Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1886-11-19
IN. Y. Mail and Express. !

Fifth street station house. In 1870
be enlisted in the army and joined
General Clusters Seventh United
States cavalry in Kansas. He be-
came first sergeant in Company X
of that command and was with Gus
ter through all mis- Indian cam
paignS, including that against the
I Sioux led by Sitting Bull. Escap-
ing in many close and hot fights
with Indians it was reserved for
him to become a subject of hospital
treatment through chasing some
bows on Avenue a, where he slip
ned and fcN - front of street car,
was tramp'ed Upon by the horses
and had his leg crushed by the
cars wheels. Learning that Rolt
was in the frightiul massacre of the
/ Little Big Horn river, in June,
1876. where Custer and almost his
entire command were killed, a re-
porter called upon him to obtain
some account of his experience in
that terrible fight.
"Yes. | remember the fight dis
tiuctly," he said. "The massacre
took place on June 2jth and Goth.
| The command, which numbered
about GOO men, had been encamp.
ed in the Yellowstone valley at the
mouth of the Rosebud river. News
came in that Major Reno had dis.
covered the trail Of the Sioux band
we were ordered after, and General
Terry ordered our cavalry to follow
ii up the Rosebud. We heard that
the band were in one OF the forks
of the Little Big Horn, and Gener-
al Custer led us after them. We
had with us about fifty Indian
scouts from the Crow tribe. For
two days and nights we marched
on the trail, and from the signs
along the trail it was evident that
the Indians numbered between
1000 ard 5000. On the morning
of the 2Jth the scouts reported hav-
ING discovered the Sioux in the
valley of the Little Big Horn. We
were then twelve to sixteen miles
from them. General Custer called
council OF war and then sounded
boots and saddles and ordered us
to advance at once. When we got
within two miles Of the Indians the
command was halted and divided
into three parts. General Custer
took five companies, General Reno
three and General Benteen three.
General Reno was ordered to cross
the river and charge on the Indians
at once. General Benteen was to
attack their lett flank and General
Custer decided to 90 down the river
three miles, cross there, and at
tack the Indians from below. AS
he started off that was the last we
ever saw of our brave General, or
any of his five companies alive.
General Reno had not been en-
gagged fifteen minutes in his attack
before he was repulsed and com
PEELED to retreat. The Indians
were better armed and equipped
than we were and held their posi-
ton on level and open ground. |
was with General Benteen, and be.
fore we got around General Reno
had been beaten. We had ridden
up to the Indians in company or
der, but as quickly as We got in
range they opened a deadly fire.
We returned this and went forward
to within SIX hundred yards of
them, but then they came at us,
and az it was evident General Reno
had not been successful we had to
retreat across the river to join him.
The Indians were good shots and
the men dropped dead around me
in the charge very rapidly. OF
General Reno's men forty had been
killed in the charge. Our fear now
was for General Custer, but we
were surrounded and could neither
send him word nor help him. To
wards night the Indians made q
rush on us, which we repelled, bnt
we saw with horror that they car
ried with them the flags that Gen
eral Custer had carried. This made
us certain he had been met and de-
feated by them. The next day we
we're kept hemmed in the same
way, and it looked as if we were
done for. We were behind tenn
pOrary entrenchments. We had no
water or food and two days more
would certainly have made US give
up. But on the 27th General Ter
ry and the artillery arrived and the
Indians suddenly decamped. Then
the search for General Custer was
begun, for not a word had we heard
of him or his five companies.
"Three miles down the river we
| found them all--dead, ana cover
ing the ground for half a mile from
the rivers edge. Every man OF
them all lhad been killed except
one Indian scout, and he was found
so crazy that he could tell nothing.
AS near as we could make out after
| the Indians had defeated us, they
had sent a large force to intercept
General Custer, and had surround
ed him just after he had crossed the
river. That the fight had been a