The Topeka state journal., 1897-07-13
LITTLE BIG HORN.
A Famous Battle-A Picture of Gus
ter's Last Fight.

This paper has received handsome
colored ithograph beautifully framed
| and issued by the Anheuser-Busch as
| sociation, of ST. Louis, manufacturers
| of Malt Murine. The picture and
frame are of large size, about three by
| four feet. The scene represents Gus
| ter's last stand wherein he and his
comrades sold their lives, but as dearly
as possible. The story of the fight is a
| thrilling one.
In spite of recent mutterings among
| the Indians of the Northwest there is
! small chance that history will repeat
! itself in another June massacre. 1t is
| now 81 years since the battle of the
| Little Big Horn. On June 25 hearts
| without number turned with loving re-
membrance to that summer day, When
Custer and his men perished on the
battle field of the North Platte.
| Like the fairy tales of our childhood,
we are always ready to listen again
and again to the heroic deeds OF our
, warriors, men whom we recall as haV-
fought while we slept in our beds and
| dreamed of everything except the blood
| curdling battle that was done for our
safety.
The massacre at Little Big Horn
compares with no other Indian battle
in horrible details. None lived TO ten
its tale. A big village of hostile IN
dams was supposed to be located at
] Little Big Horn. Their trail had been
| discovered a few days before the bloody
battle by Major Reno, ana Gaf General 6S.rsa
| ter to proceed up the Rosebud in pur-
| suit of the Indians.
| Clusters expedition was ordered to
| proceed as far as the headwaters of the
| Tongue River, from where it was to
| march toward Little Big Horn, and
| General Gibson was ordered to set
! himself in motion for the mouth of the
Big Horn. Future movements were
naturally left to circumstances, for the
entire plan was merely based upon con-
| lecture.
In pursuance of these commands Gus
! ter marched IL miles up the Rosebud
| on June %. On the succeeding day he
made SS miles Then Indians began to
! show themselves and the trail became
| hot. On June "a Custer marched 28
miles, halted and waited for reports
nd fG9m his bi so9uts na ngha and fod
| them that, beyond doubt, the village
| of the hostiles had been located by the
| scouts in the valley of the Little Big
| Horn. In order to cross the divide be-
| tween the Rosebud and the Little Big
| Horn without being discovered by the
| Indians, it was necessary to march
| under cover of the night. At IL p. m.
! the march was resumed, but before the
| morning broke, scouts informed Custer
| that the divide could not be crossed
| before daylight, so the command matted
| and made coffee. At o'clock the march
was resumed and three hours later Gus
| ter's men were in the valley of one of
L
| proved death valley for these braves.
Some Indians had been seen, and they
forestalled any chance to surprise the
red men in their village; so Custer re-
| solved upon an attack
Commands were assigned on the
march, Custer taking with himself the
battalion marched to the right down
| the tributary creek of the Little Big
Horn valley. Previous to the division
of his command Custer saw all the
1 Of 1saT.c
and was greatly elated over what he
termed Clusters luck" Sixty success
full charges he had to his credit, and the
sixty-first was close at hand For the
sake of convenience Custer had had his
long yellow looks cut short. After the
| tragedy some of the survivors lkened
the dead hero to Samson.
The Little Big Horn is a stream filled
with dangerous quicksand, and cuts off
the edges of the northern bluffs near
the point where Custer periShed. The
abruptness and height of the river
banks made it impossible for Custer to
get down to the edge of the stream,
and the Indians saw the troops on the
bluffs early in the morning. For fully
five miles along the valley of the Little
Big Horn that immense Indian village
stretched. The immense pony herd
was out grazing when the savages took
the alarm. They ran for their arms
but by the time they had made them
selves war, proof the soldiers had disap-
peared. The Indians thought they had
been frightened off by the evident
strength of the village but the head of
Clusters column showed itself again
coming down dry water course, which
formed a narrow ravine toward the riv-
er's edge. He made a dash to get
across, but was met by a tremendous
fire from the repeating rifles of the saw
ages. The head of the command reeled
back to the bluffs, leaving several men
on the ground and a number Of corpses
in the water, whittier they had fallen,
and were swallowed up by the quick
sand. Then Custer sought to lead his
men up to the bluffs by a diagonal
movement. All of them had dismount-
ed, firing they went along over the
backs of their horses at the Indians.
The latter had by that time crossed the
river by thousands, taking the general
in flank and rear. Still another force
kept up calling fire from across the
river. The steady fight of the troops
could not compare with the rapid close
shooting of the savages. The former
melted like snow before it, and fell dead
among their horses in heaps. The fir
ing was kept up until the last man of
Clusters command lay dead.
When the routing was complete and
not an eyelid batted to indicate life the
savages began the mutilatio of the
dead. Several bodies besides that of
Custer remained unscalped, because the
warriors had grown weary of the riot
Gus massacre. The river rolled blood
instead of water down the inclining bed
The horses of the troops were only in
the way. They plunged and reared and
kicked under the appalling fire, and
ddded 10 tne rout ana haVoc or the
hour.
The fight began at o'clock in the
afternoon and continued without inter
mission till sunset. The ceaseless fire
by the Indians and the troops on that
terrible afternoon has been compa red
by those who heard it to the Swapping
of the threads in the tearing of a blank
ct"
Custer remained alive throughout the
greater part of the engagement, ami
mating his men to determined resis-
h11f hot fIaa ala
In that dread extremity his soldier
spirit and noble bearing held the men
under control, and the dead bodies of
q.