Wooden leg

Wooden Leg
Kâhamâxéveóhtáhe
Personal details
Born	1858 In the Black Hills, near the Cheyenne River
Died	1940
Relations	Elder brothers: Strong Wind Blowing and Yellow Hair, younger brother: Twin), elder sister: Crooked Nose, younger sister: Fingers Woman).
Parents	Many Bullet Wounds (also called White Buffalo Shaking off the Dust) and Eagle Feather on the Forehead
Known for	Fought at the Battle of Little Bighorn; also known for walking long distances
Nickname(s)	Eats from His Hand

Wooden Leg (Cheyenne Kâhamâxéveóhtáhe) (1858–1940) 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 had three brothers (the two elder ones being Strong Wind Blowing and Yellow Hair, the younger one Twin) and two sisters (the elder one being Crooked Nose, the younger one Fingers Woman).

During his childhood, he was known as Eats from His Hand. Later, he inherited the name Wooden Leg from his uncle, a Crow adopted by the family of Eagle Feather on the Forehead. This young Crow 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. Only his nephew was able to follow him during his endless walks, so the friends of Eats from His Hand began calling him by his uncle's name in sport. Eventually, Eats from His Hand took his uncle's name as his own.

In his childhood and youth, he lived among his tribe, wandering in the land between the Black Hills and the Little Bighorn River. During this period, he lived like any other Indian of the Plains, spending his time hunting game and fighting against the enemy tribes, in particular Crow and Shoshone.

The first remarkable battle with the white men he saw was the Wagon Box Fight in 1866. Wooden Leg was too young to take part in the battle, but during the fight, his eldest brother Strong Wind Blowing died. So, in spite of the final victory of the Cheyenne, that was a mourning day for all his family. At 14, he was invited by Left Hand Shooter to become part of the warrior society of the Elkhorn Scrapers, one of the three warrior societies (the other being the group of the Crazy Dog and the group of the Fox) in which the men of the tribe were divided. At 17, he went on retreat to thank the Great Spirit. He spent four days closed in a tepee, meditating and contemplating, visited only once a day. After the trial, his face was painted with a black circle enclosing his forehead, chin, and cheeks; the internal area of the circle was yellow. This facial picture, together with his best suit, his shield, and his flute made from the wing bone of an eagle, became part of his war equipment for the rest of his life

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