The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-01-05

! We were getting snort ol supplies Nelly
and / went out to shoot game for sup
per, leaving Stone in camp. When we
returned we found him dead aud horri-
bly, mutilated. We knew al once that
the Indians were on the warpath and
that we'd better get out. So we started
at once for Fosters ranch, bat when
we reached there we found that the In
/ dians had been ahead Of Us. Every
man, woman and child on the ranch
had been murdered, and all the bodies
| had been mutiiated. The house bad
been burned and all the horses and cat
tie driven off. We started for Chey-
enne to give warning Of the uprising,
and on the way we met body nf Gus
ter's men. They asked Us to join in
the pursuit, and 1 consented gladly,
but my partner, Kelly, decided to go
on to Cheyenne. Not long afterward,
We found his body, sealped and cut to
pieces, only few miles from where we
parted.
ave broke camp on June Is, and
Major Reno secuted the trail to the
Rosebud and struck fresh trail where
the Indians had crossed. Gibbons was
ordered to cross the Yellowstone near
the mouth of the Big Horn and meet
General Custer at the mouth OF the Big
Horn on June 25. On June q the trail
of the Indians was secuted twenty
eight miles up the Rosebud. That night
council was held, and the troops left
the Rosebud and marched up Dirty
WOman's Greek toward the Big Horn,
ten miles, and went into camp, as it
was too dark to venture over the divide.
The next morning the troops were in
the saddle soon after daybreak, and
about O'Clock the first Indians were
seen by the scouts from the top Of the
divide.
"At first we met but few Indians,
and they quickly gave way before Us.
But they soon swarmed upon US from
every direction. They came upon Us
from front and rear and flank, and ev-
cry ravine and every bush and tree
seemed alive with them. We soon
knew that we were doomed, and we
fought as men fight only under such
circumstances. a perfect storm Of ar
rows and bullets was pouring upon us
from every side, but we fought our way
back to our horses, mounted, and in our
struggle to reach the bluffs we left the
greater portion Of our men dead or
wounded on the field. But ten Indi-
ans went down for every white man
who fell. The companies of Captain
Calhoun and Lieutenant Crittenden
were thrown across our flank to protect
our retreat.
General Custer was everywhere, and
for time seemed bullet and arrow
proof. Captain Keogh's company was
exposed to the fiercest fire and his men
were soon swept off. 1t seemed as if
we were hours making that retreat Of a
quarter of a mile. We made our last
stand on little knoll, which we reach
ed with only seventeen men out Of our
entire command.
"There the first thing We did was to
shoot our horses, so as TO make a breast
work behind which we could fight.
General Custer and his brother Tom
and Lieutenant Cook were among the
last to fall. Custer died with his re-
volver in his left hand and his saber in
his right hand, with a dozen dead In
dians piled around him. And, indeed,
almost every man on that little knoll
went down with just such a heap OF
red bodies around him. Charley Rey-
nolds, a scout, and as brave a man as
ever lived, brought down an Indian al
every shot, and as he fell he emptied
his revolver still with a steady hand,
The Indians were armed, in addition
to their bows and arrows, with the best
guns to be had.
'iBefore we went into battle Trum
peter Martin was sent back with order:
to Captain McDougal and Captain Ben
teen to hurry forward with their com
panies. Had they done 80, and had
Reno's men come up to reinforce Us
the result might have been very diff
ferent.
"When I shot my horse a bullet
struck me in the head and I fell. In
its death struggles the horse rolled Ovel
on me and protected me during the res
of the fight When it was all over anC
: the Indians swarmed over the knoll
they chanced to see that 1 was still
alive. They then bound me hand and
foot and took me to their camp.
'sThere they already had two othel
T white men, prospectors, and young
white woman. They put these thre'
through tortures, which was compel
ed to witness. But l was reserved fol
the last, because the execution 1 bad
done in the fight had been noticed, and
they wanted TO have revenge for It. In
fact, they named me Little Thunder
err" and called me by that name all the
time l was among them. The two
prospectors were made to run the gaunt
let again and again. Each time tbs
arrows were pulled out by force anC
fresh ones shot into them. One Of tbs
men finally resisted and was Drained
with q tomahawk. When the other be
came too weak to afford any more spor
Of that sort, he was bound to a stake, ;
slow fire was built on his abdomen anC
the bucks and squaws danced around
him, laughing over his death agOnies