National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1884-08-18
ousrnns LAST RALLY.
A covairymnn's Reflections on Indian
Fighting, and How the seventh
Cavalry and Custer Met Death.
rra.-... n.

A CavaIrymn Reflections on Indian
Fighting, and How the seventh
Cavalry and Custer Met Death.
Pioneer Press.
A day or two ago reporter was sitting
in front OF Mulvany's painting, "Custor's
Last Rally" whom bronzed aud griE-
zlod cavolryman camo In and took chair
next him. For full fifteen minutes tho
soldiers consciousness held naught but
the painting, and when. in answer TO the
question, "How does IL strike your he
turned to tho qucrist, his eyes we're misty, |
and he gulped little before no regain ed |
his grip on voice which usually had |
nothing to complain of in forcefulne5s. |
ut strikes mo hard" said he, almost
roughly, no deeply was ho moved. II
wasn't there of course with q grim smilc1,
but l can como pretty near knowing how
those fellows felt Fear2 Not much.
| Do they look soared2 I'll swear the pic
ture IS truo to life. and those 18th fol-
lows looked just like that along thcir
carbine barrels and at the particular
red hound they'd picked to mako q 40
caliber hole in. Sec that corporal TO
! Clusters right aiming over his PROSTATE
horse and at that Sioux shaking his lance
yonder. He's struck tho position laid
down for 800 yard range, and Is sitting
on his spur. But he don't think Of that
triae. nor much about that bullet which
has just gone through his biceps. Hos
busy now getting even, and when he's
fired he'll take moro interest in how
many cartridges he has left than In his
wound or his chances Of living to use
those cartridges mp. Then, there's that
fellow kneeling behind Yates's body. Ho
don't seem to BIO nervous much, oh III
the particular Sioux he has his eye on
while no loads knows what's healthy,
he'll drop on tho other side Of his pony
and ride for the river, No, sir; their
time for being scared is passed. Sure
they'll die2 ......... ...,..
well, maybe not. It's awful hard to
convince d soldier used 70 fighting that
tho games up SO long as no las his gun
in his hand and ammunition in his belt.
OF course, they've got sense and know
it's u thousand to one against them. But
there's that one. IL may BIO Reno or
Terry, or something TO make little d.
version. Not likely they know what
horde of the Sioux devils there arc.
They've fought 'ena before, those lads,
and they savoy that Indians by riding
round through tho dust and smoke and
yelling like madmen eau moke hundred
seem like thousand warriors. For all
that, before those forty-pdd got on to that
knoll and mado breastworks of horse car
casses, thoro was many q farewell message
given with tho If you get through II,
old man. Some of them's wounded
likely most Of them havo boen hit, but
unless it's mortal, and even then some
times, men eau stand an awful lot OF
! blood-letting without lying down when
there's sacrifice fighting to be done. Once
. they get to work again, there's such ter
l riblo interest. Look ut Cook kneeling
9 there with n bloody handkerchief round
u his head and ono hand on tho ground TO
!. steady himself. Tll lay my life he'd
$ rather kill the brock clouted devil his
o revolver is pointed ut than to be sure
J, that Terry's whole command was just
4 beyond tho smoke back thorc He's like
the others. They're in killing humor.
0 Clusters face, you'll notice. Is the sad
Q dest in the posse. lie knows better than
T any one else that the jig's up, and ho feels
; the responsibility of other deaths on him.
a He feels deserted, too. and so terribly
h disappointed. hardly think it's likoly
a he monkeyed much with n saber. Maybe
n he held on to it mechanically though. lie
q was always fond of the weapon. I'm one
Z of those who believe that If the horses
z had been fresher and tho whole command
= armed with sabcrs. more'n half of them
: enough, though, they hoped they could
n win until IL was too late TO charge.
o There's always these Ifs" In every mas
J, sacre, or fair fight, for that matter, and
It though we can't help guessing, IL don't
n amount to anything. Those fellows are
u only about ten minutes for this worl d
D. You notice there isn't much ammunition
: left, but reckon every man saved one
W revolver cartridge for u5o at the closeB
o target possibie-himself Not likely many
o of them had to shoot themselves, but some
II did, and every individual one knew he'd
l. better do it than BIO taken alive, Lord
;, what thing IL would havo been
q TO have come through thai
d fight aud have escaped Al
't experience like that would be more won
L. derful than being buried alive aud un.
r, earthed before death came. IL rifles IN,
10 TO think those very Sioux, some of them
o arc eating United States grub now, shak
j. ing hands with white people and sayin;
How kolan when they meet = soldier.
10 suppose its. all right, though. They
IN were following the same instincts tina
:; tho whites have, and, probably. in no
IL blood. arc not any more ferocious thai
70 we are, only We play it different. Nv
seen the minute when could kill squa,
as l would skunk, and been ashamed q
IL afterwaru, which Is the diherenc
twixt me and an Indian" Tho cam
It. paigner had been sem soliloquiEin
id through the time of the talk, and as h
n. strobe to tho door he was still in thu
semi-syncope we call brown study"-h
= body in st. Paul aud his mind on tn
.aa plains, where tho howl Of tho hostile
~ heard no moro.