Post by carlo on Oct 30, 2010 3:05:41 GMT -5
Here's what I've been able to gather on the Oglala warrior Runs Fearless.
Runs Fearless' name in Lakota is Kagi Sni Inyanka, but he was also known by his moniker Yellow Shirt, for a particular yellow colored shirt he always favored in battle.
No hard evidence on his birth date exists, but he was probably younger than Crazy Horse. His war records indicate he must have been in his warrior prime around 1870-1876, thus placing his approximate birth year between 1845-1850.
His father-in-law was Crow Nose, who was likely also Oglala and not the Miniconjou leader Crow Nose, better known as Roman Nose. Black Elk places our Crow Nose in Crazy Horse's camp in 1875, making him a Hunkpatila Oglala (True Oglala tiyospaye), and thus by marriage Runs Fearless as well (also living in Crazy Horse's camp). I do not have any information on Crow Nose the Oglala, nor do I know his daughter's name–Runs Fearless' wife. His tiyospaye or band affiliation by birth is unknown, but given the close ties of Crazy Horse's tiyospaye with the Miniconjous, we could speculate (and not much more) that he was possibly Miniconjou by birth.
Runs Fearless first surfaces as a warrior in the battle When They Chased Them Back to Camp, mid-July 1870, when he killed one Crow and counted coup on another. But he was best known for his exploits during the Second Battle of Arrow Creek against the Crows. When the Lakotas and Cheyennes were driven off the field, Runs Fearless turned to make a stand and singlehandedly confronted the charging Crows. Killing three enemies (and one horse) in quick succession, he then remounted his horse and managed to safely reach his comrades. He features prominently in Amos Bad Heart Bull's drawings of this fight. The battle was named after his amazing feat: "Battle Where Runs Fearless (or Yellow Shirt) Killed Four Crows". One of the victims was Mountain Crow headman Long Horse's brother, another was Long Neck's brother.
He was a member of the Oglala chapter of the White Horse Owners’ society in the early to mid-1870's, to which only experienced warriors were admitted, and may have been given that honor based on his deeds in this battle. According to Short Bull, Runs Fearless was also a Shirt Wearer at that time, but I have not found any other evidence naming him as one. It is clear, however, that Runs Fearless was a prominent and well-respected Hunkpatila Oglala warrior in his time. It is unknown whether he was a close friend of Crazy Horse, but it's safe to conclude he was a trusted ally.
Runs Fearless counted coup on a Crow horse-thief killed by his father-in-law Crow Nose in the Oglala camp (after tripping over the dead body). This happened at the same time as the seven Loafers were killed by Crows, January 1876, and Crow Nose composed a song about the incident: “Yellow Shirt, come forth, I have got him. All you have to do is coup him.”
Six months later he was “very brave” (One Bull in Campbell Collection 104/11) in the Rosebud Battle and also contributed to Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn. We know that at the time of Reno’s attack he counted second coup on Arikara scout, identified as Bobtail Bull. Not long after the LBH battle, Runs Fearless' life tragically ended. On August 2, 1876, in a skirmish with the steamer Far West, he faced three men scouting from the boat. He succeeded to kill one of them, a scout named Wesley Brockmeyer, but in turn was fatally shot by George Morgan. The third scout, the boat's pilot Dave Campbell, scalped him; his scalp was later sent to the town of Bismarck for display. Lakotas were unable to recover his body after the skirmish and in a gruesome ending to Runs Fearless' story, soldiers from the boat mutilated his corpse with their knifes and cut off his head, which was used as a football in camp for several days. A sad and disturbing ending to the life of a great Lakota warrior.
I would love to see any other information on Runs Fearless, especially on his father-in-law Crow Nose and on his shirt-wearer status mentioned by Short Bull. Comments on above info are obviously also more than welcome.
[EDIT: I have added some additional details to my original post to make the story more compete.]
Runs Fearless' name in Lakota is Kagi Sni Inyanka, but he was also known by his moniker Yellow Shirt, for a particular yellow colored shirt he always favored in battle.
No hard evidence on his birth date exists, but he was probably younger than Crazy Horse. His war records indicate he must have been in his warrior prime around 1870-1876, thus placing his approximate birth year between 1845-1850.
His father-in-law was Crow Nose, who was likely also Oglala and not the Miniconjou leader Crow Nose, better known as Roman Nose. Black Elk places our Crow Nose in Crazy Horse's camp in 1875, making him a Hunkpatila Oglala (True Oglala tiyospaye), and thus by marriage Runs Fearless as well (also living in Crazy Horse's camp). I do not have any information on Crow Nose the Oglala, nor do I know his daughter's name–Runs Fearless' wife. His tiyospaye or band affiliation by birth is unknown, but given the close ties of Crazy Horse's tiyospaye with the Miniconjous, we could speculate (and not much more) that he was possibly Miniconjou by birth.
Runs Fearless first surfaces as a warrior in the battle When They Chased Them Back to Camp, mid-July 1870, when he killed one Crow and counted coup on another. But he was best known for his exploits during the Second Battle of Arrow Creek against the Crows. When the Lakotas and Cheyennes were driven off the field, Runs Fearless turned to make a stand and singlehandedly confronted the charging Crows. Killing three enemies (and one horse) in quick succession, he then remounted his horse and managed to safely reach his comrades. He features prominently in Amos Bad Heart Bull's drawings of this fight. The battle was named after his amazing feat: "Battle Where Runs Fearless (or Yellow Shirt) Killed Four Crows". One of the victims was Mountain Crow headman Long Horse's brother, another was Long Neck's brother.
He was a member of the Oglala chapter of the White Horse Owners’ society in the early to mid-1870's, to which only experienced warriors were admitted, and may have been given that honor based on his deeds in this battle. According to Short Bull, Runs Fearless was also a Shirt Wearer at that time, but I have not found any other evidence naming him as one. It is clear, however, that Runs Fearless was a prominent and well-respected Hunkpatila Oglala warrior in his time. It is unknown whether he was a close friend of Crazy Horse, but it's safe to conclude he was a trusted ally.
Runs Fearless counted coup on a Crow horse-thief killed by his father-in-law Crow Nose in the Oglala camp (after tripping over the dead body). This happened at the same time as the seven Loafers were killed by Crows, January 1876, and Crow Nose composed a song about the incident: “Yellow Shirt, come forth, I have got him. All you have to do is coup him.”
Six months later he was “very brave” (One Bull in Campbell Collection 104/11) in the Rosebud Battle and also contributed to Custer's defeat at the Little Bighorn. We know that at the time of Reno’s attack he counted second coup on Arikara scout, identified as Bobtail Bull. Not long after the LBH battle, Runs Fearless' life tragically ended. On August 2, 1876, in a skirmish with the steamer Far West, he faced three men scouting from the boat. He succeeded to kill one of them, a scout named Wesley Brockmeyer, but in turn was fatally shot by George Morgan. The third scout, the boat's pilot Dave Campbell, scalped him; his scalp was later sent to the town of Bismarck for display. Lakotas were unable to recover his body after the skirmish and in a gruesome ending to Runs Fearless' story, soldiers from the boat mutilated his corpse with their knifes and cut off his head, which was used as a football in camp for several days. A sad and disturbing ending to the life of a great Lakota warrior.
I would love to see any other information on Runs Fearless, especially on his father-in-law Crow Nose and on his shirt-wearer status mentioned by Short Bull. Comments on above info are obviously also more than welcome.
[EDIT: I have added some additional details to my original post to make the story more compete.]