Bloody Knife

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Bloody Knife

Bloody Knife (1840-25 June 1876) was a Native American scout with the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.

[edit] Life

Bloody Knife was born in 1840 to an Hunkpapa Sioux father and a Ree mother. He spent his first 16 years with his father, but was frequently taunted, beaten and abused for being a "half-breed". At age 16, he left the Sioux camp with his mother, but returned in 1860 to visit his father. Bloody Knife was still despised by the Sioux, and was almost killed during his visit. Chief Gall, a leader of the Hunkpapa, killed Bloody Knife's two brothers in 1862. Bloody Knife was married to She Owl in 1866.

In 1868, Bloody Knife enlisted as a scout in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 7th Cavalry. He quickly became George Armstrong Custer's favorite scout. He was insolent toward whites and ridiculed them. He often amused Custer by ridiculing his marksmanship. Custer never got angry Bloody Knife and often gave gifts to him.

In 1874, Bloody Knife guided the 7th through the Black Hills. He was with Custer in the Little Bighorn campaign and told Custer there were too many Indians to fight, a warning Custer ignored. Bloody Knife, in turn, ignored Custer's plea for him to stay out of the battle. Bloody Knife was assigned to Major Marcus Reno during the Battle of the Little Bighorn and was killed by a shot to the head as he was standing beside Reno in the battle. Reno was attempting to ask him what the Indians were doing when he was shot and his blood splattered Reno's face. Reno then lost his sense and barked out orders that did not make sense before fleeing. It has been speculated that Bloody Knife's blood splattering put Major Reno in a state of shock.

Bloody Knife was beheaded by the Sioux, who took the head to their camp.

She Owl received $91.66 in wages owed to Bloody Knife in 1881.