Arizona republican., 1914-04-04

are worthless. I have heard that the Crows are good scouts. and l have sent for you to come to my command, l-I have called you Indians here not to fight but to trace the enemy,-you find the Indians and l will do the fighting"
 Within two days we started on our journey, and followed the Sioux trail. When we got to the camp we found that battle had been fought, Tor we found the scalps and the boards of white men. These we took to | Custer He then said: This IS the main point-these Sioux have been killing white people, and I have been sent here by the Great Father to conquer them and bring them back | to their reservation. l am a great chief, but I do not know whether l will get through this summer alive or dead. If they massacre me they will still suffer for they have dis obeyed orders"
 We started just before daybreak The next day we saw the Sioux | upon them now-that settles their i journey" Custer split up his com mand as far as the creek Then he gave me a message to take to Reno. 1 I did not know the import of this message. I brought the answer back from Reno to Custer. While I was delivering the message Reno was fighting his battle, but it was not very fierce, and when I got to Custer with his message he was fighting at the mouth of the creek.
 | Then Custer told me to go and save | my life. I rode a circle around and found my ammunition was getting low. I found dead Sioux. l took his ammunition and gun and horse and got out. When I got on the high hill I looked back and saw that | Custer was the last man to stand.
 Clusters Preparation for Death Goes-Ahead, another Custer scout, says of the fight:
 | General Custer dismounted and said prayers to the Heavenly Father.
 Then he arose and shook hands with
 me and said: My scout. if we win the battle you will be one of the noted men of the Crow nation" In | moment or two he turned and said
 to me: T have forgotten to tell you that you are not to fight in this bat | tie, but to go back and save your l life.''
 l Although Custer had given us cOm- 1 mand to do no fighting, it was inn | possible to stand there on the bluff
 and see the soldiers fight and not do something, so we had to fire.
 Reno. took the battle. There was
 so much smoke and dust that l could
 hardly tell, but Reno was driven
 back by the Indians toward the bluff
 Tn all the valley and woods there was
 nothing but Indians. Soon after Re- no opened fire, Custer began his fire
 From there I cannot tell you.
 About or 5 o'clock the pack train
 came up and the fighting was down there. l went back to pack train
 and helped fight awhile and then
 took to the hills away over to the
 east. When I heard that Custer had been killed I said: He is a man to fight the enemy. He loved to fight
 but if he fights and is killed he will have to be killed.'
 Story of Those Who Fought Custe'
 Even more realistic is the story
 of the Sioux. Indians who fought Custer on that memorable day. Theil own Justification of their conduct is
 most interesting
 |
 Suddenly we heard firing, and we
 found out that the soldiers were or us. The women and children were all frightened, and started to TUT
 across the hills, and we men mount ed our horses and started toward the enemy. I remember that wt
 pushed Reno back until he had tc
 cross the river, and go up agains
 the bluffs, ana then some of oul
 Sioux rode around the hill to heat
 him off, and we had him in a pocket After we had killed many of Reno:
 men, Custer came along the ridge land we were called off to fight Gus
 ter. We kept circling around Custer and as his men came down the ridge
 we shot them down. And then tho
 rest dismounted and gathered in z
 bunch, kneeling down and shooting from behind their horses. We circlet
 round and round, firing into Custer:
 men until the last man was killed I did not see Custer fall, for al
 the Indians did not know which wal
 Custer. One reason why we did no
 scalp Custer was because the Indian. and the white soldiers were so mixed
 up that it was hard to distinguish
 one man from another: and anothe reason was because Custer was tn,
 bravest man of all and we did no
 want to touch him as he made thu last stand This is also the opinion of Rain-in- the-Face.
 Regarding the cause of the Custe fight 1 must say. we were pursued by the soldiers, we were on the war path, and we were on the warpati with the Crows and other tribes. w were trying to drive them back iron the hunting grounds, and the soldier came upon us and we had to defen, ourselves. We were driven out of tn : Black Hills by the men Seeking gold : and our game was driven off, an, we started on our Journey in searcl
 of game Our children were starving , and we had to have something t eat. There was buffalo in that re ? zion and we were moving, simpl. . camping here and there and fighting Tour Indian enemies as we advanced