Grand Forks daily herald. (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1914-1916, 1914-12-14
indian FIGHTER
IS SEEKING JOB
M. c. Caddle Would be Post
master of the House in
Forthcoming Session.

Bismarck, N. D., Dec. i'm. G,
caddle OF Fort Rice was in Bismarck
recently in the interests Of his can
didacy for the postmastership In the
house Of Representatives at the com
ing session Of the legislature. Mr.,
Caddle Is one Of the old timers of the
state. having come here in the early
seventies with the seventh U. 9. cav
airy in which he was a rgean at
the time of his honorable discharge.
IL Will be remembered tina this regi.
ment was the that was almost
entirely wiped out at the time of the
custer massacre. Sergeant Caddle
was n Of the men who were detailed
to remain behind and guard the wa
gon train when that was abandoned
and h rest of the advance made
with a pack train. At the time of the
battle he was about so miles from
the scene of the engagement. Just
ABOUT II year after this he was a
member Of the party that went to the
nattle field to bury the dead. Every
history states that the Reno COM
mand, which arrived after the battle
buried the dead" but according to
the story Of Sargent CaddIe it had
been impossible for them to do this
on account of the fact that thew had
neen travelling light n had had no
tools with which to dig in the hard
soil Of the prairie and only a. little
loose dirt had been gathered and
thrown over the bodies, and when the
second party arrived a. year later ali
the skeletons were as fully exposed
10 the weather as though there had
been no attempt at burial.
1t became the duty of Sergeant Cad
die and party to identify the dead as
rar as possible and see that the graves
OF the privates were marked with the
name and regiment to which they be-
aonseo. Ihere was a very narrow
scape from having General Clusters
remains inferred as those Of one Of
prtvates and it was only through
the efforts of Mr.. Caddle that this wa a
prevented.
A body supposed to he that of Gus
ter had been placed in a coffin and
prepared for shipment when 1t vas
found that a blouse on the corpse had
the name of another man on it. Mr..
t a. then found a stake with Gus
ters name on It at the head Of an
other skeleton and there could then
be no mistake as to the identity of the
corpse. The men Of the Reno COM
mand had written the name of the
general on a slip Of paper, put the
IN an empty cartridge and then
pounded the open end Of the cart
ridge into h stake. When asked if
ne was positive that there could be
no question as to the identity Of the
man buried he said there was no pos
eible nance for a mistake. The body
OF Custer was taken to West Point
where it now remains, while the re-
mains of the other officers were taken
to Eeavenworth for final interment.
Mr.. Caddle says there is one thing
about the Custer fight which very
few people knew until a very short
time ago. Gustave Korn was the COM
pany blacksmith and when the com
mand was about a half a mile from
the Indian camp Korn had to stop to
tighten up the cinch on his saddle,
and when, he came up to the COM
mand again 1t vas impossible for him
to stop. his mount and he ran right
through the Indians to where Colonel
Reno was. His horse was shot Ave
times and dropped dead just outside
OF h br~eastworks. Korn was not
wounded at all but was the first man
to be killed at the battle Of Wounded
Knee in 1890. " -
Mr.. Caddle is now farming near
Fort Rice where he has a fine place
and is taking his rest after the strenu-
GUS years Of frontier and pioneer life.