The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-06-19
(By Ida May Owen)

blaring "The Girl l Left Behind Me-"
Custer. dashing Custer, at the head
of his column. Cavalrymen waving
their hats in farewell. Sunshine on
the flanks of prancing horses. Wives
smiling through tears. Gallant good
byes. The creak of supply trains.
General Terry's little force sallies
out of Old Fort Abraham Lincoln
into Sioux land.
Fifty summers have slipped away
since that fateful day. The site Of
the old fort south of Mandan is a
mute reminder that the savages roam
the plains no more. The empty bar
racks Of it's successor, the new Fort
Lincoln near Bismarck, testify to the
peace which has come along the old
Missouri. But the memory of Gus
ter's valiant band still flames. Fifty
years is not long enough to quench
the feeling Of horror at the Custer
massacre nor Of admiration for the
courageous way in which part of the
7th Cavalry unit went to it's doom.
In acknowledgment of North -Da-
kOta's debt to the man who paid in
blood for her present prosperity
c0mmemorati0n ceremonies will take
place Sunday, June 9th, on the fif-
tieth anniversary of the battle of
the Little Big Horn at the site Of the
old fort. Speakers Of national note
will review the progress which North
Dakota has made in the last half
century. Judge A. M. Christianson is
chairman of the joint committee from
the Bismarck Association of Com
merce and the Mandan Chamber of
Commerce which planned the event.
General Godfrey Coming
General +. s. Godfrey, once cap
tain Of Troop X, 7th Cavalry, whose
writings on the Custer episode are
generally regarded as authoritative,
has sigpified his intention of being
present. Lieutenants Edgerly, Var
mum and Hare, the only officers of
the regiment said to be alive today,
have been invited to attend. Mrs.
Elizabeth Custer, who has survived
her daring husband for half CEN
tury, received an invitation in her
home at Monroe, Michigan. Rela-
tives of soldiers and Indians who
participated in the fight have been
urgently requested to be present in
Mandan on June 9th.
The thousands of visitors who will
motor from fertile Dakota farms
and thriving Dakota towns to the
place where Custer spent his last
days will have the realization that
this vast, new agricultural empire
has COME into being within the time
Of men now living.
General George Armstrong Custer.
q West Pointer, was romantic fig
ure among the scouts and plainsmen
who figured in the picturesque period
following the Civil War. Bismarck
pioneers, who knew him when he was
stationed at Old Fort Abraham lin
coin, recall him as the sort of hero
who was apt to have his horse shot
from under him or his hat riddled
with bullets. Memories of his golden
curls, his erect carriage, his superb
physique, his pedigreed dogs, and his
hospitality still persist. Instead of
| the regulation army uniform recollec-
tion pictures him in sombrero, a
flowing scarlet tie and campaign
! shirt. In the battle he wore the
buckskin garb Of the scout.
Before he came to Fort Abraham
Lincoln, his cavalry unit had dis
tinRuished itself in the Civil War.
i"Custer's luck" was more than q
catchword. Later in Kansas and the
Indian territory he had signal sue
| cesses in subduing the Indians. In
| spite Of his youth, for he was only
81 when he was killed, and his nick
name the "Boy General" it WAS no
| inexperienced leader who was trap
ped in the Big Horn Valley.
Not in Command
Custer was not in command at Fort
Abraham Lincoln during the Indian
| campaign because his impulsive TEN.
permanent had twice brought him into
disfavor with President Grant and
Secretary of War Belknap. In the
first place the rush to the Black Hills
was laid to Custer. In 1875, in
direct violation of Indian treaties.
he had been sent to explore the
Black Hills. He believed that the
Indians were right in saying that
there was gold there and, contrary
| to the advice Of Geologist H. N.
Winchell. he dispatched his scout,
Charley ReynoA Lonesome
Charley" to Fort Laramie to wire
the news east. The subsequent gold
rush into land protected by treaty
could not be stemmed, so another
document was drawn up and an ef-
fort made to move the Sioux to q
reservation. Sitting Bull refused.
The whole Sioux nation swore ven
geance on the white.
Custer's unprOven accusations
against Secretary OF War Belknap
which actually led to his resignation
later threatened Custers military
career and It was only through the
intercessions Of General Phil Sheri-
dan and Generall Alfred Terry that