The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1879-07-18
DEATH.
Another Account of Clusters Dealh-Sh
and Killed by a Lad Of Fifteen.

Wood Mountain British Teri Correspond
ence of The Chicago Tribune.
Three OF four warriors corroborat,
each other in their description of Gus
ter's fate. He was cheering on his mel
and firing his pistol in the air-th,
cavalry signal to charge. From tn,
start he IA in advance of his com
mand, and, when he fell, he was be
tween the Indians and his flying squad.
IONS. While trying to restore some
kind OF order in his broken ranks a
stray shot killed a young buck not fol
from the generals position. The bucks
brother, a lad of 10 years of age, seized
the dead warriors gun, and taking de.
hberate aim, shot Custer dead, and the
battle was finished. My informants
describe Custer accurately, as they ga
him before and after the shot. They
knew him well; and there was great re-
joicing in the camp that night over the
death of the-terrible enemy. The boy
is still in the camp; and there is a deep
notch in his ''coup-stick' to represent
the taking off of one of the best Indian
fighters the plains ever knew. After
the battle they gathered round the re-
mains of 'Long HAIR" as they called
him, and loud and jubilant was the re-
QUEEN sang over the dead soldier.
In describing the battle, the more
aQnuainr0 nv rrtar1 na-to-I tlxaA fN,,
ter erred in dividing his force. They
are afraid of an army %'bunched,n as
they term arranged compactly; and they
claim ability to whip any army that
divides to attack them. They say they
saw another force not far off (presum-
ably Reno's command); but they say 1t
took no part in the action, and made a
movement toward the support of Long
Hair Then they criticise severely
the conduct Of the Seventh cavalry.
Little Knife tells me that as soon as
the soldiers struck the camp and the
battle opened, the Indians saw that
they had a inferior force to contend
with. The men were poor riders, and
were easily shaken from their horses.
In firing they were wild; and In retreat
ing they fired yer their shoulders kill
ing their comrades as they went. Their
horses and themselves appeared to be
unmanageable from the onset; and they
fell q prey to q steady fire of the In
dams, and careless and reckless shoot
ing among themselves. Some, who
were thrown from their horses, APP
preached the Indians with their hands
up; but but they were shot down re-
morselessly.
The only prisoner taken was captured
by Rain-in-the-Face, who said he had
stripes on his arm. This was probably
Corporal Ryan. He was bound hand
and foot with a ''shag-a-nappee" strip
ped buffalo hide), and left in a lodge.
There was a wild dance that night, and
flew young men, drunk with the excite
ment of the shin-dig, sought the lodge
and killed the poor fellow with a knife.
Last Sunday I paid the lodge of Lit
tle-Knife a visit, and doctored the
sprained foot of that gentleman; and,
while I was there, a woman belonging
to his family told me that she witness
ed Ryan's death.
HE cried hard and begged for his
life" said she: "but in their fury they
killed him."
There has been a tradition in the
Seventh cavalry ever since that fight,
to the effect that Ryan is still held cap
tive.in the camp of the Uncapapas; but
the old woman seems to play the bitter
~iconoclast in her weird description Of
the %corporal's death. The dame lost
her husband and a few other super
fuous members of her family in the
battle; but, when l saw her, she seemed
to think that Ryan's murder had amply
compensated for the loss she sustained.
Little-Knife has befriended her since
her widowhood, and has taken her into
his family and cared for her, and fed
her and her child.
By-the-by, this Little-Knife is con-
siderable of a savage. In his younger
days he was one of the most villainous
Indians on the plains, but he has brac-
ed up of late, and is now spoken of as
one of the best old men around Wood
mountain.
"Sitting Bull had very little to do
with the big battle, " said he to me on
Sunday. "He was on a butte (hilD on
the flank of the Indian camp. As the
soldiers fell off their horses or were
killed, he would send the young men
out to drive the horses into our camp.
Towards the close of the fight he was
In the camp, keeping it in order and
looking after the women and children"
"Who was the chief in command,
Little-knifep"
There was none. The head men
commanded the men under them, but
there was no general chief"
"How many men did the Indians
lose?"
The old man named each II and
courted them on his fingers. l can't
spell the name and l won't try to give
them.
"There were thirty-two Indians act
ually killed, " lie replied.
"How many soldiersp"
tgT oor " noe A rroot MANU-