The President's Nose

At the left is a coup stick.






Counting coup, according to Wikipedia,

was a battle practice of Native Americans of the Great Plains. A nonviolent demonstration of bravery, it consisted of touching an enemy warrior, with the hand or with a coup stick, then running away unharmed. Risk of injury or death was involved, should the other warrior respond violently. The phrase "counting coup" can also refer to the recounting of stories about battle exploits.

A few years ago, I heard about a practice among current Native American men that allows them to prove their courage in these modern times. They rappel down Mt. Rushmore and pee on a president's nose.*


* I read this in a book, but I can't remember which one. Nor could I find anything about it on the Internet. Snopes.com hasn't listed it, so at least it isn't a well known urban myth. I do so hope it's true.