Rain in the Face was a prominent Hunkpapa Lakota chief and warrior during the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn, which saw the defeat of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his Seventh Cavalry Regiment. He was known for his courage and skill in combat. It was also believed he held a deep personal grudge against Custer, whom he accused of killing his brother and sister in an earlier conflict.
Some accounts suggest Rain in the Face was among the warriors who attacked Custer’s unit during the battle and may have delivered the fatal blow that killed Custer. This claim, however, is disputed by historians, and the exact circumstances of Custer’s death remain uncertain.
Rain in the Face eventually surrendered to U.S. troops and served a prison term. After his release, he became an advocate for Native American rights and a celebrated performer in Wild West shows, where he would recount his wartime experiences.
Before sharing his story, Rain in the Face described his younger self as a dangerous man. He said his heart was cruel when he was a warrior and hunter, and that men feared him while women were fond of him. He preferred combat to eating and claimed troops feared him, as did the Rees and Crows, who would check each morning to confirm their hair was still attached.
When asked about a time Captain Tom Custer defeated him, Rain in the Face scowled. He was a large man, standing 5’9” and weighing 195 pounds, while Captain Tom Custer was more slight of build. After careful thought, he gave his account of the event and continued on to tell the story of the Custer Massacre.
For many years, army officers and government agents tried to get Rain in the Face to speak about the battle, but he refused. They tried kindness, offers, and threats, but nothing worked. Rain in the Face was known as the killer of Custer, and the poet Longfellow even wrote verse about him. It was a shock when he finally shared his account.
Rain in the Face explained that two years before the major battle, Gaul and Sitting Bull set up camp at Standing Rock. Every Indian present was opposed to the government. They were Hunkpapa Sioux and feared nothing. The Yanktonais were friendly Indians who lingered near the agency, trying to get food and provisions.
He said they had a wonderful time in the hostile camp, dancing, racing, firing weapons, and playing games. They had plenty of buffalo and deer to eat and many ponies. He was well liked by the girls, who would provoke him to make him lose his temper. When he became angry, he wanted to fight.
One evening, a girl challenged him to go to Fort Lincoln and kill a white man. He told her it was too risky with soldiers on duty and scouts nearby. But she said a courageous man is not scared, and if he was a coward, she would ask another who was not afraid. That was a provocation he could not refuse.
He went to his lodge, painted his face black, and collected his gun, bow, and pony. He slipped out of camp under darkness and traveled to Fort Lincoln, 45 miles to the north. He waited two days for a chance to shoot a soldier. He wanted to bring back a soldier’s brass buttons to the girl who laughed at him.
He rushed up, shot the storekeeper, and hit the horse doctor with his war club. Then he shot them full of arrows and cut off some buttons. Long Hair, as Custer was known, heard the shot and charged back. Rain in the Face had no time to scalp the men he killed. He jumped on his pony and yelled at them to catch him. They chased him to the Cannonball River.
The next winter, he went to the agency store at Standing Rock. He did not get rations because he had not signed the peace treaty. The storekeeper, One Arm, was there. Soldiers piled on him, threw him in a wagon, and held him down until they got him to the guard room at Lincoln.
He was treated like a woman, not a chief. They put him in a room, chained him, and gave him only one blanket. Snow blew through the cracks all winter long. On one occasion, Little Hair, a name for Tom Custer, released him, and the soldiers instructed him to run. Rain in the Face understood they wanted to shoot him in the back.
He told Little Hair that he would break free, cut out his heart, and eat it. He was shackled to a white man, and one night they escaped. They were shot at but fled and hid on the bank of the Heart River. The white man sawed through the chains with a knife, but he was captured the next day. Rain in the Face got away.
He went back to Sitting Bull and Gaul, but they were too frightened to retrieve him. He sent Little Hair a picture of a bloody heart drawn on buffalo skin, so he would know Rain in the Face remembered his promise. He said that the next time he encountered Little Hair, he took his heart.
When asked about Tom Custer’s heart, Rain in the Face was shown a drawing of Custer’s final charge. He examined it and laughed. He said the image was false. The soldiers did not fight with sabers but with rifles and pistols. They fought on the ground with every fourth soldier holding the horses.
Rain in the Face said the Indians fastened themselves to their ponies and fought in a circular formation. They removed their clothes and painted their bodies and ponies. The image showed them with bows and arrows, but they had superior weapons. The soldiers’ rifles could only fire once, with cartridges jammed inside.
He said he saw dozens of firearms on the battlefield with shells still lodged in them. The soldiers’ weapons malfunctioned. When the Indians saw the guns were not working, they used war clubs to strike the soldiers down. It was simple, like slaughtering sheep. Some soldiers pleaded for their lives, but no quarter was given.
Rain in the Face sketched the battlefield. He drew a sideways S shape for the Little Bighorn River. The lodges were along the banks, arranged like a curved bow. There were many lodges, as numerous as blades of grass. There were approximately four to six thousand Indians, meaning at least a thousand lodges.
