The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-02

4t1SV EdWueGS uIuGE cdHkeud. lac 1Ouild
himself in death grapple with not less
than 5000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors.
# Is in evidence that the Indians had
Ing to decamp when they discovered that
they only had ..horse soldiers to deal with
At the very outset Custer threw out
strong skirmish line Every merlber of the
gallant band was slain and the little marble
stones which mark the spots where these
the main body moved into action great
masses of the enemy rose in front of him
and swung around TO his rear
On the first hillside he divided his COM
mand and sent two troops numbering sixty
men, down the left side of the confronting
ridge, while he kept to the right on almost
parallel lines advancing into 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
terrble-he reached the spot where he met
mand could see him, and the poor doomed
fellows made a heroic effort to reach him:
They fell IN groups of fcurs, by, by twos ana
stones sixty in number. Could anything be
more pitiful? At the same instant, the little
group rallied around Custer was being an
initiated. From the low ground in front of
the gallant leader rose LOCO fierce Cheyennes
under the satanic Rain-in-the-Face Not
life was spared. By Clusters side his broth
Tom fell. Then it was that Rain-n-the-
Face, who had sworn to eat Tom Clusters
camp the lieutenant had one day placed the
villainous chief in the guardhouse, ripped
open the poor feiiOWS DOdy,. ana tearing
therefrom the reeking heart made good his
savage oath.
CUSTER'S BODY UNFRAMED.
All was now silent save for the demoni-
acal and exultant cries of the savages The
remains of the brave Custer were not dis
turbed, but every other body on that field
was hacked and mutilated in the most hor-
rible manner.
This is the story OF that battle, as inter-
Il
more a butchery than Therropylae. 1t was
battle--a mistaken one but, nevertheless,
battle fought tactically and with intelI-
gence on Clusters part We talk of Balak-
lava and it's record of heroism, but that of
the four hundred of the light brigade, who
charged the Russian batteries on that day,
more than one half returned unscathed.
Two hundred and sxty-two rode with Gus
ter and 262 died overwhelmed. With the
last shot was silence. The report might
missing; all dead No living tongue of ali
that heroic band was left to tell the story.
who may yet be seen hanging around Fort
Custer claims to have been with Custer
when the engagement began. but he pulled
a Sioux blanket over his head, mingled with
the enemy and ran away at the first fire.
He could only tell that there had been a
battle
AS to the duration of the battle little is
known. One Indian told Scout Campbell that
the battle lasted about as long as it takes
a hungry Indian to eat his dinner, and an
other said that it lasted as long as a candle
would burn about quarter of an inch.
lasted about twenty-five minutes And
every man fought The empty shells from
the carbines found around the camp showed
that every trooper fought fercely and fol-
lowed his leader. AT one part of the field
where. Clusters detachment first became
across ravine, a little white stone telling
where troopers body had been found. 1t
and SO horribly lonely as all these white
stones seemed, this one sadly so.
bell, "and it may have been that Of a
panic-stricken man trying to get away, but
l suspect that the man was wounded and
that his panlc-stricken horse carried him
over there
CRITICISM OF MAJOR RENO
1t will always be an open question
whether Major Reno purposely failed Gus
ter or erred on the side of caution. He
knew that his chief had set out to attack
the foe and he should have been ready to
lend assistance. 1t is claimed by many that
he might have heard the firing. 1 do not
think so. The formation of the hills would
have prevented that. Had Custer had a
couple of pieces of light artillery he might
nave notified Reno that the fight was on,
artillery There was u no Volley Trims an MD
the Indians did more shooting than was
necessary, for they didn't want to kill or
Indian told Mr.. Campbell that both Lieu
tenants .Crittenden and Keogh were killed
Colonel Cody has always insisted that Re-
no Kept away out of pure cowardice, and
at dinner given some years ago by officers
of the Fifth cavalry, Major Reno being
present, he made assertions which greatly
incensed that individual. Smartng under
the affront, he informed Cody that if he
was an officer of the army and gentleman
ne would challenge him. Colonel ''Bill'' de-
clared that for his part he would waive
all army regulations, and as for gentlity
he would let his record stand against that
Of man who could sit supnely by while
his helpless comrades We're being saugh-
tered like sheep in the shambles. And there
the matter rested.
AS | stood ON this field which will ever
cradle the memory of Custer and his glori-
Gus band-the great brown hills Hooded with
sunlight and the silence as oppressive as
the mystery which surrounds their deaths
tried to form some idea of the awful
sensation which must have come to each OF
THESE brave fellows when he realized the
sickening horror of the situation on tI-ar
dread day. That death awaited every man
was evident after the first ten minutes. But
my eyes rested on the little white marble
sentinels which marked the steady, Compact
ADVANCE and on every hero's cenotaph I
seemed to see carved the word Duty