Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1894-12-23

he had from twelve to fifteen hundred
hostiles TO deal with His scouting
must have been poor, for when the In
dian village was located he determined
not only TO attack, but to capture the
whole band.
THE PLAN OF BATTLE.
Reserving five companies TO himself
he placed four companies under COM
mand of Major Reno to move on his
left flank and two companies under
CAPTAIN Benteen, VINO was to work
around to the Indian right and was to
bag the enemy when the stampede be-
gan. With these dispositions he moved
around the point OF the range which
brought him into the view of the enemy,
forded the creek and was at once en-
gagged. Instead OF finding himself con-
fronted by twelve hundred PawneeS
under Sankena he found himself
in death grapple with not less
than i've thousand Sioux and Cheyenne
warriors. 1t is in evidence that the In
dams had broken up their villages and
were preparing TO decamp when they
discovered they had only "horse SOL
diersn TO deal with. At the verv outset
Custer threw out strong skirmish line.
Every member of the gallant band was
slain and the little marble stones which
mark the spots where these brave men
fell are beautifully aligned. A the
main body moved into action great
masses of the enemy rose in front OF
him and swung round 10 his rear
On the first hillside he divided his
command and sent two troops, number
ing sixty men, down the left side OF the
confronting ridge, while he kept to the.
right on almost parallel lines, advanc-
ing into q dry ravine. Here he met
with terrible opposition, and from this
time on he struggled TO get upon the
high ground, steadily advancing. With
his thinned ranks-the slaughter even
more terrible-he reached the spot
where he met his death. At this point
the separated command could see Elm,
and the poor doomed fellows made a
heroic effort to reach him. They fell in
groups OF fours, by twos and singly. One
can count the little marble stones.
sixty in number. Could anything be
more pitiful? At the same instant the
little group rallied around Custer was
being annihilated. From the low ground
In front OF the gallant leader rose a
thousand fierce Cheyennes under the
satanic Rain-in-the-Face Not a life
was spared. BY Clusters side his broth
er Tom fell. Then it was that Raln-in-
the-face. who had sworn to eat Tom
Clusters heart because as officer OF the
day at some camp the lieutenant had
one day placed the vilIainous chief in
the guardhouse, ripped open the poor
fellows body and tearing therefrom the
reeking heart made good his savage
oath.
THE BATTLE WAS OVER.
All was now silent save for the de-
moniacal and exultart cries of the saw
ages. The remains Of the brave Custer
were not disturbed, but every other
body upon that field was hacked aud
mutilated ia the most horrible manner.
This is the story OF that battle as in
terpreted by the insensible records II
was no more butchery than was
Thermopylae. 1t was battle-a mis-
taken one. but nevertheless a battle
fought tactically aud with intelligence
on Clusters part We talk Of Balaklava
aud its record of heroism, but of the
Four Hundred or the Light Brig
ade who charged the Russian bat
teries on that day more than one-half
returned unscathsd. Two hundred and
sixIy-two rode with Custer and 262 died
overwhelmed. With the last shot was
silence. The report might have been
written:-"None wounded; none miss
ing; all dead" No living tongue OF all
that heroic band was left to tell the
story. The miserable half-breed scout.
"Curley." who may vet be seen hanging
around Fort Custer, claims to have been
with Custer when the engagement be-
gan, but be pulled SIoux blanket over
his head, mingled with the enemy and
ran away at the fret fire. He could
only tell that there had been q battle.
As to the duration Of the battle little
is known. One Indian told Scout Camp
bell that the tight lasted about as long
as il takes q hungry Innian 20 eat his
dinner. aad another said that 1t lasted
as long as q candle would burn about q
quarter OF an zach. From this 1t is in
ferred that the struggle lasted about
twenty-five minutes And every man
fought The empty shells from the
carbines found around the camp
showed that every trooper fought ierce-sl
y and followed bis leader. At one part
OF the feld where Clusters detachment
frst b Rma heavily engaged u