Sitting Bull performed powerful magic on a hill. He brought it back in a pouch on a coup stick and delivered a great speech. He said the Great Spirit had told him the soldiers were approaching, but they would overcome them. The speech made the warriors joyful.
The following day, scouts reported the soldiers were coming. Sitting Bull had the women construct empty lodges to deceive the scouts. The brush and the river’s curve concealed the real lodges. Then Sitting Bull departed to perform more medicine and did not return until the battle was over. He was a great leader but did not participate in the fighting that day.
Gaul was the principal war chief. Crazy Horse commanded the Cheyennes. Goose led the Banaks. Rain in the Face was not a head chief, but he guided a group of fierce Hunkpapas. They knew the soldiers’ horses were exhausted, and the soldiers were deceived by the vacant lodges. They believed the Indians were only a small party.
The Indians were prepared and fought courageously. They knew the soldiers had erred when they divided their forces. Gaul led most of the Indians up the river to block their path. When they saw the scouts had remained behind with Long Hair, they were pleased.
They allowed the soldiers to come over the bluffs, and some young warriors isolated them from the rear. Then they revealed their line, and the soldiers attacked. The soldiers retreated under gunfire, and the young men behind them began to shoot. Rain in the Face said he saw officers conversing and gesturing, but they all looked similar. He did not see Long Hair at that time or afterward.
The soldiers got off their horses, and every fourth soldier held the others’ mounts. The Indians tightened the circle around them, surging forward like an ocean wave upon the shore. They shot the horse holders and spooked the ponies by shaking blankets. The women captured the weary animals.
Rain in the Face said he had sung the war song and breathed the gun smoke. His heart was vicious. He was like a man who had lost his mind. He charged in, seized the flag, and his pony was killed beneath him. He cut the strap, leaped up, and struck the flag bearer with his war club. He ran back to his line carrying the flag.
He was filled with pride. He had performed a courageous act. The warriors shouted in approval, and the fighting continued. The soldiers’ blood and brains splattered on his face, feeling hot and tasting bitter. He was consumed by fury, so he found a fresh pony and charged back in, shooting, cutting, and slashing.
This pony was also shot, so he acquired another. It was then that he saw Little Hair and recalled his promise. He was in a frenzy, afraid of nothing, certain his white weasel tail charm would keep him safe. He did not know how many he killed while trying to reach him.
Little Hair knew who he was, and Rain in the Face laughed and screamed at him. He saw Little Hair’s lips forming words, but the din was too great to hear his voice. Little Hair was terrified. When Rain in the Face was near enough, he shot him with his revolver. His gun was lost.
He leaped from his pony, cut out Little Hair’s heart, bit a piece from it, and spat it into his face. Then he rode away, waving it about. He was content and weary from the battle, so he did not take his scalp. He had kept his promise, and that was the only thing of importance.
He did not go back to the battleground after that. The women arrived later to finish the wounded, taking their possessions and cutting off their boots for the hide. They even severed fingers to remove rings more quickly. They looked for Long Hair’s scalp but could not identify him, as he wore no officer’s coat and had shortened his hair.
That evening, a celebration was held with a feast and a scalp dance. Sitting Bull addressed everyone, saying his magic had given them courage. He claimed responsibility for the victory. But Gaul contested this, arguing that they were the ones who fought. This created friction between them.
Rain in the Face said they might have destroyed the remaining soldiers on the hill, but the argument between Gaul and Sitting Bull prevented it. Both wished to be the sole leader, and various Indians supported each one. Rain in the Face was unconcerned. He commanded his own band and followed neither. He had grown tired of fighting and wished only to dance.
They received word that more soldiers were approaching with large cannons, so they traveled north. The soldiers pursued them until they crossed the border. Rain in the Face remained there until Sitting Bull came back, and he returned alongside him. He was happy to be home.
When asked who killed Long Hair if he did not, Rain in the Face answered, “I do not know. Nobody knows.” It was similar to battling in the darkness. When asked why Long Hair was not scalped like the rest, he said no one is too courageous to be scalped. The women were puzzled why they could not locate him. He must have been concealed beneath other corpses.
Rain in the Face was approximately 60 years old at the time of his account and was the sole surviving chief who could tell the story of the Custer engagement. He could sign his name in English but did not understand its meaning. His knowledge of English words was small, but he could grasp most of what was spoken to him.
He was courageous but had poor ethics. However, he was a man of his word, though it required immense patience to secure a commitment from him. Even at 60, he remained powerful and physically impressive, looking much like the perfect Indian from Fenimore Cooper’s stories. His understanding of English was limited to around 30 terms, but he could comprehend nearly everything said in English. His one good quality was that any commitment he gave could be relied upon, but it took a great deal of patience to get him to agree to anything.