The Hardin tribune-herald. [volume] (Hardin, Mont.) 1925-1973, 1952-07-03
Judge Harwood Is
Principal Speaker
AT Ceremonies

f1I WI ShIhV1ulSS
1T is proper that the relics
be Safeguarded, enShrined and
perpetuated in the name of the
brave men who fell on this
field of battle" Judge Ben Har-
wood of Billings said in closing
the principal dedicatory ad-
dress at the new museum at
Custer Battlefield National
Monument near Crow Agency
last Wednesday.
Judge HARDWOOD traced the
| causes of the epic battle and
gave a history of the life of
General George A. Custer, but
said that known facts about
the Battle of the Little Big
Horn, much of which is still
shrouded in mystery, could bet
ter be explained by a trip
through the new museum.
In reviewing events leading
up to the Custer battle, Judge
HARDWOOD said:
General Custer was a vet
eran of the Civil war, where
his conspicuous courage and
zeal brought him many honorS
and awards. During the war he
was several times breveted~ for
| gallant and meritoriouS services
at the battles of Gettysburg,
Yellow Tavern, Winchester and
Fishers Hill. His final brevet
was that of major general for
outstanding services during the
campaign which ended in the
surrender of the Confederate
army of northern Virginia. He
had been commissioned a brig
adler general at the age of %
and only two years later be-
came a major general of the
! Union army. Official records of
the war department show Gus
ter as the youngest brigadier
general and major general in
the history of the United States
Army.
After the Union army was
disbanded in 1866, General Gus
ter was assigned to the new
Seventh cavalry as it's lieuten-
ant colonel and the regiment
took the field against hostile
Indian bands then raiding and
pillaging white settlements in
kansas, Nebraska and the In
dian territory. His victory at
the Battle of the Washita in
November, 1868, was effective in
diScouraging further Indian de-
predationS in that area.
However, the continued eX-
panSion of the white men west
of the Mississippi river brought
further trouble and forced the
plains Indians onto restricted
reservations. Good grazing and
hunting lands had been allot-
ted to them, only to be taken
away when avariciouS white
settlers and fortune hunters
demanded the land for their
uses. The treaty of 1868, signed
at Fort Laramie, Wyo., provid-
ed that a large area be set
aside as a permanent home
for Sioux and Cheyenne In
dams. This area, known as the
Great Sioux reservation, includ-
ed the Black Hills, which were
abundant with game, and was
for the, exclusive use of the In
dianS. The treaty also specified
that the Indians retain certain
hunting privileges within de-
fined limits outside the reServa-
ton.
I'm 1874 General Custer and
the Seventh cavalry were sent
from Fort Lincoln in Dakota
territory with a scientific ex-
pedition into the Black Hills,
principally to explore the area
and. to secure military informa-
ton. While exploring the coun-
try, rumors of gold in the hills
were confirmed by prospectors
who accompanied the military
force. This resulted in an in
flux of prospectorS and others
which much aroused the In
dams of the reservation. But
the magnetic attraction of gold
was too powerful for either
fears of personal hardships or
physical dangers to counterfeit.
Nor did respect for the sanctity
of treaty obligations serve as a
deterrent.
I'm seeking the causes which
! led up to the Sioux war of 1876
we find, as always among an
tagoniSts, widely divergent
points of view. From the view
point of the whites, the conflict
was caused by the hostility of
certain Indians who made raids
on the white settlements and
refused to reside on reserva-
! tions. From the Indian point of