LIBRARY OF CONGRESS QQ0QD57D3bT 'i x^^' ■^./.. •^. d'^'- -y •^y v-^^ .&'' ^^> <, •X \ 1 /■ . A^^^ ■ ' V ■"oo^ -.-^' ; "bo^ ^ -%. v^^ xO°, ; -->, ' '- rv. ->> o • \ ^'y: %.A . -■ ,,^'^>^/ ^;, .^^ .#'^ A o <- , ./^o/-^'^ -O" A . -^y' ■'^. A .0=^ ^ -/•, .\0°„ ■?t -i ^. '.^ <^' ^\^^ - CONTENTS TAGB PRELIMINARY REMARKS 1 FIRST BOOK.— THE BOY. CHAPTER I. Early Life. Birthplace and Boyhood — Going to School — First Love — The Nomina- tion to West Point 3 CHAPTER n. Plebe Custer. The Sorrows of a Plebe— The First Camp 17 CHAPTER III. Cadet Custer. Becoming a Real Cadet — Riding Lessons — "Benny Havens, oh!" — The Coming of the War — The Attack on Fort Sumter — Graduation Time — A Court-martial — Lucky Escape 25 SECOND BOOK.— THE SUBALTERN. CHAPTER I. Lieutenant Custer, Second Cavalry. Going to Washington — Ordered to take Despatches to McDowell — Night Ride to Centreville 49 CHAPTER II. Bull Run. Custer joins his Troop — Incidents of the Battle — The Panic — The Defeat 59 CHAPTER III. Organizing an Army. The New General— Custer on Staff Duty— Sick Leave— The Pledge 77 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. The Peninsular Campaign. PAGE Custer's First Charge — The Transports — The Peninsula — Yorktown 93 CHAPTER V. WANING THE Bars. The Evacuation — The Pursuit — Williamsburg — The Advance on the Chickahoininy — Custer made a Captain 103 THIED BOOK.— THE CAPTAIN. CHAPTER I. From Richmond to Malvern Hill. The Battle of Fairoaks— McClellan's Peril — A Month's Respite— The Seven Days — Custer's Letters 119 CHAPTER II. McClellan's Remoa'al. Harrison's Landing — Custer's Letters — The Maryland Campaign — McClellan Deposed-;— Custer at Monroe — The Course of True Love. . 125 CHAPTER III. The Cavalry Corps. The Winter of 1862-3— Custer on Pleasonton's Staff— The Urbana Expedition 141 CHAPTER IV. Winning his Star. Battle of Aldie — Custer to the Front — Promoted 153 FOURTH BOOK.— THE MICHIGAN BRIGADE. CHAPTER I. The Gettysburg Campaign. The Boy General with the Golden Locks— The Battle of Gettysburg — Custer as a Cavalry Chief 167 CHAPTER n. After Gettysburg. Lee's Retreat — Captures of Trains — Falling Waters — A Squadron Cap- tures a Brigade — Lee Escapes 181 CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. To THE Rapidan and Back. PAGE Advance on Culpepper — Meade's Retreat— Battle of Buckland's Mills — End of Campaign — Love Letters and Orange Blossoms 193 CHAPTER IV. The Wilderness and the Valley. Sheridan in Command — The First Raid — The Second Raid — Early in Maryland — The Cavalry Ordered to the Valley 21!) CHAPTER V. Winchester. Playing Chess with Early— The False Move— Custer at Winchester 231 FIFTH BOOK.— THE THIFvD CAVALEY DIYISION. CHAPTER I. Woodstock Races. Assigned to the Third Division — Rosser against Custer — Sheridan's Orders — " Whip or Get Whipped " — Woodstock Races 247 CHAPTER n. Cedar Creek. Sheridan Ordered to Washington— Early's Surprise of Wright— The Battle of Cedar Creek— Plunder of the Union Camps— Arrival of Sheridan— Early's Overthrow— Custer and Merritt finishing the Victory— Results of the Valley Campaign 263 CHAPTER in. The Last Raid. Waynesboro'— Cutting the Canals— Chasing Early— Nearing Richmond — Back with the Army 271 CHAPTER IV. Five Forks. Advance on Five Forks— Devin's Repulse— The 5th Corps— The Victory — The Pursuit 279 CHAPTER V. Appomattox. Heading off Lee— Sailor's Creek— The Night March— Appomattox- Lee's Surrender — Custer's Last Order 297 VIU CONTENTS. CHAPTER VI. The GiiEAT Parade. From Richmond to Washington — Close of Custer's War Career.., SIXTH BOOK.— AFTER THE AVAR. CHAPTER I. The Volunteers in Texas. The State of the Country — Discontent of the Men — Mutiny — Discharge of the Volunteers — Custer in Texas 315 CHAPTER II. The Regular Army. Peculiar Hardships of the American Regular Army — Jealousy of the Nation — The Old and the New Army — Settling Down 325 CHAPTER III. The Seventh Cavalry. Description of the Regiment — Its Officers and Men — Custer and Presi- dent Johnson — Ordered to Kansas 337 SEVENTH BOOK.— ON THE PLAINS. CHAPTER I. The Hancock Expedition. Causes of the Expedition — Escape of the Tribes — The Pursuit — The First Buffalo— The Lost Trail— War 349 CHAPTER II. The First Scout. Learning Indian Tricks — Pawnee Killer's Repulse — Skirmishes 363 CHAPTER III. The Wagon Train. The March to Fort Wallace— The Return— The Attack— Circling— Arrival of Help— Saved 371 CHAPTER IV. The Kidder Massacre. The Telegram— Finding the Bodies— A Mother's Love 383 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER V. The Court Martial. PAGE The Mutiny — The March — Custer Court-martialled \}d7 CHAPTER VI. The Winter Campaign. Wanted, a General — Custer sent for— Starting on the Trail 413 CHAPTER VII. Battle of the Washita. The Trail in the Snow — Charge on Black Kettle — How to Fight Indians — Triumphant Return of the Seventh 435 CHAPTER VIII. Closing Operations. IIow Custer volunteered to bring the Kiowas, Arapahoes and Cheyennes to Peace — How he did it 453 CHAPTER IX. Louisville to the Yellowstone. Custer in Kentucky — Ordered North — The Sioux — A Narrow Escape. . . 471 CHAPTER X. The Black Hills. Rumors of Gold — A Terra Incognita — The Custer Column 501 CHAPTER XL Rain-in-the-Face. Murderer's Boasts— The Arrest— The Grain Thieves— The Escape— The Oath of Vengeance— The Sun-Dance 515 EIGHTH BOOK.— THE LAST CAMPAIGN". CHAPTER L Sitting Bull. What is known of the Sioux Chief— His Diary 529 CHAPTER IL Crazy Horse. Reynolds' Campaign — Another Washita Spoiled — Wanted a Caster 537 X CONTEXTS. CHAPTER III. Custer and Grant. PAGE The Belknap Investigation — Custer's unwilling Testimony — President Grant's Revenge — Custer's Displacement 545 CHAPTER IV. The Great Expedition. Crook's Column — Gibbon's Column — The Terry Column — Reno's Scout — Custer's Departure 563 CHAPTER V. The Last Battle. Trail of Sitting Bull — Reno's Fight — Custer's Last Charge 578 NINTH BOOK.— SOLDIER AND MAN. CHAPTER I. Custer, the Soldier. Analysis of his Success— His True Rank in Military History 609 CHAPTER IL Custer, the Indian-Fighter. Savage and Civilized Warfare Contrasted — Custer's Experience — Anec- dote illustrating his Knowledge of Indian Nature 616 CHAPTER III. Custer, the Man. His Generosity — Fondness for Children — Development of his Character — His Scrupulous Honor — Closing Summary 623 TENTH BOOK.— PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. Of General Custer, by the Great Tragedian, Lawrence Barrett ( ^1 COMPLETE LIFE Gen. George A. Custer, MAJOR-GENERAL OF VOLUNTEERS, BREVET MAJOR-GENERAL U. S, ARMY, AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SEVENTH U. S, CAVALRY. BY FREDERICK WHIT TAKER // BREVET CAPTAIN SIXTH NEW YORK v-HTSPAN CAVALRY. SHELDON & COMPANY, NEW^ YORK. A. G. NETTLETON & CO., CHICAGO, ILLS., AND CmCINNATI, O. BRYAN, BKAND & CO., ST. LOUIS, MO., AND NEW ORLEANS, LA. CROCKER & STIGKNEY, BOSTON, MASS. a. W. KELLEY, PHILADELPHIA, PA. A. ROMAN & CO., SAN FRANCISCO, CAL. COPTEIGEIT, I87(j, BY ShELDON & Co. .V TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, WHOSE LIBERTIES HE SO GALLANTLY DEFENDED, AND ESPECIALLY TO THE AMERICAN CAVALRY, PAST AND PRESENT WHOSE GREATEST PRIDE AND BRIGHTEST ORNAMENT HE WAS, I DEDICATE THIS MEMOIR. rl LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Steel Plate of Gej^eral Custer as he ap- ) V Frontispiece. peaked the summer of his death ) Mrs. Custer says of this likeness : " I cannot say how pleased I am with the steel plate cnaraving you sent me. It grows upon me, aud I think it gives the General's intellectual look better than any portrait I have." TO FACE PAGE Wading the Chickahomikt 103 Map of the Peninsula 109 Custer at Aldie 157 The Woodstock Eaces 258 Custer in 1865 271 -^I AP of Five Forks 295 The Flag of Truce 30G The Attack on the Train 371 The Kidder Massacre 383 Battle of the Washita 425 Satanta 456 PiAin-in-the-Face 515 Map op Custer's Last March 570 AuTiE Reed Boston Custer Captain Calhoun Colonel Tom Custer -Map of Custer's Last Fight 595 "Custer's Last Fight 606 This book, including the Illustrations, etc., contains 687 pages. FIRST BOOK.— THE BOY. CHAPTER I. EARLY LIFE. GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER was born in l^ew Riimley, Ohio, December 5, 1839. New Rumley is a group of houses, an old estabhshed settlement, in Harrison County, on the border of Pennsylvania, and peopled from thence early in the last century. It is a small place, not set down on any but very large scale maps, and most of the population of the township is scattered in farm houses about the country. The family history, gleaned from the family Bible, is plain and simple. It is that of an honest group of hard workers, not ashamed of work, and it shows that the stock of which the future general came was good, such as made frontiersmen and pioneers in the last century. Emmanuel H. Custer, father of the general, was born in Cryssoptown, Alleghany Count}^ Maryland, December 10th, 1806. To-day, a hale hearty old man of seventy, somewhat bowed, but well as ever to all seeming, he stands a living in- stance of the strong physique and keen wits of the determined men who made the wild forests of Ohio to bloom like the rosO: He was brought up as a smith, and worked at his trade for many years, till he had saved enough money to buy a farm, when he became a cultivator. All he knows he taught himself, but he gave his children the best education that could be obtained in those early days in Ohio. When quite a young man, he left * GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Maryland and settled in New Eumlej, being the only smith for many miles. He prospered so well that he was able to get mar- ried when twenty-two years of age. He married Matilda Yiers, August 7th, 1828, and their marriage lasted six years, during which time three children were born, of whom only one, Brice "W. Custer, of Columbus, Ohio, is now living. He is bridge inspector on one of the railroads leading from that place. The first Mrs. Custer died July 18th, 1834. The maiden name of the second Mrs. Custer, mother of the general, was Maria Ward. She was born in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, May 31st, 1807, and was first married, when only a girl of sixteen, to Mr. Israel R. Kirkpatrick. Her husband died in 1835, a year after the death of the first Mrs. Custer. The widow Kirkpatrick had then three children, whereof two are now alive. David Kirkpatrick lives in Wood County, Ohio, some forty miles south from Toledo. Lydia A. Kirkpatrick married Mr. David Reed, of Monroe, Michigan, and in after life became more than a sister, a second mother, to the subject of our biography. After two years widowhood, Mrs. Kirkpatrick married Emmanuel Custer, April 14th, 1837, and became the mother of the general, two years later, as the second Mrs. Custer. She is still, at the present date of writing, living, but in very feeble health. The children of this second marriage were born as follows : 1. George Armstrong Custer, December 5, 1839. 2. Nevin J. Custer, July 29, 1842. 3. Thomas W. Custer, March 15, 1845. 4. Boston Custer, October 31, 1848. 5. Margaret Emma Custer, January 5, 1852. All were born in Harrison County, in or near New Rnmley. Nevin and Margaret alone now survive, the latter the widow of Lieutenant Calhoun, who was killed on the field of battle with his three brothers-in-law, June 25th, 1876. ISTevin Custer now lives on a farm near Monroe, Michigan. During the late war EARLY LIFE. 5 he enlisted as a private soldier, but was thrown out for physical disability, in spite of his anxiety to serve his country. He had all the spirit of the Ousters, but lacked the good physique of the other members of the family. T have been thus particular in giving the family record, be- cause little is known to the world on that subject. It is the record of a plain yeoman family, such as constitutes the bone and sinew of the country. The name of Custer was originally Kiister, and the grandfather of Emmanuel Custer came from Germany, but Emmanuel's flither was born in America. The o-randfather was one of those same Hessian officers over whom o the colonists wasted so many curses in the Revolutionary war, and who were yet so innocent of harm and such patient, faithful soldiers. After Burgoyne's surrender in 1778, many of the paroled Hessians seized the opportunity to settle in the country they came to conquer, and amongst these the grandfather of Emmanuel Custer, captivated by the bright eyes of a frontier damsel, captivated her in turn with his flaxen hair and sturdy Saxon figure, and settled down in Pennsylvania, afterwards moving to Maryland. It is something romantic and pleasing after all, that stubborn George Guelph, in striving to conquer the colonies, should have given them the ancestor of George Custer, who was to become one of their greatest glories. Of this family the boy George Armstrong was born, and grew up a sturdy, flaxen-headed youngster, full of life and frolic, always in mischief, and yet, strange to say, of the gentlest and most lovable disposition. The closest inquiry fails to reveal a single instance of ill-temper during Custer's boyhood. All his playmates speak of him as the most mischiev- ous and frolicsome of boys, but never as quarrelsome. There is actually not a single record of a tight in all his school life, though the practical jokes are without number. He was very early, however, imbued with a passion for soldiering, how early he eould not tell himself. In those days Emmanuel Custer, like most countrymen, was in the militia, and very fond of hia 6 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. uniform and his little son. When " Armstrong," or " Autie," as the boy was always called, was only about four years old, a miniature military suit,* was made for him. Whenever father Custer went to training, Autie went with him, and marched after the soldiers as well as he could, his small legs doing their best to make big strides. After drill it was a favorite pastime of the "New Rumley Invincibles" to see little Autie go through the old Scott manual of arms with a toy musket, and thus the boy became imbued from his earliest years with the soldier spirit. As Autie grew older, like all the Custer boys, he was sent to school — district school — where he learned, in the good old fashioned way, how to read, write and cipher. The winter schooling over, in the summer he worked on the farm, like all the Custer boys, ploughing, mowing, chopping wood, " doing chores," and developing into a strong hearty boy. It was this early farm life, the constant and vigorous exercise that he underwent, that laid the foundation of that iron constitution which he afterwards possessed, and gave him that capacity for bearing fatigue, which made him such a tremendous marcher in days to come. He could handle an axe when he was a general officer, as well as any pioneer, and has been known on more than one occasion to set to work to help the fatigue parties, when clearing a w'ay over fallen timber in the forests of Virginia and the coppices that fringe the Black Hills. When Armstrong was about ten years old, an event hap- pened in the family w^hich changed the current of his life to an extent which no one at the time expected would happen. His half sister Lydia w^as married to Mr, Reed, a young man who came from Monroe, Michigan, and after her marriage departed to live at Monroe. Now in jthose days Monroe w^as a long way off from New Rumley. There were very few railroads in ^ the United States, and none between the two towns. The * This tiny soldier-suit still exists, in the keeping of General Custer's mother. EARLY LIFE. 7 State of Michigan was then sparsely settled. The act admitting it into the Union was only passed the year in which young Custer was born. The site of Lansing, the present capital of the State, was, in 184:6, only a few years before Mrs. Reed's marriage, occupied by a single log cabin, and the population of the State was not quite four hundred thousand people. The only old settled places were Detroit and Monroe. The former dated from the days of the fur-posts, before the Revolution, and it was very near Monroe (then called Frenchtown) that the massacre of 1813, known as the battle of Raisin River, took place, in which the British General Proctor, and Tecumseh with his Indians, annihilated eight hundred mounted riflemen of Kentucky. Mrs. Reed felt that she was going away among strangers, with none of her own kin near her, and she begged that Arm- strong might go with her to her new home. The boy, like all boys, was only too glad to see new scenes, and went to Monroe with his sister and her husband, remaining there for two years. Newly settled as was the State of Michigan in those days, it was already becoming noted for its excellent educational ad- vantages, which have since expanded into one of the best school systems in the Union. When young Custer went there, he was at once put to school in Stebbins' Academy, where he remained till about twelve years old. Of those early days the records and reminiscences are many and amusing, and we shall quote a few of them. Custer's chum at school, the boy who sat at the same desk with him, was named Bulkley, and the friendship that then began has since continued through life. In the case of Mr. Bulkley, who still lives in Monroe, it survives in the form of an ardent love and. appreciation of his quondam desk-mate. Many years after, when the old Stebbins' Academy was broken up and the prop- erty sold at auction, Mr. Bulkley found the same old desk at which he and Custer used to sit, with their names carved on it in school-boy fashion. He bought it in, and it now stands in 8 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. his store, the receptacle of the various papers connected with the " Custer Monument Fund Society " of which Bulkley is the Secretary, General Sheridan being President. How little those two boys thought, a quarter of a century ago, what would be the ultimate fate of that old desk, as they furtively whittled away at its corners. Young Custer was a smart lad, with very quick apprecia- tion, a remarkably rapid student, but one who hated study. He seldom or never looked at a lesson out of school, trusting to the short period before recitation to skim over his task, and yet rarely failing to have a creditable lesson. He was always smuggling novels into school and reading them furtively, and his old comrade cannot help, even at this late date, a chuckle of lawless satisfaction, as he recalls the way in which he and Cus- ter used to cheat the old schoolmaster, in "geography hour." Custer used to have his geography wide open, while beneath it lay " Charles O'Malley," also wide open. With a pencil in his band, he would be earnestly tracing the course of a river on the map when old Stebbins came round behind him, it being the habit of that worthy man to wear list slippers and to be on the watch at all times for surreptitious amusements among the boys. Sly as he was, however, Custer was slyer. His senses were as sharp as those of an Indian even then, and Stebbins never found him otherwise than busy and studying intently, to the worthy pedagogue's great satisfaction. As he passed, he would pat the boy's head and pronounce him a credit to the school, a compliment received by the youngster with an edify- ing air of virtuous humility. 'No sooner was Stebbins gone, however, than the end of the geography was lifted, while Arm- strong returned to the perusal of the humors of Mr. Michael Free and the gallant charges of the Fourteenth Light Dragoons, M'ith renewed zest. His passion was reading military novels, his chief ambition to be a soldier. Even then, he had made up his mind to go to West Point when he got old enough. One thing that tended EARLY LIFE. » to inflame his martial spirit in tliose days, was the Mexican war just then closed. The heroes of that war were almost all "West- Pointers, and the little regular army made a very considerable figure therein. However that may be, he had formed the firm resolve to go to "West Point when old enough. Out of school, he was always in the midst of rough horse play with the other boys, fond of practical jokes, a great wrestler and runner, and the strongest lad of his age in the place. He became an acknowledged leader in all the athletic sports of the day, the only thing in which he did not excel being swimming. Curiously enough, he never liked the water much, to the day of his death, and though he could swim, sel- dom did so. Boating was also one of his dislikes. He would do anything on land, but had no aspirations as a sailor. At home, he was chiefly distinguished, according to the account of Mrs. Reed, by his extreme gentleness and kindness of heart. To her he was the most docile of boys, obeying her slightest wish the moment it was expressed. He was exceedingly ten- der-hearted also ; so much so that he never could bear even to see a chicken killed ; and the sight of suffering of any kind completely unnerved him. He was very fond of nursing Mrs. Reed's children, as they successively arrived, and was especially proud of her first boy who was named Armstrong, after him- self. Poor little Autie Reed, he died on the same field with Custer, together with Custer's youngest brother, on that last fated expedition. A strange compound of qualities was this lad in those days, gentle and brave, with an overflowing sense of humor, hating his books, and yet working to the head of his class by fits and starts when he took a notion, obstinate under harsh treatment, opposing the constituted authorities at school with all ingeni- ous evasions, meeting the wily tricks of his pedagogue with tricks still wilier, but ruled by his gentle sister with an abso- lute sway. He reminds us of one of Thackeray's schoolboys, full of vague poetical yearnings, tempered by the savage free- 10 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. dom of overflowing physical strength and health, a boy all over, a boy to the backbone, with the promise and potency of — who knows what? — of manhood. The ruling traits of liis character, as they struck his family, were those of great goodness, of duty performed, of kindness, love, and devotion. To this day, they seem to think of him, not as the brilliant warrior, bat as the exemplary son and brother, who never omitted a duty, never abated in his love. Inside of all the rough play of the cham- • pion wrestler of the school, lay this hidden kernel of surpassing gentleness and love, that was to make the foundation of the future knight. And yet he was a plain American boy, who knew little or nothing of medieval lore, and less of European history, as was the necessary consequence of the habitual Ameri- can education. He was then, and remained to the last, a thorough American, a Western boy at that. After spending two years at Stebbins' Academy, he returned to ]^ew Eumley, and passed some time there, on his father's farm. When about fourteen, he was again sent to Monroe, this time to the " Seminary," the principal school of that place, then and now kept by the Eev. Mr. Boyd. The Seminary is a line old brick mansion, large and irregular, stretching out its wings in the midst of shady grounds, a pleasant and picturesque home. Here Custer finished his education in the English branches, remaining there two years. It was a far better school than the old Academy, Mr. Boyd being a man of much greater refinement and taste than was then common in the west, and young Custer worked under him to more advantage. He left school at the age of sixteen, and went back to New Rumley. It was, however, while at the Seminary, that a little incident occurred, which subsequently influenced his whole life, as Mrs. Eeed's marriage had done when he was a child. The incident is so small and trifling that it seems nothing, and yet on such trifles hang human lives. Coming from school one day to Mrs. Reed's, the rough, flaxen-headed, freckled-faced boy, was pertly accosted by a little girl with black eyes. She was a pretty little EARLY LIFE. 11 creature, rounded and plump, her father's pet, an only child and naturally spoiled. Like most little children, she was proud to show all she knew, and she knew that Custer was a stranger. She said archly as she swung on the gate, her pretty face dimpling with smiles, " Hello ! you Custer boy ! " then fright- ened at her own temerity, turned and fled into the house. A trifle, you will say, not worth recording ; yet it was the beginning of Custer's first and last love. The sweet arch face of that little girl was the first revelation to the wild young savage, whose whole idea of life was that of physical exercise, war, and the chase, of something else, of another side to life. It was to him, love at first sight, and he then and there recorded an inward vow, that some day that little girl should be his wife. He kept the vow through many obstacles. This little girl was Libbie Bacon, only child of Judge Daniel S. Bacon, one of the oldest settlers of Monroe. The Judge had come there long before Emmanuel Custer's first mar- riage, and fifteen years before Armstrong was born. Beginning as a school teacher, he had become a lawyer, a member of the Territorial Legislature before Michigan was yet erected into a State, Judge of Probate, President of the Monroe Bank, direc- tor of the first Michigan Railroad — in short he was one of the first men of the little town, and the centre of its " upper ten." To 3'oung Custer, poor and obscure, it might have then seemed as if a great gulf divided him from the little girl whose arch beauty flashed on him for the first time. It was characteristic of the determination which afterwards marked his whole career that he should make such a vow and keep it. To this we shall afterwards return. Custer had now lived at Monroe, off and on, for four years. His return to Ohio must have seemed to him an exile, for he ever after seems to have looked on Monroe as his home. He went back to New Rumley, and soon after obtained a place as teacher at Hopedale, Ohio, not far from his native place. Here he earned his first money — not much to our notions now, but 12 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. a little fortune to him in those days. Twentj-six dollars a month and his board were the terms, and he brought the whole of his first month's salary and poured it into his mother's lap. In after years he often referred to the joy he then experienced as being the greatest he had ever known, as being his first opportunity to repay in a measure the love of his parents, for whom he ever cherished the fondest affection. That affection was well deserved. Hitherto we have spoken but little of Custer's father and mother, but when we reflect on the fact that out of the savings of a small farm, and burdened with the sup- port of a large family, they had managed to pay for the best education then to be found in the Western country for their eldest son, we can understand much of the spring of that son's energy and goodness of character. Long years after, when Custer was distinguished among men, an eminent warrior, courted and petted by all, he wrote his father and mother a letter, which is worthy of being printed in letters of gold.' It shows what parents and what a son com- bined to make the perfect knight that Custer became. "We quote but a fragment, in answer to one of their letters, in which the modest parents have disclaimed any merit of their own in the success of their brilliant son. Custer writes : You do yourself injustice when you say you did but little for me. You may forget it, but I never can. There is not a day but I think with deep gratitude of the many sacrifices, the love and devotion you and mother have constantly bestowed upon me. You could not have done more for me than you have. A fortune would be nothing to me with what I am indebted to you for. I never wanted for any tiling necessary, and if you did not give me a fortune in money, you did what was infinitely better. You and mother instilled into my mind correct principles of industry honesty, self-reliance; I was taught the distinction between wrong and right ; I was taught the value of temperate habits ; and I now look back to my childhood and the days spent under the home roof, as a period of the purest happiness ; and I feel thank- ful for such noble parents. I know but few if any boys are so EARLY LIFE. 13 blessed as I have been, by haying such kind, self-sacrificing pa- rents to train and guide them as I have had. I know I might heap millions of dollars at yonr feet, and still the debt of grati- tude on my part would be undiminished. All honor to parents and son. In that letter lies much of the secret of Custer's success. At Hopedale, young Custer remained for a year, teaching ; but he was not the man to stagnate into a pedagogue. Teach- ing was to him, as to many another man in the United States, a mere stepping-stone to better things, a temporary means of support. He had determined to go to West Point : the ques- tion remained, how was he to get there. Father Custer was a stanch old Jacksonian Democrat, double-dyed and twisted in the wool ; the member for the district was an equally stanch Republican. It was now the year 1856, the time when Ere- monters began to be enthusiastic and aggressive, when the bur- den of the campaign songs was " Free speech, free press, free soil, free men, Fremont and Victory ! " The member for the district was an enthusiastic republican, what chance was there that he would use his influence to advance the son of an equally enthusiastic democrat ? So Emmanuel Custer thought, when his son pressed him to try and get Mr. Bingham to nominate him to West Point. He said frankly that it was no use trying, that the young fellow might try if he wished, but he could not help him. He had no influence, and none but humble friends. But Armstrong would not give up. He would try for himself, and trust to his own efforts alone. He had one advantage, habits of study, and facility in using his knowledge. Teaching had given him that, as it has many others. No way to master a science so good as to undertake to teach it. One must know it then. So he sat down and wrote the following letter : Hopedale, Ohio, May 27tli, 1856. To THE Hon. John A. Bingham. Sir : — Wishing to learn something in relation to the matter of appointment of cadets to the West Point Military Academy, I 14- GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. have taken the liberty of addressing you on the subject. My only apology for thus intruding on your notice is, that I cannot obtain such information here. And as the matter is to be finally settled in Washington, I have thought better to make application at head- quarters from the beginning. If in the multiplicity of your duties, which I know you must have on hand, you can find time to inform me as to the necessary qualifications for admission, and if our congressional district is unrepresented there or not, or at least when there will be a vacancy, you will confer a great favor on me. I am desirous of going to West Point, and I think my age and tastes would be in accordance with its requirements. But I must forbear on that point for the present. I am now in attendance at the McNeely N"ormal School in Hopedale, and could obtain from the principal, if necessary, testimonials of moral character. I would also say that I have the consent of my parents in the course which I have in view. Wishing to hear from you as soon as convenient, I remain. Yours respectfully, Gr. A. Custer. It will be seen from this letter that Custer had at the time ceased teaching for aM^hile, to further perfect his education.* The handwriting is very strongly contrasted with that of his later years, which is rather light and pointed, resembling a lady's hand in many respects. In the Bingham letter it is that of a particularly careful schoolboy of the old time, with down- strokes of portentous weight and blackness, with fine hair lines for upstrokes. The letter brought forth a reply from Bingham, in wliich the requisite information was given, and it appeared that others were after the place. In answer to this, Custer wrote again. He would not be denied, if persistency would effect his purpose. There was another young man after the place, but he wrote as follows : McNeely Normat. School, Thursday, June 11, 1856. Hon. John A. Bingham. Dear Sir — Yours of the fourth was duly received and I feel myself compelled to write again to express my sincere thanks for EARLY LIFE. 15 yotir prompt attention, explicit information as to qualifications, etc. I will also add that in all the points specified I would come under the requirements set forth in your communication, being about sev- enteen years of age, above the medium height and of remarkably strong constitution and vigorous frame. If that young man from Jeff. County of whom you spoke does not push the matter, or if you hear of any other vacancy, I should be glad to hear from you. Yours with great respect, G. A. Custer. Nothing came of it that year, however. The young man from Jefferson County got the place, but there was still time during the next year. That summer Mr. Bingham came home at the close of the session of Congress, and young Custer went to see him. The result of the interview was that Bingham, pleased with the frank face of the boy, his modest determination, and something in his Jooks that told that he would yet be a credit to his nominator, promised that he would give him the next year's vacancy, and Custer went home happy. The rest of the year 1856 w^as passed by him partly at the !N^ormal School, partly teaching, partly on his father's farm. At last came the eventful day when lie received his commis- sion, and was ordered to report at West Point. The die was cast. He had longed to be a soldier. From henceforth to the day of his death he was a soldier to the core. This period of Custer's life may be regarded as that of his first awakening to the consciousness of his own powers and of the deficiencies of his early education. One evidence of this is the fact of his attendance at the Normal school and his selection of teaching for an occupation. He had already received more than enough education to fit him for such a life as his father or any of his relatives led, and the fact of his voluntarily entering the Normal school to avail himself of its further advantages shows that he was already looking forward to a change in his prospects before he applied to Mr. Bingham. The latter had told liim of all the difficulties besetting an applicant for a cadetship, and espe- 16 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ciallj of the preliminary examination, and Custer occupied all the rest of the year in fitting himself therefor. The result was that, when he went to West Point, he had already mastered as much mathematics as any one of the one year cadets, and w^•^s so far ahead of his class that he found all his subsequent studies as easy as he had his earlier labors at Stebbins' Academy. Of the other troubles of a cadet, lessons apart, he was now to gain his first experience. He found his troubles there, much the same as at school, in the irksomeness of discipline, not the se- verity of study. Such as he was, a headlong, impulsive, gener- ous lad, full of life and spirits he entered "West Point. "Would there were hundreds more to-day there, like him. CHAPTER II. PLEBE CUSTER. A TALL, slender lad of seventeen, with frank, liandsorae face and fair hair, landed on the wharf at West Point, in the summer of 1857. A certain free, careless air told of tlie Western man, so different in his surroundings and bearing from the town-bred citizen of the East. It was our young hero, fresh from the independent merry life of the West, and plunged all alone into the peculiar life of West Point — a Plehe, with all his sorrows to come. A great change for the careless young fellow, overflowing with the fun and frolic that comes of magnificent physical organization and keen intellect. There is something in the atmosphere of Western life that seems to rebel against rules and restrictions and everything narrow. It goes straight to its pur- pose, whatever it be, by direct common sense methods, original in their simplicity, but appears awkward and rough when con- trasted with Eastern polish. With all his diirerences of race and education, come from the most perfectly repubHcan part of the Union, young Custer was dropped into the midst of one of the most absolute despotisms on earth, the Military Academy at West Point. What the change is, for a young fellow fresh from home life, and especially from country home life, it is dif- ficult to picture, without a knowledge of that curious microcosm, " the Point." There is something in the Military Academy so totally dif- ferent from the usual life of America, that it has fixed a great gulf between West Pointers and the outside world, none the less real because impalpable. It shows itself in the reception 18 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. accorded to the "Plebe" wben he first enters the Academy, so ditierent from that accorded to a Freshman at college, the near- est person to a Plebe in condition. The poor Plebe comes from the world of freedom, and enters another world, where implicit obedience is the unflinching rule. Instantly, every one seems to set on him to make his life miserable. From time immemorial it seems to have been the tradition at the Academy, that every new-comer should be made to suffer all the discom- forts possible, during his first months, without a possibility of escape. His ordinary treatment has been embalmed in some very truthful, though undeniably doggerel verses, in the "West Point Scrap Book," entitled "West Point Life." The compo- sition from which they are taken was written for the Dialectic Society of West Point in 1859, and therefore may be said to portray very accurately the state of society at the " Point," when Custer was a cadet. The minstrel, describing the Plebe, breaks out: When landed at tlie Point, you ask a man wliere you report, And ten to one you get from liim a withering retort. He'll say, " Subordination, Plebe's, of discipline the root ; When you address an old Cadet, forget not to salute." He sends you to a room and says, " Report and then come back." You enter and discover there only the old boot-black. You wander like Telemachus ; at last you find the place And see the dread Instructor — yes, and meet him face to face. He shouts out, " Stand attention, sir ! hands close upon your pants, And stand erect. Hold up your head ! There — steady ! don't advance ; Turn out your toes still further, look straight toward the front, Draw in your chin ! Throw out your chest ! Now steady ! Don't you grunt." Says the Instructor " Where's my pen? this old one doesn't suit me." " There it is, sir." " You hold your tongue ! How dare you talk on duty ? I'm not surprised to see you quail and flatter like a partridge. But soldiers' mouths must only open when they tear a cartridge." He wants to know all things you've brought, your clothes of every kind ; (You think the gentleman's endowed with an enquiring mind) You get a broom, some matches, and a bed made up of patches. Though little do you think such schools could ever have their matches. A comforter you also get, a thing that most you need, A eouiiorter ! It's one of Job's, a sorry one indeed 1 PLEBE CUSTER. 19 " On your return, report yourself," they earnestly exhort you. Report yourself! ! ! when twenty men are eager to report yoa 1 You're now assigned to quarters — there deposit bed and broom. And though in want of shelter, wish for you there was no room. Are these the luxuries on which our Senators agree ? You do not fancy this " hot-bed of aristocracy." The drill drum beats, so does your heart, and down the stairs you scud. You slip before you reach the ranks, fall full length in the mud ; How strange you think it when next night reported you have been. In spite of all your eflForts, for neglecting to " fall in." When reading in your room, absorbed in prison discipline, You suddenly hear some one knock ; jump up, and cry " Come inl' You find the dread Instructor already in the door. He says " Did you give that command to your Superior? " You ask to be forgiven, say you'll never do't no more, You didn't yet know all the rules and articles of war. Next day they march you into camp. How pretty it does look I That you may fare the better, you have brought a cookery book. You get in camp, an old cadet cries, " Come put up this tent." And with the aid he renders you, you're very well content. You thank him, take possession ; when you find that all is done. He coolly tells you " Plebe, that's mine ; go, get another one. What you have done is only play ; Plebes always make mistakes." Foul play you think it is, when you have put down all the stakes. You possibly are six feet high ; some officer you dreaii Arrests you at the break of day for lying long in bed. July the Fourth at last arrives ; you think it rather hard. When on this day of liberty, the Plebes must go on guard. You go on post, the night arrives, you scarcely are alive. But still a lonely watch you keep, way down on " No. 5." At first you like the lonely post, the path's so nicely levelled. But soon you share the fate of ham — that is, you're nicely " devilled' Bodies vast of men approach, and sound their rude alarms — From divers punches you receive, you find they all have arms — Baggage wagons, ropes, and ghosts, upon your post appear — Teeth begin to chatter— though, of course, it's not through fear, A spirit white you seize upon, and hold it on your post, Until the corporal arrives, when you give up the ghost. When in a wheel-barrow you fall, that's moving up behind. To rapidly desert your post, you're forcibly inclined. 20 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Then you swear that you'll resign, the climate is too damp, But once within the tented field, you find you can't decamp. Resolving then to be content, there's no more hesitation. You find more satisfaction in this kind of resignation. Spartan like, you stay until encampment has an end. And when that time is closing up, your times begin to mend. The woes of the poor Plebe on first joining, as recited in the above pathetic ballad, are by no means over-strained. An old graduate says of the new comers very feelingly : " "We can not but feel an involuntary pity for the new cadet who is just landing at the old wharf, where a sentinel is waiting to conduct him to the adjutant's office, there to record liis entrance on — he knows not what small and great tribulations. " The poor fellow has just left the endearments of home, and by a rapid transition has become a stranger among the mighty hills. But worst of all, instead of receiving kindly hospitality, he becomes, for a time, one of an inferior caste, toward whom, too often, the finger of derision is pointed, and over whom the Fourth Class drill-master flourishes, with too snobbish zeal, his new-born authority. Then too, to be called a " conditional thing," a "thing" and a " plebe " in slow promotion; to be crowded five in a room, with the floor and a blanket for a bed ; to be drummed up, drummed to meals, and drummed to bed, all with arithmetic for chief diversion ; this is indeed a severe ordeal for a young man who is not blessed with good nature and good sense ; but with these excellent endowments, it soon and smoothl}^ glides on into a harmless memory. People are found who con- tend that West Point is a hot-bed of aristocracy, where caste and titles rule. It would be pleasing to exhibit to such an one, the ununiformed new class, presenting a line of about one hundred young men of all types, at least in externals. Side by side are seen the flabby Kentucky jeans, and the substantial homespun, the ancient long-tailed, high-collared coat of the farmer's boy, and the exquisite fit of the fashionable New York tailor. We have known two presidents' sons, two proteges of General Jack- son, several sons of secretaries, and other high functionaries, PLEBE CUSTER. 21 found deficient, for the simple reason that they were deficient. Before ns lies a little volume, by a Vermont farmer's son, who successfully competed for the headship of his class, with a talented son of Henry Clay." Into the midst of West Point, dropped young Custer. As far as temperament went, he was just the one to get on among his comrades and be happy ; and we find accordingly, that he was soon a general favorite. The hardships of Plebe life passed over him lightly. He had the advantage of being a tall strong young fellow, not easily brow-beaten, or physically oppressed, and his good-nature and jolly ways saved him from the more annoying kinds of small persecution. The first week's squad drills and the preliminary examination being safely passed, young George Custer at last received his full appoint- ment, M'as permitted to don the uniform, and became a full- fledged cadet. The happy day arrived when he, with the other Plebes, shed the badges of their servitude, and all the black coats vanished from the cadet battalion. Then, at the close of June, the barracks were abandoned ; and Cadet Custer, along with his comrades, marched out for the annual encamp- ment. This takes place every year at the same time after graduation. The first class of 1857 was examined and grad- uated while the Plebes were joining, the second class became the first, the fom-th became the third, and went on furlough for the summer; and the " June Plebes" blossomed out into the fourth class. Then, at dress parade, the order was read out to go into camp, the barracks being vacated. The young cadets turned into May-day carmen, without any carts. Not even a wheelbarrow was to be obtained. Mattresses, tables, chairs, trunks, every article had to be cleared out, the furniture placed in the empty recitation rooms, leaving only iron bedsteads in the dormitories, which were to be thoroughly cleaned by the work- men. The campground on the northeast of the plain was laid out, and the tents all pitched before breakfast ; then at the exact hour indicated in the order, the companies formed on 22 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the parade ground, and marched out to the camp, with band playing. The cadets at West Point are divided into four companies. During the June examinations, the Plebes, being an addi- tional class, had been of course stinted for space in the bar- racks, but in camp tliere was plenty of room. There were eight rows of tents, two opening on each street, company offi- cers in a row at the end of the streets of their companies, com- mandant's marquee opposite the centre of the camp, which was the same as that of a small battalion of infantry, Tlie guard tents, six in number, were at the other end of the streets, and there were six sentries on duty round the camp. Each walked his beat two hours, being then relieved for four hours, after which he went on again, his tour of duty being six hours out of twentj^-four, the guard having three " reliefs," or eighteen cadets, besides a corporal to each relief, a sergeant, and an officer of the guard. During the encampment, the duties of the cadets were wholly military. It was a relief from the long course of hard mathematical studies which they had pursued when in bar- racks, served to maintain their health, and especially to accus- tom them to the daily routine of soldier's life. During the time the camp lasted, from the end of June to the end of August, the drills were constant and unintermitting in infantry evolutions, with artillery drill for the upper classes. The result was a most wonderful perfection of mechanical movement, from which even the newly joined Plebes were not exempt, the nearest approach to which is to-day seen in the street parades and drills, on grand occasions, of the celebrated New York Seventh Regiment, when put on its mettle. During the summer encampment, the vicinity of West Point is always crowded with visitors, and as the members of the upper classes are allowed considerable liberty at this time, it becomes to them a season of comparative enjoyment. At last came the close of August. The barracks were await- PLEBE CUSTER. 23 ing tlieir occupants, and the time of serious work for the Fourth Class had come. On the 29th the cadets carried off their blankets and clothing to the rooms soon to be occupied for the fall, leaving in camp only their muskets and full dress uni- forms. The order for breaking camp had been read on dress parade the previous evening, and at the fixed hour the drums were heard beating " the general," the signal to pack up and be off. Then came one of the most imposing sights in mili- tary life, and one which always impresses the civilian spectator with a certain feeling of desolation when it is over. Before us stands the populous little town, that for two months has been the scene of such picturesque activity, with all the " pride, pomp and circumstance of glorious war." The cadets fly to their tents at the beating of the " general," and await three taps of the drum amid breathless silence. " Tap ! " comes the first, and the whole camp is alive in a moment, the men flinging themselves on the stakes, which are pulled up, leaving the tents supported only by the four corners. Then comes another breathless hush, every one waiting. " Tap ! " comes the second signal, and up come the corner pegs, while the canvas is swept into the centre, and a man stands at each pole, all the tents still up, and hiding the view. Another hush, and then — ''Tap!'' In a moment, ere the sound has time to die away, down goes every tent with a single clap, and the lately populous town has vanished, leaving behind it nothing but a bare plain, while the men, like a swarm of bees, fling themselves on the prostrate tents, withdraw the poles, and roll up the canvas in long rolls, which are piled in heaps for the quartermaster's people to take away. Then comes the " Assembly," and the companies take their stacked arms, while the battalion is formed and marched to the barracks. Cadet Custer had seen his first camp, and it was over. This "West Point camp is one of the very best features of 24 GENERA.L GEORGE A. CUSTER. academic life. It serves as a wholesome relaxation to the cadets, who are necessarily working at books all the rest of the year ; and it tends to remind them of what they might other- wise easily forget, that they are soldiers, not school-boys. The influence of academic life at other times, on both officers and students, is very injurious to breadth of mind. To the officers it is indescribably narrowing. They generally become, after a long residence at the " Point " more like school-masters than soldiers, fond of espionage, with sympathies and tastes confined to the small circle of a class-room, as contracted in their views of life as so many school-teachers, besides being strongly inclined to petty tyranny. The camp comes to remind them that there is a whole world outside of West Point, and that tlie end of the academic course is to make officers, not pedants. To the incoming cadets it serves as a good introduction to what follows, and gives them courage to attack their winter studies, which commence as soon as the encampment is over. So it was now with Cadet Custer. His work was beginning. CHAPTER III. CADET CUSTER. THE Fourth Class, to which Cadet Custer belonged, was now safely ensconced in the barracks, and entering on the unvarying routine of cadet life. What that routine is, has been pictured by more than one old graduate, in that same storehouse of information from which we have already quoted, and it will serve, in addition to the personal reminiscences of his classmates, to complete the picture of Cadet Custer's life at West Point. Let us commence at early dawn, when the faint grey light first steals over the heavens. The rounded tops of the encir- cling mountains are cut clearly against the bright sky, old Cro'nest brooding protectingly over the little settlement. The sentry by the gate looks northward over the plain, and hears through the silence the distant thunder of paddles, as the Albany night boat comes sweeping down the river on her way to the city below. There is a gay twittering of birds, growing louder and louder, from the woods that clothe the mountains from base to summit. The river in the distance gleams white in the dawn, and the lights of the steamer, not yet extinguished, glide slowly along. The edge of the plateau cuts the view, and it would hardly seem possible that the same river sweeps almost beneath our feet, black and glistening in little eddies, surrounded by the bold Highlands that form the bay at West Point. Nestled at the foot of those Highlands, on the opposite side of the river, are the white cottages of Cold Spring, and the distant murmur of Buttermilk Falls can be heard through the stillness. Now the faint white lisrht of dawn 2:rows strono-er, 26 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and a crimson flush is on the east, while the little floatins clouds overhead are speckled with gold and rose color. Louder grows the sweet clamor of the birds in the early morning, and the barking of dogs from the village below announces the increasing stir of life. Anon the crimson flushes into scarlet, the scarlet flames into gold, and a bright shaft of light bathes the top of old Cro'nest and comes creeping down the mountain side. Boom ! ! ! A bright flash and a volume of snow white smoke, as the morning gun awakens the echoes. The smoke goes drifting away on the breeze towards the water, and the sharp boom of the gun reverberates from hill to hill all round the bay, ending in a dull grumble far up the river. Simultaneously, the long roll of the drum-corps, mingled with the sweet notes of the fifes, softened by the distance into a strain of perfect sweetness, comes gaily out on the morning air, as the drummers beat the long reveille. Cadet Custer and his room-mate are sleeping the sound sleep of the tired plebe, in their little room in the North Bar- rack, when the loud boom of the gun comes through the open window. Up they spring, for the two montlis of camp life have already inured both to the soldier's habit of coming broad awake in a moment. No rubbing of eyes, stretching or yawning. Outside, the reveille is beating, and the fifes are piping sweetly forth the first tune of the three that constitute the morning call. Each tune lasts about two minutes, and at the end of six minutes, every cadet knows that the orderly ser- geant will be standing on the company parade ground, book in hand, ready to call the roll. Into their clothes as hastily as possible, little time for toilet comforts, and down the barrack staircase scud Custer and Parker. As the rollicking notes of the last quickstep are in full progress, they dart to their places, and a moment later reveille ceases. There are the four com- panies, each on its own ground, the stiff orderly sergeant in front, book in hand, the cadet captain behind him, while the CADET CUSTER. 27 officer of the day, arms folded, solemnly surveys the scene from his distant post. The cadets are standing at " parade rest," the weight resting on the right leg, hands crossed in front. Hardly has the last strain of the life, the final roll of the drum died away, when we hear the sharp voices of the First Class men, who act as sergeants, all together, " Attention, company ! " In an instant every cadet has stift'ened into a statue, in " position of a soldier," eyes staring straight to the front, with that vacant glare which marks the modern soldier in ranks. Out come the books, and each sergeant rattles off the names of his men in alphabetical order, having the list by heart. He knows every voice in his company, and is as sharp as a needle. Not a late man can slink into his place but the ser- geant notices him, and checks a mark against him in that inex- orable roll-book. If a head turns, or a whisper mars the per- fect stillness, the sergeant can pick out the guilty one in a moment ; even the shelter of the rear rank is no protection for the offender, for the Second and Third Class sergeants and corporals are ready to report him, in terror lest that lynx-eyed sergeant should report them, for neglect of duty. The roll call is rattled oif in a minute and a half, and the sergeant faces around, stiff as a stake, salutes, and says to the captain, " Sir, all are present or accounted for," or " Sir, so many absent." The young captain touches his hat, and proceeds forthwith to the cadet adjutant, where the same formality of report takes place for each company, the adjutant standing, book in hand, to receive the reports. Finally, the adjutant in his turn proceeds to the officer of the day, and reports the result of the whole battalion roll call to that mighty official, whose place it is to report the absentees at the end of his tour of duty. The ser geants then warn the cadets detailed for guard on that day, and ranks are broken. Now Cadets Custer and Parker are to be seen hastening to their little barrack room, having time to wash and comb, and clean up their room. Reveille, during summer, is at five, and by half past five, every room must be 28 GENERAL GEORGE A, CUSTER. in perfect order, for the captain and lieutenants of each com- pany come round for morning inspection. From this time till seven o'clock the two cadets are hard at work at their books, studying for the morning recitations. At half past six they can hear the drummers beating the " sick call," when all the sick, lame and lazy troop to the surgeon, to be excused from duty or dosed as the case may be. Custer and Parker are healthy young fellows and the life of the Point leaves little excuse for sickness. Besides, both are yet Plebes, and have not learned so thoroughlj^ as they will some day, how to play " old soldier." Yery amusing stories are told of the efforts of older cadets, to appear terribly sick all of a sudden, when the day's lessons promise to be uncommonly hard. The Academy surgeon is no exception to army medical officers in time of peace ; half of his time is wasted in detecting fraudu- lent cases of sickness, feigned to evade duty. One very inge- nious trick by which a surgeon was completely deceived, was once played by a cadet who was out all night, and whose pulse was consequently feverish and irregular. He put a piece of chalk in his mouth which he chewed, and when his turn came to go to the doctor, complained of liaving a sunstroke. The pulse indicated not much the matter, and the doctor was about to put him off with a dose, when his forlorn aspect induced the functionary to ask to see his tongue. Its white and furry aspect alarmed the doctor, who pronounced it a clear case of high fever, and Cadet Foxey was excused from duty. These and similar mean tricks were entirely uncongenial to the frank nature of Custer. His pranks at the Academy were those of a high-spirited boy anxious to escape from re- straint, but he was always ready to take the consequences. The sick call this morning passes away, and he and Parker are hard at work on geometry and algebra, tactics and French, fortification and gunnery, till the welcome notes of " Peas upon iKe Trencher" echo through the quadrangle, calling to break- fasv. Now another roll call, and the companies are marched to CADET CUSTER. 29 the mess liall ; from thence till eight o'clock there is leisure to study or look around one and watch guard mount. At eight, old Rentz, the Academy bugler for thirty years, calls the cadets to quarters, and now, for five mortal hours, the routine of study and recitation is unvarying. Kow another roll call. The classes that recite are marched to the recitation rooms by the section marchers, and reported to the Instructor. The first half of the corps works till half past nine, when the second half relieves them, while the fencing classes are called up. At one o'clock dinner call is beaten : and for this and re- creation an hour is allowed. From two till four more reci- tations, after which afternoon drill for an hour and a half, then liberty till sunset. Sunset is the signal for dress parade of the battalion, when there are more roll calls, and retreat is beaten by the drum corps, while the band plays, and everything puts on its most imposing and martial aspect. As the band paces up and down the front of the motionless line of cadets, the setting sun gleam- ing on the fixed bayonets, officers at parade rest, the solitary figure of the commandant standing w^ith folded arms in front of the centre, the scene attracts multitudes of spectators, and the effect on the imagination is romantic and warlike in the highest degree. The band wheels into its place, the gorgeous drum major flings up his staff, and as the melancholy notes of "retreat " echo on the evening air they are interrupted by the sudden boom of the evening gun. Down comes the great standard, fluttering on its way from the summit of the lofty flagstaff' As the last roll of "retreat" ceases, the line springs into sudden life at the sharp voice of the adjutant, and the brief formality of dress parade proceeds on its way. A few moments later, the companies are marching away to the sweet strains of the famous West Point band, and the day's work is over. JSTow comes supper and half an hours time for recrea- tion, when the bugle is heard once more, calling " to quarters ; " Every cadet must be in his room and studying, or at least 30 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. quiet, and orderly, till tattoo at half past nine, when the beds are spread. At ten o'clock the quadrangle is nearly silent, the subdued murmur of conversation dying away, the light in the diiFerent rooms twinkling like stars. Tap ! A couple of drummers proceed slowly along round the bar- racks, and at every hundred steps or so, each gives a single tap. As if by magic, the twinkling lights disappear, and the Acad- emy is silent as the grave, buried in sleep. The duties of the guards during barrack time are much less onerous than when in camp. They walk post only at meal times, during drills, at dress parade, and during evening study hours. Each sentinel is responsible for the rooms on his post, which he is required to inspect. He must report all absentees, as well as suppress all noise and disturbances. Of course this part of his duty is the most onerous and delicate he can have during the day, as the strict restraints of discipline, irksome at any time to young men, are doubly so when night and dark- ness give them an opportunity to escape surveillance. This is the time when cadets fall into most of their scrapes, by getting out of quarters, either during study hours, or more commonly after taps. In the case of Cadets Custer and Parker, these escapades and frolics were born of that irrepressible spirit of fun so common in the West, for Parker was a Missourian. There seems to be something peculiarly enticing to a high- spirited cadet in the idea of getting out of bounds, and when to that is added the attractions of " Benny Havens," the tempta- tions to the bold spirits were much greater than the cadets could resist. Benny Havens has been for many years a famous character at the Point. Long before the Mexican "War he was estab- lished within the lines, and under the guise of an honest seller of coffee and cakes, was wont to administer surreptitious egg- flip, when no officers w^ere round, to the thirsty cadets. Ex- CADET CUSTER. 31 pelled for this cause, he established himself about a mile from the Point, in a little cabin under a cliff, which has ever since been the rendezvous of innumerable pilgrims from the barracks. The attractions of Benny Havens' cabin did not seem, then nor now, to lie so much in the fact of his selling liquor. In the case of young Custer, who very seldom, except as hereinafter re- ferred to, used spirits or tobacco, this could have been no temp- tation. But Benny has been so long at the Point, and seen so many generations of cadets, that he has become a perfect store- house of interesting legends, and these constitute the charm which draws so many to his little cabin from far away. Grey-headed general officers, distinguished in active service, come to-day to the Point, to revisit the scenes of their youth, and always pay a visit to Benny, and the old man knows them all, and can tell stories of the days when they were cadets. No wonder the cadets of all time have been fond of slipping out of quarters after taps, to visit Benny, to sit around his fire, to lis- ten to stories of the day when Grant, Sherman, and Thomas were wild boys at the Point, to dream as they listen of the days when they perhaps may rival the fame of those great leaders. Meantime, they eat Benny's buckwheat cakes, for which he is famous, and drink his old wine, while at intervals they join in the time-honored song of " Benny Havens, oh ! " This is one of the regular institutions at Benny's. The song was written by Lieutenant O'Brien, of the 8th Infantry, assisted by others, many years ago, and set to the tune of "Wearing of the Green." When O'Brien afterward died in Florida, stanzas were added to commemorate his death. A very few verses will give an idea of the song, which is quite long. Imagine a group of young cadets, who have stolen away after taps, gathered in Benny's little parlor, awaiting the coming of the celebrated buckwheats. One stands up and cries: " Come, fellows, fill your glasses and — {All join in.) Stand up in a row. For sentimental drinking, we're gomg lor to go. 32 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. In the army there's sobriety, promotion's very slow, So we'll cheer our hearts with choruses at Benny Havens, oh 1 Benny Havens, oh ! oh ! Benny Havens, oh 1 We'll sing our reminiscences of Benny Havens, oh ! " Then the song proceeds to describe the features of army life in various verses, till the chief breaks out rapturously : — " To the ladies of our army, our cups shall ever flow, Companions of our exile, and our shield against all woe, May they see their husbands generals, with double pay also, And join us in our choruses at Benny Havens, oh ! Benny Havens, oh 1 etc. May the army be augmented, promotion be less slow, May our country in her hour of need, be ready for the foe, May we find a soldier's resting place beneath a soldier's blow, With space enough beside our graves for Benny Havens, oh 1 Benny Havens, oh ! etc." Tear by year, as new generations of cadets have passed through the Academy, and former graduates attain fame, their names are embalmed in successive verses. In Custer's day the only heroes were Taylor and Scott, for the regular army, that within a few years was to produce so many distinguished names, was then sunk in the rust of peace, with little chance of distinction before it. It seems to us now, looking back at that indefinite period " before the war," as if a whole century had passed since then. The state of the army, its names and tradi- tions, its very dress and appearance, are so different now, that in a few years all memory of that old army will have faded. Quietly glided away the days and nights at West Point, in the monotonous round of duties that came to Cadet Custer and his room-mate, while in the fourth class; and the dreaded January examination came, when, if not successful, the Flebe would be "found deficient," and sent back to civil life. It was safely passed, however, and the spring wore on, bringing nearer and nearer the memorable June day that opened to Cadet Cus- CADET CUSTER. 33 ter " third class encampment," when he ceased to be a Plebe, and became at one bound an " old cadet," no longer on proba- tion, but only liable to be put back a class if he failed in studies. Now came the real pleasures of camp, when visitors were present in crowds, when the evening balls were crowded with cadets on leave, when the new Plebes were to be drilled, and the old torments inflicted on a new generation. To join in these, voung Custer was too good-natured and jovial, but at the balls he was in his element. His remarkably handsome face and figure were wonderfully effective among the ladies, as they continued to be all his life, and attracted no little of the envy of his brother cadets. In those days, before the heavy blonde moustache had come to lend an air of sternness to his features, his bright locks gave him a girlish appearance, which, coupled with the remarkable fact of his sti'ictly temperate habits, procured him the nick-name of " Fanny." Boys always have good names for each other, indicative of character or per- sonal appearance, and the name " Fanny " stuck to Custer through his academic life and long after, when he met his for- mer classmates as enemies in the field. "That's just like Fanny," said one of them, when he received a note from Custer, left at a farm house, informing him politely that he had just whipped such an one (a former classmate) handsomely, and was coming next day to repeat the operation on the recipient of the letter. Camp wore its way out, and the Third Class went into bar; racks once again for the same routine, the studies being ad- vanced and much more severe than before, the principal recre- ation being mounted drill in the riding hall. Here it was that Cadet Custer developed that perfection in horsemanship M'hich distinguished him afterward, with the more ease as every "Western boy knows something of riding early in life. To those who do not, the riding school of West Point is a hard one, but very effective. The Third Class men take up riding 3 34 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. in November, and arc exercised by platoons of abont twenty at a time, the same old troop hoi-ses being used from year to year, in the riding hall. The floor is strewn with tanbark several inches in depth, so that there is no danger to life or limb in a fall, and the animals are caparisoned in full army rig at the close of the course. Usually the class commences on blankets alone, without stirrups, and when this is the case the lesson is comparatively easy ; but sometimes the riding master orders on saddles, and gives the command to the cadets " Cross-Stirrups ! " Those who have ever tried to ride in a large McClellan saddle withoTit stirrups, on a hard trotting horse, can imagine the tor- ments of the poor boys on strange animals. In the army a man gets used to his own steed and inured to his paces, but where rider and horse are frequently changed, as at West Point, it is a very different thing. The constant alterations spoil the horses' tempers, and most of them get to be hard- mouthed, unruly brutes, full of bad tricks, and always on the watch for a chance to unseat a rider. Put a lot of green riders on such animals, and make them cross stirrups, then let the platoon start at a walk, and all is well, but when the command is given " Trot — March ! " what a jolting and pounding ensues, the unlucky cadets trying to hold on with knees and thighs to a saddle flap that seems as slippery as glass ! And yet two-thirds of the practice in the riding hall is done at the same trot, and the unfeeling riding master sits on his horse in the centre, cool as a cucumber. His stirrups are not crossed, you may be sure, or he could not smile so sweetly over the miseries of the poor pupils, bumping about. One of the late cadets^a young fellow, too, promoted from the ranks of the army during the war, and who had served in battle with the volunteer cavalry before he came to West Point, says: "It is one of the most cruel things that can be thought of, to be obliged to ride without stirrups for the first time on such perfect devils as some of these horses are. There were upwards of thirty in my class who were thrown, though CADET CUSTER. 35 only three or four of them were injured — none severely. One had his foot stepped on in a playful manner by one of the incar- nate fiends, mashing his big toe to a jelly ; but that was not of much consequence, as it has now recovered. Man}^ were severely bruised, but in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred it if impossible for a cadet to be hurt badly by being thrown in the riding hall. The only way is to ride right through and take the pounding and bruises, and get used to it. The remedy is a rough one, bnt the only one effectual." Throngh all the troubles of the riding hall passed Cadet Custer, as blithe and debonair as ever. His length of limb gave him great advantage, his rough Western life still more. A tall wiry built man has greater ease in riding than a sliorter aspirant; and it was not long before " Fanny" was known as one of the best riders at the Point, emulating the fame that belonged in by-gone times to Cadet Grant, whose famous leap on " Old York" is traditional to this day. The winter passed away and another spring, and then the airs of June were felt once more, blowing over " Second Class Camp " and — blessed news — furlough to see home for the first time in two years. Furlough lasts till the Second Class goes to work again in barracks, and there is no need to say how it was enjoyed by Cadet Custer at his home, nor how many of his buttons he exchanged for locks of hair and vows of affection. In this he was not pecu- liar. All cadets have done it from time immemorial, and Cadet Custer, nearly twenty, handsome as Apollo, was by no means behind the fashion. How he enjoyed his furlough, how he hated to go back, how his work during the winter seemed duller and harder than ever, all these things are understood. The dailj^ routine of his further life was a repetition of the past. But the time was coming, as Custer approached First Class and graduation, when a change passed over the spirit of West Point, such as it had never seen before and is never likely to see again. This it was which rendered the experiences of 36 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Caster's classmates unique in the annals of the Academy, and from henceforth it is fitting that Custer himself should take up the storj, as he has done in the opening chapters of his War Memoirs, wherein he rapidly summarizes his Academic career, in the following fashion : The first official notification received by me of my appoint- ment to the Military Academy bore the signature of Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War in the cabinet of President James Buchanan. Colonel Richard Delafield, one of the ablest and most accomplished officers of the Engineer Corps, occupied the position of superintendent of the Academy, and Lieutenant- Colonel William J. Hardee, of the cavalry, afterward lieuten- ant-general in the Confederate army, was the commandant of the Corps of Cadets. Among the noticeable feature of cadet life as then impressed upon me, and still present in my memor}^ were the sectional lines voluntarily established by the cadets themselves ; at first barely distinguishable, but in the later years immediately pre- ceding the war as clearly defined and strongly drawn as were the lines separating the extremes of the various sections in the national Congress. Nor was this fact a strange or remarkable one. As each Congressional district and territory of the United States had a representative in Congress, so each had its repre- sentatives at the Military Academy. In looking back over the few months and years passed at West Point immediately preceding the war, some strange inci- dents recur to ray mind. When the various State conventions were called by the different States of the South with a view to the adoption of the ordinance of secession, it became only a question of time as to the attempted withdrawal of the seceding States. And while there were those representing both sections in Con- gress who professed to believe that war would not necessarily or probably follow, this opinion was not shared in even by per- sons as young and inexperienced as the cadets. War was anticipated by them at that time, and discussed and looked for- CADET CUSTER. 37 ward to as an event of the future, with as much certainty as if speaking of an approaching season. The cadets from the South were in constant receipt of letters from their friends at home, keeping them fully advised of the real situation and promising them suitable positions in the military force yet to be organized to defend the ordinance of secession. All this was a topic of daily if not hourly conversation. Particularly was this true when we assembled together at meal-time, when, grouped in squads of half-a-dozen or more, each usually found himself in the midst of his personal friends. 1 remember a conversation held at the table at which I sat during the winter of '60-61. I was seated next to Cadet P. M. B, Young, a gallant young fellow from Georgia, a class- mate of mine, then and since the war an intimate and valued friend — a major-general in the Confederate forces during the war and a member of Congress from his native State at a later date. The approaching war was as usual the subject of conver- sation in which all participated, and in the freest and most friendly manner; the lads from the Korth discoursing earnestly upon the power and rectitude of the ISTational Government, the impulsive Southron holding up pictures of invaded rights and future independence. Finally, in a half jocular, half earnest manner, Young turned to me and delivered himself as follows: " Custer, my boy, we're going to have war. It's no use talking ; I see it coming. All the Crittenden compromises that can be patched up won't avert it. 