The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1959-07-23
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Indian massacre on the Little Big
Horn river in Montana more than
% years later lacked much of
ending in blaze of glory - then
only three and in skirts, he was
routed screaming by a big gan
der whose goslings he had tried
to pet. The gander fought with
beak, wings and claws and Gus
ter not at ALL The tale was told
by John Giles, a relative from
Scio, who saw the boy dive
through the currant bushes head
first in the big retreat.
In his teens yellow haired Gus
ter showed more courage. One
night at a lecture in the school
house a boy unable to get in
flattened his face against the
window glass and made a face
at Custer. He smashed his face
through the glass against the
boys nose, then went outside to
whip him. There he found three
boys instead of one and pulled
his knife offering to whip all of
them. Nothing more happened.
DR.. George Lyle, who went to
school with Custer, told that one.
Lyle said Custer offered to take
the boys on one at a time without
the knife and only drew it when
they refused and tried to
gang him."
The boy was barely big enough
to wear breeches when a corn
stalk militia" was formed at New
Rumley and Custer followed it
around at every drill. He want
ed to be a soldier - they didn't
have the draft in those days or
he would have found it a lot
easier.
Finally he was appointed to
West Point Democrat boy
appointed by a Wing congress
man. Custer was only there three
years when his class was COM
missioned as officers, badly need
ed at the beginning of the Civil
war. He would have been gradu-
ated at the foot of his class any,
how - that was where he stood
when the war broke out.
A lieutenant of cavalry, his
first battle was at Bull Run. Of
it IT tried not to show the cow
ard" he afterwards related. The
battles of Williamsburg, Gettys-
burg, Trevillian Station and 9TH
ers followed and at Cedar creek,
after Sheridan's ride, Custer
drove the enemy for miles, took
a major general, many prison
ers and As pieces of artillery.
For this he was brevetted maj
or general of volunteers. He was
first to receive the white flag
from Gen. Robert E. Lee and
Sheridan later presented to Mrs.
Custer the table on which Lee
signed the surrender. Custer new
er had lost a gun nor a color.
Six feet tall, broad shouldered,
1.-THE and active and weighing ITO
pounds, the blue-eyed, yellow
haired officer was made brig
adler general when %; a major
general at Is and was the young
est man of his rank in the army.
Custer's last stand was at an
Indian encampment on the Little
Big Horn river in Montana June
25, 1876, after 277 cavalrymen had
attacked more than 1900 Sioux
Indians under Chief Sitting Bull.
All were massacred, including
Custer, and not one man lived
to tell the story. Reinforcements
arrived a day too late. The slain
soldiers were buried, and in 1879
the battle ground was made a
national park.
Back in New Rumley Custer S
mother was heartbroken and did
not live long after his death.
Emanuel Custer, however, lived
many years and finally moved
to Michigan where his death oc-
CURED long after. Tradition has
it that two German scouts, Aug
ust and Robert Brand, were out
in the woods disguised as Indians
and so missed the massacre