The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-07-09
CUSTER UNKNOWN
BLAID TO REST
FULL MILITARY HONORs GIVEN
DEAD TROOPER NEAR
HARDIN
Great Granite Slab Placed Over Last
Resting Place With MOmentOes OF
Battle; Indian Chief Gives TOma.
hawk as Symbol of Peace

haWk as symbol OF Peace i,
Burial with full military hOnOrs
was accorded the other day one of
the troopers of Gen George ARM
strong Custer, who fell with his
commander and 200 comrades at
the battle Of the Little Big Horn,
just a few miles from Crow agency
in Big Horn county, so years ago.
The first buriel place of the troop
er on the bank of the river, was UNI
covered a few days ago by men
building a road across a part of the
old battlefield. Identification was
impossible, but buttons from an army
uniform found there, made it certain
that the grave was that of a trooper.
Many of the dead found by Terry's
men after the battle were buried
where they lay and the record is not
clear as to the definite location Of
most of them. Chaplain George J..
MacMUrray, who conducted the ser
vices, explained that, inasmuch as It
is impossible TO say whether the man
was a nOn-cOmmissiOned officer, the
regiment determined to pay the high
est honor accorded an enlisted man.
Ceremony Carried Out
Preceded by his riderless horse,
saddled, bridled, and bearing the
boots and cavalry sabre reversed, the
casket contained the last mortal re-
mains of the unknown TROOPER was
borne to the site Of the proposed
monument at GarryOWen as the
Seventh cavalry band played a fun
eral dirge.
A. tho ooroo4o-r NboD1o;- No.
Murray read the service. Three vol
legs crashed over the grave and, to
the sound of taps, the regiment paid
its last farewell. The funeral was
distinguished by the fact that, in ad-
ditiOn to active ~pallbearers from the
new Seventh, eight members Of Gus
ters Seventh who were engaged in
the battle where the trooper was
killed accompanied the casket to the
grave.
Following the funeral, Gen. E. S.
Godfrey, a Custer veteran, as chair
man Of the Custer Memorial associa-
ton presided over the dedication Of
a great slab Of granite which is to
be a memorial to the unknown sol
der. The little plot of ground on
which the monument stands has been
decided by Mr. and Mrs. A. G. Garter
of Hardin, to the memorial associa.
ton for the pioneers of the west.
To be placed within the crypt
White Bull for the Sioux and Chey.
enne warriors who came off the bat
tlefield victOTs so years ago, offered
his tOmahaWk, explaining through
Ian interpreter that he wished to show
in that way that emnity between thu
red man and the white was at al
end.
Gen. Godfrey Replies.
In reply General Godfrey said
During the 18th, 18th and 19tl
centuries there was strife between
our peOples-the struggle of tn
white civilization for supremacy
possession, development and cultur
as against savageTy or barbaric ma
tUre. fractional strife among tn
white peoples Of Europe caused boil
adventurous spirits to seek respit
on this western continent. The ever
increasing population on the coas
caused trespassing on the huntin
grounds to the West-then came friC
tiOn, protest, resentment and war.
''The prelude to this crisis cam
with the discovery Of gold in th
Black Hills of Dakota by Genera
Clusters expedition in the summer {
1874, and the climax came with th
tragedy Of the battle of the Littl
Big Horn, commonly known as 'Cul
ter's last BATTLE with troops unde
the command Of. hitherto III
dauntable leader.
81 Victory Only Temporary
1.-THE semi-centennial Of this ba
tile We nOW cOmmerate. The immI
date result Of that battle was a ten
lpOrary victory Of the red mans sa-
lagery-the ultimate result was Il
Wiping out Of all national frOntie
the triumph Of the white man
civilization and the merging Of boi
whites and reds into a common eli
zenship and everlasting peace"
In the crypt were placed alOI
with the tOmahoWk, a map Of &
battlefield, photographs OF Gener
lCuster and several Of the leadil
figures in the combat, some meme
toes picked up on the BATTLEFIELD
medals issued in cOmmemOratiOn
the battle, together with a number
booklets devoted to historical q
scriptiOns Of the fight.