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

NVdlQ IL 1NCA'
was attacked by the Indians, and W
received orders to fall back 10 where on,
packs and wounded were.
AT this spot, l had a rifle ball pu
INTO the right side of the pommel of my
saddle, which went through my blouse
and part of my trousers, and took tn,
WIND out of me. 1t was a .45 calibel
pan from the Indians, and supposed to be-
some OF Clusters ammunition. l let thai
paIi remain in the pommel of my saddle
until the day before l was discharged
tnen l went to the stable and removed 1t
l brought 1t home with me, and had it in
my possession for some time. 1t finally
disappeared in some mysterious way, and
! have since regretted it, as l had intended
10 use 1t for a 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
frying pans and 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 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 hair
burned off. We found quite a number
Of dead horses lying around the camp.
we dismounted in the camp and destroyed
al the camp equipage, chopped holes in
tne Kettles, broke up the frying. pans, and
and W. made fires and burned up the
lodge poles. | don't know as l saw any of
the dead Indians in the camp, although /
heard that there were some. The Indians
possibly could. If one of their dead hap
pened to fall into our hands and was
scalped, they would cave 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 command to
Reno's battlefield had taken the chests
OF of the Iimbers 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 buekskin horse,
when he was killed with his whole com
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
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 q 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 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 were contrivances for car
rying wounded men. They were made by
two lodge poles about % feet long,
laying them, on the ground n taking two
short pieces of poles and tying those
lodge poles so that they would be three
apart. When they were completed,
a horse was put into the front end of them
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
If the horse. That would leave a space
If eight feet between the two horses.
We made temporary stretchers out of
pieces of lodge poles and pieces of old
ents and blankets, and put the men who
we're wounded in the legs and could not
walk on those stretchers. These stretch
rs were suspended from those poles.
One man would lead the foremost horse,
ind another horse in the rear, with a man
IN either side of the stretcher to steady
t and keep it from swaying. In this man
Ter we carried q great many Of our
men. Those who were slight
y wounded rode our horses, while those
Who were wounded very badly had to be
would carry them a short distance, and
hen four fresh ones take them.
After everything was ready, we started
the Little Big Horn at night. The
so that the men carrying the
tretchers could keep on the trail.
Reach Steamer Far West"
Grant Marsh, captain of the steamer
Far Wpcf ~ O 700-fOn hnaf came nm the
and then proceeded up the
Big Horn a distance of about 40 miles,
aking a position where he could do the
7 The e0q Battlefield Ell GaS a men he '' Received We ini the
on the morning of the twenty
ighth. The night was very dark, and
ieneral Terry caused fires to be built. BY
O doing, Reno's command was saved from
the wounded a distance of about
0 miles.
1t appears that when Clusters engage
lent opened, Curley, a Crow scout, made
is escape in some way. understand
and when he got an oppor-
unity, threw off his Crow blanket and
ut on a Sioux blanket, and got down
ito the brush, where he took his pony.
be pony's mouth, tied his lariat around
is horses nose, to prevent his making
noise, and tied him to a tree.
He then jumped on a Sioux pony n
id0C III way oONh Inv 1itNiS re AO |
1 the direction that he knew the %re-in-sl
,rcements were coming. He was pursued
y the Indians, but managed to escape.
le reported to General Terry and describ-
! the engagement.
An Indian, in describing an engagement
i'll point a gun, then make a noise as
the gun exploded. Then he will drop
lie gun and throw up his hands, That
,gnifies that the man who fired the gun
dead. He explained that to General
cry. General Terry put down a piece
paper and gave Curley a lead pencil,
nd he made dots on the paper, showing
here the soldiers were on the inside OF
circle, the Indians on the outside. Terry
len asked him how many were killed,
2 picked up a handful Of leaves and shook
lem over the paper, saying: THE white
an all dead, and the Indians as thick as
The story although not fully understood,
emed incredible and was not accepted,
ut 1t proved true in all its details. Cur
y said he saw that the troops were sure
be massacred, and he managed to reach
e river, where he washed off his Crow
lint, dropped down his hair, which was
.culiar to the Crows, pulled 1t over his
ce, put on a Sioux blanket, and pre-
nded to engage in the fight with the
oux, accompanying them in one OF their
on Custer.
Watching his opportunity, he escaped,
I'd in doing so he picked up a Sioux
and reported at the mouth OF the
title Big Horn, where he knew Terry
arrive on the evening OF the TWEEN
sixth.