From Sand Creek to Summit Springs: Colorado's Indian Wars

With all war there is collateral damage. This is no more evident than during the Indian wars in Colorado. Mo-Chi, Twenty-Three Years Young, carefully walked among the dead bodies of her tribe, shaking with fear and horror. She found the body of her husband, Standing Bull, and pressed on through tears of grief. Finally, she found the body of her father. Her grief turned to anger. Mo-chi would become the first female Cheyenne warrior. Cheyenne oral history records Mo-chi's declaration for war: "This day, I vow revenge for the murder of my family and my people. This day, I declare war on veho - white man. This day I become a warrior and a warrior I will be forever." When an Indian grabbed Isabelle by the hair and drew out his knife, Laura Roper said she grabbed the knife and that the other Indians laughed. From then on she was called "brave squaw."