The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-11-22
Death of Custer.

Never realizing, as l believe the
fearful odds against him, believing
that he would find the village "on
the run," and that between himself
and Reno he could"double them up"
in short order, Custer had jauntily
trotted down to his death. 1t was a
long five mile ride from where he
sighted the northern end Of tho vii
lage to where he struck it's centre
around that bold point of bluff, and
from the start to the moment his
guidons whirled into view, and his
troopers came galloptng ''front in
line" down near the ford, he never
fairly saw the great village-never
dreamed of its depth and extent.
Rounding the bluff, he suddenly
found himself face to face with
thousands of the boldest and most
skillful warriors of the prairies. He
had hoped to charge at once into the
heart Of the village, to hear the
cheers ofReno's men from the south.
Instead he was greeted with a per-
feet fury Of fame and kissing lead
from the dense thicket of willow
and cottonwood, a fire that had to
be answered at once. Quickly he
dismounted his men and threw them
forward on the run, each fourth
man holding, cavalry fashion, the
horses of the other three. The line
seems to have swept in parallel very
nearly with the general course Of
the stream, but to no purpose. The
foe was ten to one in their front.
Boys and sGuaws were shooting
from the willows ("Oh, we had plen-
ty guns ~ said our story-tellers !;
and worse than that, hundreds Of
young warriors had mounted their
ponies and swarmed across the
stream below him, hundreds more
were following and circling all
about him. And then it was that
Custer, the hero Of a hundred dar-
ing charges, seems to have realized
that he must cut his way out.
"Mount !" rang the trumpets, and
leaving many poor fellow on the
ground, the troopers ran for their
horses. Instantly from lodge and
willow Ogalallas and Brules sprang
to horse and rushed TO the ford in
mad pursuit. Make for the
heights p must have been the order,
for. the first rush was eastward ;
then to the left, as they found their
progress barred. Then, as they
reached higher ground, all they
could see, circling, swooping, yell
ing like demons, and all the time
keeping up their furious fire, were
thousands of the mounted Sioux.
Hemmed in, cut off, dropping fast
from their saddles, Clusters men
saw that retreat was impossible.
They sprang to the ground, turned
their horses loose" said the Indi-
ans, and by that time half their
number had fallen. A skirmish
line was thrown out down the slope,
and there they dropped at five yards
interval ; there their comrades found
them two days after. Every instant
the foe rode closer and gained IN
numbers; every instant some poor
fellow bit the dust. At last, on a
mound that stands at the northern
end of a little ridge, Custer, with
Cook, Yates and gallant Brother
Tom," and some dozen soldiers, all
that were left by this time, gathered
in the last rally. They sold their
lives dearly, brave fellows that they
were; but they were as dozen to
the leaves of the forest at the end
of twenty minutes, and in less than
twenty fve-all was over.-Captain
Charles King in Harper's Weekly.