A mistake could kill the entire group.

Medicine Crow had to read the terrain, control the pace, keep the men together, and choose a path that gave them a chance of returning.

They made it through.

After reaching friendly lines, the group obtained ammunition and returned to the isolated soldiers.

Other accounts of Medicine Crow’s wartime leadership describe him leading men in an attack that destroyed German artillery.

The precise episodes have been retold in different forms over the decades, but the Crow elders who later evaluated his record regarded his wartime leadership as fulfilling the traditional requirement of successfully leading a war party.

The importance of that deed is easy to miss if one focuses only on the dramatic horse theft.

Stealing a horse makes an unforgettable story.

Leading people safely through danger reveals something deeper.

Leadership in war is responsibility for lives other than one’s own.