Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1876-08-11

shes the following letter, which was re-
ceived by Mr.. Mannion, of that city, from
his son James, who was an eyewitness of
the Custer massacre.
MOUTH OF POWDER RIVER,
BIG HORN AND YELLowsToN ExPEDI-
| TIoN July 8.
! DEAR FATHER: We left camp on the
18th of last month, and started for the
| Big Horn River, $50 miles north of here
We were fourteen days on the march
thither, where we Joined Terry and Gus
ter and marched north on this bank of
| the Big Horn. Striking the Little Big
Horn, we followed well-marked trail
along its banks, and on Saturday morning,
June "a, we came in sight of an Indian
village with about 300 tents, and fight
| ing force of 5000 warriors. Maj. Reno,
in whose command | am, commanded the
| left flank and Custer the right, and the
| fight commenced by Reno's charging into
the Indian village, fighting on foot, hav-
ing tied the horses in grove short way
off. While the fight was going on, Gen.
Custer reached the other side of the vii
lage, and attacked it. Gen Custer and
his five companies took position on "a ridge
in tile center of the Indian camp, cut off
| from access to water, and there fought
desperately all day long, conspicuous
mark for the savage marksmen all around
them.
At last, when half his command had
been killed, he called on those that re-
Fnfdngh tt1tnlleW him. and dashed boldly
the gauntlet of at least 9, 600 rifles for the
whole distance His men did not follow
him, and when he got through he found
himself alone with single Crow Indian,
one of his scouts. He would not leave
his men to perish alone, and turned to go
back, but the Crow recognizing that such
a movement would be fatal, grabbed his
horse and implored him not to go back.
Custer only laughed and, putting the
reins of his horse between his teeth, with
a revolver in each hand, he gave a wild
cheer, and dashed back through the hell
of smoke and flying bullets. As if by Il
miracle he reached the remnant of his
command, which was now reduced to for
| ty men. Calling on these survivors again
| to follow him, which the example and
success of his former charge disposed
them to do, he led them from their place
of peril over the path of his solitary
| charge.
That was the last seen of them until the
battle was over, when the whole party,
with Custer in their midst, were found
stark and dead within circular rampant
| formed by their horses bodies. They
had evidently at the last moment made up
their minds to sell their lives dearly, shot
their horses, and then raising them as
breastworks, fought on with the vigor of
despair until the last man was dead. What
| they suffered and what they did within
the fatal circle will ever remain locked in
mystery. OF all Custers men only the
Crow scout above mentioned and a ser
geant of Company | escaped.
From the descriptions in the papers
you cannot imagine the horror of the
scene after the battle. | went over it
with the artist as the dead lay in heaps
where they fell, and shall ever remem-
ber it. Gen. Custer was found with all
his clothes upon him, but his two broth
ers were terribly mutilated When the
fight was in progress the Indian squaws
would rush in among the wounded sol
diers and beat out their brains with clubs.
A remarkable story is told of the fear
full scene at the death of Charles Rey-
nolds, Custer's chief scout and the best
shot on the Missouri River. He was shot
off the back of his horse, and in falling
caught the horse and killed him, and
making breastwork of the beasts body,
he commenced a terrible slaughter of the
Indians. He lay behind his horse, dying
and still shooting, and every shot he fired
his deadly aim sent II savage to the dust.
When he was taken off the field after the
fight twenty two dead Indians were found
around him.