, 1876-07-15

hlootatnincd glove-,t had been worn by Yatcs.
And rloaa by wcra tho rlllcd clothes ot Porter
aiul Stnr,Is. 4 Inonioht i,ore md we were
nglcut With horror. Two hundred OF o,,r cayRt.
ryuen lay tha4l IN the ravus as,d ON tho bltlfls
III, tl,e right bank Of thu ryrr. Bradley ll..,t
gonu to the trout md counted tho,t,, and now
brought lii tho nova. Thu Cr.,w scu,lts Ind not
He'd to III. IT. was tic nwfn truth. Farcs
palctl, eyes poistcncd, teeth were act.
! T1iH itEscuB,
An advance was now ordered. At every stcp
We found tokens Of tho dreadful carnage. Hero
was bravo Mc1ntosh;. isrc lay Isaiah, our
ncgru scout; close BY Charley Reynolds, tho
chief scout, had hravely met hts fntc; and here,
CLOSE together, wero tic bodlcs Of our cavalry
'ncli md their horses. As wo wcrc suppiug on
these hosr'ss md asktng ourselves whether any
OIL, l,ad tccn lcft 70 describe the fate Of the
regiment, Lcnts Wallace and HAIL drew neur
aild informed ne that tho survivors OF seven
| companies nt,tlcr Reno a.ld Bontcon were In
end Of the ui,, o1l tho right baf,A OF tho r,vur
"Whcrc Is Custer I !, cricll dozcn voices.
llu left us Suiulay morning with i've COM
paniess, ai'd We have heard nothing from him
Our commander, with small escort, fordod
thc stream, mud scaling tho almost pcrpcnlicu.
lar bluffs Joined Rct'o's force. ltc was greeted
with cl'ycr ulon cllecr. Stoutl'carteh soldiers
whu ha!l mot !lincilcl iil tho luur ot peril now
weps like children, uni einllcs RETURNED to tho
wan faces Of tl.u Wounded mon. Tho 1nlltnt,s
lud rctrcated Wien they saw our 1ina of infantry
approaching. We had rescued these dcspairiuE
| nrNo's DEFEAT AND 1inscuH.
Nnw VIZ lBd tl1nu TO hear the story Of tho
battlS. Gen. Clusters rcgnont hal marched
y miles without leaving tie saddle Suddenly
miles long. II was Oh Sunday morning; Custer
could not whit, although tho ultls wcru I'VE to
onr lie ordctcd Bcntcen to mako .dctour TO
The left with three companies, and instructed
him to g1 as f.. fsr "a M he could into tho 11an
10 protect tic lacks. VIII Tic 's,iil sothef +
SIgh. .n,,.:tanSn eolnpae, :, h., h. pressed on As
hc divided l'is force. Rcno, with three conpa-
nlcs,-Frcnrh's, Moylnnd's, and McIntosti'e,
was directed to advance, ford Tho Little nig
l!os,, and enter the southern end Of tho yltlage.
Custer hI,nsclf with dye companies Yates,
Kcogll's, Tom Custer'e, Smiths, and Callloun's
-nl,irrhel around tho 6luils facing tho village
on The right bank Of ths strea'n. Ills plan II
battle was ysry simple, While 1Ano was nt-
would assault tllu Indians OIL the flank and Ia
tue rcur. It VIA sllrowl plan, but he overrat-
ID tho onslt'rallco q biz soldiers; they weru
faint al weary; they hal bccn in tho saddle
Rono advanced along t!he plain, meeting
with no opposition until ho reached little
grove. Here his llso WIS attacked. 1Io immedi.
Mtely deploycd hs sklrtnislers md distnountcd-
Tle horses wcro I'D into the wood al!d The clv-
pearcu In immense numbers. They attackcd
MIN hercely III front, MD at the sarne time turn-
s Ms ett k ;d d aud coulRsllcq is foce to r.
tn llordcs a,M drove tho iorco before them. to
the river. Tue bulls on the opposite side were
stcop md hlgl5 but tic water FL tho river wns
low. Tho Indians, Auehcd With success, rushed
upon QUE islen and n iat,d-to-lland conflict on
slod. Here McIntoah was shot. IIodgson was
shot midway III tho strcnn, and fell before hp
could rcat:ll the Opposfto bAl,k. DR.. Wolf & oss-
cd In safety, but WIS killed Oh tho bluffs, Tho
hcightss, With thu Indians IN hot pursuit. Death
seemed TO Btare every man In tic face, When
suddenly Benteon caine to tho rescue.
