This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/11/2024
Chief Rain-in-the-Face, born Ite Omagazu, apocryphally earned his name after a fight with a Cheyenne boy where the blood looked like rain on his face. Chief Rain-in-the-Face first fought against the whites in the summer of 1866 when he participated in a raid against Fort Totten in what is now North Dakota, and in December 1866, he participated in the Fetterman Massacre near Fort Phil Kearny in present-day Wyoming. His first encounter with George Custer came during the Black Hills War, when he killed Dr. John Honsinger, Augustus Baliran, and Private John Ball, all of whom were attached to the 7th Cavalry as the senior veterinarian, sutler, and private, respectively. Rain-in-the-Face returned to the Standing Rock Reservation, where he lived until 1873, when a scout named Charley Reynolds visited the Standing Rock Agency and heard Rain-in-the-Face boasting about his participation in the ambush. When Reynolds reported what he had learned, General George Custer ordered Rain-in-the-Face arrested and dispatched his younger brother, Captain Thomas Custer, to take him into custody. Thomas Custer took Rain-in-the-Face to Fort Abraham Lincoln and incarcerated him; during this time, Rain-in-the-Face legendarily told Thomas Custer that he would kill him and eat his heart. Three months later, Rain-in-the-Face escaped and returned to the reservation, then fled to the Powder River country. In the spring of 1876, he joined Sitting Bull's band and traveled with him to the Little Big Horn River in early June. At Little Big Horn, Rain-in-the-Face allegedly was the one who cut Thomas Custer's heart out of his chest, took a bite, and spat out a piece of the heart, fulfilling his earlier threat, although other accounts indicate that Rain-in-the-Face did little to no fighting, as he was severely crippled by a lifetime of combat. Some contemporary accounts also claimed that the war chief had personally dispatched George Custer as well, but in the confused fighting, a number of similar claims have been attributed to other warriors. Late in his life, in a conversation with writer Charles Eastman, Rain-in-the-Face denied both the killing of George Custer and the mutilation of Tom Custer. After the Battle of Little Big Horn, Rain-in-the-Face joined other Hunkpapa as they fled north into Canada, spending the next several years in exile. He eventually surrendered in 1880 at Fort Keogh, Montana, alongside Spotted Eagle's band, and the following year was transferred to the Standing Rock Agency, Dakota Territory, where he later became a reservation police officer and lived the rest of his life. This rifle belonged to Rain-in-the-Face during his exile, and was likely procured for his own protection, as he and Sitting Bull had a disagreement of some kind, and Rain-in-the-Face went to Spotted Eagle’s camp, where he was tolerated but not welcome. The man who accepted his surrender was Eli L. Huggins, an American Brigadier General who served with distinction during the Indian Wars, earning the Medal of Honor at O’Fallons Creek, Montana, where he “surprised the Indians in their strong position and fought them until dark with great boldness”, per the citation. As he was so well regarded, during the closing of hostilities, Huggins was selected to parlay with Spotted Eagle and try to convince him and his band to return to the United States and settle on government-assigned reservations in exchange for clemency. A poor hunting season and dwindling supplies meant that Spotted Eagle did not reject the offer outright, and took some time to consider the offer, during which Huggins camped near Spotted Eagle, and met Rain-in-the-Face by chance when Rain-in-the-Face returned to camp. Huggins took the opportunity to speak with the Chief and shared with him some of the gifts of hardtack, sugar, and coffee that had been given to Spotted Eagle, as Spotted Eagle had distributed the gifts amongst his people, excluding Rain-in-the-Face. The gesture won Rain-in-the-Face’s confidence, and when the band departed for Fort Keogh, Rain-in-the-Face surrendered this Winchester to Huggins. Huggins recorded the interaction in several letters, included, writing that “…an old fashioned Winchester rifle which “Rain in the Face” surrendered to me more than four years after the affair that Custer was slain”. Another letter, dated 1925, records “The Winchester carbine, Model 1873, #14108, was the arm used by Rain In The Face, the famous Sioux warrior and reputed slayer of General Custer. This Sioux warrior surrendered to me in October 1880 in Montana. This carbine is now in the possession of Zeno Alexander.” and signed by Huggins. Zeno Alexander died in 1955, and a 1958 letter signed by his widow indicates that she tasked their son with selling the rifle, and he appears to have reached out to Joseph Kovatch, the known dealer, as there is some correspondence between the two. Other correspondence includes an unsigned and undated letter discussing this rifle, a reprint of the Pacific Northwest Quarterly, Vol. 39, No .1, 1948, which printed many of Huggins’s letters home, including a letter relating the interview with Rain-In-The-Face; a photo of Huggins with pencil notation on rear “Photo taken in 1892 when I was a Captain and ADC. Yours faithfully, E.L. Huggins, Zeno Alexander”; a D.F. Barry photo of Rain-in-the-Face with pencil notation on rear “Reputed slayer of Gen Custer Surrendered to me Sept. 1880 E.L.H.”; there is another word above "Custer" but appears to have been erased (perhaps a misspelling corrected?); a letter from Joseph Kovach saying that he could not offer an opinion on value without knowing the model or condition of the piece; and a Cody record search indicating the gun shipped on April 5th, 1877. The rifle is a Winchester 1873, first model, second type, with flush thumbprint dust cover. Blade front sight on magazine retaining band, two leaf rear sight, saddle ring and staple, and rifle buttplate with trap, vacant. CONDITION: Very good as plains used. Barrel is essentially a smooth mix of gunmetal grey and soft brown patina, with some bluing retained in deep recesses, such as in between barrels at forearm. Receiver commensurate, with some blue visible around plates and saddle ring, better retention on left side than right. Screws on underside of tang mangled. Stocks with markings and impressions throughout, some minor splinters missing along forearm, mostly to right side of nose. Mechanically fine, bore has strong rifling and some mild frosting. Paperwork good, but some letters are fraying at edges or age distressed, especially the unsigned letter which has darkened at edges, losing visibility, and is extremely fragile. A rifle like this with definitive ties to a decorated American soldier, one of the most famous Indian chiefs of all time, and the cessation of hostilities with the Sioux would be a prize on its own, but the recording of the gun by serial number by Huggins makes this perhaps one of the most important Indian related rifles to ever come to market!