The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-01-22

W"EMaAEMH $500
growth of cotton
wood and willows,
wenGs that treach
D conway erous Little Big
Horn river soon to lose itself in the
mother stream as both roll on to-
swell the Yellowstone.
To the left stand the cone-shaped
dwellings of the nOmads-the te-
,pees, hundreds of them-nOw the
scene of great commOtiOn and activ-
ity of preparation for a speedy de-
parture. Tribesmen are gathering
together their effects and families
and the families of their unfOTtun-
ate brothers whose spirits have so
very recently been hurried to the
Sand Hills. To the right is the
famous little hill where Death but
an hour ago held reckless and wan
ton revelry-relentless and all I'M
necessary.
After the Battle
Scattered over the lower prairie
and thick upon this little rise, lie
SCARED and gruesOme, the remains
of a terrible battle. Soldier and war
riOr alike, in unprecedented num-
bers tell. in silent horror of a terrific
struggle. =.
The dust has just settled follow
ing the Battle of the Little Big Horn
and the great silence, unbrOken saw
for the walls of the mourners, finds,
in a lonely section of this SCARED
scene. bent in grief of soul beside
all that remains Of a father who had
seen fit to take up the. struggle with
the Sioux and Cheyennes-a father
who had ever been this youths ideal
both in war and in peace. His father
had died a martyr to a cause that to
him was most just, but this Grow
lad is left. bereft of his greatest liv-
ing image because the onward sweep
of a sO-called civilization apparent
~ could not permit itself to recOg-
nize the rights Of the native redman.
All this because the white invaders
had been wrOngfully led to a mis-
conception of the people to whom
this great West had always belonged.
Spirit Voice Talks
Little wonder, then, that this
youths heart is filled with resent
ment, revolt and revenge. Little Won
der he beats his chest and slashes
his thighs as he pledges himself to
the cause that has resulted in his
present loss; and, when he was wont
to take up the mOUrnful death dirge
a voice from out of the air startles
him to silence.
"Ho! My Son! It is I, your ia
Their. who speaks. You have seen
the battle-and terrible it was. 1t
is good that you still live unframed.
Yes. I am going to the Shadow
Land; but that, my Son, is not so
bad as other things might be-. 1
could not be a coward and a weak
ling when Crow, Sioux and Cheyenne
must alike fight for a chance to live.
You remain, my Son, to care for
your mother, to be brave and guard
her and your sister, and 1 charge
you with that great responsibility.
eve we're successful today, boy!
Yes! But, I fear that what you have
witnessed. this walk of the Sun, Is
but the beginning Of the end. 1t Is
not so many moons ago that this
great game country south. Of Ell
river. was ours (the CrOws') undis.
puted, a for the activity of oul
always enemies the Unkapapa Siou2
and the Piegans. We lived-WI
thrived or suffered just as our medi
cine decreed, but this country anC
what it afforded, we held as ou1
home until the white man came.
ct recall it all now, my Son, anC
whether or not it could have beef
prevented, I cannot say. But, a
first when they came in very small
numbers-smalI parties; one, two O
fOur-to buy our furs in trade man.
times for trinkets which we, in on
ignorance thought were of value, w
welcomed them and treated then
kindly. And, it can always be said
my Son, that Crows were kind to tn
whites. Many times when sumo o
these would have starved or frOze,
we gave them food and shelter. Ofte.
they remained with US for man
moons.
Long Hairs Prophecy
"But, it all comes back to m
now
Listen! My Son! I viii tell 70
Of a great prophecy, a prophec
which today is coming true:
MANY, many mOOn ago, so man
that he was a very old man when
was your age, there lived among tn
Crows a youth of the tribe. III
companions and even older member
of the tribe were wont to laugh
him and called him FOol-bOy. tn
was because be had never done an.
thing which would tend to distil