Bentccu with LIS thrco eempnllics had gono
g tho LEFT, according to Cuater's Instructions
lie soon became convinced that further progress
III tllut direction wills impossible aud lle turned
back to join the nl4in Ga!y, As he ncaretl tic
plaln ho rtSstycd Custer's lust orlcr-to hurry
approaching safely Under hicDvugal, hs resumed
Ills march, sutllunly hc caught Sight of KeIl<,'s
uien ruahEng ur tho hlu1fs with tho in1lans GU
all sides Of them. liz tlashel 70 tho right,
md saved Ills dcspnl1lng con,ruIns trou, death.
Tho Indians woro kept ut Day until night fell,
at1 then tho culllmaf1d began to intreHcl ITSELF
OIL th1 TOP Ol tut DlnfL
TNH DEATH or CUSTER.
Meanwhile where was Cuaterl ,lle had gone
aruu1d the bluffs Hnd Ind attempted tu ford tho
river ut tho northern end Ut The villalr. The
Indians xeFu 'nassel In Ills front anl on bis
tlanks Tic whole command disnountcd and
tnaao determined rcsistancc, whlci, checked
lnOnlc,ltarlly tho onset Of tho indians. Then
Custer ordered o retrent, Ills force dividing In
ordrr 10 tnkn advantage ot two rayines on tho
largu force on lba right MD closed tiu door Of
escape lii TINT direction. At tho cal Of tho uI-
nor rnvlno CAlhoun's cospany was apparently
THROWN out rs sklrlnlsers to defend the entrance.
Here their lnlies were found after tic hattlo;
the eklr.nial lines were clearly marked BY tho
rowK of tho sluin with hcapa oi empty cartridge
stells; Calhoun and Crlttel.dcn wore In their
pl,Sss-.In advance OF tue files; Thu Indians,
force OH, tho lcis, r,lslsyl up another rayinc
wlc!. led Into tile main ono, anil attacked
Keogh's company. 1has galant 1rsll officer
fcil snrroun.lcd by Ills soldiers; Rctreat .was
sas we're OIL tsn s ' hied av9 III ' On. tho y s0sfs a
1avIns bna bscn subjected - to az sceuso cscse
FRY: Tho l!ne Of retscat lid through deep
were Killed: They fought desperately, but tho
Indians had surrounded them, and there was no
cscnpe- ,Capt, stnith fought lils way to peak
where last stand was lna.lc. They must have
Yates, Lieut.. 4!ley, Capt. Smith, aid a iew
soltliors. :, Making ranparts Of their fnllen
huraos, they, fought to tho end. Here their
bodies we're found. Custer himself seemed to
he sleeping; his attitude was natural, Ills cy-
pryssion swect and scrci.c-
Theirs WIS only Ole surylvor--a Grow scout.
1lo crossed tfc rlver, dashe.l Into the village,
seized n horse, covered hilnaclf with HIuuI
bankctt aitl escaped: From hls account Il is
salo to estlnat8 tho force uf tho IndlA,is at
a,oNl Warriors, n,,d their loss lii battle at many
hundreds.
PLIGHT or TIln 1HnIANs
Dantcen and Reno strengthened their posltion
during tho night antl nwaltcd tho attack oi TIC
Ind!alla. It *as lnIc At s1aybrcals, aud wtls rc-
s.'mea ut intervals during tho day. In tho cvcn.
nR talhhonssa!umn Appeared III the distance, md
tllu lildans retreatcI III great hastu, ul,alouinr
tue village an.l large quantity Of provisions and
ammunition. Two days wrresi,cut by thp troops
on tho battlefield. Tho dead were buried, and
llEso lltters Wcro constructed for tho tr,l,spur-
tatlnn OF thu wounded IN tho supply steamer
The trooos wcre In no condition 10 follow tho
lWilans, alsa !! retreat WIS ordered to tho mouth
OF tho Blk Horn, after tht ammunition and
HtutG8 iii tho y5tln.,D 1lnti Ean,I ,1uat r,,v.hf