reproduction of Charles Marion Russell's painting

The second half of the 19th century. In the vastness of the North American states in the midst of armed struggle squads of white and indigenous tribes of the Indians. Redskins, who did not know firearms yesterday, but who quickly mastered hard drives, colts and riding, all their old military secrets were almost completely transferred to new technical methods of warfare. White still many generations ago have ceased to treat their own weapons as a living creature, and to a fight - as the logical conclusion of a magical rite. Hence the numerous incomprehensible "white" pages in the history of this incomprehensible war. On the one hand, the federal troops easily coped with the Indians, especially when they were caught unawares by those ritualistic ceremonies, on the other hand - the Redskins became white simply out of favor when rites were completed in all respects. In the long run, as is known, in a long war blind power and American weapons won, but ... our attention is worthy just the soldiers of the Indians, because the probability of dying sometimes for the losing side was almost "one hundred percent", but many Indian heroes remained logically contrary to logic. Is it accidental?
1865 year. The Battle of the River Powder. More than a strange behavior in this battle of the chefs chief of the Roman Nose was subsequently described in detail by the Indian chronicler Wooden Leg. Of course, it is possible that some of the events are slightly embellished, nevertheless, when reading, there is a feeling that the leader still possessed the strength that not only confronts bullets, but also the elements: "In the battle ... he slowly passed on a horse in front of the formation of whites. The soldiers fired on it, but not a single bullet hit it. They either flew by, or bounced. He was wearing a sacred headdress, which possessed a powerful magical power ... "The Chronicler tried in his own way to answer the question of interest to us: why such a wonderful property? "He received magical power when we stood on Guz Creek, flowing into the river Tang in its upper reaches. Nearby there was a lake with sacred water. At dawn the Roman Nose undressed, made a raft of logs and went to the lake ... That night a storm began. The lightning flashed, and the thunder shook the whole earth. Friends of the Roman Nose feared that he would drown, and early in the morning two people went to see him. He was lying on a raft that peacefully swayed on the water ... On the fourth night the storm was terrible - such caven have never been seen. They were afraid for themselves, and for the young man who was on the raft. Hail broke our tipi and dispersed our herds. Everyone decided that the city would kill him to death. When the earth lit up in the morning light, two men climbed the hill to examine the surface of the water. The Roman Nose was lying on the raft and they helped him to descend on land. Not one hailstone touched his body, and not one drop touched him. "
June 25, 1876. Here is how the depiction of the 7th Cavalry Regiment of General John A. CASTER from Little Bighorn described the Sioux Indian named Iron Hawk: "There was a very brave Cheyenne with us. His head was decorated with a military headdress made of the feathers of a spotted eagle, a mottled cape of some animal's skin was worn on the shoulder, it was also fastened with a motley belt. He went alone to the hill, and we followed him in the distance. Along the ridge lined the soldiers, who dismounted and held their horses by the bridle. Cheyenne circled in front of them, approaching very close, - soldiers continuously fired at him. Then he returned to us with a cry: "Ah! Ah! "Someone asked:" Friend cheyenne, what's the matter? "In response, Cheyenne began to untie his mottled belt, and when he shook it, bullets poured from his belt. This perfectly built up warrior was guarded by the sacred power, because he was invulnerable to soldiers ... "
Exactly five months later, on November 25, 1876, the Cheyenne Indians led by the leader Dumb Knife hastily leave their camp under the blows of the 4th Cavalry Regiment under the command of Colonel Ronald S. Mackenzie and take refuge in a canyon by the river Powder. Throughout the daylight hours, the dismounted cavalry fired on the Indians almost at point blank range, however, for them, the Indians hid behind the rocks. But here one old Indian came out on an open hill and slowly lit up an extinct pipe. The American soldiers, who had lost hope of winning, were cheered up at the sight of such an excellent target, and ... a hail of bullets fell upon the old man. "Target" was supposed to be riddled in a few seconds, however the shots did not bring any visible result. Shots continued to rattle when the old man was joined by his fellow tribesman named Black Bird. After a while, a third Indian jumped out and deliberately attracted the attention of the third Indian, Long Jaw, who, having sustained "only" 4 volleys, hurried to retire. A third Indian knows that in his clothes, afterwards, many bullet holes were found, but it is not known whether there were hits in the first two, it was stated only that they smoked their tubes to the end and retired without even being wounded ...