'Now let me prophesy what will happen to you and me. You will go home, and your abolition Governor will probably make you colonel of a cavalry regiment. 1 will go down to Georgia, and ask Governor Brown to give me a cavalry regiment. And who knows but we may move against each other during the war. You will probably get the advan- tage of us in the first few engagements, as your side will be rich and powerful, while we will be poor and weak. Your regi- ment will be armed with the best of weapons, the sharpest of sabres; mine will have only shot-guns and scythe blades; but 38 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. for all that we'll get the best of the figlit in the end, because we will light for a principle, a cause, while you will fight only to perpetuate the abuse of power." Lightly as we both regarded this boyish prediction, it was destined to be fulfilled, in a remarkable degree. Early in the war I did apply, not to the abolition Governor of my native State, but to that of Michigan, for a cavalry regiment. I was refused, but afterward obtained the regiment I desired as a part of my command. Young was chosen to lead one of the Georgia cavalry regiments. Both of us rose to higher commands, and confronted each other on the battle-field. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina formally led the way by adopting the ordinance of secession ; an example which was followed within the next few weeks by Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, in the order named. As soon as it became evident that these States were determined to attempt secession, the cadets appointed therefrom, imitating the action of their Senators and representatives in Congress, and influenced by the appeals of friends at home, tendered their resignations, eager to return to their homes and take part in the organization of the volunteer forces which the increasing difii- culties and dangers of the situation rendered necessary. Besides, as the Confederate Congress was called to meet for the first time at Montgomery, Alabama, February 6, 1801, and would un- doubtedly authorize the appointment of a large number of officers in the formation of the Confedei"ate armies, it was im- portant that applicants for positions of this kind should be on the ground to properly present their claims. One by one the places occupied by the cadets from the se- ceding States became vacant ; it cost many a bitter pang to disrupt the intimate relations existing between the hot-blooded Southron and his more phlegmatic schoolmate from the North. No school-girls could have been more demonstrative in their afiectionate regard for each other than were some of the cadets about to separate for the last time, and under circumstances CADET CUSTER. 39 which made it painful to contemplate a future coming together. Those leaving for the South were impatient, enthusiastic, and hopeful. Yisions filled their minds of a grand and glorious Confederacy, glittering with the pomp and pageantry which usually characterizes imperial power, and supported and sur- rounded by a mighty army, the officers of which would constitute a special aristocracy. Their comrades from the ITorth, whom they were leaving behind, were reserved almost to sullenness ; were grave almost to stoicism. The representatives of the two sections had each resolved upon their course of action ; and each in a manner characteristic of their widely diiferent temperaments, as different as the latitudes from which they hailed. Among the first of the cadets to leave "West Point and hasten to enroll themselves under the banner of the seceding States, were two of my class- mates, Kelley and Ball, of Alabama. Kelley became prominent in the war, and was killed in battle. Ball also attained a high rank, and is now a prominent official in one of the most exten- sive business enterprises in this country. They took their departure from the Academy on Saturday. I remember the date the more readily as I was engaged in — to adopt the cadet term — " walking an extra," which consisted in performing the tiresome duties of a sentinel during the unemployed hours of Saturday, hours usually given to recreation. On this occa- sion I was pacing back and forth on my post, which for the time being extended along the path leading from the cadets' chapel toward the academic building, when I saw a party of from fifteen to twenty cadets emerge from the open space be- tween the mess hall and the academic building, and direct their steps toward the steamboat landing below. That which partic- ularly attracted my attention was the bearing aloft upon the shoulders of their comrades of my two classmates Ball and Kelley, as they were being carried in triumph from the doors of the Academy to the steamboat landing. Too far off to ex- change verbal adieus, even if military discipline had permitted 40 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. it, tliey caught siglit of me as, step by step, I reluctantly paid the penalty of offended regulations, and raised their hats in token of ferewell, to which, first casting my eyes about to see that no watchful superior was in view, I responded by bringing my musket to a " present." The comrades who escorted them were Southerners like themselves, and only awaiting the formal action of their respect- ive States on the adoption of the secession ordinance to follow their example. It was but a few weeks until there was scarcely a cadet remaining at the Academy from the Southern States. Many resigned from the border States without waiting to see whether their State would follow in the attempt at secession or not ; some resigned who had been appointed from States which never voted to leave the Union ; while an insignificant few, who had resolved to join the Confederate forces, but desired to obtain their diplomas from the academic faculty, remained until the date of their graduation. Some remained until the declara- tion and commencement of hostilities ; then, allowing the government to transport them to Washington, tendered their resignations, and were dismissed for doing so in the face of the enemy. Happily the number that pursued this questionable course did not exceed half a dozen. At no point in the loyal States were the exciting events of the spring of 1861 watched with more intense interest than at West Point. I And after the departure of the Southern cadets, the hearts of the people of no community, State, town, or vil- lage, beat with more patriotic impulse than did those of the young cadets at West Point. Casting aside all questions of personal ambition or promotion ; realizing only that the gov- ernment which they had sworn to defend, the principles the}' liad been taught from childhood, were in danger, and threatened by armed enemies, they would gladly have marched to battle as private soldiers, rather than remain idle spectators in the great conflict. As the time for the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln approached, CADET CUSTER. 41 rumors prevailed, and obtained wide belief, to the effect that a plot was on foot by which the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln was to be made the occasion on the part of the enemies of the gov- ernment, of whom great numbers were known to be in "Wash- ington, for seizing or making away with the executive officers of the nation, and taking possession of the people's capital. Whether or not such a scheme was ever seriously contemplated, it was deemed prudent to provide against it. The available military resources of the government amounted to but little at that period. Lieutenant-General Scott, then Commander-in- Chief of the army, issued orders for the assembling at Washing- ton of as large a military force as circumstances would permit. Under this order it became necessary to make a demand upon the regular military forces then employed at West Point. A battery of artillery was hastily organized f]'om the war material kept at the Academy for the purpose of instruction to the cadets. The horses were supplied by taking those used by the cadets in their cavalry and artillery drills. The force thus organized hastened to Washington, where, under the command of Captain Griffin — afterward Major-General Griffin — it took part in the inaugural ceremonies. Then followed the firing upon Sumter, the intelligence of which waked the slumbering echoes of loyalty and patriotism in every home and hamlet throughout the North. It is doubtful if the people of the North were ever, or will ever be again, so united in thought and impulse as when the attack on Sumter was flashed upon them. Opponents in politics became friends in patriotism ; all differences of opinion vanished or were laid aside, and a single purpose filled and animated the breast of the people as of one man — a purpose unflinching and unrestrained — to rush to the rescue of the government, to beat down its opposers, come from whence they may. In addition to sharing the common interest and anxiety of the public in the attack upon Sumter, the cadets felt a special concern, from the fact that among the little band of officers shut up in that fort- 42 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ress were two, Lieutenants Snyder and Hall, who had been our comrades as cadets only a few months before. As already stated, the time of study and instruction at West Point at that period was five j-ears, in the determination and fixing of which no one had exercised greater influence than Jefferson Davis — first as Secretary of War, afterward as Uni- ted States Senator, and member of a special congressional com- mittee to consider the question as to whether the course should extend to fi.ve years or only include four. In the general demand in 1861, not only from the National Government, but from States, for competent and educated offi- cers to instruct and command the new levies of troops then being raised, in response to the call of the President, to oppose the rebellion, it was decided by the authorities at Washington to abandon the five years' course of instruction at the Military Academy, and re-establish that of four years. The effect of this was to give to the service in that year, two- classes of grad- uates for oflficers, instead of but one. By this change the class of which I was a member graduated, under the four years' system, in June, while the preceding class was graduated, under the five years' rule, onlj^ a couple of months in advance of us. The members of both classes, with but few exceptions, were at once ordered to Washington, where they were employed either in drill- ing raw volunteers, or serving on the staff's of general officers, engaged in organizing the new regiments into brigades and di- visions. I was one of the exceptions referred to, and the causes which led me in a different direction may be worthy of mention. My career as a cadet had but little to commend it to the study of those who came after me, unless as an example to be carefully avoided. The requirements of the academic regu- lations, a copy of which was placed in my hand the morning of my arrival at West Point, were not observed by me in such manner as at all times to commend me to the approval and good opinions of my instructors and superior officers. My offences against law and order were not great in enormity, but CADET CUSTER. 43 what they lacked in magnitude they made up in number. The forbidden locality of Benny Havens possessed stronger attrac- tions than the study and demonstration of a problem in Euclid, or the prosy discussion of some abstract proposition of moral science. My class numbered, upon entering tlie Academy, about one hundred and twenty-five. Of this number, only thirty -four graduated, and of these thirty-three graduated above me. The resignation and departure of the Southern cadets took away from the Academy a few individuals who, had they remained, would probably have contested with me the debatable honor of bringing up the rear of the class. We had passed our last examination as cadets, had exchanged barrack for camp life, and were awaiting the receipt of orders from Washington assigning us to the particular branches of the service for which we had been individually recommended by the academic facult}'. The month of June had come, and we were full of impatience to hasten to the capital and join the forces preparing for the coming campaign. It is customary, or was then, to allow" each cadet, prior to his graduation, to perform at least one tour of duty as an officer of the guard, instead of the ordinary duties of a private soldier on guard. I had not only had the usual experience in the latter capacity, extending over a period of four years, but in addition had been compelled, as punishment for violations of the academic regulations, to per- form extra tours of guard duty on Saturdays — times which otherwise I should have been allowed for pleasure and recrea- tion. If my memory serves me right, I devoted sixt3^-six Satur- days to this method of vindicating outraged military law, du- ring my cadetship of four years. It so happened that it fell to my detail to perform the duties of officer of the guard in camp, at a time when the arrival of the order from Washington, offi- cially transforming us from cadets to officers, was daily expected. I began my tour at the usual hour in the morning, and eveiy- thing passed off satisfactorily in connection with the discharge of my new responsibilities, until, just at dusk, I heard a commo- 44 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. tion near the guard tents. Upon hastening to the scene of the disturbance, which by the way was at a considerable distance from the main camp, I found two cadets engaged in a personal dispute wliich threatened to result in blows. Quite a group of cadets, as friends and spectators, had formed about the two bellicose disputants. I had hardly time to take in the situation, when the two principals of the group engaged in a regular set- to, and began belaboring each other vigorously with their fists. Some of their more prudent friends rushed forward and at- tempted to separate the two contestants. My duty as officer of the guard was plain and simple. I should have arrested the two combatants and sent them to the guard tents, for violating the peace and the regulations of the Academy. But the in- stincts of the boy prevailed over the obligation of the officer of the guard, I pushed my way through the surrounding line of cadets, dashed back those who were interfering in the struggle, and called out loudly, " Stand back, boys ; let's have a fair fight." I had occasion to remember, if not regret, the employment of these words. Scarcely had I uttered them when the crowd about me dispersed hurriedly, and fled to the concealment of their tents. Casting about me to ascertain the' cause of this sudden dispersion, I beheld, approaching at a short distance, two officers of the army. Lieutenants Hazen and Merrill (now Major-General Hazen and Colonel Merrill of the Engineer Corps). I sought tlie tent of the officer of the guards promptly, but the mischief had been done. Lieutenant Hazen happened to be oflScer of the day on that particular day, whose duty it was to take cognizance of violations of the regulations. Summoning me to his presence, near the scene of the unfor- tunate disturbance, he asked me in stern tones if I was not the officer of the guard ; to which I of course responded in the affirmative. He then overwhelmed me by inquiring in the same unrelenting voice, '' Why did you not suppress the riot which occurred here a few minutes ago ? " Now, it had never been suggested to me that the settlement of the personal CADET CUSTER. 45 difficulty between two boys, even by the administering of blows, could be considered or described as a riot. The following morning I was required to report at the tent of the command- ant (Lieutenant-Colonel John F. Reynolds, afterward General Beynolds, killed at Gettysburg). Of course no explanation could satisfy' the requirements of militarj' justice. I was ordered to return to my tent in arrest. The facts in the case ■were reported to "Washington, on formal charges and specifica- tions, and a court-martial asked for to determine the degree of my punishment. Within a few hours of my arrest the long-expected order came, relieving my class from further duty at West Point, and directing the members of it to proceed to "Washington and report to the Adjutant-General of the army for further orders. My name, however, did not appear in this list. I was to be detained, to await the application of the commandant for a pourt-martial to sit on my case. The application received approval at the War Department, and the court was assembled at West Point, composed principally of officers who had re- cently arrived from Texas, where they served under General Twiggs, until his surrender to the Confederate forces. The judge advocate of the court was Lieutenant Benet, now Briga- dier-General and Chief of the Ordnance Corps. I was arraigned with all the solemnity and gravity which might be looked for in a trial for high treason, the specification setting forth in stereotyped phraseology that " He, the said cadet Custer, did fail to suppress a riot or disturbance near the guard tent, and did fail to separate, etc., but, on the contrary, did cry out in a loud tone of voice, 'Stand back, boys; let's have a fair fight,' or words to that effect." To which accusations the accused pleaded " Guilty," as a matter of course, introducing as witnesses, by way of mitiga- tion, the two cadets, the cause of my difficulty, to prove that neither was seriously injured in the fray. One of them is now a promising young captain in the Engineer Corps. 46 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The trial was brief, scarcely occupying more time than did the primary difficulty. I dreaded the long detention which I feared I must undergo while awaiting not only the verdict, but the subsequent action' of the authorities at Washington, to whom the case must by law be submitted. My classmates who had preceded me to "Washington inter- ested themselves earnestly in my behalf to secure my release from further arrest at West Point, and an order for me to join them at the national capital. Fortunately some of them had influential friends there, and it was but a few days after my trial that the superintendent of the Academy received a tele- graphic order from Washington, directing him to release me at once, and order me to report to the Adjutant-General of the army for duty. This order practically rendered the action and proceedings of the court-martial in my case nugatory. The record, I presume, was forwarded to the War Department, where it probably lies safely stowed away in some pigeon-hole. What the proceeding of the court or their decision was, I have never learned. Thus ends the record of Cadet Custer's life at West Point as traced by his own hand. It shows him as he was, but, as usual with the author, tells far less of himself than we should like to know. We see the generous impulsive boy before us, always doing the first thing that came to his hand, and never recking of the consequences. There is something in this wild free character that seems utterly unsuited to the pedantic martinetry and restraint of the Point. " Let's have a fair fight " smacks of the old days of chivalry. It was to be the watchword of the young cadet's future career. It seems plain, although Custer did not say so, that in his heart he had long chafed against the arrogant superciliousness of the Southern members of his class, who in those days thought to monopolize CADET CUSTER. 47 all the chivalry in America. As his first recorded escapade tells of the chivalrous spirit, so his early career was to be the very incarnation of chivalry, and he was fairly to eclipse the most romantic heroes of the Sonth in brilliancy and dash. But after all, this was only one phase of his character, overlying the sterling sense at the bottom of it, as will appear in its place. During his career at "West Point, Cnster kept up a strict corre- spondence with his sister Mrs. Eeed, and spent a large part of all his furloughs at her house in Monroe. He seems to have become much enamored of this sleepy little country town, with its broad streets planted with handsome trees, the brawling little river that runs through its midst, its old houses, and general air of quiet respectability. So fond was he of the place that he even per- suaded his parents to move there, which they did, remaining for about a year. Not liking the place, they concluded to return to New Rumley, but afterwards compromised the matter by moving to the vicinity of Toledo, taking a farm in "Wood County, near that of Mr. David Kirkpatrick, Mr. Custer's step- son. From his first entrance to Monroe, young Custer seems to have identified himself with it, to have been a "Monroe boy," to have loved all the " Monroe boys." Years after, we find his stafi'full of "Monroe boys," and right well they fought, too. What was the magnet that drew him to Monroe ? The place never did him any material good. He owed his cadetship to Ohio, and his parents lived there. Every thing seemed to point his way to his native state. Yet there was a little thing, a mere trifle in the world's eye, a secret vision locked in his own breast, which even his sister, who was his closest confidant in all else, never suspected : that was the magnet that drew him to Monroe. The vision of a little dark eyed maiden of only eight summers, swinging on a gate, and flinging him a careless salutation in very want of thought, then shyly fleeing into the house when she met his eye, and realized something strange and undefined in its glance. It was four, five, six, seven, eight 48 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. years later, as he came borne on his several vacations, that he saw the little maid shooting np into a shj, modest young lady, guarded around so closely by parental care that he could rarely catch a glimpse of her. ISTo more salutations for him : she no longer recognized him. The innocent freedom of the child had been changed into the reserve and dignity of the young \2idj. She was either at home with her father, or at school in the Seminary (by this time a young lady's school), of which she was one of the most promising and pains-taking scholars. The gulf that divided the Judge's heiress from the penniless cadet seemed to grow wider and wider, and more impossible to leap, for as yet he had not even been introduced to the young lady. All the same, Custer bided his time in silence. He felt that time was coming, and meantime his " vision " was out of danger from any one else, hedged round with every safeguard. To pass away the time, a candid biographer is compelled to admit that he flirted with other girls considerably, even what strict church members would call outrageously, but it was all 'only skin-deep. He was still, after all, only a boy. When we next come to him, it will be as a man among men. SECOND BOOK.— THE SUBALTERN. CHAPTER I. LIEUTENANT CUSTER, SECOND CAYALRY. THE introduction of the young officer to military life can hardly be told Ly any one so well as he has described it himself. It is unique. Probably no cadet ever experienced such a quick transition from school to active duty. Hear him- self. I left West Point on the 18th of July, 1861, for Wash- ington, delaying a few hours that afternoon on my arrival in New York to enable me to purchase, of the well-known mili- tary firm of Horstmanns, my lieutenant's outfit of sabre, revol- ver, sash, spurs, etc. Taking the evening train for Washington, I found the cars crowded with troops, officers and men, hasten- ing to the capital. At each station we passed on the road at which a halt was made, crowds of citizens were assembled, provided bountifully with refreshments, M^hicli they distributed in the most lavish manner among the troops. Their enthusiasm knew no bounds ; they received us with cheers and cheered us in parting. It was no unusual sight, on leaving a station surrounded by these loyal people, to see matrons and maidens embracing and kissing with patriotic fervor the men, entire strangers to them, whom they saw hastening to the defence of the nation. Arriving at Washington soon after daylight, Saturday morning, the 20th of July, I made my way to the Ebbit House, 4 50 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. where I expected to find some of my classmates domiciled. Among others whom I found there was Parker, appointed from Missouri, who had been my room and tent-mate at West Point for years. lie was one of the few members of my class who, while sympathizing with the iSoiith, had remained at the Acad- emy long enough to graduate and secure a diploma. Proceed ing to his room without going through the formality of announc- ing my arrival by sending up a card, I found him at that early hour still in bed. Briefly he responded to my anxious inquiry for news, that McDowell's army was confronting Beauregard's, and a general engagement was expected hourly. - My next inquiiy was as to his future plans and intentions, remembering his Southern sympathies. To this he replied by asking me to take from a table near by and read an official order to which he pointed. Upon opening the document refei'red to, I found it to be an order from the War Department dismissing from the rolls of the army Second Lieutenant James P. Parker, for having tendered his resignation in the face of the enemy. The names of two others of my class-mates appeared in the same order. Both the latter have since sought and obtained commissions in the Egyptian army under the Khedive. After an hour or more spent in discussing the dark probabilities of the future as partic- ularly affected by the clouds of impending war, I bade a fond farewell to my former friend and classmate, with whom I had lived on terms of closer intimacy and companionship than with any other being. We had eaten day by day at the same table, had struggled together in the effort to master the same problems of study ; we had marched by each other's side year after year, elbow to elbow, when engaged' in the duties of drill, parade, etc., and had shared our blankets with each other when learn- ing the requirements of camp life. Henceforth this was all to be thrust from our memory as far as possible, and our paths and aims in life were to run counter to each other in the future. We separated ; he to make his way, as he did immediately, to LIEUTENANT CUSTER, SECOND CAVALRY. 51 the seat of the Confederate Government, and accept a commis- don under a flag raised in rebellion against the Government that had educated him, and that he had sworn to defend ; I to proceed to the office of the Adjutant-General of the army and report for such duty as might be assigned me in the great work which was then dearest and uppermost in the mind of every loyal citizen of the country. It was not until after two o'clock in the morning that I obtained an audience with the Adjutant-General of the army, and reported to him formally for orders, as ray instructions directed me to. do. I was greatly impressed by the number of officials I saw, and the numerous messengers to be seen flitting from room to room, bearing immense numbers of huge-looking envelopes. The entire department had an air of busy occu- pation which, taken in connection with the important military events then daily transpiring and hourly expected, and con- trasted with the hum-drnm life I had but lately led as a cadet, added to the bewilderment I naturally felt. Presenting my order of instructions to the officer who seemed to be in charge of the office, he glanced at it, and was about to give some directions to a subordinate near by to write out an order assigning me to some duty, when, turning to me, he said, " Perhaps you would like to be presented to General Scott, Mr. Custer ? " To wdiich of course I joyfully assented. I had often beheld the towering form of the venerable chieftain du- ring his summer visits to West Point, but that was the extent of my personal acquaintance with him. So strict was the dis- cipline at the Academy, that the gulf which separated cadets from commissioned officers seeiYied greater in practice than that which separated enlisted men from them. Hence it w^as rare indeed that a cadet ever had an opportunity to address or be addressed by officers, and it was still more rare to be brought into personal conversation with an officer above the grade of lieutenant or captain ; if w^e except the superintendent of the Academy and the commandant of the corps of cadets. The 52 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. sight of a general officer, let alone the privilege of speaking to one, was an event to be recounted to one's friend. In those days, the title of general was not so familiar as to be encoun- tered on every hotel register. Besides, the renown of a long lifetime gallantly spent in his country's service, had gradually but justly placed General Scott far above all contemporary chieftains, in the admiration and hero worship of his fellow countrymen; and in the youthful minds of the West Point cadets of those days, Scott was looked up to as a leader whose military abilities were scarcely second to those of a Napoleon, and whose patriotism rivalled that of Washington. Following the lead of the officer to whom I had reported, I was conducted to the room in which General Scott received his official visitors. I found him seated at a table over which were spread maps and other documents, which plainly showed their military character. In the room, and seated near the table, were several members of Congress, of whom I remember Sena- tor Grimes, of Iowa, The topic of conversation was the ap- proaching battle in which General McDowelFs forces were about to engage. General Scott seemed to be explaining to the Congressmen the position, as shown by the map, of the con- tending armies. The Adjutant-General called General Scott's attention to me by saj'ing, " General, this is Lieutenant Custer, of the Second Cavalry ; he has just reported from West Point, and I did not know but that you miglit have some special orders to give him." Looking at me a moment, the General shook me cordially b}^ the hand, saying, " Well, my young friend, I am glad to welcome you to the service at this critical time. Our country has need of the strong arms of all her loyal sons in this emergency." Then, turning to tlie Adjutant-Gen- eral, lie inquired to what company I had been assigned. "To Company G, Second Cavalry, now under Major Innes Palmer, with General McDowell," was the reply. Then, addressing me, the General said, " We have had the assistance of quite a number of you young men from the Academy, drilling volun- LIEUTENANT CUSTER, SECOND CAVALRY. 53 teersj etc. Now, what can I do for you ? "Would 3-ou prefer to be ordered to report to General Mansfield to aid in this work, or is 3'our desire for something more active ? " Although overwhelmed by such condescension on the part of one so far superior in rank to any officer with whom I had been brought in immediate contact, I ventured to stammer out that I earnestly desired to be ordered to at once join my com- pany, then with General McDowell, as I was anxious to see active service. " A very commendable resolution, young man," was the reply, then turning to the Adjutant-General, he added, "Make out Lieutenant Custer's orders directing him to proceed to his company at once " ; then, as if a different project had presented itself, he inquired of me if I had been able to provide myself with a mount for the field. I replied that I had not, but would set myself about doing so at once. " I fear you have a diflicult task before you, because, if rumor is correct, every serviceable horse in the city has been bought, borrowed, or begged by citizens who have gone or are going as spectators to witness the battle. I only hope Beauregard may capture some of them and teacli them a lesson. However, what I desire to say to you is, go and provide yourself witli a horse if possible, and call here at seven o'clock this evening. I desire to send some dispatches to General McDowell, and you can be the bearer of them. You are not afraid of a night ride, are you ? " Exchanging salutations, I left the presence of the General-in-Ohief, delighted at the prospect of being at once thrown into active service, perhaps participating in the great battle which every one there knew was on the eve of occurring ; but more than this my pride as a soldier was not a little height- ened by the fact that almost upon my first entering the service I was to be the bearer of important official dispatches from the General-in-Chief to the General commanding the principal army in the field. I had yet a diflicult task before me, in procuring a mount. I visited all the prominent livery stables, but received almost 54 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the same answer from each, the substance of which was, that I was too late ; all the disposable horses had been let or engaged. I was almost in despair at the idea that I was not to be able to take advantage of the splendid opportunity for distinction opened before me, and was at a loss what to do, or to whom to apply for advice, when I met on Pennsylvania avenue a soldier in uniform, whom I at once recognized as one of the detachment formerly stationed at West Point, who left with those ordered suddenly to the defence of Washington at the time of Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, when it was feared that an attempt would be made to assassinate the President elect. Glad to encounter any one I had ever seen before, I approached and asked him what he was doing in AVashington. He answered that he belonged to Griffin's battery, which was then with McDowell's forces at the front, and had returned to Washing- ton, by Captain Griffin's order, to obtain and take back with him an extra horse left by the battery on its departure from the capital. Here then was my opportunity, and I at once availed myself of it." It was the intention of this man to set out on his return at once ; but at my earnest solicitation he consented to defer his depai-ture until after seven o'clock, agree- ing also to have the extra horse saddled and in readiness for me. Promptly at seven o'clock I reported at the Adjutant-Gener- al's office, obtained my dispatches, and with no baggage or extra clothing to weight down my horse, save what I carried on ray person, I repaired to the point at which I was to find my horse and companion for the night. Upon arriving there I was both surprised and delighted to discover that the horse which acci- dent seemed to have provided for me was a favorite one ridden by me often -when learning the cavalry exercises at West Point. Those who were cadets just before the war will probably recall him to mind when I give the name, " Wellington," by which he was then known. Crossing Long bridge about night-fall, and taking the Fairfax C. H. road for Centre ville, the hours of night fiew quickly past, LIEUTENANT CUSTER, SECOND CAVALRY. 55 engrossed as my mind was with the excitement and serious nov- elty of the occasion, as well as occasionally diverted by the conver- sation of my companion. I was particularly interested with his description, given as we rode in the silent darkness, of a skir- mish which had taken place only two days before at Blackburn's Ford, between the forces of the enemy stationed there, and a reconnoitring detachment sent from General McDowell's army ; especially when I learned that my company had borne an hon- orable part in the affair. It was between two and three o'clock in the morning when we reached the ami}'- near Centreville. The men had already breakfasted, and many of the regiments had been formed in col- umn in the roads ready to resume the mai-ch ; but owing to delays in starting, most of the men were lying on the ground, endeavoring to catch a few minutes more of sleep; others were sitting or standing in small groups, smoking and chatting. So filled did I find the road with soldiers that it was with difficulty my horse could pick his way among the sljeping bodies with- out disturbing them. But for my companion 1 should have had considerable difficulty in finding my way to headquarters ; but he seemed familiar with the localities even in the darkness, and soon conducted me to a group of tents near which a large log fire was blazing, throwing a bright light over the entire scene for some distance around. As I approached, the sound of my horse's hoofs brought an officer from one of the tents near- est to where I halted. Advancing toward me, he inquired who I wished to see. I informed him that I was bearer of dis- patches from General Scott to General McDowell. "I will relieve you of them," was his reply ; but seeing me hesitate to deliver them, he added, "I am Major "Wadsworth of General McDowell's staff." While I had hoped from ambitious pride to have an opportunity to deliver the dispatches in person to General McDowell, I could not decline longer, so placed the documents in Major Wadsworth's hands, who took them to a tent a few paces distant, where, through its half-open folds, I 50 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. saw him hand them to a largo, portly officer, whom I at once rightly conceived to be General McDowell. Then, returning to where I still sat on my horse. Major "Wadsworth (afterward General Wadsworth) asked of mo the latest news in the capi- tal, and when I replied that every person at Washington was looking to the army for news, he added, " Well, I guess they will not have to wait much longer. The entire army is under arms, and moving to attack the enemy to-day." After inquiring at what hour I left Washington, and remark- ing that I must be tired. Major Wadsworth asked me to dis- mount and have some breakfast, as it would be difficult to say when another opportunity would occur. I was very hungry, and rest would not have been unacceptable, but in my inexperi- ence I partly imagined, particularly while in the presence of the white-haired officer who gave the invitation, that hunger and fatigue were conditions of feeling which a soldier, especially a young one, should not acknowledge. Therefore, with an appe- tite almost craving, I declined the kind proffer of the Major. But when he suggested that I dismount and allow my horse to be fed, I gladly assented. While Major Wadsworth was kindly interesting himself in the welfare of my horse, I had the good fortune to discover in an officer at headquarters, one of my recent West Point friends, Lieutenant Kingsbury, aide-de-camp to General McDowell, He repeated the invitation just given by Major Wadsworth in regard to breakfast, and I did not have the perseverance to again refuse. Near the log-lire already men- tioned, were some servants busily engaged in removing the remains of breakfast. A word from Kingsbury, and they soon prepared for me a cup of coffee, a steak, and some Virginia corn bread, to which I did ample justice. Had I known, however, that I was not to have an opportunity to taste food during the next thirty hoiirs, I should have appreciated the opportunity I then enjoyed evtti more highl3^ As I sat on the ground sipping my coffee, and heartily en- joying my first breakfast in the field, Kingsbury (afterward LIEUTENANT CUSTER, SECOND CAVALRY. 57 Colonel Kingsbury, killed at the battle of Antietam) informed me of the general movement then begun by the army, and of the attack which was to be made on Beauregard's forces that day. Three days before I had quitted school at "West Point. I was about to witness the first grand struggle in open battle between the Union and secession armies ; a struggle in which, fortunately for the nation, the Union forces were to suffer de- feat, while the cause for which they fought was to derive from it renewed strength and encouragement. So closes the record of the young officer's first tour of duty. As long as we can let us follow him, for no one else can tell his story so well as himself. In the whole of his story of this period there is great fresh- ness, and its only fault in the eyes of the general public, is that it tells so little of Lieutenant Custer, the real point of interest. In this, as all through his published memoirs, noticeably so in his " Life on the Plains," written at a later period of his life, when he was a public character, Custer always exhibits this modesty of self-reference, a characteristic of the true knightly soldier. Whenever he mentions Custer, it is only to make the story realistic, and never to boast of his own deeds. He never seems to have got over the fear that a personal story must be a bore to the general public. In a general sense he was quite right, for personal stories of adventure from commonplace peo- ple are very apt to be uninteresting. In the case of men like Custer, centres of popuhir favor, and of whom little is certainl}^ known, the more particulars given us the better, and the more complete our knowledge of them, the more we are satisfied. Very luckily for the success of his biographer, young Custer soon after became quite a constant and voluminous correspond- ent with his family at home, and did not make the same mistake with them. There^ he was quite sure where the interest lay. The gentle loving women at home did not care a pin for de- 58 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. tails of battles and campaigns, which they hardly comprehend- ed, but they did care very tnuoli for what Lieutenant Custer, or rather their dear hoy Armstrong was doing, and in his let- ters he tells them this freely, without any mock modesty. At a little later period we shall see a good deal of these letters : for the present it is thought better to go no further in our re- searches than Custer himself has indicated that he wishes us to go. We shall therefore follow him to Bull Kun and to the Peninsula, taking up the parable ourselves only when he stops. The personal interest of these letters is great, and their read- ing is much more racy than the published narratives of Custer himself. They reveal the real natural Custer, full of life and spirits, generous and ardent, so clearly, that it is like talking with a famous actor off the stage, far more interesting than see- ing him act. Unlike most actors, however, Custer is better company off the stage than on it, and we hope that these let- ters, when they come, will aid in undeceiving the world as to his character, and free him from one veiy unjust charge, that of vanity. From this vice no man was freer, and his most pri- vate letters show as much real modesty as his most studied published memoirs. CHAPTER II. BULL RUK. THE battle of Bull Run has been often discussed, and was once the occasion of the fiercest controversies. At the time it was fought, and for at least a year thereafter, it was almost impossible to form a clear idea of anything, except for a general impression that a great panic had taken place, that Mr. Russell, of the London Times, had abused the great Yankee nation in the most outrageous way, and that some one was to blame — it was hard to say who. McDowell and Scott went down at once under the popular storm, and the former has per- haps never entirely recovered from the hasty verdict then passed on him. The preliminary reflections of General Custer on this re- markable battle, the first in which he was engaged, are so appo- site that they well deserve quotation. He says truly that no battle of the war startled and convulsed the entire countiy, Korth and South, as did the first battle of Bull Run, although many succeeding it, both in the East and in the West, were more notable from the fact that greatly superior numbers were engaged, more prominent or experienced chieftains arrayed upon either side, and greater results obtained upon the battle- field. Nor is this difiicult to explain. The countr}^, after the enjoyment of long years of peace and prosperity, was unused to the conditions and chances of war. The people of neither section had fully realized as yet the huge proportions of the struggle into which they had been plunged. This is shown not only by the opinions of the people as shadowed forth in 60 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the press, but by the authoritative acts and utterances of the highest officials of the land ; for example, the proclamation of President Lincoln as late as April 15, 1861, after Fort Sumter had been fired upon and had been surrendered. In this procla- mation, calling for 75,000 troops, or rather in the call sent to the lojal Governors of the States, the period of service was limited to three months. To this can be added Mr. Seward's well-known " ninety days " prediction, all tending to incline the people to believe the war was destined to be brief, perhaps to be terminated by a single engagement; Then again, war was not regarded by the masses as a dreadful alternative, to be avoided to the last, but rather as an enterprise offering some pleasure and some excitement, with perhaps a little danger and suffer- ing. Last of all, the people of the two contending sections had, through the false teachings of their leaders, formed such unjust and incorrect notions in regard to the military prowess and resolution of their opponents, that it required the wager of actual battle to dispel these erroneous ideas. How true these sayings of Custer are, we can remember. The awakening from delusion was marked by much of the same unpractical extravagance of feeling which dictated the previous blind confidence. It was the childish and passionate resentment of those who knew nothing of war save from unprofessional books. The United States had seen no real serious war from its foundation, the influence of the brief invasion of 1812-14 being so partial and slight that the distresses of campaigning were practically unknown . The Mexican War was but a brilliant memory of a holiday excursion to the vast masses of the country, and its veterans were even then fast dropping off the list into superannuation. In the first flush of bitter mortifica- tion and anger at the unexpected reverse, the general run of nortliern people were as feverishly unreasonable as the French Republicans of the year '93, and every man turned at once into a volunteer spy on his neighbor, if the latter were suspected of sympathy for the victorious South. BULL RUN. QX A somewhat ludicrous instance of this occurred within the knowledge of the writer, having been witnessed by a personal friend. It M'ill give a very fair idea of the state of gloom and acrimony of feeling engendered in the North by the news of Bull Run. It took place, moreover, close to New York city, then and thereafter the place in the whole Union where South- ern sympathizers were most common and outspoken, a place not to be compared in ardor of sectional feeling to the country towns. Crossing on the Brooklyn ferry boat, tlie day after the news of Bull Run had electritied the country, the passengers seemed gloomy and preoccupied. A single exception was found in a foreign gentleman who was conversing with a friend, and who finally broke into a loud laugh where he sat. Instantly a man on the other side of the cabin, who had been regarding him with great disfavor since his entrance, rose, stalked over to him, and struck him a violent blow on the face, crying, " How dare you laugh, sir, when the country is in danger ? " It seems hardly credible now, and yet the fact is undoubted, and it appears that the action attracted no sympathy for the sufferer, who had run counter to the intensity of popular feel- ing. At that time, it must be remembered that the sympathy of most foreigners was, actively or passively, for the South ; and the news of the Southern victory determined many waverers against the General Government. Looking back now, after the practical test of actual warfare, in which success depends so little on ardor of feeling, so much on dogged determination, these outbursts of feeling appear in their true light, as childish ebullitions, unworthy of earnest men, conscious of their strength. The real trouble then was, tliat the people were not conscious of their strength, but exaggerated their temporary weakness as they had their primary resources. Such as it was, the battle of Bull Run had several curious points about it, which we will endeavor to elucidate for the general reader, assisted partly by General Custer himself, and 62 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. partly by the narrative of the Confederate commander, General Joseph E. Johnston. The Confederate forces were thus disposed, according to the first : " Beauregard's headquarters were at or near Manassas, distant from Ceutreville, where General McDowell was located in the midst of his army, about seven miles. The stream which gave its name to the battle runs in a south-east direction be- tween Centreville and Manassas, somewhat nearer to the former place than to the latter. The Confederate army was posted in position along the right bank of Bull Run, their right resting near Union Mill, the point at which the Orange and Alexandria railroad crosses the stream, their centre at Blackburn's Ford, while their left was opposite the Stone bridge, or crossing of the Warrenton pike, at the same time holding a small ford about one mile above the Stone bridge." It consisted, according to the order of General Beauregard prescribing the march to the battle field, (quoted in full in the Appendix to Johnston's Narrative) of seven brigades of the " Army of the Potomac," Beauregard's force proper, with forty- two guns and twelve companies of cavalry. These brigades were those of Ewell, D. R. Jones, Longstreet and Bonham in the first line, stretching in the order named from Union Mills on the right to Mitchell's Ford on the left, facing northeast. Supporting them in the second line were those of Holmes and Early. The last brigade. Colonel Cock's, was four miles further to the left, guarding the fords. The cavalry was split up into squadrons of two companies, one to each of the first four divis- ions, which were composed of two brigades each or one with some additional forces. They were commanded respectively by Ewell, Jones, Longstreet and Bonham. Jackson's brigade, of the Army of the Shenandoah, with two regiments of another bri- gade, were also present from Johnston's forces in the valley, and later in the day, Elzey's brigade of that army arrived just in time to turn defeat into victory. The two extra regiments from the valley were hastily consolidated with two others of Beauregard's BULL RUN. 63 armj, early in the day, and constituted Bee's brigade, which suffered worst of all. All the troops from the valley ca.me from the left, and were put in on the left. It had been Beauregard's intention before Johnston arrived, to strengthen his right, and attack the Federal left, so as to turn it and push it towards the valley, into the clutches of Johnston, who would take it in rear. This disposition was changed by the arrival of Johnston, about noon. It was then found that McDowell's plan was exactly the reverse of Beauregard's. He intended to attack with his right, nnder the impression that Johnston would be detained in the valley. If he succeeded, he would drive Beauregard into the sea, but his plan was entirely predicated on the absence of Johnston. If the latter came in during the battle, he was certain to strike the Federal right wing square in the rear. As it happened, that is just what Johnston's last brigade did. McDowell's forces were otherwise disposed. They were organized into four divisions, led by Brig. General Tyler, (Con- necticut Volunteers) and Colonels Hunter, Ileintzelman, and Miles, of the Regular Army. Tyler's division was to threaten Cocke's brigade on the Confederate left, while Hunter and Heintzelman were to move still further up, and cross the stream above, so as to turn the Confederates. Miles was to be in re- serve near Centreville, to frustrate any attempt made by Beau- regard to attack on that side. One of Tyler's brigades was to assist Miles, and keep the enemy amused by cannonading his centre at Blackburn's Ford. McDowell had a fifth division, Runyon's, back on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, guard- ing communications. It was not engaged. Thus it will be seen that Hunter's and Heintzelman's divis- ions were to do all the fighting. Tyler and Miles were to keep the enemy amused. The only fault of the disposition, outside of the Johnston possibility, was that Bull Run separated half the army from the other half. From henceforth, let us permit the story to be taken up by Custer himself. It is so freshly, 64 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. graphically and elearl}' told by him that it cannot be improved. He takes up the description from where we left him, eating his hasty breakfast at McDowell's headquarters, in the grey morn- ing, and continues : — In the preceding chapter I described my night ride from Washington to the camp of General McDowell's army, at and about Centreville. After delivering my dispatches and con- eluding my business at headquarters, I remounted my horse, and having been directed in the darkness the way to the ground occupied by Palmer's seven companies of cavalry, I set out to find my company for the first time, and report to the command- ing officer for duty before the column should begin the march to the battle-ground. As previously informed by a staff officer at headquarters, I found it only necessary to ride a few hundred yards, when suddenly I came upon a column of cavalry already mounted, and in readiness to move. It was still so dark that I could see but a few lengths of mj' horse in any direction. I accosted one of the troopers nearest to me, and inquired, "What cavalry is this?" "Major Palmer's," was the brief reply. I followed up my interrogations by asking, " Can you tell me where Company G, Second Cavalry, is ? " the company to which I had been assigned, but as yet had not seen. "At the head of the column," came in response. Making my way along the column in the darkness, I soon reached the head, where I found several horsemen seated upon their horses, but not formed regularly in the column. There was not sufficient light to distinguish emblems of rank, or to recognize the officer from the private soldier. With some hesitation I addressed the group, numbering perhaps a half-dozen or more individuals, and asked if the commanding officer of my company, giving its designation by letter and regiment, was present. " Here he is," promptly answered a voice, as one of the mounted figures rode toward me, expecting no doubt I was a staff officer, bear- ing orders requiring his attention. I introduced myself by saying, " I am Lieutenant Custer, BULL RUN. 65 and in accordance with orders from the War Department, I report for duty Avith my company, sir." " Ah, glad to meet you, Mr. Custer. AVe liave been expecting you, as we saw in the list of assignments of the graduating class from "West Point, that you had been marked down to us. T am Lieutenant Drummond. Allow me to introduce you to some of your brother officers." Then turning his horse toward the group of officers, he added, " Gentlemen, permit me to introduce to you Lieutenant Custer, who has just reported for duty with his company." We bowed to each other, although we could see but little more than the dim outlines of horses and riders as we chatted and awaited the order to move " forward." This was my introduction to service, and my first greeting from officers and comrades with whom the future fortune of war was to cast me. Lieutenant Drummond, afterward captain, to whom I had just made myself known, fell mortally wounded, and died gal- lantly on the field, at the battle of Five Forks, nearly four years afterward. The cavalry, on the Federal side, consisting of only seven companies of regulars under Major Palmer, were not employed to any considerable extent during the battle, except as supports to batteries of artillery. One charge was made in the early part of the battle, near the Warrenton turnpike, by Colburn's squadron. Li advancing to the attack in the. morning, Palmer's companies accompanied Hunter's division in the long and tedi- ous movement through an immense forest by which Bull Run was crossed at one of the upper fords, and the left flank of the Confederates successfully turned. After arriving at Sudley Springs, the cavalry halted for half an hour or more. AVe could hear the battle raging a short dis- tance in our front. Soon a staff officer of General McDowell's came galloping down to where the cavalry was waiting, saying that the General desired ns to move across the stream and up the ridge beyond, where we were to support a battery. The order was promptly obeyed, and as we ascended the crest I saw 66 GENERAL GEORGE A.' CUSTER. GrifBn with his battery galloping into position. The enemy had discovered him, and their artillery had opened fire upon him, but the shots were aimed so high the balls passed overhead. Following the battery, we also marched within plain hearing of each sliot as it passed over Griffin's men. I remember well the strange hissing and exceedingly vicious sound of the first can- non shot I heard as it whirled through tlie air. Of course I had often heard the sound made by cannon balls while passing through the air during my artillery practice at West Point, but a man listens with changed interest when the direction of the balls is toward instead of away from him. They seemed to utter a different language when fired in angry battle from that put forth in the tamer practice of drill. The battery whose support we were, having reached its position on an advanced crest near the right of the line, the cavalry was massed near the foot of the crest, and sheltered by it from the enemy's fire. Once the report came that the enemy was moving to the attack of the battery which we were specially sent to guard. The order was at once given for the cavalry to advance from the base to the crest of the hill and repel the enemy's assault. We were formed in column of companies, and were given to under- stand that upon reaching the crest of the hill we would probably be ordered to charge the enemy. When it is remembered that •but three days before I had quitted West Point as a school-boy, and as yet had never ridden at anything more dangerous or ter- rible than a three-foot hurdle, or tried my sabre upon anything more animated or combative than a leather-head stuffed with tan bark, it may be imagined that my mind was more or less given to anxious thoughts as we ascended the slope of the hill in front of us. At the same time I realized that I was in front of a company of old and experienced soldiers, all of whom would have an eye upon their new lieutenant to see how he comported himself when under fire. My pride received an additional incentive from the fact that while I was on duty with troops for the first time in my life, and was the junior ofiicer of all BULL RUN. 67 present with the cavahy, there was temporarily assigned to duty with my company another officer of the same rank, who was senior to me by a few days, and who, having been appointed from civil life, was totally without military experience except such as he had acquired during the past few days. My brief acquaintance with him showed me that h6 was disposed to attach no little importance to the fact that I was fresh from West Point and supposed to know all that was valuable or worth knowing in regard to the art of war. In this common delusion I was not disposed to disturb him. 1 soon found that he was inclined to defer to me in opinion, and I recall now, as I have often done when in his company during later years of the war, the difficulty we had in deciding exactly what weapon we would nse in the charge to which we believed ourselves advancing. As we rode forward from the foot of the hill, he in front of his platoon and I abreast of him, in front of mine, Walker (afterward captain) inquired in the most solemn tones, " Custer, what weapon are you going to use in the charge ? " From my earliest notions of the true cavalryman I had always pictured him in the charge bearing aloft his curved sabre, and cleaving the skulls of all with whom he came in contact. We had but two weapons to choose from : each of ns carried a sabre and one revolver in our belt. I promptly replied, " The sabre;" and suiting the action to the word, I flashed my bright new blade from its scabbard, and rode forward as if totally unconcerned. Walker, yielding no doubt to what he believed was " the way we do it at West Point," imitated my motion, and forth came his sabre. I may have seemed to him uncon- cerned, because 1 aimed at this, but I was far from enjoying that feeling. As we rode at a deliberate walk up the hill, I began arguing in my own mind as to the comparative merits of the sabre and revolver as a weapon of attack. If I remember correctly, I reasoned j?;'^ and con about as follows: "Now the sabre is a beautiful weapon ; it produces an ugly wound ; the term ' sabre charge ' sounds well ; and above all the sabre is sure ; 68 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER it never misses fire. It has this drawback, however : in order to be made effective, it is indispensable that you approach very close to your adversary — so close that if you do not unhorse or disable him, he will most likely render that service to you. So much for the sabre. Now as to the revolver, it has this ad^^-^n- tage over the sabre: one is not compelled to range himself alongside his adversary before beginning his attack, but may select his own time and distance. To be sure one may miss his aim, but there are six chambers to empty, and if one, two, or three miss, there are still three shots left to fire at close quarters. As this is my first battle, had I not better defer the use of the sabre until after I have acquired a little more experience?" The result was that I returned my sabre to its scabbard, and without uttering a word drew m^^ revolver and poised it oppo- site mj shoulder. Walker, as if following me in my mental dis- cussion, no srooner observed my change of weapon than he did likewise. With my revolver in my hand I put it upon trial mentally. First, I realized that in the rush and excitement of the charge it would be difiicult to take anything like accurate aim. Then, might not every shot be fired, and without result ? by which time in all probability we would be in the midst of our enemies, and slashing right and left at each other; in which case a sabre would be of much greater value and service than an empty revolver. This seemed convincing ; so much so that my revolver found its way again to its holster, and the sabre was again at my shoulder. Again did Walker, as if in pantomime, follow my example. How often these changes of purpose and weapons might have been made I know not, had the cavalry not reached the crest meanwhile, and after being exposed to a hot artillery fire, and finding that no direct attack upon our battery was meditated by the enemy, returned to a sheltered piece of ground. A little incident occurred as we were about to move for- ward to the expected charge, which is perhaps worth recording. 'Next to the company with which I was serving was one which BULL RUN. 69 I noticed as being in most excellent order and equipment. The officer in command of it was of striking appearance, tall, well formed, and handsome, and possessing withal a most sol- dierly air. I did not then know his name ; but being so near to him and to his command, I could not but observe him. When the order came for ns to move forward np the hill, and to be prepared to (tharge the moment the crest M-as reached, I saw the officer referred to ride gallantly in front of his com- mand, and jnst as the signal forward was given, I heard him say, "Now, men, do your duty." I was attracted by his sol- dierly words and bearing ; and yet within a few days after the battle he tendered his resignation, and in a short time was serv- ing under the Confederate flag as a general officer. With the exception of a little tardiness in execution, some- thing to be expected perhaps in raw troops, the plan of battle marked out by General McDowell was carried out with remark- able precision up till about half past three p. m. The Confed- erate left wing had been gradually forced back from Bull Run until the Federals gained entire possession of the Warrent jn turnpike leading from the Stone bridge. It is known now that Beauregard's army had become broken and routed, and that both himself and General Johnston felt called upon to place themselves at the head of their defeated commands, including their last reserves, in their effort to restore confidence and order ; General Johnston at one critical moment charging to the front with the colors of the Fourth Alabama. Had the fate of the battle been left to the decision of those who were present and fought up till half-past three in the afternoon, the Union troops would have been entitled to score a victory with scarcely a serious reverse. But at this critical moment, with their enemies in front giving way in disorder and flight, a new and to the Federals an unexpected force appeared suddenly' upon the scene. From a piece of timber almost directly in rear of McDowell's right a column of several thousand fresh troops of the enemy burst almost upon the backs of the half victorious 70 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Federals. I was standing with a friend and classmate at that moment on a high ridge near our advancing line. We were congratulating ourselves upon the glorious victory which al- ready seemed to have been won, as the Confederates were everywhere giving way, when our attention was attracted by a long line of troops suddenly appearing behind us upon the edge of the timber already mentioned. It never occurred to either of us that the troops we then saw could be any but some of our reinforcements making their way to the front. Before doubts could arise we saw the Confederate flag floating over a portion of the line just emerging from the timber ; the next moment the entire line levelled their muskets and poured a volley into the backs of our advancing regiments on the right. At the same time a battery which had also arrived unseen opened fire, and with a cry of " We're flanked ! We're flanked ! " passed from rank to rank, the Union lines, but a moment before so successful and triumphant, threw down their arms, were seized by a panic, and began a most disordered flight. All this occurred almost in an instant of time. No jDen or description can give anything like a correct idea of the rout and demoralization that followed. Ofiicers and men joined in one vast crowd, aban- doning, except in isolated instances, all attempts to preserve their organizations. A moderate force of good cavalry at that moment could have secured to the Confederates nearly every man and gun that crossed Bull Run in the earl}^ morning. Fortunately the Confederate army was so badly demoralized by its earlier reverses, that it was in no mood or condition to make pursuit, and reap the full fruits of victory. The troops that had arrived upon the battle-field so unexpectedly to the Federals, and which had wrought such disaster upon the Union arms, were Elzey's brigade of infantry and Beckham's battery of artillery, the whole under command of Brigadier-General E. Kirby Smith, being a detachment belonging to Johnston's army of the Shenandoah, just arrived from the valley. Had this command reached the battle-field a few minutes later, the BULL RUN. 71 rout of Beauregard's army would liave been assured, as his forces seemed powerless to check the advance of the Union ti-oops. General McDowell and his staff, as did many of the higher officers, exerted themselves to the utmost to stay the retreating Federals, but all appeals to the courage and patriotism of the latter fell as upon dumb animals. One who has never wit- nessed the conduct of large numbers of men when seized by a panic such as that was, cannot realize how utterly senseless and without apparent reason men will act. And yet the same men ma}^ have exhibited great gallantry and intelligence but a mo- ment before. The value of discipline was clearly shown in this crisis by observing the manner of the few regular troops, as contrasted with the raw and undisciplined three months' men. The regular soldiers never for a moment ceased to look to their officers for orders and instructions, and in retiring from the field, even amid the greatest disorder and confusion of the organizations near them, they preserved their formation, and marched only as they were directed to do. The long lines of Union soldiery, which a few minutes before had been bravely confronting and driving the enemy, suddenly lost their cohesion and became one immense mass of fleeing, frightened creatures. Artillery horses were cut from their traces, and it was no unusual sight to see three men, per- haps belonging to different regiments, riding the same horse, and making their way to the rear as fast as the dense mass of men moving with them would permit. The direction of the retreat was toward Centreville, by way of the Stone bridge crossing, and other fords above that point. An occasional shot from the enemy's artillery, or the cry that the Black Horse cavalry, so dreaded in the first months of the war in Virginia, were coming, kept the fleeing crowd of soldiers at their best speed. Arms were thrown away as being no longer of service in warding off the enemy. Here and there the State colors of 72 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. a regiment, or perhaps the national standard, would be seen lying on the ground along the line of retreat, no one venturing to reclaim or preserve them, while more than one full set of band instruments could be observed, dropped under the shade of some tree in rear of the line of battle, and where their late owners had probably been resting from the fatigues of the fight when the panic seized them and forced them to join their com- rades in flight. One good steady regiment composed of such sterling material as made up the regiments of either side at the termination of the war, could have checked the pursuit before reaching Bull Eun, and could have saved much of the artillery and many of the prisoners that as it was fell into the enemy's hands simply for want of owners. The rout continued until Centreville was reached; then the reserves posted under Mills gave some little confidence to the retreating masses, and after the latter had passed the reserves, comparative order began in a slight degree to be restored. General McDowell at first decided to halt and make a stand on the heights near Centreville, but this was soon discovered to be nnadvisable, if not impracticable, so large a portion of the army having continued their flight toward Washington. Orders were then given the various com- manders to conduct their forces back to their former camps near Arlington, opposite Washington, where they arrived the following day. When the retreat began my company and one other of cav- alry, and a section of artillery, commanded by Captain Arnold, came under the personal direction and control of Colonel Heintzlcman, with whom we moved toward Centreville. Col- onel Heintzleman, although suffering from a painful wound, continued to exercise command, and maintained his seat in the saddle. The two companies of cavalry and the section of Arnold's battery moved off the battle-field in good order, and were the last organized bodies of Union troops to retire across Bull Knn. When within about two miles of Centreville, at the bridge across Cub Kun, the crossing was found to be com- BULL RUN. 73 pletely blocked up by broken wagons and ambulances. There being no other crossing available, and the enemy having opened with artillery from a position a short distance below the bridge, and commanding the latter, Captain Arnold was forced to abandon his guns. The cavalry found a passable ford for their purpose, and from this point no further molestation was en- countered from the enemy. After halting a few hours in some old camps near Centreville, it now being dark, the march was resumed, and kept up until Arlington was reached, during the forenoon of the 22d. I little imagined when making my night ride from Washington to Centreville, the night of the 20th, that the following night would find me returning with a de- feated and demoralized army. It was with the greatest diffi- culty that many of the regiments could be halted on the Arling- ton side of Long bridge, so determined were they to seek safety and rest under the very walls of the capitol. Some of the regi- ments lost more men after the battle and retreat had ended, than had been killed, wounded, and captured by the enemy. Three-fourths of one regiment, known as the Zouaves, disap- peared in this way. Many of the soldiers continued their flight until they reached New York. Here ends the vivid personal narrative of the young officer, placed so suddenly in the midst of the first great battle of the war. The reader will have noticed ere this, the frank and can- did naivete of his style, and the real modesty which pervades the account, the way in which he tells a story against himself, as to his first charge, and the perfect greenness to which he confesses, in spite of his West Point education. The reflec- tions with which he closes his story of Bull Run, are as just and sober, as the narrative is fresh and picturesque, and equally worthy of quotation. Besides this, they have the further ad- vantage of being true to the letter. He says : — While the result of the battle of Bull Run startled and aroused the entire country, from the St. Lawrence to the Rio 74: GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Grande, the effect upon the people of the Korth, and that upon those of the revolted States was widely different. The press and people of the South accepted the result of the battle as forecasting if not already assuring the ultimate success of their cause, and marking, as they expressed it, the birth of a nation ; and while this temporary advantage may have excited and inspired their enthusiasm, and increased their faith as well as their numbei-s, by drawing or driving into their ranks the lukewarm, and those inclined to remain loj^al, yet it was a source of weakness as well, from the fact that the people of the South were in a measure confirmed in the very prevalent belief which had long existed in the Southern States regarding the great superiority in battle of the Southron over his fellow-countryman of colder climes. This impression main- tained its hold upon the minds of the people of the South, and upon the Southern soldiery, until eradicated by months and years of determined battle. The loyal Korth accepted its defeat in the most commendable manner, and this remark is true, whether applied to the high officials of the States and General Government or to the people at large. There was no indulging in vain or idle regrets ; there was no flinching from the support and defence of the Union ; there was least of all hesitation as to the proper course to pursue. If the idea of compromise had been vainly cherished by any portion of the people, it had vanished, and but one sentiment, one purpose actuated the men of the North, as if acting under a single will. Men were hurried forward from all the loyal States ; more offered their services than the government was prepared to accept. The defeat of the Union arms forced the North to coolly calculate the immense task before it in attempting to overthrow the military strength of the insurgent States. Had Bull Run resulted otherwise than it did, had the North instead of the South been the victor, there would have been danger of a feeling of false security pervading the minds of the people of the North. Their patriotism would not have been awakened BULL RUN. 75 by success as it was by disaster ; they would not have felt called upon to abandon the farm, the workshop, the counting-room, and the pulpit, in order to save a government tottering almost upon the brink of destruction. It only remains to follow the soldier-author in his analysis of the subsequent careers of the officers present on both sides in this famous tight, and the story of Bull Eun will be complete. It is interesting, says Custer, to note the names of officers of both contending armies who were present at the battle of Bull Run, and who afterward achieved more or less distinc- tion, and exercised important commands in later years of the war. On the Union side there were McDowell, Hunter, Heint- zelman, Burnside, Howard, Keyes, Franklin, Schenck, Wilcox, Gorman, Blenker, Ward, Richardson, Andrew Porter, Terry, Slocum, Wadsworth, Sykes, Barry, Hunt, Fry, Averill, Innes Palmer, "Wheaton, Barnard, Abbot, Webb, Griffin, Ricketts, Ayres, Baird, Wright, Whipple, and Richard Arnold. Of those officers who were present at the battle of Bull Run, McDowell was the only one who held a rank above that of field officer, he being a brigadier-general. Sixteen held the rank of colonel, one that of lieutenant-colonel, six that of major, five that of captain, and eight the rank of lieutenant. Nearly all were advanced in time to the rank of major-general ; more than half the number were appointed subsequently to the com- mand of armies, corps, or