The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-07-08

of 1881 forced them to surrender to
Colonel Guido Ilges.
Many accounts have been told of the
! massacre, but nearly all of them are
[ distorted by spsculations as TO what
happened. Clusters mistake in Pursu-
ing an overwhelming force, in face OF
which he divided his own. together
with the folly of letting the Cheyennes
Kill the men holding his horses and
! stampede the animals thus carrying
away nearly all the ammunition, cost
| him his life and sealed the doom of the
men with him.
The most reliable story Of Clusters
/ last fight was told by Chief Gall to Dr..
/ Porter. one of the three surgeons under
7 Custer. DR.. Lord, the senior surgeon.
/ Insisted on going with Custer and
4 forced Porter TO go with Reno, thus
losing his own life and saving POr-
ter's- On the tenth anniversary of the
/ battle, in 1855. Or, Porter and a num-
/ Der Of officers who were with Reno.
together with Gall. were at the battle
field and they went over the ground
tczstGer. This is Calls story: We
$50 the soldiers in the morning cross
ing the divide. When Reno and Custer
separated We watched them until they
came down into the valley. A cry was
raised that the white men soldiers
We're coming and orders were given
for the village to move Immediately.
Reno swept down SO rapidly on the
upper end that the Indians were forced
to fight. Sitting Bull and 1 We're at
the point where Reno attacked. Sitting
Bull was big medicine. The women and
children were hastily moved down
stream. where the Cheyennes were en-
camped. The Sioux attacked Reno and
( the CheyenneS Custer. and then all
h.aa mo ,r, =
children caught the horses for the
bucks to mount them; the bucks
mounted and charged back on Reno
and checked him and drove him into
the timber. The soldiers tied their
horses to trees and came out and
fought on foot. AS soon as Reno was
beaten and driven back across the
river the whole force turned upon Gus
ter and fought him until they destroyed
him. Custer did not reach the river,
but was met about half a mile up the
ravine, now called Reno creek They
fought the soldiers and beat them
back step by step until all were killed
From his story it is evident that the
Indians were in the coulees behind and
in front OF Custer as ne moved up the
ridge to take position. The first two
companies (Keogh and Calhoun dis
mounted and fought on foot. They
never broke, but retired step by step
QiAlll lOdCCu DdCh 10 lHc IluSEs WuCEE
all finally persisted. They were shot
down in line where they stood. (This
statement seems borne out by the
facts, as SO bodies Of Keogh's company
were found together). The warriors
directed a special fire against the SOL
diers who held the horses while the
other fought As soon as one of these
soldiers was killed, by moving blankets
and yelling the horses were stam-
peded, which made it impossible for
the soldiers to escape. Afterward the
soldiers fought desperately and hard,
and never surrendered. As fast as the
men fell the horses were herded and
driven toward the Squaws and old men,
who gathered them in. When Reno
attempted TO find Custer by throwing
out skirmiSh line, Custer and all
with him were dead. When the Skin
mishers reached a high point overlook
ing Clusters field, the Indians were gall
Looping around and over the wounded,
dying and dead, popping bullets and
his attack at the upper end he killed
my two squawS and children, which
made my heart bad. l then fought
with my tome hawk (which means, of
course, mutilatingl. Clusters soldiers
ran out of ammunition. Their supply
of cartridges was in the saddle pOck-
cts of their stampeded horses. The IN
dians then ran I'D to the soldiers and
butchered them with tomahawzs. A
lot of horses ran away and jumped
into the river. but were caught by the
squaws. Eleven Indians were killed on
Ren0's creek and several Indians fell
over and died. Only 43 Indians were
killed altogether, but a great many
wounded ones came across the river
and died in the ruShes. Some soldiers
got away and ran down ravine.
crossed the river, came back again and
were killed We had Ogallalas, Mime
conjous, Brules, Uncappa. all Sioux
tribes. and the CheyenneS. ArapahOes
and Gros Ventres. When the big bust
came in the air down the river (mean-
ing Terry and Gibbon). we struck our
lodges and went up a. creek toward the
White Rain mountains Chg Horn
range, covered with SNOWY. We waited
there four days and then went over to
the Wei mountains"