The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1876-08-10
me- CUSTER CATASTROPHE

nTraTn1fH
IT,, ~ 5Fen.-,Bpnnts,g the GantIet for
Tgafsr.-Na4TatiUe Of a Scout.
Correspondence n. Y. Herald.
IN the way Of additional particulars Of
- Great Indian battle, send you the
,orv of a scout who was cut of from
Reno's command.
BISMARCK, D. T., July 7, 1876
George Herendon, a scout sent by Gener-
! n TePfv with General Clusters column,
,1otes the following as his experience in
ba recent battle. He was sent by Cen
roI Terry frsm the mouth of the Rose
md with General Clusters command, to
,srrv dispatches from Custer to Terry:
STORY OF THE SCOUT.
We left Rosebud on the I'D of June,
twelve o'clock; marched up the Rose
Nd about twelve miles and encamped
or the night. On the morning of the
o8d we broke camp at five o'clock, and
oootipued up the Rosebud until nine
o'clock. when we struck large lodge
NILE trail, about ten days old, and fol-
owed it along the Rosebud until toward
evening, when we went into camp on
sba trail. On the morning of the oath,
10 pulled out at FIVE o'clock and fol-
owed the trail five or six miles, when
40 met six Crow Indians scouts, who
had been sent out the night previous by
General Custer to look for the Indian
village. They said they had found
fresh pony tracks and that ten miles
ahead the trail was fresher. General
Custer had the officers call blown and
they assembled around him, but I did
not hear what he said to them. The
scouts were again sent ahead and moved
along at fast walk. We moved at one
o'clock, and while the officers were eat
ing the lunch, the scouts came back and
reported that they had found where
the village had been quite recently.
They moved again with fankers well out
TO watch the trail and see that it did not
divide. About four o'clock we came to
the place where the village had been ap-
parentIy only a few days before, and
went into camp two miles below the
forks of the Rosebud. The scouts again
pushed out to look for the village, and,
at eleven o'clock at night, Custer had
Everything packed up and followed the
scouts up the right hand fork of the
Rosebud.
THE VILLAGE DISCOVERED.
About daylight we went into camp,
made coffee, and soon after it was light
the scouts brought Custer word that
they had seen the village from the top of
"a divide that separates the Rosebud from
Little Horn river. We moved up the
creek until cutie near its head, and con-
Cealed ourselves in a raVine. It was
about three miles from the head of
the creek where we then were to
the top os the divide where the Indian
scouts said the village could be seen, and
after hiding his command, General Gus
ter, with few orderlies, galloped for
ward to look at the Indian camp. In
about an hour Custer returned and said
be could not see the Indian village, but
the scouts and half-breed guide, "Nuch
Bayer," said they could distinctly see it
some fifteen miles of. While General
Custer was looking for the Indian vii
iage, the scouts came in and reported
that he had been discovered, and that
news was then on its way to the village
that he was coming. Another scout said
Two Sioux war parties had stolen up and
seen the command; and, on looking in a
raVine near by, sure enough fresh pony
tracks were found. Custer had Officers
cal" blown, gave his orders and the
Command was put in fighting order,
The scouts were ordered forward and the
regiment moved at a walk. After going
about three miles the scouts reported
Indians ahead, and the command then
TOOK the trail, Our way lay down a
little creek, a branch of the Little Horn,
and after going some six miles We
discovered an Indian lodge ahead, and
Custer bore down on it at stiff trOt. In
coming to it we found ourselves in q
Feahly abandoned Indian camp, all the
lodges of which were gone except the
one we saw, and on entering it we found
1t Contained a 1ao1 TrJ;on From, Fbis