departments, while but few held positions below that of division commander. Among the colo- nels of regiments at Bull Run was W. T. Sherman, now Gen- eral of the Army of the United States. Of the present three major-generals of the regular army, one was the commander of the Union forces on that day ; and of the six brigadier-generals now in the line of the regular army, two, Howard and Terry, were colonels of voluntere regiments at the battle of July 21. " Upon the side of the Confederates there was Johnston, Beauregard, Jackson (who obtained at this battle the sobriquet of 76 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Stonewall), E. Kirbj Smith, Longstreet, J. E. E. Stnart, Hamp- ton, D, R Jones, A. P. Hill, Ewell, Early, Kershaw, Elzey, Echolis, Hunton, Cooke, Pendleton, Holmes, S. Jones, Barks- dale, Jordan, and Evans. The great majority of these became prominent generals, and as commanders of armies or of large bodies of troops in several of the decisive battles and campaigns of the war, displayed great ability and gallantry, and won last- ing renown by their prowess and military skill." l^JM CHAPTER III. ©RGANIZING AN ARMY. FOLLOWING our original design, we shall utilize, in de- scribing the period immediately following the battle of Bull Run, the scanty memoirs left by General Custer, wherever they relate to personal adventures. We are convinced that they possess an interest and value to the public, especially since the early death of their author, to which a more elaborate narrative from another hand could not aspire. The matter most to be deplored is that they are so very short that we shall soon be compelled to drop them, and that the last part was written in such exceeding haste, in the midst of camp life and even ou the march against the Indians, as not fairly to represent the author. Had General Custer been spared another year, enjoy- ing the advantages of leisure under which he wrote his " Life on the Plains," his contributions to the early history of the war must have proved of exceeding value. As it is, let us continue with him on his journey as far as he goes with us. In selecting from his memoirs, we consider it due to the public, however, to omit those purely personal estimates of the character of the various officers who at an early period of the war, fell, justly or unjustly, under popular or political censure, with which the early chapters of the memoirs abound. The proper place for such estimates is to be found in the future history of the war so often dreamed about, and some day, possibly, to be written. In the personal history of a single officer, other than that of the commander-in-chief, such estimates are only provocative of controversy, and needless for the eluci- 78 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. dation of truth. Where they aifect only the private character of the ilkistrious dead, whose peculiarities are matter of public interest, as in the case of Kearny, we quote them in full, especially where they illustrate the keen eye for character pos- sessed by Custer himself. Accordingly we will let him take up the narrative of events immediately following the battle of Bull Run in his own language. When McDowell saw the victory which he had planned so ably to achieve swept from his grasp almost at the moment when he deemed it secure, and beheld his forces, which but a moment before were driving their adversaries in disorder before them, now turn and abandon the field they had fought so gallantly to win, his first idea was to retire his army behind its reserves at Centreville, re-form the disordered regiments, and renew the advance from that point. But when he reached Centreville he saw that all efforts to stop or rally the flying Federals must prove unavailing, many of the regiments having without instructions continued their flight in the direction of Washington. Orders were therefore given for the entire army to flill back to its old camps near Arlington, opposite the capital. The retreat was continued all night, and by. noon of the following day the Federal army could be said to be safely back in its old camps near the capital. While the losses in the battle had been severe, they would have been almost unprecedented had all the absentees from the Union regiments, upon the arrival of the latter at Arlington, been chargeable to the legitimate losses of battle. The truth was that hundreds of men belonging to some of the regiments had not pretended to halt at their old camps, but had rushed across the Long bridge over the Potomac, which separated their camps from the capital, and, continuing their flight, made no halt until they had placed hundreds of miles between themselves and the scene of their late disaster. Hundreds of these fugitives, including among their numbers a few oflicers, were seen in the streets of New York within forty-eight hours after the arrival of the routed ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 7^ army at Arlington. One regiment, the Second ]N'ew York militia, reported one hundred and forty men missing after the battle, yet the regiment had not crossed Bull Eun during the engagement. The company of cavalry to which I belonged, and one other, with a section of Arnold's battery, as already stated, were the last organized bodies of troops to leave the battle-field, which they did under the immediate command of Colonel Heintzel- man. The guns had to be abandoned upon our arrival at Cub Kun, owing to the passageway becoming blocked with broken vehicles. I had ridden nearly all the night preceding the bat- tle, to enable me to join the army and participate in the strug- gle. When the battle reached its disastrous termination, and night spread its mantle over our defeated and demoralized troops, I found myself hastening with the fleeing, frightened soldiery back toward that capital which I had left but a few hours before. To add to the discomforts and delays of the retreat, the rain fell in torrents, rendering the road almost im- passable. Eeaching Arlington Heights early in the forenoon, I scarcely waited for my company to be assigned to its camp, before I was stretched at full length under a tree, where, from fatigue, hunger, and exhaustion, I soon fell asleep, despite the rain and mud, and slept for hours without awakening. When 1 finally awoke, and attempted to take a retrospect of my late introduction to actual service, I could find but little to console or flatter me, and still less to encourage a hopeful view of the success of the Union cause in the future ; and yet while I do not now recall, even among the many dark and trying days passed through at later periods of the war, any event which brought with it more despondency and discouragement than the defeat at Bull Run, neither then nor at any subsequent pe- riod did I ever lose or lessen my faith, my firm belief and con- viction, that the cause of the Union was destined in the end to triumph over all obstacles and opposition. General McDowell at once set himself to the immense work 80 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of restoring order and establishing discipline among his badly- shattered columns. The President himself drove in an open carriage through the camps of the volunteers, occasionally halting and addressing a few words of comfort and encourage- ment to the groups of dispirited soldiery, as the latter formed about his carriage. But something more substantial than speech-making was speedily resolved upon. As the firing upon Sumter had been immediately followed by a call from the Presi- dent for 75,000 men to serve for a period of three months, so was the disaster at Bull Eun made the occasion for issuing a second call for a much greater number of men to serve for three years, or during the war. The harsh and unjust criticisms which were showered from all parts of the land upon General McDowell for the unfortu- nate termination of the battle of Bull Run, decided the gov- ernment to call to the active command of the forces then assembled, and about to assemble at "Washington, a new chief. In making the selection for this important position, the opinion of the government officials chai'ged with this dut}^, and that of the people as indicated by the public press, seemed to centre upon a single personage as the one best fitted to restore confi- dence to the troops, and to inspire the country with hopes of success iu the future. General McClellan, on the breaking- out of the war, had been appointed by Governor Dennison, of Ohio, to the grade of major-general of the State troops, and charged with the duty of organizing and equipping the immense force of volunteers furnished by that State, under the call for three months' men. Afterward assigned to the command of the military department of West Virginia, con- taining at that time a considerable number of troops in the field, opposed to which was a Confederate armj^ under command of educated leaders, McClellan devised and put in execution a plan of operation which, after a series of rapid and most bril- liant victories, resulted in the capture or overthrow of all the forces of the enemy operating in his department. So decisive ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 81 and gratifying were these victories, coming as they did ahnost simultaneously with the disaster and disappointment of Bull Run, and the operations of the Shenandoah, that all eyes had singled out the youthful victor in the West Virginia battles as the one destined to lead the armies of the republic to future victory. On the 25th of July, four days after the defeat at Bull Bun, McClellan, having turned over his command in West Virginia to General Rosecrans, the next in rank, was assigned to the command of a geographical division, which included the de- partments of Washington and Northeastern Virginia, with headquarters at Washington. No appointment to high com- mand during the war received higher commendation or more universal approval from the people and the army, not even excepting that of General Grant in 1864. It can also be truth- fully said, that no officer of either side ever developed or gave evidence of the possession of that high order of military ability which at that peculiar and particular time was so greatly de- manded in the Federal commander, and which General McClellan brought to the discharge of his duties as the reor- ganizer and commander of a defeated and demoralized force, and to the formation of a new army composed almost entirely of new levies fresh from the counting-house, the farm, and the workshop. Subsequent events and results of the war, did much to detract from, and cover up, the real merit and worth of McClellan's achievements in this respect, but to him alone belongs the credit of that system of organization, discipline, and supply by which the Army of the Potomac was created, and owing to which that army was unlike as well as superior to any other army of the republic, in all the acquired elements which tend to make a powerful and efficient force." After some personal estimates of the causes of McClellan's failure, Custer proceeds : After remaining at Arlington a few days, the company to which I belonged was ordered to Alexandria, at which point it 6 82 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. only remained a brief period, being moved still further to the front, thus twice going beyond the Alexandria Seminary, where we were destined to remain some weeks. While at this point General Philip Kearny, who had just been appointed Brigadier- general U. S. Volunteers, arrived and assumed command of a brigade of volunteers composed of four regiments of New Jer- sey troops, afterward known and distinguished as the Jersey Brigade. To this brigade my company was temporarily attached, thus bringing us under the command of Kearny. When he arrived from Washington with his commission as Brigadier-general, and with orders to organize the Jersey Bri- gade, he was not provided with a single staff officer, and, being unacquainted with the younger ofKcers of the brigade, was unable to select the necessary officers for his staff. In this dilemma he asked the officer commanding my compan}' (Lieu- tenant Drummond) if, having three officers present for duty, he could not dispense Avith my services, I being the junior, to enable me to do duty upon the brigade staff. To this proposi- tion Drummond assented ; whereupon Kearny, by a formal order, detailed me first as aide-de-camp, afterward as assistant adjutant-general, I being the first staff officer detailed by Kearny. I found the change from subaltern in a company to a responsi- ble position on the staff of a most active and enterprising offi- cer both agreeable and beneficial. Kearny was a very peculiar, withal a very gallant leader. Formerly an officer of the regular service, he had enjoyed rare and unusual opportunities for perfecting his knowledge and experience in all matters relating to the military profession. He had while an officer of the army been detailed by the gov- ernment as one of three officers to be sent to Europe, particu- larly to France, to study the military art and customs of service as prevailing in that country. While abroad on this mission he had opportunities to seethe French army in actual service; and. as results of his observation, made some interesting and valuable reports to the government at Washington. He participated in ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 83 onr war with Mexico as a cavalry officei', losing an arm while leading a charge of cavalry which was characterized by its great boldness, if not by its success. After the war with Mexico Kearny resigned his commission in the regular army, and being possessed of great wealth and a love for foreign travel and ad- venture, he spent several years abroad, during a portion of which he entered the French service under ISTapoleon III., and by his gallantry and conspicuous conduct won the marked commenda- tion of the French military authorities. He returned to his native country as soon as he learned of the threatened outbreak between the North and South, and promptly sought to obtain a command which would enable him to fight in defence of the Union. In this he was at first unsuccessful, and was forced to see other and inferior men appointed to commands which he would gladly have accepted. Finally successful in obtaining a com- mission, he at once formed his brigade, and began devoting himself to the discipline and organization of that splendid body of men afterward destined to become so famous as Kearny's or the Jersey Brigade. Of the many officers of high rank with whom I have served, Kearny was the strictest disciplinarian. So strict was he in this respect that were it not for the grander qualities he subse- quently displayed he might well have been considered as simply a military martinet. His severity of discipline was usuallj' vis- ited upon the higher officers, the colonels and field-officers, rather than upon the subaltern and enlisted men. Once aroused by some departure, however slight, from the established regu- lation or order, and the unfortunate victim of Kearny's dis- pleasure became the object and recipient of such a torrent of violent invectives, such varied and expressive epithets, that the limit of language seemed for once to have been reached ; and luckless offenders have more than once tendered their resigna- tions rather than subject themselves a second time to such an ordeal. Kearny was a man of violent passions, quick and determined 84 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. impulses, haughty demean£)r, largely the result of his military training and life, brave as the bravest of men can be, possessed of unusually great activity, both mental and physical, patriotic as well as ambitious, impatient under all delay, extremely sen- sitive in regard to the claims of his command as well as his own. Distrustful of all those who differed with him in opinion or action, capable as a leader of men, and possessed of that neces- sary attribute which endeared him to his followers despite his severity, he presented a combination which is rarely encoun- tered. He constantly chafed under the restraint and inactivity of camp life, and was never so contented and happy as when moving to the attack. And whether it was the attack of a picket-post or the storming of the enemy's breastworks, Kearny was always to be found where the danger was greatest. xTot- withstanding the fame he achieved as an infantry commander, he never felt that he was in his proper place, but always longed to command immense bodies of cavalry, believing that with that arm he would find service more in keeping with his restless, impulsive temperament. Brave in battle, imperious in com- mand, and at times domineering toward those beneath him, no one could wear a more courtly manner than Kearny, unless he willed to do otherwise. During my brief but agreeable tour of duty with Kearny as a staff officer, I found him ever engaged in some scheme either looking to the improvement of his command or the dis- comfiture of his enemy. The pickets of the Confederates were stationed along a line but four or five miles distant from Kear- ny's headquarters. He determined, with the approval of higher authority, to organize a small expedition and effect the capture of what was believed to be one of the principal picket posts of the Confederates. In fact it was believed that on a particular night there were to be assembled at the house near which the picket reserve was located several Confederate officers of importance, wJio were reported to be reconnoitei'ing the ground between the two hostile forces. Kearny fixed the ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 85 night in question as the one upon which the attempt to effect the capture should be made. Three hundred picked men from the Jersey Brigade were nam(3d for this duty. Lieutenant- Colonel Buck was assigned to the command. Kearny directed me to accompany the expedition as a representative from head- quarters.- It must be remembered that officers and men were at that time totally lacking in the actual experience of war. Those who fought at Bull Kun had been discharged, and raw, inexperienced regiments had taken their places. The night chosen for the undertaking proved to be a lovely moonlight one. The troops assembled near Kearny's headquarters about nine o'clock in the evening, and leaving all impediments in the way of blankets, overcoats, and unnecessary accoutrements behind, we soon began our silent march to the front. It was known that the Confederate pickets were posted four or five miles in advance, but before marching half that distance a halt was ordered, and additional precautions adopted to preserve secrecy in our movements. From that point we pursued our way as quietly as possible, no one being allowed to speak above a whisper. Sometimes, instead of following the road, we made our way through paths in the forest, feeling our way as cautiously as if masked batteries, then the tete noire of the average volunteer, were bristling from beyond every bush. The cracking of a twig in the distance, or the stumbling of one of the leading files over a concealed log, was sufficient to cause the entire column to halt, and with bated breath peer into the darkness of the forest in vain endeavor to discover a foe whose presence at that particular time and place was not desired. In this manner we continued our course, at each step the tension on our nerves, to describe it by no other name, becom- ing greater and greater, until we resembled in enlarged form some ludicrous stage picture in which the alarmed family, aroused from their beds by noise of imaginary burglars, come stealthily, timidly into the room, staring in all directions to dis- cover the disturber of the household, and ready to drop all bb GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. weapons of defence and seek safety in flight at the first real cause of alarm. So it was with us. Inexperienced, magnifying the strength and terrible character of our unseen foes, dreading surprise, we had worked ourselves up to so excitable a condi- tion, that all that was necessary to terminate our anxiet}' as well as the expedition, was to confront us with an undoubted enemy. We were not to undergo much longer delay. The house about which the picket was posted, and which was to be the object of our attack — a surprise if possible — was located at one end of a long lane, at the foot of which we now found ourselves. A brief halt was made, final instructions fi'om our leaders were whispered from ear to ear, and again we moved forward. Owing to clouds we could only receive partial benefit from the moon ; sufiicient, however, to discern in the distance at the head of the lane a clump of trees within which the house was said to be located. As we silently made our way up the lane, moving in column of fours, with not a skirmisher or advance guard thrown to the front, every isolated tree or even the farmer's herd grazing in the fields near by, were sufiicient to make us halt and determine whether or not we were being ' flanked.' Frequent discoveries of our errors in this respect might have inspired us with some little confidence, but at that moment we surely heard human voices up the lane in the vicinity of the house. Of course we halted. It did not impress me that we were engaged in a military undertaking ; on the contrary, it struck me as resembling upon a large scale some boyhood scheme involving a movement upon a neighboring orchard or a melon patch, and the time had arrived just before crossing the fence, when the impression prevails that the owner of the orchard and his dog are on the lookout. Halting to listen and distinguish the voices again, a few moments' silence ensued, during which the clouds cleared away, permitting the moon to shine forth and light up the whole scene, and enabling the enemy's pickets to take in at a glance who and what we were. ORGANIZING AN ARMT. 87 'Who comes there?' rang out on the still night air, and without waiting for an answer, bang, bang, bang, went tliree muskets. It was a sorrowful waste of ammunition to fire three muskets when one would have answered as well. I am sure that while we may all have been facing toward the house when the first shot was fired, we were not only facing but moving in the opposite direction before the sound of the last one reached our ears. I presume too that the fellows who fired the shots ran in the opposite direction, faster than we did; that is, if they were disposed to be active. But all chance to efifect a surprise having been lost, our party did not propose to expend either time or ammunition in furtherance of the object of the expedition. We beat a hasty if not precipitate retreat, and returned to our camp in less than half the time it had required to march from there. The same officers and men who participated in this little affair, if charged with the same duty one year later, at a time when they had become more familiar with the operations of war, would have in all probability succeeded in capturing and bringing away as prisoners the entire picket guard and its immediate reserves. I remained on Kearny's staft' as aide until an order was issued prohibiting officers of the regular army from serving on the stafi's of officers holding commissions as volunteers. Early in the fall of 1S61 the principal portion of the cavalry, both regular and volunteer, was formed into one organization and collected near Washington, under the command of Briga- dier-General Philip St. George Cooke, an officer who had rendered valuable service as a cavalry officer on the plains, and who had more recently attracted attention in military circles as the author of a system of cavalry tactics based upon the single rank formation, the principles of which, under another name, have been largely adopted by the government for all arms of its service. Brigadier-General Stoneman, another cavalry officer, was announced as chief of cavalry on the staff" of General McClel- lan. To Stoneman was assigned the task of organizino; and 88 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. equipping the cavalry forces which were to operate in the field with the Army of the Potomac. The concentration of the cavalry near Washington transferred my company from its camp with Kearny's Brigade, below Alexandria, to Cliffburn, about two miles east of the capital. The fall and winter were passed in perfecting, as for as possible, the preparations for the spring campaign. During the fall of 1861 Lieutenant Custer was ordered home on sick leave in October, and remained there till Febru- ary, 1862, when he rejoined the Army of the Potomac, being assigned to the Fifth Cavalry. This period of leave brings us to a time in Custer's career, which witnessed the final formation of his moral character, and changed him in many respects from a wild and reckless boy into a self-respecting man. In regarding his character as testi- fied to by others, we have hitherto found everything to admire and little to censure, his uncommon goodness in youth being remarkable. This, his first army leave, was distinguished by his solitary lapse from exemplary life, but it was marked also by his sudden and permanent reform and awakening to principle. We have said in an early chapter that Custer never at any time drank intoxicating liquors, nor smoked. This statement must now be qualified. In his early life, and while at West Point, he never did. The influence of a pure and virtuous home life, of a family of exemplary piety, saved him from all such dangers. It was not till he entered the army, and lived around Washington, that he learned what temptation was, and then it came on him with resistless force. It must be remem- bered that at that time the Army of the Potomac had gathered to itself, along with many good men, many worthless, dissipated scamps, even among the highest ofiicers. The amount of hard drinking that was done by all, from general to lieutenant, was frightful, and the language in common use was of the vilest description. While all this at first made a pure-minded country ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 89 boy disgusted and ashamed, he found, like all others, that familiarity blunted his senses, and finally he yielded to the pre- vailing habits. Poor lad, how could he help it ! He saw his general, Kearny, whom he admired and respected as a model soldier, given over to both, swearing with an elaboration of blasphemy that shocked him at first, amused him later, and finally almost compelled his imitation, from unconscious habit. Every one drank deep, and there seemed to be no escape from the habit. Briefly, this period was the one little spot in Cus- ter's career, the one fault in a perfect life. He fell in with the prevailing habits, drank as deep and swore as hard as any man in the army. With these habits he went home, and paid a long visit to Monroe. While there, he at once became some- what of a pet. In those days every soldier was a favorite, and Lieutenant Custer " of the Regular Army " was a very differ- ent person from the schoolboy " Armstrong," who used to wrestle with the boys and run the streets in old times. He was becoming a man of mark, and was one of those who were " making history." The public characters of the little town began to notice him, and among others Judge Bacon recognized him publicly and praised his conduct. The Judge was an original Old Line Whig, and therefore almost of necessity an ardent Republican and firm supporter of the Union under Lincoln. He was an en- thusiastic admirer of the soldiers, and during the early part of the war lived much in public, frequently addressed Union meetings, and used all of his great influence to forward the cause he loved. It was quite natural therefore that he should look on the rising young officer, who had been on Kearny's staff, with great favor, and he did so. The Judge, however, was one of those men of firm and unbending rectitude and fas- tidious social sense, who make a great distinction between pub- lic and private life. While his acquaintance with young Custer in public life was quite cordial, he never (at that time) offered to introduce him into his private family. There was a certain 90 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. gulf still existing between the chief personage of Monroe and the young officer, which might have been overlooked elsewhere, but not in a place where the distinctions of circles are so marked as in a small country town like Monroe. Still, the Judge was much interested in young Custer, and frequently spoke of him to his daughter, now a young lady of sixteen, and approaching her graduation at the Seminary. But with the natural perversity of the female sex, the more the Judge spoke in praise of the young man, the less did the daughter seem inclined to like him. She remembered him as one of a crowd of " boys," and like almost every young girl brought up at home and under strict religious teachings, she looked on " boys " as a sort of wild beasts, with whom she could have no feelings in common. Affairs were in this state, young Custer on a long visit to Mrs. Eeed, when he fell in one day with a number of old school cronies, and started on a grand spree. Custer had always been of a peculiarly nervous and excitable temperament, and liquor made him a perfect maniac, no matter how little he took. The result was that, towards sunset, the young officer and one of his old schoolmates were seen coming up Monroe Street past the Judge's house, going towards Mrs. Reed's, and Custer was tak- ing the whole sidewalk to himself, in a peculiarly free and easj'' state. As luck would have it, the Judge's daughter was at the window; she saw him, and her dislike was intensified at once. Custer went home to Mrs. Reed's, and there too his sister saw him, for the first time in his life, as far as she knew, plainly under the influence of liquor, if not decidedly drunk. That night was the turning point of young Custer's life, and the country is to-day indebted for all the beauty and nobility of his subsequent career to the earnest will, love, and piety of one of the best Christian women that ever breathed. Mrs. Reed saw him. Surprised, shocked, and grieved as she was, that good creature never hesitated. She went straight to him, wild as he was in looks, and told him she wished to speak to him alone. His companion left, feeling somewhat ORGANIZING AN ARMY. 91 ashamed of himself, Custer throwing him a gay promise to meet him down town. Then as the door closed, Lieutenant Custer of the army found himself undergoing a strange trans- formation back to quiet docile Armstrong, before the grieved and steady gaze of his sister. She led him to her room in silence, locked the door on both, and then asked him " what he had been doing." The proud young soldier sobered in a moment, crimsoned like a girl, and felt horribly ashamed of himself. What passed at that interview between the anxious loving sister and the impulsive erring boy, already repenting of his de- gradation and error, will never be fully known till the last day. Far be it from us to strive to lift the veil. It was a season of tears, prayers, and earnest pleading on one side, overcoming all resistance on the other. The result was that George Arm- strong Custer then and there, in the presence of God, gave his sister a solemn pledge that never henceforth to the day of his death should a drop of intoxicating liquor pass his lips. That pledge he kept in letter and spirit to the last. His first excess in Monroe was his last anywhere, and henceforth he was a free man. It may be asked perhaps why we have related this incident of Custer's career, the only painful one that mars an otherwise perfect life. We have done so because it was really the turning point for Custer, and for the purpose of reimpressing on the world the nature of those home influences, so sweet and pure, which ended in moulding a character of perfect knighthood. Mother, sister, and finally wife, three noble women aided to mould that character. True, the material was noble and plastic, but at that early period how easy it would have been to have made thereof a fierce type of destroying power, devoid of moral beauty. From all the errors of such a sombre figure of valor and unhappiness, Custer was saved by the iufiuence of a Chris- tian sister. Honor to her for it ! His punishment for the brief lapse was yet to come, but it found him prepared with strength of purpose and principle to 92 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. live down the past and conquer his future. His error was pub- lic, and the one woman of all others whose opinion he valued had seen him degraded. How should he ever now attain her love ? The gulf widened to an almost immeasurable distance at once. To most men it would have seemed hopelessly wide. "Was it to him ? We shall see further on. For the present let us turn from his private to his public life. CHAPTER IV. THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. WHEN Cnster returned to his post in February he found that a marv^elous transformation of affairs had taken place. Washington was securely girdled with fortifications, and, what was of more importance, the Army of the Potomac was created. The question of the best method of advance was even then in progress of hot discussion between McClellan and the President ; and this discussion consumed most of the month. Into the merits of the controversy it is not the purpose of Gen- eral Custer's biographer to enter, further than to state its nature, and chronicle its result. The President wished McClellan to advance on the Confed- erate forces at Manassas, and fight a second battle of Bull Kun. McClellan wished to transfer the army by water to the Penin- sula and operate on Richmond from thence. The difference of opinion caused a long correspondence between the two, which ended in McClellan gaining his point ; and the transports were accordingly gathered in the Chesapeake, to transfer the army to Fortress Monroe. General Custer, in his last pub- lished papers, enters warmly into the controversy in favor of McClellan, for whom he entertained a most sincere admiration. Without following him into the vexed region, we shall again quote from him in all that pertains to the record of facts affect- ing himself. On the eighth of March, 1862, the President issued his " War Order No. 2," dividing the Army of the Poto- mac into four corps, under Generals McDowell, Sumner, Heintz- elman and Keyes. On the 9th of March, continues Custer, McClellan re- 94 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ceived inforination that the enemy was evacuating his position at Manassas, a move, as was afterward ascertained, decided upon when an idea was gained upon the part of the enemy in regard to the transfer of the Army of the Potomac to a new. base. This was the effect foreseen by McClellan, but the bad condition of the roads between Washington and Manassas prevented him from embarrassing the enemy in his retirement. As the transports could not be ready for some time to move the army to its new base, McClellan decided to march it to Manassas and back, in order to give the troops some prelimi- nary experience in marching and the rigors of actual service. Orders were issued during the 9th for a general movement of the army the next morning toward Centreville and Manassas. At noon on the 10th, the cavalry advanced under Averill, reached the enemy's lines at Centreville, and found them aban- doned, the enemy having burned a considerable amount of mili- tary stores and other valuable property. On the 13th of March McClellan called a council of war at his headquarters in the field of Fairfax Court House, the council consisting of the four corps commanders, McDowell, Sumner, Keyes, and Heintzelman, at which it was decided 'that the enemy having retreated from Manassas to Gordonsville, behind the Rappahannock and Rapidan, it is the opinion of generals commanding corps that the operations to be carried on will be best undertaken from Old Point Comfort, between the York and James Rivers. " Operating against Richmond from Fortress Monroe as a base, it would be desirable to use both the James and York Rivers as lines of communication and supply ; but the appear- ance on the 8th of March, of the Confederate iron-clad Merri- mac off Fortress Monroe, and the havoc created in the Fede- ral fleet, imperilled the adoption of the peninsular plan of cam- paign ; but on the 9th of March, the Monitor, as invented by Ericsson, engaged the Merrimac near Fortress Monroe, and so. clearly established its superiority over the latter, as to remove THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 95 considerable of the apprehension entertained in regard to the Merrimac's ab^ity to embarrass operations. Even if the James River remained closed, the line of the Tork and its tributaries was open. While the army was being marched toward Manassas, I obtained my first experience with cavalry advance guards. General Stoneman. chief of cavalry, was directed to push a large force of cavalry along the hne of the Orange and Alexan- dria railroad to determine the position of the enemy, and if pos- sible drive him across the Rappahannock. Upon arriving at Catlett's Station, near Cedar Run, the enemy's pickets were dis- cerned in considerable force on a hill about one mile in our front. The Fifth United States Cavalry, to whicli I then belonged, was in advance. Upon discerning the pickets, a halt was ordered, and intelligence of the enemy's presence sent to General Stoneman. An order was soon received from that offi- cer directing that the pickets of the enemy be driven back across Cedar Run. When this order reached us, the officers of the regi- ment were generally assembled in a group at the head of the col- umn. Major Charles J. Whiting in command. I at once asked permission to take my company, the command of M-hich I acci- dentally held, owing to the absence of the captain and first lieu- tenant, and perform the duty of driving in the pickets. Per- mission being accorded, I marched the company to the front, formed line, and advanced toward the pickets, then plainly in view, and interested observers of our movements. Advancing without opposition to the base of the hill upon which the pickets were posted, when within convenient dis- tance I gave the command ' Charge ' for the first time. My company responded gallantly, and a^-ay we M^ent. Our adver- saries did not wait to receive us, but retreated hurriedly and crossed the bridge over Cedar Run, setting fire to it immedi- ately after. We pursued them to the bank of the run, and then exchanged several shots with the enemy, now safely posted on the opposite side. Being unable to advance across the stream, 96 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and exposed to a serious lire from small arms, I ordered mj command to retire, which it did in excellent order, but not until one man, private John "W". Brjaud, had been shot in the head, fortunately not seriously, and one horse wounded. Bat- tles and skirmishes at that time were unfamiliar events to the men composing the Army of the Potomac, and the little epi- sode just recorded, furnished a topic for general discussion and comment. The company that had been engaged in the affair was praised by its companions, while it was a question whether private Bryaud suffered most from his wound or the numerous and inquiring visits of the enterprising representatives of the press, each anxious and determined to gather and record for his particular journal, all the details connected with the shedding of the first blood by the Army of the Potomac. Such was the first introduction of the young officer to actual fighting, for at Bull Pun he must be considered merely as a spectator. "When the great enterprise and moral force of the rebel cavalry at that time is considered, it is interesting to note how, even then, they always shrunk from the cold steel of a charge. The only American cavalry at that date, capable of a mounted charge in real earnest, was the small force of regulars, and the superiority of that method of fighting cavalry over the "shooting business," indulged in b}^ the enemy, was first illus- trated in Yirginia by Custer — it was symptomatic of the future of the young officer, for almost all his subsequent successes, were obtained in the same manner, by rapid mounted charges. Continuing his narrative of facts, we quote now from the last paper ever furnished by Custer to his publishers. It was written while on his march toward the foe that slew him, and was not received till some days after the news of his death. In endeavoring, says Custer, to quiet the anxious fears of President Lincoln in regard to a movement of the Confed- erate army at Manassas against Washington after the transfer to the Peninsula of the Army of the Potomac, McClellan assured him that the latter movement would of itself be the surest and THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 97 quickest method as well as the one involving the least loss of life by which the enemy would be forced to abandon his fortified positions at Centreville and Manassas, and thus free Washington from the menace of attack. This opinion was promptly verified by the course adopted by the Confederate leader, General Joseph E. Johnston. ISTo sooner did he learn of the contemplated transfer of the Army of the Potomac to the Lower Chesapeake, than he evacuated every fortified position in front of Washington, and retired toward Richmond ; and McClellan truly remarked afterward that at no former period was southern Virginia so completely in our possession, and the vicinity of Washington free from the presence of the enemy. The ground so gained was not lost, nor Washington again put in danger until the enemy learned that orders had been sent to the Army of the Potomac to evac- uate the Peninsula, and thus leave them free to move directly toward Washington, which they did at once, and again seriously menaced the national capital. Fort Monroe having been selected as the base of operations of the Army of the Potomac by the council of war assembled March 13, and that selection having been acquiesced in by the President, the next step was to transfer the Army of the Poto- mac from Washington to the Peninsula. The first plan for the transfer of the army to its new base involved the embarkation of McDowell's corps first ; the inten- tion being to land it either at a point termed the Sandbox, on the right bank of York River, about four miles below Yorktown, and thus turn the works of the enemy supposed to be at Ship Point, Howard's Bridge, and Big Bethel, or to land it on the Gloucester side of Y'ork River, and move from there to West Point. This plan was subsequently changed, and the most con- venient divisions were embarked first, and moved direct to Fort- ress Monroe. McDowell's corps, by the new arrangement, was to embark last, and as an entire corps moved to such point on York River as might afterward be decided upon. The first 7 98 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. division to embark was that of General Hamilton, of Ileintzel- man's corps, which left Alexandria March 17. On the 22d of March Fitz John Porter's division of the same corps embarked from the same point accompanied by General Heintzelman, the corps commander. McClellan, with his entire headquarters, embarked on the steamer^ Commodore on the 1st of April, the day after he had been informed by the President that Blenker's division, ten thousand strong, was to be taken from his com- mand. He arrived at Fortress Monroe the afternoon of the following day, and at once began giving his personal attention to the disposition of his troops as they arrived and disembarked. "When the enemy's batteries controlled or threatened the naviga- tion of the Potomac, it had been arranged to embark the troops from Annapolis, Maryland, but upon the abandonment of these batteries by the enemy, it was no longer convenient or desirable to embark from Annapolis. Alexandria, Virginia, was there- fore, chosen as the point of embarkation, and orders given for the chartering and assembling of the necessary water transport- ation. Omitting the details of what in itself was a stupendous undertaking, the transfer to a new and distant base, of an im- mense army with all its material and accompaniments, it will be sufficient at present simply to record that in thirty-seven days from the time the order was given to secure the transport- ation necessary for so extensive a movement, the transfer of the Army of the Potomac was effected from Washington to Fort Monroe. This transfer involved the shipment of 121,500 men, 14,592 animals, 1,150 wagons, forty-four batteries, seventj'-four ambulances, besides pontoon bridges, materials for telegraph lines, and other miscellaneous matter. No accident or loss oc- curred to mar the success of this achievement, save the loss of less than a score of mules. The vessels required to effect this transfer were as follows : One hundred and thirteen steamers, at two hundred and fifteen dollars and ten cents per day. One hundred and eigh- THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 99 teen schooners, at twenty -four dollars and forty-five cents per day. Eighty-eight barges, at one thousand four hundred and twenty-seven dollars per day. " Nine of the latter drifted ashore during a severe gale, but their cargoes were saved. The troops were ordered to take up the line of march from Fortress Monroe up the Peninsula, the second day succeeding McClellan's arrival. This was the 4th. The troops moved in two columns; that on the right, under Heintzelman, by the Big Bethel and Yorktown road, that on the left, under Keyes, by the Jaraes River and "Warwick Court House road. On the afternoon of the 5th, both columns were brought to a halt. Heintzelman's on the right, found itself in front of the enemy's earthworks at Yorktown, that of Keyes, consisting of Baldy Smith's division, came unexpectedly upon a heavy force of the enemy intrenched near Lee's Mills, at the crossing of Warwick River. The enemy opened upon Smith's troops with artillery and musketry. The Warwick River is a diminutive stream, undeserving the name of river, and in itself does not constitute a military obstacle, but the Confederates, by a series of dams, constructed at convenient points, the latter, protected by batteries and rifle pits, had enlarged Warwick River until it had become an almost impassable barrier to the advance of troops, unless the tire from the protecting batteries and rifle pits could be silenced. So formidable were the defen- sive arrangements of the enemy that General Keyes found it impracticable to execute the order which McClellan had given him, which was to carry the enemy's position by assault. By this system of dams, with their protecting batteries and rifle pits, the Warwick River which heads within rifle shot of Yorktown, and flows across the narrow peninsula to the James, became an excellent line of defence for the enemy, and a most serious ob- struction to the advance of the Union forces. " On the 16th of April, however, it was determined to push a strong reconnoissance against what was supposed to be the weakest point in the enemy's line, intending, if successful, to LOO GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. support the movement and make it general. The point selected was a short distance above Lee's Mills, and opposite that portion of the Federal line held by Smith's division. General Smith directed the attack, the brunt of which was borne by the Ver- mont brigade. The attacking party reached the first line of the enemy's works after wading to the armpits across the marshy Warwick, but only to find their position commanded by other lines of intrenchments. The movement was a failure, except so far as it developed the strength of the enemy's posi- tion. The Union troops were driven back with heavy loss. " The slow operations of the siege continued. Batteries of heavy guns were brought up and placed in position. Each day marked a step toward the completion of the preliminary prep- arations. It was about this time that I received an order which greatly changed the character of my duties. I had left Alex- andria, Yirginia, with m.y company of the Fifth U. S. Cavalry as second lieutenant of the company, and was among the first to arrive at Fortress Monroe. I served with my company during the march from Fortress Monroe to the Warwick. When it was decided to commence a siege there was a demand for young officers competent to serve as subordinates to the engineer officers in superintending working parties engaged in making fascines and gabions and in laying out and erecting field works, a practical knowledge of which was supposed to belong to all recent graduates. It was my good fortune to be one of the young officers selected for this duty, and I was ordered to report as assistant to Lieutenant Nicholas Bowen of the Topo- graphical Engineers, at that time Chief Engineer on the staff of General W. F. Smith (Baldy). I served in this capacity- obtaining a most invaluable experience — until the army found its advance to Richmond obstructed by the treacherous and tortuous windings of the Chickahominy River, a stream which, however chargeable with some of the misfortunes of the Army of the Potomac, was almost literally a stepping-stone for my personal advancement." THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN. 101 Here ends the record of Custer's military life; as written by his own hand, and the closing sentence brings ns to the first important event of his career, whereby he was brought to the notice of the commander of the army, and earned his promo- tion to the grade of a captain. Note. — Since the publication of his last article, written while on his last iexpedition, and forwarded from his last camp, and since the writing of the above paragraph, another manuscript has come to light among General Ouster's papers, which covers this period of his life up to the close of the battle of Williamsburg. This manuscript was written after a triumphant Indian campaign, and was one of the general's first efforts at authorship. It begins almost the same as his Galaxy " War Memoirs," and traverses the same ground, with similar peculiarities of style, but with much superior freshness and raciness of detail. At the end of the bat- tle of Williamsburg, it stops abruptly, the author having been discouraged from its continuance by a notion that it Avas unequal to the subject, and feeling, more keenly than the world gives him credit for, his own deficiencies in that mechanical education of a writer on which so much stress is laid novv-a-days. This last arti- cle was published in the Galaxy for November, 1876, but its con- tents do not add any very important information as to the life of Lieutenant Custer at the time, save those details which are always of interest as concerning him. From this paper it appears that Custer, while at the siege of Yorktown, was engaged with a Avorking party in throwing up by night a line of rifle pits, the nearest to the enemy of any pushed out during the siege, so near that the working party was compelled to shovel the sandy soil in stealthy silence, while they could hear all the conversation of their enemies, within a very short distance. Besides this duty, Custer was also detailed for a large part of the time on balloon reconnaissances, and he gives a graphic descrip- tion of his first ascent, and of his subsequent observations of the enemy's line at different periods. He was one of the first, while np in the balloon, to detect the fact of Johnston's evacuation, and hastened to General " Baldy " Smith's headquarters, to report the fact. He was met there by the same information, come in from two different headquarters ; one of them a negro who had escaped through the lines ; and so the credit of being the first to announce the evacuation Avas evenly divided. 102 GENERAL GEORGE A. OUSTER. This i^aper also makes it clear how Custer came to be at the rifle pit, and afterwards at the battle of Williamsburg with Han- cock's brigade. The rifle pit was in front of General " Baldy" Smith's command, to which Custer was attached as assistant en- gineer, and Hancock's brigade was part of the same division. Custer therefore had a sort of roving commission to go anywhere he could to acquire information, that would aid him in his maps and sketches, and his idea of the duties of an engineer officer as laid down in that paper are exacting enough to fill the role of a general officer. There were not many such engineers as Custer. O K ^ CHAPTER III. THE WAGON TEAIN". THE storj' of the attack on tlie train and its results in con- nection with the expedition is thus told by Custer : Now that tlie Major and his party had returned to us, our anxiety became centred in the fate of the larger party which had proceeded with the train to Fort Wallace for supplies. The fact that Major Elliot had made his trip unmolested by Indians, proved that the latter were most likely assembled south of us, that is, between us and Eort "Wallace. Wherever the}'' M^ere, their numbers were known to be large. It would be impossible for a considerable force, let alone a wagon train, to pass from our camp to Fort Wallace and not be seen by the Indian scout- ing parties. They had probably observed the departure of the train and escort at the time, and, divining the object which oc- casioned the sending of the wagons, would permit them to go to the fort unmolested, but would waylay them on their return in hope of obtaining the supplies they contained. Under this supposition the Indians had probably watched the train and escort during every mile of their progress ; if so, they would not fail to discover that the larger portion of the escort halted at Beaver Creek, while the wagons proceeded to the fort guarded by on]y forty-eight men ; in which case the Indians would com- bine their forces and attack the train at some point between Fort Wallace and Beaver Creek. Looking at these probable events, I not only felt impelled to act promptly to secure the safety of the train and its escort, but a deeper and stronger motive stirred me to leave nothing 372 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. undone to circumvent the Indians. My wife, wlio, in answer to my letter, I believed was then at Fort Wallace, would place herself under the protection of the escort of the train and at- tempt to rejoin me in camp. The mere thought of the danger to which she might be exposed spurred me to decisive action. One full squadron, well mounted and armed, under the com- mand of Lieutenant-Colonel Myers, an oflBcer of great experi- ence in Indian affairs, left our camp at dark on the evening of the day that Captain Hamilton had had his engagement with the Indians, and set out in the direction of Fort Wallace. His orders were to press forward as rapidly as practicable, following the trail made by the train. "Written orders were sent in his care to Colonel West, who was in command of that portion of the escort which had halted at Beaver Creek, to join Colonel Myers's command with his own, and then to continue the march toward Fort Wallace until he should meet the returning train and escort. The Indians, however, were not to be deprived of this opportunity to secure scalps and plunder. From our camp to Beaver Creek was nearly fifty miles. Colonel Myers marched his command without halting until he joined Colonel West at Beaver Creek. Here the two commands united, and under the direction of Colonel West, the senior offi- cer of the party, proceeded toward Fort Wallace, following the trail left by the wagon-train and escort. If the escort and Colo- nel West's forces could be united, they might confidently hope to repel any attack made upon them by Indians. Colonel West was an old Indian fighter, and too thoroughly accustomed to Indian tactics to permit his command to be surprised or de- feated in any manner other than by a fair contest. Let us leave them for a time and join the wagon-train and its escort — the latter numbering, all told, as before stated, forty- eight men under the immediate command of Lieutenant Rob- bins. Colonel Cook, whose special duty connected him with the train and its supplies, could also be relied upon for material assistance with the troops, in case of actual conflict with the THE WAGON TRAIN. 373 enemy. Comstock, the favorite scout, a host in himself, was sent to guide the party to and from Fort "Wallace. In addition to these were the teamsters, who could not be expected to do more than control their teams should the train be attacked. The march from camp to Beaver Creek was made without incident. Here the combined forces of Colonel West and Lieu- tenant Kobbins encamped together during the night. Kext morning at early dawn Lieutenant Kobbins's party, having the train in charge, continued the march toward Fort "Wallace, while Colonel "West sent out scouting parties up and down the stream to search for Indians. As yet none of their party were aware of the hostile atti- tude assumed by the Indians within the past few hours, and Colonel "West's instructions contemplated a very friendly meet- ing between his forces and the Indians, should the latter be dis- covered. The march of the train and escort was made to Fort "Wallace without interruption. The only incident worthy of remark was an observation of Comstock's, which proved how thoroughl}' he was familiar with the Indian and his customs. The escort w^as moving over a beautifully level plateau, 'Not a mound or hillock disturbed the evenness of the surface for miles in either direction. To an unpracticed eye there seemed no recess or obstruction in or behind which an enemy might be concealed, but everything appeared open to the view for miles and miles, look in what direction one might. Yet such was not the case. Ravines of greater or less extent, though not percepti- ble at a glance, might have been discovered if searched for, extending almost to the trail over which the party was moving. These ravines, if followed, would be found to grow deeper and deeper, until after running their course for an indefinite extent, they would terminate in the valley of some running stream. These were the natural hiding-places of Indian war parties, waiting their opportunities to dash upon unsuspecting victims. These ravines serve the same purpose to the Indians of the timberless plains that the ambush did to those Indians of 374 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the Eastern States accustomed to fighting in the forests and everglades. Comstock's keen eyes took in all at a glance, and be remarked to Colonel Cook and Lieutenant Robbius, as the three rode together at the head of the column, that " If the Injuns strike us at all, it will be just about the time we are comin' along back over this very spot. Now mind what 1 tell ye all." We shall see how correct Comstock's prophecy was. Arriving at the fort, no time was lost in loading up the wagons with fresh supplies, obtaining the mail intended for the command, and preparing to set out on the return to camp the following day. On the following morning Colonel Cook and Lieutenant Robbins began their return march. They had advanced one half the distance which separated them from Colonel West's camp without the slightest occurrence to disturb the monotony of their march, and had reached the point where, on passing before, Comstock had indulged in his prognostication regarding Indians; yet nothing had been seen to excite suspicion or alarm. Comstock, always on the alert and with eyes as quick as those of an Indian, had been scanning the horizon in all direc- tions. Suddenly he perceived, or thought he perceived, strange figures, resembling human heads, peering over the crest of a hill far away to the right. Hastily leveling his field-glass, he pronounced the strange figures, which were scarcely perceptible, to be neither more nor less than Indians. The officers brought into requisition their glasses, and were soon convinced of the correctness of Comstock's report. It was some time before the Indians perceived that they were discovered. Concealment then being no longer possible, they boldly rode to the crest and exposed themselves to full view. At first but twenty or thirty made their appearance; gradually their number became aug- mented, until about a hundred warriors could be seen. It may readily be imagined that the appearance of so con- siderable a body of Indians produced no little excitement and speculation in the minds of the people with the train. The THE WAGON TRAIN. 375 speculation was as to the intentions of the Indians, M'hether hostile or friendly. Upon this subject all doubts were soon dispelled. The Indians continued to receive accessions to their numbers, the reinforcements coming from beyond the crest of the hill on which their presence was first discovered. Finally, seeming confident in their superior numbers, the warriors, all of whom were mounted, advanced leisurely down the slope leading in the direction of the train and its escort. By the aid of field-glasses, Comstock and the two oflicers were able to determine fully the character of the party now approaching them. The last doubt was thus removed. It was clearly to be seen that the Indians were arrayed in full war costume, their heads adorned by the brilliantly coloi-ed war bonnets, their faces, arms, and bodies painted in various colors, rendering their naturally repulsive appearance even more hideous. As they approached nearer they assumed a certain order in the maimer of their advance. Some were to be seen carrying the long glistening lance with its pennant of bright colors ; while upon the left arm hung the round shield, almost bullet-proof, and ornamented with paint and feathers according to the taste of the wearer. Nearly all were armed with carbines and one or two revolvers, while many in addition to these weapons carried the bow and arrow. When the entire band had defiled down the inclined slope, Comstock and the officers were able to estimate roughly the full strength of the party. They were astonished to perceive that between six and seven hundred warriors were bearing down upon them, and in a few minutes would undoubtedly commence the attack. Against such odds, and upon ground so favorable for the Indian mode of warfare, it seemed unreasona- ble to hope for a favorable result. Yet the entire escort, oflicers and men, entered upon their defence with a determination to sell their lives as dearly as possible. As the coming engagement, so far as the cavalry was con- cerned, was to be purely a defensive one, Lieutenant Eobbins 376 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. at once set about preparing to receive his unwelcome visitors. Colonel Cook formed the train in two parallel columns, leaving ample space between for the horses of the cavahy. Lieu- tenant liobbins then dismounted his men and prepared to fight on foot. The led horses, under charge of the fourth trooper, were placed between the two columns of wagons, and were thus in a measure protected from the assaults which the officers liad every reason to believe would be made for their capture. The dismounted cavalrymen were thus formed in a regular circle enclosing the train and horses. Colonel Cook took command of one flank, Lieutenant Robbins of the other, while Comstock, who, as well as the two officers, remained mounted, galloped from point to point wherever his presence was most valuable. These dispositions being perfected, the march was resumed in this order, and the attack of the savages calmly awaited. The Indians, who were interested spectators of these prep- arations for their reception, continued to approach, but seemed willing to delay their attack until the plain became a little more favorable for their operations. Finall}'', the desired moment seemed to have arrived. The Indians had approached to within easy range, yet not a shot had been fired, the cavalrymen hav- ing been instructed by their officers to reserve their fire for close quarters. Suddenly, with a wild ringing war-whoop, the entire band of warriors bore down upon the train and its little party of defenders. On came the savages, filling the air with their terrible yells. Their first object, evidently, was to stampede the horses and draught animals of the train ; then, in the excitement and con- sternation which would follow, to massacre the escort and drivers. The wagon-master in immediate charge of the train had been ordered to keep his two columns of wagons constantly moving forward and well closed up. This last injunction was hardly necessary, as the frightened teamsters, glancing at the approaching warriors and hearing their savage shouts, were sufficiently anxious to keep well closed upon their leaders. THE WAGON TRAIN. 377 The first onslaught of tlie Indians was made on the flank which was superintended bj Colonel Cook. They rode boldly forward as if to dash over the mere handful of cavalrymen, who stood in skirmishing order in a circle about the train. 'Not a soldier ftiltered as the enemy came thundering upon them, but waiting until the Indians were within short rifle range of the train, the cavalrymen dropped upon their knees, and taking de- liberate aim poured a volley from their Spencer carbines into the ranks of the savages, which seemed to put a sudden check upon the ardor of their movements and forced them to wheel off to the right. Several of the warriors were seen to reel in their saddles, while the ponies of others were brought down or wounded by the effectual fire of the cavalrymen. Those of the savages who were shot from their saddles were scarcely permitted to fall to the ground before a score or more of their comrades dashed to their rescue and bore their bodies beyond the possible reach of our men. This is in accordance with the Indian custom in battle. They will risk the lives of a dozen of their best warriors to prevent the body of any one of their number from falling into the white man's possession. The reason for this is the belief, which generally prevails among all the tribes that if a warrior loses his scalp he forfeits his hope of ever reaching the happy hunting-ground. As the Indians were being driven back by the well-directed volley of the cavalrymen, the latter, overjoyed at their first suc- cess, became reassured, and sent up a cheer of exultation, while Comstock, who had not been idle in the fight, called out to the retreating Indians in their native tongue, taunting them with their unsuccessful assault. The Indians withdrew to a point beyond the range of our carbines, and there seemed to engage in a parley. Comstock, who had closely watched every movement, remarked that '• There's no sich good look for us as to think tliem Injuns mean to give it up so. Six hundred red devils ain't agoin' to let fifty men stop them from getting at the coffee and sugar that is in these 378 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. wagoDS. And tliej ain't agoin' to be satisfied until they get some of our scalps to pay for the bucks we popped out of their saddles a bit ago." It was probable that the Indians were satisfied that they could not dash through the train and stampede the animals. Their recent attempt had convinced them that some other method of attack must be resorted to. IS^othing but their great superiority in numbers had induced them to risk so much in a charge. The officers passed along the line of skirmishers — for this in reality was all their line consisted of — and cautioned the men against wasting their ammunition. It was yet early in the after- noon, and should the conflict be prolonged until night, there was great danger of exhausting the supply of ammunition. The Indians seemed to have thought of this, and the change in their method of attack encouraged such a result. But little time was spent at the parley. Again the entire band of warriors, except those already disabled, prepared to re- new the attack, and advanced as before — this time, however, with greater caution, evidently desiring to avoid a reception similar to the first. When sufiiciently near to the troops the Indians developed their new plan of attack. It was not to ad- vance en masse, as before, but fight as individuals, each warrior selecting his own time and method of attack. This is the habit- ual manner of fighting among all the Indians of the Plains, and is termed " circling." First the chiefs led off, followed at regular intervals by the warriors, until the entire six or seven hundred were to be seen riding in single file as rapidly as their fleet-footed ponies could carry them. Pi-eserving this order, and keeping up their savage chorus of yells, war-whoops, and taunting epithets, this long line of mounted barbarians was guided in such manner as to envelope the train and escort, and make the latter appear like a small circle within a larger one. The Indians gradually contracted their ch'cle, although maintaining tlie full speed of their ponies, until sufficiently close THE WAGON TRAIN. 379 to open fire upon the soldiers. At first the shots were scatter- ing and wide of their mark; but, emboldened by the silence of their few but determined opponents, they rode nearer and fought with greater impetuosity. J'orced now to defend them- selves to the uttermost, the cavalrymen opened fire from their carbines, with most gratifying results. The Indians, however, moving at such a rapid gait and in single tile, presented a most uncertain target. To add to this uncertainty, the savages availed themselves of their superior — almost marvellous — powers of horsemanship. Throwing themselves upon the sides of their well-trained ponies, they left no part of their persons exposed to the aim of the troopers except the head and one foot, and in this posture they were able to aim the weapons either over or under the necks of their ponies, thus using the bodies of the latter as an effective shield against the bullets of their adver- saries. At no time were the Indians able to force the train and its escort to come to a halt. The march was continued at an un- interrupted gait. Tliis successful defence against the Indians was in a great measure due to the presence of the wagons, which, arranged in the order described, formed a complete barrier to the charges and assaults of the savages ; and, as a last resort, the wagons could have been halted and used as a breastwork, behind which the cavalry, dismounted, would have been almost invincible against their more numerous enemies. There is nothing an Indian dislikes more in warfare than to attack a foe, however weak, behind breastworks of any kiud. Any con- trivance which is an obstacle to his pony is a most serious ob- stacle to tlie warrior. The attack of the Indians, aggravated by their losses in warriors and ponies, as many of the latter had been shot down, was continued without cessation for three hours. Tlie supply of ammunition of the cavalry was running low. The " fourth troopers," who had remained in charge of the led horses be- tween the four columns of wagons, were now replaced from the 380 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. skirmishers, and the former were added to the list of active combatants. If the Indians should maintain the fight much longer, there was serious ground for apprehension regarding the limited supply of ammunition. If only night or reinforcements would come ! was the pray- erful hope of those who contended so gallantly against such heavy odds. Night was still too far off to promise much en- couragement ; while as to reinforcements, their coming would be purely accidental — at least so argued those most interested in their arrival. Yet reinforcements were at that moment striving to reach them. Comrades were in the saddle and spur- ring forward to their relief. The Indians, although apparently turning all their attention to the little band inside, had omitted no precaution to guard against interference from outside parties. In this instance, perhaps, they were more than ordinarily watch- ful, and had posted some of their keen-eyed warriors on the high line of bluffs which ran almost parallel to the trail over which the combatants moved. From these bluffs not only a good view of the fight could be obtained, but the country for miles in either direction was spread out beneath them, and enabled the scouts to discern the approach of any hostile part}^ which might be advancing. Fortunate for the savages that this precaution had not been neglected, or the contest in which they were engaged might have become one of more equal num- bers. To the careless eye nothing could have been seen to excite suspicion. But the warriors on the lookout were not long in discovering something which occasioned them no little anxiety. Dismounting from their ponies and concealing the latter in a ravine, they prepared to investigate more fully the cause of their alarm. That which they saw was as yet but a faint dark line on the surface of the plain, almost against the horizon. So faint was it that no one but an Indian or practiced frontiersman would have observed it. It was fully ten miles from them and directly in their line of march. The ordinary observer would have pro- THE WAGON TRAIN. 381 nonnced it a break or irregularity in the ground, or perhaps the shadow of a cloud, and its apparent permanency of location wonld have dispelled any fear as to its dangerous character. But was it stationary? Apparently, yes. The Indians'discov- ered otherwise. By close watching, the long faint line could be seen moving along, as if creeping stealthily upon an uncon- scious foe. Slowly it assumed a more definite shape, until what appeared to be a mere stationary dark line drawn upon the green surface of the plain, developed itself to the searching eyes of the red man into a column of cavahy moving at a rapid gait toward the very point they were then occupying. Convinced of this fact, one of the scouts leaped upon his pony and flew with almost the speed of the wind to impart this knowledge to the chiefs in command on the plain below. True, the approaching cavalry, being still several miles distant, could not arrive for nearly two hours ; but the question to be consid- ered by the Indians was, whether it would be prudent for them to continue their attack on the train — their ponies already be- coming exhausted by the three hours' hard riding given them — until the arrival of the fresh detachment of the enemy, whose horses might be in condition favorable to a rapid pursuit, and thereby enable them to overtake those of the Indians whose ponies were exhausted. Unwilling to incur this new risk, and seeing no prospect of overcoming their present adversaries by a sudden or combined dash, the chiefs decided to withdraw from the attack, and make their escape while the advantage was yet in their favor. The surprise of the cavalrymen may be imagined at seeing the Indians, after pouring a shower of bullets and arrows into the train, withdraw to the bluffs, and immediately after con- tinue their retreat until lost to view. This victory for the troopers, although so unexpected, was none the less welcome. The Indians contrived to carry away with them their killed and wounded. Five of their bravest ooa GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. warriors were known to have been sent to the happy hunting- gronnd, while the list of their wounded was much larger. After the Indians had withdrawn and left the cavalrymen masters of the field, our wounded, of whom there were compar- atively few, received every possible care and attention. Those of the detachment who had escaped unharmed were busily en- gaged in exchanging congratulations and relating incidents of the fight. In this manner nearly an hour had been whiled away, when far in the distance, in their immediate front, fresh cause for anxiety was discovered. At first the general opinion was that it was the Indians again, determined to contest their progress. Field-glasses were again called into requisition, and i-evealed, not Indians, but the finiiliar blue blouses of the cavalry. Il^ever was the sight more welcome. The next moment Colonel Cook, with Comstock and a few troopers, applied spurs to their horses and were soon dashing forward to meet their comrades. The approaching party was none other than Colonel "West's detachment, hastening to the relief of the train and its gallant little escort. A few words explained all, and told the heroes of the recent fight how it happened that reinforcements were sent to their assistance ; and then was explained why the Indians had so suddenly concluded to abandon their attack and seek safety in quietly withdrawing from the field. CHAPTER IV. THE KIDDER MASSACRE. SO far Custer's first Indian campaign had progressed, on the whole, favorably. He had been duped by the Indians in common with General Hancock, but he had suffered no disaster, and all his parties, large or smal], had succeeded in beating off the Indians. At that time, the American army in regard to the Indians was much in the attitude of the Romans towards the Gauls, as depicted by Sallust in the closing sentences of his " War against Jugurtha." Sallust says : " The Romans had always been strongly of opinion, and now no less so, that all other nations must yield to them in bravery ; but that when they fought with the Gauls they were to aim only at the pres- ervation of their state, and not at glory." Much the same opin- ion prevailed among army officers in America, to judge from the cautious proceedings, till Custer came. In this campaign, as a beginner, he was feeling his way, and learning pretty rap- idly. The first disaster that was to befall any of his troops, befell an officer sent on a similar errand to that of Major Elliot, before mentioned, but in the other direction. "On the morning of the 28th," continues Custer, "the train returned to the camp on the Republican. All were proud of the conduct of those detachments of the command which had been brought into actual conflict with the Indians. The heroes of the late fights were congratulated heartily upon their good luck, while their comrades who liad unavoidably remained in camp, consoled themselves with the hope that the next opportu- nity might be theirs. 