The Other Magpie

Who is The Other Magpie?

The Other Magpie was a Crow woman who fought in the Battle of the Rosebud on the side of General Crook against the Sioux and Cheyenne. Pretty Shield, a Crow author and medicine woman, described her as being wild and attractive, but not having a man. She fought because her brother had recently been killed by the Sioux and she sought revenge against them. Most of the Crow carried rifles, but The Other Magpie carried only her belt knife and her coup stick. She counted coup on a Sioux warrior and eventually killed and scalped him. The scalp that she took was one of only eleven taken in the battle. Pretty Shield described her as having tied a feather on the end of her coup stick to symbolize her achievement. Later, she cut the scalp into pieces and gave them to the male warriors so they would have more scalps for the dance after the battle.