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Rain in the Face

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The Resume

    (1835-September 15, 1905)
    Born in United States
    Hunkpapa Sioux war chief
    Member of the Lakota Tribal nation
    Also known as Amarazhu or Iromgaju
    Birth name was Ité Omáǧažu or Iromagaja (ite amaraju-lit)
    Influential American Indian leader in the Indian Military Conflicts of the latter half of the 19th Century
    First major battle was the Sioux victory against Captain William Fetterman's troops at Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, under Chief Red Cloud (December, 1866)
    Best known as a key factor in the defeat of George Armstrong Custer and the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment at the 1876 Battle of Little Big Horn
    Rumored to have fired the fatal shot which killed General George Custer during Little Bighorn
    Led his band in surrender in 1880 and was transferred to the Standing Rock Agency
    Died in his home at the Bullhead Station on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota after a lengthy illness in 1905

Why he might be annoying:

    He had seven wives.
    His name was a punch-line waiting to happen.
    His name was actually a mistranslation; more likely it either meant 'Face Raining' or 'His Face Is Like a Storm.'
    He allegedly got his name after a violent altercation with another boy at the age of 10.
    He was jailed after bragging about killing two 7th Cavalry Division scouts.
    Historians inaccurately claim that his mother was a Dakota with ties to a prominent Indian Chief, when she wasn't (likely confusing him with Chief Gall ).
    He was described as 'difficult to live with' (e.g. his last wife was found in his tepee with her throat cut; draw your own conclusions).
    He was regularly credited as 'the man who killed Custer' throughout his life, but historians highly doubt this story, instead asserting that the hectic nature of the skirmish made it impossible to tell for sure and concluding that the most likely culprit was Sitting Bull's nephew, White Bull.
    Popular legend also claims that he cut the heart out of General Custer's brother, Tom Custer, and spat in his face during the Battle of Little Bighorn, but historical record backs this claim up even less (denied by even Rain in the Face, himself).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was the subject of a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem.
    He never personally claimed to have killed General Custer.
    He was a primary suspect mainly due to his long-standing vendetta against the Custer family (Tom Custer was the arresting officer who sent him to prison).
    He was born with no tribal connections, working his way to Chiefdom from humble means.
    He was injured at the Battle of Little Bighorn and forever walked with a limp as a result.
    He was among the warriors who accompanied Sitting Bull when he fled to Canada.
    He turned down an opportunity to star in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show.
    He did, however, appear as a part of Buffalo Bill's Show, as a representative of the Indian Congress at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893, where he was a popular attraction (commemorative bills from the Exposition bear his portrait).
    Even if he didn't kill Custer, he was an invaluable part of the Sioux victory and was praised as 'the battle's bravest warrior' (he was allegedly the only Indian who took a Seventh Cavalry prisoner).
    Along with Gall, he has been largely overshadowed by better-known Sioux warriors (e.g. Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse) or other prominent Native American leaders (Geronimo, Chief Joseph), despite being heavily feared, celebrated, and vilified in their own time.
    He reportedly said near the end of his life, 'No one can say that Rain in the Face has broken the rules of the Great Father. I fought for my people and my country. When we were conquered I remained silent, as a warrior should. Rain in the Face was killed when he put down his weapons before the Great Father.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 78 Votes: 48.72% Annoying