The Way They Saw It

The Way They Saw It. (Rosebud Battlefield/Where the Girl Saved Her Brother). , The words of those engaged in the Battle of the Rosebud, and the people still affected, tell a narrative of the conflict's significance. , Kase'eetsevo' estanevosehaesta'tanemo , (The Fight Where The Girl Saved Her Brother) , Cheyenne warrior Comes-In-Sight had his horse shot from under him, making him an easy target for the soldiers and scouts. Seeing his desperate situation, his sister, Mutsemiuna (Buffalo Calf Road Women), mounted a horse and galloped through a storm of bullets to reach her brother. As friend and foe watched, Comes-In-Sight jumped on the back of her mount and together they escaped to safety. In her honor, the Cheyenne people often refer to the Battle of the Rosebud as "The Fight Where the Girl Saved Her Brother." Mutsimiuna also fought beside her husband, Mo'ohtaveo'kohome (Black Coyote) at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. , , "As a Cheyenne woman, I am proud to know that our Cheyenne women also fought to protect our land, culture and children. We need to protect the future generations of Cheyenne so we can remain strong." - Emily Walks Alone, Descendent of Buffalo Calf Road Woman, 2005 , In their words... , "On June 17, 1876, the troops under General Crook fought...at the head of Rosebud Creek. I was in that engagement, and we fought for 9 o'clock in the morning until 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon. (These were) the same (warriors) that moved over to the Little Big Horn after the fight." - Corporal James Ramer , "The Indians proved then and there that they were the best cavalry on earth. In charging up toward us, they exposed little of their persons, hanging on with one arm around the neck and leg over the horse, firing and lancing from underneath the horse's necks, so that there was no part on the Indian at which we would aim." - Captain Anson Mills , "It was a big fight. Warriors and enemies of all sorts were there. The Crow Indians were there. Cheyenne, Ogalala, Miniconjous, San Arcs, Hunkpapas, all these tribes were present, fighting together. It was a hard fight, a really big battle. I lived up to my good name and counted five coups. - White Bull, Lakota Sioux , "The Indians and the scouts jumped on their horses and just then the Sioux came charging down over the hills. But the troops were not ready to meet the attack, so the Crows met the first charge of the Indians, and I believe it it had not been for the Crows, the Sioux would have killed half of our command before the soldiers were in position to meet the attack." - Frank Grouard, Scout for the Third Cavalry , "When the grass was tall and the horses strong, we broke camp and started across the country to the mouth of the Tongue River. Then Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse and all went up the Rosebud. There we had a big fight with General Crook and whipped him..." - Two Moons, Northern Cheyenne , "We had beaten the white men soldiers. Our scouts followed them far enough to learn that they were going farther and farther away from us. We did not know of any other soldiers hunting for us...There were feasts and dances in all of the camps." Wooden Leg, Northern Cheyenne. , (side-bar at lower left) , (US Army) , 1325 Combined Fighting Forces: , 978 Cavalry and Infantry , 176 Crow Warriors , 86 Shoshone Warriors , 65 Montana Prospectors , 20 Packers , 5 Correspondents and Reporters , Killed: 9 Soldiers , 1 Indian Scout , 6 Crow and Shoshone , ----------------- , (Indians) , 1200 (estimated) , Combined Fighting Forces: , Warriors of the Northern Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapahoe , Killed (estimated): 25 Sioux , 1 Northern Cheyenne (Black Sun) , "I do not wish to be an old man. , This day is mine to die." , Black Sun's War Song at the Rosebud