Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-13

tribes. Mostly CheyenneS, those others
I'VE thought, Good! Here we take
scalps and horses We look sharp, like
wolf. Walk like wolf, very easy. Bad
if those Iniuns see us. We get on high
ridge and we find place to hide and
talk what must be done. We watch this
way. that way Don't smoke. Perhaps
we are about one mile from that camp
It is near the joining of two rivers.
That is where we see the great battle
fought.
1T is a hot day in the Moon OF
Flowers-you call it June. hear some
one say:
Hob! What is this?'
Away off is cloud OF dust, away OF
over the hills. Closer, I see three, four
Injuns, scouts, riding hard to the camp.
They wave their blankets and make the
enemy sign with their ponies. Pretty
quick Injuns coming out of that camp
like yellowjackets from a dead log
Many on horses, but many on foot too
They wade through the river. They
very excited.
"That dust cloud rolling, rolling, get
ting big. Now we see the soldiers riding
fast. They must not know so many
enemies waiting. Many of those enc
mics are in little draws, out OF sight.
Custer to the Fore.
"The commander of the soldiers IS UP
in front. do not know his name. Nc
one OF our party knows his name. He
waves his hat Bugle sounds and the
bluecoats cheer. They start charge
for the camp. The bluecoats up ahead
reach the ground that is almost fiat by
the river. The Injuns shoot at them
and rush from hiding places. The sol
dierS down by the river turn back and
join other soldiers that are off theil
horses.
THE bugle sounds again. maybe two
three times. Much yelling. shooting
Much dust. Too much dust and smoke
to see everything clear now, but there
is the commander and many Of his mer
on a little hill They are off their
horses. Some loose horses running
around. Men falling, horses falling. A
bad mix-up.
Some bIuecoats on horses try to get
away. No use. Injups everywhere, like
hawks darting in flocked quail. No hid
ing anywhere for bluecoats. They must
stay and fight. Soldiers, Injuns, all
mixing as the waters of two rivers. We
on our ridge feel glad not to be there
After while not so many guns
shooting. The smoke not so thick. We
can see better. We see dead soldiers all
over, dead horses. Behind dead horses
we see some soldiers still alive. Injuns
gafiop, gallop back and forth, killing
some soldiers that are hurt. We do not
see many dead Injuns, not so many
dead as the soldiers.
Pretty soon just one white man is
left. He is standing on that little hill
He is the last soldier. He is the COM
mander, the one who led at the first
We recognize him. He seems to be
looking around. The Sioux and those
other Injuns are not shooting at him
They are crowding to him, coming from
all sides. Perhaps they want him alive.
Who knows?
1.-The commander has a six-5hooter
With that he kills himself. Those In
juns did not kill him. He shot himself
Two shots to himself he made.
we in our party had an argument
Some thought he put the first shot here
to the. left side. Others said Here, .
and Owl Child touched forefnger tc
! the right temple.
Myself, I thought he fired first tc
the breast. He fell. Then he raised on
one knee and shot to his head This
time he did not get up, He did not
move.
I'VE saw all that from Our ridge
hiding. We had no watch, but from
where the sun stood the battle must be
measured nearly two hours No, we did
not go to that battlefield afterward. II
was not for us to go there"
No, when the CORY curtain was rung
down on that frontier drama of the
century, Owl Child and his comrades
slipped quietly away. their ardor for
Sioux scalps and Sioux horsedesh en-
tirely lost.
(CopyriEht, 1929, by North American News.
paper Alliance)