The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-06-24

the air thick with bullets and some of
them piercing his clothing, he stood
calmly directing the troups. Occasional
ly a band of savages would dash up to
within two or three hundred yards of
us, and our men would charge them.
Several Indians were killed in these
charges, and finally one of the SOL
diers killed and scalped an Indian in plain
view of the others. This frightened them
and they kept safe distance away after
that. A perfect storm of leaden hail was
poured in on us all day the 10Th until
about o clock in the afternoon, when
the firing gradually ceased. We were
then frightened, as we thought the In
dans were up to some holder mischief. |
Finally We saw then moving Off in body.
That night most of the soldiers slept and
were much refreshed in the morning.
After the Indians left we were able to
procure water. We had all been nearly
famished During the morning of the
9th Gen. Terry and his command came
up. He and his staff were all crying, and
Gen. Terry said: Custer and his whole
command are killed. We thought you
were, too.
''During the two days we were sur
rounded by the Indians the inquiry
among our men for Custer was loud, and
that generals court martial was freely
specialized upon. After separating from
us Custer had gone through rough
country for distance of four or five miles
! and attacked the Indians in the rear. AS
soon as We could, several of the officers
and myself went over to where Custer had
fought and found that what Gen. Terry
had reported was only too true. We
found Clusters body stark naked, as white
and clean as a baby's He was shot in
the head aud breast. The body of Capt.
Tom Custer, Gen. Clusters brother, was
horribly mutilated. He was disembow-
eled and his head had been crushed in by
blow from a stone hammer used by the
Indians. The only arrow wound | found
was in his head. He had the Sioux mark
of death, which was cut from the hip to
the knee, reaching to the bone. His
heart was not cut out, as has been report
ed by Rain-in- the Face, one of the Sioux
chiefs who took part in the fight. l cut a
lock of hair from the head of each officer
as he lay, and gave it to their families on
my return home. The steamer Far West
was moored at the mouth of the Little
Big Horn. She was the supply boat of
the expedition and had made her way up
the Big Horn farther than any other boat.
After burying the dead we took the
wounded on filters ten or twelve miles to
the boat and l was detailed to go down
to Fort Lincoln with them. Col. Smith,
Terry's adjutant general, was sent along
with the official dispatches, and we had
travelling bag full of kilograms for the
| Bismarck office. Capt. Grant Marsh of
Bismarck was in command of the Far
| West and the steamer performed feat I'M
equaled in western steamboating. Marsh
put everything in the most complete order
and took on large supply of fuel. His
orders were to reach Bismarck as soon as
possible. The steamer never received the
! credit due her, nor did her gallant cap
tain. The Big Horn is full of islands and
successful passage is not an easy feat,
but the boat made it without an accident
after thrilling voyage. AT Fort Buford
and Fort Stevenson we stopped minute
to tell the news, and at Fort Berthold
wounded scout was put Off Two of the
wounded died and we went ashore to bury
them. We approached home with some
thing of that feeling that always moves
the human heart. 1t was one mixed with
sorrow and gladness. AT IL o'clock on
the night of the 9TH of July we reached
Bismarck and Fort Lincoln, having made
LOCO miles in tifty-four hours. Col.
Smith and myself hurried from the land
ing up town, and called up Col. Louns-
berry, the editor of the Tribune, and the
telegraph operator, J. NJ. Canadian, who
took his seat at the key and scarcely rails
ed himself from his chair for twenty-five
hours. What he sent vibrating around
the world is history"
Lieut.. G. l.. Gurley, then of the Sixth
United States infantry, now of Washing
/ ton, tells the story OF how the news was
received at Fort Lincoln. He says: 1.-The
news came to us about a. M Capt
w. 5. McCaskey, Twentieth Infantry,
summoned all the officers to his quarters
at once, and there read to them the com
munication he had just received per
steamer Far West from Col. Smith. After
we had recovered from the shock, Capt.
McCaskey requested us to assist him in
breaking the news to the widows. 1t fell
to my lot to accompany McCaskey and
! DR.. j. ID. v. Middleton, our post surgeon,
/ to the quarters of Mrs. Custer immediate-
| ly east of those occupied by my self. We
started on our sad errand little before
o clock on that 9th of July morning. |
went to the rear of the Custer house,
awaked Maria, Mrs. Clusters maid, and
requested her to rap on Mrs. Custer
door and say to her that she and Mrs Cal
houn and Miss Reed were wanted in the
pallof On my way through the hall to
open the front door, heard the opening
of the door of Mrs. Clusters room. She
had been awakened by the footsteps in
the hail. She called me by name and
asked the cause of my early visit. l made
no reply, but followed Capt. McCaskey
and DR.. Middleton into the parlor. There
we We're almost Immediately followed by
the ladies of the Custer household and
there we told to them their first intima-
ton of the awful result of the battle on
the Little Big Horn. Imagine the grief
of those women, their sobs, their flood of
tears, the grief that knew no consolation
The fearful depression that had hung
over the fort for the last two days had it's
explanation then"
The most reliable story of Clusters last
fight was told by Chief Gall to DR.. Por-
ter. On the tenth anniversary of
the battle, in 1886, DR.. Porter and a
number of officers who were with Reno.
together with Gall, were at the bat
tlefield and they went over the ground to-
gether This is Calls story: "We
saw the soldiers in the morning eros
sing the divide When Reno and Gus
ter separated we watched them until
they came down into the valley. cry
| Il