Wooden Leg was one of the sixteen hundred warriors of the Northern Cheyennes who fought with the Sioux against Custer at the legendary Battle of the Little Bighorn. As an old man in his seventies, he related his story of the battle to Thomas B. Marquis, formerly an agency physician for the Northern Cheyennes, in scores of interviews, illustrating his statements with drawings and maps. "Some aspects of Wooden Leg's account have provoked controversy, but - as Marquis points out - soon after the battle the Sioux were settled in the Dakotas while the Cheyennes were located on the reservation in the heart of the region where had been the conflicts. Thus they have kept their memories fresh or have kept each other prompted into true recollections. This advantageous condition has rendered them the best of first-hand authorities." The author checked and corroborated or corrected all points of importance with other Cheyennes - among them Limpy, Pine, Bobtail Horse, Sun Bear, Black Horse, Two Feathers, Wolf Chief, Little Sun, Blackbird, Big Beaver, Medicine Bull, and the younger Little Wolf - "all of whom were with the hostile Indians when Custer came."
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"I made medicine the first time when I was seventeen years old. It was during the month of May, I believe, although we did not divide the years into months or weeks as the white people later taught us to divide them. . . . My father taught me some medicine practices for myself. He showed me where to gather the seed of a certain grass that has power to shield me. . . . My horse was protected by the same medicine."
Told with vigor and insight, this is the memorable story of Wooden Leg (1858–1940), one of sixteen hundred warriors of the Northern Cheyennes who fought with the Lakotas against Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Wooden Leg remembers the world of the Cheyennes before they were forced onto reservations. He tells of growing up on the Great Plains and learning how to be a Cheyenne man. We hear from him about Cheyenne courtship, camp life, spirituality, and hunting; of skirmishes with Crows, Pawnees, and Shoshones; and of the Cheyennes’ valiant but doomed resistance against the army of the United States. In particular, Wooden Leg recalls the fight against Custer at the Little Bighorn, a controversial and arresting recollection that stands as the first published Native account of that battle.
As an old man in his seventies, Wooden Leg related the story of his life and the Little Bighorn battle in interviews with Thomas B. Marquis (1869–1935), formerly an agency physician for the Northern Cheyennes. Marquis checked and corroborated or corrected all points of importance with other Cheyennes. This edition features a new introduction by Richard Littlebear, president of Chief Dull Knife College and an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation of Montana. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a gift to humankind,
By naiche (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer (Second Edition) (Paperback)
About five months ago I became a father to a beautiful and wonderful little boy. Every time I look at him and hold him I think of him as a gift. I don't mean that in a religious way, because that is not my belief. I am currently reading Wooden Leg for the second time in about 10 years. In reading this book, I realized that it too is a gift. Thomas Marquis, Wooden Leg and his Cheyenne compatriots who gave of their time and memories accomplished a tremendous service to the literature and history of a time that we will never see again. It was a beautiful life, though, to be sure, it had its share of horrors. In this book you will learn about nineteenth century Cheyenne culture and religion. You will read and be enthralled at Wooden Leg's recounting of Custer's Last Stand. Marquis, who acted as his own interpreter through sign language, did a wonderful job at arranging and organizing all of the stories related to him to make it into a cohesive read. I am very surprised that I am the first to review this book. Other "gift" books include Plenty Coups, Two Leggings and Memoirs of a White Crow Indian (the story of Thomas Leforge). I could go on, but this is a wonderful start. Enjoy these gifts and share them with someone special.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
informative yet not what I thought,
This review is from: Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer (Second Edition) (Paperback)
Though I am not finished yet I have to say that it is a very informative book on the indian way of life. If thats what you buy this book for then you wont be disappointed. By the title you would think it was all about the Little Big Horn battle and though I'm sure it will come to that, so far (one third though the book)it has only mentioned life of the plains indians and how they built their tee pees, how they war'd against each other and also fought together. As I said I haven't finished yet but I like what I've read so far.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Rather weak on facts!,
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This review is from: Wooden Leg: A Warrior Who Fought Custer (Second Edition) (Paperback)
I know there'll be disagreement, but Wooden Leg speaks with a rather crooked tongue! He, understandably conceals the truth about his part in the Custer battle. He claims that few rifles and pistols were had by the Indians and further, that there was no celebrations that night! Hard, hard to believe!! Especially if you read accounts from the Reno Hill Battle. There were lots of fires, dancing night attacks on the soldiers.Wooden Leg claims that most of the soldiers killed themselves and the Indians did little killing! His claim of use of thousands of arrows and few rifles or pistols by Indians led to most other deaths! He understandably doesn't claim that he actually shot at any soldiers, only fired in their direction. I find this very hard to believe, especially since he was such a brave young warrior who had killed several Indians during raids on other tribes. It is fascinating reading for information about tribal ways, customs and behavior. Read it for that rather than an account of his "fight against Custer," since according to his tale, he spent most of his time riding about the battlefield, only to just miss the killing. A huge grain of salt is in order and more reading of other Indian versions of the clash.
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