The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1923-07-05
HERE is A NEW VERSION OF CUSTER'S LAST FIGHT, WHICH
is TOLD BY JOHN RYAN, TOP SERGEANT UNDER MAJOR RENO

and there was quicksand about three feet
deep. On the other side of the river we
made a short halt, dismounted, frightened
our saddle girths, and then swung INTO our
saddles. After mounting we came up,
Left front into line" Captain French's
company NJ on the right, and Lieutenant
McIntosh's company on the left, and Cap
tain Maylan's in the rear.
We were then in the valley of the Little
Big Horn, and facing down stream. we
started down on a trot and then on a slow
gallop. Between the right of my company
and the river bank there was quite a LOT
of underbrush, and burberry bushes. Cap
tain French gave me orders to take 10 men
off to the right of my company and form
a skirmish line, so as to cover the DrusH
from the right of our line to the river bank
as the Indians might be lurking there. We
advanced in that formation for from one
and a half to two miles, until we came to
a heavy piece of timber.
Hears First Shot
Before we arrived at the timber, there
was one shot fired away ahead Of us. I
! do not know whether it was fired by Lieu
tenant Varnum's scouts or one of the nos
tile Indians. That was the first shot tnat
! heard in the opening of the battle of the
Little Big Horn on Jun %, 1876, and l had
pretty good ears about that time.
Private James Turley of my troop,
when we arrived at the timber and had
orders to halt, could not control his horse,
which carried him towards the Indian
camp. That was the last I saw of him. He
was a very nice young man. A little Incl
dent happened a day or two before we left
Fort Rice to go on the expedition. Turley
asked ne If l would allow him to put some
of his property in my clothes chest. / told
him that / would with the understanding
that if he was killed the contents of the
chest would belong to me and if l was
killed it would belong to him. After COM
ing back from the expedition the property
belonging to those men who we're killed
was sold at public auction and the proceeds
turned over to the paymaster.
When we got to the timber we rode
down an embankment and dismounted.
This was where the channel of the river
changed and was probably several feet
lower than the level of the prairie. We
dismounted in haste, number four of each
set of four holding the horses.
We came up onto higher ground forming
a skirmish line from the timber towards
the bluffs on the other side of the valley
and facing down stream in the direction of
the Indian camp. This was our first view
Of the Indian camp from the skirmish line.
Some of the men lay down while others
knelt down.
At this particular place there was a
prairie dog town and we used the mounds
for temporary breast works. We got the
skirmish line formed and here the Indians
made their first charge. There were prob
ably 500 of them coming from the direction
of their village. They were well mounted
and well armed. They tried to cut through
our skirmish line. We fired volleys into
them, repulsing their charge and empting
a number of their saddles.
Lieutenant Hodgson walked up and down
the line encouraging the men to keep cool
and fire low.
First Man Killed
Finally, when they could not cut through
us, they strung out in single file, lying on
the opposite side of their horses from us,
and they they commenced to circle. They
overlapped our skirmish line on the left
and were closing in on the rear to com
plete the circle. We had orders to fall
back to our horses. This was where the
first man was killed. Sergt. Miles f.
O'Hara of my troop, NJ. He was a cor
poral going out on the expedition and was
promoted to a sergeant a few days before
his death to replace Sergeant John Dolan,
who was discharged, as his term of service
Continued on Agricultural Page)