| Show BO 0 davi t original data as to now how yellow hand bit the dust to S SINCE INCE the passing of the dime novel with which in the dear dead juvenile days I 1 was wont to while the time away it has been my habit to poke around in search of historical works steeped in frontier lore injun fighting 0 bad man biographies red han handed ded gun players born to trouble and prepared to die with their boots on any literature perfumed by black powder punctuated with the clash of bowie knives and the rattle of musketry popping in the cottonwood was water on my wheel born in nebraska a crossroad for sioux commanche cheyenne black foot and apache soldiers cattlemen and frontiersmen I 1 inhaled an atmosphere mo sphere filtered and re filtered through the nostrils of men who wore cowhide cow hide breeches and who took their sleep standing I 1 was seven years old when george custer and his r regiment were wiped out at the little big horn massacre heard white and red men pile up the terrible details listened to but did not fully comprehend the preparations for revenge via the grapevine telegraph of the prairies I 1 heard mure more than I 1 should more than my father a missionary among the sioux and cheyenne knew had reached my ears chief gall ra rain in in the face crazy horse sitting bull red cloud passed in the flesh and ad in confusing rumors along the missouri leaving me dumb with wonderment meets old indian fighter Fig liter I 1 remember with crystal clarity the day capt jack crawford rode into the mission on a spent horse with the news that buffalo bill had m met et the cheyenne chieftain yellow hand in mortal combat and killed and scalped scalded him the memory of that thrilling declaration remained with me for many a year definite reiterating audible like something alive it became the outstanding memory of my boyhood from nebraska from which section I 1 departed for the far west with my folks in 77 1 I brought the vision of bill codys clodys victory over the red indian it marched with me like a living dream in later life I 1 heard crepea repeatedly gedly that the story of codys clodys meeting with yellow hand was mere myth a wild tale of the frontier unsupported the reiterated denial from sources that seemed unimpeachable depressed me AU all attempts at verification failed many versions none of them in accord appeared in books dealing with the indian wars obsessed with the desire to find an eyewitness I 1 sought substantiation from any and all living soldiers and civilians associated socia ted with that era who crossed my trail success crowned my perseverance in the city of boston august 1929 at the invitation of a friend I 1 called upon samuel storrow sumner ma jor general of the united states army retired totally blind in his seventy eighth year and residing on beacon street we talked of the early days the indian uprisings and the opening 0 of the vast and fertile country west of the missouri in the course of our conversation the genral general e mentioned colonel cody the buffalo bill of my boyhood gets low down on fight here perhaps was my long sought eyewitness Is the story of his killitz killi ig tg yellow hand true I 1 asked the aged and blind soldier came suddenly to life slapping his thighs with both hands absolutely he exclaimed 1 I saw the fight after the custer massacre at little big horn yellow hand now chief of the came down to war bonnet creek to raid the wagons cody who was there with a band of scouts asked to go into action gen wesley merritt who was in bi command said he had no objection to cody who was not officially of the regular army doing as he damned well pleased bill wheeled his horse and rode straight for yellow hand at a gallop they came cama for each other head on both opening with rifle fire at close range when almost knee to knee bill shot yellow hand from his horse the indian was dead when he hit the ground bill dismounted placed his toot foot on yellow hands body and waved a signal that he was the vie victor gen charles king was also present we were less than a hundred yards from the scene of the battle the dime novel writers lost no time making it appear that bill scalped scalded the cheyenne and waved the bloody trophy aloft that is not true but that cody killed yellow hand in hand to hand conflict you need have no doubts whatever general merritt general king an and myself witnessed the light fight from start to finish 0 western newspaper union |
