Where Custer Fell

A correspondent of the New Ycrk World visiidt the field vicio brae Clister fel] n l at nn nio.ab'e 23ih of June, 1870, on the anniver sry of tliat eventful day, aud e -ds his paper the followlng: T.iere can hardly Ie a,sadiler, loneüer ct nuire dreary-iooklng p'acn in ;ill the Uiit■il States. A worn anl weather-beatfn monument crowns the blghest polnt of the bdttle-field. The sl:aft is rapidly disin :iTj;ratii]f und r the combined iiiiiuencrs if burnliig saus, driving rains, winter v.nins and withering wlnds. Wlien this liece of stone sliall liave crum'led to lust - wlrch, fioin present Indlcatlons, is not far (lis'ant - there w 11 be Dothlng 'efi to mark the spot or teil whuse dusi lic .uouldeii:ig bclow. That part of the val ley of the Little Hom ri.er whlcl) was the sconeof the disaster of June 25, 187(1, is abjut fourteen miles above Fort ( ust r. M. T., on the rigiit and left banks of the clear Lesser Eorn, as it wird-idown through the valley Hom Ihe lüg II om range. It was a haphazard se'oction fr a battle-ground. and sllghtly more favorable to the soldJera than to re I men, otherwise, instead of Major Reuo and Mis handful of men escaping aftcr a tenilily close conflict, in which defeat meant nnniliüation and notliing clse, not. one man would have boon left a'ive to te 1 the terrible story of thatdreadt'ul June f'ay. Gen. Custer knew that a laree and powerful Indian Ulaue was over in the Little Hom Valley wmewhere, and he determined to attatk that village in his usual pell-mell style, depending opon dash and discipline to carry liim through in spite jf the f(;rce of nuinbers opposed to lilm. Custer maile his first mistake wben he di ided his forcea, With less than 240 men he Bttempted to do what would have re■luired at least four or five rcgimrüits and in ma -s. Evon with all hls torce together and nialini; a BWOpp down apon the great villase tlie chances were a hun I red to one that ha would b whippud anyhow, and badly, too. hen one considers the sl'e of thls camp, close paoked with lodges, tepees and wlcklups, he can form soine idea of the populatlon t contalned. It must be remeiiibereil, too, tiiat every redskln in a tiü:e - bicks, squaws, boys, maideus, and all except the pappoo-es - does hs or her level best a; lisli'iiu when attacked by an eiwmy. .So it was with .vitting Buil 's village ín the Little Hom Valley. When mr brave cava'ry Ir: dr swept down on tlie Indtans with his usual dash and e. lat, ie w. s not checked by bullets or arrovvs; DO want ot courage raused him to pause or Calter, but -f miIy mass of numbers got n his way. beat him back stop by step, ïotwl.hfftandlng the leaden batl poured nto the sámagos from tliecavalry cari Inés, nul linaliy overpowered and killed e ery white man after the amrnunition cf the atter had I een exhausted. Custer'smen fonght all they cntiM, fired shot alter shot with telling effect, but all to no purpose. Indiana who were in the Sgbt te'l some strange stor es. Kitting Bill wa i not in IISU I &1 Ifc 4111. Ultll was tae bifrchief ar'd generalísimo of the day, and while he was leadlnglhe bucks and directing the en.;aíi ment,old Ton ae-Tonla ( SlttliiLí Buil) was bacA in nedtclne lodge ma'c.nff medicine. As the Indiana won amt SlltlnRl ull tur rt ■ the medicine eof course gnt a!l the cre.lit ƒ r the ictory. One of the Indians says tliat the fhclls pot stuck In the white men's carbines, an I when these weapcns were thm rendered useless as BreamiS the poor fe.lo.vs. presseil to the wnll and overpowered ten to one, clubbed thelr guns and fom?htdesperately, with death staring tli m In tbe face, muil the last doomed man feil in his tracks. When the ammunilion was exhaitsted the Indiana Walkel up, knocked themdown with clubs and butcheied them with hat liets. Gal! told me that Uie main object of nis young men was to stampedè the horses. whxh taniid the saddle poekets in whlcb each soldier had stored his aniiiuinilion. The tr opers had perhaps fifty P uuds apieee on theic persons, but the main supply wa in ti.esatldle-baj?s, beins eutirely too luavy to carry on the botly. In all. the soWiers were supplud w'uh about two hundred ronnda i er man for the iijüht When the cavalryinen were disnionnted to finhl on fo:t one soldier