On October 27, 1867 500 Cheyenne Dog Soldiers stormed the treaty grounds at Medicine Lodge Creek in Kansas. An Ohio war correspondent reported their grand entrance. When they were within eye sight of the camp, they fired their rifles in the air. Their faces were covered with war paint and they gave war cries and rode into camp with their rifles and feathered lances held high. The war correspondent reported that these mighty 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." The Dog Soldiers were one of six military societies of the Cheyenne Nation. Dog Soldiers traditionally wore a sash that drug the ground behind them. In battle the Dog Soldiers took a sacred arrow, and drove it through the sash and into the ground. They were not to leave their post unless they were relieved by another Dog Soldier. Sautie or "Bat" as a youth took the name Hook Nose, as a warrior. The whites interpreted his name as Roman Nose. Roman Nose was possibly the greatest and most influential warrior during the Plains Wars of the 1960s. He was a member of the Cheyenne Crooked Lance Society but was recruited by the Dog Soldiers to lead in battle. Roman Nose was never a chief but his influence was so great that the United States Army would not accept any treaties with the Cheyenne without Roman Nose approval. Isaac Coates, General Winfield S. Hancock's surgeon, described Roman Nose,"...one of the finest specimens of his race. He is quite six feet, 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. And that, good people, is all I have time for today. If anyone is interested, I will take up these stories of glory at a later date.
