Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1913-10-17
Another Only
Survivor Found
Here is a Story Which Will En-
tertain the Old Timers of the
Slope.

Ann Arbor, Mich.-At the re-
cent reunion here of Gen. Custer
civil war brigade. the man who
attracted most attention, was
Frank Fleck. of Toledo, Ohio,
who claims to be a survivor of the
Custer massacre. Most historians
tell us there was no survivor.
Il was detailed by Gen. Custer
as officer of the day on June Is.
1876, the day of the massacre,
says Fleck. We started out
early to try to find the location of
the redskins. We knew they had
been driven to shelter along the
Big Horn and at the foot of the
mountains, and the word gone out
that they must be driven back on
their reservations. Driven out of
the Upper Yellowstone by Cen
erals Terry and Crook, they had
taken refuge in the mountains of
Montana. Custer and Reno, of
the Seventh Cavalry. were to get
them back on their reservations.
Five miles out from camp that
morning Custer called halt and
ordered every man with a lame
mount to the rear, to await ord
ers. | was among those ordered
to the rear. There were over
forty of US. After little we were
joined by thirty-hve of Reno s
men, ordered to the rear for a
like cause. There was no COM
missioned officer among us, but
by virtue of my detail as officer
of the day, was in command Of
seventy-fve or eighty men left at
the rear.
We waited for orders perhaps
three hours and possibly FIVE, and
then formed line and started back
for camp, for we knew that Gust
er and Reno were many miles
away and probably so cut off iron
us that it was impossible l., pct
v'ord Lack to us. and there were
women and children back in the
camp who might need our protec-
ton.
We had gone less than mile
when we suddenly found that we
were cut off by a band of In
dians. We wheeled and made off
in the direction Custer had TAX
en-. We could not have been very
far from Custer. as discovered
afterward. when we were again
headed off. We made a charge
for the bluff, which was half way
between tvhere the Custer and
the Reno forces lay, when the en-
counter took place. The red
skins seemed to spring from the
very earth. and they outnumber-
, ed US seven to one.
When it was over, only and
one other man, Frank Knapp,
were left alive, and both of us
wounded.
Il was wounded early in the
battle. My left leg was shatter-
ed. one bullet went through my
neck, my right hand almost shot
of at the wrist, and there was a
bullet in my right side. My chin
was cleft by an arrow. My horse
must have been shot almost with
me, for when fell, he fell too
and rolled over me. Hours aft
erward looked up to see an In.
dian bending over me with q
scalping knife. heard shot and
the Indian fell.
i, Found by a Comrade.
: 1t must have been twenty
hours later, that discovered that
it was Knapp who had shot the
Indian, who was about to SCALP
me. We lay near together, and
he whispered his presence to me
A few hours later | saw him rise
on his elbow to ease his wounds
and at the instant, an Indian sho,
him dead from ambush.
Il lay on the field under my
horse, soaked in my own blood
and the blood of my mate 70,
, thirty-six hours. while John Stew.
, enson, left in charge of the camp
: where the women and the sick ol
the seventh were, found me. He
and others had started out to see
if they could get any trace oI