Medicine Tail Runaway

Bronze Ed. of 38 / ©2001

23"H x 30"L x 10"W (sold out)

$10,000

A reckless charge by the so-called Son Of The Morning Star has turned the heat of a lazy June afternoon into an explosion of Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapahoe warriors. His offensive quickly turns into a defensive as he realizes that sheer numbers and steep geography have turned against him. Mounted cavalry horses, the war machines of the age, wheel around in a mad retreat up Medicine Tail Coulee as they desperately make a run for higher ground. When they top the ridge the confused soldiers dismount and begin to form skirmish lines, some holding horses and others firing at the assault that is starting to engulf them. Crazy Horse, protected by the lightning bolts on his white face paint, races back and forth within easy range of the soldiers, blowing his eagle bone whistle as he invites bullets and death to dance with him. Rifles are quickly emptied but he remains untouched. With their bullets expended, the soldiers stop to reload but are quickly overrun by waves of warriors who surround them “like water around a stone.” Some horses are released, some rear up and escape, and some are shot where they stand to be used as shields against the onslaught that is coming their way. The living horses are captured, taken as spoils of war along with the clothes and weapons of the dead. One gray ghost, his color marking him as part of Custer’s E company, dodges the arrows, the bullets, and the hands that try to grab him. From his past, and off into legend, he runs.