The Dog-Soldiers were a warrior society of the Cheyenne Tribe. They were noted as both highly aggressive and effective combatants. One "tradition" states that in battle they would "pin" themselves to a "chosen" piece of ground, through an unusually long breech-clout "rear-apron", by use of one of three "Sacred Arrows" they would constantly carry into battle. Cheyenne lodges with buffalo meat drying, 1870 The Cheyenne are a Native American nation of the Great Plains. ...
In the late 1860s, the Dog Soldiers were crucial in Cheyenne resistance to American expansion. Led by war hero Roman Nose, the Dog Soldiers refused to sign treaties that limited their hunting grounds and restricted them to a reservation south of the Arkansas River. They attempted to hold their traditional lands at Smoky Hill, but the campaigns of General Philip Sheridan foiled these efforts; most notably, after the Battle of Beecher's Island, many Dog Soldiers were forced to retreat south of the Arkansas River. On November 27, 1868, many of these were slaughtered by Custer and his 7th Cavalry; in the spring of 1867, the remainder returned north with the intention of joining Red Cloud in Powder River country. They were attacked by General Eugene Carr, however, and instead began raiding settlements on Smoky Hill in revenge. Eventually, the Dog Soldiers fled west into Colorado, under the guidance of Chief Tall Bull. They were killed by a force composed of Pawnee mercenaries and American cavalry; almost everyone, including Tall Bull, died in the attack near Summit Springs, which the Cavalry launched in retaliation for the kidnapping of two women and their children in Kansas. When one of the kidnapped children, a baby, would not stop crying, a dog soldier snapped the boy's head against a rock, killing him.
For more information, consult Dee Brown's "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee".
DogSoldier Press was founded in October 1999 by me, John Pruit, as the vehicle under whose imprint to publish Santana, War Chief of the Mescalero Apache, a historical manuscript edited and made ready for publication by my father, A R Pruit.
Following their namesake’s model, dogsoldiers prepared for battle by tying one end of a 10-15 foot length of rawhide to one ankle and tying the other end to a stake which was driven in the ground.
DogSoldier Press was founded to focus the light of public attention on the accomplishments of people who by their actions have demonstrated that, live or die, they have chosen to take a stand and commit themselves to a greater good.
Stray dogs in Bosnia seem to have adopted the American soldiers, escorting troops through the streets of Srebrenica, checking out the alleys and protecting the Boys from unseen dangers.
It is a well-known tradition for the dogs to station themselves at the feet of the American soldiers, remaining ever-alert and growling or snapping at any suspicious approaching strangers.
"Tripod", the three-legged dog, not only remained grateful and faithful to the soldier to her dying day, but apparently she enlisted all of her offspring to carry on the tradition likewise.
Feeds |
Contact