The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-07-12

the bottom, five companies started alone
the ridge in the direction that Custe
went, and toward the Custer battlefield
where we could overlook it. Here Rem
was attacked by the Indians, and W
received orders to fall back TO where on,
packs and wounded were.
At this spot. l had a rifle ball pu
INTO the right side of the pommel OF M.
saddle, which went through my blouse
ana part of my trousers, and took tn
wind out of me. 1t was a 40 cahbei
ball from the Indians, and supposed to b'
some of Clusters ammunition. let tina
paIi remain in the pommel Of my saddle
until the day before l was discharged
then | went to the stable and removed 1t
1 brought it home with me, and had 1t II
my possession for some time. 1t finally
disappeared in some mysterious way, ano
| have since regretted it, as I had intended
to use it for q watch charm.
We then crossed the river over into the
abandoned Indian camp. The indians
had taken down their lodges, but left the
poles standing.
Leave Camp Equipment
They also left all of their camp equip
age consisting of mess pals, camp kettles
handled axes and coffee mills. We also
found in the lodges parts of bags OF
flour marked interior department. which
showed that some of the Indians were
fresh from the Indian agencies.
We found three of our mems heads,
suspended by wires through the back OF
the ears from a lodge pole, with the na1r
burned off. We found quite a number
of dead horses lying around the camp.
We dismounted in the camp and destroyed
all the camp equipage, chopped holes in
the kettles, broke up the frying pans, and
destroyed, everything we possibly could
and we made fires and burned up the
lodge poles. l don't know as l saw any of
the dead Indians in the camp, although |
heard that there were some. The Indians
always carried away their dead If they
possibly could. If one Of their dead hap
pened to fall into our lands and was
scalped, they would leave the body there,
as they claimed that no Indian ever went
to the happy hunting grounds" without
his scalp.
While this was going on, the battery
that came in with Gibbons to
off of the limbers and caissons and came
up to the Indian encampment and loaded
up a lot of lodge poles and then carried
them back to Terry's camp. That was
on Reno's first battlefield.
During the destruction Of this camp,
there were two wounded horses belong
ing to Clusters command which had
strayed from the woods and we looked
them over. They had several shots in
them. One of them a buckskin horse,
was ridden by Captain Myles Keough
when he was killed with his whole com
pany. The other one was an iron gray
and we dispatched him. Keough's horse
was taken along with the command and
kept for a number of years in the same
company in memory of it's rider and taken
out on all important parades of the
/ have since been informed that after
his death some few years ago, the horses
body was sent to a museum in Kansas.
Bury Reno's Dead
We arrived back from the Indian camp
to Reno's first battlefield and there we
buried Rene's dead. Those men were
stripped and terribly mutiIated. We bur-
led all the dead that we found on the
General Terry's troops. We remained in
camp and made what was called horse
filters, which were contrivances for car
rying wounded men. They were made by
laying them, on the ground and taking two
short pieces of poles and tying those
lodge poles so that they would be three
feet apart. When they were completed,
and another in the rear with a rope or a
strap over the horses saddles so that the
poles would be suspended on both sides
Of the horse; That would leave a space
We made temporary stretchers out Of
pieces of lodge poles and pieces of old
tents and blankets, and put the men who
were wounded in the legs and could not
ers were suspended from those poles.
One man would lead the foremost horse,
and another horse in the rear. with a mar
either side Of the stretcher to steady
it and keep it from swaying. In this man
ner we carried a great many of our
rounded men. Those who were slight
ly wounded rode our horses, while those
who were wounded very badly had to be
carried by eight men on stretchers. -Four
would carry them a short distance, and
then four fresh ones take them.
After everything was ready, we started
the Little Big Horn at night. The
built numerous fires on the way
down, so that the men carrying the
could keep on the trail.
Reach Steamer ia West"
Grant Marsh, captain of the steamer
Far West" a 700-ton boat, came up the
Yellowstone and then proceeded up the
Big Horn a distance of about 40 miles,
most good. He was then within Is miles
Of the battlefield, and he received the
wounded on the morning of the twenty
The night was very dark, and
Terry caused fires to be built. BY
so doing, Reno's command was saved from
carrying the wounded a distance of about
10 miles.
1t appears that when Clusters engage
ment opened, Curley, a Crow scout, made
MS escape in some way. / understand
hat he mingled in with the Sioux in the
Engagement, and when he got an oppor-
unity, threw off his Crow blanket and
nto the brush, where he took his pony.
de took a wad of grass, damned it into
he pony's mouth, tied his lariat around
lis horses nose, to prevent his making
/ noise, and tied him to a tree.
He then jumped on a Sioux pony and
his way down the Little Big Horn
n the direction that he knew the %re-in-l
orcements were coming. He was pursued
oy the Indians, but managed to escape.
lie reported to General Terry and describ-
ID the engagement.
An Indian, in describing an engagement
will point a gun, then make a noise as
( the gun exploded. Then he will drop
he gun and throw up his hands. That
that the man who fired the gun
s dead. He explained that to General
Terry. General Terry put down a piece
f paper and gave Curley a lead pencil,
nd he made dots on the paper, showing
where the soldiers were on the inside OF
circle, the Indians on the outside. Terry
hen asked him how many were killed, and
Ie picked up a handful of leaves and shook
hem over the paper, saying: 1.-THE white
all dead, and the Indians as thick as
The story although not fully understood,
eemed incredible and was not accepted,
ut it proved true in all its details. Cur
~ said he saw that the troops were sure
o be massacred, and he managed to reach
he river, where he washed off his Crow
amt, dropped down his hair, which was
ocular to the Crows, pulled 1t over his
ace, put on a Sioux blanket, and pre-
ended to engage in the fight with the
accompanying them in one OF their
harges on Custer.
Watching his opportunity, he escaped,
In doing so he picked up a Sioux
ony and reported at the mouth OF the
little Big Horn, where he knew Terry
ynDld ~ %ha 1