The Bozeman courier., 1926-06-11

commands under Terry have made
many conflicting statements. All
told, the public is little wiser today, /
as a result of the tales of these so
called historians than the public was /
fifty years ago.
The story told by the Indian of the /
has very seldom appeared |
in print. Especially is this true of |
Sitting Bulls own description Of the |
fight.
Sitting Bulls story came to light |
some few years in an article by W. |
]. Randall, as having been told by /
the old warrior leader to Major CrOz- |
ier, a retired officer of the Royal |
Mounted Police. When the Sioux, |
under Sitting Bull, fearing repris- |
ais, fled to Canada, following the
Battle Of the Little Big Horn, they
encamped near Wood mountain. Ma
jOr CrOzier, according to Mr.. Randall,
was then in command of Fort Mac
LeOud, and upon the arrival of the
Sioux, was transferred to the Wood
mountain post. The major had many
conversations with Sitting Bull, for
he had been assigned the task of
pursuading the Sioux leader to re-
turn to the United States. On one
occasion, the old warrior narrated
his story of the battle as follows:
Sitting Bulls Story Of Battle
During the summer previous to the
one in which Custer attacked u.s. he sent
letter to me telling me that if did not
go to an agency he would fight me, and
/ sent word back to him by his messen-
ger that / did not want to fight, but
only to be left alone. / told him at the
same time that if he wanted to fight
that he should go and fight those Indians
who wanted to fight him. Custer then
sent word again (this was in the Winter),
You would not take my former offer,
now / am going to fight you this
winter / sent back word and said Just
what / had said before, that I did not
want to fight, and only wanted to be
left alone, and that my camp was the
only one that had not fought against him.
custer again sent a message, I am
fitting up my wagons and soldiers and
am determined to fight against you in
the spring. I then thought l would try
him again, and sent him a message say
ing that / wanted, first of all to go to
| British territory, and after / had been
there and came back, if he still wanted
| to fight me, / would fight then. Custer
then sent back word and said: ] will
| fight you in eight days ] then saw it
was no use; that I would have to fight,
| so 1 sent him word back:
" All right; get all your men mounted,
/ and ! viii get all my men mounted we
| Will fight; the Great Spirit viii look on,
| and the side that is in the wrong will be
/ defeated
Indians Make Ready for Battle
/ Il began to get ready, and sent %
/ young men TO watch Tor the soldiers.
/ Five soon came back with the word that
/ Custer was coming. The other fifteen
stopped to watch his movements. When
| Custer was quite close ten young men
came in. When he advanced still closer,
two more of them came in, leaving three
| still to watch the troops.
1--WE had got up a medicine dance for
war in camp, and just as it was coming
| to an end two Of the young men who had
| stopped out came in with the word that
Custer and his troops were very close
/ and would be on the camp in the morn
ing That night we all got ready for
battle. My young men buckled on their
ammunition belts and we were busy put
ing strong sticks in our coup sticks
Story Of the Battle
early at SUNRISE two Of the young
men who had been out a short distance
on the prairie came to me and told me
that from the toy Of a high butte they
had seen the troops advancing in two
| divisions. i then had all the horses
driven into the camp and cOrralled be-
tween the lodges. About noon the
troops came up and at once rushed upon
the camp.
''They charged in two separate divisions
one on the upper end and the other
| charged about the middle Of the camp.
1.-The latter division struck the camp
in the center Of the $50 lodge Of the
/ UncaLapa Sioux, and close to the door Of
4 my own lodge. At the time the troops
! charged / was making medicine for the
Great Spirit to help us fight, and as /
]. heard the noise and knew what it was
came out. W hen / got to the outside Of
my lodge. / noticed that this division
f had stopped suddenely close to the 9TH
er side Of the Uncapapa camp and then
they sounded a bugle and the. troops
e fired into the camp (Here Sitting Bull
[ made a peculiar noise with his mouth
and claLped his hands to initiate the
firing Of the sOldiers.)
81 at once set my wife upon my best
+ horse, put my war-bOnnet on her head
, and told her to run away with the rest
. OF the women. She did 50, but In her
5 hurry forgot to take the baby "a girl).
), After she had gone a little way she
d thought Of the child and came back fOI
= it. / gave the child TO her and she went
off again. / now put a flag upon a
lodge pole, and lifting &c as high as
could I shouted out as loud as I was
able to my men: 1 am Sitting Bull
follow me-
81 then rushed at the head Of them
up to where / thought Custer was and
| just as / got close up to the troops, they
fired again. (Sitting Bull again imitat-
ed for some length Of time the firing OF
the trOOps.) When / saw that the sol
diers fired from their saddles and did
but little damage to US, / ordered all
my men to rush through their ranks
and break them, which they did, but
| failed to break the ranks, although we
suffered as little damage as before.
then shouted to them to try again, and
/ putting myself at the head OF my mel
we went at them again. This time, al.
though the soldiers were keeping ~ s
rapid firing (frOm their hOrses) We
Knocked away a whole corner and killed
great many, though / had only On'
/ man killed.
after this we charged the same way
several times, and kept driving then
back for about a mile, killing them verJ
fast After forcing them back there Only
remained five soldiers Of this division
and the interpreter alive. Then the in
terpreter, the man that the Indiani
called the white man, shouted out il
Sioux and said: Custer IS not in thii
division; he Is in the other / then or
dered all my men to come on and attach
the other divisiOn. They did 50, and
followed me.
"The soldiers Of this division firet
upon us as soon as we got within range
but did as little harm. When we go
quite close and we're going 20 charg,
them, a great storm broke right over us
the lightning was fearful, and struck
lot Of the soldiers and horses, killins