Roman Nose, Cheyenne

Roman Nose became a significant figure among the Cheyenne after the Sand Creek massacre and led retaliatory strikes against settlements ranging from central Wyoming and the Battle of Julesburg through Nebraska, eastern Colorado, and western Kansas (Collings, 1964).

General Winfield S. Hancock's surgeon, Isaac Coates, watched a verbal joust between Hancock and Roman Nose while outside Fort Larned in April 1867. Coates wrote in his journal; "of all the chiefs, Roman Nose attracted the most attention. He is one of the finest specimens, physically, of his race. He is quite six feet in height, finely formed with a large body and muscular limbs. His appearance, decidedly military, and on this occasion, particularly so, since he wore the uniform of a General in the Army. A seven-shooting Spencer carbine hung at the side of his saddle, four large Navy revolvers stuck in his belt, and a bow, already strung with arrows, were grasped in his left hand. Thus armed and mounted on a fine horse, he was a good representative of the God of War; and his manner showed plainly that he did not care whether we talked or fought” (Collins, 1964).

Roman Nose was against all treaties with the Federal Government, and after the signing of the Little Arkansas Treaty he moved south and assisted the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers along with Bull Bear and Grey Beard in defense of their ancestral hunting grounds along the Smoky Hill River and Republican River. He was killed in the Battle of Beecher Island while attempting to charge across the Arikaree River.