East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1911-05-10
FRESH FACTS ABOUT CLUSTERS LAST BATTLE
Major Lee Moorhouse Receives Letter From Man Who Was I'm Renos
Command.

woods" he goes on to say, " is doubt
less shared by a great nan others
who have given the matter some
thought, and yet / do not know that
/ can endorse II. If Reno had have
been a man tried in Indian warfare
and have had perfect command of his
facilities, If Captain Benteen had have
been as Jealous in obeying orders as
he was in personal bravery, the result
of the battle might have been very
different and | might not be here, but
it is very hard to say. There are so
many ifs in the question. l sup
pose 1t is a very difficult thing for any
man, even the most clear headed, to
realize in a few minutes the best
course to pursue under such circum-
stances.
THE location from which we start
ed to retreat was certainly a very good
one to defend, if m had a few mo-
ments in which to size it up and, place
his men. The former course of the
river made a bend there, low and heav-
lily timbered, and the old bank of the
river for a distance would have made
ar excellent breastworks. / sometimes
think that Reno had some such in
tcntion when he mounted and dis
mounted the men before he got out
of the woods but gave up the idea.
What a ride that was from the mo-
ment We came out of the woods on to
the prairie and found "A thick red line
OF yelling Indians pouring shot into
US from their Henry and Winchester
rifles while they raced us for the
bluffs. over the prairie-dog holes we
went, down the old bank of the river
to another level and soon the river
was filled with excited men and strug-
Cling horses. out of it and up the
bluffs we started Can / eve forget
it! 1t was right there that my horse
gave out and refused to move, Indians
OF no Indians. | dismounted and tried
t lead him but not an inch would he
stir. The bullets were coming near
and fast, my comrades were rushing
by toward the top of the bluff, so ]
gave the horse a hearty kick and
started up the slope afoot. l had
gene but a short distance when | was
overtaken by a comrade named My
ers, also dismounted. We walked al
ong close together for a few yards
when a shot struck him and he fell
dead at my feet.
"A bad place for me- l thought,
and / had better zig gag so l bore
off a little to the right and then to
the left but ever going up. When
within n few yards of the top, an
other comrade, mounted and having
a lead horse, came along and kindly
(and gladly, I Think gave me his
extra mount so that | SOC arrived
at the summit where had congre-
gated most of the men who had es-
capped.
'"The fire of the Indians had slack
eEed if moi altogether ceased q, this
time, and most of the men We're ly-
ing down taking Il much needed rest,
wondering what had happened and
what was coming next In a very
brief time Captain Benteen, with his
three troops, came UP to us followed
shortly by Captain McDougars troop
escorting the pack train. This was,
| should Judge, about 2:SO in the
afternoon, certainly not later.
Here we remained unmolested SO
far as | could see, for nearly if not
quite two hours, perhaps longer, hen
an advance was made in the direction
Custer was supposed to have gone. \
short distance was covered when the
Indians appeared in our front and be-
gan firing. The commanH then re-
turned to near the place where we
were Joined by Benteen early in the
afternoon and we We're soon surroun-
ded by the Indians who kept up a
severe fire until deep twilight when
they ceased. | do not know that l
can add anything to Lieutenant God
rrcy's account Of what followed"
In Godfrey's account is told Of the
rescue of Reno and his survivors by
General Gobbon who arrived from the
west with reinforcements. The cam
paign continued until the following
January when Colonel Nelson A,
Miles administered n decisive defeat
to the warriors of Sitting Bull. That
unrelenting old chief with some of
his tribesmen retreated into Canada
and 1t was some months before he
could be induced to return to his res
ervation. Later he performed just
as modern celebrities do by making
a tour of the United States and Incl
dentally collecting a small fortune by
exhibiting himself to the gaze of the
curious.
Private William Taylor was MUSTER
ed out of the Seventh Cavalry In
June, 1877, according to his letter,