Wooden Leg was a Northern Cheyenne warrior who fought against Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn
Wooden Leg was born, in 1858, in the region of the Black Hills, near the Cheyenne River. He was son of Many Bullet Wounds (also called White Buffalo Shaking off the Dust) and Eagle Feather on the Forehead.
He inherited the name as he proved to be a tireless walker, outlasting all the young Cheyenne and earning the name Wooden Leg, since his tireless legs seemed to be made of wood.
On the morning of the June 25, 1876, while sleeping under a tree after a feasting night, Wooden Leg and his brother Yellow Hair were awakened by the cries of the old men claiming the arrival of U.S. soldiers. Wooden Leg ran to his tent. He quickly prepared himself for the battle, then moved himself to the melee with his brother.
At first, he fought with soldiers under Major Marcus Reno hidden and surrounded in the woods near the river. Defeating these enemies, he went towards the river, where he found a rifle and ammunition.
Then, he successfuly attacked the soldiers on the hills, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer.
Wooden Leg had just fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn, one of the bloodiest battles of the American Indian Wars.
In later years, Wooden Leg served as a scout for the army out of Fort Keogh and participated as an army scout in the Ghost Dance affair in 1890. Still later he served as a judge for his tribe.
