Yellow Nose Counts Coup at Little Big Horn

At the battle of Little Big Horn in 1876, a Ute/Southern Cheyenne brave named Yellow Nose was active in the fight on Calhoun Hill. As the defensive structure of the soldiers broke down, Yellow Nose managed to grab a cavalry guidon and count coup (touch an enemy) using the staff. As he did so, the soldier shot his trapdoor Springfield carbine. Amazingly, especially to Yellow Nose, neither horse nor rider was hit. This event was noted and retold among the Indians and brought great fame to Yellow Nose.
Later in his life Yellow Nose documented the moment in a piece of “ledger art”. This painting is based on that drawing. Yellow Nose’s clothing, the horse and its bucking, the buckskin dressed man and other details all come from the memory of Yellow Nose.