was deiailüil to ho d evry eiht horses. Ga'l says ho qulckly saw the advaniage to be galneil could the horses. laden With ammunltion, be stampeded, solie devised a plan to that end. He ent a serre or tvo of young bncks up a ravine to the rear, and these embryo warriors, unmindfulof tiying lead ainl the ilanger of the job, suddenly ioe up with yells in I shouts just in front of the h rses, awung their b'ankcts wildiy In the air, and nciy steed in the outfit brok o loote fiom the bo'dera and s.ampered down the ravine fcowarda the 1.1 tle 11 rn, whcie tliey were gathered in by the s uaws and old men on the wait for just what had ocenrre I. ' Many of the Indians we e armed wi.h cavalry rarbines and Uu tal States im:skeís so this very ammunition was turntd aganst C'uster and his men, and no doubt had mnch to do with deciding 'h; fortunes of the day. l'roni all tliat can b gathered by quest'oninK Ciirlcv, the Crow scut, and the i.nly llung survhor of ih(se whninar.hecl witli Ci ■ster, and a'so iro n tlie narati-.e of Gall, who Las sino.e visitcd the bpot a:i 1 told the stury uf tl e day on tlie gromd wheie hu made it, it appears that thee ' were letwe.Mi (i,000 ai.d 7,000 Indians In the vi lase at the Mme Custer defended upon it. ai.d that tl. e atta k was di t 8 nu ch of a surprise lo tlie red men as has be.'n gene ly snpi osoi!. (.all gays that ne saw tne gold eriearly In t e m rning crosslng the d vide. and noted carefully tl. at t e white mendnliied thenselves into threedivls1 in. WlK'ii Custer'a conimand Bwept o.F ti the ri hl they lost s'ght of lliat force teniporarily, keeping ihelr eyeson Reno, whu canie dlrectly down lo the rlver seekiiiR a ford to cross o er and (iRlit. Reno did cros-i ov r, pauseda minute to rost and tighten giitii-, remounted all hls men, and rode up alangslde of ome ah timbera mili' and a h.ilf. wheu ho s.ddenly carne 4i sight of tlie vlllage. Wlicn the soldiers saw all tlifs; Indiana the bng'es sounded "cliarge," tlie soldiers ca'iie rushin? like t1 e wind opon thelr wonien an i chüdren. kll'iiif; many of thcm, bnt t bravea r;illied In gieat force, turned on the troi pers, and ehased thein back lo the ri er. into wh.tb everyb dy tumbled and scramliled up to the top of a steep hi'l oppoite. When they had Reno on tiiehlll the bucks in s eat nunil er-i tried to drive hlm ott'; but, not succeedlnj?, the woinen, o'd men and ome luo :s were left (o üiiard them while the othe s re-crosed the streani and burrlcd down to the other en l of the la'ie, w' ore the cry ha I been raiel that more soldiers were comlnsf. Of course this was Clister sontlt, anl we have no tale of that terrible aKair ixc.pt whatthe Indians tel lis. l'r ja all that can be gathered, it seems thnt Custer must have crme down as far as the river witli his troopers, a though Gall says he never tot to within bal] a I tnlle of the Blream; but the font prints of the cavalry horses led in a broad and w. IIdelined tiaü clear i.o.vn to th rivi-r, notwithstandtng Gall 's statement to the contrary. "When asked liow these hoof-prints came on the bank, the cliief explained that t'iey were made bv white soldiere on liorseback wl.o hal attempel to escape fro.n ti e Beid by Roing down a ravine and ti.en cro s na; tl:e river. TI. ese were met by sou. e Lucks on the ot er si e, wi o ui me I Uien np stte.un again, and, alter racing parallel wilh tl e river tor nearly three qaariers of a mile, we. o Bnally crow.'e I luto the Wl ter aüc tht;n reciossed the river nee more. T.cy came out Just wlcre all t; o cavalry tracks appeared, were finally caught and khocked on the I cail witn some s one clubs. T..is chief, who wns undouhteuly tlie lea Ier of the red forc s on t: a. day, further says that only forty-t. ree Indians were killed in all. althougb a urea, many afteiwarda "feil over and dled." T. is seems a very small percentage of casualtles anong t: e red rauu, when it is c.n-iilere.l t! at 204 white bodies were founl on t.e Beid, alt ough n.ore than %J40 men 3 lelde I up their Uves on Custer's fiul I, not cono i, the killed and woiinde.i of Beno's and Benteens' commands. Hlstory las been c'rrected s'iu ewhat Blnce Ihat ilark ai'l l)ln dy 1 ase was reoorded, and not ihe least impor.aiu is tliai ihe In lans out-uutnbered