Big Spotted Horse

Big Spotted Horse was a Pawnee warrior and raider who lived during the 19th century. He belonged to the Pitahawirata band or division of the Pawnee tribe.

The killing of Alights-on-the-Clouds In 1852, the Pawnee tribe, while engaged in the summer buffalo hunt, on the Solomon Fork in what is now Kansas were attacked by a band of Plains Indians. A Cheyenne warrior, Alights-on-the-Clouds (also known as Alight on the Cloud or Touching Cloud), who, unbeknownst to the Pawnee, was wearing a scalemail extending to his knees which effectively armored him from arrows and musket balls, gave chase to Big Spotted Horse, then a youth of 15 or 16. The youth fled but the warrior, intending to count coup on the boy before killing him, rode him down, approaching from the right. This gave him an advantage, as a right-handed person armed with a bow can usually only shoot effectively to the left. But Big Spotted Horse was left-handed, and as the warrior approached him, intending to count coup on him with a sheathed sword, Big Spotted Horse turned to the right and shot an arrow point blank at the Cheyenne warrior and pierced his eye.

Big Spotted Horse was not aware of the damage he had done, but there was a great shout by the Pawnee, and, fighting their way to the warrior's body they discovered he was wearing a leather coat armor covered with metal discs- scalemail. The loss of Alights-on-the-Clouds was very distressing to the Cheyenne who withdrew from the field and a cause of celebration for the Pawnee. They later made up a song about the deed and the unusual circumstances surrounding it to memorize the incident.

The exploit is attributed to Pawnee warrior Shield Chief (Carrying the Shield) by other sources.

The great horse raid Big Spotted Horse grew up to be a respected warrior and an expert horse thief. In 1869 he led a small party of Pawnee into a village of Cheyenne camped near the Arkansas River. They entered the village itself and untied the horses tied to the lodges, getting the best horses, then ran off the rest of the herd and set off for home with 600 horses. (One source states 150 horses).

Scouting for the U.S. Army Big Spotted Horse served at a time as scout for the U.S. Army. He made quite an impression of Officer Richard Henry Pratt, who described him as "a tall fine specimen of man who relished perilous service". While living in Oklahoma Big Spotted Horse served as scout during the Red River War in 1874.

Big Spotted Horse's last raid Big Spotted Horse never returned from his last horse raid into Texas.