The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-07-06
new VERSION OF
CUSTER FIGHT
Continued from Feature Page)

was considered a very fine soldier in N
troop and we missed him very much.
In the Indian camp after the battle, When
we were destroying it, we found the heads
of three of our men tied together with
wires and suspended from lodge pole
with their hair all burned off We did not
see their bodies there The Indians prob
ably threw them into the river We got
back to our horses and the orders were
given to mount and this time some OF the
men became confused and some of them
could not find their horses.
Major Reno had lost his hat and had
a red handkerchief tied around his head.
AS we mounted / looked to the rear in the
direction of the river and saw the Indians
completing the circle, riding through the
brush and lying flat on their ponies. |
mentioned the fact to Captain French, say.
| ing, Captain, the Indians are in our rear
He answered: "Oh, no; those are General
| Clusters men," Just at that moment one of
those Indians fired and Private George
Lorentz of my company, who was number
| bullet striking him in the back of the neck
and coming out of his mouth. He fell
forward on his saddle and dropped to the
ground Just at that moment the Indians
fired into us from all sides, and | said to
Captain French of my company: "The best
thing that we can do is to cut right
surrounded. They were on higher ground
than we were. Major Reno rode up and
said: "Any of you men who wish to make
your escape, follow me-"
Reno Leads Charge
The order was then given to charge, and
away we went up the steep embankment,
cutting through the Indians in solid
body, Major Reno being in advance. As we
cut through them the fighting was hand
to hand, and it was death to any man who
fell from his horse, or was wounded and
was not able to keep up with the COM
mand.
After cutting through we went back over
the same ground, and then took a circle
IN ba IN o1in no q Z 10
point Here there was some pretty sharp
fighting. The Indians were in great num-
bers on all sides of us In this charge
there were 30 men killed. my company los |
ing 10, but we reached the river.
Bloody Knife. chief of Indian scouts /; |
Charlie Reynolds, a white scout, and liar |
Dorman, the negro interpreter, were killed |
here. Lieutenant HOdgsOn was wounded |
and his horse shot and Lieut.. Donald |
Mcintosh was killed. Mcintosh. was a
brave and faithful officer, commanding
Company G..
Lieutenant DeRudio and Fred Girard, a
white scout, and some 10 or - men, be-
came separated from the command, and
aid themselves in the brush or in the
woods, or under the river embankment, and
some of those men told me afterwards that
hey stood in water up to their necks, un-
Ter the embankment, to keep out of sight
IF the Indians. Two of those men were
of my company, Charles White
md Patrick Carney. They Joined the COM !
nand in the intrenchments on the bluff ,
fter dark.
At this point the river was about 80 {
ards wide, and the water about two and {
half feet deep, with a swift current Z
lieutenant Hodgson asked one of the men
carry him across, he being wounded
nd his horse shot. 1t was reported that
trumpeter from my company named g
Usher, better known as Bounce" told him :
D hold one to his stirrup, and the horse d
rev the Lieutenant as well as the rider i
cross the river. He was shot a second il
lme and killed. Now I know of three men
Tho claim to have aided Hodgson.
Fighting Is Desperate
The opposite bank of the river was very
Leep, and the only way to get up to the g
Iutis was through buffalo trail worn n
ne man pass through at a time. Before =
e crossed the river the fighting was des- II
crate and at close quarters. fl
In many instances the soldiers would h
npty their revolvers right into the breasts =
the Indians, and then throw them away =
Id grab their carbines, not having time
return their revolvers to their holsters.
my opinion, If Major Reno had remained
the timber short time longer not
an would have made his escape as the
!dians outnumbered us 10 to one.
In scaling the bluff, DR.. De Wolf, con-
act surgeon ON the expedition, was
lied; also Sergeant Clair of Company X,
lillian ID. Myer farrier of Company NJ
a henry Gordon of the same company.
lelr bodies, with number of others, lay
ls. did not get chance to scalp them. =
AFTER we gained the bluffs we could look
OK upon the plains where the Indians r
re, and could see them stripping and ii
llping our men, and mutiIating their II
dies in a horrible manner The prairie II
s all afire;;, The officers did all in their II
wer to rally the men, and while they II
re doing so many were killed. I'll
After the companies were formed the fir III
: ceased, and we were Joined by Ben II
ms battalion. which was. the first we II
'iment. Soon after, the pack train ar II
ed, with company under Captain Nc II
ugal, which was very fortunate, as our II
munitlon was nearly exhausted, and we III
lid not get supplies from any other III
irce. We had several wounded men and III
attended to them as well as circum- III
noes would permit. l understood at that III
lie that Captain Weir with his company, iii
the direction General Custer had taken ii
snort distance, and then returned, II
nough did not see him. III
4eaYing two companies with the packs ii
wounded, Major Reno, with five COM II
lies, or what was left of them, proceeded II
the direction we had supposed General Ill
sster took, and in the direction of the II
liam camp. III
We went in that direction for probably II
| a mile until we gained a high point, III
could overlook the Indian camp and III
battlefield. We saw at a distance of III
NJ mile and half to two miles parties III
ON we supposed were Indians, riding II
* and forth, firing scattering shots. We iii
ught that they were disposing of Gus III
8 wounded men, and this afterward II
we'd to be true Hi
We halted for a few moments, and saw III
arge herd of ponies at the further end III
me village, and could distinguish large III
ty of Indians coming towards the Ind II
camp. The prairie around the village III
the first battlefield was all afire, hav- III
iii
I the top. of this bluff we halted, and II
The foot there was a ford, and this was III :
IRE Custer had first encountered the III
ians, as we found some of the dead II
les there two days afterwards. While II
were on the bluffs the Indians again II
lie their appearance, coming in large II
lbers from the direction in which we III
I'd the firing. We exchanged several III
IS with them and we lost a few men. II
then had orders to fall back to our II
ks and wounded. III
n our arriving there we dismounted in II
tie, putting the wounded in a low de- II
'sion on the bluffs and put packs from
mules around them to shelter them II
n the fire of the Indians We then II
nod as..a