terrible condition of most indian firearms. Wooden Leg tells of another warrior who captured a soldier rifle (a Springfield Trapdoor) which fired but then had the case stuck in the chamber. The new owner did not know how to remedy the fault and so threw the rifle in to the river. (They did this with other items they did not comprehend or have experience with, like silver watches and currency.)
I thought THR members would be interested in the few firearms related gleanings I found in the book, but on the whole, and outside the firearms stuff, the story was compelling and extremely interesting. If any THR members see this paperback in a used book store I would encourage its purchase. Enjoy.
Although the focal point of the book is the famous battle at the Little Big Horn River, the book is really more about the lives and customs and social world of the plains tribes, particularly the Northern Cheyenne, of which Wooden Leg was a teenage member -and warrior- at the time of the famous battle.
Wooden Leg spoke very little English, and his story was translated and interpreted by Thomas B. Marquis, a medical doctor at the Indian Agency where the Cheyenne were eventually settled sometime after the battle. In a preface to the book, Dr. Marquis gives a testimonial to the validity of Wooden Leg's stories, saying Wooden Leg was not one given to lying or embellishments, and that his accounts matched the accounts of other warriors he had interviewed who were also at the battle. Wooden Leg and the Doctor seemed to be friends and so Dr. Marquis was able to talk with Wooden Leg extensively.
Because this is a firearms forum, If THR readers will allow, I would like to share some of the firearms related insights I learned from the book. (I apologize, but I did not take notes as I read so I don't have page numbers to share.) Here are some of the elements that struck me:
1) Their use of firearms at the time (Civil War Era and past) was far more limited than what we are led to believe from television and History Channel dramas. Cartridge loading rifles were prized, but muzzle loading rifles were predominate apparently because they were more available as surplus and second-hand firearms as the cartridge loading rifles became predominate.
2) Cap and ball revolvers were also available and were prized for there usefulness in self defense and close quarters combat, and these only seemed to be the pistols' main purpose. Hunting with pistols was never mentioned. (It was interesting to me how the concept of some firearms, and the particular roles they play, has changed very little.)
3) Short rifles were favored. The Springfield Trapdoor Carbine was highly regarded. The carbine rifles were favored for the same reasons then as they are today: they could be swung faster, they were easier to carry, they were lighter. Long distance shooting was not the goal. The tribal members were mounted and the ability to swing the rifle quickly around the horse (for hunting, as they rode close to the buffalo) was the greater necessity.
4) The Plains Indians enjoyed sporting competitions and betting at their festivities. Several events included marksmanship. There were two types of competitions with the rifles: the first was for distance and the second was for accuracy. The same is true for competition with their bows: accuracy, distance, and a third category of throwing the arrow by hand. The target for the rifle competitions was a black circle inside a white circle, while the archery targets were representations of the human torso.
5) At the battle of The Little Big Horn River, the Sioux and Cheyenne did have firearms but not nearly the number as purported on the television or at the cinema. Some had the then decade old, and quite famous, Henry Repeating Rifle, but most had muzzleloaders or other "soldier rifles". Ammunition at the start of the battle was a problem for the indians; each warrior with a rifle probably had only a few shots (Wooden Leg doesn't give a number but as he tells the story he repeats often how glad he is to find a box of ammunition or to secure some powder. How happy are we, nowadays, to find some powder?)
6) Although rifles were used somewhat effectively against the attacking soldiers, it was really the thousands upon thousands of raining arrows that whittled against the then huddled, and surrounded soldiers to their defeat. Wooden Leg noted that when an arrow pierced a soldier horse a particular destructive mayhem would be created as the wounded horse stomped and kicked its way through the huddled soldiers.
7) The 7th Cavalry committed suicide. Literally. Wooden Leg and other warriors testified that as the situation grew obviously inescapable for the soldiers, they began to turn their revolvers onto themselves. Dr. Marquis makes a special note in the book that this account is true and was verified by many of the warriors he interviewed. Dr. Marquis noted most of the soldiers were young and inexperienced and lived with the notion to "save the last bullet for yourself". This they apparently did except it was not their last bullet. Wooden Leg tells how after the battle many boxes of bullets were found, sometimes cases of cartridge boxes -all unopened- and nearly all saddle bags had boxes of bullets.
8) Wooden Leg never mentions cleaning a rifle or pistol. And since black powder was still in use in cartridges I can't help but imagine the terrible condition of most indian firearms. Wooden Leg tells of another warrior who captured a soldier rifle (a Springfield Trapdoor) which fired but then had the case stuck in the chamber. The new owner did not know how to remedy the fault and so threw the rifle in to the river. (They did this with other items they did not comprehend or have experience with, like silver watches and currency.)
I thought THR members would be interested in the few firearms related gleanings I found in the book, but on the whole, and outside the firearms stuff, the story was compelling and extremely interesting. If any THR members see this paperback in a used book store I would encourage its purchase. Enjoy.
