| Show SIOUX VENGEANCE I The True Story of the Custer Massacre THE RECORD OF GREAT HEROISM The Savactfs 1 Were Orerhweunins in Numbers Num-bers and Mishap and Misunderstand big Did the nest ITTING BULLS tragicdeath closed anotherbloody in tie terrible drama of revenge i that has had its scene in the Yellowstone Yel-lowstone region for a quarter of a century The bloodiest period in that drama marks the slaughter of Custer and his devoted de-voted band and in this Sitting Bull r took part either t in person or through followers whom heinspired sr The most important im-portant leader of the hostile Sioux at the time was Crazy Horse who like Sitting Bull was simply head man of a band and not a tribal chief The warriors war-riors led by these head men numbered about 250 In the early spring of 1876 repeated hostilities on the part of these roving bands toward white settlers and friendly Indians in Montana and Dakota stirred the government to some action bring them under subjection It was pi o posedto surround them and offer the usual terms The Indians were on the Yellowstone or Its tributaries and a column of troops under un-der Gen Terry and another under Gen Crook started from opposite directions with the purpose of hemming them in Terry was on the north along the Yellowstone Yellow-stone and had with him two bodies of infantry in-fantry and cavalry one led by himself and the other by CoL John Gibbon Custer was with Terry and commanded the Seventh cavalry While the column was halted near the mouth of Rosebud river a scouting scout-ing expedition struck a fresh lodge pole trail leading toward Big Horn river a stream parallel with the Rosebud and thirty to fifty miles west of it Terry divided di-vided his forces into two columns one led by Gibbon comprising the infantry and four troops cavalry to move along the Yellowstone to the Big Horn and then southward along that stream closing in on the redskins from the north and the other consisting of the Seventh cavalry led by 7 Custer to move southward along the Rosebud Rose-bud until he struck the Indian trail q I r t TERRY t S fu sl < = e o IJ O fi > rtf t e 1 Y N f v t h J 1 CQ t u 2r W 13 CICIA Q MAP THE FATAL MARCH Terry accompanied Gibbons column and gave Custer discretionary powers as to his action after striking the trail He stated to Custer that he believed the trail would lead toward Little Big Horn a tributary trib-utary of Big Horn draining a hilly region between that river and the Rosebud and expressed the opinion that Custer had best not follow it in that case but continue southward a specified distance and then swing inwestward toward Little Big Horn to prevent the escape of the Indians south or southeast should they flee before Gibbons Gib-bons column Custer started from the mouth of the Rosebud June 22 and on the morning of June 25 crossed the divide between Rosebud and Little Big Horn following the trail into a little valley leading lead-ing to the latter stream Custer left no explanation of his reason for following the trail instead of continuing continu-ing on southward as Terry suggested He consulted with his officers and scouts about crossing the divide in the presence of Indians Indi-ans who had been seen and after crossing it and reaching the sheltering valley separated sepa-rated his regiment into four bodies and gave orders to sweep down on a wide circuit to the river Custer with Companies C E F I andL kept straight ahead Maj Reno with three companies marched on the opposite op-posite side of the valley stream and Capt Benteen with three companies marched on the left of Reno A company under Capt McDouRal was left with the pack train Reno and Custer moved within sight of each other during the forenoon J JI I IQ I I A 1 P4r V CoL Tom Custer Capt Calhoun Gen Caster l Antic Reed Boston Custer TIlE CUSTER FAMILY OF VICTIMS and about U oclock Custer signaled Reno to rejoin him and an hour later instructed him to move forward and charge The recall re-call of Reno from the center made a wido interval between the right and left wings under Custer and Benteen and as Reno went ahead in direct advance of Custer the gap remained unclosed Benteen went on as ordered an hour and a half and not finding Indians closed in to the right re crossed the little valley and regained the main trail in rear of Custer The column was thus moving in four bodies on the same route in the following order Reno Custer Benteen McDouRal Reno dashed ahead reached Little BigHorn Big-Horn and crossed hearing nothing further from Caster Benteen after recrossing little valley to the main route met a man of Casters column returninf with an order to McDougal to hurry forward the pack train Later a messenger from headquar tecs vms met returning with an order to Benteea to come on quick there was a big village ahead These two communications