384 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. " The despatches brought by Major Elliot from General Sher- man directed me to continue my march, as had been suggested, up the North Eepublican, then strike northward and reach the Platte again at some point west of Fort Sedgwick, near Eiver- side Station. This programme was carried out. Leaving our camp on the Eepublican, we marched ud the north fork of that river about sixty miles, then turned nearly due north, and marched for the valley of the Platte," At the Platte the column arrived, after a march of sixty-five miles without water, and found itself near Eiverside Telegraph Station, fifty miles west of Fort Sedgwick. They learned that the Indians had attacked the nearest stage station the night before they arrived, and had killed three men. This information was obtained by a detachment which reached the station. Custer then relates the incident of the Kidder Massacre as follows : Believing that General Sherman must have sent later instructions for me to Fort Sedgwick, than those last received from him, I sent a telegram to the ofiicer in command at the fort, making inquiry to that efi'ect. To my surprise I received a despatch saying that, the day after the departure of Major Elliot and his detachment from Fort Sedgwick with despatches, of which mention has been previously made, a second detachment of equal strength, viz., ten troopers of the Second United States Cavalry, under command of Lieutenant Kidder, and guided by a famous Sioux chief Eed Bead, had left Fort Sedgwick with important despatches for me from General Shernmn, and that Lieutenant Kidder had been directed to proceed to ray camp near the forks of the Eepublican, and failing to find rae there, he was to follow immediately on my trail until he should over- take my command. I immediately telegraphed to Fort Sedg- wick that nothing had been seen or heard of Lieutenant Kid- der's detachment, and requested a copy of the despatches borne by him to be sent me by telegraph. This was done; the instructions of General Sherman were for me to march my THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 385 command, as was at first contemplated, across the country from the Platte to the Smoky Hill River, striking the latter at Fort Wallace. Owing to the low state of my supplies, I determined to set out for Fort Wallace at dajdight next morning. Great anxiety prevailed throughout the command concern- ing Lieutenant Kidder and his party. True, he had precisely the same number of men that composed Major Elliot's detach- ment when the latter went upon a like mission, but the cir- cumstances which would govern in the one case had changed when applied to the other. Major Elliot, an officer of expe- rience and good judgment, had fixed the strength of his escort, and performed the journey before it was positively known that the Indians in that section had entered upon the war path. Had the attack on the commands of Hamilton, Bobbins, and Cook been jnade prior to Elliot's departure, the latter w^ould have taken not less than fifty troopers as escort. After an informal interchange of opinions between the ofiicers of my command regarding the whereabouts of Lieutenant Kidder and party, we endeavored to satisfy ourselves with the following explanation. Using the capital letter Y for illustration, let us locate Fort Sedgwick, from which post Lieutenant Kidder was sent with despatches, at the right upper point of the letter. The camp of my command at the forks of the Republican would be at the junction of the tliree branches of the letter. Fort Wallace relatively would be at the lower termination, and the point on the Platte at which my command was located the morning referred to, would be at the upper termination of the left branch of the letter. Robbins and Cook, in going with the train to Wallace for supplies, had passed and returned over the lower branches. After their return and that of Major Elliot and his party, my entire command resumed the march for the Platte. We moved for two or three miles out on the heavy wagon trail of Robbins and Cook, then suddenly changed our direction to the right. It was supposed that Kidder and his party arrived at our deserted camp at the forks of the Republi- 25 386 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. can about nightfall, but finding us gone had determined to avail themselves of the moonlight night and overtake us before we should break camp next morning. Riding rapidly in the dim light of evening, they had ftiiled to observe the point at which we had diverged from the plainer trail of Robbins and Cook, and instead of following our trail had continued on the former in the direction of Tort Wallace. Such seemed to be a plausi- ble if not the only solution capable of being given. Anxiety for the fate of Kidder and his party was one of the reasons impelling me to set out promptly on my return. From our camp at the forks of the Republican to Fort Wallace was about eighty miles — but eighty miles of the most dangerous country infested by Indians. Remembering the terrible con- test in which the command of Robbins and Cook had been engaged on this very route within a few days, and knowing that the Indians would in all probability maintain a strict watch over the trail to surprise any small part}'' which might venture over it, I felt in the highest degree solicitous for the safety of Lieutenant Kidder and party. Even if he succeeded in reaching Fort Wallace unmolested, there was reason to apprehend that, impressed with the importance of delivering his despatches promptly, he would set out on his return at once and endeavor to find my command. The third night after leaving the Platte my command en- camped in the vicinity of our former camp near the forks of the Republican. So far, notliing had been learned which would enable us to form any conclusion regarding the route taken by Kidder. Comstock, the guide, was frequently appealed to for an opinion, which, from his great experience on the plains, might give us some encouragement regarding Kidder's safety. But he was too cautious and careful a man, both in word and deed, to excite hopes which his reasoning could not justify. When thus appealed to he would usually give an ominous shake of the head and avoid a direct answer. On the evening just referred to the officers and Comstock THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 387 ■were grouped near headquarters discussing the subject wliich was then uppermost in the mind of every one in camp. Com- stock had been quietly listening to the various theories and sur- mises advanced by different members of the group, but was finally pressed to state his ideas as to Kidder's chances of es- caping harm. " Well, gentlemen,'^ emphasizing the last syllable as was his manner, " before a man kin form any ijee as to how this thing is likely to end, thar are several things he ort to be acquainted with. For instance, now, no man need tell me any p'ints about Injuns. Ef I know anything, it's Injuns. I know jest how they'll do anything and when they'll take to do it ; but that don't settle the question, and I'll tell you why. Ef I knowed this young lootenint — I mean Lootenint Kidder — ef I knowed what for sort of a man he is, I could tell you mighty near to a sartainty all you want to know ; for you see Injun huntin' and Injun fightin' is a trade all by itself, and like any other bizness a man has to know what he's about, or ef he don't he can't make a livin' at it. I have lots uv conscience in the fightin' sense of Eed Bead the Sioux chief, who is guidin' the lootenint and his men, and ef that Injun kin have his own way thar is a fair show for his guidin' 'em through all right; but as I sed before, there lays the difiicnlty. Is this lootenint the kind of a man who is willin' to take advice, even ef it does cum from an Injnn ? My experience with you army folks has alius bin that the youngsters among ye think they know the most, and this is particularly true ef they hev just cum from West P'int. Ef some of them young fellers knowed half as much as they b'lieve they do, you couldn't tell them nothin'. As to rale book-larnin', why I s'pose they've got it all ; but the fact uv the matter is, they couldn't tell the difference twixt the trail of a war party and one made by a huntin' party to save their necks. Half uv 'em when they first cum here can't tell a squaw from a buck, just because both ride straddle ; but they soon lam. But that's neither here nor thar. I'm told that the lootenint we're talkin' 388 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. about is a new-comer, and that this is his first scout, Ef that be the case, it puts a mighty onsartain look on the whole thing, and twixt you and me, gentlemen, he'll be mighty lucky ef he gits through all right. To-morrow we'll strike the "Wallace trail, and I kin mighty soon tell ef he has gone that way," But little comfort was to be derived from these expressions. The morrow would undoubtedly enable us, as Comstock had pre- dicted, to determine whether or not the lieutenant and his party had missed our trail and taken that leading to Fort Wallace. At daylight our column could have been seen stretching out in the direction of the Wallace trail. A march of a few miles brought us to the point of intersection. Comstock and the Del- awares had galloped in advance, and were about concluding a thorough examination of the various tracks to be seen in the trail, when the head of the column overtook them. " "Well, what do you find, Comstock ? " was my first inquiry. " They've gone toward Fort "Wallace, sure," was the reply; and in support of this opinion he added, " The trail shows that tM'elve x\meri- can horses, shod all round, have passed at a walk, goiii' in the direction of the fort ; and when they went by this p'int they were all right, because their horses were movin' along easy, and there are no pony tracks behind 'em, as wouldn't be the case ef the Injuns had got an eye on 'era." He then remarked, as if in parenthesis, " It would be astonishin' ef that lootenint and his lay-outs gits into the fort without a scrimmage. He may ; but ef he does, it will be a scratch ef ever there was one, and I'll lose my confidence in Injuns," The opinion expressed by Comstock as to the chances of Lieutenant Kidder and party making their way to the fort across eighty miles of danger unmolested, was the concurrent opinion of all the officers. And now that we had discovered their trail, our interest and anxiety became immeasurably increased as to their fate. The latter could not remain in doubt much longer, as two days' marching would take us to the fort. Alas ! we were to solve the mystery without waiting so long. THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 389 Pursuing our way along the plain, heavy trail made by Robbins and Cook, and directing Comstock and the Delawares to watch closely that we did not lose that of Kidder and his party, we patiently but hopefully awaited further develop- ments. How many miles we had thus passed over without incident worthy of mention, I do not now recall. The sun was high in the heavens, showing that our day's march was about half completed, when those of us who were riding at the head of the column discovered a strange looking object lying directly in our path, and more than a mile distant. It was too large for a human being, yet in color and appearance, at that distance, resembled no animal frequenting the plains with which any of us were familiar. Eager to determine its character, a dozen or more of our party, including Comstock and the Delawares, gal- loped in front. Before riding the full distance the question was determined. The object seen was the body of a white horse. A closer ex- amination showed that it had been shot within the past few days, while the brand, U. S., proved that it was a government animal. Major Elliot then remembered that while at Fort Sedgwick he had seen one company of cavalry mounted upon white horses. These and other circumstances went far to convince us that this was one of the horses belonging to Lieutenant Kidder's party. In fact there was no room to doubt that this was the case. Almost the unanimous opinion of the command was that there had been a contest with Indians, and this only the first evidence we should have proving it. When the column reached the point where the slain horse lay, a halt was ordered, to enable Comstock and the Indian scouts to thoroughly examine the sur- rounding ground to discover, if possible, any additional evi- dence, such as empty cartridge shells, arrows, or articles of Indian equipment, showing that a fight had taken place. All the horse equipments, saddle, bridle, etc., had been carried away, but whether by friend or foe could not then be determined. While the preponderance of circumstances favored the belief that the 890 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. horse had been killed bj the Indians, there was still room to hope that he had been killed by Kidder's party and the equip- ments taken away by them ; for it frequently happens on a march that a horse will be suddenly taken ill and be unable for the time being to proceed further. In such a case, rather than abandon him alive, with a prospect of his recovering and falling into the hands of the Indians to be employed against us, orders are given to kill him, and this might be the true way of ac- counting for the one referred to. The scouts being unable to throw any additional light upon the question, we continued our march, closely observing the ground as we passed along. Comstock noticed that instead of the trail showing that Kidder's party was moving in regular order, as when at first discovered, there were but two or three tracks to be seen in the beaten trail, the rest being found on the grass on either side. We had marched two miles perhaps from the point where the body of the slain horse had been discovered, when we came upon a second, this one, like the first, having been killed by a bullet, and all of his equipments taken away. Comstock's quick eyes were not long in detecting pony tracks in the vicinity, and we had no longer any but the one frightful solution to offer : Kidder and his party had been discovered by the Indians, prob- ably the same powerful and bloodthirsty band which had been resisted so gallantly by the men under Robbins and Cook ; and against such overwhelming odds the issue could not be doubtful. We were then moving over a high and level plateau, unbroken either by ravines or divides, and just such a locality as would be usually chosen by the Indians for attacking a party of the strength of Kidder's. The Indians could here ride unobstructed and en- circle their victims with a continuous line of armed and painted warriors, while the beleaguered party, from the even character of the surface of the plain, would be unable to find any break or depression from behind which they might make a successful defence. It was probably this relative condition of affairs which THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 391 had induced Kidder and his doomed comrades to endeavor to push on in the hope of finding ground favorable to their mak- ins: a stand ao:ainst their barbarous foes. The main trail no longer showed the footprints of Kidder's party, but instead Comstock discovered the tracks of shod horses on the grass, witli here and there numerous tracks of ponies, all by their appearance proving that both horses and ponies had been moving at full speed. Kidder's party must have trusted their lives temporarily to the speed of their horses — a danger- ous venture when contending with Indians. However, this fearful race for life must have been most gallantly contested, because we continued our march several miles further -without discovering any evidence of the savages having gained any advantage. How painfully, almost despairingly exciting must have been this ride for life ! A mere handful of brave men struggling to escape the bloody clutches of the hundreds of red-visaged demons who, mounted on their well-trained war ponies, were straining every nerve and muscle to steep their hands in the life-blood of their victims. It was not death alone that threatened this lit- tle band. They were not riding simply to preserve life. They rode, and doubtless prayed as they rode, that they might escape the savage tortures, the worse than death which threatened them. "Would that their prayer had been granted ! We began leaving the high plateau and to descend into a valley, through which, at the distance of nearly two miles, meandered a small prairie stream known as Beaver Creek. The valley near the banks of this stream was covered with a dense growth of tall wild grass intermingled with clumps of osiers. At the point where the trail crossed the stream, we hoped to obtain more definite information regarding Kidder's party and their pursuers, but we were not required to wait so long. When within a mile of the stream I observed several large buzzards floating lazily in circles through the air, and but a short dis- tance to the left of our trail. This, of itself, might not have oy2 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. attracted my attention seriously, but for the rank stench which pervaded the atmosphere, reminding one of the horrible sensa- tions experienced upon a battle-field when passing among the decaying bodies of the dead. As if impelled by one thought, Comstock, the Delawares, and half a dozen officers, detached themselves from the column, and separating into squads of one or two, instituted a search for the cause of our horrible suspicions. After riding in all directions through the rushes and willows, when about to relinquish the search as fruitless, one of the Delawares uttered a shout which attracted the attention of the entire command ; at the same time he was seen to leap from his horse and as- sume a stooping posture, as if critically examining some object of interest. Hastening, in common with many others of the party, to his side, a sight met our gaze which even at this remote day makes my very blood curdle. Lying in irregular order, and within a very limited circle, were the mangled bodies of poor Kidder and his party, yet so brutally hacked and disfigured as to be beyond recognition save as human beings. Every individual of the party had been scalped, and his skull broken — the latter done by some weapon, probably a tomahawk — except the Sioux chief lied Bead, whose scalp had simply been removed from his head and then thrown down by his side. This, Comstock informed us, was in accordance with a custom which prohibits an Indian from bearing off the scalp of one of his own tribe. This circumstance, then, told us who the perpetrators of the deed were. They could be none other than the Sioux, led in all probability by Pawnee Killer. Red Bead being less disfigured and mutilated than the others, was the only individual capable of being recognized. Even the clothes of all the party had been carried away ; some of the bodies were lying in beds of ashes, with partly burned fragments of wood near them, showing that the savage had put some of them to death by the terrible tortures of fire. The sinews of the arms and legs had been cut away, the nose of THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 393 every man hacked off, and the features otherwise defaced so that it would have been scarce!}' possible for even a relative to recognize a single one of the unfortunate victims. We could not even distinguish the officer from his men. Each body was pierced by from twenty to fifty arrows, and the arrows were found as the savage demons had left them, bristling in tlie bodies. While the details of that fearful struggle will probably never be known, telling how long and gallantly this ill-fated little band contended for their lives, yet the surrounding circum- stances of ground, empty cartridge shells, and distance from where the attack began, satisfied us that Kidder and his men fought as only brave men fight when the watchword is victory or death. As the officer, his men, and his no less faithful Indian guide, had shared their final dangers together and met the same dreadful fate at the hands of the same merciless foe, it was but fitting that their remains should be consigned to one common grave. This was accordingly done. A single trench was dug near the spot where they had rendered up their lives upon the altar of duty. Silently, mournfully, their comrades of a brother regiment consigned their mangled remains to mother earth, there to rest undisturbed, as we supposed, until the great day of final review. But this was not to be so: while the closest scrutiny on our part had been insufficient to enable us to detect the slightest evidence which would aid us or others in identifying the body of Lieutenant Kidder or any of his men, it will be seen hereafter how the marks of a moth- er's thoughtful affection were to be the means of finding the remains of her murdered son, even though months had elapsed after his untimely death. This sequel to the story mentioned by Custer is told by him in narrating subsequent events. It seems that Mr. Kidder, father of the lieutenant, came west in search of the body of his son, and learned that only a single mark remained, by which to identify any of the bodies except that of Red Bead. The inci- 394 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. dent occurred at Fort Leavenworth in the winter of 1SG7. Cus- ter thus describes the interview. Mr. Kidder, after introducing himself, announced the object of his visit ; it was to ascertain the spot where the remains of his son lay buried, and, after procuring suitable military escort to proceed to the grave and disinter his son's remains prepara- tory to transferring them to a resting place in Dakota, of which territory he was at that time one of the judiciary. It was a painful task I had to perform when I communicated to the father the details of the killing of his son and followers. And equally harassing to the feelings was it to have to inform him that there was no possible chance for his being able to recog- nize his son's remains. " Was there not the faintest mark or fragment of his uniform by ■which he might be known ? " in- quired the anxious parent. " Not one," was the reluctant reply. "And yet, since I now recall the appearance of the mangled and disfigured remains, there was a mere trifle which attracted my attention, but it could not have been your son who wore it." "What was it ? " eagerly inquired the father. " It was simply the collar-band of one of those ordinary check overshirts so com- monly worn on the plains, the color being black and white ; the remainder of the garment, as well as all other articles of dress, having been torn or burned from the body." Mr. Kidder then requested me to repeat the description of the collar and material of which it was made ; happily I had some cloth of very similar appearance, and upon exhibiting this to Mr. Kid- der, to show the kind I meant, he declared that the body I referred to could be no other than that of his murdered son. He went on to tell how his son had received his appointment in the army but a few weeks before his lamentable death, he only having reported for duty with his company a few days before being sent on the scout which terminated his life ; and how, before leaving his home to engage in the military service, his mother, with that thoughtful care and tenderness which only a mother can feel, prepared some articles of wearing apparel, THE KIDDER MASSACRE. 395 among others a few shirts made from the checked material already described. Mr. Kidder had been to Fort Sedgwick, on the Platte, from which post his son had last departed, and there learned that on leaving the post he wore one of the checked shirts and put an extra one in his saddle pockets. Upon this trifling link of evidence Mr, Kidder proceeded four hundred miles west to Fort "Wallace, and there being furnished with military escort, visited the grave containing the bodies of the twelve massacred men. Upon disinterring the remains a body was found as I had described it, bearing the simple checked collar-band ; the father recognized the remains of his son, and thus, as was previously stated, was the evidence of a mother's love made the means by which her son's body was recognized and reclaimed, when all other had failed. In closing this episode, which gives a realizing idea of the terrible nature of Indian warfare, it may interest the reader to know that the engraving which illustrates it was executed under the personal supervision of General Custer himself, during his life, as well as that representing the attack on the train. They give a truthful idea of two representative scenes, one the Indian method of battle, the other the appearance of Indian victims. It will be noticed that the slain have their throats cut. This is one of the marks by which the scouts knew that the Sioux had done it. The Arapahoes mark their victims by slitting the right arm, others in other manners. It has often excited enquiry as well as horror in white men, to know the reason that the present Indians of the plains per- petrate these mutilations on the bodies of their slain ; and the records seem to point to great exasperation of feeling for the principal cause. In the battles of the last century, between the wood-Indians and the whites, as well as those in the early part of the present cycle, between the prairie-Indians and the hardy hunters of the Fur Companies, it is very rare to hear of these refinements of mutilation. The slain were scalped, and living prisoners were generally taken to the villages for tortures 396 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. which, however cruel, possessed a certain nobilitj of crueltj-, and lacked those peculiarly debasing and disgusting features which mark the modern Indian of the plains. Catlin, Bonne- ville, Kendall, Lewis and Clark, and all those early voyagers who crossed the plains, down to the days of Fremont, record no such atrocities in their few contests with Indians, and leave, on the whole, a decidedly favorable impression of the savage character. At the present day, there is no doubt that such things are common, and the real reason is not far to seek, judg- ing from the circumstances surrounding both periods. I am very strongly inclined to ascribe these mutilations to a mixture of hatred and contempt, produced by the diflerent nature of the present contests from those waged up to the year 1850. In the past century in the woods, and up to 1850 on the plains, the Indians were principally fought by frontiersmen and veteran regulars, men of physical sti-ength generally superior to the Indians, better shots, nearly as good riders, and their superiors in hand to hand lights. Above all things, savages respect physical prowess and courage, and there are strong indications that they were so proud to take the scalp of a brave white man, in the days when they respected him, that they scorned to otherwise mutilate his body when dead. E"ow the case is reversed. They know that, man to man, almost all the green recruits in the regular a,vmy fear them, and the frontiersmen they meet and mutilate are no longer brave hunters, but, in their eyes, despicable tillers of the ground. Hating and despising these men as cowards and plodders, yet finding themselves, slowly but surely, yielding to these loatlied creatures, they take the same satisfaction in hacking them to pieces that many white men and boys do in beating a snake. This view comes out plainly in the Kidder massacre. The warriors mutilated his party, because it ran in the first place, and allowed them to conquer it in the second. The only man partially respected was the chief Red Bead, probably because he was the bravest there.] CHAPTER V. THE COUET MAETIAL. CUSTEE, who had come from the east with much experi- ence and more previous success as a cavahy general, had speedily discovered, while on the plains, the difference between fighting civilized foes and Indians. Ko doubt he had frequently been reminded of this difference, and of the experience of older officers, in his intercourse with his ofiicial superiors. He was now to experience the further difference between getting along with a regiment in time of war, formal and declared, and the same body in time of nominal and legal peace, but of actual hostilities. The occasion of his trouble was during the search for Lieutenant Kidder's remains, and is thus described by him- self: In a previous chapter reference has been made to the state of dissatisfaction which had made its appearance among the en- listed men. This state of feeling had been principally superin- duced by inferior and insufficient rations, a fault for which no one connected with the troops in the field was responsible, but which was chargeable to persons far removed from the theatre of our movements, persons connected with the supply depart- ments of the army. Added to this internal source of disquiet, we were then on the main line of overland travel to some of our most valuable and lately discovered mining regions. The op- portunity to obtain marvelous wages as miners and the pros- pect of amassing sudden wealth proved a temptation sufficiently strong to make many of the men forget their sworn obligations 398 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. to their government and their duty as soldiers. Forgetting for a moment that the command to which they belonged was actu- ally engaged in war, and was in a country infested with armed bodies of the enemy, and that the legal penalty of desertion under such circumstances was death, many of the men formed a combination to desert their colors and escape to the mines. The first intimation received by any person in authority of the existence of this plot, was on the morning fixed for our de- parture from the Platte. Orders had been issued the previous evening for the command to march at daylight. Upwards of forty men were reported as having deserted during the night. There was no time to send parties in pursuit, or the capture and return of a portion of them might have been effected. The command marched southward at daylight. At noon, having marched fifteen miles, we halted to rest and graze the horses for one hour. The men believed that the halt was made for the remainder of the day, and here a plan was perfected among the disafiected by which upwards of one-third of the ef- fective strength of the command was to seize their horses and arms during the night and escape to the mountains. Had the conspirators succeeded in piUting this plan into execution, it would have been difiicult to say how serious the consequence might be, or whether enough true men would remain to render the march to Fort "Wallace practicable. Fortunately it was de- cided to continue the march some fifteen miles further before night. The necessary orders were given and everything was being repacked for the march, when attention was called to thirteen soldiers who were then to be seen rapidly leaving camp in the direction from which we had marched. Seven of these were mounted and were moving off at a rapid gallop; the re- maining six were dismounted, not having been so fortunate as their fellows in procuring horses. The entire party were still within sound of the bugle, but no orders by bugle note or otherwise served to check or diminish their flight. The boldness of this attempt at desertion took every one by surprise. Such THE COURT MARTIAL. 399 an occurrence as enlisted men deserting in broad daj^light and under the immediate eyes of their oSicers had never been heard of. AVith the exception of the horses of the guard and a few belonging to the officers, all others were still grazing and vm- saddled. The officer of the guard was directed to mount his command promptly, and if possible overtake the deserters. At the same time those of the officers whose horses were in readi- ness were also directed to join the pursuit and leave no effort untried to prevent the escape of a single malcontent. In giving each party sent in pursuit instructions, there was no limit fixed to the measures which they were authorized to adopt in execut- ing their orders. This, unfortunately, was an emergency, which involved the safety of the entire command, and required treatment of the most summary character. It was found impossible to overtake that portion of the party which was mounted, as it was afterward learned that they had selected seven of the fleetest horses in the command. Those on foot, when discovering themselves pursued, increased their speed, but a chase of a couple of miles brought the pur- suers within hailing distance. Major Elliot, the senior officer participating in the pursuit, called out to the deserters to halt and surrender. This com- mand was several times repeated, but without effect. Finally, seeing the hopelessness of further flight, the deserters came to bay, and to Major Elliot's renewed demand to throw down their arms and surrender, the ringleader drew up his carbine to fire upon his pursuers. This was the signal for the latter to open fire, which they did successfully, bringing down three of the deserters, although two of them were worse frightened than hurt. Rejoining the command with their six captive deserters, the pursuing party reported their inability to overtake those who had deserted on horseback. The march was resumed and con- tinued until near nightfall, by which time we had placed thirty miles between us and our last camp on the Platte. While on 400 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. theraarcli during the day, a trusty sergeant, one who had served as a soldier long and faithfully, imparted the first information which could be relied upon as to the plot which had been formed by the malcontents to desert in a body. The following night had been selected as the time for making the attempt. The best horses and arms in the command were to be seized and taken away. I believed that the summary action adopted during the day would intimidate any who might still be con- templating desertion, and was confident that another day's march would place us so far in a hostile and dangerous coun- try, that the risk of encountering war parties of Indians would of itself serve to deter any but large numbers from attempting to make their way back to the settlements. To bridge the following night in safety was the next problem. While there was undoubtedly a large proportion of the men who could be fullj^ relied upon to remain true to their obligations and to ren- der any support to their officers which might be demanded, yet the great difficulty at this time, owing to the sudden devel- opment of the plot, was to determine who could be trusted. The difficulty was solved by placing every officer in the command on guard during the night. The men were assem- bled as usual for roll-call at tattoo, and then notified that every man must be in his tent at the signal " taps," which would be sounded half an hour later ; that their company officers, fully armed, would walk the company streets during the entiz-e night, and any man appearing outside the limits of his tent between the hours of " taps " and reveille would do so at the risk of being fired upon after being once hailed. The night passed without disturbance, and daylight found us in the saddle and pursuing our line of march toward Fort Wallace. The lesson given by Custer as thus told by him was suffi- cient. No further attempt was made at desertion. After the finding of the bodies of Lieutenant Kidder's party, the column proceeded on its way. It will be remembered that the tele- THE COURT MARTIAL. 401 graphic orders of General Sherman from Fort Sedgwick had directed Caster to go to Fort Wallace. His proceedings after reaching that point we note, because, in connection with the shooting of the deserters, thej consti- tuted the ground of his second court martial. The humorous commencement and ending of the first, on Custer's graduation from West Point, will be remembered. Thoughtless violation of military rule got him into trouble then. A very different course of conduct took him into similar trouble now. He tells his own story as frankly as ever. On the evening, says he, of the day following that upon which we had consigned the remains of Lieutenant Kidder's party to their humble resting-place, the command reached Fort Wal- lace on the Smoky Hill route. From the occupants of the fort we learned ujuch that was interesting regarding events which had transpired during our isolation from all points of commu- nication. The Indians had attacked the fort twice within the past few days, in both of which engagements men were killed on each side. The fighting on our side was principally under the command of Colonel Barnitz, whose forces were composed of detachments of the Seventh Cavalry. Our arrival at Fort Wallace was most welcome as well as opportune. The Indians had become so active and numerous that all travel over the Smoky Hill route had ceased ; stages had been taken off the route, and many of the stage stations had been abandoned by the employees, the latter fearing a repetition of the Lookout Station massacre, ^o despatches or mail had been received at the fort for a considerable period, so that the occupants might well have been considered as undergoing a state of siege. Added to these embarrassments, which were- partly unavoidable, an additional, and, under the circumstances, a more frightful danger, stared the troops in the face. We were over two hundred miles from the terminus of the railroad over which our supplies were drawn, and a still greater distance from the main depots of supplies. It was found that the reserve of 26 402 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. stores at the post was well-nigh exhausted, and the commanding officer reported that he knew of no fresh supplies being on the way. Ij;:^ecided to select upward of a hundred of the best mounted men in my command, and with this force open a way through to Fort Harker, a distance of two hundred miles, where I expected to obtain abundant supplies ; from which point the latter could be conducted, well protected against Indians by my detachment, back to Fort Wallace. Owing to the severe marching of the past few weeks, the horses of the command were generally in an unfit condition for further service without rest. So that after selecting upward of a hundred of the best, the remainder might for the time be regarded as unserviceable ; such they were in fact. There was no idea or probability that the portion of the command to remain in camp near Fort Wallace would be called upon to do anything but rest and recuperate from their late marches. It was certainly not expected that they would be molested or called out by Indians ; nor were they. Re- garding the duties to be performed by the picked detachment as being by far the most important, I chose to accompany it. The immediate command of the detachment was given to Captain Hamilton, of whom mention has been previously made. He was assisted by two other officers. My intention was to push through from Fort Wallace to Fort Hays, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles, as rapidly as was practicable ; then, being beyond the most dangerous portion of the route, to make the remainder of the march to Fort Plarker with half a dozen troopers, while Captain Hamilton with his command should follow leisurely. Under this arrangement I hoped to have a train loaded with supplies at Harker, and in readiness to start for Fort Wallace, by the time Captain Hamilton should arrive. Leaving Fort Wallace about sunset on the evening of the 15th of July, we began our ride eastward, following the line of the overland stag-e route. At that date the Kansas Pacific THE COURT MARTIAL. 403 Railway was only completed as far westward as Fort Ilarker. Between Forts Wallace and Harker we expected to find the stations of the overland stage company, at intervals of from ten to fifteen miles. In time of peace these stations are generally occupied by half a dozen employees of the route, embracing the stablemen and relays of drivers. They were well supplied with firearms and ammunition, and every facility for defending themselves against Indians. The stables were also the quarters for the men. They were usually built of stone, and one would naturally think that against Indians no better defensive work would be required. Yet such was not the case. The hay and other combustible material usually contained in them enabled the savages, by shooting prepared arrows, to easily set them on fire, and thus drive the occupants out to the open plain, where their fate would soon be settled. To guard against such an emergency, each station was ordinarily provided with what on the plains is termed a " dug-out." The name implies the char- acter and description of the work. The " dng-out " was com- monly located but a few yards from one of the corners of the stable, and was prepared by excavating the earth so as to form an opening not unlike a cellar, which was usually about four feet in depth, and sufliciently roomy to accommodate at close quarters half a dozen persons. This opening was then covered with logs, and loopholed on all sides at a height of a few inches above the original level of the ground. The earth was thrown on top until the " dng-out " resembled an ordinary mound of earth, some four of five feet in height. To the outside observer, no means apparently were provided for egress or ingress ; yet such was not the case. If the entrance had been made above ground, rendering it necessary for the defenders to pass from the stable unprotected to their citadel, the Indians would have posted themselves accordingly, and picked them off one by one as they should emerge from the stable. To provide against this danger, an underground passage was constructed in each case, leadiiig from the " dng-out " to the interior of the stable. With 404 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. these arrangements for defence a few determined men could withstand the attacks of an entire tribe of savages. The recent depredations of the Indians had so demoralized the men at the various stations, that many of the latter were found deserted, their former occupants having joined their forces with those of other stations. The Indians generally burned the deserted stations. Almost at every station we received intelligence of Indians having been seen in the vicinity within a few days of our arrival. We felt satisfied they were watching our movements, although we saw no fresh signs of Indians until we arrived near Downer's station. Here, while stopping to rest our horses for a few minutes, a small party of our men, who had without authority halted some distance behind, came dashing into our midst, and reported that twenty-five or thirty Indians had attacked them some five or six miles in rear, and had killed two of their number. As there was a detachment of infantry guarding the station, and as time was important, we pushed on toward our destination. The two men reported killed were left to be buried by the troops on duty at the station. Frequent halts and brief rests were made along our line of march ; occasionally we would halt long enough to indulge in a few hours' sleep. About three o'clock on the morning of the 18th, we reached Fort Hays, having marched about one hundred and fifty miles in fifty -five hours, including all halts. Some may regard this as a rapid rate of marching ; in fact, a few officers of the army who themselves have made many and long marches (principally in ambulances and railroad cars) are of the same opinion. It was far above the usual rate of a leisurely made march, but during the same season with a larger command I marched sixty miles in fifteen hours. This was officially reported, but occa- sioned no remark. During the war, and at the time the enemy's cavalry under General J. E. B. Stuart made its famous raid around the Army of the Potomac in Maryland, a portion of our cavalry, accompanied by horse artillery, in attempting THE COURT MARTIAL. 405 to overtake them, marched over ninety miles in twentj-tbur hours. A year subsequent to the events narrated in this chap- ter, I marched a small detachment eighty miles in seventeen hours, every horse accompanying the detachment completing the march in as fresh condition apparently as when the march began. Leaving Hamilton and his command to rest one day at Hays and then to follow on leisurely to Fort Harker, I continued my ride to the latter post, accompanied by Colonels Cook and Custer and two troopers. We reached Fort Harker at two o'clock that night, having made the ride of sixty miles without change of ani- mals in less than twelve hours. As this was the first telegraph station, I immediately sent telegrams to headquarters and to Fort Sedgwick, announciug the fate of Kidder and his party. General A. J. Smith, who was in command of this military dis- trict, had his headquarters at Harker. I at once reported to him in person, and acquainted him with every incident worthy of mention which had occurred in connection with my command, since leaving him, weeks before. Arrangements were made for the arrival of Hamilton's party and for a train containing sup- plies to be sent back under their escort. Having made my re- port to General Smith as my next superior officer, and there being no occasion for my presence until the train and escort should be in readiness to return, I applied for and received ait- thority to visit Fort Riley ^ about ninety miles east of Harker hy rail, where my family was then located. So ends Custer's story. The civilian reader, who has perused the account, will think nothing very wicked was done. Yet, for the events narrated in this chapter, Custer was actually court-martialed, tried, and sentenced to be suspended from rank and pay for a whole year. In the very last sentence of the above frank account, the part quoted in italics, the officers at the time set over him found the whole wickedness. Charges were brought against him on two counts : first, for leaving Fort Wallace without permission, marching his 406 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. men excessively, allowing two of them to be killed, and losing several United States horses — all in a journey on private business : second, for excessive cruelty and illegal con- duct in putting down mutiny in the Seventh, by shooting the deserters. The second charge was not, however, seriously pressed ; it was the first on which his enemies relied, and on which they obtained the conviction and sentence. The one inexcusable sin which Custer had committed, in the estimation of the military authorities, was going to Fort Riley to see his wife, and the preparation of the charges was due to the ingenuity of one of his personal enemies, an ojfficer who was soon after obliged to leave the service for drunkenness. The court-martial now under notice, indeed, brings us to that part of Custer's life when he was first surrounded with those enemies who followed him ever after, and the course of his trial will wxU illustrate those future crosses, which were to develop him into one of the noblest characters of modern time. Hith- erto, Custer had enjoyed a life of constant success. His labors had been altogether external, and had included no misfortunes nor serious set-backs. In the great Union Yolunteer Army, where there were so many prizes, those which he gained had not excited that actively malignant envy which he afterwards experienced. ISTow, for the first time, he found the atmosphere changed, and also found the great and fundamental difference between the war service of a great array and the nominal peace service of a small one. In the present regular army of the XTnited States, the great trouble is found in the fact that its rewards are so few, its offi- cers so numerous. The consequence is that this little army is the constant abiding place, to an extent of which civilians have little or no idea, of the most intense jealousy and envy from the majority towards every one who possesses any great mili- tary merit and has attained early distinction. The one fact, and the only one which commands respect in the regular army THE. COURT MARTIAL. 40T h seniority, and officers are forever computing their place on the list of their rank and calculating how soon they will "gain a step.'' Before and since the war, merit has no place in the promotions of the regular array, the rigid rule of seniority being inflexibly adhered to, no services, however brilliant, being allowed to confer a single step on the officer rendering them. The war changed all this for the time, and promoted, for merit alone, a few talented officers, of whom the most conspicuous at that time were Sherman, Sheridan and Custer. As a matter of course, all three of these officers were then, and are to-day, hated most cordially by most other officers, especially by those who graduated from West Point before them and found them- selves at the close of the war junior to them. The system was to blame for this as much as the men, and inevitablj'' tended to breed the feeling. The tendency of the seniority rule is and alwaj's has been to enervate and destroy military spirit. It offers a premium to all the lazy ones, the skulkers, the cowards, to keep out of danger themselves, to do anything that promises to keep themselves alive and to kill off every senior in their rank, so that they may "gain steps." Not an Indian fight comes off, not an attack of yellow fever visits a post, but every officer in the army falls to calculating how many " steps " he will gain by so many deaths. Towards the regular "seniority seniors " as they may be called — men who have gained their present rank by living long enough, keeping up respectability the while — no animosity seems to exist among the juniors. The expectants are always looking for another death to give them " a step." It is the men of brilliant talent, the real born soldiers, the successful ones of the war, that they hate, and how bitterly they hate them soon appears when a group of juniors get to drinking freely. Then the spite, envy, and jealousy, restrained at other times by official reticence and esj)rit de corps, break out ; and it is rare, very rare, almost unknown, to hear from army officers a single word of frank generous praise of their seniors. They can talk as much\ il-natured gossip as fashionable women / ' 408 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. at a society ball, and for the same reason, each and all, jealousy. The close of the Indian campaign of 1867 was the first experience which came to Custer of the effects of this feeling, and from henceforth it dogged him all his life. In the present instance, the charges were presented by an officer of his own regiment whom he had been compelled to place in arrest for repeated drunkenness on duty, and wdio afterwards had to leave the service for similar offences. They were carefully and inge- niously drawn, and the acts of Custer himself gave them a color of reason. He had left Fort Wallace without direct orders, but governed by military necessity ; he had made a tremendous march ; and some of his men were killed ; and all the main facts were as alleged. The only doubt was as to the intention. Custer in his defence showed that he was acting under the last orders he had received — those from General Sherman — which were to move towards Fort Wallace to meet General Hancock^ who would give him /mother orders. He showed that when he reached Fort Wallace Hancock had already passed through, and that he thought it his duty to follow him personally, to obtain his orders for the future prosecution of the campaign. He showed that while his main command was temporarily quite unfit for active work, the picked detachment he took with him was quite equal to the march, and that he had acted for the best in his journey, to save his men at Fort Wallace from threatened starvation. He showed how, when he arrived at Fort Harker, he found that General Hancock had actually closed the campaign and retired to Fort Leavenworth, and how all his labor had been useless. He showed how he had received express permission from his district commander to go to Fort Riley. He showed in fact, in his written defence, that, what- ever the appearance of his actions, he had done all in the yery spirit as well as letter of the last verbal orders he had received from General Sherman, and he asserted that he should certainly do the like again, were he placed in a similar dilemma with simi- THE COURT MARTIAL. 409 lar orders. He pointed out how he might certainl_y have been charged with cowardice and inefficiency had he remained idlj at Fort Wallace, letting his command rot away piecemeal. All his defence was in vain. The Indian campaign of 1867 was a ridiculous failure, and every army officer in the depart- ment felt sore and angry. It was necessary to find a victim, a scapegoat, some one to cou,rt-martial, some one to hold up as the cause of failure. In tjiis instance Custer was the man selected. For very decency, the court could not find any criminality in his manner of treating the mutineers of the Seventh, but on the first charge and all its important specifica- tions they found him guilty of making the journey on private business, and therefore of a serious breach of discipline. Con- sequently he was sentenced to be suspended from rank and pay for a whole year. Either this sentence was too severe or too light. Had all the accusations been true, and had Custer really made the jour- ney he did on private business, he ought to have been dismissed the service, no matter what his previous record. The lives of brave soldiers are too precious to be sacrificed for the private business of any one, however distinguished. That such could have been his motive is contradicted alike by his earnest protest, and his previous and subsequent record. He never had done such a thing before, and never did after. Ko man was ever found more thorough and devoted to his ideas of duty. True, he was given to exercising his own judgment and discretion as to the proper mode of executing an order, a privilege allowed to all general officers, especially those of the cavalry. At Win- chester and at Sailor's Creek, when receiving an order to charge at a wrong place or an unpropitious moment, he had assumed the responsibility of choosing his own time, and events had justified him fully. He had the example of the great Prus- sian cavalry chief, Seydlitz, as a precedent, and that of many another great cavalry officer. Seydlitz, waiting for his moment at Rossbach (1757), received an order from the king, Frederick 410 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the Great, to charge; and sent back word that he would prefer to choose his own moment if his majesty would permit him. His conduct was approved by the king, and has since been justi- fied by the customs of war. In Custer's present case the worst tliat could be alleged of him on the evidence was an error of judgment, for it was obvious that he fully believed, all the while, that he was doing right and obeying orders. Such an error of judgment would have been amply covered by a reprimand; while a willful dis- obedience of orders, prompted only by private business, could not have been punished too severely. As it was, the court- martial, like all similar bodies, took a middle course. It was necessary to punish some one to silence public sneers, and Cus- ter was the most convenient scapegoat ; so they degraded him, on a flimsy pretence, in 1S67, as he was again degraded on a still more flimsy pretext, nine years later, by another person. They found him guilty of the charges involving disobedience of orders, and gave him such an inadequate sentence for such a heinous offence, that even General Grant, reviewing the sen- tence at a distance, was compelled to notice the fact, and announced that he presumed the court had been so merciful on account of the past services rendered by the accused. So Custer was degraded, and his enemies were for a brief space triumphant. Every elderly respectability in the army, every fossil with the sole merit of long service, every senior who had enjoyed the sweets of bureau duty during the war, every envious drunkard in the army, crowed over the victory, and hugged himself to think that this pushing Custer, this desperate marcher and fighter, this incarnation of restless activity, was out of the way at last, for a year at all events. His absence then was a wonderful relief, as his death is now, to that numerous class of ofiicers who " make a convenience of the service," who are always studying how little they can do with respectability, to M'hom such men as Custer are a constant silent reproach. How they chuckled over the disgrace of this THE COURT MARTIAL. 411 " lucky fellow " this " favorite," this " pet." Truly their turn had come at last and for a while they were happy. After a few months, however, things began to look a little less smooth for " convenience men." "Unluckily for them, behind the army lies the great body of tax-payers, who do not admire the " convenience men," and even apply to them such ignomini- ous slang terms as " dead beats " and " useless soldiers." The great body of tax-payers began to growl, through the medium of some impudent newspapers, and the criticisms on the man- agement of the Indian campaign were the reverse of compli- mentary. The result was that General Sheridan was ordered to take command of this Indian country, and he arrived at Fort Leavenworth, where Custer was tried, just after the promulga- tion of the sentence. Sheridan, as we well know, had a pretty fair acquaintance with the merits of Custer, and was likely to understand his case. What he thought of it is evinced by a single circumstance, though etiquette closed his lips from criti- cism of trial or sentence. When he arrived, he found Custer a disgraced man, out of the service for a year, with no right to quarters and no apparent resource but to go away to Monroe. Sheridan, as department commander, possessed a suite of apartments at Fort Leaven- worth, and he insisted on Custer's occupation of these, just as long as he pleased ; so that instead of being sent home in dis- grace, the young culprit found himself just where he was before, with the sole exception that he was free from duty. Hardly could Sheridan have displayed in a more pointed manner, with- out speaking, his conviction of the injustice and malice of the action in Custer's case than he thus did, and the action is one of the bravest and most creditable of all the brave deeds of that frank, outspoken soldier, whose motto, like Custer's, might well be " Nescio mentireP With Sheridan for his friend, possessing the active sympathy of every good officer in his own regiment, and finally seeing the remorse even of his reckless accuser, Custer could well afford to 412 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. pass the winter at Leavenworth. It was not till the spring that he began to experience the real miseries of his position. "When the Indian campaign came on, and he was compelled to see the regiment depart for active service, wliile he staid behind, then indeed he could no longer bear his position at the scene of action. He broke up his household and returned to Monroe, which he reached in June. The time was coming, though he knew^ it not, for the greatest triumph of his life. Hitherto, the seniority element had had its own way. This summer was to prove whether seniority or merit is the best ally in fighting an active enemy. CHAPTER VI. THE WINTER CAMPAIGK IT can hardly be said that Custer did penance for his mis- deeds in leaving Fort Wallace, by indulgence in sackcloth and ashes to any great extent. He retained, at this period of his life, a great deal of the boy's nature with which he had started. He had gone into his troubles regftrdless of the con- sequences, and having encountered them, was bound to make the best of it. As he tells us, while his regiment, under com- mand of General Sully, as part of a large expedition, was study- ing how to kill Indians, Custer himself was trying to kill time. He pursues with his usual naivette : " My campaign was a decided success. I established my base of operations in a most beautiful little town on the west- ern shores of Lake Erie, from which I projected various hunt- ing, fishing, and boating expeditions. With abundance of friends and companions, and ample success, time passed pleas- antly enough ; yet with all there was a constant longing to be with my comrades in arms in the far West, even while aware of the fact that their campaign was not resulting in any material advantage. I had no reason to believe that I would be per- mitted to rejoin them until the following winter." During the time of Custers enforced retirement, the Indian war languished. In the summer of 1868 General Sully, witli the Seventh Cavalry and some infantry, marched against the com- bined Cheyennes, Arapahoes and Kiowas, whom he struck near the present site of Camp Supply. After quite an animated fight, General Sully gave up the attempt to proceed further, and re- 414 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. tired, substantially defeated. This was in the Indian Territory, not far from the north-western border of Texas. At the same time that Sully was operating down there, General " Sandy " For- syth, with a company of scouts and plainsmen, enlisted for special purposes, was scouting to the north round the Forks of the Republican, the same country where Custer had met Pawnee Killer the previous year. After some successes, Forsyth's party ■was at last surrounded by the Sioux, and besieged in a little island, where the scouts lost all their horses, six men killed, eight crippled for life, and twelve more wounded, out of a total of fifty- one men, the rest being only saved from total annihilation by the arrival of reinforcements. Altogether, the summer campaign against both Northern and Southern Indians had been a failure. The troops had lost men and prestige, the Indians had lost nothing but men killed in action. The fight with Forsyth took place the third week in September, and the fact of his being desperately wounded ren- dered it impossible to rely on him for any more work, while General Sully was getting too old for real active service against such foes as the Indians. It was on the 24th of September that Custer, who was then at Monroe, received the following telegram : ''Headquaeters Department of the Missouri, In the Field, Fort Hays, Kansas, September 24, 1868. "General Gr. A. Custer, Monroe, Michigan: Generals Sherman, Sully, and myself, and nearly all the officers of your regiment, have asked for you, and I hope the ap- plication will be successfuL Can you come at once ? Eleven companies of your regiment will move about the 1st of October against the hostile Indians, from Medicine Lodge creek towards the Wichita mountains. P. H. Sheridan, Major-General Commanding." It may surprise the reader to hear that Custer, if he obeyed this request, disobeyed the letter of the law just as much as when he left Fort Wallace without orders, a proceeding which THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. 415 cost him a3;ear's retirement, owing to the strictures of red tape. He had been by the War Department especially enjoined from taking command of his regiment ; arid his sentence had been approved by the President. No less authority could give him leave to go into the field. However, he decided to take the risk of Sheridan's application being refused, and accordingly started at once. It was almost worth a court-martial and a year's retirement to receive such a despatch. Red tape and envy had sent him home, and tried to get along without him, but red tape and envy were found unequal to the tasks of war. Like law, red tape is all very nice while people choose to sub- rait to it, but it depends on the consent of the governed. In the case of the Indians, as in the case of the Confederates, it proved useless, for both spurned it. A man was wanted, and they had to send for Custer. He telegraphed to Sheridan that he was coming by the next train, and by the next train he went. He was overtaken at a way station by a telegram from the adjutant-general of the army, directing hira to report to Sheridan, so that, for this once, red tape yielded gracefully, and legalized his journey. The rest of his story we shall tell briefly and as much in his own words as " Arriving at Fort Hays," says Custer, " on the morning of the 30th, I found General Sheridan, who had transferred his headquarters temporarily from Fort Leavenworth to that point, in order to be nearer the field of operations. My regiment was at that time on or near the Arkansas River, in the vicinity of Fort Dodge, and about three easy marches from Fort Hays. After remaining at General Sheridan's headquarters one day and re- ceiving his instructions, I set out with a small escort across the country to Fort Dodge to resume command of my regiment. Arriving at Fort Dodge without incident, I found General Sully, who at that time was in command of the district in which my regiment was serving. "With the exception of a few detach- ments, the main body of the regiment was encamped on Bluff 416 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Creek, a small tributary of the Arkansas, the camp being some thirty miles southeast from Fort Dodge. Taking with me the detachment at the fort, I proceeded to the main camp, arriving there in the afternoon." He found his regiment practically in a state of siege, the Indians having become so impudent that they fired into the pickets almost every afternoon, and made the vicinity of the camp decidedly dangerous. His arrival changed matters materially. All that the troops needed was a man like Custer at their head, one who was not afraid of the enemy. The afternoon of his arrival was distin- guished by a skirmish, and the very same night he inaugurated the first scout against the Indians in which the regiment had indulged since General Sully's repulse. Four squadrons were sent out in different directions, each accompanied by scouts, and it is on this occasion that we are first introduced to Custer's great subsequent ally and friend, California Joe, whom he here appointed chief of scouts. He thus describes the meeting, in which Joe received news of his promotion : "After the oflicial portion of the interview had been com- pleted, it seemed proper to Joe's mind, that a more intimate acquaintance between us should be cultivated, as we had never met before. His first interrogatory, addressed to me in fur- therance of this idea, was frankly put as follows : " ' See hyar, Gineral, in order that we hev no misonder- standin', I'd jest like to ask ye a few questions.' " Seeing that I had somewhat of a character to deal with, I signified ray perfect willingness to be interviewed by him. " ' Air you an ambulance man, ur a boss man ? ' " Pretending not to discover his meaning, I requested him to explain. " ' I mean do you b'leve in catchin' Injuns in ambulances or on hossback ? ' " Still assuming ignorance, I replied, ' Well, Joe, I believe in catching Indians wherever we can find them, whether the}' are THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. 417 fonnd in ambulances or on horseback.' This did not satisfy hira. " ' That ain't what I'm drivin' at. S'pose you're after Injuns and really want to hev a tussle with 'em, would ye start after 'em on hossback, or would ye climb into an ambulance and be hauled after 'em ? That's the pint I'm headin' fur.' " I answered that I would prefer the method on horseback, provided I really desired to catch the Indians ; but if I wished them to catch me, I would adopt the ambulance system of attack. " This reply seemed to give him complete satisfaction. " ' You've hit the nail squar on the hed. I've bin with 'em on the plains whar they started out after the Injuns on wheels, jist as ef they war goin' to a town funeral in the states, an' they stood 'bout as many chances uv catch in' Injuns az a six-mule team wud uv catchin' a pack of thievin' Ki-o-tees, jist as much. Why that sort uv work is only fun fur the Injuns ; they don't want anything better. Ye ort to've seen how they peppered it to us, an' we a doin' nuthin' a' the time. Sum uv 'em wuz 'fraid the mules war goin' to stampede and run off with the train an' all our forage and grub, but that wuz impossible ; fur besides the big loads uv corn an' bacon an' baggage the wagons hed in them, thar war from eight to a dozen infantry men piled into them besides. Ye ort to hev heard the quartermaster in charge uv the train tryin' to drive the infantry men out of the wagons and git them into the fight. I 'spect he wuz an Irish- man by his talk, fur he sed to them, " Git out uv thim wagons ; yez'll hev me tried fur disobadience uv ordhers fur marchin' tin min in a wagon whin I've ordhers but fur ait ! ' " Joe's career as a chief scout was cut short. He got drunk the very first night, and another man was put in his place, but as a scout, pure and simple, he remained with Custer the rest of the campaign, and did good service. The first night's expeditions found no Indians. They served however, to accustom the regiment to taking the aggressive 97 418 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. once more ; and the Indians, finding the trails of the four par- ties, realized the fact that their enemies had ceased to fear them. The next move was to transfer the regiment from Bluff Creek to Medicine Lodge Creek, which was done the day after. The reason for the move was that the war-parties that annoyed the camp were said to come from the direction of Medicine Lodge Creek, and it was always Custer's instinct to beat up his enemies in their own quarters. As soon as he started out, the waiting Indians charged his wagon train, which was in the rear, and compelled him to detach two companies for a rear- guard to repel their attacks. Having driven them off without halting, they abandoned the attempt to stop his march, and he established a temporary camp at Medicine Lodge Creek. After scouting a few days in that vicinity, he marched the regiment to Fort Dodge, on the Arkansas Kiver, and put them into camp on the 21st of October, 1868, where they remained till Novem- ber 12th, when they started on the soon-to-be-famous Washita campaign. Custer made this halt in his movement for one purpose. He had found on his arrival in camp, that the Seventh Cavalry was not what it used to be. So many of the old men had deserted, encouraged by the fact that their commander had been court-martialed for stopping desertion, and so many recruits had been put in, that the regiment, as a whole, was greener than when it started. It was full enough as to num- bers, but the men liad not been drilled : they could not ride, they could not shoot, and they were to be pitted against " the best light cavalry in the world." He saw plainly, that if he wanted to get a regiment tit to fight the Indians, he must give it a little training. The three weeks' encampment at Fort Dodge was accordingly devoted to the individual instruction of the men in rifle shooting and riding; and, to secure emulation, he or- ganized a picked body of forty men, to be called the sharpshoot- ers, and to be selected from the men showing the best records of shootinof in the command. These were commanded by Colonel THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. 419 Cook, the same young officer who with Robbins, had defended the train the previous year. The horses of the regiment were then divided off into squadrons, each of a single color, and the result of all the preparations was that, on the 12th of Novem- ber, 1868, Custer led out of camp a smart regiment of horse, able to give a good account of themselves. Hfe had entirely remade the Seventh Cavalry, and he had laid the foundations of a regimental pride which was soon to be consolidated by the triumph of the Washita. Tlie question may now be asked, what was the object of moving out of camp into the Indian country at the very begin- ning of winter. Custer tells the reason in a few words. It was the policy of Sheridan, founded on rude common sense. " We had crossed weapons with the Indians," says Custer, " time and again during the mild summer months, when the rich verdure of the valleys served as bountiful and inexhausti- ble granaries in supplying forage to their ponies, and the immense herds of buffalo and other variety of game roaming undisturbed all over the plains supplied all the food that was necessary to subsist the war parties, and at the same time to allovv their villages to move freely from point to point ; and the experience of both officers and men went to prove that in attempting to fight Indians in the summer season we were yielding to them the advantages of climate and supplies — we were meeting them on ground of their own selection, and at a time when every natural circumstance controlling the result of a campaign was wholly in their favor ; and as a just conse- quence the troops, in nearly all these contests with the red men, had come off second best. " During the fall, when the buffaloes are in the best condi- tion to furnish food, and the hides are suitable to be dressed as robes, or to furnish covering for the lodges, the grand annual hunts of the tribes take place, by which the supply of meat for the winter is procured. This being done, the chiefs determine upon the points at which the village shall be located ; if the 420 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. tribe is a large one, tlie village is often subdivided, one portion or band remaining at one point, other portions choosing locali- ties within a circuit of thirty or fort_y miles. "Even during a moderate winter season, it is barely possible for the Indians to obtain sufficient food for their ponies to keep the latter in anything above a starving condition. Many of the ponies actually die from want of forage, while the remaining ones become so weak and attenuated that it requires several weeks of good grazing in the spring to fit them for service — particularly such service as is required from the war ponies. Guided by these facts, it was evident that if we chose to avail ourselves of the assistance of so exacting and terrible an ally as the frosts of winter — an ally who M'ould be almost as unin- viting to friends as to foes — we might deprive our enemy of his points of advantage, and force him to engage in a combat in which we should do for him what he had hitherto done for us ; compel him to fight upon ground and under circumstances of our own selection. To decide upon making a winter campaign against the Indians was certainly in accordance with that max- im in the art of war which directs one to do that which the enemy neither expects nor desires to be done. At the same time it would dispel the old-fogy idea, which w^as not without supporters in the army, and which was confidently relied on by the Indians themselves, that the winter season was an insur- mountable barrier to the prosecution of a successful campaign." This policy of a winter campaign was inaugurated by Gen- eral Sheridan ; and Custer, with his old eager assent to anything requiring action, cooperated with him lieartily. The regiment being in good trim, thirteen of the Osage Indians, a semi-civil- ized tribe living on their reservations, were engaged as scouts and the expedition started from Fort Dodge, November 12th. It was well planned for success. A train of four hundred wagons, with a guard of infantry, was to accompany the • Seventh Cavalry to the edge of the Indian country, and then establish a depot of supplies, from which the cavalry could move THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. 