Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-06-28
CLUSTERS LAST FIGH T
The Historic Battle on the Little Big
Horn.
Chief Calls Account of How the Brave
Fellows of the seventh Cav
airy Were Overcome.

Twenty-one years ago yesterday and to-
day occurred the famous battle of the
Little Big Horn, in which Gen. George \.
Custer and his brave men of the 7th Cav
airy were nlassacrcd by the Cheyennes AMI
Sioux The campaign against the hostile
Sioux, under Sitting Bull. Crazy Horse,
Gall and others. directed by General
Terry. General Crook. with 1000 men, start
F.! ing from Fort Fetterman Dakota; General
Gibbon. with 40 men from Fort Ellis, Mon
tana, and General Terry, with 600 cavalry
and 100 infantry, from Fort Abraham LIN
coin. Dakota. General Terry established
supply camp at the mouth of Powder river
June 9. and there came in communication
with Gihbon. whose command was at the
mouth of the Big Horn. General Crook
encountered large force of Sioux June II
on the Rosebud. Terry decided to join
Gibbons force, but sent his cavalry by
circuit to the Upper Rosebud, where the
whole command was to meet. General
Custer started June %, and soon found
signs of large body of Indians. On the
Little Big Horn he came up to their vii
lage- Major Reno. with three companies,
was sent to the valley of the stream. where
the trail crossed 1t. Reno crossed but
was driven back. where Captains Benteen
and Mcdonald, with four companies, joined
him From 2::S0 o'clock, the 18th, till 6
o'clock the following day Renos force was
surrounded by upward of 5000 Indians.
With their cups they dug breastworks that
probably saved their lives. At night on the
@1th some OF the men crawled to the river
ana got water The next day they fought
IN the blazing sun all day without water.
The Indians sometimes rode up within 80
yar1s- FINALLY soldier ran out and
scaiped an Indian in full sight of his band,
and after that the charging ceased. The
nd hiS
maEd came up. Terry and his officers were
all crying They had found the bodies of
custer and his men two miles away. Not a
soul of the band with Custer escaped to
tell what took place The loss was twelve
oincers. pa men. rive civilians and three
lnd1an scouts killed, and two officers and
I1ty-one men wounded. While Terry and
Crook waited for achievements the In
dams escaped In October about 2OD of
them surrendered to General Miles SIT
ting Bull and his followers got into British
territory and did not come in until the
hard winter of 1881 forced them to surren-
del to Col. Guido Iiges
MANY accounts have been told of the
massacre, but nearly all of them are dis
torteu hy speculations as to what happen
Ell clusters mistake in pursuing an over
wheiminG force, i'll face of which he di-
Viued his own. together with the folly of
letting the Cheyennes Kill the men holding
MS horses and stampede the animals thus
carrying away nearly ali his ammunition.
cost him his life and sealed the doom, Of
The ni3n with him.
The n ost reliable story of Clusters last
1iSht was told by Chief Gail to DR.. Por-
ter. one of the three surgeons un1er cns-
Ter Dr. Lord the senior surgeon. insisted
on going with Custer and forced Porter to
go with Reno. thus losing his own life and
S..NiHS forterS- On the tenth anniversary
OF the battle. in 1856 Dr. Porter an; q
hummer Of officers who were with Reno
tGseihe- with Gall. were at the hat.
tn slu ana ~, they went over the ground
.osstAer. RMS is Calls story: we sau.
Inc soldiers in the mornine crossi,a Nv
uishle- W hen Reno and Custer s.para ed
we watched them until they came low
wbi,a i'n saiieE, cry Was raised that the
uers were given for the yiIla.-s tn VI
iiLiieoia.eiy- Reno swept iown so r,TsI,
f 'iie upper end that The Indians wera
at tbe u ing msh.. Sitting Bun AMI 1 were
.'le point where Raro attacked Sit
sihS i,u.l was Big Maiicin, The 49,,
-, 80 oi'iitreh were hastily moved down
Sam Where the Cheytnnes vyere sn
SCaihiped The Sioux attacked Reno ana IL
Cheyennes Custer. ana IT, r ana the
.u uu up The wo1lrIi and children c,,aan.
~ HoiSeS Tor the bucks 10 mount tbe,a
p '1 -,'i mounted and charged bacn ~,
memo and checked him ana Gro|. t: ch on
inc TIMBER The soldiers i'll ~ MN INTO
- ueeS ana came Cut and fouott ~ e 80
soon as Reno was beaten "a a ioot-
q - az - - the river the whols force -
apoh Iuster and fought hin, 80, 'G u. IL
destroyed him. Custer al mn until they
Out was met about hair :. - 'he
foI,obt ~ now called Reno creek ,,b~i
sten ~, e soldiers and beat them ri,
ny sep until all Were ki1Ian ;! pdck
from his story il is evidr. .e
-, -. IN the coulees behind ~,
fata rls;. lister as he novel I'D the rid, ~ ~
g. Sia.on- The first two comnanfe ~
t and Calhoun) dfsrno,,nJn ''illeS
tousht on foot. They never hnoiei and
ria ~ pF step until forced back 70 ~
We. sh "iiere all finally pershed Tb ,nv
iTbis no, uown IN line where they stonJ
ms statement seems borne an. $1,000.
Iects' as thirty-eight bodias Of ny the
;paiis Were found togetha-l ~ 81 .
60 u.i ec,eu special fire against Tho 90,
fought Iieiu the horses while the others
sIt, AS soon as one of these so,i: -
.S hIied' by moving bankers and S.nii;.
iiS were stampcded, which mad ),
+ar lossipie Tor the soldiers to escann 49,
and bar, n n soldiers fought desperately
as the msn fell the horses ,yara as ia5t
- .o"dru Inc suuawS and old 49,,
, VIZ sdtnered them n. When Reno ~
sLi,r,,ist ~ 10 una custer by throwing ont a
sHi 3iiiSh me Custer and all with hin, -
Geau- " hen the skirrnjshars 49, zee
IhS!i point overlooking CusTer's 81
iluldhS Were sailoping around and over ~ ~
"ouildeu, uying and ,.cdd ponninc h,,,,.
Gnu arrows INTO them. When Reno nal
MS attack at the upper erd no .iIJoI -
Two sIuaws and children when rnad. ~, ~,
t pao: then fought with INV roma.
Ea"h t"fic1 means, of course r,,ltiI,+ira,
~ nuotti so.diefs ran cut of amr,rui,ion
I ~ supply Of cartridges was in the sad
I.e POCKETS OF their staInpaied horses ,rhe
Indians then ran up 10 no sn,4j- ne
pute hered them with tomalawks. A Jot ~
tio.sts ran away and jumped into the river
but were caught by the squaws Eleven In,
dams We're killed on Re1o's creek ana sa,
eral Indians fell over and died G1u so
three Ihdians Were killed altogether. but =
great many wounded ones came across ~.
river ana died in the rushes. Some soI1iers
the river. came back again. and fyera lar,
ed We had Osa,lalas. Mfnneconioi,s
Bruies- tncappa. ali Sioux tribes. ami Tho
oneSennes. Arapahoes and Gros Ventures
w hen the big bust came In the air dox,n
the river tmeaninS Terry and GiDbon1 We
struck our lodges and went I'D a Greet, 10
ward the White Rain mountains Gig HOW
there four days and thea went over RI ~.