Warbonnet Creek: Buffalo Bill’s Bloody Encore After Custer’s Last Stand
The summer of 1876 was a crucible for the American West, a season etched in blood and the dust of expansion. Just weeks after the shocking annihilation of Custer’s command at the Little Bighorn, a nation reeled, demanding retribution. It was against this backdrop of national grief and vengeful fury that a minor skirmish in the Nebraska Panhandle would vault a flamboyant scout into an enduring legend, forever intertwining his name with the brutal realities of the Indian Wars: William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody at Warbonnet Creek.
Far from being a pivotal battle in the grand scheme of the Great Sioux War, the engagement on July 17, 1876, near Warbonnet Creek (also known as Indian Creek) was a brief, almost theatrical, encounter. Yet, its immediate aftermath and subsequent mythologizing cemented Buffalo Bill’s image as the quintessential frontier hero, a figure who could single-handedly avenge the fallen and tame the wild. It was a moment of calculated showmanship and raw violence, played out on the vast, unforgiving stage of the High Plains.
The Shadow of Little Bighorn
The defeat of George Armstrong Custer and five companies of the 7th Cavalry on June 25, 1876, sent shockwaves across the United States. Public outcry was immense, demanding swift and decisive action against the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors who had inflicted such a humiliating blow. General Philip Sheridan, commander of the Division of the Missouri, immediately ordered punitive expeditions. One such force was the Fifth Cavalry, under the command of Brigadier General Wesley Merritt, a seasoned veteran of the Civil War.
Merritt’s orders were clear: intercept and prevent any Lakota or Cheyenne bands from moving south from the agencies in Dakota Territory to join Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse’s victorious forces. Intelligence suggested that a large party of Cheyenne warriors, numbering between 800 and 1,000, were planning to slip past the military cordon. This was the critical mission that brought Buffalo Bill Cody back into the field.
Cody, already a celebrity from his dime novel exploits and stage performances as "The King of the Border Men," had been temporarily relieved from his duties as chief of scouts for the Fifth Cavalry to perform in his popular play, "Scouts of the Prairies." Upon hearing the news of Custer’s defeat, he immediately offered his services to General Merritt, declaring his intention to avenge his fallen comrades. Merritt, recognizing Cody’s exceptional scouting abilities and his potential as a morale booster, readily accepted. Cody rode out to rejoin the Fifth Cavalry on July 3, still wearing his theatrical costume – a black velvet Mexican vaquero suit, adorned with silver buttons and braid – a detail that would only add to the dramatic flair of the coming encounter.
Merritt’s Gambit and Cody’s Keen Eye
General Merritt was a shrewd tactician. Anticipating the Cheyenne’s likely route, he embarked on a daring flank march with his 300 troopers of the Fifth Cavalry. His goal was to position his command to ambush the approaching warriors, who were believed to be moving towards the agencies on the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Reservations to recruit more fighters or gather supplies.
The days leading up to July 17 were a grueling test of endurance. The cavalry pushed hard across the dusty, sun-baked plains of western Nebraska. Cody, with his renowned tracking skills, was instrumental in scouting ahead, his keen eyes scanning the horizon for any sign of movement. His experience navigating the vast expanses of the frontier, understanding the subtle signs of animal and human passage, made him an invaluable asset.
On the morning of July 17, Cody, accompanied by a few other scouts, was riding ahead of the main column. They had been moving cautiously, aware that they were in hostile territory. As they approached the bluffs overlooking Warbonnet Creek, Cody spotted something: a small party of warriors. Initial reports and later sensationalized accounts would inflate this to a massive war party, but in reality, it was a group of seven or eight Cheyenne warriors, riding ahead of their main body, likely on a hunting or scouting mission of their own.
These warriors, unaware of the lurking danger, were riding towards the creek. Cody immediately recognized the opportunity. He signaled back to Merritt, who had already begun to deploy his troops in a hidden position behind the bluffs, hoping to spring a trap on the larger, anticipated Cheyenne force.
The Duel at Warbonnet Creek
What followed was a brief but intensely dramatic confrontation. Cody, spotting the warriors, quickly moved to intercept them. Accounts differ slightly on the exact sequence of events, but the core narrative remains consistent. Cody, riding his horse "Buckskin Joe," spurred forward, leading the charge.
As the small group of Cheyenne warriors came into view, one in particular caught Cody’s eye. He was a striking figure, adorned with a magnificent warbonnet and a scalp belt. This warrior was identified as Yellow Hair (often mistranslated as Yellow Hand, or Hand-for-Hair), a sub-chief of the Cheyenne.
Cody later recounted the scene in vivid detail, portraying it as a direct challenge: "I singled out a finely dressed warrior who was riding a splendid horse and who seemed to be the leader of the party." According to Cody, Yellow Hair also singled him out, galloping towards him.
