A warrior who fought Custer

In Short

This autobiography presents the life of Wooden Leg, a Northern Cheyenne born in 1858, who recalls his youth on the open plains, the daily traditions of his people, and the intense summer of 1876 when his tribe joined forces with the Sioux. Written down by Thomas B. Marquis through sign-language interviews, the narrative offers an eyewitness account of the defeat of General Custer and the disastrous aftermath that stripped the Cheyennes of their land. It endures as a vital historical voice because it strips away romanticized mythology to detail tribal life, military tactics, and tragic loss from an authentic Native perspective.

The Story

The narrative follows Wooden Leg from his boyhood in the 1860s through the final years of freedom on the Northern Plains. He describes early experiences learning to hunt, tracking lost horse herds, and observing tribal governance. As a young man, he enters the warrior tradition—a status expected of healthy males until they have sons to replace them. Daily existence revolves around seasonal migrations, buffalo hunts, buffalo and berry dances, and the solemn Great Medicine ceremony.

Conflict intensifies as white expansion and military campaigns encroach upon traditional Cheyenne territory. In the late winter of 1876, soldiers attack and burn a peaceful Cheyenne camp on Powder River, destroying lodges, robes, and supplies. Stripped of their possessions, the survivors trek through severe weather to seek refuge with Chief Crazy Horse and his Ogallala Sioux. The Cheyennes align with various Sioux bands, forming a massive multi-tribal camp that moves along the Rosebud and Little Bighorn rivers.

In June 1876, after repelling General Crook’s forces on the upper Rosebud, the combined tribes set up camp along the Little Bighorn. Eighteen-year-old Wooden Leg spends the night before the famous battle dancing with friends at a social gathering in the Sioux camp. The next day, chaos erupts as troops attack. Wooden Leg retrieves his cap-and-ball six-shooter and joins the counterattack. He witnesses the retreat of Reno’s command and the swift surrounding and destruction of Custer’s immediate force. He describes the heavy dust and smoke, the frantic hand-to-hand combat, and the final moments of the remaining soldiers on the ridge.

The victory brings short-lived relief. Military pressures mount through the autumn and winter. Soldiers and scouts launch subsequent raids on Cheyenne winter quarters, burning tepees, food stores, and medicine items. Facing starvation, frostbite, and relentless pursuit, the Cheyennes are forced into surrender.

In the final chapters, Wooden Leg describes adaptation to reservation life, serving as an Indian scout alongside U.S. troops during later hostilities like Wounded Knee, and eventually traveling to Eastern cities such as Washington, New York, and Philadelphia in 1913. The narrative closes with his reflections on old friends, white medicine doctors, and his enduring pride in Cheyenne heritage.

How It Unfolds

Life on the open plains Wooden Leg grows up in nomadic camps, learning tribal hunting methods with marked arrows and witnessing conflict with rival tribes. He observes the strict rules of warrior societies and the rituals of the Great Medicine dance.

Destruction on Powder River Soldiers launch a surprise winter attack on the Cheyenne village, burning tepees and supplies. The destitute survivors trek through mountain snow to ally with Crazy Horse’s Ogallala Sioux.

The gathering at Little Bighorn Six tribal camp circles unite along the river, sharing food, horse herds, and social dances. Wooden Leg enjoys his youth, attending a night-long social dance with Sioux women just hours before the military attack.

Battle and defeat of Custer When troops strike the camp, Wooden Leg equips his six-shooter and joins the defense. Cheyenne and Sioux warriors drive back the soldiers and surround Custer's command, ending the fight in a chaotic final stand.

Hardship and surrender Persistent military campaigns destroy subsequent Cheyenne winter camps, leaving families without food or shelter. The tribe surrenders to reservation authorities, transitioning from free hunters to ration-dependent captives.

Scouting and later travel Wooden Leg serves as an army scout during the Ghost Dance troubles, witnesses the aftermath of Wounded Knee, and decades later visits major American cities, reflecting candidly on white society and historic memory.

The People

• Wooden Leg: The narrator, a Northern Cheyenne warrior born in 1858. He seeks to protect his family and preserve the free roaming life of the plains, but must ultimately adapt to reservation life and white authority.
• Two Moons: A prominent Cheyenne leader and warrior who fights alongside Wooden Leg during raids and battles, relying on spiritual medicine to guide his actions in combat.
• Bear Walks on a Ridge: A Cheyenne warrior companion who joins Wooden Leg in defense of the camp and participates in close-quarters combat against invading soldiers.
• Little Wolf: An Elk warrior society leader who enforces tribal laws, protects hunting parties, and maintains order within the camp.
• Crazy Horse: The principal chief of the Ogallala Sioux who offers shelter and alliance to the displaced Cheyennes after their village is destroyed.
• Thomas B. Marquis: The agency physician and chronicler who learns plains sign language, gains the trust of Custer-battle veterans, and transcribes Wooden Leg's recollections.

In Its Own Voice

"Every man kept his own arrows always marked in some peculiar manner whereby they could be identified, so when the field was reviewed after the termination of the killing he could find out which buffalo he had killed or had helped to kill."

Wooden Leg explains how tribal rules governed hunting long before the widespread use of firearms.

"Our tepees were burned, with everything in them except what the soldiers may have taken. Extra flares at times showed the explosion of powder, and there was the occasional pop of a cartridge from the fires. The Cheyennes were rendered very poor."

He recounts the devastating loss of shelter, clothing, and sacred medicine items after a winter attack by army troops.

"It appeared that all of the white men were dead. But there was one of them who raised himself to a support on his left elbow. He turned and looked over his left shoulder, and then I got a good view of him."

He recalls a striking detail from the final moments on Custer Hill.

What It's Really About

The book is an insider's record of a vanishing way of life. Beneath the battle narratives lies an account of Cheyenne social structure: how warrior societies maintain order, how arrow markers settle hunting claims, how marriages are arranged, and how medicine dances seek collective well-being rather than individual gain.

It highlights the brutal reality of the plains conflicts, where victory in a single battle could not prevent the economic destruction caused by burned villages and lost horse herds. Wooden Leg's narrative challenges common white historical myths, framing the Little Bighorn not as a planned massacre, but as a desperate defense of family camp circles against an unexpected military assault.

Why Read It Today

Readers seeking authentic Indigenous history will appreciate this unadorned, first-person narrative. Free of sentimental exaggeration, Wooden Leg speaks with directness about both everyday camp life and the horrors of war. The prose—recorded through sign language and translated into plain, unpretentious English—transfers the cadence of an elder sitting by a fire.

The book can be emotionally heavy. It includes stark descriptions of combat, scalping, mutilation, and the freezing deaths of women and children fleeing destroyed villages. It also documents the rapid loss of tribal sovereignty and the indignities of early reservation management.

What remains with the reader is Wooden Leg's quiet dignity and keen observation. Whether describing how a blind medicine man wins a whisky bet or detailing his 1913 trip to New York and Washington—where he deliberately gives short, unhelpful answers to an interviewer trying to paint native people as "low and mean"—Wooden Leg emerges as a clear-eyed witness to one of the most transformative eras in American history.