The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1923-07-13

where We could overlook it. Here Reno
was attacked by the Indians, and We
packs and wounded were.
AT TINS spot. | had a rifle ball put
into the right side of the pommel of my
saddle, which went through my blouse
wind out Of me. 1t was .45 calibeI
| ball from the Indians, and supposed to be
some OF Clusters ammunition. / let that
ball remain in the pommel of my saddle
until the day before / was discharged,
| then l went to the stable and removed it.
/ brought it home with me, and had it in
my possession for some time. 1t finally
disappeared in some mysterious way and
| to use IL for 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
frying pans and a great many short
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 We're
fresh from the Indian agencies.
We found three of our mems heads,
suspended by wires through the back of
the ears from lodge pole, with the hair
burned Off We found quite number
of dead horses lying around the camp.
We dlsmounted in the camp and destroyed
all the camp equipage chopped holes in
the Kettles, broke up the frying. pans, and
and we made fires and burned up the
lodge poles. / don't know as / saw any of
the dead Indians in the camp, although /
heard tnat there were some. The Indians
possibly could. If one of their dead hap
pened to fall into our hands and was
scalped, they would leave the body there,
as they claimed that no Indian ever went
n hmm inc dcft Wit n
his scalp
While this was going on, the battery
that came in with Gibbons command to
Reno's battlefield had taken the chests
up to the Indian encampment and loaded
up a lot of lodge poles and then carried
them back to Terry's camp. That was
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 number of years in the same
company in memory of its rider and taken
out on all important parades of the
Seventh cavalry but never was ridden.
have since been informed that after
his death some few years ago, the horses
body was sent to museum in Kansas.
Bury Reno's Dead
We arrived back from the Indian camp
to Reno's first battlefield and there we
buried Reno's dead. Those men were
stripped and terribly mutilated. We bur-
led all the dead that we found on the
field. We then went into camp with
General Terry's troops. We remained in
camp and made what was called horse
litters, which We're contriyances for car
rying wounded men. They were made by
taking two lodge poles about % feet long,
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,
horse was put into the front end of them
and another in the rear with a rope or
strap over the horses saddles so that the
poles would be suspended on both sides
of the horse. That would leave space
of eight feet between the two horses.
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
walk on those stretchers. These stretch
ers were suspended from those poles.
One man would lead the foremost horse,
and another horse in the rear, with man
on either side of the stretcher to steady
it and keep it from swaying. In this man
ner we carried a great many of our
wounded men. Those who were slight
ly wounded rode our horses, while those
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
down the Little Big Horn at night The
infantry built numerous fires on the way
down, SO that the men carrying the
stretchers could keep on the trail.
Reach Steamer Far West"
Grant Marsh captain of the steamer
Far West" 700-ton boat, came up the
Yellowstone and then proceeded up the
Big Horn a distance of about 40 miles,
taking position where he could do the
most good. He was then within 10 miles
Of the battlefield, and he received the
wounded on the morning of the twenty
General Terry caused fires to be built By
so doing, Reno's command was saved from
carrying the wounded distance Of about
40 miles.
ment opened, Curley, Crow scout, made
his escape in some way. ! understand
that he mingled in with the Sioux in the
engagement, and when he got an oppor--
put on a Sioux blanket and got down
into the brush, where he took his pony.
He took wad of grass, damned it into
the ponys mouth tied MS laF ria arG Hin
noise, and tied him to g. tree.
He then jumped on Sioux pony and
made his way down the Little Big Horn
in the direction that he knew the REIN
by the Indians but managed to escape
He reported to General Terry and describ-
ed the engagement.
An Indian, in describing an engagement
will point a gun, then make noise as
if the gun exploded. Then he viii drop
the gun and throw up his hands. That
signifies that the man who fired the gun
is dead. He explained that to General
Terry. General Terry put down piece
of paper and gave Curley lead pencil,
and he made dots on the paper, showing
where the soldiers were on the inside of
a circle the Indians on the outside. Terry
then asked him how many were killed, and
he picked up a handful of leaves and shook
them over the paper, saying: 1.-The white
man all dead, and the Indians as thick as
leaves"
The story although not fully understood,
seemed incredible and was not accepted,
but it proved true in all its details. Cur
ley said he saw that the troops were sure
to be massacred, and he managed to reacn
the river where he washed off his Crow
paint, dropped down his hair, which was
peculiar to the Crows, pulled it over his
face, put on a Sioux blanket, and pre-
tended to engage in the fight with the
Sioux, accompanying them in one OF their
charges on Custer.
Watching his opportunity, he escaped,
and in doing so he picked up a Sioux |
pony and reported at the mouth OF the /
Little Big Horn, where he knew Ierry |
would arrive on the evening of the TWEEN
ty sixth.
Benteen Saves Reno