By Kyle Wright
Among the Plains tribes of Native Americans, the most decisive victory in battle was declared not when an Indian brave arrowed his enemy from horseback or tomahawked the scalp from his head, but when he counted coup.
Coup was counted when a warrior held his enemy’s life in his hands, and rather than snuffing it out chose to spare it, instead. Sparing a life wasn’t a show of mercy, though. Just the opposite, in fact. Counting coup was a masterclass in humiliation and intimidation. It allowed a warrior to not only assert his dominance, but to communicate to his enemy the true depth of his disdain.
So, understandably, the coup one counted was something of which to keep track. To that end, warriors carried coup sticks — simple, wooden clubs with notches cut into them or feathers tied to them, in order to number their victims. Not much subtlety there, I suppose, but it sure got the point across. Especially if you had words with a warrior who happened to be holding a coup stick. If the wooden club in his hand looked like a feather duster, you’d probably want to reconsider just how upset with him you really were.
One chief of the Crow Tribe actually went by the name of Plenty Coups. Talk about an alpha move. Born Chíilaphuchissaaleesh, or “Buffalo Bull Facing The Wind,” his grandfather predicted that he would one day become chief of the tribe and changed his birth name to Alaxchiiaahush, meaning “Many Achievements.” The English translation of that name is “Plenty Coups.” The boy lived up to both the name and his grandfather’s prophecy by becoming the last principal chief, a chief elected by other chiefs, of the Crow Tribe. More imposing than his name, though, it is rumored that Plenty Coups had as many as 100 feathers affixed to his coup stick.
The History of Counting Coup
Native Americans weren’t the only ones to count coup, though, and they may not have even been the first. Israel’s most famous king, David, once counted coup against Israel’s first king, Saul. Jealous of David’s popularity among the populace, Saul was actively hunting his successor when he stepped into a cave to relieve himself. Little did he know that his quarry was hiding further back in that very cave. When the king popped a squat, the future king snuck up behind him, cut off a corner of his robe, and then waited until Saul exited the cave to let him know that his life had been spared.
They may not have been the first to count coup, but Native Americans sure seem to have perfected the practice. The last war chief of the Crow tribe, Joseph Medicine Crow, served as a scout in the United States Army’s 103rd Infantry Division. Apparently, scouting work ran in the family, because Joseph’s step-grandfather served in the same capacity for General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Medicine Crow qualified for war chief status in the middle of World War II when he completed the four tasks necessary to earn the title. One, he led a successful war party. Two, he stole 50 horses from a Nazi SS camp, singing a traditional Crow honor song as he rode off into the sunset. Three, he disarmed a German soldier that had surprised him, and as you’ve probably already guessed, four, he counted coup.
Medicine Crow completed those four tasks, honoring both his oath to the United States Army and his heritage as a chief of the Crow Tribe. Under the military uniform he wore, he had two red stripes smeared onto each arm. An eagle feather, painted yellow and given to him by his tribe’s medicine man, was tucked into his helmet. There’s little doubt in my mind that after the war, it found a place of honor tied to the war chief’s coup stick.
