Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-06-17

some of them with not a vesttge OF
clothing left-their scalps torn from
them; their heads n bodies crushed
and mutilated beyond description. What
a terrifying picture must have greeted
General Terry and his battalion when
they arrived the following day.
Far in the distance, / imagined / could
see 'Comanche," the wonderful mount OF
Captain Keogh, galloping away from the
scene, the sole living thing that was q
part Of Clusters command. to survive the
death-dealing red charge. And, on down
III the valley, somewhere, fastening to-
ward the steamer Far West" must be
that Grow scout, "Curley,' anxious to
get his message to General Terry, in the
vain hope hat reinforcements might
save the command.
Savage Warfare
AS I halted spel1-bound, not far from
where the and markers now
rise, in fancy / could hear the terrible
war whoop from six thousand Threats,
reverberating through the hills. / could
see the mad rush of these savages the
bloody scalps. n the ghoulish throng
plundering the bodies Of the fallen foe.
I could see them returning to their
camp; could seem to hear the hoarse
voice Of Chief Gall giving orders to
gather the dead indian warriors and
place them to rest in their blankets.
Then there was the wall Of the mourn
ing squaws n chtldren-the doleful
funeral dirge that is being chanted by
relatives n friends Of the fallen tribes
men-a long. last wall of lamentation,
resembling more the cry Of animals as it
dies on the signing winds.
The Scalp Dance
Then, as ] looked across the valley,
where this monster village stood, 1t was
not hard to picture this same Sitting
Bull, with Rain-in-thc-F Face, Gall, Two
| Moon Crcyy Kfnp Crovu ucrco Wbtta
Bull, n others Of the Sioux and Chey-
ennes, hastily arranging the scalp pole
upon which scalps were hung by the
score. The warriors speedily assemble to
count their coups," and the scalp dance
begins. There In the evening OF that
eventful day, camp fires CLEAN and the
mufled sounds Of rattle and tom-tom
echo back from valley to hill and from
hill to valley. The wild var notes from
thousands OF Threats unite and the
braves glide around in their wierd cere-
mony like evil spirits. Old men with
deer, strike these scalp poles and, with
bead-like eyes, they renew their youth,
while with f1endish delight, they gloat
over the stinened forms Of the white
troopers lying on the nearby hill. In
toxicated with victory over a race they
hate, the savage exultation Of these war
riors knows no bounds. On they go, with
tom-tom pealing, the mufled sound Of
thousands of moccasined feet stamping
time to bl~ood-curdling music. Howl
ing dogs take up the direful cries, and
wolves on yonder hills repeat the echo
to the distant mountains.
1t is p~andemonium broke loose. Such
signal victory has loosened demons
chained for a thousand years. Gaudy
feathers, var bonnets. and even human
blood bedeck the visage Of the dancers.
Haggard squaws a century old reel
around the death ring. Hard by, there
lie forty-two warriors silent in death,
and the walls that come from the mourn
ers resemble the agony Of lost souls. thus
Joy and sorrow mingle together on the
Little Big Horn, whose placid waters glide
by, crimsoned by the blood Of redman
and white.
These ghoulish festivities wear on into
the night, and are still in progress when
the news OF approaching armies causes
a hasty deSertion OF the great village;
Cheyenne and Arapahoe fleeing south
n Sioux starting in a roundabout
course for the Canadian line where they
hope to remain safe from punishment
for their crime.
Standing there on the crest of Custer
hill, the horror of the slaughter seemed
greater than / had ever before realized.
1t was like treading OF sacred ground.
Then, as l canine the valley / saw a
road-a highway then lined with the
STOCKHOLDERS Oh UOuTlSIS-an artery VI
travel that skirts this battlefield, n
which most fttingly bears the name OF
this yellow-haired hero.
The name of General George Arm
strong Custer is known to every boy ana
girl in the nation and there is no more
fitting way to revere and perpetuate this
name than the permanent memorial
Custer Battlefield Highway. now n OF
Montana's main arteries Of travel.
THE Secret OF the Sl0ux'
Since much controversy has resulted IN
recent years over the manner In which
General Custer met his death at the
Battle OF the Little Big Horn, the article,
The Secret OF the Sioux" by Chief Buf-
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. which appeared in
the june issue OF Cosmopolitan magazine
Is OF more than ordinary interest. Quot
Ing Pakadoshen, IN aid of Sitting Bull,
Buffalo, Lance wrote in part,
as follows.
I'm a wind -swept lodge in Manitoba
in the strangest Indian council / have
kn0Wn II h~u~A for thu 6rst ftr,l the