The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

remainder of his command, he was
himself, to strike the village at its :
lower end. He was not aware Of the
fact that Reno had crossed the river
with part of his command, but had
been forced back by the Indians, nor
that Reno was compelled to recrOss :
the stream and throw up breast !
works, acting more on the defensive !
than the attack.
Indians Surround Custer
Then, I could see this warrior, Chief
Gall, with all his braves thanking
Custer on the east, and closing in on
his rear, while Two Moon and his
Cheyennes were moving up the north
dry-gulch, and Sitting Bull and his
Uncapapa Sioux in menacing num-
bers swarming along under the Tiv-
er banks, entirely surrounding
the soldiers. All this in almost less
time than it takes to tell it, for it
was to be a battle to the finish so far
as the red man was concerned. It
was the final test of his strength as
matched against that of the threaten
ing forces of an advancing civiliza-
ton.
AS these Indian leaders-Gaul,
Two Moon, Sitting Bull, Crow King,
Crazy Horse and the Others-ad-
vanced up the slight rise, far enough
to see the soldiers when they stood
erect, dismOunted, they rose, fired,
emitting a blOOd-curdling war whOOp.
Then I could picture the hopeless
ness of the situation for these
brave troopers; for, although they
were fighting unflinchingly to the
very last, they could not hope to be
? l., L,
i ed warriors who, en- masse, giving
! whip to their ponies, rushed upon the
l Custer forces. The firing was intense.
4 Even the small boys of the tribes
men were riding unsaddled ponies at
2 maddening pace through the edges
!, of the battle-riddled hillside shooting
}. at the troopers already fallen. It
y was a maddening din with the
+ whOOps from savage throats vieing
with the carbines. Then, presently
Z all is over on Custer Hill, and it was
< a horrible sight to behold. Each SOL
{ dier, who with Custer had sacrificed
: his life, lay where he had fallen in
q that iIl-fated expedition. Every move
= was plain, and none could deny that
IS they had fought braveIy and we'll.
: After the Battle
r en-, there were the soldiers-sOme of
e them with not a vestige of clothing
y left-their scalps torn from them
heads and bodies savagely crushed
q mUtilated beyond recognition. What
e a terrifying picture it must have been
y that greeted General Terry and his
2 battalion when they arrived the fol
e lowing day.
Far in the distance, 1 imagined
could see "Comanche," the wonder
II full mount Of Captain Keogh, gal
= Looping away from the scene, the sole
! living thing that was a part of Gus
= ter'S command, to survive the
y death-dealing red charge. And, on
= down in the valley, somewhere has
- tening toward the steamer ''Fal
- West" must be that Crow scout
p "Curley," anxious to get his mes
p sage to General Terry in the vaiT
=. hope that reinfOrcements might YET
~ save some of the command.
n AS halted spell-bound not fal
N from where the monument and mark
70 ers now stand, could hear in fancy
v the terrible war WhOOp from siJ
s thousand tn rOa is reverberatinl
Id through the hills; I could see the mao
re rush Of these savages, the blood!
scalps, and the ghOulish thrOnl
plundering the bodies of the falleI
~ foe Of every article of value, anC
- their later return to the camp tha
u extended for six miles along tn,
- bank Of the Little Big Horn river.
could seem to hear the hoarse vOic,
~ of Sitting Bull giving orders to gath
- er the dead Indian warriors and la
AZ fhnnn fn IN fhnfvs hTo-,1roAC -.
q the wall of the mourning sduaWs an,
- children; the doleful funeral dirg
- that is being sung by relatives an,
~ friends of the fallen tribesmen, a
a. these are buried, according to tn
~ Indian rites in trees--a long, las
~ ~ wall of lamentatiOn, resemblin
~ more the cry of wild animals, dies o,
- the signing winds.
D.: Counting the COups
Then, as looked across the vale
he where then this monster villag
We stood, it was not hard to pictur
Us this same Sitting Bull, with Rain-ir
i'd the-face, Gall, Two Moon, Gro
~, King, Crazy Horse, White BuI
int and others of the Sioux and Chez
on ennes, hastily arranging the seal
it pole upon which scalps were hun
"a by the score. The warriors speedil
M assemble to ''coUnt their coups" an
t." the scalp dance begins. There in tn
ill evening of that eventfuI day, camI
lc5 fires CLEAN and muffled sounds {
ize rattle and tom-tOm echo back frOl
mt valley to hill and from hill to vale,
The wild war notes from thousand
Of thrOats unite and the braves glid
las around in their wierd ceremOn
ter like evil spirits. Old men with ws
csc clubs, bounding about like youn