day. After the trial, his face was painted with a black circle enclosing his forehead, chin, and cheeks; the internal area of the circle was yellow. This facial picture, together with his best suit, his shield, and his flute made from the wing bone of an eagle, became part of his war equipment for the rest of his life Great Sioux War of 1876–77 On the morning of March 17, 1876, Wooden Leg and a few hundred Northern Cheyenne and Oglala Sioux people were peacefully encamped along the banks of the frozen Powder River near present-day Moorhead, Montana. Around 9:05 am, U.S. soldiers under the command of Colonel Joseph J. Reynolds came charging into the sleeping village. Wooden Leg and other warriors were quick to act, moving the women and children out of harm's way, and slowing the soldiers' advance. Reynold's cavalrymen burned the village and the Cheyenne's winter food supply, and also captured about 700 of the Cheyenne's horses, but were forced to retreat to the south when the warriors counterattacked. This became known as the Battle of Powder River. The Cheyenne recaptured most of their horses from the soldiers the next morning, and suffered surprisingly few casualties, but in the words of one Cheyenne, were "rendered very poor." The men, women, and children walked three days to reach the Oglala Sioux village of Crazy Horse farther north on the Powder River, where they were given shelter and food. On the way, several of the Cheyenne froze to death. On June 17, 1876, Wooden Leg participated in the Battle of the Rosebud, against Brigadier General George Crook's force of 1,000 U.S. cavalrymen and infantrymen who were allied with 300 Crow and Shoshone warriors. Five of the six U.S. cavalry companies that had fought Wooden Leg's village exactly three months earlier on the Powder River were present at the Rosebud, but Colonel Reynolds had been court martialed and forced to resign, so was not present. The battle, which was a strategic Native American victory, contributed to Custer's subsequent defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, eight days later. On the morning of the June 25, 1876, while sleeping under a tree after a feasting night, Wooden Leg and his brother Yellow Hair were awakened by the cries of the old men claiming the arrival of U.S. soldiers. Wooden Leg ran to his tent. He quickly prepared himself for the