The weekly messenger. [volume] (St. Martinsville [i.e. St. Martinville] La.) 1886-1948, 1890-12-20
MADE HIS HAIR GRAY.
THRILLING ACCOUNT OF THE
CUSTER MASSACRE.
An Eyewitness Forced to Remain
Thirty-six Hours in the Brush
Surrounded by jOr
RenO's Mistake.

|
A man who has travelled all over the
Northwestern country was discussing the
Custer massacre, and told the following
interesting story in connection with it:
81 was in Montana looking after some
cattle interests | had there in the fall of
/ 1877. This was little over year after
General Custer SO needlessly lost his life
and five companies of the gallant
Seventh Cavalry were swept away.
| While there | made the acquaint-
| ance of a young man well known in
| that country. His name was Jean Per
site, and he was generally and Familiarity
known as 'Frenchy. He was young
man, less than 80. but his hair was as
white as that of the oldest man that can
be found. | had frequently heard that
| it came from fright, or rather suspense,
| for he was as fearless man as ever | met /;
| but one day, when circumstances gave us
ride as companions of about twenty miles,
| | asked him how his hair became white:
that | had heard some about it, and
! would like to hear the entire story. He
said
well. | don't mind telling you the
story, though | seldom repeat it, as the
memories it calls up are the most painful
that can ever come to me. One wear ago
last June | was down in the Big Horn
country, where | had gone early in the
spring, along with fifteen companions.
who, like myself, had been raised here in
Montana. to enlist As a scout in the
United States army. The Indians had
been up to ali sorts of dcvitrv and scouts
were in demand. In that month passed
through just little bit more than bar
gained for, and great deal more than
| ever want to again. Hostile Indians
had been gathering on the railroad all
spring. and the department at Washing
ton had given orders to bring them in or
give them such terrible licking that
they would come in voluntarily. To that
end big campaign was organized.
"On June II was out scouting with a
party that discovered that Sitting Bull
had moved his headquarters from the
Rosebud over into the larger valley of
the Little Big Horn, the next stream to
the West. Their ponies had eaten all
the grass in the Rosebud which was the
cause of the change. AS soon as we re-
ported back to Terry he decided to send
Custer, the head of the cavalry, to
"scout the TRAIL Custer was willing
and ready and Immediately started on
the trail with the Seventh Cavalry. A bat
TALON of the Second Cavalry was offered
him. as was also a battery of two field
guns under Lieutenant Low. but Custer
wanted his own people that he knew and
had proved. He rode sixty miles in
do nd ,,.vb
and Sunday morning, the 25th, we trot-
ted in sight of a village in the valley Of
the Little Big Horn.
at was then that Custer divided his
forces. He kept five companies with
him and then divided six between Major
Reno and Captain Benteen, with the in
tention of partially surrounding the viii
lagc and attacking at different points.
was in the divisi, L. commanded by Custer
himself. We galloped ahead, every man
eager for the desperate fight we knew
was coming, but only when we came
around the bluff at the ford, about the
centre of the village, did we realize the
extent of it and the untold numbers that
were in waiting for us. Our Commander
! took in the situation at glance, and
and five others were ordered to attemp. to
make our way to Reno and urge hasty
attack on the lower end Of the village
Before we had hardly turned our
horses the firing began, and Indians lit
orally swarmed out of the brush. saw
my companions fall out of their saddles
in less time than can tell it. and fell,
too. but unhurt, and crawled into the
brush down on the east side of the
creek, across from the village, and in the
excitement l managed to get. without be-
| ing seen. where it was so thick that
wasn't discovered.
"From a gully up on the side of the
bluffs could plainly see the beginning
of the fight and the start to retreat to
higher grouni, but the end couldn't
see, although knew when 1t came and
what it meant, when l saw those red
devils returning from the slaughter. l
could hear firing down stream about the
same time, but as it was scattered and
soon over I didn't know but what Reno
ha suffered the same fate. The Indians
swarmed all over the bluff where l was
secrcted that day and the next morning,
and several times thought was dis
covered. was in that gully two nights
and one day. When Terry came up the
valley heard the buglc calls, and finally
becoming convinced that the Indians
had left crawled out, and when / got
with the command my hair was as you
now see it. When that fight began my
hair was as black As yours.
"Out of the fifteen of us that had en-
listed as scouts together, only three OF
them were left, and two of them were
with Reno. 1 thought that had about
enough and left the command immedi-
ately on getting back to Fort Keogh and