Cheyenne Dog Soldiers
"The awesome warriors were “armed to the teeth with revolvers and bows… proud, haughty, defiant as should become those who are to grant favors, not beg them.”
– An Ohio reporter covering the negotiations at Medicine Lodge, Kansas on October 27, 1867.
Among the numerous tribes that roamed the Great Plains, the Cheyenne stood out as particularly distinguished for their prowess in warfare. Despite being relatively few in number, they managed to overcome or keep in check most of the other groups they encountered. When the westward expansion of European civilization began to encroach upon their lands, the Cheyenne proved to be a formidable obstacle, causing more resistance than any other tribe combined. They were, in essence, the quintessential warriors in a world where war was a way of life.
Like other Plains tribes, the Cheyenne warriors were organized into societies or orders. These were more than just military units; they were fraternal organizations with semi-religious aspects, offering special privileges, imposing specific duties, and dictating particular styles of dress. The origins of these societies were often traced back to mythical culture heroes or powerful medicine men. Each society possessed its own unique songs, secret rituals, and a strict code of conduct that members were expected to adhere to.
Of all these Cheyenne organizations, none played a more significant role in the history of the Plains than the Dog Soldiers. The Cheyenne Dog Soldiers were renowned and feared throughout the region.
The most comprehensive account of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers‘ origin comes from George A. Dorsey’s The Cheyenne Ceremonial Organization (1905). Dorsey recounts a tale where the Dog-Man Society was founded by a young man lacking influence, yet chosen by a great Prophet. This young man, unlike others who had easily established their societies, faced ridicule. He was not a medicine man and struggled to attract followers.
The young man, disheartened, sat in the center of the camp and prayed to the Great Prophet and the Great Medicine Man for assistance. At sunset, he began to sing a sacred song. As he sang, the dogs throughout the camp became restless, whining and howling. The people, however, fell asleep in their lodges. He continued singing and wailing until midnight, unheard by the sleeping camp. He then walked to the opening of the camp circle, singing as he went. As he left the circle, all the dogs of the camp, both male and female, followed him, some carrying their puppies.
He sang four times before reaching his destination at daybreak. As the sun rose, he and the dogs arrived at a timbered river bottom. The man sat beneath a tree leaning northward. The dogs immediately arranged themselves in a semicircle around him, mirroring the camp circle they had left. They then lay down to rest, and miraculously, a lodge sprung up over the man, encompassing the leaning tree and three other saplings adorned with boughs. The lodge was made of buffalo hides.
As soon as the lodge appeared, the dogs rushed towards it, transforming into human beings dressed as members of the Dog-Men Society upon entering. The Dog Men began to sing, and the man listened intently, learning their songs, ceremonies, and dances.
For three days, the camp circle and the lodge remained visible. The Dog Men blessed the man, promising him success in all his endeavors and declaring that his people, society, and band would become the greatest if he followed their instructions. This legend illustrates the deep connection between the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers and the animal world.
Later, the Cheyenne discovered the camp. As they approached, the Dog lodge vanished instantly, and the Dog-Men transformed back into dogs. The medicine men and warriors regretted their initial refusal to join the society. The next day, following the Great Prophet’s instructions, the young man again asked warriors to join, and many hundreds did. He instructed the society to imitate the Dog Men in dress and song, which is why other warrior societies call them "Dog-Men Warriors." This account provides the mythical foundation for the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers‘ origins.
The uniform of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers was distinctive and symbolic. It included a bonnet adorned with upright feathers from birds of prey, signifying their predatory nature and aerial prowess. A whistle, crafted from the wing bone of an eagle and suspended from a thong around the neck, was used for signaling and in ceremonies. The warriors wore leggings, a breechclout, and moccasins for protection and mobility. A belt made of four skunk skins completed the ensemble, its symbolism perhaps related to the animal’s perceived cunning or defensive capabilities.
The Dog Soldiers carried a bow and arrows, representing their traditional hunting and warfare skills. A rattle shaped like a snake accompanied their songs, adding a potent symbolic element to their rituals. The society was led by one chief and seven assistants, four of whom were chosen as battle leaders for their exceptional courage. These four wore a long sash, decorated with porcupine quills and eagle feathers, that passed over the right shoulder and hung to the ground under the left arm. The two bravest among them had leggings fringed with human hair, a testament to their valor and the battles they had fought.
The society had a secret ritual spanning four days and involving a series of four hundred songs used in ceremonies and dances. The Cheyenne Dog Soldiers were often called upon to perform police duties within a large camp, enforcing rules and maintaining order. They enjoyed certain privileges, such as the right to kill any fat dog when a feast was required.
The powers of a warrior society in enforcing camp regulations were considerable, and punishments for violations were severe. They might whip offenders with quirts, beat them with clubs, or even kill their ponies. For minor offenses, they might cut up a man’s robe, break his lodge poles, or slash his tipi cover. The Cheyenne Dog Soldiers were responsible for overseeing the tribal buffalo hunt, ensuring that rules were observed and that all men had an equal opportunity to obtain meat. They prevented individual hunting until the camp’s needs were met.
Around 1830, all the men of the Masiskota Cheyenne band joined the Dog Soldiers. This influx brought the society to about half the men in the tribe, making it the most distinct, important, and aggressive of all the Cheyenne warrior societies.
While much has been written about Cheyenne battles, the most authoritative accounts are likely those given by George Bird Grinnell in The Fighting Cheyennes (1916). Any discussion of the Dog Soldiers’ exploits must acknowledge Grinnell’s work. This brief account only attempts to highlight the principal engagements in which the Dog Soldiers participated as an organization.