The two men met in a dramatic, head-on charge. Cody fired his Winchester rifle, hitting Yellow Hair’s horse, causing it to stumble. As Yellow Hair dismounted, Cody drew his Colt revolver. Yellow Hair returned fire with his own rifle, the bullet narrowly missing Cody’s head and tearing his hat. Cody, in turn, fired his revolver, striking Yellow Hair in the leg.
Both men then drew knives. Cody, a master of close-quarters combat from his days as a buffalo hunter and scout, lunged. A brief, brutal struggle ensued. Cody managed to overpower Yellow Hair, plunging his knife into the warrior’s chest.
It was in this moment that the legendary phrase was born. Standing over the fallen Cheyenne, Cody, in a gesture that was both an act of vengeance and a shrewd piece of self-promotion, raised his bloody knife and Yellow Hair’s warbonnet, reportedly exclaiming, "First Scalp for Custer!"
The rest of the Cheyenne party, realizing they had ridden into an ambush and outnumbered by the suddenly revealed cavalry, quickly dispersed. The entire engagement lasted only a few minutes. Merritt’s main force, though deployed, had little opportunity to engage beyond a few scattered shots at the fleeing warriors.
A Gruesome Trophy and a Growing Legend
The aftermath was stark. Cody, true to his word, scalped Yellow Hair. It was a gruesome practice, common on both sides during the Indian Wars, but Cody’s act was immediately seized upon and immortalized. He then took Yellow Hair’s warbonnet, shield, and scalp belt as trophies. These items would soon become centerpieces in his stage performances, tangible proof of his heroic deed.
News of the skirmish, embellished and amplified, quickly spread. In the prevailing atmosphere of national mourning and thirst for revenge, Cody’s "First Scalp for Custer" resonated deeply. It provided a much-needed morale boost, a symbol that the tide was turning, that the US Army and its frontier heroes could strike back.
The military importance of the Warbonnet Creek engagement was relatively minor. Merritt’s force had successfully prevented the small group of Cheyenne from linking up with the larger forces of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. However, the larger Cheyenne contingent that Merritt had initially hoped to intercept had, in fact, already bypassed his position, moving north without detection. So, while Cody’s action was heroic, it didn’t significantly alter the strategic landscape of the Great Sioux War.
Its true impact lay in the realm of public perception and the shaping of American mythology. Cody, already a popular figure, was now elevated to an even higher plane. He was the embodiment of righteous vengeance, the daring frontiersman who personally avenged the nation’s fallen hero. Within days, he was back on stage, incorporating the story of his duel with Yellow Hair into his play, even reportedly using the actual warbonnet and scalp as props.
Myth, Memory, and Morality
The Battle of Warbonnet Creek, though a small engagement, became a cornerstone of Buffalo Bill’s legend. It was reenacted countless times in his Wild West Show, always with Cody himself playing the hero, ensuring its place in the popular imagination. The image of Cody, the lone frontiersman, battling a fearsome "Indian chief" became iconic, shaping perceptions of the American West for generations.
However, like many episodes from the Indian Wars, the Warbonnet Creek skirmish is viewed through a more critical lens today. Historians have debated the exact details, the size of the warrior party, and even the identity and status of Yellow Hair. Some accounts suggest Yellow Hair was not a prominent chief but a young warrior. The act of scalping, though common, is now seen as a stark reminder of the brutality and dehumanization inherent in the conflict.
The story also highlights the stark imbalance in how history is often recorded. While Cody’s perspective is extensively documented through his own writings and contemporary accounts, the voices and experiences of the Cheyenne warriors involved remain largely unheard. Their motivations, their fears, their understanding of the encounter, are lost to time, overshadowed by the dominant narrative of the white frontier hero.
An Enduring Legacy
Warbonnet Creek stands as more than just a footnote in military history. It is a powerful illustration of how events on the frontier were not merely battles for territory but also battles for narrative, for public opinion, and for the very soul of a nation. It showcases the intertwining of reality and spectacle, a blend that Buffalo Bill Cody mastered like no other.
The dusty bluffs of Warbonnet Creek, Nebraska, may seem unremarkable today, but they bear witness to a moment when a nation’s grief and a showman’s ambition converged. It was there, in the shadow of Little Bighorn, that Buffalo Bill Cody, clad in his theatrical costume, struck a blow that echoed far beyond the quiet creek bed, forever cementing his place as an icon of the American West, a complex figure who embodied both the courage and the contradictions of a turbulent era. The "First Scalp for Custer" was more than just a trophy; it was the birth of a legend, forged in blood and burnished by the relentless machinery of American myth-making.
