The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-06-01
WHERE CUSTER DIED.
Some History Regarding the Massacre
of the Brave 262.
WHITE SWAN TELLS A TALE
When the Editors Excurt Next
Month They VIII Ride on the
Burlington and Be Entertained
in First-Class Style.

Butte. May 31.-W. W. Johnston. the
Burlington roads commercial agent for
Montana, is in the city from Billings on
railroad business. He has Just returned
from a trip through the Judith Basin
and he reports that the numerous fer
tile valleys in that country look like
modern Gardens Of Eden. All nature
is beautiful there and the ranchers are
i'm high spirits. The cattle are i'm fine
condition and the cattle men are jubi-
liant over the prevailing high prices.
The sheep men are the only class of
people in that country who are at all
inclined to be respondent. and they are
said TO be simply hanging on by their
sills." In place of the former prices
OF 10, is and 20 cents a pound for wool.
they will not get more than cents "A
pound for their product this year. and
they are feeling correspondingly blue.
There will be a heavy wool clip this
year, and it is just commencing TO
move.
Mr.. Johnston states that the people
of Billings are making ella borate prCpa-
rations for the reception and entertain
ment of the newspaper men of the Mon
tana Press association, which opens
there on June "a Probably the most
interesting feature of the meeting will
be the visit to the Custer battle field on
Tuesday June %, which is the nine
teenth anniversary of uthe memorable
| massacre. The Buining ton road. which
seems to never tire OF extending cour-
tesies to newspaper men, proposes 10
sustain its reputation on this occasion
and preparations are now being made
to make the trip both a pleasant and
| profitable one. The Montana line will
| be placed at the disposal of the pencil
pushers on that day, and they will
4 .afe D l..
on the regular morning train or on a
| special later in the day and will camp
out on the battle ground that night.
| Two or three Indians who were present
at the massacre will be i'm attendance
to entertain the press gang with graph
ic stories of the horrible butChery of
| the fearless Custer and his brave men.
! one Of these is White Swan. who is
now on the Crow reservation. White
! Swan claims to have been one of Gus
| ter's scouts, but that he mixed i'm with
| the Sioux when the battle commenced
| and was overlooked. His story of the
| nght differs from that Of other eye
] witnessed i'm one important feature.
! lie says that after the battle had pro-
crossed for some time, Clusters band
| became parched with thirst and one
/ daring soldier cut his way through the
! surrounding band of Indians to the
| Little Big Horn river and filed n num-
| Der Of canteens that he had slung
across his back. When he reached the
/ brow of the hill on his return his horse
| was shot from under him, but ne
( jumped off and succeeded in reaching
/ his comrades on foot with as many IF
! the canteens as he could carry. This
/ part of White Swans story IS not gem
/ orally believed. as tina .prepondprance
! of evidence f. that the battle only last
| ed from 30 To a. minutes. so that the
/ soldiers could rot have suffered for n
? F1..g ,, Ia p
/ told the same story for the past L.
years without the slightest variation
/ and the people who have heard f. are
/ at loss to know whether he is telling
/ the truth or whether he has his story
so well learned that he makes no mis-
| takes. one or two squaws who wit
. messed the massacre will also be pres
/ ent To give their version of t. i'm addi-
tion to which appropriate memorial
( services will be conducted by the SOL
| d!ers at Fort Cpster.
Col. John A. Cockerin recently visit
1 ed the Custer battlefield and I'm a long
: and beautifully written article Of his
visit in the New York Herald he said
| AT the highest point Of the field.
and within a few feet Of where Custer
and his little group or devoted follow
I crs rallied and died. there stands a
! monument, consisting of three mas
! sive blocks of granite. I'm pyramid form.
on these stones win be found the names
of the officers and men of the Seventh
who were inundated here.
We talk of Balaklava and it's record
| Of heroism but of the 400 of the Light
| brigade who charged the Russian bat
! teries on that day. more than half re-
| turned unscathed Two hundred and
/ sixty-two rode with Queer and 262 died
| overwhelmed. With the last shot was
silence. The report might have been
| written:
| None yvoupded. none ,,,issip,,. all
dead
No living tongue of all that heroic
| band was left to tell the story
AS ] stood on this Held, which will
| ever cradle the memory of Custer and
! his glorious band. the great brown hills
flooded with sunlight. and the silence
as oppressive as the mystery which
| surrounds their deaths. / tried To form
| some idea of the awful sensation
which TAust have come To each Of these
brave fellows wheni-he realized the
sickening horror of the situation on
that dread day. That death awaited
every man was evident after the first
10 minutes. But my eyes rested on the
little white marble sentinels which
I marked the steady. compact advance.
( and on every herO's cenOtaph / seem
ed 10 see carved the word Duty
The lesson is there for all who may
| read-a lesson which viii ever be re-
I membered by the brave men Of our
! regular army. There is not q trooper
( who follows a gudon OF the Seventh
/ to-day who does not feel proud Of the
/ little band which rode To death fighting
| heroically on these barren bills. The
/ requiem Of the winds over the graves
there can never be sadder than on that
| golden evening when / turned my back
/ upon this battlefield. at once the most
pathetic and mysterious Of all that our
! sun shines on