Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-08-21
THE DAY THAT CUSTER FELL.
Sitting Bull and Soldier Exchange
Reminiscences of the Eight

"Reminiscences of the Fight.
The real facts about the death of Gen.
Custer were brought out a day or two ago
in an interview in Boston between
Sitting Bull and sergeant John
Ryan of Newton, who fought un-
der Gen. Reno in the last battle
between Clusters regiment and the In
dams. When Sergeant Ryan was intro
duced to the chief, Sitting Bull showed a
disposition to talk, but presently Ryan
drew from his pocket blood spattered
cavalry guidon and asked Sitting Bull
whether he had ever seen a flag like that
before. The Indian showed a sudden
awakening of interest.
yes" he said.
when was it ?" asked Sergeant Ryan
when we had the fight and killed Gus
ter's men" said Sitting Bull through the
interpreter, 1--WE got q number of them
Where did you get it ?"
"On the second day of the fight"
answered Ryan, 81 saw an Indian riding
up and down in front of our lines display
! ing this flag. Another man and my self
who had long range rifles, fired at him re-
peatedly, and finally dropped him off his
horse. When night came | crawled out
and brought the flag in.
when we struck your trail" Ser
geant Ryan continued, land just before
the fight, we found four lodges with dead
Indians in them. Who were they ~
"They were Sioux Shawnee scouts
replied Sitting Bull, "killed by Gen.
Crooks command on the Rosebud on June
II. On the first days fight, do you recol-
lect an Indian mounted on black horse
who was armed with camp stick ian In
dian lance, and was cheering and urging
on his men ~
THAT was when you were trying to
break our skirmsh line, " said Ryan. The
chief was POO or 300 yards away, and fired
on him a number of times"
Sitting Bull with much merrment,
said "That was |. Soon after that,
went to the scene of the fight with Custer
and was not in the battle after that day
/ remember when two of your packed
males charged down to the water from
your camp on the bluff. They were load
ed with ammunition, and we used that
ammunition, rs well as what we got from
Custer. in the second days fight. When
| went to take charge of the battle at the
other end of the valley, where Custer
made his attack, left Crazy Horse in
command of my young men who were
fighting you and Reno"
WAS the fight going on when you got
there ?" asked Ryan.
con, yes we had them surrounded
at has been said that Rain-in-the- Face
asserted that he killed Custer. Did he
mo. There is no truth in it. SO many
were firing at Custer at the same
time that no one could tell whether he hit
him or not"
"You are telling the truth there" said
Ryan, 81 was in command of the detail
that buried Custer after Gen. Terry came
up. There were a number of bullets in
Clusters body, and he and IA newspaper
man named Kelly were the only ones
whose bodies had not been mutilated.
Who was it that crushed the head of
IN Mt W n
the prisoners 2"
II don't know about that" answered
Sitting Bull. 1.-The young men and
squaws had to do with that There were
1000 warriors, and there We're in the camp
from 5000 to 1000 women and children, and
the camp was four or five miles long, all
in the valley of the Little Big Horn"
''How many men did you have ~
''SiX hundred all told, of whom 2O7 were
killed with CUSTER
The two men exchanged many cam
paign "reminiscences. Ryan was in Clusters
regiment on the plains for ten years, and
often skirmished with Sitting Bull and
his tribe when they were on the war path