Two Leggings facts for kids
Two Leggings, whose name in the Crow language was Issaatxalúash or Apitisée (meaning "Big (Whooping) Crane"), was an important Crow leader. He was a brave warrior, a war leader, and a leader of his local group within the River Crow Band. We don't know his exact birth date, but he was likely born between 1846 and 1851. He passed away on April 23, 1923.
A book called Two Leggings: The Making of a Crow Warrior by William Wildschut tells us a lot about his life. This book is a key source for understanding how Plains Indian people lived before they were moved to reservations.
A Crow Warrior's Life
Two Leggings lived in the Crow Nation and held the important rank of Pipe Holder. This role was similar to a military leader. During his time, the American bison (buffalo) were being hunted almost to extinction. This made life very competitive and dangerous for Plains Indians tribes.
War was a very serious and spiritual matter for these societies. It involved special ceremonies and spiritual help. Winning a battle depended on divine arrangements, special "war medicine," the bravery of the warrior, and their skills.
Because there was constant conflict on the Great Plains, dying in battle was a special honor. People who died young were sometimes thought to have weaker spiritual helpers. Warriors who lived to be old were believed to have very strong spiritual helpers. Two Leggings lived to be quite old.
Spirituality and Raids
Two Leggings led many raids before the Crow Nation was settled on a reservation. William Wildschut described him as a very humble person. Two Leggings openly shared stories of both his successes and his defeats during raids against his enemies.
In one of his first raids, he took a big risk by going into battle without any "War Medicine." This raid almost cost him his life. He lost his horse and blanket, and his Moccasins and clothes were torn. However, he managed to keep his gun and bow. Even though his spiritual helper might not have been considered very strong by others, he still had visions that his friends thought were powerful.
The Sacred Sun Dance
The Sun Dance is a very sacred event for Plains Indian cultures and other Native American groups. In the 1800s, as white settlers interacted more with Native peoples, practices like the Sun Dance were stopped. This was part of an effort to "civilize" Native Americans, and the Sun Dance was seen as too harsh. Because of this, not everything about the Sun Dance is fully known today.
Two Leggings took part in his first Sun Dance after two of his cousins were killed in a raid against the Cheyenne. His uncle, Shows His Face, was heartbroken by the loss of his sons. Shows His Face asked a friend, Puts Earth On Top Of His Head, to use his powerful Sun Dance Medicine Bundle.
Two Leggings was still grieving and did not help prepare for the ritual. However, once everything was ready, he decided to be one of the dancers in the ceremony. He participated in the difficult ritual. At one point, a skewer came loose, and he started to bleed a lot. He tried to dance again, but he was too tired to continue. He watched from the side, praying for his own vision.
The next morning, he was woken up and told about Shows His Face's powerful vision. When asked if he had received a vision, Two Leggings admitted he had not. An elder then kindly explained that after going through a Sun Dance, everyone would recognize him as a Man.
Family Life
Two Leggings married his wife, Ties Up Her Bundle, around 1880. This date comes from her testimony in 1924 during a hearing about who would inherit Two Leggings' money. They never had their own biological children.
However, they adopted Red Clay Woman, who was the daughter of his wife's sister. Later, they also adopted Red Clay Woman's son, Amos Two Leggings, who was also known as Sings to the Sweat Lodge.
