Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1891-08-21
NORTHDAKOTA.
Stories Of Red Men. Rain. In. the. Face
Practically Admits the Mutilation
Of Custer's Body.

After Sitting BULBS House. 1t is Want.
ed As a Side Show at the Great
Worlds Fair.
How An Indian Bargains. Allen Med.
icine Man, Who Could Not Move
Standing Rock.
Rain-in-the.Face is unquestionably
the Indian who so terribly mutilated
the body Of Capt. Tom Custer at the
time Of the famous massacre
on the little Big Horn. He has nj.
ways been suspected OF having COM
mitted this atrocity, says a corre-
; spondent in the Minneapolis Journal,
but he never practically admitted us
much to but one person. Rain-in-the.
Face has always been considered
bad Indian. He is known to have
committed q number of murders; and
1T was because he had been guilty of a
double murder and detected IN the
crime, that he so barbarously disfgur.
ed the body Of Gen. Custer's brother.
Some months previous to the battle
OF Little Big Horn, Rain. n-the. Face
waylaid a physician and his sons, and
Capt. Tom Custer had him arrested
and confined in tho guard house
at Fort Abraham Lincoln. While
awaiting trial anumber ofgovernment
thieves, who were held in the same
prison, broke out, and Rain-in-the.
Face escaped with them, making his
way to Standing Rock, where he ar.
rived in time to join band OF Sioux
then preparing to leave the agency to
cooperate with Sitting Bull and Chief
Gual. This party reached the Little
Big Horn country in time to partici-
pate in the battle. Rain-in-the Face
discovering Capt. Tom Custer's body
among the dead, took revenge for his
arrest for murder by so mutilating
the corpse that it could not be recog-
nized except by the India ink marks
on one arm.
Rain nln.the-Face has practically ad-
mitted that he comitted this deed.
Some time since g. gentleman who has
been on friendly terms with Rain i'll
the-Face and his family, was showing
him photographs OF number of no.
ted Indian fighters, and as he would
come to the different ones, the gentle
man would ask bim ifhe knew theta
When the photograph OF Capt. Custer
was reached Rain-in- the-Face quickly
turned it down, said nothing and
reached for the next. When question
ed by the gentleman us to whether he
did the mutilating, the Indian would
give no answer, but the photograph
which had again been handed him, he
turned from him face down. Among
men we'll acquainted with the Indian
character this action of Rain-in-the-
Face is considered equivalent to a con-
fession that he committed the depre-
dationn upon Capt. Custer's dead
body.
SHAVE HEAD.
Shavehead, a brother OF Rain-in.the-
Face, was one of the Indian police
killed in the attempt to arrest Sitting
Bull. shavehead was a trusty Indian,
and one much thought OF by the au.
thorities at Standing Rock. When
his death was announced, Rain. in-the-
Face declared his determination new
er to rest until he had killed the slay-
er of his brother. He has been una
BILE, thus far, to locate the Indian who
fired the fatal shot. Should he find
out who did the shooting another In
dian murder will be recorded at the
agency. Rain.in-the.Face frequently
finds himself in the guard house for
gambling.
"Why did not Reno cooperate with
Custer at the battle OF Little Big Horn,
and now did it happen that Chief Gaui
did not 60 over and e1terminate
Reno's command after the massacre
of Custer and his men?" are questions
that have been frequently asked by
military officers and others in at.
tempts to learn the details of this
famous event.
The newspapers can now print for
the first time the facts. Chief Gaul, in
q recent talk on this subject, said
that on the morning OF the battle,
when Custer and Reno separated, the
movement was observed by the In
dians, but that neither of the white
commanders knew that they were be-
ing watched. The Indians decided
that they knew the object in the two
commands moving in different direc-
tions and at once prepared to fight
one of them. The squaws and chill.
dren were secreted along the banks of
the river, and few OF the warriors
sent after Reno-just enough to men
ace his progress and keep him from
cooperating with Custer in case a bat
tie should be fought. Chief Gaul then
placed his command behind the "horse
back" which surrounded the battle
field, and when Custer and his COM
mand had marched into the depres-
sion, the Indians surrounded and
lnassacred them. During this time
the band which had been sent after
Reno was fighting his rear en- the way
up from the river. Many
of those who, visiting the
battle field to bury the dead,
have claimed that the number ofdead
soldiers found between the river and
position finally occupied by Reno in
dlcated they were messengers sent by
Custer to have Reno cooperate with
him.. Bu5 such is evidently not the
case. These men were picked off by
the few Indians detailed to bother
Reno's progress and prevent him from
reaching Custer should battle ensue.
This accounts for the dead found be-
tween the river ana the position event
ually occupied by Reno, and which
position he retreated to in order to
obtain what appeared to be an impreg-
nable point.
Sitting Bull and his forces did not
participate in the battle in which Gus.
ter was killed. But did not reach the
scene until the fight was entirely over,
and the Indians had stripped the sol.
the horses oftheir equipments.
In his last talk on this subject Sit
ting Bull corroborated Chief Gaul's
statement. and said that when he ar.