These war shields measure more than three feet in diameter and are made from the thickest part of the buffalo hide, the hump. They are large enough to protect a man's entire body from the arrows of his enemies. Such shields were last used in the wars of the 1860s and 1870s.

Designs painted with the sacred Cheyenne colors offered protection from the enemy's weapons from arrows to bullets. The designs on these shields are similar to those used by Low Forehead, an almost mythical shield maker among the southern Cheyenne.

Low Forehead lived long ago when all the Cheyenne people were in the north. He received his shield designs through dreams or visions.

It is said that Low Forehead went to fast at Devils Tower because of its remarkable shape. In his vision, the rock opened. He went inside and found that the mountain was a large Sundance lodge with all kinds of shields hung around the sides. Dancers took down the shields and wore them during a dance. Low Forehead received some of his shield designs in this vision.

There were several other shield makers who, through traditional ways, bought the right to make copies of Low Forehead's shield designs. They were Two Thighs (or Two Buttes), Running Slow, and Red Wolf. Two Thighs and Running Slow were both killed in the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864.

---