421 out on a three or four days' march, with a secure basis on which to fall back in " Camp Supply," as the new station was named. Custer was not in command of the whole expedition, but Gen- eral Sully conducted the march in such a manner as to encoun- ter the least possible danger from any Indians that should attack them while encumbered with this enormous supply train. Cus- ter thus describes the arrangements : " The country over which we wei'e to march was favorable to us, as we were able to move our trains in four parallel columns formed close together. This arrangement shortened our flanks and rendered them less exposed to attack. The following morning after reaching Mulberry Creek the march was resumed soon after daylight, the usual order being : the four hundred wagons of the supply train and those belonging to the troops formed in four equal columns ; in advance of the wagons at a proper distance rode the advance guard of cavali-y; a corre- sponding cavalry force formed the rear-guard. The remainder of the cavalry was divided into three equal detachments ; these six detachments were disposed of along the flanks of the col- umn, three on a side, maintaining a distance between themselves and the train of from a quarter to a half mile, while each of them had flanking parties thrown out opposite the train, rendering it impossible for an enemy to appear in any direction without timely notice being received. The infantry on begin- ning the march in the morning were distributed throughout the train in such manner that should the enemy attack, their ser- vices could be rendered most efi"ective. Unaccustomed, how- ever, to field service, particularly marching, the infantry appar- ently were only able to march for a few hours in the early part of the day, when, becoming weary, they would straggle from their companions and climb into the covered wagons, from which there was no determined eflbrt to rout them. In the afternoon there would be little evidence perceptible to the eye that infantry formed any portion of the expedition, save here and there the butt of a musket or point of a bayonet peeping 422 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. out from under the canvas wagon covers, or perhaps an officer of infantry, " treading alone his native heath," or better still, mounted on an Indian pony — the result of some barter with the Indians when times were a little more peaceable, and neither wars nor rumors of wars disturbed the monotony of garrison life." Nothing of interest occurred, however, till the command reached Camp Supply, where it lay some days, when General Sheridan arrived. His arrival was the signal for Custer's eman- cipation from the control of General Sully, whose age and ex- treme caution had served as a continual curb on the fiery young chief of horse ; and he narrates it with evident glee. " Hearing of his near approach, I mounted my horse and was soon galloping beyond the limits of camp to meet him. If there were any persons in the command who hitherto had been in doubt as to whether the proposed winter campaign was to be a reality or otherwise, such persons soon had cause to dispel all mistrust on this point. Selecting from the train a sufficient number of the best teams and wagons to transport our supplies of rations and forage, enough to subsist the command upon for a period of thirty days, our arrangements M-ere soon completed, by which the cavalry, consisting of eleven companies and num- bering between eight and nine hundred men, were ready to re- sume the march. In addition, we were to be accompanied by a detachment of scouts, among the number being California Joe ; also our Indian allies from the Osage tribe, headed by Little Beaver and Hard Kope. As the country in which we were to operate was beyond the limits of the district which constituted the command of General Sully, that officer was relieved from further duty with the troops composing the expedition, and in accordance with his instructions withdrew from Camp Supply and returned to his headquarters at Fort Harker, Kansas, ac- companied by Colonel Keogh, Seventh Cavalry, then holding the position of staff officer at district headquarters. "After remaining at Camp Supply six days, nothing was re- THE WINTER CAMPAIGN. 423 quired but the formal order directing the movement to com- mence. This came in the shape of a brief letter of instructions from Department headquarters. Of course, as nothing was known positively as to the exact whereabouts of the Indian vil- lages, the instructions had to be general in terms. In substance, I was to march mj command in search of the winter hiding- places of the hostile Indians, and wherever found, to administer such punishment for past depredations as my force was able to. On the evening of November 22d, orders were issued to be in readiness to move promptly at daylight the following morning. That night, in the midst of other final preparations for a long separation from all means of communication with absent friends, most of us found time to hastily pen a few parting lines, in- forming them of our proposed expedition, and the uncertainties with which it was surrounded, as none of us knew when or where we should be heard from again, once we bade adieu to the bleak hospitalities of Camp Supply. It began snowing the evening of the 22d, and continued all night, so that when the shrill notes of the bugle broke tlie stilhiess of the morning air at reveille on the 23d, we awoke at four o'clock to find the ground covered with snow to a depth of over one foot, and the storm still raging in full force. Surely this was anything but an inviting prospect as we stepped from our frail canvas shel- ters and found ourselves standing in the constantly and i-apidly increasing depth of snow which appeared in every direction. " ' How will this do for a winter campaign ? ' was the half sarcastic query of the adjutant, as he came trudging back to the tent through a field of snow extending almost to the top of his tall troop boots, after having received the reports of the difierent companies at reveille. ' Just what we want,' was the reply. Little grooming did the shivering horses receive from the equally uncomfortable troopers that morning. Breakfast was served and disposed of more as a matter of form and regu- lation than to satisfy the appetite. It still lacked some minutes of daylight when the various commanders reported their com- 424 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. raands in readiness to move, save the final act of saddling the horses. While the}' were thus employed, I improved the time to gallop through the darkness across the narrow plain to the tents of General Sheridan, and say good-by. I found the headquarter tents wrapped in silence, and at first imagined that no one was yet stirring except the sentinel in front of the General's tent, who kept up his lonely tread, apparently indif- ferent to the beating storm. But I had no sooner given the bridle-rein to my orderly than the familiar tones ot the General called out, letting me know that he was awake, and had been an attentive listener to our notes of preparation. His first greeting was to ask wliat I thought about the snow and the storm. To which I replied that nothing could be more to our purpose. We could move and the Indian villages could not. With an earnest injunction from my chief to keep him in- formed, if possible, should anything important occur, and many hearty wishes for a successful issue to- the campaign, I bade him adieu. By the time I rejoined my men tliey had saddled their horses and were in readiness for the march. ' To horse ' was sounded, and each trooper stood at his horse's head. Then followed the commands ' Prepare to mount ' and ' Mount,' when nothing but the signal 'Advance' was required to put the column in motion. The band took its place at the head of the column, preceded by the guides and scouts, and when the march began it was to the familiar notes of that famous old marching tune, ' The girl I left behind me.' " The Wasliita campaign was begun. CHAPTER VII. BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. THE march of the Seventh Cavaby was begun in the face of the Winding snowstorm ; and before they had gone many miles, even the Indian guides owned that they had lost their way and could not recognize the country till the snow ceased. It had been intended to encamp at Wolf Creek, fifteen miles from Camp Supply, but the guides could not find it. Most men would have stopped, in the face of such obstacles. l!^ot so Custer. He took his course by the pocket compass, be- came his own guide, and reached Wolf Creek in the afternoon. JN^ext morning at dawn the column started, with eighteen inches of snow on the ground, but a clear sky overhead, with a cold north wind. The march was continued with little incident ex- cept the cold, through a country abounding in game, where they found plenty of bufflilo. At last they crossed the Canadian River. The crossing with the wagons occupied the best part of a day, and during that time Major Elliot, with three troops, was despatched on a scout down the Canadian to hunt for Indian sign. So far the column had met no Indians. Bad as the storm was for the soldiers, the Indians had found it still worse. It had made them hug their lodges. The last wagon of the Seventh Cavalry had crossed the ford, and was parked on the plains to the south, when a courier from Major Elliot came dashing in, to report to Custer that Elliot had found the fresh trail of a war party, 150 strong, lead- ing nearly due south, with a trifle of easting. It was evidently that of the last war-party of the season, going home, disgusted 426 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. with the cold weather ; and the snow had given it into Custer's hands. There was no more difficulty about finding the Indian village. Custer's perseverance and pluck in marching away in the midst of a blinding snow storm had been rewarded by " Custer's hick." A little earlier start, and the war party would have probably found him, not he them. As it was, he had the advantage of a surprise: he was in the heart of the Indian country, and as yet unperceived : the snow had proved his sal- vation. The pursuit was almost immediately taken up. Custer gave the regiment just twenty minutes to prepare : then, leaving eighty men, with the poorest horses, as a guard for the wagons, ihe started with the rest, provided only with what supplies could DC carried on the horses, to intercept Major Elliot's party. The train was ordered to follow the trail of the regiment. Custer struck off at an angle, to intercept Elliot's supposed course. That officer, having started the Indian trail twelve miles down the river, and at right angles thereto, it was prob- able that if Custer moved off to the south-east, he would cut the line of march. Just about sunset he found it, but it was not till nine o'clock at night that the whole command overtook Elliot's party, in camp on the trail of the Indians. Then the whole regiment, 800 strong, was reunited at last. They remained an hour in camp, getting supper and feeding the horses ; and at ten resumed the march. They were already in the valley of the "Washita Kiver, and so close to their enemies that henceforth we must let Custer tell the story his own way. He says : As soon as each troop was ,in readiness to resume the pur- suit, the troop commander reported that fact at headquarters. Ten o'clock came and found us in our saddles. Silently the command stretched out its long length as the troopers filed off four abreast. First came two of our Osage scouts on foot i^hese were to follow the trail and lead the command : they were our guides ; and the panther, creeping upon its prey, could not have advanced more cautiously or quietly than did these friendly Indians, as they seemed to glide rather than walk over the BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. #97 snow-clad surface. To prevent the possibility of the command coming precipitately upon our enemies, the two scouts were directed to keep three or four hundred yards in advance of all others ; then came, in single iile, the remainder of our Osage guides and the white scouts — among the rest California Joe. With these I rode, that I might be as near the advance guard as possible. The cavalry followed in rear, at the distance of a quarter or half a mile ; this precaution was necessary, from the fact that the snow, which had thawed slightly during the day, was then freezing, forming a crust which, broken by the tread of so many hundreds of feet, produced a noise capable of being heard at a long distance. Orders were given prohibiting even ' a word being uttered above a whisper. No one was permitted to strike a match or light a pipe — the latter a great deprivation to the soldier. In this silent manner we rode mile after mile. Occasionally an officer would ride by my side and whisper some inquiry or suggestion, but aside from this our march was un- broken b}' sound or deed. At last we discovered that our two guides in front had halted, and were awaiting "my arrival. "Word was quietly sent to halt the column until inquiry in front could be made. Upon coming up with the two Osages we were furnished an example of the wonderful and peculiar powers of the Indian. One of them could speak broken English, and in answer to my question as to "What is the matter?" he replied, " Me don't know, but me smell fire." By this time several of the officers had quietly ridden up, and upon being in- formed of the Osage's remark, each endeavored, by sniffing the air, to verify or disprove the report. All united in saying that our guide was mistaken. Some said he was probably fright- ened, but we were unable to shake the confidence of the Osage warrilgr in his first opinion. I then directed him and his com- panion to advance even more cautiously than before, and the column, keeping up the interval, resumed its march. After proceeding about half a mile, perhaps further, again our guides halted, and upon coming up with them I was greeted with the 428 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. remark, uttered in a whisper, " Me told you so ; " and sure enough, looking in the direction indicated, were to be seen the embers of a wasted lire, scarcely a handful, yet enough to prove that our guide was right, and to cause us to feel the greater confidence in him. The discovery of these few coals of fire produced almost breathless excitement. The distance from where we stood was from seventy-five to a hundred yards, not in the line of our march, but directly to our left, in the edge of the timber. We knew at once that none but Indians, and they hostile, had built that fire. Where were they at that moment ? Perhaps sleeping in the vicinity of the fire. It was almost certain to our minds that the Indians we had been pursuing were the builders of the fire. Were they still there and asleep ? We were too near already to attempt to withdraw undiscovered. Our only course was to determine the facts at once, and be prepared for the worst. I called for a few volun- teers to quietly approach the fire and discover whether there were Indians in the vicinity ; if not, to gather such information as was obtainable, as to their numbers and departure. All the Osages, and a few of the scouts quickly dismounted, and with rifles in readiness and fingers on the triggers, silently made their wa}^ to the nearest point of the timber, Little,Beaver and Hard Eope leading the way. After they had disappeared in the timber, they still had to pass over more than half the dis- tance, before reaching the fire. These moments seemed like hours, and those of us who were left sitting on our horses, in the open moonlight, and within easy range from the spot where the tire was located, felt anything but comfortable during this suspense. If Indians, as then seemed highly probable, were sleeping around the fire, our scouts would arouse them and we would be in a fair way to be picked ofi" without being in a posi- tion to defend ourselves. The matter was soon determined. Our scouts soon arrived at the fire, and discovered it to be deserted. Again did the skill and knowledge of our Indian allies come in play. Had they not been with us, we should BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 429 inidoubtedlj have assumed that the Indians who had had occa- sion to build the fire and those we were pursuing constituted one party. From examining the lire and observing the great number of pony tracks in the snow, the Osages arrived at a dif- ferent conchision, and were convinced that we were then on the ground used by the Indians for grazing their herds of ponies. The lire had been kindled by the Indian boys, who attend to the herding, to warm themselves by, and in all probability we were then within two or three miles of the village. I will not endeavor to describe the renewed hope and excitement that sprang up. Again we set out, this time more cautiously if possible, than before, the command and scouts moving at a greater distance in rear. In order to judge of the situation more correctly, I this time accompanied the two Osages. Silently we advanced, I mounted, they on foot, keeping at the head of my horse. Upon nearing the crest of each hill, as is invariably the Indian custom, one of the guides would hasten a few steps in advance, and peer cau- tiously over the hill. Accustomed to this, I was not struck by observing it until once, when the same one who had discovered the lire advanced cautiously to the crest, and looked carefully into the valley beyond. I saw him place his hand above his eyes as if looking intently at some object, then crouch down and come creeping back to where I waited for him. " What is if?'' I inquired as soon as he reached my horse's side. ''Heaps Injuns down there," pointing in the direction from which he had just come. Quickly dismounting and giving the reins to the other guide, I accompanied the Osage to the crest, both of us crouching low so as not to be seen in the moonlight against the horizon. Looking in the direction indicated, I could indistinctly recognize the presence of a large body of animals of some kind in the valley below, and at a dis- tance which then seemed not more than half a mile. I looked at them long and anxiously, the guide uttering not a word, but was unable to discover anything in their appearance difier- 430 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ent from what might be presented by a herd of buffalo under similar circumstances. Turning to the Osage, I inquired in a low tone why he thought there were Indians there. " Me heard dog bark," was the satisfactor}'- reply. Indians are noted for the large number of dogs always found in their villa- ges, but never accompanying their war parties. I waited quietly to be convinced ; I was assured, but wanted to be doubly so. I was rewarded in a moment by hearing the bark- ing of a dog in the heavy timber off to the right of the herd, and soon after I heard the tinkling of a small bell ; this con- vinced me that it was really the Indian herd I then saw, the bell being one worn around the neck of some pony who was probably the leader of the herd. I turned to retrace my steps when another sound was borne to my ear through the cold, clear atmosphere of the valley — it was the distant cry of an infant ; and savages though they were, and justly outlawed by the number and atrocity of their recent murders and depreda- tions on the helpless settlers of the frontier, I could but regret that in a war such as we were forced to engage in, the mode and circumstances of battle would possibly prevent discrimi- nation. Leaving the two Osages to keep a careful lookout, I has- tened back until I met the main party of the scouts and Osages. They were halted and a message sent back to halt the cavalry, enjoining complete silence, and directing every officer to ride to the point we then occupied. The hour was past midnight. Soon they came, and after dismounting and collecting in a little circle, I informed them of what I had seen and heard ; and in order that they might individually learn as much as possible of the character of the ground and the location of the village, I proposed that all should remove their sabres, that their clanking might make no noise, proceed gently to the crest and there obtain a view of the valley beyond. This was done ; not a word was spoken until we crouched together and cast our eyes in the direction of the herd and village. In whispers I BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 431 briefly pointed out everything that was to be seen, then mo- tioned all to return to where we had left our sabres ; then, standing in a group upon the ground or crust of snow, the plan of the attack was explained to all and each assigned his part. The general plan was to employ the hours between then and dayliglit to completely surround the village, and, at daybreak, or as soon as it was barely light enough for the purpose, to attack the Indians from all sides. The command, numbering as has been stated, about eight hundred mounted men, was divided into four nearly equal detachments. Two of them set out at once, as they had each to make a circuitous march of several miles in order to arrive at the points assigned them from which to make their attack. The third detachment moved to its position about an hour before day, and until that time remained with the main or fourth column. This last, whose movements T accompanied, was to make the attack from the point from which we had first discovered the herd and village. Major Elliot commanded the column embracing G, H and M troops. Seventh Cavalry, which moved around from our left to a position almost in rear of the village ; while Colonel Thompson commanded the one consisting of B and F troops, which moved in a corresponding manner from our right to a position which was to connect with that of Major Elliot. Colonel Myers com- manded the third column, composed of E and I troops, which was to take position in the valley and timber a little less than a mile to my right. By this disposition it was hoped to pre- vent the escape of every inmate of the village. That portion of the command which I proposed to accompany consisted of A, C, D, and K troops, Seventh Cavalry, the Osages and scouts, and Colonel Cook with his forty sharpshooters. Captain Hamil- ton commanded one of the squadrons. Colonel West the other. After the first two columns had departed for their posts — it was still four hours before the hour of attack — the men of the other two columns were permitted to dismount, but much intense suffering was unavoidably sustained. The night grew 432 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. extremely cold towards morning; no fires of course could be permitted, and the men were even ordered to desist from stamping their feet and walking back and forth to keep warni, as the crushing of the snow beneath produced so much noise that it might give the alarm to our wily enemies. During all these long weary hours of this terribly cold and comfortless night each man sat, stood, or lay on the snow by his horse, holding to the rein of the latter. The officers, buttoning their huge overcoats closely about them, collected in knots of four or five, and, seated or reclining npon the snow's hard crust, discussed the probabilities of the coming battle — for battle we knew it would be, and we could not hope to conquer or kill the warriors of an entire village without suffering in i-eturn more or less injury. Some, wrapping their capes about their heads, spread themselves at full length upon the snow and were appar- ently soon wrapped in deep slumber. After being satisfied that all necessary arrangements were made for the attack, I imitated the example of some of my comrades, and gathering the cavalry cape of my great coat about my head, lay down and slept soundly for perhaps an hour. At the end of that time I awoke, and on consulting my watch found there remained nearly two hours before we would move to the attack. Walking about among the horses and troopers, I found the latter generally hud- dled at the feet of the former in squads of three and four, in the endeavor to keep warm. Occasionally I would find a small group engaged in conversation, the muttered tones and voices strangely reminding me o^ those heard in the death-chamber. The officers had disposed of themselves in similar but various ways ; here at one place were several stretched out together upon the snow, the body of one being used by the others as a pillow. Nearly all were silent ; conversation had ceased, and those who were prevented by the severe cold from obtaining sleep were no doubt fully occupied in their minds with thoughts upon the morrow and the fate that might be in store for them. Seeing a small group collected under the low branches of a tree BATTLE OF THE WASPIITA. 433 which stood a little distance from the ground occupied by the troops, I made my waj^ there to find the Osage warriors, with their chiefs, Little Beaver and Hard Rope. They were wrapped up in their blankets, sitting in a circle, and had evidently made no effort to sleep during the night. It was plain to be seen that they regarded the occasion as a momentous one, and that the coming battle had been the sole subject of their conference. What the views expressed by them were, I did not learn until after the engagement was fought, when they told me what ideas they had entertained regarding the manner in which the white men would probably conduct and terminate the struggle next day. After the success of the day was decided, the Osages told me that, with the suspicion so natural and peculiar to the Indian nature, they had, in discussing the proposed attack upon the Indian village, concluded that we would be outnumbered by the occupants of the village, who of course would light with the utmost desperation in defence of their lives and lodges, and to prevent a complete defeat of our forces or to secure a drawn battle, we might be induced to engage in a parley with the hos- tile tribe, and on coming to an agreement we would probably, to save ourselves, offer to yield up our Osage allies as a compro- mise measure between our enemies and ourselves. They also mistrusted the ability of the whites to make a successful attack upon a hostile village, located — as this one was known to be — in heavy timber, and aided by the 'natural banks of the stream. Disaster seemed certain in the minds o^the Osages to follow us, if we attacked a force of unknown strength and numbers ; and the question with them was to secure such a position in the at- tack as to be able promptly to detect any move disadvantageous to them. With this purpose they came to the conclusion that the standard-bearer was a very important personage, and neither he nor his standard would be carried into danger or exposed to the bullets of the enemy. They determined therefore to take' their station immediately behind my standard-bearer when the lines became formed for attack to follow him during the action, 28 434 GENERAL GEORGE A, CUSTER. and thus be able to watch onr movements, and if we were suc- cessful over our foes to aid us; if the battle should go against us, then they, being in a safe position, could take advantage of circumstances and save themselves as best they might. Turning from our Osage friends, who were, unknown to us, entertaining such doubtful opinions as to our fidelity to them, I joined another group near by, consisting of most of the white scouts. Here were California Joe and several of his compan- ions. One of the latter deserves a passing notice. He was a low, heavy-set Mexican, with features resembling somewhat those of the Ethiopian — thiv^k lips, depressed nose, and low forehead. He was quite a .young man, probably not more than twenty-five years of age, but had passed the greater portion of his life with the Indians, had adopted their habits of life and modes of dress, and had married among them. Familiar with the language of the Cheyennes and other neighboring tribes, he was invaluable both as a scout and interpreter. His real name was Komero, but some of the oflScers of the command, with whom he was a sort of favorite, had dubbed him Romeo, and by this name he was always known, a sobriquet to which he responded as readily as if he had been christened under it ; never protesting, like the original Romeo : Tut, I have lost myself ; I am not here ; This is not Romeo, he's some other where. The scouts, like nearly all the other members of the com- mand, had been interchanging opinions as to the result of the movements of the following day. Not sharing the mistrust and suspicion of the Osage guides, yet the present experience was in many respects new to them, and to some the issue seemed at least shrouded in uncertainty. Addressing the group, I be- gan the conversation with the question as to what they thought of the prospect of our having a fight. " Fight ! " responded California Joe ; " I havn't nary doubt concernin' that part uv the business; what Pve been tryin' to get through my topknot BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 435 all night is whether we'll run aginst more than we bargain fur." " Then you do not think the Indians will run away, Joe ? " " Eun away ! How in creation can Injnns or anybody else run away when we'll have 'em clean surrounded afore daylight ? " " Well, suppose then that we succeed in surrounding the vil- lage, do 3^ou think we can hold our own against the Indians ? " " That's the very pint that's been botherin' me ever since we planted ourselves down here, and the only conclusion I kin com.e at is that it's purty apt to be one thing or t'other ; if we jump these Injuns at daylight, we're either goin' to make a spoon or spile a horn, an' that's my candid judgment, sure. One thing's sartin, ef thenj Injuns doesn't har anything uv us till we open on 'em at daylight, they'll be the most powerful 'stonished redskins that's been in these parts lately — they will, sure. An' ef we git the bulge on 'em and keep puttin' it to 'em sort a lively like, we'll sweep the platter — thar won't be nary trick left for 'em. As the deal stands now, we hold the keerds and are holdin' over 'em ; they've got to straddle our blind or throw up their hands. Howsomever, thar's a mightj^ sight in the draw." The night passed in quiet. I anxiously watched the open- ing signs of dawn in order to put the column in motion. We were only a few hundred yards from the point from which we were to attack. The moon disappeared about two hours before dawn, and left us enshrouded in thick and utter darkness, mak- ing the time seem to drag even slower than before. At last faint signs of approaching day were visible, and I proceeded to collect the officers, awakening those who slept. We were standing in a group near the head of the column, when suddenly our attention was attracted by a remarkable sight, and for a time we felt that the Indians had discovered our presence. Directly beyond the crest of the hill which separated us from the village, and in a line with the supposed location of the latter, we saw rising slowly but perceptibly, as we thought, up from the village, and appearing in bold relief against the dark sky as 436 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. a background, something which we could only compare to a signal rocket, except that its motion was slow and regular. All eyes were turned to it in blank astonishment, and but one idea seemed to be entertained, and that was that one or both of the attacking columns under Elliot or Thompson had encountered a portion of the village, and this that we saw was the signal to other por- tions of the band near at hand. Slowly and majestically it con- tinued to rise above the crest of the hill, first appearing as a small brilliant flaming globe of bright golden hue. As it as- cended still higher it seemed to increase in size, to move more slowly, while its colors rapidly changed from one to the other, exhibiting in turn the most beautiful combinations of prismatic tints. There seemed to be not the shadow of a doubt that we were discovered. The strange apparition in the heavens main- tained its steady course upward. One anxious spectator, ob- serving it apparently at a standstill, exclaimed, " How long it hangs fire ! why don't it explode ? *' still keeping the idea of a signal rocket in mind. It had risen perhaps to the height of half a degree above the horizon as observed from our position, when, lo ! the mystery was dispelled. Rising above the mysti- fying influences of the atmosphere, that which had appeared so suddenly before us, and excited our greatest apprehensions, de- veloped into the brightest and most beautiful of morning stars. Often since that memorable morning have I heard officers re- mind each other of the strange appearance which had so excited our anxiety and alarm. In less perilous moments we probably would have regarded it as a beautiful phenomenon of nature, of which so many are to be witnessed through the pure atmos- phere of the plains. All were ordered to get ready to advance ; not a word to officer or men was spoken above undertone. It began growing lighter in the east, and we moved forward toward the crest of the hill. Up to this time two of the officers and one of the Osages had remained on the hill overlooking the valley beyond, so as to detect any attempt at a movement on the part of the BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 437 village below. These now rejoined the troops. Colonel West's squadron was formed in line on the right, Captain Hamilton's squadron in line on the left, while Colonel Cook with his forty sharpshooters was formed in advance of the left, dis- mounted. Although the early morning air was freezingly cold, the men were directed to remove their overcoats and ha- versacks, so as to render them free in their movements. Before advancing beyond the crest of the hill, strict orders were issued prohibiting the firing of a single shot until the signal to attack should be made. The other three detachments had been in- formed before setting out that the main column would attack promptly at daylight, without waiting to ascertain whether they were in position or not. In fact it would be impracticable to communicate with either of the first two until the attack began. The plan was for each party to approach as closely to the village as possible without being discovered, and there await the ap- proach of daylight. The regimental band was to move with my detachment, and it was understood that the band should strike up the instant the attack opened. Colonel Myers, commanding the third party, was also directed to move one-half of his de- tachment dismounted. In this order we began to descend the slope leading down to the village. The distance to the timber in the valley proved greater than it had appeared to the eye in the darkness of the night. We soon reached the outskirts of the herd of ponies. The latter seemed to recognize us as hos- tile parties and moved quickly away. The light of day was each minute growing stronger, and w^e feared discovery before we could approach near enough to charge the village. The movement of our horses over the crusted snow produced con- siderable noise, and would doubtless have led to our detection, but for the fact that the Indians, if they heard it at all, pre- sumed it was occasioned by their herd of ponies. I would have given much at that moment to know the whereabouts of the two columns first sent out. Had they reached their assigned positions, or had unseen and unknown obstacles delayed or mis- 438 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. led them ? These were questions which could not then be an- swered. We had now reached the level of the valley, and began advancing in line toward the heavy timber in which, and close at hand, we knew the village was situated. Immediately in rear of my horse came the band, all mounted, and each with his instrument in readiness to begin playing the moment their leader, who rode at their head, and who kept his cornet to his lips, should receive the signal. I had previously told liim to play "Garry Owen" as the opening piece. We had approached near enough to the village now to plainly catch a view here and there of the tall white lodges as they stood in irregular order among the ti-ees. From the openings at the top of some of them we could perceive faint columns of smoke ascending, the occupants no doubt having kept up their feeble fires during the entire night. We had approached so near the village that from the dead silence which reigned I feared the lodges were deserted, the Indians having fled before we ad- vanced. I was about to turn in my saddle and direct the signal for attack to be given — still anxious as to where the other detachments were — when a single rifleshot rang sharp and clear on the far side of the village from where we were.- Quickly turning to the band leader, I directed him to give us " Garry Owen." At once the rollicking notes of that familiar marching and fighting air sounded forth through the valley, and in a moment were re-echoed back from the opposite sides by the loud and continued cheers of the men of the other detachments, who, true to their orders, were there and in readiness to pounce upon the Indians the moment the attack began.- In this man- ner the battle of the Washita commenced. The bugle sounded the charge, and the entire command dashed rapidly into the village. The Indians were caught napping; but realizing at once the dangers of their situation, they quickly overcame their first surprise, in an instant seized their rifles, bows, and arrows, and sprang behind the nearest trees, while some leaped into the stream, nearly waist deep, and using the bank as a rifle- BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 439 pit, began a vigorous and determined defence. Mingled with the exultant cheers of my men could be heg,rd the defiant war- whoop of the warriors, who from the first fought with a despera- tion and courage which no race of men could surpass. Actual possession of the village and its lodges was ours within a few moments after the charge was made, but this was an empty vic- tory unless we could vanquish the late occupants, who were then pouring in a rapid and well-directed fire from their stations behind trees and banks. At the first onset a considerable num- ber of the Indians rushed from the village in the direction from- which Elliot's party had attacked. Some broke through the lines, while others came in contact with the mounted troopers, and were killed or captured. We had gained the centre of the village, and were in the midst of the lodges, while on all sides could be heard the sharp crack of the Indian rifles and the responses from the carbines of the troopers. After disposing of the smaller and scattering parties of warriors, who had attempted a movement down the valley, and in which some were successful, there was but little opportunity left for the successful employment of mounted troops. As the Indians by this time had taken cover behind loofs and trees, and under the banks of the stream which flowed through the centre of the village, from which stronghold it was impracticable to dislodge them by the use of mounted men, a large portion of the command was at once ordered to fight on foot, and the men were instructed to take advantage of the trees and other natural means of cover, and fight the Indians in their own style. Cook's sharpshooters had adopted this method from the first, and with telling effect. Slowly but steadily the Indians were driven from behind the trees, and those who escaped the carbine bullets posted themselves with their com- panions who were already firing from the banks. One party of troopers came upon a squaw endeavoring to make her escape, leading by the hand a little white boy, a prisoner in the hands of the Indians, and who doubtless had been captured by some 44:0 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of their war parties during a raid upon the settlements. Who or where his parents were, or whether still alive or murdered by the Indians, will never be known, as the squaw, finding her- self and prisoner about to be surrounded by the troops, and her escape cut off, determined, with savage malignity, that the triumph of the latter should not embrace the rescue of the white boy. Casting her ej^es quickly in all directions, to con- vince herself that escape was impossible, she drew from beneath her blanket a huge knife and plunged it into the almost naked body of her captive. The next moment retributive justice reached her in the shape of a well-directed bullet from one of the troopers' carbines. Before the men could reach them life was extinct in the bodies of both the squaw and her unknown captive. The desperation with which the Indians fought may be inferred from the following : Seventeen w^arriors had posted themselves in a depression in the ground, which enabled them to protect their bodies completely from tlie fire of our men, and it was only when the Indians raised their heads to fire that the troopers could aim with any prospect of success. All efforts to drive the warriors from this point proved abortive, and resulted in severe loss to our side. They were only van- quished by our men securing position under cover and picking them ofl' by sharpshooting as they exposed themselves to get a shot at the troopers. Finally the last one was despatched in this manner. In a deep ravine near the suburbs of the village the dead bodies of thirty-eight warriors were, reported after the fight terminated. Many of the squaws and children had very prudently not attempted to leave the village when we attacked it, but remained concealed inside their lodges. All these escaped injury, although when surrounded by the din and wild excitement of the fight, and in close proximity to the contend- ing parties, their fears overcame some of them, and they gave vent to their despair by singing the death song, a combination of weird-like sounds which were suggestive of anything but BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 441 musical tones. As soon as we had driven the warriors from the village, and the fighting was puslied to the country outside, I directed " Komeo," the interpreter, to go around to all the lodges and assure the squaws and children remaining in them that they would be unharmed and kindly cared for ; at the same time he was to assemble them in the large lodges designated for that purpose, which were standing near the centre of the vil- lage. This was quite a delicate mission, as it was difficult to convince the squaws and children that they had any thing but death to expect at our hands. It was perhaps ten o'clock in the forenoon, and the fight was still raging, when to our surprise we saw a small party of Indians collected on a knoll a little over a mile below the vil- lage, and in the direction taken by those Indians who had ef- fected an escape through our lines at the commencement of the attack. My surprise was not so great at first, as I imagined that the Indians we saw were those who had contrived to es- cape, and having procured their ponies from the herd, had mounted them, and were then anxious spectators of the fight, which they felt themselves too weak in numbers to participate in. In the meantime the herds of ponies belonging to the vil- lage, on being alarmed by the firing and shouts of the contest- ants, had, from a sense of imagined security or custom, rushed into the village, where details of troopers were made to receive them. California Joe, who had been moving about in a pro- miscuous and independent manner, came galloping into the village, and reported that a large herd of ponies was to be seen near by, and requested authority and some men to bring them in. The men were otherwise employed just then, but he was authorized to collect and drive in the herd if practicable. He departed on his errand, and I had forgotten all about him and the ponies, when in the course of half an hour I saw a herd of nearly three hundred ponies coming on the gallop toward the village, driven by a couple of squaws, who were mounted, and had been concealed near by, no doubt ; while bringing up the 442 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. rear was California Joe, riding his favorite mule, and whirling about his head a long lariat, using it as a whip in urging the herd forward. He had captured the squaws while endeavoring to secure the ponies, and verj wisely had employed his captives to assist in driving the herd. By this time the group of Indians already discovered outside our lines had increased until it num- bered upwards of a hundred. Examining them through my field glass, I could plainly perceive that they were all mounted warriors; not only that, but they were armed and caparisoned in full war costume, nearly all wearing the bright-colored war- bonnets and floating their lance pennants. Constant accessions to their numbers were to be seen arriving from beyond the hill on which they stood. All this seemed inexplicable. A few Indians might have escaped through our lines when the attack on the village began, but only a few, and even these must have gone with little or nothing in their possession save their rifles and perhaps a blanket. Who could these new parties be, and from whence came they ? To solve these troublesome ques- tions I sent for " Eomco," and taking him with me to one of the lodges occupied by the squaws, I interrogated one of the latter as to who were the Indians to be seen assembling on the hill below the village. She informed me, to a surprise on my part almost equal to that of the Indians at our sudden appear- ance at daylight, that just below the village we then occupied, and which was a part of the Cheyenne tribe, were located in succession the winter villages of all the hostile tribes of the southern plains with which we were at war, including the Ar- apahoes, Kiowas, the remaining band of Cheyennes, the Co- manches, and a portion of the Apaches ; that the nearest vil- lage was about two miles distant, and the others stretched along through the timbered valley to the one furthest off, which was not over ten miles. What was to be done ? — for I needed no one to tell me that we were certain to be attacked, and that, too, by greatly supe- rior numbers, just as soon as the Indians below could make their BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 443 arrangements to do so ; and they had probably been busily employed at these arrangements ever since the sound of firing had reached them in the early morning, and been reported from village to village. Fortunately, affairs took a favorable turn in the combat in which we were then engaged, and the firing had almost died away. Only here and there where some warrior still maintained his position was the fight continued. Leaving as few men as possible to look out for these, I hastily collected and re-formed my command, and posted them in readiness for the attack which we all felt w^as soon to be made ; for already at difi'erent points and in more than one direction we could see more than enough warriors to outnum- ber us, and we knew they were onl}^ waiting the arrival of the chiefs and warriors from the lower villages before making any move against us. In the meanwhile our temporary hospital had been established in the centre of the village, where the w^ounded were receiving such surgical care as circumstances would permit. Our losses had been severe ; indeed we were not then aware how great they had been. Plamilton, who rode at my side as we entered the village, and whose soldierly tones I heard for the last time as he calmly cautioned his squadron, " Now, men, keep cool, fire low, and not too rapidly," was among the first victims of the opening charge, having been shot from his saddle by a bullet from an Indian rifle. He died instantly. His lifeless remains were tenderly carried by some of his troop- ers to the vicinity of the hospital. Soon afterward I saw four troopers coming from the front bearing between them, in a blanket, a wounded soldier ; galloping to them, I discovered Colonel Barnitz, another troop commander, who was almost in a dying condition, having been shot by a rifle bullet directly through the body in the vicinity of the heart. Of Major Elliot, the ofiicer second in rank, nothing had been seen since the attack at daylight, when he rode with his detachment into the village. He, too, had evidentlj' been killed, but as yet we knew not where or how he had fallen. Two other ofiicers had received 444: GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. wounds, while the casualties among the enlisted men were also large. The sergeant-major of the regiment, who was with me when the first shot was heard, had not been seen since that moment. We were not in as effective condition by far as when the attack was made, yet we were soon to be called upon to contend against a force immensely superior to the one with which we had been engaged during the early hours of the day. The captured herds of ponies were carefully collected inside our lines, and so guarded as to prevent their stampede or recapture by the Indians. Our wounded, and the immense amount of captured property in the way of ponies, lodges, etc., as well as our prisoners, were obstacles in the way of our attempting an offensive movement against the lower villages. To have done this would have compelled us to divide our forces, when it was far from certain that we could muster strength enough united to repel the attacks of the combined tribes. On all sides of ns the Indians could now be seen in considerable numbers, so that from being the surrounding party, as we had been in the morn- ing, we now found ourselves surrounded and occupyin.g the position of defenders of the village. Fortunately for us, as the men had been expending a great many rounds, Major Bell, the quartermaster, who with a small escort was endeavoring to reach us with a fresh supply of ammunition, had by constant exertion and hard marching succeeded in doing so, and now appeared on the ground with several thousand rounds of car- bine ammunition, a reinforcement greatly needed. He had no sooner arrived safel}' than the Indians attacked from the direc- tion from which he came. How he had managed to elude their watchful eyes, I never could comprehend, unless their attention had been so completely absorbed in watching our movements inside as to prevent them from keeping an eye out to discover what might be transpiring elsewhere. Issuing a fresh supply of ammunition to those most in want of it, the fight soon began generall}'- at all points of the circle, for such in reality had our line of battle become — a continuous BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 445 and unbroken circle, of which the village was about the centre. Notwithstanding the great superiority in numbers of the Indi- ans, they fought with excessive prudence and a lack of that con- fident manner which they usually manifest when encountering greatly inferior numbers — a result due, no doubt, to the fate which had overwhelmed our first opponents. Besides, the tim- ber and the configuration of the ground enabled us to keep our men concealed until their services were actually required. It seemed to be the design and wish of our antagonists to di-a\v us away from the village ; but in this plan they were foiled. See- ing that they did not intend to press the attack just then, about two hundred of my men were ordered to pull down the lodges in the village and collect the captured property in huge piles preparatory to burning. This was done in the most effectual manner. "When everything had been collected the torch was applied, and all that was left of the village were a few heaps of blackened ashes. Whether enraged at the sight of this destruc- tion or from other cause, the attack soon became general along our entire line, and was pressed with so much vigor and auda- city that every available trooper was I'equired to aid in m.eeting these assaults. The Indians would push a party of well-mounted warriors close up to our lines in the endeavor to find a weak point through which the}^ might venture, but in every attempt were driven back. I now concluded, as the village was off our hands and our wounded had been collected, that offensive meas- ures might be adopted. To this end several of the squadrons were mounted and ordered to advance and attack the enemy wherever force sufficient was exposed to be a proper object of attack, but at the same time to be cautious as to ambuscades. Colonel "Weir, who had succeeded to the command of Hamilton's squadron. Colonels Benteen and Myers with their respective squadrons, all mounted, advanced and engaged the enemy. The Indians resisted every step taken by the troops, while every charge made by the latter was met or followed by a charge from the Indians, who continued to appear in large numbers at un- 446 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. expected times and places. The squadrons acting in support of each other, and the men in each being kept well in hand, were soon able to force the line held by the Indians to yield at any point assailed. This being followed up promptly, the Indians were driven at every point and forced to abandon the field to ns. Yet they would go no further than they were actually driven. It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon. I knew that the officer left in charge of the train and eighty men would push after us, follow our trail, and endeavor to reach us at the earliest practicable moment. From the tops of some of the highest peaks or round hills in the vicinity of the village I knew the Indians could reconnoitre the country for miles in all directions. I feared if we remained as we were then until the following day, the Indians might in this manner discover the approach of our train and detach a sufiicient body of warriors to attack and capture it ; and its loss to us, aside from that of its guard, would have proven most serious, leaving us in the heart of the enemy's country, in midwinter, totally out of supplies for both men and horses. By actual count we had in our possession eight hundred and seventy-five captured ponies, so wild and unused to white men that it was difficult to herd them. What we were to do with them was puzzling, as they could not have been led had we been possessed of the means of doing this ; neither could we drive them as the Indians were accustomed to do. And even if we could take them with us, either the one way or the other, it was anything but wise and desirable on our part to do so, as such a large herd of ponies, constituting so much wealth in the eyes of the Indians, would have been too tempting a prize to the warriors who had been fighting us all the afternoon, and to efiect their recapture they would have waylaid us day and night, with every prospect of success, until we should have arrived at a place of safety. Besides, we had upwards of sixty prisoners in our hands, to say nothing of our wounded, to embarrass our movements. We had achieved a great and important success BATTLE OP THE WASHITA. 447 over the hostile tribes ; tiie problem now was how to retain our advantage and steer safely through the difficulties which seemed to surround our position. The Indians had suffered a telling defeat, involving great losses in life and valuable property. Could they succeed, however, in depriving us of the train and supplies, and in doing this accomplish the killing or capture of the escort, it would go far to offset the damage we had been able to inflict upon them and to render our victory an empty one. We did not need the ponies, while the Indians did. If we retained them they might conclude that one object of our expe- dition against them was to secure plunder, an object thorouglily consistent with the red man's idea of war. Instead, it was our de- sire to impress upon their uncultured minds that our every act and purpose had been simply to inflict deserved punishment upon them for the many mui-ders and other depredations committed by them in and around the homes of the defenceless settlers on the frontier. Impelled by these motives, I decided neither to attempt to take the ponies with us nor to abandon them to the Indians, but to adopt tlie only measure left — to kill them. To accomplish this seemingly — like most measm-es of war — cruel but necessary act, four companies of cavalrymen were detailed dismounted, as a firing party. Before they reluctantly engaged in this uninviting work, I took Eomeo, the interpreter, and pro- ceeded to the few lodges near the centre of the village which we had reserved from destruction, and in which M'ere collected the prisoners, consisting of upward of sixty squaws and children. Komeo was directed to assemble the prisoners in one body, as I desired to assure them of kind treatment at our hands, a subject about which they were greatly wrought up ; also to tell them what we should expect of them, and to inform them of our in- tention to march probably all that night, directing them at the same time to proceed to the herd and select therefrom a suita- ble number of ponies to carry the prisoners on the march. When Komeo had collected them in a single group, he, acting as interpreter, acquainted them with my purpose in calling 4:48 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. them together, at the same time assuring them that they could rely confidently upon the fulfilment of any promises I made them, as I was the " big chief." The Indians refer to all offi- cers of a command as " chiefs," while the officer in command is designated as the " big chief." After I had concluded what I desired to say to them, they signified their approval and satis- faction by gathering around me and going through an extensive series of hand-shaking. One of the middle-aged squaws then informed Romeo that she wished to speak on behalf of herself and companions. So far we have followed Custer's direct narrative and now resume our own. This squaw last mentioned, turned out to be the sister of Bhick Kettle, chief of the band Custer had struck; she bemoaned the wickedness of Black Kettle, and told Custer how only that night the last war-party returned with white scalps and plunder, and how they got so drunk that the white man was able to ride into their lodges next morning, before they woke up. She concluded by remind- ing him that it was his duty to help the helpless, and offered him a young girl in marriage. As soon as the general found from the interpreter what she was doing, he declined the honor, though not till Mahwissa — the old squaw's name — had per- formed the whole of the Indian part of the ceremony, which consisted in placing the girl's hand in Custer's, and invoking the Great Spirit on the union. The general asked Romeo the scout what could have been Mahwissa's object in this mar- riage, and received the following very plain reply : " Well, I'll tell ye ; ef you'd 'a married that squaw, then she'd 'a told ye that all the rest of 'em were her kinfolks, and as a nateral sort of a tiling you'd 'a been expected to kind o' pro- vide and take keer of your wife's relations. That's jist as I tell it to you — fur don't I know ? Didn't I marry a young Chey- enne squaw, and give her old father two of my best ponies for her, and it wasn't a week till ever tarnal Injun in the village, old and young, came to my lodge, and my squaw tried to make BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. 4i9 me b'lieve they were all relations of hern, and that I ought to give 'em some grub; but I didn't do nothin' of the sort." " Well, how did you get out of it, Romeo ? " " Get out of it ? Why, I got out by jist takin' my ponies and traps, and the first good chance I lit out ; that's how I got out. I was satisfied to marry one or two of 'em, but M'hen it come to manyin' an intire tribe, 'scuse me." The end of the matter was that the squaws took their ponies from the herd, and that the rest of the animals were shot. Search was then made for the killed, wounded and missing of the command, of which all, except Major Elliot and nineteen troopers, were found. These last were never heard of again till their bodies were discovered some weeks later. It seems that a party of Indians, at the beginning of the attack on the village, had escaped through a gap in the lines of the cavalry, that Elliot had pursued them, and run into the large force that was then hovering round Custer, fearing to attack him. Hav- ing fruitlessly searched for the major, it was rightly concluded that he and his party had been attacked and killed, and Custer prepared for his return march. Placing his prisoners in the centre, he first deployed his forces and marched straight down the river at the threatening parties of Indians from the other villages, with colors displayed and band playing. His intention was to strike consternation into their hearts, and make them think he was about to serve them as he had served Black Kettle's band. The movement had all the effect he desired. The Indians fled in confusion, leaving only a few warriors to hover around him and watch him. He did not start till within an hour of sunset, and his feint diverted Indian attention from his wagon train, which he knew must be pretty near him by this time. About an hour after dark, he reached the abandoned villages of the alarmed tribes, where he halted, and at ten o'clock retraced his steps, marching rapidly for the wagons. At two o'clock he halted in the valley of the Washita, and went into bivouac, the men 29 450 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. building huge fires to supply the loss of their overcoats, which the Indians had captured during the fight. They had been left in a heap on the ground. Secrecy was no longer necessary now, and the men enjoyed themselves hugely. Next day they reached the wagons and pushed on, encamping at night at the place where the regiment first struck Elliot's trail. From thence, California Joe and another scout were despatched to Camp Supply, to carry the news to General Sheridan. The two scouts made the journey in safety. The country was appa- rently denuded of Indians, the blow on the "Washita having demoralized them. California Joe met Custer's column with a return despatch, before the regiment could reach Camp Sup- ply. It was read at the head of the troops, and repaid them for all their hardships. It was as follows : Headquarters Department of the Missouri, in the Field, Depot on THE North Canadian, at the Junction of Beaver Creek, Indian Territory, November 29, 1868. General Field Orders No. 6. — The Major-General com- manding announces to this command the defeat by the Seventh regiment of cavalry, of a large force of Cheyenne Indians, under the celebrated chief Black Kettle, re-enforced by the Arapahoes under Little Eaven, and the Kiowas under Satanta, on the morn- ing of the 27th instant, on the "Washita River, near the Antelope Hills, Indian Territory, resulting in a loss to the savages of one hundred and three warriors killed, including Black Kettle, the capture of fifty-three squaws and children, eight hundred and seventy-five ponies, eleven hundred and twenty-three buffalo robes and skins, five hundred and thirty-five pounds of powder, one thousand and fifty pounds of lead, four thousand arrows, seven hundred pounds of tobacco, besides rifles, pistols, saddles, bows, lariats, and immense quantities of dried meat and other Avinter provisions, the complete destruction of their village, and almost total annihilation of this Indian band. The loss to the Seventh Cavalry Avas two officers killed, Major Joel H. Elliot and Captain Louis McL. Hamilton, and nineteen enlisted men ; three officers wounded, Brevet Lieutena'nt-Colonel Albert Barnitz (badly). Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel T. W. Custer, BATTLE OF THE WASHITA. i51 and Second Lieutenant T. Z. Marcli (slightly), and eleven enlisted men. The energy and rapidity shown during one of the heaviest snow-storms that has visited this section of the country, with the temperature below freezing point, and the gallantry and bravery displayed, resulting in such signal success, reflect the highest credit upon both the officers and men of the Seventh Cavalry ; and the Major-General commanding, wdiile regretting the loss of such gallant officers as Major Elliot and Captain Hamilton, who fell while gallantly leading their men, desires to express his thanks to the officers and men engaged in the battle of the "Washita, and his special congratulations are tendered to their distinguished commander. Brevet Major-General Ceorge A. Custer, for the efficient and gallant services rendered, which have characterized the opening of the campaign against hostile Indians south of the Arkansas. By command of Major-General P. H. Sheridan", J. Schuyler Crosby, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, A. D. C, A. A. A. General. "We cannot terminate the campaign better than by the de- scription in Custer's own words of the review which closed it. General Sheridan was so much pleased with the success of the expedition that he personally honored the regiment by review- ing it, a great condescension, in military etiquette, from a major-general to a single regiment. Custer describes it tlius : " In many respects the column we formed was unique in ap- pearance. First rode our Osage guides and trailers, dressed and painted in the extremest fashions of war, according to their rude customs and ideas. As we advanced, these warriors chanted their war songs, fired their guns in triumph, and at intervals gave utterance to their shrill war-whoops. Next came the scouts riding abreast, with California Joe astride his faithful mule bringing up the right, but unable, even during this cere- monious and formal occasion, to dispense with his pipe. Imme- diately in real* of the scouts rode the Indian prisoners under guard, all mounted on Indian ponies, and in their dress, con- 452 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. spicuous by its bright colors, many of them wearing the scarlet blanket so popular with the wild tribes, presenting quite a contrast to the dull and motley colors worn by the scouts. Some little distance in the rear came the troops formed in col- umn of platoons, the leading platoon preceded by the band playing " Garry Owen," being composed of the sharpshooters under Colonel Cook, followed in succession by the squadrons in the regular order of march. In this order and arrangement we marched proudly in front of our chief, who, as the officers rode by, giving him the military salute with the sabre, returned their formal courtesy by a graceful lifting of his cap and a pleased look of recognition from his eye, which spoke his approbation in language far more powerful than studied words could have done. In speaking of the review afterwards. General Sheridan said the appearance of the troops, with the bright rays of the sun reflected from their burnished arms and equipments, as they ad- vanced in beautiful order and precision down the slope, the band playing, and the blue of the soldiers' uniforms slightly relieved by the gaud}^ colors of the Indians, both captives and Osages, the strangely fantastic part played by the Osage guides, their shouts, chanting their war songs, and firing their guns in air, all combined to render the scene one of the most beautiful and highly interesting he remembered ever having witnesssd." So closed the Washita campaign December 2d, 1868. It will be observed, however, that General Sheridan's congratula- tory order calls the battle- only " the opening of the campaign against the hostile Indians south of the Arkansas." Such it was meant to be. Five days later, December 7th, the regiment, with thirty days' rations in the wagons, started for the Washita once more, accompanied by General Sheridan and staff. Along with Sheridan were the Nineteenth Kansas Volunteer cavalry, a special force, just raised for Indian hostilities, and the whole expedition numbered about fifteen hundred men. CHAPTER VIII. CLOSING OPERATIONS. THE Seventh Cavalry reached their old battle ground in safety without adventure. What California Joe thought of the renewed winter campaign is characteristic. " I'd jist like to see the streaked' count'nances of Satanta, Med- icine Arrow, Lone "Wolf, and a few others o 'em, when they ketch the fust glimpse of the outfit. They'll think we're comin' to spend an evenin' with 'em sure, and hev brought our knittin' with us. One look'll satisfy 'em. Thar '11 be sum of the durndest kickin' out over these plains that ever war heern tell uv. One good thing, it's goin' to cum as nigh killin' uv 'em to start 'em out this time uv year as ef we hed an out an' out scrummage with 'em. The way I looks at it they hev jist this preference : them as don't like bein' shot to deth kin take ther chances at freezin'." After a careful search around the battle-ground they came on the bodies of Major Elliot's party, all horribly mutilated in a manner similar to that which is recorded of the Kidder party. The bodies were tenderly buried. The position of affairs in the neighborhood is thus described by Custer : " The forest along the banks of the Washita, from the battle- ground a distance of twelve miles, was found to have been one continuous Indian village. Black Kettle's band of Cheyennes was above ; then came other hostile tribes camped in the follow- ing order : Arapahoes under Little Raven ; Kiowas under Sa- tanta and Lone Wolf ; the remaining bands of Cheyennes, Comanches, and Apaches. Nothing could exceed the disorder and haste with which the tribes had fled from their camping 454 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. grounds. They had abandoned thousands of lodge poles, some of which were still standing, as when last used. Immense num- bers of camp kettles, cooking utensils, coffee-mills, axes, and several hundred buffalo robes were found in the abandoned camps adjacent to Black Kettle's village, but which had not been visited before by our troops. By actual examination, it was computed that over six hundred lodges had been standing along the Washita during the battle, and within five miles of the battle-ground, and it was from these villages, and others still lower down the stream, that the immense number of war- riors came who, after our rout and destruction of Black Kettle and his band, surrounded my command and fought until de- feated by the Seventh Cavalry." The ground having been examined, the campaign was re- sumed as follows, according to Custer's account : "At daylight on the following morning the entire command started on the trail of the Indian villages, nearly all of which had moved down the Washita toward Fort Cobb, where they had good reason to believe they would receive protection. The Arapahoes and remaining band of Cheyennes left the Washita valley and moved across in the direction of lied Kiver. After following the trail of the Kiowas and other hostile Indians for seven days, over an almost impassable country, where it was necessary to keep two or three hundred men almost constantly at work with picks, axes, and spades, before being able to ad- vance with our immense train, my Osage scouts came galloping back on the morning of the 17th of December, and reported a party of Indians in our front bearing a flag of truce." The party turned out to be the Kiowas, under Satanta and Lone Wolf. They were accompanied by a scout who said that he came from Fort Cobb, Indian Territory, a station on the Washita, one hundred miles below the battle-ground. At this fort was stationed General Hazen, who had been placed by General Sherman in control of the Kiowas and Comanches. The scout bore the following note : CLOSING OPERATIONS. 455 Headquarters Southern Indian District, Fort Cobb, 9 p. M. December 16, 1868. To the officer, commanding troojys in the Field. Indians have just brought in Avord that our troops to-day reached the Washita some twenty miles above here. I send this to say that all the camps this side of the point reported to have been reached are friendly, and have not been on the war path this season. If this reaches you, it Avould be well to communicate at once with Satanta or Black Eagle, chiefs of the Kiowas, near where you now are, who will readily inform you of the position of the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, also of my camp. Eespectfully, (Signed) W. B. Hazen^, Brevet Major-General. " This scout," says Custer, " at the same time informed me that a large party of the Kiowa warriors, under Lone Wolf, Sa- tanta, and other leading chiefs, were within less than a mile of my advance, and notwithstanding the above certificate regarding their friendly character, they had seized a scout who accom- panied the bearer of the despatch, disarmed him, and held him a prisoner of war. Taking a small party with me, I proceeded beyond our lines to meet the flag of truce. I was met by several of the leading chiefs of the Kiowas, including those above named. Large parties of their warriors could be seen posted in the neighboring ravines and upon the surrounding hill- tops. All were painted and plumed for war, and nearly all were armed with one rifle, two revolvers, bow and arrow, some of their bows being strung, and their whole appearance and conduct plainly indicating that they had come for war." Yery unwillingly, Custer was restrained from attacking the Kiowas, but the presence of Sheridan compelled him to submit to the assurance of Hazen's note and refrain from war. " After meeting the chiefs, who with their bands had approached our advance under flag of truce, and compelling the release of the scout whom they had seized and held prisoner, we continued our march toward Fort Cobb, the chiefs agreeing to ride with us and accompany my command to that place. 456 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Every assurance was given me that the villages to wliieli these various chiefs belonged would at once move to Fort Cobb and there encamp, thus separating themselves from the hostile tribes, or those who preferred to decline this proposition of peace, and to continue to wage war; and as an evidence of the sincerity of their purpose, some eighteen or twenty of the most prominent chiefs, generally Kiowas, voluntarily proposed to accompany us during the march of the day and the next, by which time it was expected that the command would reach Fort Cobb. The chiefs only requested that they might send one of their number, mounted on a fleet pony, to the villages, in order to hasten their movement to Fort Cobb." Custer consented to this cheerfully, but as he was exceed- ingly suspicious of the Indians, watched them closely. On the next day's march, the chiefs, on one pretext or another, began to drop out of the column, and Custer became convinced that they were fooling him, to gain time to send their villages away from, not towards Fort Cobb. Feeling sure of this, he waited until the inferior chiefs had departed, leaving only Satanta and Lone AVolf, when the officers at the head of the column drew their revolvers, and the two chiefs were informed they were prisoners, and hostages. Custer did not need two lessons in Indian diplomacy. Pawnee Killer had fooled him once, but Satanta and Lone "Wolf were not equal to repeating the trick. Here it is necessary to notice a dispute which arose at the time between Custer and General Hazen, which turned on the identity of the Indians engaged in the late battle. Custer, relying on the statements of Mahwissa and the other squaws of Black Kettle's band, was convinced that he had been fighting the Kiowas of Satanta and Lone "Wolf. Mahwissa even pointed out Satanta's camp, close to that of Black Kettle. General Hazen, on the other hand, was convinced that Satanta and Lone Wolf were not in the battle, that the major part of the Kiowas were in camp at Fort Cobb, a hundred miles from the battle field, and that only a small band of either Kiowas or ■^'^" CLOSING OPERATIONS. 