Crazy Horse

(1840- 1877)

by Anna Loretto

One of many Native American heroes was Crazy Horse from the Oglala Lakota tribe in South Dakota.

The Sad Saga of Crazy Horse’s Mother

In the fall of 1840, Rattling Blanket Woman gave birth on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Her son’s father was Crazy Horse, also known as Waglula (Worm). The baby was named after his father. Crazy Horse’s childhood name was ‘Curly’ because he had the same light curly hair as his mother.

He was raised by his mother’s sister, Good Looking Woman, who later became a replacement wife of Waglula. She became Waglula’s replacement wife because Crazy Horse’s mother had hung herself from a cottonwood tree when Waglula came back from a buffalo hunt with three new wives.

Waglula and some of his men were hunting when a nearby Lakota village was raided by Crow warriors, so he and his men helped the village. Corn, who was the leader of the village, lost his wife when they were raided. In his appreciation for Waglula’s help, Corn gave his two eldest daughters to him. The third wife was the youngest daughter of Corn. She wanted to go with her sisters, so she also became Waglula’s wife.

When Waglula got back from his hunting trip, Rattling Blanket Woman was distraught. She had failed to conceive another child, which made her angry because she thought he had lost interest in her by getting new wives. Without discussion, Rattling Blanket Woman killed herself. Waglula mourned her death for four years. Good Looking Woman and They Are Afraid of Her (Rattling Blanket Woman’s other sister) both helped each others take care of Crazy Horse by teaching him to hunt and take care of himself.

A Young Warrior Builds a Name for Himself

During the late 1850’s and the early 1860’s Crazy Horse developed a reputation. His fame grew through out the Lakota. He fought against the U.S. federal government in an effort to preserve the traditions and values of the Lakota way of life.

Crazy Horse‘s first kill was an enemy of the Lakota, a Shoshone attacker who killed a Lakota woman when she was washing buffalo meat along the Powder River. The Crows, Shoshone, Pawnee, Blackfeet, and Arikara were the enemies of the Lakota and Crazy Horse fought many battles against their enemies. The Lakota joined with the Cheyenne to fight against the military after the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado. Crazy Horse fought in the Battle of Red Buttes and the Platte River Bridge Station Battle in 1865. He had great fighting abilities and by his abilities he was known as Ogle Tanka Un (Shirt Wearer or War Leader) in 1865. In December 21, 1866, at Fort Phil Kearny on the Bozeman Trial, Crazy Horse and six warriors, Lakota and Cheyenne ambushed Lt. William Fetterman’s 53 infantry men and 27 cavalry troopers.

On August 2, 1867, Crazy Horse was in the Wagon Box Fight near Fort Phil Kearny. The Lakota took horrific losses in the fight because of the new rifles. The old muskets took 20 seconds to reload and the new rifles took only 6 seconds to reload, this caused the Lakota casualties numbering around 200 that day. Many bodies are still buried in the hills and surroundings of Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming.

Crazy Horse Fights Back

On June 17, 1876, Crazy Horse, with around 1,500 Lakota and Cheyenne combined, planned a surprise attack against Brig. Gen. George Crook. With him were 1,000 cavalry, infantry, 300 Crows, and Shoshone warriors. In what became the Battle of the Rosebud. Crazy Horse was a major participant in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, on June 25^th, 1876.

In September 10, 1876, two battalions of the Third Cavalry and Captain Anson Mills captured a Minicoujou village, 36 lodges, in the Battle of Slim Buttes, SD. The head man was American Horse (Old Man). Crazy Horse and his men tried to rescue the camp but he was unsuccessful.

On January 8, 1877, Crazy Horse and his warriors fought their lat major battle, the Battle of Wolf Mountain. They fought against the U.S. Cavalry in the Montana territory. On May 5^th of 1877, his people were weakening by the cold and the hunger. Crazy Horse had surrendered to the U.S. troops at the Camp Robinson in Nebraska. That same day, Crazy Horse and other Oglala leaders arrived at the Red Cloud Agency, located near Camp Robinson, Nebraska.

Four months later, on September 5^th of 1877, General George crook was informed that Crazy Horse was going to kill him during the Oglala leadership. Crazy Horse struggled with the guard, Big Little Man by his side. Both attempted to escape. One member of the guard was outside of the guardhouse, when Crazy Horse escaped out he was stabbed with a bayonet. Crazy Horse was tended by an assistant surgeon, Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy. The great warrior died late that night. His body was turned over to his elderly parents, who took it to Camp Sheridan.

No one knows final resting place of for Crazy Horse.

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