Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-10-06
marching north, struck the Indians
first and WAS so hoxllv dicoan,f&6 God


he had to fall back so miles. Gibbon
and Terry. with the latter of whom
was Custer and his Seventh cavalry,
met on the banks of the Yellowstone.
and Custer was sent south to find
out where the Indians WERE, for no
communication was possible between
Terry and crook.
The Day Of Massacre.
One the forenoon of June 25, 1876,
Clusters command struck the Indians,
VINO were encamped in the valley of
the Little Big Horn. 1t is fruitless
here to discuss whether or not Gus
ter Obeyed orders from Terry. 1t is
enough to say that he divided his com
mand into three parties, the first of
whom, under Major Reno, charged
the Indian village, was badly defeated
and driven back on the bluffs above
the river Custer went behind the
bluffs to strike the village lower down
the valley. was forced back to the
Nils and there, surrounded by 5000
warriors instead of 900 conjectured
by General Sherman. met his death
with PA of his command. Stripped,
gashed and mutilated almost beyond
recOgnitiOn-all except Custer, whose
BODY bore no mark except those of the
/ two bullets which had caused his
death-the little band was found w..
ing around its chief Tom" Custer
was there. close beside his brother.
an arrow driven through his head, his
breast cut open. his heart torn out and
lying beside him. The end had been
bitten off. Rain, in-the- Face had kept
| his vow: Il will live to cut your
heart out and eat it."
Five Clusters Fell.
! Five members of the Custer family
fell that fatal day-George A. Custer.
Tom" Custer Boston Custer, Lieu
tenant Calhoun, brother-in-law, and
"Autie" Reed, nephew. Truly,
Rain-in-the-Face had reaped his re-
venge. This was, as has been said.
on June %. Messengers were sent
off as fast as possible with the news.
but they had to travel hundreds of
miles through a country filled with
fleeing Indians to reach points where
communication could be had with the
outside world. Fred Server. of Grow
Agency, Montana, former Philadel-
phlan, was scout with Gibbon. He
was sent with dispatches to Fort FL
lis, now Bozeman, Mont. He told me
that he went north of the Yellow
stone, and around by Pompeys Pillar.
hiding from Indians by day and tray
cling by night. There were 40 Rec
Indians with Major Reno when he
charged down the Little Big Horn val
ley but, seeing inevitable defeat, they
fled and never stopped until they
reached their tribe and homes. Geo
Walters, now trader at the Cheyenne
reservation in Montana, was then in
the regular amy and stationed at Glen
dive, Mont, near the present North
Dakota line. He was orderly on duty
at the tent of the cOmmandant when,
in the dusk of the morning two Rees
rode up on tagged horses, having rid
den over 200 miles, bearing the It'd
ings of defeat He was the first white
man to hear of the Cluster massa-
Gre
At the scene the wounded were put
on the steamer Far West, which had
come with Terry and Gbbon up the
Zig Horn, and thence taken to the
Yellowstone, the Missouri and down
to Fort Lincoln. The Far West reach
ed Bismarck on July and thence the
telegraph flashed to a nation that day
celebrating the centennial anniversary
of American independence the tale of
a defeat that marred the year of a
hundred years.
The Indians Flight.
Rain-in theFace fled with many of
the Sioux to Canada, where they tool;
/ refuge under the British flag at Fort
Walsh, in what is now the province
of Alberta. They were there for some
time, the subject of negotiations be
tween the United States and Canada
h1It fin hn, -
AIRY surrendered and were taken to
the Standing Rock reservation. Sit
ting Bull met a tragic death in De
cember, 1890, during the ghost
dance outbreak; Crazy Horse was
killed by his guards in an attemp,
to escape; Gall died a few years ago
and now Northumberland has answered
the last roll call of the chiefs who
fought the last fight of the Indians
against the white man.
Many who visited the worlds fail
at Chicago in 1898 will remember him
He was at Sitting Bulls cabin on the
midway during the exposition. In Sep
TENDER, 1899 he was at the North Da
kota state fair in Mandan. With 6O(
Indians he had come up from the
reservation to add interest to the gath
ering. He was very weak, and ha,
been brought there on travels;
rude litter of poles covered with
robes and blankets and trailed by
pony. There was great TODD in the
camp and the Indians were puttine
on their tawdry finery and plumes fol
the parade. An old orator was coins
from tepee to tepee calling on the
braves to come and show the white
men what they were. In the mids
of the excitement the flap of Rain-in
the-Face'S tepee was drawn aside ant
his grim visage peered out on thu
scene. For moment he gaZed upor
1t, its mimic pageantry doubtless re
calling the stirring times when will
Sitting Bull and Gall he had gone fortl
to fight the "YellOw-haired chief" ant
, then he let the flap fall and turned tt
!, his couch. He put his pipe to hi!
lips, and, probably disguised by tn.
contrast, when newspaper man pu
) to him, through an interpreter, some
questions concerning the Little Big
Horn, he made an utterly unprintablt
response.
Where the Chieftain Died.
, There are nearly four Thousand
, Sioux on the Standing Rock reserva
ton, where Northumberland has JUS
ended his turbulent career. The name
} comes from a stone which stands OF
pedestal erected by the government
Long years ago, probably before Co
lumbus' caravals crossed to the west
ern world, Rec Indian took a Siou,
Co. L.