457 Comanches, who had not come in, could possibly have been in the battle. Not for six years was the difficulty cleared up. It was then settled by the production of various affidavits from the disburs- ing officers and agents at Fort Cobb, which proved conclusively, that Satanta and Lone Wolf visited and slept at the officers' quarters in Fort Cobb, on the 27th Kovember, tlie same night that Custer fought Black Kettle, a hundred miles away, and that rations were issued to nine-tentlis of the Kiowason the 26th of November, at the same place. General Hazen's statement was published in brief in the Arimj and Wavy Journal of March 30, 1874, and settles the question. It seems, however, that the Kiowas, knowing that a small band of their friends had been in the battle, were naturally frightened to death when they lieard of Custer's return, a fortnight later. They at once scat- tered, and left Fort Cobb, fearing to be punished for past mis- deeds; and the embassy of Lone Wolf and Satanta probably had just the intention which Custer divined, that of giving the lodges time to get away safe. At all events, the capture of the two chiefs as hostages had the happiest effect. The column continued its march to Fort Cobb. On the way they were met by Satanta's son, who was allowed to come and go within the lines, as a medium of com- munication between the whites and the Kiowas. For a long time the Indians tried to procrastinate and avoid yielding to Custer's demands. These were simple, that the Indians should come in and settle once more on their reservations by the fort, in the power of the troops. At last General Sheridan's rapid decision cut the knots of diplomacy in a very effectual manner. He told Custer, through whom he conducted all the negotia- tions, to assure Lone Wolf and Satanta, that if their bands were not in camp before sunset of the following day, both chiefs would he htong at that Jwur, and troops sent after Kiowas. This settled the question very quickly. Satanta's son was sent off, full speed, to the tribes, and long before the said sun- 458 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. set the Kiowas were quietlj settled under the guns of Fort Cobb. The next tribe that needed subduing was the Arapahoes. The Chejennes .had been humbled, the Kiowas pacified without bloodshed, thanks to Custer's seizure of Satanta, the Arapahoes must also be brought on their reservations. To do this required either hard fighting and marching, or the exercise of finesse. General Sheridan, who had so far left the fighting and negotia- tion entirely to Custer, continued to do so. The young lieu- tenant-colonel found him a very different chief, sympathetic and appreciative, to the others by whom he had been commanded since the war. Sheridan continued to let him have his own way, and it was crowned with the same triumphant success which had marked it hitherto. Briefly, Custer succeeded in bringing the Arapahoes as he had the Kiowas, but by a differ- ent method. First, a friendly chief of the Apaches, named Iron Shirt, who volunteered for the office, was selected as an ambassador in the cause of peace to both Cheyennes and Arapahoes. "With him was dispatched Mahwissa, the sister of Black Kettle, and both were well supplied with presents. Their instructions were to go to the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, see the chiefs, tell them that if they chose to come in and settle on their reservations they should be well treated, and to remind them that if they did not come in, they might get the same treatment as Black Kettle. The departure of the envoys made an end of all hope of a winter campaign, for which, no doubt, the officers of the Seventh Cavalry were not sorry. It was late in January before Iron Shirt returned, without Mahwissa. lie brought the news that the distance was too great and the ponies too thin for the tribes to move, and that the Cheyennes had detained Mahwissa from returning. He reported however that Little Robe, chief of the Cheyennes, and Yellow Bear, second chief of the Arapahoes, were both very anxious to accept the government's proposition, and would themselves visit the camp shortly. CLOSING OPERATIONS. 459 A few days after, sure enougli, Little Robe and Yellow Bear arrived and were handsomely received. The latter was about the least cruel and most sensible of the chiefs on the plains, a great contrast to the peculiarly savage and insolent Sa- tanta. He was the one good Indian whom Custer appears to have met. The sequel to the visit is thus told by Custer : " They reported that their villages had had under considera- tion the question of accepting our invitation to come in and live at peace in the future, and that many of their people were strongly in favor of adopting this course, but for the present it M-as uncertain whether or not the two tribes would come in. The two tribes would probably act in concert, and if they in- tended coming, would make their determination known by despatching couriers to us in a few days. In spite of the sin- cerity of the motives of Little Robe and Yellow Bear, whom I have always regarded as two of the most upright and peaceably inclined Indians I have ever known, and who have since that time paid a visit to the President at Washington, it was evident that the Cheyennes and Arapahoes, while endeavoring to oc- cupy us with promises and pretences, were only interested in delaying our movements until the return of spring, when the young grass would enable them to recruit the strength of their winter-famished ponies and move when and where they pleased. " After waiting many long weary days for the arrival of the promised couriers from the two tribes, until even Little Robe and Yellow Bear were forced to acknowledge that there was no longer any reason to expect their coming, it occurred to me that there was but one expedient yet untried which furnished even a doubtful chance of averting war. This could only be resorted to with the approval of General Sheridan, whose tent had been pitched in our midst during the entire winter, and who evi- dently proposed to remain on the ground until the Indian ques- tion in that locality should be disposed of. My plan was as follows : " After weighing the matter caref uUy in my own mind, I 460 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. decided that with General Sheridan's approval 1 would select from mj command forty men, two olficers, and a medical oflS- cer, and, accompanied by the two chiefs, Little Robe and Yellow Bear, who regarded my proposition with favor, I would set out in search of the hostile camp, there being but little doubt that with the assistance of the chiefs I would have little difficulty in discovering the whereabouts of the villages ; while the smallness of my party would prevent unnecessary alarm or suspicion as to our intentions. From my tent to General Sheridan's was only a few steps, and I soon submitted my proposition to the General, -who from the first was inclined to lend his approval to my project. After discussing it fully, he gave his consent by saying that the character of the proposed expedition was such that he would not order me to proceed upon it, but if I volun- teered to go, he would give me the full sanction of his author- ity and every possible assistance to render the mission a success- ful one ; in conclusion urging me to exercise the greatest caution against the stratagems or treachery of the Indians, who no doubt would be but too glad to massacre my party in revenge for their recent well-merited chastisement. Returning to my tent, I at once set about making preparations for my journey, the extent or result of which now became interesting subjects for deliberation. The first thing necessary w\"is to make up the party which was to accompany me. " As the number of men was to be limited to forty, too much care could not be. exercised in their selection. I chose the great majority of them from the sharpshooters, men who, in addition to being cool and brave, w^ere experienced and skillful marksmen. My standard-bearer, a w^ell-tried sergeant, w^as se- lected as the senior non-commissioned officer of the party. The officers who were to accompany me were my brother Colonel Custer, Captain Robbins, and Dr. Renick, Acting Assistant Surgeon U. S. Army. As guide I had Neva, a Black- foot Indian, who had accompanied General Fremont in his explorations, and wjio could speak a little English. Little Robe CLOSING OPERATIONS. 461 and Yellow Bear were also to be relied upon as guides, while Eomeo accompanied us as interpreter. All were well armed and well mounted. "We were to take no wagons or tents ; our extra supplies were to be transported on pack-mules. We were to start on the evening of the second day, the intervening time being necessary to complete our preparations. It was decided that our first march should be a short one, sufficient merely to enable us to reach a village of friendly Apaches, located a few miles from our camp, where we would spend the first night and be joined by Little Robe and Yellow Bear, who at that time were guests of the Apaches. I need not say that in the opinion of many of our comrades our mission was regarded as closely bordering on the imprudent, to qualify it by no stronger term. So confident did one of the most prudent officers of my command feel in regard to our annihilation by the Indians, that in bidding me good-bye, he contrived to slip into my hand a small pocket Derringer pistol, loaded, with the simple remark, " You had better take it, general ; it may prove useful to you." As I was amply provided with arms, both revolvers and rifle, and as a pocket Derringer may not impress the reader as being a very formidable weapon to use in Indian warfare, the purpose of my friend in giving me the small pocket weapon may not seem clear. It was given me under the firm conviction that the Indians would overwhelm and massacre my entire party ; and to prevent my being captured, disarmed, and reserved for torture, that little pistol was given me in order that at the last moment I might become my own executioner — an office I was not seeking, nor did I share in my friend's opinion. " Everything being ready for our departure, we swung into our saddles, waved our adieus to the comrades who were to remain in camp, and the next moment we turned our horses' heads westward." We do not intend to enlarge on the incidents of the journey which ensued, which are fully recorded in " Life on the 462 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Plains," to which tlie reader is referred. Suffice it to say that it was snccessfiil, that Cnster reached the Arapahoe camp in safety, and that the expedition ended in the quiet location of the whole tribe under the ^uns of the fort on their reservation. The Cheyennes however were not so tractable. The destruc- tion of Black Kettle's band had only exasperated, not cowed them, and they needed another lesson. It was soon given them by Custer. General Sheridan departed for Camp Supply as soon as the Kiowas and Arapahoes were settled, while Custer, taking with him the Seventh Cavalry and Nineteenth Kansas, started, on the 2d of March, 1869, on the search after the Cheyennes. The story of his march is so well and succinctly told in his official report, that we give it nearly entire. On the morning of the 2d March, my com.mand, composed of eleven troops of the Seventh U. S. Cavalry, and ten troops of the Nineteenth Kansas Cavalry, left its camp on Medicine Bluff Creek, about thirty miles due south from Fort Cobb. My course M-as via Camp Eadziminski, mouth of Elk Creek, to a point on the North Fork of Ked Eiver, a few miles above the mouth of Salt Creek. Here I divided my command into two columns. Selecting about eight hundred of the most effective men from both regiments, I directed Brevet Lieutenant-Colo- nel Myers, Seventh Cavalry, to proceed in command of the remainder and surplus train up the North Fork, and across to a point on the A^'^ashita, near the late battle-ground ; and there await furtlier orders. With that portion of the command selected for the purpose, I left our camp on the North Fork on the morning of the 6th instant, and marched due west, striking the Salt Fork after a few hours' march. About noon we struck a fresh trail of a single lodge and fourteen animals heading up the Salt Fork. Taking up the pursuit we followed the trail three days and one night, and on the afternoon of the third day surprised the party we were pursuing, while seeking shelter from an approaching CLOSING OPERATIONS. 463 storm, capturing their lodge, cooking utensils, provisions, and eleven of their ponies, the party, which consisted of nine Chey- ennes, barely making their escape into one of the many ravines near by. This was one of the small parties which the Chey- ennes had sent to the vicinity of our camps on Medicine Bluff Creek to observe and report our movements, and was then on its way to the main village to report that we were again on the move. The point at which the capture was made was in Texas, on a small fresh water tributary of Salt Fork. On the morning of the 9th we moved in a westerly direc- tion ; marched all day, but were unable to find water, and were forced to make a dry camp on the prairie. Before day- light next morning we resumed the march, changing our course to the south, and by noon reached camp on Middle Fork, a stream which, on some maps, is designated as Gypsum Creek. On the following morning we moved toward the southwest, crossing Mulberry Creek. Our march was continued until we came in sight of the banks of the main Red River. Here we discovered the trail of one lodge leading north-west. The trail was nearly one month old, but with the hope that it would lead to others, we took it up, and before pursuing many miles had the satisfaction of seeing the trail increased by that of eleven lodges, all about the same time. That night we encamped on the head-waters of Mulberry Creek, occupying the ground selected for the same purpose by the Indians. From this point the trail led northward. ]^ot- withstanding the trail was very old, I felt confident that with due precautions, and knowing the lazy manner in which Indians moved when not pursued, we could overhaul them, or at least get very near them, before our proximity was discovered. Thanks to their superior geographical knowledge I was not troubled by routes, water or camping grounds. The trail led us by easy marches to good water, plenty of timber, and the best camping grounds that could be selected. 464 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. On the morning of the 12th the pursuit was resumed. Early in the day the trail was found to be enlarged by the addition of forty-two lodges, and before night about as many more joined, making the trail one of over a hundred lodges, and so plain we could follow it at a gallop, could our horses have kept up the gait. That night we encamped on Middle Fork. The morning of the 13th we observed fresher signs of In- dians than we had yet seen, indicating that they had left the Middle Fork not more than a week previous. This will be understood when it is known that in the ordinary manner of moving the village remains from three daj's to a week in each camp, and then moves but about ten miles before making another camp. "We moved without delay, and one of our marches equaled two or three made by the Indians. As the trail grew warmer it became necessary to adopt additional precautions to insure success. No bugle calls or discharges of fire-arms were permit- ted. Fires were lighted after dark and covered with earth before daylight. Tents were burned, and all blankets in excess of one per man, and all clothing shared the same fate. Daily the pursuit was continued until the morning of the 15th, when we reached a camp ground on the North Fork which had been abandoned only two days before. Encouraged by the prospect, we pressed forward, and by noon the advance had made twenty miles. Hard Eope, the war chief of the Osages, and who at this moment was running the trail, discovered, about one mile in advance, a herd of forty or fifty ponies, grazing and herded by two Indians. The latter discovered us at the same time, and drove the herd rapidly in the direction of a timber stream which could be seen some two or three miles beyond. I at once sent orders back to the column, which was still a considerable distance in the rear, to close up at a rapid gait. The deep sand and the exhausted condition of horses and CLOSING OPERATIONS. 465 men prevented this being done promptly. I was uncertain as to ■whether the village was in our front, or whether the herd seen driven off was merely on the move. If the latter, desiring to effect its capture, I advanced with the few men then in front in the direction taken by the herd. After proceeding about tM'O miles, Indians could be seen in front, partially concealed behind the sand hills, and watching our movements. Taking my orderly with me, I advanced to learn their character and intentions. After considerable signaling and parleying, eight Indians came forward to meet me. From them I learned that the entire Cheyenne tribe, numbering two hundred and sixty lodges, was encamped at different points within ten or fifteen miles from where we then were. A few moments afterward thirty or forty Indians rode up to us, including Medicine Arrow, the head chief of the Cheyennes and several other noted chiefs of the same tribe. From the latter I learned that over two hundred lodges were encamped on the stream directly in our front, the remainder, under Little Robe, being some ten or fif- teen miles lower down. Included in the two hundred lodges were nearly all the lodges belonging to the Dog Soldiers, the most mischievous, blood- thirsty and barbarous band of Indians that infest the Plains. Here, then, was the opportunity we had been seeking, to administer a well-merited punishment to the worst of all Indi- ans. My intentions were formed accordingly, and as I rode with Medicine Arrow in the direction of the village, I made my plans for surrounding the village and attacking as soon as the troops came up. I did not pursue this course, however, and for the following reasons : On my way to the village I learned that the two white women captured in Kansas last autumn — one Mrs. Morgan, on the Solomon ; the otlier, Miss White, on the Republican — were then held captive in the Cheyenne village. It was then out of the question to assume a hostile attitude, at least until every peaceable means for their recovery had been exhausted. The opening of our attack would 30 466 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. have been the signal for their murder by their captors, as we very well knew. I therefore determined to encamp my com- mand, as soon as it arrived, near the village. In the meantime I accompanied Medicine Arrow to his lodge in the centre of his village, where all the principal chiefs and the medicine man of the tribe soon assembled. Before entering the village I observed the greatest excite- ment prevailed; the entire herd was collected; the squaws had everything except their lodges packed, and their ponies were saddled ready for a precipitate flight. So that, had my inten- tion to attack been carried out, it is doubtful whether, with the timely warning they had received, and considering the jaded condition of my animals, we could at that time have inflicted any very serious injury beyond the capture of their lodges. The recovery of the captive white women was now my flrst object. The squaws and children remained seated upon their ponies, until the troops approached the village, when their fears, coupled with the remembrance of the crimes of the tribe and their deserved punishment, got the better of them, and, like a herd of frightened sheep, old and young squaws, papooses, ponies and mules, started in the direction of Little Robe's village, abandoning to us their lodges and poles, and immense numbers of camp kettles, robes, shields and ponies. I ordered my men not to fire upon the fugitives, but caused four of their principal men, two of them noted chiefs of the Dog Soldiers — "Big Head " and " Dull Knife " — to be seized and held under guard, intending through them to compel the release of the two white women. At the same time, to prevent the Cheyennes from breaking up into small parties and renewing hostilities, I sent word to them to return and take their lodges with them, adding that if they would all agree to encamp near Little Eobe and his band, 1 would not permit their abandoned village to be disturbed until the lodges had been removed. This proposition was generally accepted. I then sent a run- ner to Little Eobe, who was well known to me, and whose in- CLOSING OPERATIONS. 467 flnence with his tribe was great, to come aud see me, promising him safe passport back to his village. He accepted my invi- 'tatiori, came to my camp, and after a long talk promised to use his influence for the best. No promise to deliver up the cap- tives into our hands without the payment of a large ransom could be obtained. I was determined to secure their release, and that unconditionally, and thereby discourage the custom of ransoming captives from Indians, which is really nothing more or less than offering the latter a premium upon every captive. To obtain a better camp, and at the same time accomplish my purpose, I told Little Eobe I would change my camp the following day, moving in the direction of his village, but that I had no desire to approach its immediate vicinity, and that, after my arrival in camp, if he and the other chiefs would visit me I would talk with them. On the evening of the second day a chief who had accom- panied Little Robe the first day, came to my camp to learn what I had to say, and to procure, if possible, the release of the chiefs and warriors held by me. No satisfactory statement could be gotten from him regarding the return of the white women or the intentions of the chiefs. I, therefore, determined not to be put off any longer, and told him we had then waited three days for them to give us the white women, and had ob- tained no satisfactory response ; that I should wait one dsij longer, but if by sunset the following day the white women were not delivered up, I w^ould hang to a tree, which was there designated, three of the men held captive by me (the fourth one having been sent as a runner to Little Robe), and that the fol- lowing day I would follow and attack the village. "With this message the chief departed. The next day was one of no little anxiety to all, and to none more than to the three captive Chej^- ennes whom I certainlj^ intended to hang if their people failed to accede to our demands. The ropes were ready, and the limb selected when, about three o'clock p. m. a small party of Indian warriors were seen approaching camp. They halted on a knoll 46S GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. about one mile distant, while one of their number came forward with the welcome intelligence that the women were with them and would be given up ; but this was coupled with the propo- sition that I should exchange the three men, or two of them, for the women. This was refused, and the return of the women demanded at once, and unconditionally. A reluctant assent to this was given. The Indians, however, feared to come inside of our lines. Lieutenant-Colonel Moore, and Majors Jones and Jenkins were, therefore, detailed to go out and receive them. [The matter ended bj the release of the women, and their restoration to their friends, and the sequel of the story is thus told by Cnster] : " After the momentary excitement consequent upon the ar- rival of the girls in camp had subsided, officers, particularly of the Kansas volunteers, came to me with the remark that when we first overtook the Cheyenne village, and I failed to order an attack when all the chances were in our favor, they mentally condemned my decision as a mistake ; but with the results accomplished afterward they found ample reason to amend their first judgment, and frankly and cordially admit that the release of the two captives was far more gratifying than any victory over the Indians could have been if purchased by the sacrifice of their lives. " With this happy termination of this much of our negotia- tions with the Indians, I determined to march in the morning for Camp Supply, Indian Territory, satisfied that with the three chiefs in our possession, and the squaws and children captured at the Washita, still held as prisoners at Fort Hays, Kansas, we could compel the Cheyennes to abandon the war-path and return to their reservation. The three chiefs begged to be released, upon the ground that their people had delivered up the two girls ; but this I told them was but one of the two condi- tions imposed ; the other required the tribe to return to their reservation, and until this was done, they need not hope for CLOSING OPERATIONS. 469 freedom ; but in the meauwiiile I assured them of kiud treat- ment at our hands. " Before dark a delegation of chiefs from the v^illage visited camp to likewise urge the release of the three chiefs. My reply to them was the same that I had given to the captives. I assured them, however, that upon complying with their treaty obligations, and returning to their reservation, the three chiefs would be restored to their people, and we would return to them also the women and children captured at the Washita. Seeing that no modification of these terms could be obtained, they iinally promised to accede to them, saying that their ponies, as I knew to be the fact, were in no condition to travel, but as soon as practicable they would surely proceed with their entire village to Camp Supply, and abandon the war-path forever ; a promise which, as a tribe, they have adhered to, from that day to this, with strict faith, so far as my knowledge extends." The settlement of the Cheyennes closed Custer's services on the southern plains. His command proceeded to Camp Supply and thence to Fort Hays, where the Nineteenth Kansas was mustered out. From and after the Washita campaign, the frontiers of Kansas were untroubled by any considerable depre- dations. Pawnee Killer, and the single campaign of 1867, had taught Custer all he needed to know of Indian lighting. In 1868-9, he showed the fruits of his lesson in the first thoroughly successful campaign that had yet been prosecuted against the Indians of the plains. As many of our readers may feel an interest in the various characters introduced in these southern campaigns of Custer, a short summary of the fate of his best scouts may not be un- interesting. It seems that Romeo, true to his amorous name, and not deterred by his previous experience in Indian marriages, took to himself one more Cheyenne wife, when the tribe came in on their reservation, and that he became and is an Indian trader. California Joe disappeared for several years, till in 1874, when Custer was in command at Fort Lincoln, he sent the general this letter : 470 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. SiERKE Nevadk Mountains, Calepornia, Marcli 16, 1874. Dear General after my respets to you and Lady i thought that i tell you that i am still on top of land yit i hev been in the rockey mountain the most of the time senee last I seen you but i got on the railroad and started west and the first thing I knew I landed in san Francisco so I could not go any further except goin by water and salt water at that so i turned back and headed for the mountains once more resolved never to go railroading no more i drifted up with the tide to sacramento city and i landed my boat so i took up through town they say thar is 20 thousand people living thar but it looks to me like to be 100 thousand counting chinaman and all i cant describe my wolfish feeling but i think that i look just like i did when we was chasing Bufl:alo on the cimarone so 1 struck up through town and 1 come to a large fine building crowded with people so i bulged in to see what was going on and when i got in to the counsil house i took a look around at the crowd and i seen the most of them had bald heads so i thought to myself i struck it now that they are Indian peace commissioners so i look to see if i would know any of them but not one so after while the smartess lookin one got up and said gentleman i intro- duce a bill to have speckle mountain trout and fish eggs imported to California to be put in the american Bear and yuba rivers — those rivers is so muddy that a tadpole could not live in them caused by mining — did any body ever hear of speckle trout living in muddy water and the next thing was the game law and that was very near as bad as the Fish for they aint no game in the country as big as mavvking bird i heard some fellow behind me ask how long is the legislatnrs been in session then i dropt on myself it wuzent Indian commissioners after all so i slid out took across to Chinatown and they smelt like a kiowa camp iu August with plenty bufEalo meat around — it was gettin late so no place to go not got a red cent so i happen to think of an old friend back of town that i knowed 25 years ago so i lit out and sure enough he Avas thar just as i left him 25 years ago baching [leading the life of bachelor — G. A. C] so i got a few seads i going to plant in a few days give my respects to the 7th calvery and except the same yoursly Califorxia Joe. Joe subsequently turned up again as a miner in the Black Hills, where he probably is to-day. He still smokes. CHAPTER IX. LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. THE final submission of the Che3^ennes completed tlie work of Custer in the southwest, and set on hira the stamp of complete success. He had done what no other officer in the American army had 3'et succeeded in doing, beaten tribe after tribe of Indians, completely and decisively; and his exploits had jnstl}'- earned the reputation for him of being the best Indian fighter on the plains. For a time, his bitterest enemies were silent. They could not alter the facts by their sneers, and their animus was too palpable when they tried to belittle his exploits. The facts were Custer's best eulogy. A hostile and prejudiced court had sentenced him to dis- grace on a frivolous pretext, and his enemies had tried their best to get along without him. They had all the United States army to pick from, and yet they had done nothing all the summer but get into trouble and fail. The stage routes were deserted, travel stopped, and only the line of the railway, as far as built, was safe. At last Custer's worst enemies were compelled to acquiesce silently in the request of Sherman and Sheridan to be given back Custer himself as the only hope of success. Every officer of the Seventh, enemies and all, joined in the request. A few months' experience of being made ridiculous under another leader, brought them to that. Custer might be severe on drunkards, he might be a hard marcher, but he never made a fool of the regiment, and his worst enemies in that regiment had been conscious that he was unjustly treated in his court- martial. 472 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. They knew that the principal instigator of the charges against him had since been compelled to leave the army on ac- count of habitual drunkenness, and that all the really good and valuable officers who had ever served under Custer were unan- imous in his praise. They joined in that request, the like of which had never been known before. A whole department formally asked for the return to command of an officer whom a year before the powers had tried their utmost to disgrace. He came, and what was the result? Before the winter had fairly turned into spring, Custer had ended the whole war and placed the frontier in peace, alone and unassisted, just hecause he was given his own way. In seven months he had closed the cam- paign which commenced in 1867, when Hancock let the Chey- ennes slip from between liis fingers, and when Custer saw his first Indian chief. He learned the mysteries of Indian warfare pretty quickly after that. The close of this seven months' campaign gave Custer a long and well-earned rest, during the summer of 1869. During the whole winter campaign he had been separated from his wife, who had remained at Fort Leavenworth ; but now that hostili- ties were closed, she rejoined him. The Seventh Cavalry was encamped during the whole summer in the neighborhood of Fort Hays, at Big Creek, where the very perfection of prairie life was the portion of all. This period and the next year may be called one of the very happiest of Custer's life, wherein he enjoyed himself as much as when in Texas after the close of the war. His whole military life seems to have been passed in a series of these changes, from periods of the hardest, most protracted and vigorous labor, to periods of rest and pleasure, enjoyed with the keenest zest by himself and wife. The summer of 1869 was a perfect round of pleasurable ex- citement, hunting excursions taking place almost every week, parties of tourists from the east or from Europe coming to visit the camp, attracted by the fame of Custer the successful Indian- fighter, and anxious to see him. Every week or so, a single LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 473 squadron would be sent off on a scout through southern Kansas, to look after any small parties of Indians that might sneak out of the agencies on a cattle lifting raid ; but there was no lighting or danger. The main body of Indians was really and truly at peace, cowed by Custer's successes. The campaign had made them respect him, and they all held him in deep reverence. Already, showing the thoroughness of his character, he had mastered the Indian sign language, and M-as able to converse with Indians from any tribe on the plains, by this universal me- dium of communication. The summer being passed in entertaining eastern visitors, private and public, camp was struck in October, and the winter passed in Fort Leavenworth, where Custer began to write his War Memoirs, in a slightly different form from that in which they afterwards appeared, but he gave them up when they had reached no further than the battle of AVilliamsburg in the Pen- insular Campaign. He was always very diffident as to his liter- ary abilities, being keenly sensible of the deficiencies of a West Point education in that direction, and it was this diffidence which probably caused him to give up the War Memoirs so early. People had accused him so often of vanity, that he had become painfully sensitive on the subject of mentioning himself, and strove hard to keep his own name out of the War Memoirs, as well as, later, in the Life on the Plains. This is, in fact, the gravest literary fault possessed by either. Almost all the inter- est they possess is that which .appertains to Custer personally, as the most romantic figure of the war, and instead of this he thought himself obliged to give us historical sketches of others, not possessing half the same charm. His literary labors at Fort Leavenworth were varied, late in the winter, by a leave of absence, spent in a trip to ISTew York with the little wife, still as fresh and childish in mind and heart as ever, a matter in which she and Custer were exactly alike. All the summer they would be saving up their money for the eastern trip in the winter, and when the time came, they started 474 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. off like two liappy children, determined to have a good time, seeing all the sights, going to all the theatres, laughing at Dundreary and weeping over the simulated sorrows of^ Clara Morris, enjoj'ing themselves to the very utmost. From that time thereafter, every winter saw the same little trip, and every spring saw them returning to tlie rough frontier life, having spent all their spare cash, but having had a splendid trip, full of enjoyment. The spring and summer of 1870 were merely a repetition of those of 1869, with more visitors. By this time, Custer's fame as a cavalry general was completely overshadowed by his more recent triumphs as an Indian fighter, and his still more recent exploits as a mighty hunter. His Scotch deerhounds had increased in number till he owned quite a large pack, his rifles were growing numerous, his sporting letters to the Titrf, Field and Farm had made him a friend of every hunter in the United States, and the English noble and gentle tourists, out for a buffalo hunt, always stopped at Fort Hays and brought letters to General Custer, who was supposed to know everything about the plains and buffalo. Even the great humbug. Barnum came out west to have a buffalo hunt, and was indulged \vith a run. It was of course a good deal of trouble entertaining all these greenhorns, and especially taking care of them in a buffalo hunt. It was necessary to send out a mounted orderly with each, to see he did not get lost, and as soon as the chase separated the hunters, the orderly used to kill the buffalo for his particular tourist, while the latter fired off all the barrels of his revolver into the carcass and then cut off the tail and claimed the beast as his own spoil. The orderlies found it a paying business to sell silence, while the amateurs took home their buffalo tails in triumph and hung them up in their studies. There are a good many such trophies in the Eastern States to-day, which might not be such a cause of pride to their owners were the true story to leak out. October, 1870, a^ain took Custer to Fort Leavenworth, where LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 475 the whole regiment was reunited, under the command of Gen- eral Sturgis, its new colonel. General A. J. Smith had gone on the retired list, and Sturgis had succeeded him, as being the senior lieutenant-colonel of the army. It was now deter- mined, in view of the peculiar exigencies of the U. S. regular army, that the Seventh Cavalry should be broken up and moved elsewhere, while another regiment, relieved it in the West. Custer was thus likely to find himself, like many another officer, put in garrison at some one or two company post in the States and he wished to avoid this, as he was beginning to love his wild life on the plains. lie therefore made a formal applica- tion to headquarters, requesting to be assigned to duty at Fort Hays, or else at headquarters of his regiment. The endorsement on this communication will show what at that time was General Sturgis' opinion on Custer's merits as an Indian fighter, which he has since so strenuously denied. It runs thus : Headquarters Seventh Cavalry, Camp near Fort Hays, Kas. August IStli, 1869. In forwarding this communication approved, I would respect- fully ask for it that favorable consideration to which it would ap- pear to be entitled, not only in view of General Custer's worth and former services, but also of the arduous and important services rendered by him against the Indians of this department, while in command of the Seventh Cavalry. There is perhaps, no other officer of equal rank on this line who has ivorked more faithfully against the Indians, or who has avqttired the same degree of hnowl- edge of the country and of the Indian character. If however, it should be deemed impracticable to give him the command he desires, I would respectfully recommend that he be i)ermitted to accompany the Headquarters of the Eegiment. S. D. Stuegis, Col. Seventh Cavalry, Bvt. Maj. Gen. U. S. A. Comd. Kegt. This was Sturgis's free and unbiased opinion on Custer, fresh from the experience of his Indian warfare. It reads well to-day, since he has tried to change his opinion, now that Custer is dead. 476 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The application was unsuccessful. There was no longer an urgent necessity for a first class Indian fighter at Fort Hays, and any old seniority fossil would do. Custer had done his work very well, no doubt, better than any other man who had been put out there, but that was a year before. It was neces- sary to give some other regiment a chance at the plains, so the Seventh was ordered away into the States, and broken up into detachments at small posts. Under these circumstances, the position of the field officers of a regiment, if they are inclined to be lazy, is very pleasant. There is really nothing for them to do. They become mere ornamental appendages tacked on to a post, to sign their names to requisitions and reports. It was so far pleasant to Custer that he got all the leaves he wanted, and was able to go to Monroe early in 1871, while his extended leave finally took him to New York on private business. In March, the Seventh was ordered partly to Kentucky, partly to South Carolina, Custer being assigned to a two company post at Elizabethtown, Kentucky, a small place, some forty miles south of Louisville. Here the husband and wife settled down in June for the next two years to a monotonous existence, especially irksome to Custer. Nine officers out of ten, of the common pattern, which aims at earning its money easily, would have been delighted with this snug billet, but to Custer it was the reverse of pleasant. All that saved him from unhappiness was his literary work, in writing for the Galaxy the papers entitled " My Life on the Plains," which were begun and fin- ished during his Kentucky residence. Part of the time he was detailed in Louisville on a board for buj'ing horses for the regiment, which naturally brought him in contact with all the smart horse-dealers of the " horsey " state. This horse pur- chasing business also took him out to the Blue Grass country at times, and while there he invested much of his private funds in race-horses, on which he expected to realize handsomely. Just as his " luck " in war had been good, however, just so was his " luck " in horse-buying during peace time decidedly bad. LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 477 No sooner had he paid his money for a valuable mare, than the mare would be kicked by another, and get a leg broken, or fall sick or die ; and in this way his horse ventures all came to grief and he lost some ten thousand dollars in a few years. The fact was, Custer was too honest and frank, too much of a knight of romance, he loved his horses too well, to succeed in trade with them. To be a successful horse trader, a man must be thoroughly callous, and regard his horses as mere objects of trade, which Custer never would do. Only one of his pur- chases now remains alive, and that one has been nearly ruined by the carelessness of the person in whose care it was left. During his Louisville residence, Custer only caught one glimpse of his beloved plains — in the winter of 1872. During that year the Russian Grand Duke Alexis came to the United States on a tour, and it was judged civil to show him a bufialo hunt. General Sheridan, still in command of the great west- ern division, and now moreover a lieutenant-general, was get- ting rather too stout for that kind of thing himself, and yet it was necessary to find some officer of high rank and national reputation to escort the Grand Duke, and to show him the hon- ors as well as the buffalo. No one was judged so fit for the purpose as Custer, and accordingly he received a telegraphic order to report at Omaha in January, 1872, where he joined Alexis, the renowned scout William Cody (" Buffalo Bill ") being also ordered there. The Grand Duke was delighted with his hunt and with Custer, whom he saw for the first time in the picturesque buckskin hunting-shirt which the General always wore on the plains. The hunt over, the 'duke insisted that Custer must accompany him on his further trip through the west, which the latter did, returning with Alexis to Louis- ' ville. Here they were joined by Mrs. Custer, and the party visited Mammoth Cave, and finally started on a regular trip through the south, which terminated March, 1872, at New Or- leans, where Alexis took ship for Eussia. Nothing of note transpired during the summer of 1872, during which the Life 478 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. on tlie Plains was fairly begun, and nearly completed during the rest of the year. In March 1873, the Seventh Cavalry was once, more ordered to the Plains, this time up in Dakota. This order perfectly delighted Custer. He was getting heartily sick of the useless life he had been leading, and he knew that work was coming, real work. "When the whole Seventh Cavalry was ordered out in a body, it meant business. Once before they had been ordered out, and had ended in con- quering the southwest. Now it was necessary to overrun the nortlnvcst. When Custer pacified the Kiowas, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes by force, physical and moral, the Sioux of the northwest had fared very differently. They had frightened the Government into a treat}', the treaty of 1868, by which the United States had promised to give up to them forever a large expanse of countr}^, and not to trespass thereon. Now that the danger was over, and the Pacific Raih-oad safely completed to the south, thanks to Custer, the treaty with the Northern Indians became irksome. It was all well enough to promise a lot of naked savages to give them up so much land, but it could not be expected that such a promise should be kept a moment longer than w-as necessary to secure a quiet building of the railroad. It w^as now time to break the treaty. A north- ern Pacific road had become necessary, and its route was to lie right through the very midst of the territory solemnly prom- ised the Indians by the treaty of 1868. As a practical measure to provoke an Indian war, there is nothing so certain as the commencement of a railroad. With the power to run it through, however, a difi[;erent state of things ensues, as Custer himself forcibly illustrates, in narrating the events of the Yellowstone expedition, the last in which we are able to follow his words. " The experience of the past," says Custer, " particularly that of recent years, has shown too that no one measure so quickly and effectually frees a country from the horrors and devastations of Indian wars and Indian depredations generally LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 479 as the 'building and successful operation of a railroad through the region overrun." Nothing can be truer than this, when once the railroad is completed, but the trouble is that while it is being built, the war has to be paid for at the same time, for the Indians, recog- nizing that the raih'oad will be their ruin, do all they can to hinder it. Knowing this, the Seventh Cavalry was ordered to Dakota in March, 1873. Custer, overjoyed, left Louisville with his two companies, and was joined at Memphis by the rest of the regi- ment, all delighted to be together. There was Tom Custer, who had been down in South Carolina, hunting whiskey distillers, and was heartily sick of the nauseous business ; there were Cook, Yates, Calhoun, Smith and all the fellows, glad to see each other and anxious for work. What with friends and relatives, the little group of officers nearest to Custer seemed like one family. There was Calhoun, the young boyish-looking Apollo of the regiment, who had married Maggie Custer a year before, and who was now acting as adjutant. There was Tom Custer, who had risen from the ranks of the volunteers, as Calhoun did from those of the regu- lars, and whose only privilege as the general's brother, was to get put in arrest for the. little breaches of discipline oftener than any officer in-the regiment. There was "Queen's Own" Cook, with his high-bred face and long Dundreary whiskers, and sturdy business-like Yates, who kept the " band-box troop " of the regiment. How glad all the boys were to see each other, and how they delighted in the prospect of work ! The regiment was taken by boat to Yankton on the Mis- souri, where it was put ashore, and remained a week or so, being finally organized again April 10th, 1873. Then the whole Seventh Cavalry, in regular old style, took up their march along the banks of the Missouri all the way to Fort Rice, 600 miles off, which they reached in six weeks. In i-egular old style, Mrs. Custer rude on her horse at the head of the column, 480 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and this time she had the company of more than one lady. Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Smith and several other of the officers' wives went with her, and all accomplished the jour- ney in safety. They passed through the Cheyenne, Brule, Yanktonnais and Standing Kock Agencies, seeing for the first time, the Northern Indians, and finally went into camp at Fort Rice late in May. There, however, the ladies found themselves, very unwill- ingly, compelled to turn back. The regiment was ordered to accompany the Yellowstone Expedition. Mrs. Custer and her friends returned to Monroe, while Custer proceeded on that ex- pedition which he shall henceforth tell in his own words. In the early spring of '73, says Custer, the officials of the Korthern Pacific railroad applied to the Government authorities at Washington for military protection for a surveying party to be sent out the ensuing summer to explore and mark out the uncompleted portion of the road extending from the Missouri River in Dakota to the interior of Montana, west of the Yellow- stone. To extend encouragement and aid to the projectors and builders of the Northern Pacific road, the Government gi-anted the application of the road for a military escort, and gave authority for the organization of what was afterward designated as the Yellowstone expedition. The troops composing the ex- pedition numbered about seventeen hundred men, consisting of cavalr}^, infantry, an improvised battery of artillery, and a de- tachment of Indian scouts, the whole under command of Brevet Major-General D. S. Stanley. Fort Rice, Dakota, on the Mis- souri River, was selected as the point of rendezvous and depart- ure of the expedition. It was not until July that the Yellowstone expedition assumed definite shape, and began its westward movement from Fort Rice. The engineers and surveyors of the Northern Pacific railroad were under the direction and management of General Thomas L. Rosser. He and I had been cadets together LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 481 at the Military Academy at West Point, occupying adjoining rooms, and being members of the same company, often march- ing side by side in the performance of onr various military duties while at the Academy. When the storms of secession broke upon the country in '61, Rosser, in common with the majority of the cadets from the Southern States, resigned his warrant, and hastened to unite his personal fortunes with those of his State — Texas. He soon won distinction in the Confeder- ate army, under Lee, and finally rose to the rank and command of m^jor-general of cavalry. When the war was ended, Rosser, like manj of his comrades from the South who had staked their all upon the issue of the war, at once cast about him for an opportunity to begin anew the battle, not of war, but of life. Possessing youth, health, many and large abilities, added to indomitable pluck, he decided to trust his fortunes amidst his late enemies, and repaired to Minnesota, where he sought employment in one of the many surveying parties acting under the auspices of the Northern Pacific road. Upon applying to the officer of the road for a position as civil engineer, he was informed that no vacancy ex- isted to which he could be appointed. Nothing daunted, he persisted, and finally accepted a position among the axemen, willing to work, and proved to his employers not only his in- dustry, but his fitness for promotion. He at once attracted the attention of his superiors, who were not slow to recognize his merit. Rosser was advanced rapidly from one important posi- tion to another, until in a few months he became the chief en- gineer of the surveying party accompanying the expedition. In this capacity I met him on the plains of Dakota, in 1873, nearly ten years after the date when in peaceful scabbards we sheathed the swords which on more than one previous occasion we had drawn against each other. Omitting the incidents of the march from our starting point. Fort Rice, on the Missouri, we come to the time when we found ourselves encamped on the east bank of the beautiful and swift flowing Yellowstone, about a hundred 31 482 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. miles from its m©utli. At tliis point the expedition was met by a steamer, sent for that purpose up the Missouri, hundreds of miles above Fort Rice, then up the Yellowstone to the point of junction. From it fresh supplies of forage and subsistence stores were obtained. This being done, the entire expedition, save a small detachment left at this point to guard our surplus stores, intended for our return march, was ferried by the steam- er across the Yellowstone River. Our course for several days carried us up that stream ; our tents at night being usually pitched on or near the river bank. The country to be surveyed, however, soon became so rough and broken in places that we encountered serious delays at times in finding a practicable route for our long and heavily laden wagon trains, over rocks and through canons hitherto unexplored by white men. So serious did these embarrassments become, and so much time was lost in accomplishing our daily marches, that I suggested to General Stanley that I should take with me each day a couple of companies of cavalry and a few of the Indian scouts, and seek out and prepare a practicable road in advance, thereby prevent- ing detention of the main command. This proposition being acceded to, it was my custom thereafter to push rapidly for- ward in the early morning, gaining an advance of several miles upon the main expedition, and by locating the route relieving the troops and trains in rear of a great amount of fatigue and many tedious detentions. One result of this system was that I and my little party, who were acting as pioneers, usually ar- rived at the termination of our day's march, our camp ground for the night, at an early hour in the da}', several hours in advance of the main portion of the expedition. On the morning of August 4th, with two companies of the Seventh Cavalry, commanded by Captain Moylan and Colonel Custer — who, with my adjutant, Lieutenant Calhoun, and Lieu- tenant Yarnum, composed the officers of the party, and guided by my favorite scout. Bloody Knife, a young Arickaree war- rior, the entire party numbering eighty-six men and live offi- LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 483 cers, I left camp at five o'clock in tlie morning, and set out as usual to explore the country and find a practicable route for the main column. Soon after we left camp, Bloody Knife's watch- ful eyes discovered fresh signs of Indians. Halting long enough to allow him to examine the trail, Blood}^ Knife was soon able to gather all the information attainable. A party of Indians had been prowling about our camp the previous night, and had gone aw^ay, travelling in the direction in which we were then marching. This intelligence occasioned no particular surprise, as we had been expecting to discover the presence of Indians for sev- eral days. Bloody Knife's information produced no change in our plans. The hostile party of whose presence we had become aware, numbered nineteen ; our party numbered over ninety. Over rock-ribbed hills, down timbered dells, and across open, grassy plains, we wended our way without unusual interest, except at intervals of a few miles to discover the trail of the nineteen prowling visitors of the previous night, showing that our course, which was intended to lead us again to the Yellowstone, was in the same direction as theirs. Bloody Knife interpreted this as indicating that the village from which the nineteen had probably been sent to reconnoitre and report our movements, was located somewhere above us in the Yellow- stone valle3^ About ten o'clock we reached the crest of the high line of bluffs bordering the Yellowstone valley, from which we obtained a fine view of the river and valley extending above and beyond us as far as the eye could reach. After halting upon the crest of the bluffs long enough to take in the pleasures of the scene, and admire the beautiful valley spread out like an exquisite carpet at our feet, we de- scended to the valley and directed our horses' heads toward a particularly attractive and inviting cluster of shade trees stand- ing on the river bank, and distant from the crest of the bluffs nearly two miles. First allowing our thirsty horses to drink from the clear, crystal water of the Yellowstone, which ran 48i GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. miirmaringlj by in its long tortuous course to the Missouri, we then picketed them out to graze. Precautionary and necessary measures having been attended to, looking to the security of our horses, the next important and equally necessary step was to post half a dozen pickets on the open plain beyond, to give timely warning in the event of the approach of hostile Indians. This being done, the remainder of our party busied themselves in arranging each for his indi- vidual comfort, disposing themselves on the grass beneath the shade of the wide-spreading branches of the cotton woods that grew close to the river bank. For myself, so oblivious was 1 to the prospect of immediate danger, that after selecting a most inviting spot for my noonday nap, and arranging my saddle and buckskin coat in the form of a comfortable pillow, I removed my boots, untied ray cravat, and opened my collar, prepared to enjoy to the fullest extent, the delight of the outdoor siesta. I did not omit, however, to place my trusty Remington rifle within easy grasp — more from habit, it must be confessed, than from anticipation of danger. Kear me, and stretched on the ground sheltered by the shade of the same tree, was my brother, the colonel, divested of his hat, coat, and boots ; while close at hand, wrapped in deep slumber, lay the other three officers, Moylan, Calhoun, and Yarnum. Sleep had taken possession of lis all — officers and men — excepting of course the watchful pickets into whose keeping the safety, the lives, of our little detachment was for the time entrusted. How long we slept I scarcely know — perhaps an hour, when the cry of "Indians! Indians ! " quickly followed by the sharp ringing crack of the pickets' carbines, aroused and brought us — officers, men, and horses — to our feet. There was neither time nor occasion for questions to be asked or answered. Catching up my rifle, and without waiting to don hat or boots, I glanced through the grove of trees to the open plain or valley beyond, and saw a small party of Indians bearing down toward us as fast as their ponies could carry them. LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 485 " Run to your horses, men ! Run to your horses ! " I fairly yelled as I saw that the first move of the Indians was intended to stampede our animals and leave us to be attended to after- ward. At the same time the pickets opened fire upon our disturb- ers, who had already emptied their rifles at us as they advanced as if boldly intending to ride us down. As yet we could see but half a dozen warriors, but those who were familiar with stratagems knew full well that so small a party of savages un- supported would not venture to disturb in open day a force the size of ours. Quicker than I could pen the description, each trooper, with rifle in hand, rushed to secure his horse, and men and horses were soon withdrawn from the open plain and con- cealed behind the clump of trees beneath whose shade we were but a few moments before quietly sleeping. The tiring of the pickets, the latter having been reinforced by a score of their comrades, checked the advance of the Indians and enabled us to saddle our horses and be prepared for whatever might be in store for us. A few moments found us in our saddles and sallying forth from the timber to try conclusions with the daring intruders. AVe could onlj' see half a dozen Sioux warriors galloping up and down in our front, boldl}^ challenging us by their manner to attempt their capture or death. Of course it was an easy matter to drive them away, but as we advanced it became noticeable that the}'' retired, and when we halted or diminished our speed they did likewise. It was apparent from the first that the Indians were resorting to stratagem to accomplish that which they could not do by an open, direct attack. Taking twenty troopers with me headed by Colonels Custer and Calhoun, and directing Moylan to keep within supporting distance with the remainder, I followed the retreating Sioux up the valley, but with no prospect of overtaking them, as they were mounted upon the fleetest of ponies. Thinking to tempt them within our grasp, I being mounted on a Kentucky thoroughbred in 4S6 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. whose speed and endurance I had confidence, directed Colonel Custer to allow me to approach the Indians, accompanied only by my orderly, who was also well mounted ; at the same time to follow us cautiously at a distance of a couple of liundred yards. The wily redskins were not to be caught by any such artifice. They were perfectly willing that my orderly and my- self should approach them, but at the same time they carefully watched the advance of the cavalry following me, and permitted no advantage. We had by this time almost arrived abreast of an immense tract of timber growing in the valley and extending to the water's edge, but distant from our resting place, from which we had been so rudely aroused, about two miles. The route taken by the Indians, and which they evidently intended us to follow, led past this timber, but not through it. When we had arrived almost opposite the nearest point, I sig- nalled to the cavalry to halt, which was no sooner done than the Indians also came to a halt. I then made the sign to the latter for a parley, which was done simply by riding m}' horse in a circle. To this the savages only responded b}'' looking on in silence for a few moments, then turning their ponies and mov- ing off slowly, as if to say, " Catch us if you can."' My sus- picions were more than ever aroused, and I sent my orderly back to tell Colonel Custer to keep a sharp eye upon the heavy bushes on our left and scarcely three hundred yards distant from where I sat on my horse. The orderly had delivered his message, and had almost rejoined me, when judging from our halt that we intended to pursue no further, the real design and purpose of the savages was made evident. The small party in front had faced toward us and were advancing as if to attack. I could scarcely credit the evidence of my eyes, but my aston- ishment had only begun when turning to the wood on my left I beheld bursting from their concealment between three and four hundred Sioux warriors mounted and caparisoned with all the flaming adornments of paint and feathers which go to make up the Indian war costume. When I first obtained a glimpse LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 487 of them — and a single glance was sufficient — they -svere clashing from the timber at full speed, yelling and whooping as only Indians can. At the same time they moved in perfect line, and with as seeming good order and alignment as the best drilled cavalry. To understand our relative positions the reader has only to imagine a triangle whose sides are almost equal ; their length in this particular instance being from three to four hundred yards, the three angles being occupied by Colonel Custer and his de- tachment, the Indians, and myself. "Whatever advantage there was in length of sides fell to my lot, and I lost no time in avail- ing myself of it. Wheeling my horse suddenly around, and driving the spurs into his sides, I rode as only a man rides whose life is the prize, to reach Colonel Custer and his men, not only in advance of the Indians, but before any of them could cut me off. Moylan with his reserve was still too far in the rear to render their assistance available in repelling the shock of the Indians' first attack. Realizing the great superiority of our enemies, not only in numbers, but in their ability to handle their arms and horses in a fight, and fearing they might dash through and disperse Colonel Custer's small party of twenty men, and having once broken the formation of the latter, despatch them in detail, I shouted to Colonel Custer at almost each bound of m}^ horse, " Dismount your men ! Dismount your men ! " but the distance which separated us and the excitement of the occa- sion prevented him from hearing me. •^ Fortunately, however, this was not the first time he had been called upon to contend against the sudden and unforeseen onslaught of savages, and although failing to hear my sugges- tion, he realized instantly that the safety of his little band of troopers depended upon the adoption of prompt means of defence. Scarcely had the long line of splendidly mounted warriors rushed from their hiding place before Colonel Custer's voice rang out sharp and clear, " Prepare to fight on foot." This 4S8 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. order required three out of four troopers to leap from their sad- dles and take their position on the ground, where b}' more de- liberate aim, and being freed from the management of their horses, a more efi'ective resistance could be opposed to the rapidly approaching warriors. The fourth trooper in each gi'oup of " fours " remained on his horse, holding the reins of the horses of his three comrades. Quicker than words can describe, the fifteen cavalrymen, now on foot and acting as infantry, rushed forward a few paces in advance of the horses, deployed into open order, and dropping on one or both knees in the low grass, waited with loaded car- bines — with finger gently pressing the trigger — the approach of the Sioux, who rode boldly down as if apparently unconscious that the small group of troopers were on their front. '• Don't fire, men, till I give the word, and when you do fire, aim low," was the quiet injunction given his men by their young com- mander, as he sat on his horse intently watching the advanc- ing foe. Swiftly over the grassy plain leaped my noble steed, each bound bearing me nearer to both friends and foes. Had the race been confined to the Indians and myself the closeness of the result would have satisfied an admirer even of the Derby. Nearer and nearer our paths approached each other, making it appear almost as if I were one of the line of warriors, as the latter bore down to accomplish the destruction of the little group of troopers in front. Swifter seem to fly our mettled steeds, the one to save, the other to destroy, until the common goal has almost been reached — a few more bounds, and friends and foes will be united — will form one contending mass. The victory was almost within the grasp of the redskins. It seemed that but a moment more, and they would be tram- pling the kneeling troopers beneath the feet of their fleet-limbed ponies ; when, " Now men, let them have it ! " was the signal for a well-directed volley, as fifteen cavalry carbines poured their contents into the ranks of the shrieking savages. Before the LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTOJSE. 489 latter could recover from the surprise and confusion which fol- lowed, the carbines — thanks to the invention of breech-loaders — were almost instantly loaded, and a second carefully aimed dis- charge went whistling on its deadly errand. Several warriors were seen to reel in their saddles, and were only saved from falling by the quickly extended arms of their fellows. Ponies were tumbled over like butchered bullocks, their riders glad to find themselves escaping with less serious injuries. The effect of the rapid firing of the troopers, and the firm, determined stand, showing that they thought neither of flight nor surren- der, was to compel the savages first to slacken their speed, then to lose their daring and confidence in their ability to trample down the little group of defenders in the front. Death to many of their number stared them in the face. Besides, if the small party of troopers in the front was able to oppose such plucky and destructive resistance to their attacks, what might not be expected should the main party under Moylan, now swiftly approaching to the rescue, also take part in the struggle? But more quickly than my sluggish pen has been able to record the description of the scene, the battle line of the warriors ex- hibited signs of faltering which soon degenerated into an abso- lute repulse. In a moment their attack was transforujed into flight in which each seemed only anxious to secure his indi- vidual safety. A triumphant cheer from the cavalry-men as they sent a third installment of leaden messengers whistling about the ears of the fleeing redskins served to spur both pony and rider to their utmost speed. Moylan by this time had reached the ground and had united the entire force. The In- dians in the mean time had plunged out of sight into the re- cesses of the jungle from which they first made their attack. "We knew too well that their absence would be brief, and that thej^ would resume the attack, but not in the manner of the first. "We knew that we had inflicted no little loss upon them — dead and wounded ponies could be seen on the ground passed over 490 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. by the Indians. The latter would not be satisiled without deter- mined efforts to get revenge. Of this we were well aware. A moment's hurried consultation between the officers and myself, and we decided that as we would be forced to act en- tirely upon the defensive against a vastly superior force, it would be better if we relieved ourselves as far as possible of the care of our horses, and take our chances in the fight which was yet to come, on foot. At the same time, we were then so far out on the open plain and from the river bank, that the Indi- ans could surround us. We must get nearer to the river, conceal our liorses or shelter them from fire, then with every available man form a line or semicircle, with our backs to the river, and defend ourselves until the arrival of the main body of the expedition, an event we could not expect for several hours. As if divining our intentions and desiring to prevent their execution, the Indians now began their demonstrations looking to a renewal of the fight. Of course it was easy to see what had been the original plan by which the Indians hoped to kill or capture our entire party. Stratagem of course was to play a prominent part in the quarrel. The few young warriors first sent to arouse us from our midday slumber came as a decoy to tempt us to pursue them beyond the ambush in which laj^ concealed the main body of the sav- ages ; the latter were to dash from their hiding place, intercept our retreat, and dispose of us after the most approved manner of barbarous warfare. The next move on our part was to fight our way back to the little clump of bushes from which we had been so rudely startled. To do this Captain Moylan, having united his force to that of Colonel Custer, gave the order " Prepare to fight on foot." This was quickly obeyed. Three-fourths of the fight- ing force were now on foot armed with the carbines only. These were deployed in somewhat of a circular skirmish line, of which the horses formed the centre ; the circle having a diameter of several hundred yards. In this order we made our LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 491 way back to the timber ; the Indians whooping, yelling, and firing their rifles as they dashed* madly by on their fleet war ponies. That the tire of their rifles should be effective under these circumstances could scarcely be expected. Neither could the most careful aim of the cavalrymen produce much better results. It forced the savages to keep at a respectful distance, however, and enabled us to make our retrograde movement. A few of our horses were shot by the Indians in this irregular skirmish ; none fatally, however. As we were falling back, con- testing each foot of ground passed over, I heard a sudden sharp cry of pain from one of the inen in charge of our horses ; the next moment I saw his arm hanging helplessly at his side, while a crimson current flowing near his shoulder told that the aim of the Indians had not been entirely in vain. The gallant fel- low kept his seat in his saddle, however, and conducted the horses under his charge safely with the rest to the timber. Once concealed by the trees, and no longer requiring the horses to be moved, the number of horseholders was reduced so as to allow but one trooper to eight horses ; the entire remainder being required on the skirmish line. The redskins had followed us closely, step by step, to the timber, tempted in part by their great desire to obtain possession of our horses. If successful in this, they believed no doubt that, flight on our part being no longer possible, we must be either killed or captured. Taking advantage of a natural terrace or embankment ex- tending almost like a semicircle in front of the little grove in which we had taken refuge, and at a distance of but a few hun- dred yards from the latter, I determined by driving the Indians beyond to adopt it as our breastwork or line of defence. This was soon accomplished, and we found ourselves deployed behind a natural parapet or bulwai-k from which the troo})ers could deliver a carefully directed fire upon their enemies, and at the same time be protected largely from the bullets of the latter. The Indians made repeated and desperate efibrts to dislodge us 492 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and force ns to the level plateau. Every effort of tliis kind proved unavailing. Katlier a remarkable instance of rifle shooting occurred in the early part of the contest. I was standing in a group of troopers, and with them was busily engaged firing at such of om* enemies as exposed themselves. Bloody Knife was with us, his handsome face lighted up by the fire of battle and the desire to avenge the many wrongs suffered by his peoi)le at the hands of the ruthless Sioux. All of us had had our attention drawn more than once to a Sioux warrior who, seeming more bold than his fellows, dashed repeatedly along the front of our lines, scarcely two hundred yards distant, and although the troopers had singled him out, he had thus far escaped untouched by their bullets. Encouraged by his success perhaps, he concluded to taunt us again, and at the same time exhibit his own daring, by riding along the lines at full speed, but nearer than before. "We saw him coming. Bloody Knife, with his Henry rifle poised gracefully in his hands, watched his coming, saying he intended to make this his enemy's last ride. He would send him to the happy hunting ground. I told the interpreter to tell Bloody Knife that at the moment the warrior reached a designated point directly opposite to us, he, Bloody Knife, should fire at the rider and I at the same instant would tire at the pony. A smile of approval passed over the swarthy features of the friendly scout as he nodded assent. I held in my hand my well-tried Remington. Resting on one knee and glancing along the barrel, at the same time seeing that Bloody Knife was also squatting low in the deep grass with rifle levelled, I awaited the approach of the warrior to the designated point. On he came, brandishing his weapons and flaunting his shield in our faces, defying us by his taunts to come out and fight like men. Swiftly sped the gallant little steed that bore him, scarcely need- ing the guiding rein. Nearer and nearer both horse and rider approached the fatal spot, when sharp and clear, and so simul- taneous as to sound as one, rang forth the reports of the two LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 493 rifles. The distance was less than two hundred yards. The Indian was seen to throw np his arms and reel in his saddle, while the pony made one final leap, and both fell to the earth. A shont rose from the gronp of troopers, in which Bloody Knife and I joined. The next moment a few of the comrades of the fallen warrior rushed to his rescue, and without dismounting from their ponies, scarcely pulling rein, clutched up the body, and the next moment disappeared from view. Foiled in their repeated attempts to dislodge us, the Indians withdrew to a point beyond the range of our rifles for the apparent purpose of devising a new plan of attack. Of this we soon became convinced. Hastily returning to a renewal of the struggle, we saw our adversaries arrange themselves in groups along our entire front. They were seen to dismount, and the quick eyes of Bloody Knife detected them making their way toward us by crawling through the grass. We were at a loss to comprehend their designs, as we could not believe they in- tended to attempt to storm our position on foot. We were not left long in doubt. Suddenly, and almost as if by magic, we beheld numerous small columns of smoke shooting up all along our front. Calling Bloody Knife and the interpreter to my side, I in- quired the meaning of what we saw. " They are setting fire to the long grass, and intend to burn us out," was the scout's reply, at the same time keeping his eyes intently bent on the constantly increasing columns of smoke. His features wore a most solemn look ; anxiety was plainly depicted there. Look- ing to him for suggestions and advice in this new phase of our danger, I saw his face gradually unbend and a scornful smile part his lips. "The Great Spirit will not help our enemies," was his muttered reply to my question. " See," he continued ; " the grass refuses to burn." Casting my eyes along the line formed by the columns of smoke, I saw that Bloody Knife had spoken truly when he said, "The grass refuses to burn." This was easily accounted for. It was early in the month 494 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of August ; tlie grass had not ripened or matured sufficiently to burn readily. A month later, and the flames would have swept us back to the river as if we had been surrounded by a growth of tinder. In a few moments the anxiety caused by the threat- ening of this new and terrible danger was dispelled. While the greatest activity was maintained in our front by our enemies, ray attention was called to a single warrior who, mounted on his pony, had deliberatelj^, and as I thought rashly, passed around our left flank — our diminished numbers prevent- ing us from extending our line close to the river — and was then in rear of our skirmishers, riding slowly along the crest of the low river bank with as apparent unconcern as if in the midst of his friends instead of being almost in the power of his enemies. 