Were the last that passed between any soul of Casters party and any known survivor excepting from the time Reno parted company with them The exception was an Indian scout who served Custer as snch and durinRtlre fight disguised himself a Siocx and escaped His story is corroborated in part by the tes timggy of KllE Jewho < w nna ofjtha 1 r rJ I lI fJ l J I hostiles and by the position the bodies of Custer and his followers as found It appears that Ouster followed Reno to the ppint rhere the latter crossed Little Big Horn and kept on down the east bank of the stream four miles thinking that lrenos attack would fall upon one end of the village vil-lage and that hewould attack the other The high bluff of the river prevented his attacking where he wished and when finally he reached a ford the Indians met I him and drove him back from the stream i Custer then dismounted his men and gradually retired in the face pf superior I numbers seizing the most defensible positions posi-tions he could find For several hours these were defended theofficers and men I falling in the order in which they stood in the ranks The Indians charged again and again and Custer went about among his men animating them until he fell very near the last The scout stated that when the fight seemed hopeless he went to Custer and offered of-fered to help him to escape that the gal Jsnt soldier thought a moment with a characteristic char-acteristic poise of the head then seeing the Indians pouring down for a fresh attack at-tack waved the tempter away and joined a knot of men to fight his last The story told by Kill Eagle is to the effect that an attack was made on the southern end of the Indian camp by troops from across the river Reno but was soon repulsed the troops recrossing to a bluff where they were joined by other troops Benteen and McDougal The hostiles returned to the village after repulsing this attack at-tack on the south aUl1 were immediately summoned to meat troops coming across the river on the cast Custer The war riors all deserted the village and crossed the stream to fight After several hours they returned stating that the soldiers had I all been killed Then they crossed the stream again to the hill and attacked the I troops there Reno Banteen and McDou galThe The movements Custer after he made an ineffectual attempt to cross Little BigHorn Big-Horn at the ford were indicated by the positions of the bodies found by Gen Terry I when he reached the mournful scene Threefourths of a mile from the stream lay Calhouns company in an irregular line They had fought facing the river A mile distant lay Capt Keoghscompany facing I back toward Calhouns position A mile I farther lay Capt I Yates company l with other officers fl offi-cers indicating g rh G f that at this point Jf E f f a general stand Q A I had been made L J This position i i P < < faced northeast Ij I showing that the If I t4 Indians had made a + a circuitous inai ch < It and headed off the V troops causing them to fight with 1 their backs to the ip J river Gen Gps f u s ter Col Cook the h u J adjutant Cvpt 1 i c Yates and Capt Tom Ouster Lieut Riley anJ fIEUO f i 4 thirtytwo men Jfp ti fell here ucciticaj A mile from this J ffI point and neat the 9J river a last stand d iE had been made e i and here some o f f Yates men and Capt Smiths VALLEY OF DEATIL company lay inline in-line with their backs to the river Between Be-tween this point and the spot Where Custer fell the route was marked with the bodies of twentysix dead soldiers From statements made by hostiles en paged against Custerit is interred that the Indians encountered him personally hand f f to hand that he fought desperately with his sword and was shot by one Rainin t theFace Cnsters body was not mutilated f mu-tilated and his was the only one in the group entirely spared The number of warriors engaged was estimated by good judges at about 2200 The bands of Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull were present and Crazy Horse was the inspiring genius on the Indian side The savages had large reenforcementsfrom the neighboring reservations res-ervations i The number of troopers with Custer was 277 A monument on the crest where Cus1 j tcr made his last stand records the names of all who fell The battle ground is a na j tional cemetery I Terrys column numbered 1100 men in all and all the tribes in the vicinity sent their warriors to the camp on Little BigHorn Big-Horn to overwhelm whatever troops had the temerity to attack Gen Crooks column col-umn 1000 strong on its march north to cooperate with Terry had attacked these same Indians near the head waters of the I Rosebud the week previous and meeting I with defeat had returned south without effecting a junction with Terry Terry reached Custers battlefield two days after the fight GEORGE L JVILMEK II I I |
