News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-11-20

not reached until March 6, 1876. I found
them in a desperate condition, six hav.
ing been killed outright, eight wounded
and the whole company on the point OF
starvation. Sitting Bull her had a camp
of eighty lodges at the mouth of Little
Horn, nea where Fort Custer is now
located, but his great camp was on the
Tongue River, and l was assured that
it contained over IL, 600 souls. The
camp at Little Horn did not move,
although we passed within twenty miles
of it, nor did Sitting Bull bring any
force from Tongue River to oppose us.
He seemed to know as well as we did
why we had invaded his country, and
desired the success of u expedition
the taking away Of the white men from
the Indian country.
The Fort Pease adventures had been
closely besieged for over two months,
and at the time of our arrival not a man
could venture safely outside the gates of
the fort. Every ten days Sitting Bull
would detail 500 warriors to fight the
whites. When these were tired out, he
would send 500 fresh warriors to relieve
them. 1t was reported that he had 800
warriors at the mouth of Little Horn
and 1900 at Tongue River, all under his
command and ready to obey his orders
at a moments notice. From this it will
be seen how easily he could have defeated
our small force had he been SO minded;
but he did not then wish to fight any
more than he does now. When we got
near Pease's bottom on the Yellowstone,
he came over with a small body of war
riors and quietly looked on while we
took the adventurous white men out of
their rude fort and sent them up the val
ley to their homes in Montana. He fol-
lowed close behind us to see that we
were going off his lands, and seemed
perfectly satisfied to have us go away in
peace. That Sitting Bull fought the
whites and made much trouble afterward
was perfectly natural. In doing so he
only discharged his duty to his people
and did what any brave man would have
done in his place.
1t was in the winter of 1876 that the
Government determined to drive Sitting
Bull out of the Yellowstone valley and to
appropriate it to the use of our own peo-
pie. I had not yet arrived at my post,
when I heard that an expedition was tC
be made against Sitting Bull and wal
axe IL dlOh lhC
j did not believe it, but on approaching
Ellis earned that Gen. Gibbon was
already there with q column of infantry,
and had orders for me to turn back with
the cavalry and go at once to attack Sit
ting Bull and his people. After the
magnanimous conduct of the old chief, !
did not, of course, relish these orders,
but had no alternative but to obey them.
I Joined my column to Gen. Gibbons,
and under his command marched down
the Yellowstone valley over the very
route l had just come, never hating
until we arrived at Fort Pease, at the
mouth of the Big Horn River.
Sitting Bull was astonished, but not
surprised, for he was too wary a warrior
to be caught mapping. He hastily moved
his camp at the mouth of Little Big
Horn over to the Rosebud, and ultimate
ly consolidated with it the great camp
on Tongue River. He did not at first
seem to understand nj object in coming
back so suddenly into his country, and
merely watched our movements. 1t was
not until he heard that Custer was COM
ing from Lincoln and Crook from the
Platte that he fully realized the situation.
Then he knew that an effort was to be
made to deprive him and his people of
their country, and he hastily gathered
his forces for war. With true military
skill he determined to crush the con-
verging hostile columns in detail before
thew could unite and overwhelm him by
their numbers. Gibbon was first select
ed for assault, and Sitting Bull came to
the mouth of the Rosebud and waited
for him. Finding that he would not
cross the deep river with his whole force
Sitting Bull crossed a body of expert
warriors and began the attack on Glib
bon by killing three white soldiers. His
object was to draw Gen. Gibbon into a
general engagement before Gems. Crook
and Terry could come up and REINFORCE
him. But Gen. GIbbon was as wary as
he was brave, and. with the consummate
skill of a great military commander, baf
fled Sitting Bull and held him in his
camps until Crook was neal at hand.
Finding that he could do nothing
with Glbbon, Sitting Bull hastily
marched to the head of the Rosebud to
meet Crook, who was already coming
down that stream with a heavy force of
cavalry and infantry, and threatening to
enclose the Sioux between Gibbon and
himself. The battle of the 18th OF June,
1876, is so well remembered and its re-
! ca1> l2Is = tIas tie-t-h needs nc
he defeated Crook and gained the first
point in the campaign. However this
may be, Crook was checked and SO en-
numbered by wounded hat he was
obliged to fall back TO his camp on
Goose Creek to await re-enforcements.
It. was expected Sitting Bull would
return and attack Gibbon, but he saw a
war cloud rising in the east, and waited
for Custer. Custer was warned by Glib
bon not to be in too much haste to
attack the Sioux, and Gen. Terry had
planned the campaign SO as to have
Gibbon and Custer attack simultaneous
ly. But Custer, with his usual impetu-
osity, rushed away to the attack before
Gibbon could come up, and fought the
fatal battle of the 25th of June, 1876.
Sitting Bull had gained the second
point in the campaign and there was
now no force left for him to encounter
but Gen. Gibbons little column. Glib
bon, who had been very sick, was fol-
lowing the column on q steamboat and
was confined to his bed; but when he
heard that there was a probability of a
battle the gallant old soldier left his bed
and, mounting a horse, hurried forward
to the head of the columns. l had been
commanding the column in his absence,
and he now ordered us to push on with
all haste to Clusters battlefield.
Sitting Bull had seen enough of Glib
bon's tactics to convince him that he
bad in this general an entirely different
kind of man from Custer to cope with.
Without waiting for our arrival he aban-
doned his camp, leaving it standing, and
fled toward the Big Horn Mountains.
We soon found Clusters dead and Reno
closely beseiged on a hill near by. The
condition of Reno's command and
the burial of Clusters dead occupied the
attention of Gibbon for two days, and by
that time Sitting Bull was too far away
to be o~vertaken.
OF the subsequent campaigns againsi
J Sitting Bull, under General Miles, an6