l'tilly five o one all the whie men in the country, Includlng the different commands of Custer, Benteen and Reno, as well as Gen. Terry's and Gew. Glbbon's cominan s, .hen at t e forks of the two Hom ïivers, on the way np to elleet a junciion wilh ti.e Seveuth cavalry. Anotl.er correctlon sl-.ould be irade in the case of Gen. Gus'er hlnieelf. He did Dot w'ear long, golden 1 a:r, as bas been generalij1 supposed, but hal it clippel short before hu left his vost to take tl e leid. He was also 8i alped, V.kt: all ti e rest, but he, being slig] tly bald on Ihe crown of hi-s bead. a seslp-lock was cut Erom Further back. After all had heen slaln the bncks galloped arouiid ov r tlie Béld, popping bullets and arr tws Int 1 !: e corsés, wliiie the bloodtbiret s.viaws compleled an already too l.orrille picture by pounding the Ik a !s of the poor lellowa v Ui thoir tone clul'S. It was a sa 1 and monrnfnl i'uty for the survivlng molety óL hc gallant Sevent 1 cavalry to perform the last rites for their slain comrades, but tíiey did It witli tenilernew an 1 1 are, covering each wl ere I e feil wi li a niound of earih. and en c ing j at his h'ead a stake and pile of fetonefl to mark the gp t when the elemenls sl.oul 1 have washe I away the earth. The Custer battle-field is to-day one vast cemetery, negleete 1 and almost forgotten, exept by the few who hae rclatives and friends sleeping among those barren rocks in this lar-away. aninhablted country. Thelittle siakcs and piles of stones are jet tobe seen. but they gh'e a desolate look to the Hel I, and the monument itseJf is in the first stages of decay. It has been surromulid by a high iron railing, to protect it from vándala and ndic-. unters, but all ih.? iron railings in tie world cannot save Í ie from tlie sturms and the w mis w icli in j this hijjh and dry climate are destroylng he shaft Blowly luit surely. Off fcj the left of tl;e ironnmont an 1 at the end of the ri 'ge vthlch ormed the j sis of the skiinvsh lineof whli h Ca boun's oontpany was the lelt. Is a simple mai ble headstone, at the base of whleh was buried Lrave Lieut. Crlttenden, This gallant younj offloer volunteered dis services for tlie expei i Ion, luit was ut down in h; fiower of his yculb beio.e ife bad fairly begiin for híui. A lov ng latlie '. agud in ears, and patrióle, tH, wou ld Dot permlt the ivmual oí' lus son s remains aml 1 e was bnried w era lie feil. Over on Renohill lieie are nuinerous evilenci s stilt lefi ot the des erate siruxgle 'or exis ence n ade by the i ale fate-i ijininsï tiieir savage foes. Shells irav blicked iiji aluo-t an where, animal bones ie s att re I here and there, t e rii'e ] i s still preserve tlu-ir tormatli n ah I the line )f ski mish works, where ia h captain ie d at bay the savasre hordes is plainly i arkeil. Ue ween the slope of two hil s was the hospital where Dr. Por er had his ïands f'ull from t'ie tiüi they were cooped ii until relieve I by Terry. The animal veré collect d in this spot anrl ttie hollow s. at tl. e pi s: n writing. covere I with :he I ones of horses anti mulos that never ot out of he trap alive. To stand on any on e o' the eleva'el loinis and snrvey the surroundlnfc eouniy, the scone is strang ■; v erd aml desoate. No civili.e I babltatlon in si;lit. lere and there a tepec of some Crow Indian upon whose r servatlon the Citst. r fied s lecated: no re s except the green ribbon of tim 'er Iln rg ihe Little Hom win linp hroiigh the v.ilny below: roüin. b Oken ountry, covered wltn roeka and atinosl are of verdure; buttés ( f 13ad Laids com osed of pan'i colored mnds fi ling 1 1 e nc' groi'iul on tl e rigiit; far off t th : left and simtli beyond the Li:tlu Hom, sweep ng awciy fro !i the spot wliere once the r.lifhty vlllage reste 1; In the dlstance tbe ïijjr Ilorn r;in e of m tuntalns looming up among the clonds w th snow capped sum mits- this scène, bi ai:t fol except fo.ts dosolatenpss, was the la-.t viewe I ).y Cus er on eartb. What must have been lis feelinits when reaüzed tli it the day was against liim and all was lost! No doubt be thoiiítlit of the poor fellows with him more thnnof hiraself. amld ed asonly a b ave man could die under inch rcu'sianceí. with his face to the foe his sabie in his hand, and fighting to the last.