1 imagined that his object was to get nearer to the grove in which our horses were concealed, and toward which he was moving slowly, to reconnoitre and ascertain how much force we held in reserve. At the same time, as I never can see an Indian engaged in an unexplained act without conceiving treachery or stratagem to be at the bottom of it, I called to Lieutenant Varnum, who commanded on the left, to take a few men and endeavor to cut the wily interloper off. This might have been accomplished but for the excessive zeal of some of Yarnum's men, who acted with lack of caution, and enabled the Indian to discover their approach and make his escape by a harried gallop up the river. The men were at a loss ev^en then to comprehend his strange manoeuvre, but after the fight had ended, and we obtained an opportunity to ride over and examine the ground, all was made clear, and we learned how narrowly we had es- caped a most serious if not fatal disaster. The river bank in our rear was from twenty to thirty feet high. At its base and along the water's edge ran a narrow pebbly beach. The redskins had hit upon a novel but to us most dangerous scheme for capturing our horses and at the same time throwing a large force of warriors directly on our rear. They had found a pathway beyond our rear, leading from the LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 495 large tract of timber in which the}^ were first concealed through a cut or ravine in the river bank. By this they were enabled to reach the water's edge, from which point they could move down the river, following the pebbly beach referred to, the height of the river bank protecting them perfectly from our observation. Thus they would have placed themselves almost in the midst of our horses before we could have become aware of their designs. Had they been willing, as white men would liave been, to assume greater risks, their success M'ould have been assured. But they feared that we might discover their movements and catch them while strung ont along the narrow beach, with no opportunity to escape. A few men on the bank could have shot down a vastly superior force. In this case the Indians had sent on this errand about one hundred warriors. After the discovery of this attack and its failure, the battle languished for awhile, and we were surprised to notice, not very long after, a general withdrawal from in front of our right, and a concentration of their forces opposite our left. The rea- son for this was soon made clear to us. Looking far to the right and over the crest of the hills already described, we could see an immense cloud of dust rising and rapidly approaching. We could not be mistaken ; we could not see the cause produc- ing this dust ; but there was not one of us who did not say to himself, "Relief is at hand." A few moments later a shout arose from the men. All eyes were turned to the bluffs in the distance, and there were to be seen, coming almost with the speed of the wind, four separate squadrons of Uncle Sam's best cavalry, with banners flying, horses' manes and tails floating on the breeze, and comrades spurring forward in generous emula- tion as to which squadron should land its colors first in the fight. It was a grand and welcome sight, but M-e waited not to enjoy it. Confident of support and wearied from fighting on the defensive, now was our time to mount our steeds and force our enemies to seek safety in flight, or to battle on more even terms. In a moment M-e were in our saddles and dashing after 496 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. them. The only satisfaction we had was to drive at full speed for several miles a force outnumbering us five to one. In this pursuit we picked up a few ponies which the Indians were com- pelled to abandon on account of wounds or exhaustion. Their wounded, of whom there were quite a number, and their killed, as afterwards acknowledged by them when they returned to the agency to receive the provisions and fresh supplies of am- munition whicli a sentimental government, manipulated and directed by corrupt combinations, insists upon distributing an- nually, were sent to the rear before the flight of the main body. The number of Indians and ponies killed and wounded in this engagement, as shown by their subsequent admission, almost equalled that of half our entire force engaged. That night the forces of the expedition encamped on the battle-ground, which w^as nearly opposite the mouth of Tongue River. My tent was pitched under the hill from which I had been so unceremoniously disturbed at the com- mencement of the fight ; while under the wide-spreading branches of a neighboring Cottonwood, guarded and watched over by sorrowing comrades who kept up their lonely vigils through the night, lay the mangled bodies of two of our com- panions of the march, who although not present nor participat- ing in the fight, had fallen victims to the cruelty of our foes. Thus closes Custer's account of this, his first fight with the Northern Indians, In it will be noticed the same coolness and deliberately studied recklessness which made him so successful an Indian fighter. This was the first intimation that the Sioux were on the war-path against the whites, and their first opposi- tion to the running of the railroad. In the last sentence of Custer's account of this action, which closes his published articles on the plains, he mentions two vic- tims of Indian cruelty. It is necessary to explain the allusion, because these two men were remotely the cause of Custer's own death, three years later. They were both unarmed men, the veterinary surgeon and LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 497 the sutler of the Seventh Cavahy. Dr. Houzinger, the first, was a corpulent old man of the quietest and most inoffensive habits, a great favorite with the regiment. Mr. Baliran, the sutler, was also an elderly man, and a great friend of Dr. Hou- zinger. The two were in the habit of straying off from the main body of the command, picking up natural curiosities, and so far had experienced no trouble. On the day of Custer's fight, these two quiet old men were somewhere about two miles be- hind his party, and ahead of the main body. Their bodies were found by the advance of the main expedition, where they had been swooped upon and killed by Indians, some out-lying members of the main party. Dr. Ilouzinger's skull was frac- tured as with some blunt instrument, but neither body was mutilated. Who had killed them was of course not known then. It came to light in a very strange manner, two years after, as we shall see in its place. Another man, a soldier of Company F. Seventh Cavalry, was also found killed, where he had been surprised at a spring, and it was the discovery of these bodies, together with the re- ports of scouts and stragglers that the Indians were up, that had induced General Stanley to send on help to Custer, arriving in time as it did. Stanley mentions this fight in very handsome terms in his report. For the next three days after the fight, Indians were to be seen hovering round the colunm, and on the 8th of August the appearance was explained. A lodge pole trail, evidently be- longing to a very large village, was found leading up the Yel- lowstone, and Custer was sent out with all the cavalry and scouts to pursue it, starting at nine that night. The trail was followed for thirty-six hours, and on the 10th August, it was found that the Indians had crossed the Yellowstone in " bull boats," the old trapper name for the wicker coracle, covered with a bull's hide, which is the transport of the plains Indians. Custer tried all day to cross after them, but in vain ; the American horses would not swim the river. Next morning, he was attacked by 32 498 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the Indians, who had been watching his discomfiture. Some came dovvn and fired at him across the river, while another body, probably from a second village, came down behind him, firing from the rear. The place where they now were, was on the north bank of the Yellowstone, three miles below the mouth of the Big Horn. Then, as now, the valley of the Upper Yel- lowstone, especially the southern bank, was the headquarters of the hostile Indians, and then, as now. Sitting Bull seems to have been their leader. Such at least was the impression of men in the ranks at the time, as I learn from extracts from the diary of an old soldier, then of the Twenty-second intantry, and now in the marines. His name is Patrick Bi-esland, and he seems to have been a regular old warrior all over the world, having served in the English army in the Crimea and Indian Mutiny, and several enlistments in difi'erent corps of the United States Army. This brave fellow it seems, kept a diary, meagre and bare enough, but still recording the main facts during the Yel- lowstone Expedition, and his entry of the fight of the 4th Au- gust is that it was " between the Sioux under Sitting Bull and Companies A and B, Seventh Cavalry." He says further, "the Indians retreated, followed by the Seventh Cavalry, Twenty- second infantry, and the rest of the expedition under General Stanley. On the 10th August we struck their trail at the Yellow- stone crossing. We lay in camp all night, or until 3 o'clock next morning, when the Indians, 1500 strong, who had recrossed to our side of the river, commenced an attack at a distance. Gen- eral Custer ordered out two companies of his regiment as skir- mishers, and they were joined by Companies C. I. F. and K. of the Twenty-second infantry. We were ordered by Custer to charge in a body. I was present on this occasion, and followed the Indians nine or ten miles, when they reached the hills and scattered. . . . From here we went to Mussel Shell River, which is the extreme point of the survey on the Northern Pa- cific Kailroad. We remained here several days, when we LOUISVILLE TO THE YELLOWSTONE. 499 returned to the Yellowstone, where we had several engagements with the Indians." Bresland's account mentions the killing of Dr. Houzinger, Mr. Baliran, and Ball of the Seventh Cavalry, and is valuable as coming from an independent and unofBcial source, confirming the main facts. General Stanley's report mentions that artil- lery was used in the fight, which caused a complete stampede of the Indians, they being very much afraid of shells. He also mentions that the soldiers found on the field citizens' clothing, coffee, sugar, bacon, two Winchester rifles and plenty of shells of patent ammunition, showing that the Indians must have been at the agencies recently, as those are the only places where Indians can get these articles. The station where the expedition left the Yellowstone and crossed the divide to the Mussel-Shell, was named " Pompey's Pillar." This is a knoll on the south side of the Yellowstone, thirty miles from the Big Horn. It stands alone, separated by the water from the other bluffs, with perpendicular sides one hundred and fifty feet high, with a top of grass sod, an acre in extent. In fact, says Stanley, it looks like anything but a "pillar; " however, such it was named, and such it remains on the map to the present day. At this place several Indians came out and fired a volley into a number of soldiers belonging to the expedition, who were bathing, causing a great scattering of naked men. Ko further serious trouble was experienced, and Custer returned at the close of the trip to Fort Rice late in September. From thence he was ordered to Chicago to report to General Sheridan, with whom he went to Toledo to the reunion of the Arm}' of the Tennessee, and thence to Monroe, where he again met his little wife. He was now granted a leave, part of which Avas spent at Chicago, during which time the eldest son of Prooident Grant, an officer on Sheridan's staff, was married to Miss Honore, a wedding duly reported by the Jenkinses of that date. At the close of his leave, Custer was ordered to assume command of the 500 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. post at which he spent the remaining years of his life, Fort Abraham Lincoln, on the right bank of the Missouri River, opposite to the little town of Bismarck, which is the present terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. He started, with Mrs. Custer and all his belongings, and went through to Bis- marck on the very last train that ran that year. The next day, down came the first snow, and thenceforth Custer and his little post were practically cut ofi from the rest of the world, till the spring opened the country once more. '4-^-. CHAPTER X. THE BLACK HILLS. THE close of the Yellowstone expedition left Custer in quiet for the winter, and it was not till the year 1874 that he was called on for active service. This time it was in connection with the Black Hills expedition, an enterprise that was to prove the cause of much trouble and ultimate war, M'hile its first inception was founded in injustice and cupidity. The Black Hills, from the time of the first overland travel down to the establishment of the Pacific Railroad, had been an unknown land to the whites. The region that passed by that name lay only some sixty or seventy miles to the north of Fort Laramie, which was the oldest fort on the plains, but it was out of the regular line of travel, and had never been visited by white men so as to be thoroughly explored. The Indians, when questioned about it, were very mysterious, and refused to give definite information, and the few trappers who professed to have visited it, reported it as a land of wonders. Little de- pendence could be placed on their stories, however. Trappers are, like sailors, given to spinning long j^arns, and it was seri- ously doubted whether any of them had ever been near the hills, as it was known that the Indians guarded the place with great jealousy. In 1857 a small exploring party, led by Lieutenant Warren of the Engineers — the same who afterwards, as General War- ren, had trouble with Sheridan at Five Forks — started from Fort Laramie to explore the Black Hills. Warren's party found the travelling very bad, but succeeded in reaching the 502 GENERAL GEORGE A, CUSTER. western verge of the hills, near a lofty mountain which the Indians named Invan Kara. Here the party was met by a number of Sioux chiefs, then at peace with the government, and warned that it could not proceed further into the hills, which the Indians regarded as sacred property. Warren, who states in his report that he believed the Indians to be justified in their demands, obeyed them and turned back. He went off to the south, and then turned to the east, keeping the hills in view all the time, and skirting them till he came to the other side, where another lofty hill was found and marked Bear Butte. Warren's expedition and a previous one from another quarter, led by Captain, afterwards General Reynolds, deter- mined the general figure of the unknown region, but left its interior as mysterious as ever. The Black Hills region was found to be a great oval, with the long axis running nearly north and south, about a hundred miles by fifty. It served as a watershed to divide the South Fork and the Belle Fourche or North Fork of the Cheyenne River. So far as it could be seen from the plains around, it seemed to be a nest of hills covered with dark pines, whence its name. From the time of Warren to the running of the Pacific Railroad, no further efforts were made to penetrate the Black Hills. By the treaty of 1868 (already referred to) with the Sioux Indians, that region, in common with others, was de- clared an inviolable part of Indian reservations, not to be tres- passed on by white men, and such it remained for many years. At last some Indians, coming to a trading post, brought in some gold dust and nnggets, which they admitted came from the Black Hills. The story, like that of the gold dust in Sut- ter's mill-race in California, spread like wild-fire, and the gov- ernment was importuned to sanction trespasses on the Indians' land. Parties of miners began to organize for the Black Hills, and the gold excitement waxed high in the west. Under these cir- THE BLACK HILLS. 503 cumstances it was, that the government ordered the Caster ex- pedition of 1874. It was determined to send a strong column to explore the hills and ascertain whether there was any gold to be found there. Accordingly on the first day of July, 1874, the village of Bismarck in Dakota Territory, in the vicinity of Fort Lincoln, was all alive with troops as the expedition started, under command of Custer himself. Tiie column consisted of ten companies of the Seventh Cav- alry, Company I. Twentieth infantry, and Company G. Seven- teenth infantry, with sixty Indian scouts, and four Gatling guns. General " Sandy '' Forsyth was with the column, and the President's son, Lieutenant Fred. Grant of the Second Cav- alry, accompanied Custer on the staff. The whole force was over 1200 strong, and accompanied by a huge wagon train, full of provisions. It was to move southwest from Fort Lincoln, nearly two hundred miles, striking the Black Hills from the north. There was little or no danger to the powerful column, either real or apprehended. It started on a romantic and mys- terious expedition, as if for a picnic, and as such it found the whole journey. The progress of the expedition is best told by a few extracts from Custer's reports. He writes from Prospect Yalley, a few miles to the north of the Belle Fourche, on the 15th July, 1874 : " This expedition reached this point yesterday, having marched since leaving Fort Lincoln 227|- miles. We are now 170 miles in a direct line from Lincoln within five miles of the "Little Missouri" Kiver, and within about twelve miles from the Montana boundary, our bearing from Fort Lincoln be- ing south 62^* west. After the second day from Lincoln we marched over a beautiful country; the grazing was excellent and abundant, wood sufficient for our wants, and water in great abundance every ten miles. "When we struck the tributaries of Grand Eiver we entered a less desirable portion of the country : nearly all the streams flowing into Grand River being more or less impregnated with alkali, rendering the crossings difficult. 504 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. We found a plentiful supply of grass, wood, and water, however, even along this portion of our route. Upon leaving the head- waters of the Grand River, we ascended the plateau separating the water-shed of the " Little Missouri " from that running into the Missouri, and found a country of surpassing beauty and richness of soil. The pasturage could not be finer, timber is abundant, and water both good and plentiful. " Our march thus far has been made without molestation upon the part of the Indians. We discovered no signs indicating the recent presence of Indians until day before yesterday, when Captain McDougall, Seventh Cavalry, who was on the flank, discovered a small party of about twenty Indians, watching our movements; the Indians scampered off as soon as discovered. Yesterday the same or a similar-sized party made its appear- ance along our line of march, and was seen by Captain Moj'lau, Seventh Cavalry, who was in command of the rear guard. Soon after several signals of smoke were sent up, which our In- dian guides interpret as carrying information to the main body of our presence and movements.*' At the time that the expedition started, there were strong indications that the Sioux contemplated opening a general war of small parties, such as had greeted Custer in 18G7 when he first went on the plains ; but the presence of his column and the uncertainty of the Indians as to its destination served one good purpose. It kept the greater part of the Sioux forces bus}'- M'atching Custer, till he entered the Black Hills, and the knowledge of its presence deterred the Indians from overt war that year. Once in the hills, the Sioux seem to have been re- assured, for he was watched no further, and seems to have quite taken the denizens of the hills, such few as there were, by surprise. A second despatch, dated August 2d, gives the result of two weeks further progress. It seems to have been a regular pic- nic still. Having taken up his march from Prospect Yallcy, he pursues : — THE BLACK HILLS. 505 " After leaving that point this expedition moved in a south- westerly direction until it reached the valley of the Little Missouri Eiver, up which we moved twenty-one miles. Find- ing this valley almost destitute of grazing along our line of march I ordered the water-kegs filled, and a supply of wood placed on the wagons, and left the valley in search of a better camp-ground. During our passage up the valley of the Little Missouri we had entered and were about to leave the Territory of Montana, Our course was near due south. After a further march of nine miles we arrived before sundown at a point capable of furnishing us good grazing and water for our ani- mals, having marched over thirty miles since breaking camp in the morning. From this point to the valley of the Eelle Fourche on the 18th of July, encamped where good grass, wood and water were abundant, at a point just west of the line separating Dakota from "Wyoming. " The following day was spent in camp. On the 20th we crossed the Belle Fourche and began, as it were, skirmish- ing with the Black Hills. We began by feeling our way care- fully along the outlying ranges of the hills, seeking a weak point through which we might make our way to the interior. We continued from the time we ascended from the valley of the Belle Fourche, to move through a very superior country, covered with the best of grazing and abundance of timber, principally pine, poplar, and several varieties of oak. As we advanced, the country skirting the Black Hills to the south- west became each day more beautiful. On the evening of the 22d we halted and encamped east of and within four miles of the base of Inyan Kara. Desiring to ascend that peak the fol- lowing day, it being the highest in the western range of the Black Hills, I did not move camp the following day, but taking a small party with me, proceeded to the highest point of this prominent landmark, whose height is given as 6,600 feet. The day was not favorable for obtaining distant views, but I decided on the following morning to move due east and attempt the 506 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. passage of the hills. We experienced considerable delay from fallen timber which lay in our pathway. With this exception, and a very little digging, rendered necessary in descending into a valley, the pioneers prepared the way for the train, and we reached camp by two o'clock, having marched eleven miles. We here found grass, water and wood of best quality and in great abundance. On the following day we resumed our march up this valley, which I had explored several miles the preceding evening, and which led us by an easy ascent almost southeast. After marching nearly twelve miles we encamped at an early hour in the same valley. This valley in one respect presented the most wonderful as well as beautiful aspect. Its equal 1 have never seen, and such, too, was the testimony of all who beheld it. In no public or private park have I ever seen such a profuse display of flowers. Every step of our march that day was amidst flowers of the most exquisite colors and perfume. So luxuriant in growth were they that men plucked them without dismounting from the saddle. Some belonged to new or unclassified species. It was a strange sight to glance back at the advancing column of cavalry, and behold the men with beautiful bouquets in their hands, wdiile the head gear of their horses was decorated with wreaths of flowers fit to crown a queen of Ma_y. Deeming it a most fitting appellation, I named this Floral Valley. General Forsyth, at one of our halting places, chosen at random, plucked seventeen beautiful flowers belonging to difierent species, and within a space of twenty feet square. The same evening, while seated at the mess table, one of the ofiicers called attention to the carpet of flowers strewn under our feet, and it was suggested that it be deter- mined how many different flowers could be plucked M'ithout leaving our seats at the dinner table. Seventeen beautiful varieties were thus gathered. Professor Donaldson, the botanist of the expedition, estimated the number of flowers in bloom in Floral Valley at fifty, while an equal number of varieties had bloomed or were yet to bloom. The number of trees, shrubs, THE BLACK HILLS. 507 and grasses was twenty-five, making the total flora of the valley embrace 125 species. " Through this beautiful valley meanders a stream of crystal water so cold as to render ice undesirable even at noonday. The temperature of two of the many springs found flowing into it was taken and ascertained to be 44 and 44^ deg. respectively, " The next morning, although loath to leave so enchanting a locality, we continued to ascend this valley until gradually, almost imperceptibly, we discovered that we were on the crest of the western ridge of the Black Hills ; and instead of being among barren, rocky peaks, as might be supposed, we found ourselves wending our way through a little park, whose natu- ral beauty may well bear comparison with the loveliest por- tions of Central Park. Favored as we had been in having Floral "Valley for our roadway to the west of the Black Hills, we were scarcely less fortunate in the valley which seemed to me to meet us on the interior slope. The rippling stream of clear cold water, the counterpart of that we had ascended the day before, flowed at our feet and pointed out the way before us, while along its banks grew beautiful flowers, surpassed but little in beauty and profusion by their sisters who had greeted us the day before. After advancing down this valley about fourteen miles, our course being almost southeast, we encamped in the midst of grazing, whose only fault, if any, was its great luxuriance. Having preceded the main column, as usual, with our escort of two companies of cavalry, E and C, and Lieuten- ant Wallace's detachment of scouts, I came upon an Indian camp-fire still burning, and which with other indications showed that a small party of Indians had encamped there the previous night, and had evidently left that morning in ignorance of our close proximity. Believing they would not move far, and that a collision might take place at any time unless a friendly under- standing was arrived at, I sent my head scout, Bloody Knife, and twenty of his braves to advance a few miles and reconnoi- tre the valley. The party had been gone but a few minutes 508 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. when two of Bloody Knife's young men carae galloping bact and informed me that they had discovered five Indian lodges a few miles down the valley, and that Bloody Knife, as directed, had concealed his party in a wooded ravine, where they awaited further orders. Taking E Company with me, which was after- ward reinforced by the remainder of the scouts and Colonel Hart's company, I proceeded to the ravine where Bloody Knife and his party lay concealed, and from the crest beyond obtained a full view of the five Indian lodges, about which a considerable number of ponies were grazing. I was enabled to place my command still nearer to the lodges undiscovered. I then de- spatched Agard, the interpreter, with a flag of truce, accompanied by two of our Sioux scouts, to acquaint the occupants of the lodges that we were friendly disposed and desired to communi- cate with them. To prevent either treachery or flight on their part, 1 galloped the remaining portion of my advance and surrounded the lodges. This was accomplished almost before they were aware of our presence. I then entered the little vil- lage and shook hands with its occupants, assuring them through the interpreter that they had no cause to fear, as we were not there to molest them. I invited them to visit our camp, and promised presents of flour, sugar, and coffee to all who would accept. This invitation was accepted. At the same time I entered into an agreement with the leading men that they should encamp with us a few days and give us such informa- tion concerning the country as we might desire, in return for which service I was to reward them with rations. With this understanding I left them. The entire party numbei-ed twenty- seven. Later in the afternoon four of the men, including the chief, " One Stab," visited our camp and desired the promised rations, saying their entire party would move up and join us the following morning, as agreed upon. I ordered presents of sugar, coffee, and bacon to be given them ; and to relieve their pretended anxiety for the safety of their village during the night, I ordered a party of fifteen of my command to return BLACK HILLS. » 509 with them and protect them daring the night. But from their great disinch'nation to wait a few minutes until the party could saddle up, and from the fact that two of the four had already slipped away, I was of the opinion that they were not acting in good faith. In this I was confirmed when the two remaining ones set oif at a gallop in the direction of the village. I sent a party of our scouts to overtake them and request their return ; not complying with the request I sent a second party with orders to repeat the request, and if not complied with to take hold of the bridles of their ponies and lead them back, but to ofifer no violence. When overtaken by our scouts one of the two Indians seized the musket of one of the scouts and endeav^- ored to wrest it from him. Failing in this he released his hold after the scout became dismounted in the struggle, and set off as fast as his pony could carry him but not before the mnsket of the scout was discharged. From blood discovered afterward it was evident that either the Indian or his pony was wounded. " ' One Stab,' the chief, was brought back to camp. The scouts galloped down the valley to the site of the village, when it was discovered that the entire party had packed up their lodges and fled, and the visit of the four Indians to our camp was not only to obtain the rations promised them in return for future services but to cover the flight of their lodges. I have effected arrangements by whicli the chief ' One Stab ' remains with us as guide three days longer, when he will take his de- parture and rejoin his band.' " From this point the march through the hills was continued without opposition or further incident. The small party of In- dians seems to have found the white man's method of offering friendship not to its taste, for which we can hardly blame the poor savages. The major part of the despatch is taken up with a description of the country, which Custer found delightful. It was not till September that he returned, further explorations having confirmed his first glowing impression of the beauties and advantages of the country, and made his final report, which 510 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. was mainly an enlargement of the passages already quoted. Then the fever of excitement commenced, as also a fever of controversy, Caster's statements being stigmatized by some offi- cers who had not been with him as baseless and exaggerated. Especially there arose between him and General Hazen a warm dispute as to the value of the l^orthwest, which was car- ried on with some acrimony in the western papers. There seemed to be a fate that was always bringing Hazen and Custer into collision, whenever they came near each other. It began at "West Point, when Hazen's inopportune presence cost Custer a court-martial. After that, they did not meet for seven years more. When they did, it was to get into a dispute about Sa- tanta and the Kiowas, in which each insisted that the other was wrong, and which was not decided for six years more. Now, in a second seven years, they came into violent collision on an- other question of fact, Hazen insisting that the greater portion of the Northwest along the line of the Rocky Mountains was a barren waste, utterly unfit for human habitation, and incapable of permanent amelioration, Custer insisting that it was the very garden of America, only needing cultivation to develop into a ' Paradise. As usual in such cases, the truth lies between the two. The majority of the seasons in Hazen's "Barren Belt" appear to be dry, but when a wet season comes, as it does every few years, the fertility of the land seems to be amazing. A more serious dispute arose as to the mining value of the Black Hills, which the geologists who accompanied Custer re- ported in an unsatisfactory manner. To settle the dispute, a second expedition under Professor Jenney, with a military es- cort under Lieutenant Colonel Dodge, Ninth Infantrj^, was sent from Fort Laramie the following year. This expedition after trying in vain to enter from the south-west, finally effected an entrance near the point where Custer went in, and spent some time in the hills. Arriving a month earlier than Custer, the expedition found "Ploral Yalley" in a miserable state, the snow hardly melted, the buds hardly started, not a flower to be BLACK HILLS. oil seen, but a violent storm of sleet in progress. By tbe time the expedition was over, however, the Black Hills revealed them- selves as a perfect garden, and the gold region was carefully ex- plored, turning out to be not as rich as expected, but enough so to attract miners. Several camps of these enterprising individ- uals were found, one of twenty-two people having passed the whole of the previous winter there, untroubled by Indians. The two expeditions revealed one fact, that the Indians rarely visited the interior of the Black Hills, which the}^ regard with superstitious feelings. Game was not very plentiful, but it was very tame. The soil was as fertile as Caster represented it, but the extreme shortness of the summer season made it improbable that the country could ever become valuable for arable pur- poses, though as a stock farm country it offered every in- ducement to settlers. Such was the final report on the subject of the Black Hills, and by that time it was full of miners, who came there in defiance of treaties. Dodge's expedition and the troops under General Crook made several trips into the Black Hills during the summer of 1875, to maintain the faith of the government, and half com- pelled, half persuaded, the miners to leave, escorting them to the military post, where they were delivered over to the " civil authority " — the territorial government of Dakota — to be pun- ished for disobedience to the law. In every case the miners seem to have willingly complied with the injunctions of the military authority, though themselves far superior in numbers to the small force of troops, and well armed besides. Just as soon, however, as the civil authority took them in hand, the whole proceeding turned out to be a farce. The miners were invariably released, without even the formality of bail, and as invariably went straight back to the Black Hills. In August there were over six hundred men there, who had started a " city " which they called " Custer City," laid it out in lots, and staked out their claims, as if the land belonged to them. They were removed and others took their places, so that to-day the Black 512 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Hills are fuller than last year. In all this, the rights of the Indians to retain their property and the obligation of the United States to keep its word have been wantonly violated, as a nat- ural and inevitable consequence of the expedition of 1874. Had it not been for the rumors of the presence of gold in that region, the expedition would never have started. As long as the Black Hills were regarded as worthless, the Indians were allowed to retain them. As soon as it was discovered that gold was there, all restraints of treaties were thrown aside, and Custer was ordered on the Black Hills expedition. That was the first wrong act, and from it flowed all the rest. Afterwards, when the miners began to crowd in, the government tried to keep its word by putting them out, but the first interlopers, the men who made the first trouble, were the troopers of Custer's column who started from Fort Lincoln July 1, 187-1, in obedience to the orders of the United States Government. It is a sad and humiliating confession to be made, but the irresistible logic of truth compels it, that all the subsequent trouble of the Sioux war really sprang from the deliberate vio- lation by the United States Government of its own freely plighted faith, when Custer was ordered to lead his column from Fort Lincoln to the Black Hills. The avowed purpose of the journey was to find out whether gold existed there, a mat- ter which concerned no one but the owners. All the subse- quent efibrts of the government w^ere mere palliations of its own first fault, and perfectly useless. Strange, but an illustration of poetic justice, that the very man, who, in obeying his orders, became the instrument of injustice towards the Indians, should fall a victim in the contest which ensued. Strange but true ! Yet we cannot blame Custer, as we approach the tragic close of so bright and hopeful a career. He w'as a soldier, bound to obey orders, and a mere instru- ment in the hand of power. He was ordered to explore the Black Hills, and he went there. He was ordered on the trail of the Sioux, and he went. None the less, the pleasant-seem- THE BLACK HILLS. 513 ing and roseate hues of that long pienic party called the Black Hills Expedition close the brightness of his career. From thenceforth clouds began to gather, and the time was swiftly coming when his sun should set in death. The close of the Black Hills Expedition sent Caster back to Fort Lincoln, where he remained during the whole of the winter, his usual eastern leave being enjoyed before the snow closed in, and in New York as usual. Happily ignorant of the coming storm, the last years of Custer's life were happy ones, so long as he was untrammeled by official difficulties or enmities. The reader will remember that he had always possessed a disposition remarkably cheerful, and a tendency to make the best of things : this tendency seemed to become more and more confirmed as he grew older, spite of all surrounding difficulties, sobered as it was by the earnest Christianity which had marked his private character ever since the period of his marriage engagement. To many men Custer's lot and that of his little wife seemed hard at the best, but they seemed to enjoy it to the full. Where others would have been complaining of the isolation of a frontier post, of the lack of society, of the privation of luxuries, Custer and his wife seemed perfectly happy. A fire came and burned down their house, so that they lost everything save what was on the lower story, which the men helped to carry out, including, fortunately, most of the General's papers : Custer and the little wife made light of the misfortune, and passed the bitter cold winter of the Northwest in slight temj^orary quarters, laughing at their dis- comforts. Nothing seemed to ruffle either, and they even made the accident a source of subsequent congratulation, when the new quarters were put up. If their life was pleasant, if they were happy, it was their own sunny temperaments that made them so. They were happy, where others would have been miserable. An air of luxury and good taste pervaded the " General's room," where he wrote and received his visitors. What gave it that air ? 33 514 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The furniture was of the phiinest, and much of it old and worn. But over every old chair or sofa, covering all deficiencies, were beautiful furs and skins that money could hardly have pur- chased, the spoils of Custer's rifle, and all around the walls hung grand heads of buffalo, of ahsata or " big horn," graceful antelope heads, prepared by Custer himself, the fierce faces of wolf, bear or panther, giving a wild and peculiar grace to the lofty room, lit up by the glow from yonder ample fire-place, with its blazing logs. There Custer was perfectly happy. Often he would say to his wife, when all alone with her : " How happy we are, and how God has blessed us ! It seems to me we have everything so good. Our horses are the best, our dogs are the best, our regiment is the best, our home is the best in all the land, God be thanked for his goodness." In all this was no boasting. The man seemed to feel to the very core of his heart that his lot in life left him nothing to wish for : he was perfectly happy and devoutly grateful. And jet, had he known it, the end was coming, and the verj^ happi- est years of his life at Fort Lincoln were to bring him forth one more enemy, the man who finally slew him. Who he was, the next chapter will show. RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. CHAPTER II. RAIN-IK-THE-FACE. IT will be remembered that in a previous chapter we recorded the murder of two inoffensive old men, Dr. Honzinger and Mr. Baliran, on the Yellowstone expedition. They were killed it was supposed, by "hostiles," but the discovery of agency property on the field of battle subsequently revealed that among these hostiles were some so called " good Indians " who drew rations at the agencies and received property from the govern- ment. No hope was felt that the names of the Indians who killed the two unarmed old men would be found out. During the winter of 1875, however, their identity came out in a very strange manner. Charley Reynolds, one of Custer's scouts, who afterwards was killed at the Little Horn battle, happened to beat Standing Rock Agency, a place some seventy miles below Fort Lincoln, where the Indians were drawing rations. As usual at their re- joicings, they were having " a dance." The Indians appear to signalize every great event by a dance, and this dance is always made the occasion of boasting about all the valiant deeds they ever have done. In the course of this dance, Charley Reynolds heard one of the Indians boasting how he had killed two men at a time, white men, too, and then the savage went on with his pan- tomime dance and described how he did it, how one of them was a fat old man, and how he fell from his horse, how he, the In- dian, finished him oft* by smashing his skull with a big stone, and then shot the other white man and took all they had. Then he proudly exhibited articles that Charley knew belonged to Dr. 516 GENEEAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Honzinger, and the scout knew that he had found the murderer. That Indian was named " Eain-in-the-Faee." The rest of his storj was written at the time, January, 1875, by Mrs. Custer, and she shall tell it to the reader in her own words. I have been so much interested, says the dear little lady, in the capture and present imprisonment of an Indian murderer, I cannot but think that the story might entertain others. Since 80 many of the " ready writers " of the present day make up their histories of Indian life and incidents, thousands of miles from the actual scene, I do not wonder that the true impres- sion of the real wild Indian is confined mostly to those who live either with or near them. I must go back for a moment to the Yellowstone Expedition under General Stanley in the summer of 1873. Attached to the cavalry accompanying the expedition were two civilians who rode a great part of the time together. They were not obliged to submit to the regulation that compels soldiers to keep the ranks, and so they daily guided their horses where they chose. One day they stopped to water their steeds, and the main column was scarcely out of sight, hidden by a divide, before the two were surrounded and instantly murdered by Indians. A portion of the cavalry under General Custer had at the same time been surrounded and were fighting, but unable of course to go to the relief of the two poor victims. Dr. Honzinger was an honest, kind-hearted old man, who had followed the fortunes of the Seventh Cavalry for some years, as its veterinary surgeon. Mr. Baliran was the sutler for the cavahy. Both were favorites with the command and were much re- gretted. Both left families poorly provided for. It is now over a year and a half since their death. A few weeks since, reliable information canie from the Indian agency below here on the river, that the murderer of I)r. Honzinger and Mr. Baliran was at the agency drawing his rations, blan- kets, ammunition, etc., from government, and boasting of his foul deed of the two summers preceding. EAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 517 This piece of news at once created the most intense excite- ment in our garrison, largely composed as it is of members of the Yellowstone expedition and friends of the slaughtered men. It really seemed too aggravating to endure the knowledge of the fact that the government should feed, clothe and equip In- dians, to go out and fight and kill soldiers and others who were working to protect the frontier. So after the excitement had somewhat lulled, a detachment was quickly prepared to march to the agency. No one knew the object of their trip. Most persons supposed it was to capture another Indian murderei', belonging to the agency, who had killed a citizen on Red Eiver of the North, last summer. Four officers and a hundred men left this post, one cold windy day, under sealed orders. The orders directed them to capture and bring back an Uncpapa Indian, called Eain-in-the-Face, the assassin of Dr. Honzinger and Mr. Baliran. Our next post is twenty miles distant, and had the orders not been sealed. General Custer knew that the Sioux scouts employed by government at Fort Rice, as soon as the troops arrived there and told their errand, would send out a runner to the agency below and inform the Indians of the intended arrest, giving time for the murderer to escape. So the orders were not opened until Rice was left behind twenty miles. As the troops neared the agency it was found neces- sary to observe the greatest care, to prevent the Indians from finding out the object of the visit. It was the day for our red brethren to draw beef from their generous Uncle Sam. Hun- dreds of them were there at the agency, of course armed to the teeth, as they always are. In the face of hundreds of fully armed Indians, though on the reservation, still most of them full of hate toward the white man, it seemed a very venture- some deed to appear in their midst and claim one of their num- ber. The reservation Indians are constantly told that they will be fed, clothed, and armed, if they will consent never to make war on the white man, but if they do they must submit to the penalties of the law. But in the instance of this murderer he 518 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. dared everything to prove his courage. He had been frequently to tlie agency, boasting of his base deed. One party of troops had been down to capture him earlier in the winter, but he had hidden and escaped them. So Captain Yates, who had charge of the troops, sent one of the lieutenants, with forty men, to the Indian camp ten miles below, to make inquiries for three Indians who had murdered citizens on Red River last summer. This ruse succeeded in deceiving the Indians as to the real object of their presence among them. As the trader's store is the great place of resort for the Indians, it was presumed that in the course of the day Rain-in-the-Face would be there. Col. Custer (brother of the general) was directed to take live picked men and go to the store and capture the murderer, should the latter put in an appearance. He remained in the store for sev- eral hours. The day was cold and the Indians kept their blan- kets drawn about their heads, thus rendering it almost impossible to distinguish one from the other. At last one of them loosened his blanket and Col. Custer identified him as Rain-in-the-Face. Coming suddenly behind him, he threw his arms around him and seized the Winchester rifle that the Indian attempted in an instant to cock. The murderer was taken entirely by surprise. Stolid as their faces usually are, his, in this moment of amaze, was a study. No fear to be seen, but other emotions showed themselves with lightning rapidity on his countenance. Sur- prise, hate, revenge, then the final determination that he would show his brother warriors he was not afraid to die. He had been considered brave beyond precedent, to even enter the agency store and encounter this risk of arrest. As soon as Rain-in-the-Face was actually captured and his hands tied, an old Indian orator of the tribe began exhorting the Indians, who had assembled in the store to the number of thirty or more, to recapture their comrade. He spoke in the key assumed by the Indian warriors, high and loud, but with no rising or falling inflections. The most intense excitement RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 519 prevailed among the braves. The instant Eain-in-the-Face was arrested, Captain Yates, who had remained outside a close ob- server of affairs, gave the signal, and rallied his entire force in the immediate vicinity of the trader's store, prepared to repel any attempt to rescue the prisoner. These precautions were adopted none too quickly, for no sooner had news of the cap- ture of Rain-in-the-Face been conveyed to the numerous groups of Indians to be seen in the vicinity of the agency, than a mass of armed warriors, estimated at over five hundred in number, rushed to the trader's store, and in loud, threatening, and ex- cited tones, demanded the instant release of their comrade. The occasion was one requiring the exercise of the utmost pru- dence as well as the most determined courage upon the part of the little group of officers and men who stood with weapons in their hands, about the prisoner. Determined to resist to the very death any attempt at a rescue, Captain Yates, presenting a bold front to the Indians, enraged as they were, prevented the immediate recapture of his pi-isoner. By means of an inter- preter, he then briefly explained to the Indians the cause of the arrest, and announced the determination of himself and men to maintain their hold over their captive. He at the same time urged the chiefs to withdraw with their followers, and thus avoid a collision that would only result in loss of life on both sides, without accomplishing any purpose. Seeing they could not carry out their end by intimidation or the display of greatly superior numbers, the Indians then resorted to parley and offers of compromise. They offered through an interpreter to sacrifice two Indians of the tribe, if Rain-in-the-Face could be released. He is a great warrior among them. He has five brothers at the agency, one of whom. Iron Horn, is a chief of influential standing in the tribe. It was not expected that Indians of any notoriety or rank would be offered as a sacrifice; only some who had not distinguished themselves in any way ; and the selections were to be made by the great moguls of the tribe. These oflTers were of course refused, and Eain-iu-the-Face was 520 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. taken to the camp of the Cavalry. In an incredibly short time not an Indian was to be seen at the agency. All went to their camp, ten miles below. Later in the day, a party of fifty mounted Indians dashed by the agency on the road to be taken by our troops on the return. Of course our officers expected to be attacked by this party the next morning, but they were unmolested, and reached here after a march of three days, through cold and snow and winds such as only Dakota can fur- nish. It was explained to us afterward, that the party of fifty seen passing the agency were on their way to the camp of the chief " Two Bears " to try and induce him to urge his young braves to combine with them in the release of E,ain-in-the-Face. But Two Bears is an old chief, and he opposed the attack. He has been a friend of the whites for a long time, but his age would induce one to think the motive of his friendship was policy. After the ofiicers had reported. General Custer sent forKain- in-the-Face to interview him. He is a young man with an im- penetrable countenance. This is as we saw him, but in a sub- sequent interview, when General Custer locked himself alone in a room with him, he showed some signs of agitation. After a time, when they had talked by signs as far as it was possible, the interpreter w^as admitted, and for hours General Custer attempted by every clever question he could invent, to induce Rain-in-the-Face to confess his crime. At last he succeeded in getting his account of the murder, and the next day in the presence of a number of the officers, Rain-in-the-Face made a full confession of his crime. He called Dr. Honzinger the old man, and says he shot him, but he rode some distance before falling from his horse. Mr. Baliran he described as being among some trees, and signaling to them by holding up his hand as an overture of peace. He says that Baliran gave them his hat when they reached him, but they shot him at once, first with a gun, then with arrows. One of the arrows entered his back and he tried to pull it through, but failed. They did not scalp their RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 521 victims. Dr. Honzinger was bald, and Mr. Baliran had his hair closely cut. Neither of these gentlemen were armed when at- tacked by the Indians. This short but cruel story made our blood boil when w^e afterwards learned what Rain-in-the-Face had confessed. The brother of the prisoner, " Iron Horn," and one other Indian, had followed the cavalry up from the agency and asked to see the captive before they went home. General Custer sent for Kain-in-the-Face, and he met his brother and had coun- cil with him. They expected it was a farewell interview, as the Indians all believed Rain-in-the-Face would be hung. During the council, which was very solemn, Iron Horn took off his beautiful beaded blanket and put it on his brother, taking his common one in place of it. He also exchanged pipes with him, giving his highly ornamented one to Rain-in-the-Face, to present to General Custer. He charged his brother most sol- emnly not to try to escape, that should he get back to the reser- vation he would be recaptured, and he believed he would be kindly treated while a captive. He hoped the great Father would not hang him, and' perhaps General Custer would inter- cede in his favor. The great Father rarely hung Indians. Asking him not to lose his spirits, they took a farewell smoke and he departed. In about ten days he returned, bringing a party of In- dians with him. Another interview with General Custer was obtained. After all the guests were seated, Rain-in-the- Face came over from the guard house and entered, having been sent for at the request of the Indians. He came into the room, trying not to show his pleasure at seeing his friends, nor his grief at his imprisonment and his evidently expected death ; but these emotions passed over his face in quick succession, and then came the look of settled indiffei-ence that the Indian constantly tries to wear. His brother rose at once and went to Rain-in-the-Face, and, to the intense amazement of the few privileged spectators General Custer had allowed to enter, he 522 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. kissed him. An Indian kiss, to be sure ; the lips were laid quietly on his cheek, with no sound or motion ; but it is a solemn caress, and one never seen before, with one single ex- ception, by the oldest Indian lighter here. Several of the rank- ing Indians stepped solemnly to the prisoner and gave him the same dignified salute. Then one of the old men of the tribe walked in front of him, and lifting his hand above his head and raising his eyes, said a few words in prayer to the Great Spirit for this unfortunate brother. Eain-in-the-Face hung his head low on his breast, to hide the emotion that he thought would ill become a warrior as brave as he really is. After a long speech by Iron Horn, delivered in the usual high monotonous key, the next in rank rose, and so on, till half a dozen had spoken. Iron Horn thanked General Custer for his care of Rain-in-the-Face, asked permission to visit him again, begged him to write again to the Great Father and intercede for the life of their brother, and then, taking off" the buckskin shirt he wore, he presented the highly ornamented garment to the General. Then came such a singular request. It was the story of Damon and Pythias among uncivilized warriors. Two shy young braves, sitting near the end of the circle among the untitled, asked through Iron Horn the privi- lege of sharing the captivity of Kain-in-the-Face. Not many murderers or felons in the States find friends who in the hour of arrest or capture ask to share the prison with them. Con- sent was given to this request, if the friends would be willing to be locked in the prison till the hour came for them to go home. They rested in the guard house with their friend for a day and night, and then returned to the agency. The imprison- ment of Kain-in-the-Face continued for several months, till a circumstance occurred that gave him his liberty. So far Mrs. Casters narrative, written at the time. The circumstance she speaks of introduces another story which will give an excellent idea of another phase of Custer's character, besides completing the record. We are indebted for this story RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 523 to the kindness of Mrs. Yates, widow of the brave captain whose party took the Indian. She entitles it the " Story of the Grain Thieves." "It seems strange," says this lady, " that any one at all ac- quainted with the working and planning of Custer's mind, could accuse him of rashness / there is the most wonderful de- nial of this imputation in every engagement which he entered during the war, in the planning of the Washita campaign, and last, but not least, to many minds, the following up and final arrest of the grain thieves at Fort Abraham Lincoln, a matter which some might deem of unimportance, but which should be considered of value in showing the patient energy and tenacity of purpose as exemplified in his character. It is of importance also, because it established him in the eyes of the lawless fron- tiersmen of Bismarck and its vicinity, as one whom it would be as well to respect, one who was quick to pursue and sure to overtake. " During the spring of 1875, the grain from the several forage buildings at Fort Lincoln had been steadily disappearing. The river being still frozen, intercourse between the post and the town of Bismarck was fully established, and it became a diffi- cult matter to trace the stolen grain to any particular parties, as well as a problem what to do with the parties in the event of finding it. Law and order had not resolved itself from the chaos of the newly-put-together town. ^^ " The General was also hampered by being forbidden by or- der to make arrests outside of the military reservation, all exte- rior justice being meted out by the good mayor of Bismarck; who, * slow to anger and plenteous in mercy,' the General feared might not prove as powerful a coadjutor as he could desire. With all these discouraging facts to dauipen his ardor, he quietly went to work, early and late, gathering in his proofs in which he was greatly assisted by Lieutenant Garland, of the Sixth Infantry, formerly a lawyer. Ever watchful of the slightest opportunity, nothing escaped him. Believing with 524 ' GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Pope that ' tlie proper study of mankind is man,' he studied man as he found him in Bismarck. " Once he arose in the night and himself inspected the grain on the landing to see that it was all right, questioning and ex- amining the guard, and only retiring when fully satisfied that no robbery would be attempted that night. Months before the denouement, he knew where each of the dramatis personae was, could have arrested any one of them, or even a half a dozen, if he had been rash ; but, being patient, he waited until he possessed the required proofs to arrest every one who had been in the least connected with the disappearance of the grain, knowing well that in arresting only a part of the number, he gave the rest warning to escape. " So when, one bright day, just before the breaking up of the river in the spring, he issued orders for the regiment to be in readiness to start at the call of the trumpet for Bismarck, not an officer of his command but was as astonished, and knew as little of what was expected of them, as did the citizens of Bis- marck, when they saw the cavalry, fully armed and equipped, come riding into their little town. " The Seventh Cavalry rode to the different places indicated by the General, and found the grain at every place pointed out by him, to the surprise and indignation of the honest citizens of Bismarck, who being in ignorance of the localities the thieves had chosen to secrete it, were naturally indignant at the slur cast upon their reputations. For a while loud talking ensued, and a riot of no mean pretensions was threatened. Finally, upon the General insisting, doors were thrown open to him, and the stolen grain in every instance was exposed to view, tlie soldiers turning the bags over, and showing the government brand. In the Mayor's own warehouse (he being also a prominent mer- chant at the time,) a number were discovered. You can im- agine the good mayor's surprise at this last selection of a repos- itory for these stolen goods, " A number of arrests were made, the mayor now concurring RAIN-IN-THE-FACE. 525 heartily with the mihtarv. and for temporary safe keeping the corn thieves were escorted by the cavahy back to Fort Abraham Lincoln and lodged in the guard house. " Their trial, which took place at Fargo, Minnesota, occupied many months, and employed numbers of witnesses, the leading actors in the scene shortly afterwards finding their way into the penitentiary. There is one amusing occurrence connected with the above arrest, and following upon the order received by Gen- eral Custer to arrest all those implicated in the robbery that could be found upon the military reservation of Fort Lincoln. Off this reservation, as before mentioned, such arrests devolved upon the mayor. The General, one day, became aware that two of the principal members of the gang were at that time in a shant}^ almost half a mile from the post. Not knowing the men, nor having any description of their appearance, his order to the officer of the day was merely, ' go to 's shanty, and arrest immediately two citizens who you will find there — put them in the guard house.' The officer of the day started off, and the General proceeded to make a call upon a certain family in the garrison. Seating himself near the window where he could command a view of the road in front of the officer's quar- ters, laughing and conversing meanwhile, his eye scarcely left the window. "Presently, a wagon drove by, containing two inoffensive looking personages in citizen's attire ; there was nothing at all suspicious in their appearance, nor was it unusual for citizens to have business in, and drive through the post. Only, one of the men looked back anxiously over his shoulder. This act aroused the General's interest, but he allowed them to drive around — which they did slow!}- — until they were almost in front of the guard house, when he rose abruptly, excused himself to the lady, and stepping upon the porch, placed both hands to his mouth shouting ' Guards arrest those men ! ' " The wondering guard obeyed, the men were assisted to alight, having driven up to their destination themselves. Soon 526 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. it became evident what had occasioned the anxious looks over their shoulders. In a lumbering wagon, drawn by four mules, stood the officer of the day, jabbing the mules with his sabre, and the while ejaculating in profound English. " He had obeyed orders, had searched the shanty, but finding no one there, was about to return home without making the arrest, when he observed the men in the wagon. At first think- ing they were honest hay cutters, he allowed them to make con- siderable headway from" him. On second thought, he concluded to overtake them, but finding that at this rate they would soon be off the reserv^ation, and no arrest could then be made, he seized the nearest vehicle, which was a heavy water wagon, ordering the soldiers to jnmp out. Clutching the reins with one hand and punching the wheelers with his sabre in the other, he came upon the scene just as the general had made the arrest in person." The arrests were made after Rain-in-the-Face had been several months in the guard house, and amongst others there were two paiticularly hard cases, who had been caught driving wagons loaded with hay off the ground. " The guard house," says Mrs. Custer, concluding her story, " was only a poorly built, wooden building, quite insecure, and these citizens had in one night cut a hole in the side of the rear wall, large enough to creep through. Two crept safely out, and Rain-in-the-Face, seeing the opening after they had gone, quickly made his escape. We found afterwards that he went at once to the hostile camp, and last spring he sent word by agency Indians that he had joined Sitting Bull and was awaiting his revenge for his imprisonment." That he took it, all the world now knows, and they can see in his portrait taken from an excellent photograph, what sort of a man this desperado is. Truly he looks soft enough, and as innocent as a lamb, but for all that he is well known as one of the bravest men of his nation. The tribe were particularly proud of him for one thing, his extraordinary fortitude against RAIN-IN-THE-PACE. 527 physical pain. He was said to have hung for four hours in the " Sun dance." * * The Sun Dance, says Mrs. Yates, to whom we are already indebted, is a test of nerve and endurance of the Indian ; in other words, it is the Military Academy from which he graduates, a well-informed soldier. Here he is taught to be wily, hardy, stoical and cruel. It is held in the middle of summer, when the sun's rays are nearly vertical, and its beat therefore, the most intense. One of its features is the exposure, upon platforms erected for the purpose, of the nude forms of the Indian braveq, to the direct and burning rays of the sun. Lying on their backs, with eyes distended, their gaze is fixed upon the solar king, uutil tears stream from their tortured and mal- treated organs. Numerous tests are too horrible to mention, and would require as mucli nerve to witness and describe, as to participate in them. Visitors frequently faint away in the presence of such sickening details. For these young Indian cadets to fail in the slightest detail, is certain disgrace ; to exceed what is demanded by competent j udges, calls forth applause, admiration, and gifts. Many a chief goes back to the Sun Dance for the beginning of his record. His bravery and endurance there is never forgotten, and serves him in good stead ever after. Not long since, an excellent engraving of a Sun Dance appeared in Har- per's Weekly. In this picture, Indians could be seen undergoing the suspen- sion test. This is done by cutting a gash under some of the sinews of the back, immediately under the shoulder blades, passing thongs of buffalo hide through the gashes, and by these thongs suspending the Indian to the roof of a large tepee. Here he hangs until his own weight or motion causes the thongs to cut through the sinews, when he falls to the ground, and has successfully passed the trial. The summer before General Custer's expedition to the Black Hills, a grand Sun Dance was held at Standing Rock, Dakota. The tests were unusually severe ; the judges exacting. A Sioux, nick named 'Pete,' could not endure the suspension test, but fainted away, and upon coming to, begged to be taken down. He was released, but henceforth was irretrievably disgraced, compelled to dress as a squaw, and forever debarred the privileges of a brave. The squaws held him in derision, and poor Pete's lot was a gloomy one indeed. Pete accompanied the General on the Black Hills expedition ; he bore his disgrace with equanimity, and had always an amiable smile for everybody. The Indian scouts obliged Pete to cook and do all their other menial labor. At this same dance, Kain-in-the-Face so distinguished himself as to win the popularity of several tribes. In the suspension test he was gashed so deep, that he could not by his own weight cut through the sinews. He hung in mid air for several hours, blood streaming from his wounds, and 528 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The escape of Rain-in-the-Face to the hostiles was made in the spring of 1875 and during that summer these hostiles, clustered around the headwaters of the Yellowstone, began to send their war parties out near the settlements, while the agency Indians were perpetually slipping off to join them. Dodge's Black Hills exjDedition further contributed to unsettle the Indians, and when the miners moved in numbers into that region, it became evident that a general war with the l^orthern Sioux was impending. The short summer was the only salvation of the settlers, and when 1876 came, it was clear that the light could no longer be averted. Under these circumstances, the government resolved for the first time to make war on the hostiles. going through the motion of dancing the while. He became faint from loss of blood, and the judges decided to cut him down. Rain-in-the-Face ob- jected however to this, and so was allowed to swing in this manner for four hours — when the flesh at last gave way and let him down. EIGHTH BOOK.