The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1890-05-18

heir belts, and hen sought their horses
their saddlc-pockets.
As long ms the ammunition held out the
though losing considerably In the
fight, maintained their position In spite OF
all the efforts of the Sioux. From the
OF their fire toward the close
that their ammunition was about
and they made "a grand lima!
charge. In the course Of which the last OF
the command was destroyed, the men be-
ing shot where they lay In their positions
i'm the line Mt such close quarters that
many were killed with arrows. Curly
says that Custer remained alive through
out the greater part OF the engagement,
animatinR his men To determined resist
ance. but about an O before thc close
Of the fight he received a mortal wound.
The Crow said, further, that the field
OF the Sioux who fell in the attack-in
number considerably more than the
force of soldiers engaged. lie was
satisfied that their loss exceeded
800 killed, besides an immense num-
Der wounded. Curly accomplished his
him in the manner of the Sioux, and pass
ing through M interval which had been
made in their lines as they scattered over
the field i'm their final charge. He thought
they must have seen him, for he was in
plain view, but was probably mistaken by
the Sioux for g Of their W number,
or one of their allied Arapahocs or Chey-
enncs.
In most particulars the account given
by Curly Of the fight Is confirmed by the
position Of the trail made by Custer in his
movements mt the general evidence Of
the battle field. Only n discrepancy is
noted, which relates 10 the time when the
fight came To an end. Officers Of Reno's
battalion. who late in the afternoon from
high points surveyed the country in anx-
ious expectation of Custer's appearance,
and who commanded a view OF the field
where he had fought. say that no fighting
WIS going on t~hen-bctwecn 3 and q
o'clock. II is evident, therefore, that the
last of Clusters command was destroyed
at an earlier hour in the day than Curly
relates.
Gen. Gibbon had To march several miles
before he came upon the field of bod
The sight hat met his eyes was IA shock
ing one. The bluifs were covered with
the lead bodies Of Clusters men, all
stripped naked, and mostly mutilated i'm
the usual revolving manner. The Cen
erals corpse was found near the summit
OF D blIif, surrounded by the bodies of
his brothers and most Of the officers of
his command. The Indians, who had
recognized his person, and who respected
his superb courage, forcbore from insult
ing his honored clay by the process Of
mutilation. The Seventh Infantry, Gen.
Gibbons regiment, buried the gallant
dead where they fell, marking the graves
Of all that could he Identified. Clusters
remains and those Of his relatives, to-
gether with those OF most al the officers,
have since been removed. The brave
General is buried nj West Point, from
which he graduated, and OH which his
glorious career and heroic death have re-
fected immortal lustcr.
In the lighting at Slim Butte the chief
American Horse was wounded i'm "a rave
In which n small force had taken refuge.
After n few minutes deliberation the
chief. American Horse, "A ~finc-looking,
b~road-chcstcd Sioux, with a handsome
face and "a neck like "a bull-shnwcd him
self at the mouth of the cave, presenting
the butt end of his rifle toward the gem
cral. He had just been shot i'm the abdo-
men, n said i'm his native language that
he would yield III the lives of the warriors
who fought with him were saved. Some
Of the soldiers who had lost comrades i'm
the skirmish shoutcd: "No quarter!" but
not "A man was base enough To attempt
shooting down the disabled chief. Crook
hesitated for n minute and then said:
or three Sioux, more or less can
make no difference. | can yet use them
10 good advantage. Tell the chief" lac
said. turning to Gruard, ''that neither he
NV ttS s'uif y Nih w " W
ther."
This message having been interpreted
10 American Horse, he bcckoned To his
surviving followers, and two strapping
Indians, with their long but quick and
graceful stride, followed him out Of the
gully. The chicftain's intcstincs pro-
truded from his wound, but a squaw, his
wife, perhaps tied her shawl around the
injured part, and then the poor, fearless
savage never uttering n complaint,
walked slowly to "A little camp fire occu-
pied by his people, about ~ yards away,
and sat down among the women aud
children. Tho surgeons examined the
wound. pronounced Il mortal. and during
the night American Horse, one of the
braycst and aDlest of the sioux chiefs.
fell back suddenly and expired without
tutoring IA groan.
The destruction Of the game upon the
great plains was about To settlea question
that had puzzled the American govern
ment FOR ~ years. The Sioux nation
had never ccn thoroughly whipped
in a pitched battle with our
troops, but hunger tamcs the bravcst.
and no general OF the American
army was better aware of that fact than
George Crook. All other commanders
had Withdrawn from pursuit after follow
ing the hostile train till their horscilcsh
played out, but Crook resolved Ia teach
the sayages n lesson. lie could not have
worn out the obstinacy If the Indians in a
more effective ann
After "A visit To Sitting Bull and some
more skirmishing the Indian war practic-
ally at an end aud the Indian difficulty,
with the disappearance of the bison, soon
settled itself. Canada could do little or
nothing toward feeding and clothing the
Tctons, SO, gradually. their stubborn
natures yielded, and after negotiating
with our government through thai of the
dominion they began Ia come into our
agencies. Sitting BUN was aniong the
last To surrender. but with his surrender,
when IL came, 1.-The war Of centuries was
at "A close" and the final conquest of the
Sioux was contaminated.