Evening star., 1934-06-24

Continuing the account says:
'The battle was fought on the 25th, 30 or 40
miles below the Little Horn. Custer attacked
the Indian village of 2,500 to 1000 warriors on
one side, and Col Reno was to attack it on
the other. Three companies were placed on q
hill reserve. Gen. Custer and is ofhcers
and every man belonging to the five companies
were killed. Reno retreated under the pro-
lection of the reserve The whole number
killed was 3l5. Gen. Gibbons joined Reno.
The Indians left the battle-ground, which
looked like a slaughter pen as it really was
being in narrow ravine. The dead were
much mutilated."
A MORE detailed account of the disaster, as
n given in The Star of July 8, 1876, fol-
lows
"A late account of the Custer massacre, re-
ceived at Chicago last evening describing the
march of Gen. Terry to the relief of Gen.
Custer, says the morning of the 26th brought
the intelligence, communicated by three badly
frightened Crow scouts. of the battle of the
previous day and its results. The story was
not credited, because it was never expected
that an attack would be made earlier than the
27th and chiefly because no one could believe
that a force such as Custer commanded could
have met with disaster. Still the report was
In no way discredited All day long the toll
some march piled, and every eve bent
upon a cloud of smoke resting over the south
ern horizon, which was hailed as sign that
Custer was successful and had fired the village
The Infantry had marched 30 miles The
march of the next morning revealed at every
step, some evidence of the conflict which had
taken place two days before. At an early
hour, the head oS the column entered a plain
half mile wide, bordering the left bank of
the Little Big Horn. The ground was strewn
everywhere with carcases of horses, Cavalry
equipments, besides buffalo packages of dried
meat, and weapons and utensils belonging to
the Indians. On this part of the field was
found the clothing of Leuts. Sturges and
Porter pierced with bullets, and the blood
stained gauntlets belonging to COL Yates.
Further on were found bodies of men. Just
then a breathless scout arrived with the in
telligence that Col Reno, with a remnant of
the TIN Cavalry, entrenched on a bluff
nearby waiting for relief.
The command pushed rapidly on, and soon
came In sight of group surrounding q
Cavalry guard upon lofty eminence of the
right bank of a river Gen. Terry forded the
stream accompanied by a small party and
rode to the spot All the way the slopes were
dotted with the bodies of men and horses
The general approached and the men swarmed
out of the woods and greeted him with hearty
and repeated cheers. Within was found Reno,
with the remains of seven companies of the
regiment. In the center of the inclosure was
a depression in the surface in which the
wounded were sheltered, covered with canvas.
Renos command had been fighting since Sun
day noon, the 25th, until the night of the
26th, when Terry's arrival caused the In
dians to retire. Up to this time Reno and
those with him were in complete ignorance of
the fate Of the five other companies, which
had been separated from them on the 25th
to make an attack, under Custer, on the vii
lage at another point.
VA /HILE preparations were being made for
w the removal of the wounded, a party
was sent Clusters trail to look for traces
of his command They found waiting them a
sight to appall the stoutest heart All along
the slopes and ridges and in the ravine, lying
as they had fought, line behind line show
ing where the defensive positions had been
successfully taken up and held till none
were left to fght-there huddled in narrow
compass, horses and men were piled promicu-
ouSly
"At the highest point of the ridge lay Gus
ter, surrounded by chosen band. Here were
his two brothers and his nephew, Mr. Reed
Coils. Yates and Cook and Capt. Smith, all
lying in a circle of a few yards, their horses
beside them. Here behind Yates company
the last stand had been made, and here, one
after another, these last survivors of Clusters
five companies had met their death.
The company had successfully thrown
itself across the path of the advancing
enemy and had been annhilated Not a man
had escaped to tell the tale, but it was in
scribed on the surface of the barren hills in
language more eloquent than words. Two
hundred and sixty-one bodies have been buried
from Clusters and Renos commands The last
one found was that of Mr.. Kellogg, corre-
spondent of the Bismarck Tribune, and also,
I believe, of the New York Herald"
A LWAYS supremely confident and almost
with reckless abandon, Gen. Custer prac-
ticaly threw caution to the wind in this his
last fight. Well laid nlans that Custer should