By 1840, the Dog Soldiers had become so influential that the Cheyenne chiefs deferred to them in deciding whether to make peace with the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes after a disastrous battle in 1838. The peace negotiated by the Dog Soldiers at that time remained unbroken. The disastrous fight with the Pawnee in 1852 was a major setback for the Cheyenne, and the following year, those who had lost relatives presented gifts to the Dog Soldiers, urging them to seek revenge. The Dog Soldiers led a campaign against the Pawnee but were forced to withdraw when they encountered reinforcements of Pottawatomie equipped with firearms.
The Dog Soldiers were staunchly conservative and adhered to the advice of their tribal culture hero, who had warned against contact with white men, believing it would be detrimental. Consequently, in 1860, they refused to sign the treaty submitted by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs at Bent’s Fort on the upper Arkansas River, declaring they would never settle on a reservation. Members of the organization were active in raiding along the Platte River following the Sand Creek Massacre, perpetrated by Colorado volunteers against friendly and defenseless Indians.
In 1865, the Dog Soldiers played a key role in the alliance of the Southern and Northern Cheyenne with the Ogallala Sioux, with the aim of raiding the emigrant road near the Platte bridge, where a stockade known as Camp Dodge had been erected. It is estimated that this war party numbered around three thousand men.
The Dog Soldiers took on police duties during this expedition, preventing the troops from discovering the Indians’ presence until decoys had lured them out of the fort. The success of this strategy has been attributed to Roman Nose, a prominent leader. In 1865, another attempt was made to hold a council and make a treaty with the Cheyenne, Arapahoe, Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache. The Commission met the tribes on the Arkansas River and set aside reservations in the south. While most of the Cheyenne accepted this treaty, the Dog Soldiers refused to be bound by it, rejecting two attempts to persuade them to leave lands they had never ceded to the government.
Initially, the Dog Soldiers were friendly, but General Winfield Hancock’s lack of tact soon drove them to hostility. Hancock seemed ignorant of Indian customs and insisted on dealing only with Roman Nose, who, despite being a prominent warrior, was not a chief. When Hancock attacked, the Cheyenne escaped easily, leaving their village to be burned. The only Indians killed were six friendly individuals who had visited the Dog Soldiers’ camp. During four months of campaigning, Hancock, with a force of fourteen hundred men, killed only two hostile Indians.
After General George Custer’s unsuccessful summer campaign on the Republican and Smoky Hill Rivers, the Cheyenne were persuaded to attend the Medicine Lodge Treaty. However, the construction of Fort Reno, Fort Phil Kearny, and Fort Smith along the Powder River road to Montana, through the tribe’s last remaining hunting grounds, rendered the treaty meaningless, as the Indians could not passively watch the destruction of their livelihood, the buffalo.
The Beecher Island fight in 1868 is well-known for its dramatic features and the prominence of the leaders involved. The Dog Soldiers formed the bulk of the Indian fighting force. Roman Nose, the most famous of the Northern Cheyenne and a prominent Dog Soldier, led a charge and was killed by one of the scouts hidden in the grass. George Bent recounted that Roman Nose believed his war bonnet protected him, but only if he observed certain taboos, including never eating food touched by an iron fork. Shortly before the battle, Roman Nose had unknowingly eaten food prepared with such a fork. Believing the protective power of his bonnet was lost, he was reluctant to fight but led the charge when he saw his warriors faltering, and was killed. Of the six Cheyenne killed in this fight, five were Dog Soldiers.
Following their defeat by buffalo hunters at Adobe Walls, Texas, in 1874, and the capture of the Southern Cheyenne village by Colonel R. S. McKenzie in 1875, White Horse and the Dog Soldiers surrendered at Darlington, Oklahoma.
Members of the Dog Soldiers Society were likely present at the Custer battle and possibly at the capture of Dull Knife’s village. With the surrender at Darlington, the military life of the organization effectively ended.
However, trouble resurfaced when the government relocated the Northern Cheyenne to the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to consolidate the tribe on one reservation. The climate of Oklahoma was unsuitable for the Cheyenne from Montana, and many died. Medical supplies and rations were scarce, and within a year, the Northern Cheyenne were so dissatisfied that a group decided to fight their way back north. This remarkable retreat is comparable to that of Xenophon or Chief Joseph. Tangle Hair, head chief of the Dog Soldiers, was among those who fled, but Little Wolf was the true leader. The Indians successfully reached their destination and remained there for about a year before General Nelson Miles persuaded them to surrender.
Tangle Hair and a number of Dog Soldiers separated from the main party and followed Dull Knife. These Indians were imprisoned in Fort Robinson and starved for eight days by the officer in charge after refusing to return south. They broke out of prison and attempted to escape across the moonlit snow. In the ensuing fight, over a third of the Indians, including men, women, and children, were killed, among them Tangle Hair, Chief of the Dog Soldiers. Before the outbreak, he had been offered the chance to leave the prison with his family, but he and the other Dog Soldiers refused. He was killed while attempting to defend the women and children as they fled.
This summary of the exploits of the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers provides a glimpse into the important role this organization played in the many victories and battles of the Cheyenne. Only a more detailed account could fully convey the courage displayed by members of this organization in battle against the United States troops, Mexicans, or other Indian tribes. This enumeration of the principal engagements of the Dog Soldiers illustrates how the United States government spent a million dollars and lost twenty-four lives for every Cheyenne killed in its campaigns against the Cheyenne.
W.S. Campbell, 1921. Compiled and edited by Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2022.
This tale, written by W.S. Campbell appeared in the Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 1, No. 1, January 1921. The text as it appears here; however, is not verbatim as it has been edited for clarity and ease of the modern reader.
Also See:
Cheyenne – Warriors of the Great Plains
Dull Knife – Northern Cheyenne Chief
Little Wolf – Courageous Leader of the Cheyenne
Roman Nose – Cheyenne War Chief
Cheyenne Photo Print Gallery