The times., 1897-06-20
A Veritable Account of II From
an Indian Source.
CHIEF CALLS STATEMENT
Was Altogether Deceived
as to the Indian Strength and
Purpose. while the Enemy Knew.
Felt Their Power From the Start.
The Indian View of the Battle.

more ufsOn my LeONeu laIneflaau Le1ofe
the Great Spirit calls me beyond the n.oau
tains and the big salt sea-
These were the words OF the Uncapapa
Chief Gall, as he stoods:alid aud statuesque
under the shadow or the Custer mOnumenk
iB the national cemetery on the Little Big
Horn. his still commanding but bent and
aged figure siihouetted against tracery
| of savage horizon, whose ruggedIines were
slowly beginning to melt into the sunset
sky.
The landscape stretching forth from the
field where Custer fell was indeed one
fitted to inspire the love and reverence
conveyed by the words OF the Old sachefn,
haIowed as no doubt the scene before him
was by the memory OF half a century OF
war and Chase and uurestTainedbrig gandaee,
albeitthe progressiy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
OF the Crow Indians settled upon seyeralty
lands over much OF its surface had even
| then narveiousIy transformed it.
From the broken bluffs upon which the
| monument points its plain, gray shaft up
ward, an iIiniita bie sweep OF valley and
steppe lands stretches forth 10 a diin out
line OF snOw-Clad peaks. The silver curves
of the Little Horn casting back the gold
en- lance points OF the sun from silent
pools and frothing eddies and wooded
shores; here and there green meadows
bordered by yellow bench-iands, Ike erTr-
eraids set in amber. greet the eye In ths
wide monochrome OF russell peTs spectiye,
and upon all rests now as must have rested
ia far deeper sense when the INDIAN
bra-e followed his quarry, or stole over tiIs
war trail amid the silent wastes, the in
desrrihabe gloom and melancholy which
have ever wrought their spell over mOun-
tain scenery.
IL was in June, 1886. ten years after the
batiIe OF the Little Horn, that the De-
partment OF War conceived the plan Of
bringing Cali, the Sioux chief who led ths
allied tribal bands against Custer, 10 the
spot where the last chapter in the epic story
OF the Saxon conquest of the American
frontier had its heroic scene OF action, and
there, in the presence OF the few surviving
officers of the Reno and Benieen detach-
uents, who took part in the bloody affray,
10 secure from the IEdian's lips an 40
count Of the incidents OF the massacre, and.
by the aid OF so prominent an actor in
the event. 20 trace the movements OF tbs
contendng forces upon that fatal field
Il was. indeed, dramatic scene rs the
aged Indian in the midst of a group II
- fICeTS- VIII Ills hGH1 otONo
his eyes, looked long and earnestly over
the imposing prospect, and from my place
at <the interpreter side, where l stood
TO record the utterances that were that
DAY to take as inportanta place in Amsri-
can military annals as Tecumseh's tale
of the a Nful butchery in the Florida swamp
more than half a century tefOre, the
material thus presented for a striking and
self deeply upon me
I'VE first saw Custer the old chief said,
slowly, as he pointed his shaking I nGer
toward the southeast, ION those big hills"
meaning the Wolf Noun tains, ''ahoat day
light, and we could follow all his move
nsouts with our field glasses. As the head
war chief, ordered my men TO strip and
paint. and to make their hearts brave BY
a short dance, and then 1 ICsted them
in many concealed places where they could
fight from cover or charge when the 0ppor-
tunity came Sitting Bull was never a
leader in battle. and before and during this
fight he was making medicine in his teree
III tie village That was his business, mine
was to command.
Clusters men rode slowly at first, and
we noticed that the men did not appear
to sit upright in their saddles: they seemed
to he tired knew that the yeIlow-haired
warrior had mistaken our numbers from
his tactics, and from the first felt sure
that lie and his men Were our game. We
set a trap for him and he fell into il.
That is about the truth of the matter.
After the division, when Custer went one
way and Reno another, we placed our
forces 70 meet the separate attacks thas
it was clear the great hOrse-soldier in
tended to make, and / gave my H.en at
the upper end of the village, the point
charged by Reno, instructions TO lead the
troOps across the river into the woods
by show Of fight and then to turn on
them This was done, and ended in the
flight of Reno and the men in his detach-
ment, who escaped across the Little Horn
and up the bluffs on its farther side, where
they made a stand. Ny chief attention
was given to Caster, but Just after the
clash with Reno l went to the place where
the engagement happened and near to
where my tepee stood. / called to my
wife as came near 1t, but there was no
answer then ran to the door, and look
ing in saw my wife and papooses lying
dead. killed, I suppose, by stray shots.
FROM that moment my heart became bad.
/ was mad with sorrow, and / spared no.
rody .hat day, fighting hand to hand with
a hatehet.
''Caster came on with his fine troops
down ravine, and when he got within
about quarter of a mile Of the Little
Horn he sent d scout ahead TO seek a
crossing. The man was hiIed. and Gus
ter then seemed for the first time to real
ize our numbers from the view he got Of
the village at this point. From here he
turned and rode toward the bluffs along
the river. and / gave the signal 10 close
in on the troops. From every point my men
spTang up, aud we fought hand to hand
over the ground for nearly a mile, tO the
point where the great leader fen al last.
Our numbers were like the grass. sad at no
time was there any chance for the sol
diers tn escape us We were ten thOiding
Up his finEersl to their one
'.The soldiers were mostly frightened and .
seemed to give up, though their leaders
kept them in line, and they followed their
orders. not many of them breaking ranks.
In some cases my men tore their guns out
of their hands and clubbed them with them:
but this was generally where they could
rot get the cartridge shells out to re-
load. the FnuSkets being hot. do not know
anything about the body of Custer, as
/ never say it. Our dead numbered forty
three"
Together with Col Fenton and the other
officers present the writer rode over the
field with GaH and saw the POINTS indt
Gated in the narrative
To an American there can be no place
more repIete with interest than the na-