The Portland daily press., 1897-07-03

IOr the ne4U meeting, DuU IOr some I'M
known reason little effort was made to
convene the veterans, who are now scat
tered all the way from Maine.to Califor-
mia. The date on which would come the
next reunion will be June 25, 1916, but
the belief exists that not many of the sur
vivors will be alive at that time and
efforts are being made to have the next
reunion in 1901, on the twenty fifth ami
versary of the battle.
At the convention of June %, 1885, WAS
assembled grand galaxy Of heroes upon
the deserted battlefield. Among them
were Gen. Benteen, DIR. Porter, Capt.
David r. Barry. Mr.. Barry, until re-
Gently resident of West Superior, but
now Of New York city, was invited to at
tend as Official photographer. He was
familiar with almost every foot of ground
in the territory, and besides being an in
innate acquaintance Of nearly every officer
in the service he mingled freely with all
of the great dusky chiefs.
GIFTS FROM THE INDIANS.
r In token of their high esteem for him
theiIndian chiefs presented to Mr.. Barry
hundreds of trinkets, all of which
he has preserved to this day. Chief Sit
ting Bun took the moccasins from his
feet and presented them to Mr.. Barry,
and Rain-in-the-F Face gave him his old
arm chair. Among the Indian ,notables
present were Chief Gall, one of the lead
ers of the Custer fight; Curly Crow. the
scout, who was the only survivor of Gus
ter's command, and White Swan, one of
Reno's scouts. Aside from these there
were dozens of other less prominent In
dams who played prominent pant in the
battle.
Chief Gall was the center of attraction
on the Indian side, and the "reminiscences
of the battle which he related proved to
be Of more than ordinary interest to the
whites. He made known for the first
time the fact that a large band of the
Cheyenne Indians had taken part in the
Custer skirmish, which, of course, occas-
toned much surprise, as it was generally
believed that none but the Sioux nation
had taken part. Another fact that Chief
Gall made known was that it was the
(GalD and not Sitting Bull, who led the
charge on the memorable day that Custer
was killed. Speaking Of this D. z. Barry
says:
~ am greatly surprised. indeed, to find
that the idea should have become so thor
oughly fixed in the public mind that Sit
ting Bull was the great leader in the In
dian forces in the Custer fight. On the
occasion of the tenth anniversary we were
informed from the lips of Gall, and it has
been sustained by Sitting Bull himself
appear on the battlefield until after Gus
ter's men were all dead. The Indians
were engaged in stripping the bodies and
were about to make an attack on Reno s
forces in the hills, four miles distant,
when Bull put in his appearance. Gall
advice of Sitting Bull the attack would
have b0en mad1. on ReDO'S forces
CHIEF GALL LED THE MASSACRE.
f'He told Gall as I understand it, that
he could not hope to capture Reno's forces
without great loss of life in his own ranks
and that it would be better for them to
repair to the low lands and dance. They
were then Infatuated with rage over their
Custer victory, and were anxious to spill
more blood, but acting upon the advice
Of Bull the attack was abandoned. Bull
was a very keensighted fellow and he
commanded the respect of the Indians
wherever he went. During the entire
night the Reno forces stuck to the hills,
where they suffered much for want OF
water and shelter. Those of them who
risk of their lives, and those who did re-
turn in safety had bullet holes in their
clothes to show for it. In some instances
the tin pals in which they carried the
water were penetrated by bullets, which
caused half of the water to leak out be-
fore they reached their destination Many
others of the brave fellows who ventured
out for TASKS, of water with which tC
moisten the lips of their dying comrades
never returned and their. names have beer
lost sight Of.
"Gall l believe, was the noblest look
ing savage | ever saw" confined Mr..
Barry. s'He had commanding appear
ance and was respectfully all of his tribe
He was born leader and could handle
all of his forces with ease Calls descrip
ton of the Custer skirmish as he stood
upon the deserted battlefield ten years
later, was, indeed, dramatic. AS he
looked about him his savage nature be
came aroused when he cast his eyes upor
the spot on which his daughter met hel
death by stray bullet from the Custer
forces on the Little Big Horn in 1876
But nothing could induce him to put foot
upon that spot, as he seemed to have ar
everlasting dislike for it. He controlled
his emotions as best heecould but the per
spiration on his face indicated that he
was painted. Curley Grow, the scout
who is said to be the only survivor of the
Custer forces, was told by Gall in my
presence that he (Curly) could not have
been on the battlefield long after the first
firing or he would have been dead with
the rest of them This statement of Gal
appears to be true and it seems very evi
dent that Curly must have witnessed the
battle from distance
Another strange incident that Chief
Gall related to the survivors of Gen Re
nos force was with reference to the attack
on Clusters command. Gall stated that
the Indians had seen the soldiers from
the time they emerged from the noun
tains. Some of Reno's men were inclined
to dispute this and asked Gall to poin1
out the place. He did so without IA mo
ments hesitation, and, even more thar
and Clusters men had separated in the
mountains
The Reno men were also surprised tx
know that the Indians had met the Cus
ter forces on the now historic ridge sur