Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1879-07-17
CUSTER'S DEATH.
Particulars of the Fight Derived
from Indians who Participated.
Wood Mountain British Ter) Correspond.
ence of Chicago Tribune.

u
Wood Mountain British Ter.) Correspond
ence of Chicago Tribune.
Three or four warriors corroborate
each other in their description of Gus
ter's fate. He was cheering on his men
and firing his pistol in the air-the cav
airy signal to charge. From the start
in he was in advance Of his command,
and, when he fell, was between the In
dians and his flying squadrOns. While
trying to restore some kind of order in
his broken ranks, stray shot killed a
young buck not far from the Generals
position. The Bucks brother, lad of
Is years of age, seized the young war
riOr's gun, and, taking deliberate Sims
shot Custer dead, and the battle was fin
ished. My informants describe Custer
accurately, as they saw him before and
after the shot. They knew him well,
and there was great rejoicing in the
camp that night over the death of the
terrible enemy. The boy is still in the
camp; and there is deep notch in his
"coup-stick" to represent the taking off
of one the best Indian fighters the plains
ever knew. After the battle they gath
cred around the remains of "Long Hail" /"
as they called him, and loud and jubi-
liant was the requiem sang over the dead
soldier
In describing the battle, the more sa-
gaciOus warriors contend that Custer
erred in dividing his force. They are
afraid of an army "bunched," as they
term arranged compactly; and they
claim ability to whip any army which
divides to attack them. They say they
saw another force not far off (presuma-
bly, Reno's command); but they say it
took no part in the action, and never
made movement toward the support
of Long Hair" Then they criticise Sc
verely the conduct of the Seventh cav
airy. Little Knife tells me that, as soon
as the soldiers struck the camp and the
battle opened, the Indians saw they had
an inferior force to contend with. The
men were poor riders, and were easily
shaken from their horses. In firing
they were wild, and in retrea: ing they
fired over their shoulders, killing their
own comrades as they went. Their
horses and themselves appeared to be
mmanageable from the outset: and they
fell a prey to the steady fire of the Indi-
ans, and careless and reckless shooting
among themselves. Some were thrown
from their horses, approached the Indi-
ans with their hands up; but they were
shot remorselessly.
The only prisoner captured was taken
by Rain-in-the-face, who says he had
stripes on his arm. This was probably
Corporal Ryan. He was bound hand
and foot with "shag-a-nappee" strip
ped buffalo hide), and left in a lodge.
There was a wild dance that night, and
few young men, drunk with the ex-
citement of the shin-dig. sought the
lodge and killed the poor fellow with a
knife.
Last Sunday paid the lodge of Little
Knife visit, and dOctored the sprained
foot of that gentleman; and, while was
there, a woman belonging to his family
told me that she witnessed Ryan's death.
"He cried hard and begged for his life, |"
him."
There has been 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 few other superhuous
members of her family in the battle; but,
when l saw her, she feemed to think
that Ryan's murder had amply compen-
sated for the loss she sustained. Little
Knife has befriended her since her wild
OwhOod, and has taken her into his fam
lily and cared for her, and fed her and
her child.
By-the-by, this Little Knife is consid-
cradle of savage. In his younger days
he was one of the most villainous Indi-
ans on the plains, but he has braced up
of late, and is now spoken OF as one of
the best old men around Wood Noun
tain.
Sitting Bull had very little to do with
the big battle" said he to me, Sunday.
"He was on butte (hill) 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. Toward the close
of the fight he was in the camp, keeping
it in order, and looking after the wO-
men and children"
"Who was the Chief in command, Lit
tle-Kuife?"
"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 one and
counted them on his fingers. AS l can't
spell the names l won't try to give them.
"There were thirty-two Indians actu-
ally killed." he replied.
"How many soldiers?"
al can't say. A great many"
did your people get many trophies ?"
I'VE got 700 guns and pistols. We al
so got two horns [buglesl and flag
Almost every Unca-pa-pa 1 have seen
is armed with breech-loading needle
carbine captured at the fight. / can't
get any trace of the bugles; but the
standard was made upinto shirt for a
young buck,-the red and white stripes
running perpendicular, and the blue
field hanging over the taffrail.
"Were there any scalps taken, Little
Knife?"
mo, not one. Wescalped nobody; we
came away as fast as we could"
"How many soldiers did you kill2
"NOne. l never killed q white man in