The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1923-07-12

company, Thomas H.. French, and 1 fired
into them while they remained in range
shots fired in the battle of the Little
Big Horn. That was well know by every
man in Reno's battalion.
Major Reno, Captain French, Captain
B~enteen, Captain McDougal, Captain Weir,
Lieutenant Godfrey and, in fact all Of the
officers did all that they could in order
to defeat the Indians, and some of the
others must have had a charmed life the
way they stood Hp under this heavy fire.
/ think the Indians took some of our
men prisoners, and when other reinforce
ments Joined us we found what appeared
to be human bones, and parts Of blue
to stakes and trees. Some of the bodies
Of our officers were not found, at
least not at that time. Among them were
Lieutenants Harrington, Porter and Stur-
gis,. l understood that some parts of their
clothing, uniform or gauntlet gloves were
found on the field, which showed that
they were killed. In burying the dead
many Of the bodies were not identified.
After the Indians moved out of sight
we jumped out of our works, built bet
ter rifle pits, and unsaddled our horses,
which had not been unsaddled since the
evening Of the twenty-fourth.
As Men Killed
we also took the packs from the mules.
Then we got water from the river in
camp kettles, and made a better shelter
for the horses and wounded, for we ex-
pected that the Indians would attack US
again.
Reno's m lost, between the en-
gagement in the bottom and the entrench-
ments in the bluffs, somewhere about 45
men killed and 60 wounded, which will
show how desperate the engagement was.
In my company, out of As men and horses
that went into the engagement, IA men
and the second lieutenant were killed, 10
wounded, we lost about 10 horses killed
or disabled.
That night everything was quiet as
far as the Indians were concerned. The
next morning at daylight we could look
from the bluffs over the timber to where
the Indian camp was, and we saw that
it was deserted, with the exception of
the lodge poles, which remained standing.
On the other side, a long way off from
the Indian camp, we noticed a large cloud
Of dust arising, and a body of either In
dams or troops coming towards the In
dian camp, but at the time We could not
distinguish which they were.
Some Of the officers turned their field
glasses on, and thought they were troops.
Reno Immediately dispatched a couple of
scouts, and it proved to be the balance of
our expedition, and General Gibbons COM
pears that they came through Clusters
battlefield, and they counted the dead
bodies of POI men. They then crossed the
river.
Terry Joins Reno
They then crossed the river into the de-
serted Indian camp, and followed up the
valley of the Little Big Horn until they
struck that part of the field where Reno's
dead lay. They moved a little farther on
near the bend where Reno's command re-
across the river, and went into
camp. General Terry and his officers rode
across the river and joined our officers
on the bluffs, and it made our hearts
jump to see those men.
AS soon as Terry's officers notified Reno
and his officers what they had found on
the Custer battlefield, Reno's command
wont m uynrI ond hnriQd oil thu dood fhnt
lay on the bluffs. The unexpected news
filled the hearts Of all the men with sad
ness.
We took all the extra guns belonging
Of them, and built a fire and threw them
into it. We also destroyed all the extra
saddles and brides, as we had no way
of carrying them.
Terry's men removed their clothing and !
carried our wounded men all down from
the bluffs to their camp. After destroy
ing the guns we examined the horses
thoroughly, and any Of them that had
been wounded and would not live, we
killed. Some Of the men hated to part
with their horses, but there was nothing
to do.
Then five companies Of Reno's command
over the range of bluffs, in the di-
rection Of the Custer battlefield. At the
of this bluff there was a ford and /
.hink Custer attempted to cross at that
point to the Indians camp, as we found
some of the bodies of his men lying there.
Helps Bury Custer
Those were the first bodies we found be-
onging to Clusters command. n
The battlefield was divided off into five
The company commanders went
n a body over the field, to find the bod
es of the commissioned officers. The first
'ergeants Of each company had orders to
ADVANCE with their companies over a GER
space of the field, burying what men
we're found, and keeping an account Of the
and who they were. | helped to
Jury 45 of Clusters men. Among them
we're General Custer, Capt. Tom Custer,
lieut.. w. w. Cook, and / am not positive
Is to who the other two officers were, al
hough / think one was Lieut.. Van Riley,
nd the other Lieut.. James Calhoun, Gus
er's brother-in-law.,
Clusters men were destitute of all cloth
with the exception of Mark kellogg,
he editor of the Bismark, Dakota Trib-
Spencer carbine with him and rode a
mall mule. He wore a peculiar shaped
'oot, we knew him by that.
The other bodies were cut up and mu-
Ter. 1 think a good deal of this was
one by the squaws, while the men lay
upon the field, as we found a
lumber of their stone mallets. They were
probably from eight to 10 pounds
to a raw-hide handle. These
yere used for breaking bones.
The burial did not amount to much, as
re had only a few tools, so we simply dug
p a little earth beside the bodies and
brew it over them.
In a great many instances their arms
nd legs protruded. Many Of their throats
,ere cut, and they were split down
trough the muscle Of the arms and thighs.
/ counted as many as 30 arrows shot
Ito one mans body and left there. 1t
ppears that many of the Indians sat
n their horses and jabbed the lances
ito the PROSTATE forms of the men, as I
great many lance wounds were found
n them. We could not tell who many
{ the men were. If their uniforms had
cen left on, we probably could have.
hey lay there three days in the hot sun,
nd the stencil was terrible. y
The bodies were scattered over the bat !
efield, probably one and half miles !
luare. First we found two or three to- !
ether. then probably a dozen, and then I
catered ones. 1t seems that the conn., I
anies made stands at different places, and
ere driven back. Strange to say, none !
the saddles or horse equipment, not I
zen a strap that / could see, nor cart Z
dge shells, could be found on the field, q
rcept five or six shells that were found s
General Clusters body. / picked up {
lose shells and gave them to the cap !
in Of my company, and they were after I
ards sent to Mrs. Custer, with a lock OF
lie generals hair, which / had James
eaver OF company M, emove from his !
IN
AS we were about to bury the last Of a