The Louisiana populist., 1897-09-10
CUSTER'S LAST FIGHT.
THE HISTORIC BATTLE OF The
LITTLE BIG HORN,
Chief Calls Account OF How the Grave
Fellows of the Seventh Cavalry Were
Overcome by an Indian Horde-CaIlant
Defense.

Fellows OF the Seventh Cavalry Were
Overcome by an Indian Horde Gallant
Defense.
Twenty-one years ago occurred the
famous battle Of the Little Big Horn,
in which General George A. Custer
and his brave men of the 7th Cavalry
were massacred by the Cheyennes and
: Sioux. The campaign against the
hostile Sioux, under Sitting Bull,
Crazy Horse, Gall and others, was
directed by General Terry, General
Crook, with 1000 men, starting from
Fort Fetterman, Dakota; General
Gibbon. with $50 men from Fort
!, Ellis, Montana, and General Terry,
with 600 cavalry and 400 infantry,
! from Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota.
General Terry established a supply
famp at the mouth of Powder river
June 8, and there came in communi-
cation with Gibbon, whose command
! was at the mouth of the Big Horn.
General Crook encountered large
force of Sioux June II on the Rose
bud. Terry decided to join Gibbons
force, but sent his cavalry by a circuit
to the Upper Rosebud, where the
whole command was to meet. Gen
eral Custer started June %, and soon
found signs of large body of In
dians. On the Little Big Horn he
came up to their village. Major Reno,
with three companies, was sent to the
valley of the stream, where the trail
crossed it. Reno crossed, but was
driven back, where Captains Benteen
and Mcdonald, with four companies,
joined him. From 2:30 o'clock, the
25th, till o'clock the following day
Reno's force was surrounded by up
ward of 5000 Indians. With their
cups they dug breastworks that prob
ably saved their lives. At night on
the 25th some of the men crawled to
the river and got water. The next
day they fought in the blazing sun all
day without water. The Indians
sometimes rode up within 200 yards.
Finally soldier ran out and scalped
an Indian in full sight of his band,
and after that the charging ceased.
The next morning General Terry and
his command came up. Terry and his
officers were all crying. They had
found the bodies of Custer and his
men two miles away. Not soul of
the band with Custer escaped to tell
what took place. The loss was twelve
officers, 247 men, five civilians and
three Indian scouts killed, and two
officers and fifty-one men wounded.
| While Terry and Crook waited for re-
Inducements the Indians escaped.
In October about 1000 of them sur.
rendered to General Miles. Sitting
Bull and his followers got into British
territory and did not come in until the
hard winter 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 peculations as to
what happened. Clusters mistake in
pursuing an overwhelming force, in
face of which he divided his own, to.
gether with the folly of letting the
Cheyennes kill sthe men holding his
horses and stampede the animals, thus
carrying away nearly all his ammuni-
ton, 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 te
DR.. Porter, one of the three surgeons
under Custer. DIR. Lord, the senio,
surgeon, insisted on going with Gus
ter and forced Porter to go with Reno
thus losing his own life and saving
Por 7$s. On the tenth anniversary
Of . battle, in 1886, DR.. Porter ani
q ber of officers who were with
Re1 together with Gall, were at the
battlMeld, and they went over the
grEnd together. This is Calls story
~ saw the soldiers in the morning
Cruising the divide. When Reno anc
Custer separated we watched then
, upz 81 they came down into the valley
A Efy was raised that the white men
soldiers were coming and orders were
giNn for the village to move imme
diately. Reno swept down SO rapidly
0 on the upper end that the Indians
I were forced to fight. Sitting Bull ant
I were at the point where Reno at
tackled. Sitting Bull was Big Medi
cine. The women and children were
hastily moved down stream, where th'
) Cheyennes were encamped. The Sioui,
attacked Reno and the Cheyenes Gus
ter, and then all became mixed up
The women and children caught tn
horses for the bucks to mount them
the bucks mounted and charged bac]
on Reno and checked him and drov
him into the timber. The soldier
tied their horses to trees and cam
out and fought on foot. AS soon a
Reno was beaten and driven bacl