— THE LAST CAMPAIGN. CHAPTER I. SITTING BULL. WHILE the retreat of 1868 had pacified most of the Sioux, and especially the great chiefs Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, with their bands, there was a small portion of the Sioux nation which remained implacable in its enmity to the whites, and kept to its original habits of life, out in the wilderness. This portion was generally known by the title of " the hos- tiles," and the most powerful chief of the different bands was and is known by the title of Sitting Bull. To explain to the general reader the meaning of the words "nation," "tribe," and " band," a short sketch of Indian polity is here necessary. The Indian tribes of the plains bear a strong likeness in their modes of governm.ent to the Arabs and Tartars. Ab- stractly it may be termed patriarchal, but actually it is nearly a pure republic. Every member of a band does just about what he pleases, and obeys his chief when it pleases him, subject always to the verdict of popular opinion and the physical ability of the chief to thrash him. While the dignity of chieftainship appears to be hereditary, it is subject to so many checks, and depends so much on personal ability to persuade one's followers to pursue a certain line of conduct, that it may be called a mere delusion, in the hands of any but a great warrior ; and prowess in war is the only sure road to real power among Indians. While the Indians, as a mass, are thus independent of all but persuasive influences, the patriarchal element so far prevails that 34 530 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the family is the basis of the organization for war and The members of a family, in all its ramifications of brothers and cousins, uncles and nephews, generally travel together, hunt together, and fight together, agglomerating in time, with their connections by marriage, into a " band " varying from two to twenty or thirty lodges. These " bands " have a remoter con- nection, by blood ties, with other bands, and constitute together a " tribe," which may number from two to thirty or forty "bands." These tribes again have a still more remote blood connection with other tribes, constituting a "nation," such as the Sioux Nation, which comprises the Yankton, Brule, Teton, TJncpapa, and several other tribes, each tribe in its turn embrac- ing several bands. The " hostiles," so called, are formed of bands differently composed. The patriarchal ties noticeable in other bands are replaced here by a mere alliance of convenience. Every Indian who feels discontented at the agencies joins the " hostiles " and attaches himself to the band of Sitting Bull or Crazy Horse, the only two great chiefs who were, at the time we write of, avowedly "hostile." Thus their bands, originally numbering perhaps twenty lodges apiece, with a fighting force of a hundred warriors to each band, were swelled by the arrival of discon- tented families to many more. The village of Crazy Horse, at tlie close of the winter of 1S75, was found to contain one hun- dred and five lodges, which, at the ordinary rate of five or six warriors to a lodge or " tepee," furnished a force of about 550 warriors. Sitting Ball's band probably then numbered at least 150 lodges, he being a more famous chief than Crazy Horse. During the summer time, the forces of both received constant additions from the agency Indians, who came out for a sum- mer's hunt, provided Avith plenty of breechloading and magazine guns and ammunition. An inspection of the map near the close of this part of our book will show the singular advantages which the agencies off'ered for this. The position of the " hostiles " was very well selected, near the head of the Yellowstone, in a SITTING BULL. 531 country surrounded by " bad-lands,'' which prevented the whites from near approach, except on great and protracted expeditions, like that led by Stanley. To form an idea of the " bad-lands," the eastern reader can use a familiar illustration. You have all no doubt seen a clay-field after a long and hot drought in sum- mer, how it is seamed over with innumerable cracks, perfectly perpendicular, leaving miniature chasms between. Such, mag- nified by a hundred, are the " bad-lands " of the north-west. They are patches of clay soil, baked by the long and intense droughts of that climate into chasms four or five feet wide and perhaps twenty feet deep, absolutely impassable for wagons where they occur, quagmires in the early spring freshets, a lab- yrinth of ravines in the summer. These bad-lands surrounded the country of the hostiles in 1873, and surround them now. So much for the natural advantages of Sitting Bull's position, considered in a defensive point of view, but a greater advantage accrues to him from the strategic lines of the country and the existence of the Indian agencies. A second look at the map will reveal how the agencies affect the strategic position. Observe that the Missouri River, beginning in the north- west corner of the map, describes nearly a perfect circle around the country of the " hostiles," and remember that all the Indian agencies are on this river, and you will begin to realize what is meant by the " strategic advantages " of Sitting Bull. Begin- ning at the mouth of the Cheyenne River, there are Cheyenne Agency, Brule Agency, Grand River Agency, Standing Rock Agency, Fort Berthold and Fort Peck and several other places, all full of friendly Indians, supported by Government, and ready to join the hostiles in the summer, bringing arms and ammu- nition with them. To give an idea of the supplies of the latter, let us take what went through in the spring of 1876 alone, for distribution to Indians. Our evidence is contained in the private letter of an oflicer on the spot. This officer has investigated the matter, and finds that the following shipments were made by river steamer to these agencies, and to Forts Benton, McLoud 582 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER, and Claggett, (also agencies) on the 21st May, 20th June, 6th and SOtli July, 1876, while the war was actually raging. No less than 56 cases of arms, or 1120 Winchester and Remington W^es, and 413,000 rc>'W?2<^s of patent amm.unition went there on these steamers, besides large quantities of loose powder, lead, and primers. These shipments were all/br issue to Indians, through the Indian agents, or for sale through Indian traders. The country to which they were sent contains only Indians, soldiers, and Indian traders or agents. These shipments more- over were as nothing to those of previous years, and especially those of the summer of 1875, when more than a million rounds of ammunition and several thousand stand of arms were sent through. Now perhaps Sitting Bull's chief advantage can be seen, as first shown in the Yellowstone expedition of 1873. This ex- pedition started from Fort Rice in the summer of 1873 and moved off at a leisurely pace, dne west. Indian runners at the same time started off, up and down the Missouri, to carry the news. Many of them travelled luxuriously by the steamers the government was kind enough to supply, to cany stores to the agencies for the use of the Indians. By the time Stanley had reached the Little Missouri, (see map) every agency all along the line of the river was informed of his movements, and parties of warriors on their war ponies, with no burdens save arms, ammunition and food, were starting from the circumfer- ence of the quarter circle, to find Sitting Bull and have a little fun. All those from the upper agencies had a shorter distance to travel than Stanley, and knew the country better. No wonder they arrived before him. The trail which Stanley struck on the Yellowstone was in all probability that of the real acknowl- edged " hostiles," the village of Sitting Bull, with a force of some 800 braves, but the reinforcements which afterwards swelled his numbers to 1500, in the fight near Pompey's Pillar must have come from the northern agencies, and Stanley says SITTING BULL. 533 SO in his report, specifying Fort Peck as " the centre of all the villainy of the Indian Department." Thus, in carrying on war with the United States War De- partment, Sitting Bull had great and peculiar advantages from the nature of his position, and these advantages it was which had made him constantly triumphant. It may have seemed strange to many that Custer should have been able, alone, to have beaten the Indians of the Southern Plains, while the Sioux of the North had overcome all successive combinations against them, compelling the government to pacify them by giving them up all they asked, in the treaty of 1868. The War Department had made a gallant struggle to hold this country, but Sitting Bull and the hostiles had beaten them. Look again on the map at the sites of old Fort Eeno and old Fort Phil Kearny. The last is right at the edge of Sitting Ball's stronghold. It was the scene of the fearful massacre of 1868, when almost the whole garrison was annihilated. It was difficult to keep this fort supplied. Everything had to come by wagon train from Fort Fetterman on the south, while Sitting Bull drew all his supplies of ammunition from Fort Peck and a dozen other places, and lived on the buffalo by which he was surrounded. The white men could not starve him, but he could harass them constantly, and he did so. Finally the Department was compelled to abandon Fort Reno and Kearny, and gave up the country to Sitting Bull, by the treaty of 1868. Five years later, in 1873, it was judged expedient to break that treaty and try a new line of operations, this time up the valley of the Yellowstone. This line possessed one and only one advantage : while the Yellowstone was navigable, supplies, and even an expedition, could be sent up by steamer, compara- tively safe from the Indians. A fleet of light draught steamers with bullet-proof guards and a few Gatlings, may yet be found the true solution of the Sitting Bull difficulty ; as such boats can ascend the Bigr Horn River to within siirht of the Indian 534: GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. stronghold. By land, as Stanley went, the Yellowstone route was as bad as the rest, except for provisions. It was very long, and did not stop the supplies of Sitting Bull. The only reason Stanley escaped serious disaster, was that he kept near the river and was able to use his artillery, while Sitting Bull was not as yet joined by any very formidable force of Agency Indi- ans. In the war of 1876 all this was to be changed, and Sitting Bull was to iind himself in a perfect position, occupying inte- rior lines, able to strike at his enemies wherever he pleased and beat them in detail, and all the while able to draw his supplies and reinforcements from a number of concentrating lines, none of which his enemies were able to cut. Indians kept streaming in to his help from all the quarter circle of agen- cies, informing him of every step taken by his enemies, and bringing ammunition, guns, ponies, and men by hundreds. Of Sitting Bull personally, not very much is known. It is many years since he attended a council, and he has been so long secluded from the whites that no portrait of him is extant. From the description of Agency Indians and others, he is said to be a heavily built Indian, with a large massive head, and (strange to say) hrown hair, unlike most Indians. He is heavily marked with the small pox. The events of his life have been recorded by himself, and fell into the hands of the whites, by an accident, soon after the Phil Kearny massacre. A scout brought into one of the forts an old roster book, once belong- ing to the Thirteenth U. S. Infantry, which Sitting Bull had captured, and in this was found a series of over a hundred little Indian pictures, describing the various exploits of the artist. In the first he is shown as a young warrior, naked and unadorned, taking his first scalp by charging a Crow Indian mounted. From the mouth of the young warrior goes a line which joins him to his " totem '' or symbol, a buffalo bull sitting upon its haunches, which identified the book as the diary of Sitting Bull. This totem is found in all the pictures. Almost every picture represents the killing of a man or woman or both. SITTING BULL. 535 some Indians, some whites. A few represent Sitting Bull carrying off herds of horses. These pictures are in regular Indian style, such as a clever child, without teacliing, might draw. There is no attempt at art, but there is no mistake as to what is meant. There are the men, the horses, the women, the Indian war bonnets, the white man's stovepipe hat, in the true spirit of caricature, the salient features seized and fixed. Fac-similes of many of these pictures were published in the New York Herald^ and subsequently in Harper's Weehly, in the latter case accompanied by an article from Colonel Strother, better known as " Port Crayon." We have hardly judged them worth insertion here, however. It was stated at one time that Sitting Bull, while hating the white Americans and disdaining to speak their language, was yet very fond of the French Canadians, that he talked French, and that he had been converted to Christianity by a French Jesuit, named Father De Sraet. How true this may be is uncertain, but probably there is some foundation for it. The French Jesuits have always been noted for their wonder- ful success in winning the affections of the Indians, as well as for the transitory nature of their conversions, and it is very possible that Father De Smet may have not only baptized Sitting Bull at some time, but induced him and his braves to attend mass, as performed by himself in the wilderness. The benefits of the conversion seem however to have been only skin deep, as far as preventing cruelty in war is concerned. One thing about Sitting Bull is certain : he is an Indian of unusual powers of mind, and a warrior whose talent amounts to genius, while his stubborn heroism in defence of the last of his race is undeniable. Cruel he may be ; that is from the instincts of his race : a general of the first natural order he must be, to have set the United States at defiance as he has for the last ten years. That he has been able to do this so long is owing to his skilful use of two advantages, a central position surrounded by " bad-lands," and the quarter circle 536 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of agencies from which he draws supplies and allies every campaign. In the face of these advantages and of Sitting Bull's talents as a warrior, the government gave up the fight in 1868. In 1876, it was determined to try one more campaign against Sitting Bull. We shall see how it succeeded. In the meantime, the people of America will not fail to remark that Sitting Bull's truest and most persistent allies are the Indian Department and the Indian traders, who supply him with "Winchester rilies and patent ammunition, so tliat his men are better armed than the" troops of the War Department. Better soldiers individually they always were, for every man is a perfect rider and good shot, while the regular cavalry is mainly composed of green recruits, so unreliable that even a chief like Custer did not dare to fight them mounted, but had to turn his men into mounted infantry. But the inferior troops have disci- pline^ and had the}' as good or superior M^eapons, could beat the Indians, as they used to, before 1861. There is still an easy way to stop all these slaughters, which is to stop the supplies of ammunition from going to the Indians. To accomplish this only one course can succeed. Congress in both branches Tnust he compelled hy public opinion to aholish the Indian Department forever. Every one admits the neces- sity of the step, but the corruption fund of this department is so great that public opinion has not yet succeeded in kill- ing the abuse. Politicians of both parties are interested in the money, and nothing else holds the Indian Department together. The cost of the Indians to the government has risen in ten years from less than a million to twenty mil- lions annually, and Indian agents and traders grow rich on the stealings of supplies used by Indians to kill soldiers, while the residue of the stealings goes into election funds. The events of the Indian w^ar of 1876 have, however, opened the eyes of the people to much of this abuse. God grant that it may end in the final destruction of the " Indian Rino-." CHAPTER II. CRAZY HORSE. WAR having been once determined on against the Sioux, the only questions were, who should begin it, and where ? It was finally resolved that three expeditions should start, one from the north, one from the south, and one from the east ; and that the three should all strike for the country near the headwaters of the Yellowstone, where Forts Reno and Phil Kearny had formerly been established. The three columns could not be, or at all events were not, de- spatched simultaneously. They were to start from two distinct departments, commanded by Generals Terry and Crook, whose headquarters were several hundred miles apart, and in the midst of different climates. Terry, whose northern column must start from Fort Lincoln, up near the borders of the British Terri- tory, could not move as early as Crook, who was far to the south. The latter started his column on the 1st of March, 1876, from Fort Fetterman, and struck off to the north for the Pow- der River. The column consisted of ten companies of the Second and Third Cavalry and two companies of infantry, with a strength of 700 men and 40 days supplies, on pack mules and in wagons. The whole was commanded by Colonel Reynolds, Third Cav- alry, brevet Major-General, and was accompanied by Briga- dier-General Crook, the department connnander. This column started with fine weather in its favor, and every indication of opening spring. There were sixty wagons and 400 pack-mules in the train, making, with the cavalry horses, 1,500 animals for 538 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. which forap:e had to be carried. Nothing was heard of this ex- pedition till March 26, when the following telegram was received by General Sheridan from Crook : Fort Reno, March 33. We cut loose from the wagon train on the 17th inst., and scouted the Tongue and Rosebud Rivers until satisfied that there were no Indians upon them ; then struck across the country to- ward Powder River. General Reynolds, with part of the com- mand, was pushed forward on a trail leading to the village of Crazy Horse, near the mouth of Little Powder River. This he attacked and destroyed on the 17th inst., finding it a perfect mag- azine of ammunition, war material, and general supplies. Crazy Horse had with him the Northern Cheyennes and some of the Minneconjous, probably in all one-half of the Indians off the reservation. Every evidence was found to prove these Indians in copartnership with those at the Red Cloud and Spotted Tail Agencies,* and that the proceeds of their raids upon the settlements had been taken to those agencies, and supplies brought out in re- turn. In this connection I would again urgently recommend the immediate transfer of the Indians of those agencies to the Mis- souri River. I am satisfied that if Sitting Bull is on this side of the Yellowstone, that he is camped at the mouth of Powder River. We experienced severe weather during our absence from the wagon train, snow falling every day but one, and the mercurial thermometer on several occasions failing to register. Geoege Chook, Brigadier-General. Such was the first brief intimation of the facts of the Pow- der Kiver fight. After a while the history was amplified by the reports of the newspaper correspondents. From their accounts and the subsequent full report of Crook the whole story came out. After leaving Fort Fetterman nothing hap- pened for some days. The expedition left Crazy Woman's Fork with ten companies of cavalry, on the night of March 7, with fifteen days' rations on pack mules. The infantry and wagon train were sent back to the rear. The command marched down Tongue River nearly to the Yellowstone, scouting the * These agencies are to the south, not on the map in this work. CRAZY HORSE. 539 Eosebud and adjacent streams. No Indians were found in this entire region. The expedition then moved to the head of Otter Creek, where General Reynolds was sent forward with six companies, and by a rapid night march reached Powder River early on the morning of the 17th, where he surprised and attacked Crazy Horse's village of 105 lodges. He captured the village, and after an engagement lasting live hours entirely destroyed it. So far the expedition very closely resembled that of Custer on the Washita. A trail in the snow had been found and fol- lowed, and the Indian village had been surprised. There the resemblance ended. Custer's victory on the Washita had been complete and overwhelming, and he had brought away all his prisoners, be- sides destroying the most indispensable part of an Indian's property, — the horses — in the face of a superior force of over- awed enemies. Reynolds had no such history. He found the village of the Indian chief all alone, and was free from other enemies. The contrast of his movements was great. It will be remembered how Custer, having found the enemy's village in the night, employed the time till morning in surrounding it. The correspondents with Reynolds tell a different story. From the account of the New York Tribune writer, (an officer of the expedition), which we shall in the main follow, the difference of leaders will be seen. This officer says : At 4. 20 A. M. we had marched thirty miles, and were, as near as we could tell, near the Powder Eiver breaks. A halt was called here, and the column took shelter in a ravine. No fires were allowed to be kindled, nor even a match lighted. The cold was more intense than we had yet felt, and seemed to be at least 30° below zero. The command remained here till about 6 o'clock, doing their ntmost to keep from freezing, the scouts meantime going out to reconnoitre. At this hour they returned, reporting a larger and fresher trail leading down to the river, which was about four miles distant. The column immediately started on this trail. The approach to the river seemed almost impractica- 540 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ble. Before reaching the final precipices which overlooked the river-bed, the scouts discovered that a village of about 100 lodges lay in the valley at the foot of the bluffs. It was now 8 o'clock. Tlie sun shone brightly through the cold, frosty air. The col- umn halted, and Noyes's battalion. Second Cavalry, was ordered up to the front. It consisted of Company I, Second Cavalry, Captain Noyes, and Company K, Second Cavalry, Captain Egan. This battalion was ordered to descend to the valley, and while Captain Egan charged the camp, Captain Noyes Avas to cut out the herd of horses feeding close by and drive it up the river. Cap- tain Moore's battalion, consisting of Company F, Third Cavalry, and Company E, Second Cavalry, was ordered to dismount and proceed along the edge of the ridge to a position covering the eastern side of the village, opposite that from which Captain Egan was to charge. Captain Mills's battalion was ordered to follow Egan, dismounted, and support him in the engagement, which might follow the charge. These columns began the descent of the mountain, through gorges which were almost perpendicular, and it seemed almost impossible that horses could be taken through them. Nearly two hours were occupied in getting the horses of the charging column down these rough sides of the mountain, and even there, when a point was reached where the men could mount their horses and proceed toward the village in the narrow valley beneath, Moore's battalion had not been able to gain its position on the eastern side, after clambering along the edges of the moun- tain. A few Indians could be seen with the herd, driving them to the edge of the river, but nothing indicated that they knew of our approach. Just at 9 o'clock Captain Egan turned the point of the mountain nearest the river, and first in a walk and then in a rapid trot started for the village. The company went first in column of twos, but when within 200 yards of the village the command '* Left front into line " was given, and with a yell they rushed into the encampment. Captain Noyes had in the mean time wheeled to the right and started the herd up the river. . . . AVith the yell of the charging column the Indians sprang up as if by magic, and poured in a rapid fire from all sides. Egan charged through and through the village before Moore's and Mills' battal- ions got within supporting distance, and finding things getting very hot, formed his line in some high willows on the south side of the camp, from which point he poured in rapid volleys upon the Indians. Up to this time the Indians supposed that one com- pany was all they had to contend with, but when the other bat- CRAZY HORSE. 541 talions appeared, rapidly advancing, deployed as skirmishers, and pouring in a galling fire of musketry, they broke on all sides and took refuge in the rocks along the side of the mountain. The camp, consisting of 110 lodges, with immense quantities of robes, fresh meat, and plunder of all kinds, with over 700 head of horses, was in our possession. The work of burning began imme- diately, and soon the whole encampment was in flames. While the work of demolition was going on under the direction of Gen- eral Reynolds, the Indians poured in a well-directed fire from the sides of the mountain and from every available hiding-place. Not satisfied with this, they made a determined attack on the troops about noon, with a view to regaining possession of the camp. Captain Mills, who had charge of the skirmish line, per- ceived their movement, and asked for additional men. These were sent in promptly, and the attack was quickly and handsomely repulsed, the Indians retiring in disorder. After the work of de- struction had been completed, the withdrawal of the troops began, and the whole command moved rapidly up the river, twenty miles, to the mouth of Lodgepole Creek, where it went into camp, after two days and one night of constant marching. So far so good. It will be observed that the troops, instead of surrounding the Indians, had been surrounded bj them, and finally fell back. JSTow mark the sequel. After the fight was over, the troops marched rapidly up the river to the mouth of Lodgepole Creek, ^^his point was reached at nightfall by all except Moore's battalion and Captain Egan's company. Company E. Second Cavalry, was the rear guard, and assisted Major Stanton and the scouts in bringing up the herd of horses. Many of these were shot on the road, and the remainder reached camp about 9 p. m. These troops had been in the saddle for 36 hours, with the exception of five hours during which they were fighting, and all, officers and men, were much exhausted. The horses had had no grazing, and began to show signs of com- plete exhaustion. Upon arriving at Lodgepole, it was found that General Crook and the other four companies and pack-train had not arrived, so that everybody was supperless and without a blan- ket. The night, therefore, was not a cheerful one, but not a murmur was heard. The wounded men lay upon the snow or leaned against a tree, and slept as best they could on so cold a night. 542 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Owing to some misunderstanding, our four dead men tvere left on the field to be mutilated by the Indians. These men could have been removed easily, and that they were not, caused a great deal of dissatisfaction among the troops. Saturday at noon General Crook and the remainder of the command arrived. In the mean- time a portion of the herd of -ponies, had draggled into the ravines, and fallen into the hands of the Indians. This is very unlike the sequel to Custer's triumph, and shows forcibly the lack of an energetic leader and officers iinbned with the same enthusiasm. The correspondent closes with the following paragraphs of unconscious severity. It is hardly proper to close this sketch of the engagement with- out referring more particularly to those causes which prevented its complete success. First among these was the failure of Cap- tain Moore's battalion to reach the position assigned it in the rear of the village, or a point covering the rear, before the charge was made by Captain Egan. This failure allowed the Indians to make good their escape to the rocky fastnesses of the mountains overlooking the valley, from which they subsequently poured in a galling fire upon our troops. Moore's battalion was a sti-ong one in number, and needed only to be led to the front where it could be effective to do good service. When it was discovered that the battalion would not be at the place assigned it, and that its com- mander did not apparently intend to put it there, Major Stanton and Lieut. Sibley, ivithfive men, left it andioent on, taking up the position which the battalion should have occupied, and gave the flying savages the best enfilading fire they could. But they were too few to prevent the escape of the Indians. This was the first serious blunder. The next was that after the herd of ponies, numbering over 700, had been captured, driven twenty miles from the scene of action, and turned over to General Eeynolds, com- manding the troops, he failed to place a guard around them, so that the greater portion of them strayed off during the night, and were picked up by the Indians. Furthermore, there were large quantities of buffalo meat and venison in the village, which Gen- eral Crook had directed, in case of capture, to be brought out for the use of the troops, who were on half rations of fresh meat. This was not done, and as a result, the soldiers have had no fresh meat except ponies since that time. CRAZY HORSE. 543 In short it became clear, when fall news of the expedition leaked out, that the Powder River fight was an example of an opportunity thrown away, in which almost every one was to blame for only one thing — want of energy. Capt. Noyes actu- ally allowed his men to unsaddle and rest, after he had first driven away the Indian herd, and while the fighting was going on, and for this he was afterwards court-martialed and repri- manded in general orders. But the real trouble seems to have been simple enough — a want of heart, an excessive caution in evei-y one, especially the leader. When Custer went after Indians, he himself was alM'ays in the advance, and looking out for his enemy. At the Washita, we have found him with the advanced sconts on all occasions, and watching his enemy himself. Here, on the other hand, we see neither Crook nor Reynolds out in front, the night wasted in idle waiting, and the battle commenced at 9 o'clock, with the result of everybody falling just a little short of his work. The Powder River fight, which, under Custer, would prob- ably have ended in the complete destruction of the band of Crazy Horse, ended in merely burning some of his property and exasperating him, while leaving him all his weapons and men, and almost all his horses. It was an ominous commence- ment for a campaign of disaster. After that time, the curtain was hardly ever lifted till the commencement of the M'inter of 1S76, and even then not in the form of a victory over hostile Indians, but the more question- able success of a movement of far less danger, that should have been made long ago. This movement was the surrounding and forcible disarmament of the Sioux at the principal agencies, taking from them their ponies, and compelling them to live peaceably ; and the army is fain to be proud of this, lacking other subjects of congratulation. Recognizing fully the difiiculties which surround army op- erations against the Indians, we must still admit the worst to be the low character of the regular troops. In the infantry, this is 544 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. marked b}' apparent inability to execute severe marches on foot, in the cavalry by an almost total incapacity to fight mounted against the Indians. Infantry and cavalry advance well enough in the common skirmish line on foot, but there are so many recruits, so few veterans in the ranks, that the issue of a single combat between an Indian and a dragoon is, almost as a matter of course, the death of the dragoon. Compelled as they are, by the inferiority of their men, to fight dismounted, too many of our cavalry officers have fallen into the pernicious habit which spoiled the Confederate cavalry during the civil war, which ruined all European cavalry from the invention of firearms till the days when Gustavus Adolphus once more introduced the charge sword-in-hand, and which again ruined them in the interval between his days and those of Frederick the Great. This habit is the distrust of the sdbre^ and the consequent timidity evinced by all concerned, when a hand-to-hand fight is necessary. The Indians, with all their improved firearms, universally retain the lance with their other weapons. Tiie drilled soldier, possessing a sabre, uses it only as an orna- ment on dress parade, and leaves it in quarters when he goes out to fight — first, on the ground that its clattering may be heard by Indians, second, on the singular plea, put forth by Colonel Brackett, in his "History of the U. S. Cavalry," that "if the soldier gets near enough to an Indian to use his sabre, it is an even chance which goes under." Can it be wondered at that Indians beat men who are so ignorant of the art of attack and defence, and who despise all tHe teachings of military history ? If it be true that the chances are now even, or in favor of the Indian, there is a simple remedy. It is to teach the men how to use their sabres, till they trust to them. When officers and men do that, the Indians will fear them, not they the Indians. CHAPTER III. CUSTER AND GEANT. IT is now time to turn to that part of the campaign under General Terry's orders. When Sheridan and Sherman planned the destruction of Sitting Bull, it was ordered that Cus- ter should be assigned to the command of the Dakota column. It was organized at his post, was mainly composed of his regi- ment, and was repeatedly denominated in orders " Custer's column."' The reasons for giving him this post were perfectly simple. Custer had never yet met loiih, a single disaster while m command of an important expedition^ and lie had heen Messed with more comjylete success in his Indian expeditions than any other officer in the regidar ai'my. His onlj'- rival as an Indian tighter was Crook, and Crook had gained his reputa- tion by a pursuit and extermination of small scattered bands of Apaches in Arizona, who were not blessed with a semi-circle of Indian agencies in their rear to supply them w'ith Winchester rifles and patent ammunition. Besides this. Crook was getting older, and having been made a brigadier, was not so likely to work as Custer, who was still only a lieutenant-colonel, thanks to the seniority rule. Brigadier General Terry, tjje department commander, had never been in the field as an Indian fighter, and felt quite content to leave the Indian laurels to Custer. Terry was a brigadier who owed his sudden elevation to his present rank to the capture of Fort Fisher. Having been a volunteer only, and before that a lawyer, not a West Pointer, Terry found himself in a peculiar position in the army. Had he been a nervously energetic officer like Custer, the enmity 35 546 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. he would have excited among the old seniority officers, espe- cially the graduates, would have been much greater. As it was, while they hated him passively, they had not the same opportunity to spite him, Terry being two steps higher than Custer. Only his great sweetness of temper and modesty preserved him from active enmity. Terry trusted Custer im- plicitly, and admired him greatly, and it was all settled that Custer should lead the Dakota column. Then came a sudden interruption to all these plans, a chain of incidents which ended in a disaster to the nation and in the temporaiy triumph of Custer's enemies. The facts of this business are so important to the vindication of Custer's character from the attacks of these enemies, that the nation of which he was the pride will not deem wasted the space which brings them clearly to light. While Custer was hard at work preparing for his part of the Sioux Expedition, eager for work and foreseeing a further tri- umph, he received a telegram from Mr. Helster Clymer, Chair- man of a certain Congressional Committee, requiring his presence in Washington, to give testimony as to some alleged abuses in the War Department. At the time, Mr. Belknap, who had lately resigned the office of Secretary of War, was under investigation in regard to an alleged sale by him of a post-tradership * to a person called Mai'sh. The committee had stumbled on the evidence of this sale by accident, and the Sec- retary, overwhelmed with shame at the discovery of his appar- * Post-traders now supply the place of the old sutlers, whose office wag abolished a few years since. They have the exclusive privilege of trading at the post to whicit they are appointed, and where the garrison is large the privilege is exceedingly valuable, as much of the pay of soldiers and officers is generally spent in the post-trader's store, for little luxuries. The post- tradership given to Marsh was at Fort ISill, Indian Territory, where ten companies of cavalry were generally stationed, aggregating about 600 men and forty officers, including staff, etc. The pay of the garrison amounted to about $100,000 a year, and at the ordinary sutler's rates, it was pretty cer- tain that at least $100,000 would be spent at the store, with a profit to the post-trader, at 100 per cent., of at least $50,000 per annum. CUSTER AND GRANT. 547 ent venality, had resigned his office under charges, and was at once impeached by the Honse of Representatives. The defence of the delinquent secretary, so far as it appeared, was that his first wife had, unknown to him, sold her influence with him for the office, that his second wife, sister of the first, had continued the bargain with Marsh after the death of her sister, and that he, Belknap, was perfectly ignorant of the whole matter till shortly before the examination of Marsh, when the shame and misery, experienced by him at the exposure of the delinquencies of his two wives, was so great as to lead to his giving up the figlit in advance. Although this is not the place to enter into the merits or demerits of the Belknap case, whicli has since been legally settled in his favor, it may be stated that this explanation M-as believed to be the truth by all those who were personally intimate with the ex-secretary's career. One of these was President Grant, on whose staff the Secretary had served as General Belknap, during the war, and who remained his firm friend in his trouble. The Congressional committee was determined, however, to investigate every act of Belknap's career in regard to frontier posts, and began to call witnesses from all quarters, groping blindly after the facts. The vaguest hearsay evidence was snatched at, and at last some one suggested that General Custer knew something about corruption on the part of the ex-secre- tary ; he had been heard by some one to say that he had heard something on the subject, and so forth. On this vague infor- mation the sapient Chairman telegraphed a summons to Custer to come to Washington, and so started a train of circumstances which was to end in ^;he untimely death of the best cavalry chief on the American continent. Custer was much disturbed. He telegraphed at once to Terry to know what he should do, stating that his own information was only hearsay, and devoid of value to the case, and asking whether an order was not necessary. He made these inquiries of Terry, knowing that his general had been bred a lawyer. At the same time, showing his scrupulous 548 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. sense of justice, he asked whether he was not bound to go, and tell what little he knew and how he knew it. In the same tele- gram, showing his peculiarly sensitive honor, he asks for a court of inquiry on himself in regard to his own conduct towards a discontented officer of his regiment, concerning a transfer from one company to another, in wliich the officer complained that injustice had been done him. Terry's answer to this telegram was as follows : Hdqrs. Dept. of Dakota, St. Paul, Mm., March 16, 1876. To Lieut. Col. Custer, Fori Lincoln, DaTcota: Despatch received. You need no order beyond the sum- mons of the committee. I am sorry to have you go, for I fear it . will delay our movements. I should suppose that if your testimony is not as to the facts themselves, and will only point out the wit- nesses from whom the committee can get the facts, your informa- tion might be communicated by letter or telegraph, and that being done, you might ask to be relieved from personal attention without exposing yourself to misconstruction. However, you must use your own judgment. In regard to the other matter, I don't think that yon need a court of inquiry. Your statement to me vindicated you in my eyes : a repetition to General Sheridan would doubtless vindicate you in his. A court could not be convened until after the summer cam- paign is over. Your services are indispejisahle, and no iliougM oj a transfer can he entertaiiied. Terrt, Comd'g. Dept. Custer took Terryl^ advice and telegraphed to Clym.er as follows : Fort liiNCOLN, Dakota, Marcli 16, 1876. Hon. Heister Clymer : While I hold myself in readiness to obey the summons of your committee, I telegraph to state that I am engaged upon an impor- tant expedition, intended to operate against the hostile Indians, and I expect to take the field early in Ajyril. My presence here is deemed very necessary. In view of this, would it not be satisfac- tory for you to forward to me such questions as may be necessary, allowing me to return my replies by mail. Geo. a. Custer. CUSTER AND GRANT. 549 Clymer, proud of his power to see tlirongh a millstone much further than any one else, would not be denied, and made Custer come on, besides putting him through a cross-examina- tion that lasted two days, and compelling him to tell not only all he knew, but all he did not know, into the bargain. After a month's torture of Custer, he finally found out that the latter had written him an honest letter, and that the committee might better have left him in Fort Lincoln, ^ To only one fact was Custer able to testify, of his own knowl- edge. This was that, on one occasion the contractor at Fort Lincoln had turned him over a large quantity of grain, in sacks which had home the Indian hrand^ and which he suspected had heen stolen from the Indian Department, as part of the gigantic system of fraud by which the Indian Ring played into the hands of army contractors. At the time this grain was issued to Custer he refused to receive it, and telegraphed to Department Headquarters on the subject, expressing his suspicions. In due time, his communication having been forwarded through regu- lar channels, he received a positive order to take the grain. This order he stated to the committee, he helieved to have come down from the Secretary of War. This evidence, while avowedly only on information and belief, was regarded by Clymer as implicating the Secretary in some fresh fraud, and on the face of things there was ample ground for Custer's honest suspicions of the wdiole business. It turned out after- wards, that Custer was mistaken as to the origin of the per- emptory order. It really came from Terry alone, on the latter's responsibility. We shall see later how perfectly frank Custer was in the matter, and how ready publicly to retract his error. Much has been said by strong political partisans as to this last public action of Custer. By those who were ardent sup- porters of the ex-secretary, and especiall}'' of his avowed friend, President Grant, the indirect and hearsay testimony which was all that Caster could give, was contrasted with the previ- 650 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ous parade of its promised value made by the committee, and especially by the partisan newspapers on the side of the com- mittee. Custer was called a '' swift witness," a " retailer of gossip " and accused of intriguing for his summons in order to escape frontier duty. Much of this abuse might be now passed over on the score of partisan excitement, were it not that the writer of Custer's biography feels himself bound by a sense of duty to probe the truth to the very bottom. As regards the Belknap case, it is certain that Custer's evidence was wholly immaterial. His only item of personal knowledge adverse to the secretary was founded on an honest mistake, which he was swift to acknowledge when it was pointed out to him. As a witness of the prosecution, he should never have been called. Who called him ? Helster Clymer and that ingenious committee which so studiously mismanaged the Belknap case, were the real parties to blame. Custer had telegraphed to Clymer, begging to be excused from attendance at Washington, as an important expedition was about to take the field, in which his presence was necessary. He earnestly begged to be left at his post, but his request was denied. Clymer was bound to have him in Washington for political effect, just as Johnson in old times had been determined to have Custer's name associated with his, in " swinging round the circle." In both cases the only party injured was the honest unsuspecting soldier. The more Clymer questioned him, the more ludicrous was his failure to extract anything but the truth. For this truth, Custer has been blamed by his enemies, when the real party to blame was the officious chairman who persisted in calling him. On Cly- mer's shoulders, moreover, rests the responsibility of deferring Custer's departure after Sitting Bidl a whole tnonth. Had he gone in April, before the Indians had gathered in force, Custer might be alive now. One person in the United States, however, would not believe CUSTER AND GRANT. 551 in Custer's unwillingness to testify. Instead of this, he took Custer's presence and testimony in Washing-ton as a personal affront to himself. This person was President Grant. President Grant was once General Grant. As General Grant he was chiefly distinguished for one virtue, an indomitable resolu- tion and obstinacy in following whatever plan he had resolved on, an iron determination to pursue it at whatever cost. This qual- itj^ of determination in war had finallj'- conducted him to success, because as a general his power was absolute. As the executive of a republic, it brought him hatred and ill-will, for the success- ful head of a republic must be an eloquent and persuasive man, who can win others to his side by flattery, and who knows how to yield outwardly, while gaining his ends by craft and subtlety. Another virtue possessed by General Grant was that of faithfulness to his friends, and this virtue also tended to his success in war, while in peace it operated in exactly the oppo- site direction. Had it been accompanied by good judgment in the choice of friends, it might not have been so disastrous, but unluckily, Grant seems from the first to have fallen into the hands of very questionable friends, who would have fleeced him had he been a ricli man, who were accused of fleecing the nation under his protection, he being a high officer. The efforts of the Clymer committee and the House during the Belknap investigation had undoubtedly been directed to- wards the injury of Grant and his friends, who formed what was known under the general term of "the Administration;" and the animus of the whole attack was so evident, the persis- tency of the efforts to find something on which to hang more impeachments so untiring, that they had excited the bitterest indignation in Grant himself. His very virtues, pride, firm- ness, faithful friendship, conviction of honesty, tended to era- hitter his animosity against all connected with the attack on "his administration." He looked on them as mortal enemies, and never forgave them. Amongst these he now counted Cus- ter. He never paused to inquire whether the latter was a 552 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. willing witness, whether his testimony was dragged out of him or not ; he made up his mind that Custer had turned against him in his period of trial, and he became bitterly and inexora- bly incensed against him, personally. Custer heard of this, through private sources, and knew that the President's im- pression as to his own testimony was quite unfounded. As soon, therefore, as he was released from his attendance at the committee, he called at the White House to \ydy his respects to the President, hoping by a frank personal statement to disabuse his mind of the mistake. For the lirst time in his life, Custer found himself treated with ignominy, compelled to wait in the ante-room for hours, to see other persons getting audiences be- fore him, while he himself was left perfectly unnoticed, although his card was sent in from the first. Three times he called at the White House, and on neither occasion was he even noticed. These visits were made at various times during his sojourn at Washington, while he was daily expecting his release and re- turn to Dakota. He had left the fort, expecting to be gone ten days at furthest: he had now been detained at Washington for over a month, unable to go anywhere, uncertain of his movements from day to day. He was only able to take one hurried trip to Kew York on one occasion, to have a little busi- ness talk with his publishers about his " War Memoirs," which he had commenced during the past winter at Fort Lincoln. This hurried visit was the occasion of the last glimpse of Cus- ter caught by the writer of this biography, while in the edito- rial rooms of the " Galaxy." Custer looked worn and thin, and somewhat woi-ried, his hair cut short, a great change from the debonair cavalier of the Waynesboro' fight. His manner conveyed the impression of a nervous man with his nerves all on edge, in a state of constant repressed impatience. He had left his wife behind at Fort Lincoln, and knew that every day brought the season of active operations nearer, while he was away. Ko wonder he looked worried. At last he was released from his attendance. May 1st, and went to the White House, CUSTER AND GRANT. 553 with a last, almost despairing effort to get an audience from Grant and to explain his action. Once more he was compelled to submit to the slight of being kept waiting in the ante-room among the President's lackeys. Time was going on : his de- tention by the official summons was over, and he knew that his duty imperatively called him back to Fort Lincoln, that very day. He sat down and wrote the following note, which he sent in. To His Excellency the President : To-day for the third time I have sought an interview with the President — not to solicit a favor, except to be granted a brief hearing — but to remove from his mind certain unjust impressions concerning myself, which I have reason to believe are entertained against me. I desire this opportunity simply as a matter of jus- tice, and I regret that the President has declined to give me an opportunity to submit to him a brief statement, which justice to him, as well as to me, demanded. Kespectfully submitted. G. A. Custer, Lt. Col. Seventh Cavalry, Bvt. Maj. Genl. U. S. Army. This letter was sent in to, and read by, the President. Da- ring the last visit, as we are credibly informed. General Ingalls, then acting quartermaster-general, found Custer in the ante-room, and went in to see the President. Ingalls was a good and just man, and a friend of both. He asked the President if ho knew that Custer was outside, waiting. The President did — he did not wish to see him. Then, Ingalls urged, he should at least spare Custer the indignity of waiting outside, and send him a message to save his time — that so much was due to Custer's past services at least. Then the President sent out word that he refused to see Colonel Custer, and Custer sat down and wrote his quiet, manly letter, honest and proud, sad and dignified, like himself in every word. It was useless. Grant refused to see him. Custer had no longer any pretext for staying in Washing- ton. He had already been to call on tlic General of the Army, 554 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and found that Sherman was away in New York, but was ex- pected back in the evening. He went off and secured his pas- sage on the night train, calling on Inspector-General Marcj and Adjutant-General Townsend on the way. Adjutant-General Marcy had wished Custei", on the way back to Dakota, to perform some duty in Detroit which would delay liim, but hearing from Custer of the urgency of his haste, on account of the late- ness of the season, and of the necessity of his immediate pres- ence at Fort Lincoln, gave him the following letter. War Depaetment, Inspector-General's Office. Washington, D. C. May 1st, 1876. Lieut. Col G. A. Custer, U. S. Army. Colonel : — Understanding that the general of the army de- sires you to proceed directly to your station, the service •which I recommended you to perform in Detroit, Michigan, can be exe- cuted by another officer. And in the absence of the general you have my consent to omit stopping at Detroit for the purpose specified in the Adjutant-General's letter to you. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, E. B. Marcy, Inspector General. Custer made a last call at Sherman's office. The General was not back from New York, and his length of stay was still uncertain. Custer took the train, and was soon whirling away toward Chicago. The next day, May 2d, General Sheridan was awakened from his slumbers by the following extraordinary telegram : Washington, D. C, May 2d, 1876. General P. H. Sheridan, Cliicago, Illinois. I am this moment advised that General Custer started last night for Saint Paul and Fort Abraham Lincoln. He teas not justified in leaving without seeing the President or myself. Please intercept him at Chicago or Saint Paul, and order him to halt and await further orders. Meanwhile, let the Expediiion from Fort Lincoln proceed tvithout him. (Signed) W. T. Sheeman, General. CUSTER AND GRANT. 555 It Avas the hand of Sherman, but the head of Grant. The grim implacable animosity of the President was aroused. Cus- ter's testimony had made liim the President's foe. Eight or wrong, Grant was determined to punish him, and there was but one way to do it — deprive him of the command of the ex- pedition, and so humiliate him. No one knew better than Grant that if Custer went in command of the Dakota column lie was certain to return victorious^ with fresh laurels. Tliat pill was too bitter for the President to swallow. All that Sheridan could do, in the face of such a positive order, was to obey it. An officer was sent to the station, and Custer was stopped on the 4th of May by the following letter : Headquarters Military Div. of the Missouri, Chicago, 111., May 4tli, 1876. Lieutenant- Col. G. A. Custer, Seventh U. 8. Cavalry, Chicago, III. Sir : — Agreeably to instructions contained in the enclosed copy of a telegraphic dispatch from the general of the army,, of the 2d instant, the Lieutenant-General commanding the division directs you to remain in Chicago until the receipt of further orders from superior authority, to be furnished you through these head- quarters. Very respectfully your obedient servant, E. C. Drum, Assistant Adjutant-General. There was nothing for it but to obey. Custer drove in haste to Sheridan's headquarters, and found him as friendly as ever. Sheridan knew no more of the cause of the order than did Cus- ter himself, and told him so. He had no objection to Custer's telegraphing direct to Sherman for an explanation, and the as- tonished officer at once sent off the following dispatch : Chicago, III. General W. T. Sherman, Washington, D. G. I have seen your despatch to General Sheridan directing me to awiiit orders here, and am at a loss to understand that portion re- ferring to my departure from Washington loithoiit seeing you or the President, as I called at the White House at ten o'clock a. m. 556 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Monday, sent my card to the President, and, with the exception of a few minutes' absence at the War Department, I remained at the White House waiting an audience with the President until three p. m., when he sent me word that he would not see me. I called at your office about two p. M., but was informed by Colonel McCook you had not returned from New York, but were expected in the evening. I called at your hotel at four p. m. and about six p. M., but was informed by the clerk that you had not returned from New York. I then requested Colonel McCook to inform you of the substance of the above dispatch, and also that I was to leave at seven that evening to report to my command. While at the War Department that day, I also reported the fact of my proposed departure to the Adjutant-General and to the Inspector-General of the army, and obtained from them written and verbal authority to proceed to my command without visiting Detroit, as previously ordered to do. At my last interview with you, I informed you that I would leave Washington Monday night to join my command, and you, in conversation replied that " that was the best thing I could do." Besides, you frequently, during my stay in Washington, called my attention to the necessity for my leaving as soon as possible, I telegraph you direct, with the per- mission of the Lieutenant-General. G. A. Custer, Brevet Major-General, Later in the day he sent tliis further telegram : Chicago, May 4, 1876. 2:30 p. m. Gen. W. T. Sherman, Washington, D. 0. I desire to further call your attention to your statement to me, in your office, that I should go in command of my regiment. Also to your reply when I inquired if the President or other parties had any charges to make against me. In leaving Wash- ington, I had every reason to believe I was acting in strict accord- ance with your suggestions and wishes. I ask you as General of the army to do me justice in this matter. G. A. Ouster. No answer came to these despatches, and Custer well knew the reason. It was not Sherman who was thus putting him to torture, but some one behind Sherman who was able to com- mand him. Grant was resolved to humiliate Custer, no matter CUSTER AND GRANT. 557 at what cost. He was stolidly determined to have his own way. As a last resort, Custer telegraphed a third time in the evening. General W. T. Sherman, Wasliington, D. C. After you read my despatch of to-day, I would be glad if my detention could be authorized at Fort Lincoln, where my family is, instead of at this point. G. A. Custer, Bvt. Major General. Not a word in answer to all this. Custer had committed no crime ; there were no charges against him. He had dune nothing but obey orders all through, but it was necessary he should be punished, as the President could punish no one else. In this Grant showed great knowledge of human nature. No doubt he would have liked immediately to punish every officer who had testified against his "administration," but he had no means by which to do it. No one else of the witnesses was in command of an expedition, no one was a successful Indian fighter, no one else was a high-strung nervous cavalier, sensitive to a slight. Custer was the only man. It was so easy to pun- ish him, by the simplest means: the reason assigned was so plausible. Grant knew that the torture lay in the^V'.^^ humili- ation, the minor details were of little consequence. After all, the President, while a bitter foe, was not a cruel one. He had no objection to letting Custer see his family. So it appears by the following despatch : Chicago, May 5th. Brigadier Oemral A. H. Terry, St. Paul, Minn. The Lieutenant General directs me to transmit for your infor- mation and guidance the following telegram from the General of the Army : — " Have received your dispatch of to-day, announcing General Custer's arrival. Have just come from the President,who orders that General Ouster be allowed to rejoin his post, to remaiii there on duty, hit not to accom^mny the expedition supposed to he 558 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. oji the point of starting against the hostile Indians, under Gen- eral Terry. (Signed,) W. T. Sherman, General. Please acknowledge receipt. (Signed,) E. C. Drum, A. A.G. Hdqrs. Deft, of Dakota, St. Paul, May 8th, ,1876. Official copy respectfully furnished for the information of Lieutenant-Colonel Custer. Geo. Euggles, Ass. Adj. Genl. It appears clearly from the next message that Sherman was not inimical to Custer, for he telegraphed to him kindly enough. Immediately following Sherman's telegram, will be found one from Cnster, illustrating the frankness and completeness with ■which he alwaj^s acknowledged his errors. It is the one we have before referred to, as connected with the matter of the grain frauds. Sheridan's telegram is as follows : Washington, D. C. Oen. G. A. Custer, Chicago, III. Before receipt of yours, had sent orders to General Sheridan to permit you to go to Abe Lincoln on duty, hut tlie President adheres to his conclusion that you are not to go on the expedition. W. T. Sherman, General. The other telegram is as follows : Saint Paul, May 6tla, 1876. To Hon. Heister Clymer, Washington, D. C. : General Terry, commanding the Department of Dakota, informs me that the report I forwarded from Fort Lincoln, regarding certain corn delivered at that post, for the use of the army, in Indian sacks, was received at his headquarters in the city, and after due investigation, was acted upon finally by his authority ; and that it was he and 7iot the late Secretary of War, who sent the order to Fort Lincoln, directing that, under certain instruc- tions intended to protect the government, the corn in question should be received. The receipt of the order Avas reported to CUSTER AND GRANT. 559 me, and at the same time I derived the impression that the order emanated from the War Department. As I ivould not Jcnoiuingly do injustice to any individual, I ash that this telegram may he appended to, and made part of my testimony before your committee. G. A. Custer. Then Custer found himself, May 6, in St. Paul, and con- demned by the President's order to remain behind and see his comrades go to war. How bitterly it must have recalled to him his equally unjust detention, eight, years before, at Fort Leavenworth, and the disasters to the nation which had fol- lowed his punishment. That punishment led to the Pliil Kearny massacre and Forsyth's disastrous siege on the island. It shows how free from vulgar ambition and how pure was Custer's pa- triotism, that he, the proud soldier, publicly insulted and humil- iated without the pretence of a fault on his part, should have written such a letter as this, which follows. The last words we commend to the nation that loves him. We also commend Terry's letter of transmittal. Headquarters Department of Dakota, Saint Paul, Minn., May 6th, 1876. Adjutant General, Division of Missouri, Chicago. I forward the following : — To His Excellency The President, through Military Channels. I have seen your order, transmitted through the general of the army, directing that I be not permitted to accompany the expedi- tion about to move against hostile Indians. As my entire regi- ment forms a part of the proposed expedition, and as I am the senior officer of the regiment on duty in this Department, I re- spectfully but most earnestly request that while not allowed to go in command of the expedition, I may be permitted to serve with my regiment in the field. I appeal to you as a soldier to spare me the humiliation of seeing my regiment march to meet the enemy and I not to share its dangers. (Signed) G. A. Custer, Bvt. Maj. Genl. U. S. Army. In forwarding the above, I wish to say expressly, that I have 560 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. no desire -whatever to question tlie orders of the President, or of my military superiors. Whether Lieut. Col. Custer shall be per-, mitted to accompany my column or not, I shall go in command of it. I do not know the reasons upon which the orders already given rest ; but if those reasons do not forbid it, Lieut. Col. Custer^s services would he very valuable witli his command. (Signed) Terkt, Commanding Department. It will be seen that Terry is cautious as to expressing an opinion, being restrained from speaking out by official reticence. He could not say to his superior officer, whether he thought it or not; — "Look here; this is a scandalous shame. Custer has done nothing wrong, he has only obeyed the law and told the truth ; and the President is taking a mean and cowardly advan- tage of his power to punish Custer indirectly, because he dare not do it directly." The old adroitness of the lawyer appears in all of Terry's conduct. He makes no enemies ; even the old "West Pointers, over whose heads Fort Fisher had jumped liim, could not find it in their hearts to hate him. But the opposition papers were not so mealy-mouthed. All over the land they teemed with double-leaded articles on "Grant's tyranny" and " Custer's degradation," and took the quarrel up, not because they cared for Custer, but because they could make political capital out of it. All the foul vul- tures of politics flocked to see the battle, expecting a feast at its conclusion. The "administration" papers were thus in a manner forced into the fight, and into an attitude of antagonism to Custer, which has pursued him beyond his grave. This w^as unfortunate enough, and it is to be hoped that it will go no further. I have written in this chapter a plain statement of facts, and introduced copies of the original documents, on pur- pose to show that Custer's action in the whole of this matter was entirely unpolitical, and in the earnest hope that it may prevent his memory from being made the subject of a partisan light. No man was ever more thoroughly an honest soldier and CUSTER AND GRANT. 561 less of a politician than Custer, and no man has suffered more from the efforts of those vampires of life, the politicians, to make use of him in their quarrels. Two men were to blame for all the trouble : meddling, offi- cious Heister Cljmer, who insisted on making Custer come to Washington ; obstinate, implacable Grant — the man, not the President — who would not listen to a word, and who was actu- ally' willing to imperil the whole fate of the Sioux campaign and to lyermit hundreds of lives to he lost, to gain his revenge on Custer. The question has nothing to do with one party or the other, but the responsibility of all that follows rests person- ally on these two men — the busy-body and the implacable tyrant. One was willing to imperil a nation to serve his fac- tion, the other was ready to forget his office, to prostitute his position, to sacrifice a hecatomb of innocent lives, to gratify his private revenge. From the consequences of that act he cannot escape. Grant was satisfied with his first disgrace of Custer, or dared not face the criticism which would have greeted the announce- ment of the fact that the President of the United States was willing to imperil the success of an important expedition to gratify his private revenge. That was going a step too far : so Grant yielded to Custer's petition so far as to let him go as a subordinate, in the expedition which Grant well knew in his heart that Custer alone was ft to command. The papers said this openly, both opposition and indepen- dents, whereupon the administration papers felt themselves com- pelled to print alleged utterances of General Sherman to the effect that there were " plenty of officers in the army just as capable as Custer." Here again the officious meddling of Custer's in- judicious friends only embittered his single real enemy, Grant, and compelled Sherman, as an official person, to appear hostile to Custer. Possibly the general of the army did say there were plenty of officers fit to take Custer's place, but he knew well enough that there was not one, for it was now May 7th, 36 662 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and the operations of every other officer had so far been marked bj want of energy all through, especially in \hQ fiasco of the Powder River fight. The fact was, and Sherman, Grant, and Sheridan knew it, none better, that no one could replace Cus- ter's peculiar qualities. " Ciister^'' said Sheridan at Fort Leav- enworth, seven years before, " Yoxi are the only man that never failed meP Write those words in gold on his monument. None could wish a prouder epitaph. Note. Since this chapter was printed and stereotyped, the author has received information from the publishers of the Gal- axy, that tends further to disprove the accusation that Custer was willing to go to Washington before the committee. In conversa- tion with members of the firm, while on his way to Washington, Custer distinctly stated that he knew nothing of his own knowl- edge, as to the Belknap or other cases, that could be of the slightest value to the committee. He displayed the greatest anxiety to bo back at his post, and the peremptory summons of the committee was a great disappointment to him. As he expressed it, he had '^ begged of the committee to allow him to remain at Fort Lincoln, where he was so busy preparijig the expedition of icMch he had heen promised the command." Mrs. Custer, who of all persons, is most capable of judging of her husband's wishes, has also most positively assured the author that it was with the greatest unwillingness that Custer de- parted from Fort Lincoln, and with the fear before his eyes that it would end in disaster to the expedition. CHAPTER IV. THE GEEAT EXPEDITION. THE slight and partial success of the Powder River fight was productive of one very serious result, as it turned out. General Crook virtually agreed, and the authorities agreed with Inm, as to the substantial truth of the following statement, made by a writer present with the expedition. He said : Instead of 15,000 or 20,000 hostile Indians in this country, the expedition has demonstrated that there are probably not 2,000 all told. The Tribune correspondent in his report also said : It does not seem probable that there are half as many hostile Indians in this northern country as the War Department has sup- posed. For nearly two weeks this command has been marching through the best part of the whole unceded Sioux lands, and it has not seen 1,000 Indians in all. I doubt if there are 3,000 hos- tile people south of the Missouri and east of the Big Horn Moun- tains. Other military expeditions will soon follow this one, and in the end all these tribes will be glad to take agency rations, poor and insufficient as they generally are, for the rest of their days. These sentiments were echoed by others, and formed the basis of the calculation on which the expeditions to come were composed. The strength of the columns was as follows, Crook had ten companies of the Third Cavalry, five of the Second Cavalry, with six companies from the Fourth and Ninth In- fantry, an aggregate strength of 1,300 men. His route was north from Fort Fetterman. (See map.) Gibbon, whose route was due east from Fort Ellis, Mon- 564 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. tana, had four companies of the Second Cavah-y and two com- panies of the Seventh Inftintry, a total force of some four hun- dred men, including train, etc. The Terry column moving west from Fort Lincoln consisted of the whole of the Seventh Cavalry — twelve companies — nnder Custer, and three companies of the Sixth and Seventeenth In- fantry, with four Catling guns and a detachment of Indian scouts. Official returns show that this force comprised twenty- eight officers and seven hundred and forty-seven men of the Seventh Cavalry, eight officers and one hundred and thirty-live men of the Sixth and Seventeenth Infantry, two officers and thirty-two men in charge of the Catling battery, and forty-five en- listed Indian scouts. The wagon train contained one hundred and fourteen six-mule teams, thirty-seven two-horse teams, and sev- enty other vehicles, ambulances, etc., with eighty-five packmules, and employed one hundred and seventy-nine civilian drivers. Thus there was a total force of twenty-seven hundred armed men seeking for the Sioux, divided into three columns, respec- tively of the strength of four hundred, one thousand and one thousand three hundred. These three columns were to start from the circumference of a circle with a radius of some three hundred miles, to concentrate somewhere in the country where Eeynolds had struck Crazy Horse and his band. Crook did not leave Fort Fetterman till May 29th. His column reached old Fort Reno, June 3d. In this vicinity the expedition rested, while a party of scouts were detached to the encampments of the Crows and Shoshones, tribes of Indians inimical to the Sioux, to obtain their assistance as scouts and light troops. On the 7th of June the column was on the head of the Tongue Eiver, near old Fort Phil Kearny, where, on the 8th a war party of Sioux came down and tried to stam- pede the American horses, bringing on a skirmish which resulted in the repulse of the Indians. On the 14th the column was joined by a number of Crows, Shoshones and ]N'ez Perces whom the scouts had brought back, and on the 16th the whole party THE GREAT EXPEDITION. 565 started to find the bands of Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, re- ported to be on the Rosebud River, to the north. The Crows who came in reported that they had seen Gibbon's camp on the other side of the Sioux, on the Tongue River, and that the United States forces had already been attacked by Sitting Bull's people, who had taken some horses from them. Thus it will be seen that up to the 16th June, the United States programme was carried out as fairly as could be expected, and that two of the converging columns had already arrived within striking distance of Sitting Bull and his friends. It was now that its faults were to be glaringly exposed. The regular force near the enemy amounted to 1700 men, whereof 400 were separated from the other 1300 by a rough mountain- ous country of some hundred miles, and between the two lay Sitting Bull and his braves, in a compact body. On the 16th, Crook advanced his force early in the morn- ing. Each man carried four days' rations, the infantry were mounted on mules, and the train was left behind them. The destination of the column was Sitting Bull's village, on the Rosebud River, sixty miles north. By the evening of the 16th, the column had marched forty miles, and went into camp for the night. The Tribune correspondent says very justly, " This was the first mistake." Crook should have marched all night and attacked at daybreak, but just as in the case of the Powder River fight, the time was wasted. The mistake is claimed by the correspondent to be the fiiult of the Indian allies, who had been out hunting buffalo that day, and who gorged themselves with meat at night and refused to advance. A poor excuse is better than none. The next morning Sitting Bull turned the tables on Crook by attacking him, and the story told by the correspondent is instructive. It shows what a tissue of blunders and cross pur- poses a battle may become under the command of the oldest of generals, in Indian warfare, when all are not animated by the same spirit. 666 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The Crows and other scouts had been sent forward to find the Sioux village, and the correspondent proceeds : *' June 17th, having marched seven miles, being in camp un- saddled, successive shots were distinctly heard, and the advance of the Sioux confirmed by our scouts pouring over the hills. Our present position, being surrounded by bluff's, was an untenable one, and one well chosen by the Sioux for their attack. The advance was sounded, and the line of battle then formed, was "Noyes' battalion" right, '^ Mills'" right centre, " Chambers' " centre, *' Indian allies " left centre, Eoyall (with *' Henry's battalion," and one company of Mills) left. Mills' and Noyes' battalion were pushed forward, charging the enemy in gallant style. The rest of the line did not advance. Mills and Noyes were ordered to march on the village, which order fortunately for them was re- voked. Eoyall's right was separated from the main command by about a quarter of a mile. He occupied a very important and dan- gerous position ; one which if held by the enemy would have ren- dered Crook's line on the bluff untenable unless he had advanced. Having occupied this place under a heavy fire from the commence- ment of the fight (8 A. M.,) until 2 p. m., Captain Nickerson of General Crook's stafi brought, attended with great personal dan- ger (as the Indians seemed to divine his mission), orders for Colonel Koyall to retire or connect his line with General Crook's. This was effected, instead of by a forward movement, by a sort of left about v)heel, or retreat. The Indians seized this favorable opportunity by advancing and occupying the place vacated by our- selves and pouring uj)on us a galling fire from three different directions, charging upon our lines and trying to capture our led horses, our men being dismounted as skirmishers. Royall, by maintaining successive lines of retreat, aided by the great gal- lantry of his men and officers, succeeded, with loss, in joinino Crook's command. This loss was diminished by the charge made by our allies and two infantry companies from Crook's left upon the advancing Sioux. This charge should have been made when we first com- menced our retreat movement. It was in what may be called "Death Hollow" during the retreat, while superintending the movements of his' battalion, that Colonel Henry was severely wounded in the face, the ball entering near the left temple, and coming out the right side of the face. THE GREAT EXPEDITION. 567 " The order now was for all the trooiDS to advance upon the Til- lage, supposed to be some six miles off. This order was twice given and twice changed, the latter OAving to ammunition becoming short, and upon the representation of the guide, who had lived with the Sioux, that it would be impossible to pass through a difficult canon and secure the village without immense loss to our troops. These reasons, besides caring for his wounded, decided General Crook to go into camp on the battle-field of the day, which he did. " The next two succeeding days, without farther molestation, we returned to our permanent camp.^'' It will be seen that the correspondent puts the very best face on the battle that could be put there, but none the less it is impossible to hide the fact that Crook was taken by surprise. " Being in camp unsaddled " is the commencement of the fight, while on a march to " surprise " an active foe. In the course of the battle, Crook's left is driven in with serious loss, and only saved from annihilation by the charges of the Indian allies and the infantry. The Herald correspondent puts on a still better face, by claiming a substantial victory, but even he cannot hide the fact of real defeat. He says : The object of the scout which was so unsuccessful and yet not without an encouraging result, was to discover and destroy the Tillage of the Sioux, which the guides, Avhite, half-breed and Indian, agreed in declaring to be on the Yellowstone River, be- tween the mouths of the Rosebud and the Tongue. It proved to be nearer the base of the expedition than was believed, and Ge^i- eral Crook'' s ignorance of its proximity , due to the negligence and inactivity of the Crow allies, who were entrusted with the work of scouting, is the cause of failure of the movement. The Sioux were certainly repulsed in their bold onset, and lost many of their bravest warriors, but when they fled, could not be pursued without great danger in the rough country through which their way lay. Had his scouts proved faithful, so that he coidd have been prepared to occupy the commanding p)Ositions loith infantry in advance of the main column, he would have had warning of the concentration of the enemy to impede his course, and could have driven him back into the village and ended the campaign by destroying it. It will be seen that the blame of the miscarriage 568 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of the scout belongs to the Crows, whose instinct, vigilance, and knowledge of their own country was relied upon to render every move of the force intelligent. On the contrary, their undisci- plined frenzy and failure to discover the lodgment of the enemy in time to frustrate their meditated attack precipitated a battle which began with a stupendous advantage on his side and in a spot of his own choice naturally suitable to the success of their method of warfare. The Sioux's strength was masked, except when, emboldened by the disastrous withdrawcd of the left wing of the cavalry, they made a dash from both ends of a deep hollow which lay in its way and exposed it to a murderous fire, and suddenly swarmed on the front, left and rear. Then it was that the timely fire of the infantry upon their main body, the charge of the Snakes into the hollow and a rapid pursuit of them for three miles, dismayed them utterly and they fell back and dis- appeared. Sad it not been for their occupation, tmperceived by the General, of positions from xohich they could pour an enfilading fire upon both fianks of the body of cavalry on the left, they would not liave stood in the face of the troops a moment after their first charge. The last sentence, " had it not been " etc., isdecidedlj^good. It shows that Crook was outgeneraled by Sitting Bull, and that the latter had troops not accustomed to the direct charge, and that is all. The Indians fought in their own way, and did all they wanted. They drove Crook back to his camp. Meanwhile what were Terry and Gibbon doing % The re- ports show the following state of things : Generals Terry and Gibbon communicated with each other, June 1st, near the junction of the Tongue and Yellowstone Elvers, and learned that a heavy force of Indians had concentrated on the opposite bank of the Yellowstone, but about eighteen miles distant. For fourteen days the Indian pickets had confronted Gibbon's videttes. General Gibbon reported to General Terry that the cavalry had thoroughly scouted the Yellowstone as far as the mouth of the Big Horn, and no Indians had crossed it. It was now certain that they were not prepared for them, and on the Powder, Tongue, Eosebud, Little Horn, or Big Horn rivers General Terry at once commenced feeling for them. THE GREAT EXPEDITION. 569 Major Reno, of the Seventh Cavalry, with six companies of that regiment, was sent up Powder River 150 miles to the mouth of Little Powder to look for the Indians, and, if possible, to com- municate with General Crook. He reached the mouth of the Little Powder in five days, but saw no Indians and could hear nothing of Crook. As he returned, he found on the Rosebud a very large Indian trail, about nine days old, and followed it a short distance, when he turned about up Tongue River, and reported to General Terry what he had seen. It was now known no Indi- ans were on Tongue River or Powder River, and the net had nar- rowed down to Rosebud, Little Horn and Big Horn Rivers. General Terry, who had been waiting with Custer and the steamer Far West, at the mouth of Tongue River, for Reno's re- port, as soon as he heard it, ordered Custer to march up the south bank to a point opposite General Gibbon, who was encamped on the north bank of the Yellowstone. Terry, on board the steamer Far West, pushed up the Yellowstone, keeping abreast of General Custer's column. General Gibbon Avas found in camp, quietly awaiting develop- ments. A consultation was had with Generals Gibbon and Cus- ter, and then General Terry definitely fixed upon the plan of action. It was believed the Indians Avere on the head of the Rose- bud or over on the Little Horn, a divide of ridge only fifteen miles wide separating the two streams. It was announced by General Terry that General Custer's column would strike the blow. In order to understand the position of affairs, it will noAV be necessary to lay before the reader an outline sketch of the lines of the campaign so far, and show the position of the contending parties at this time. (See map.) This sketch indicates with sufficient accuracy for the reader the progress of the campaign. It shows the routes of the three columns up to the juncture when Custer was sent after the Indians, and the lines of march. It will be seen that after Gibbon's and Terry's junction the two were about a hundred miles from Crook, and that the Sioux A\^ere between them. Crook, after his defeat, fell back to the head of the Tongue River. The Powder, Tongue, Rosebud, and Big Horn Eivers all run north into the Yellowstone, and 570 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Sitting Bull was between the head-waters of the Rosebud and Big Horn, the main tributary of the latter being known as the Little Big Horn. Thus stood matters when Terry sent off the following despatch to Sheridan, from his camp at the mouth of the Eosebud River. He writes : No Indians have been met with as yet, but traces of large and recent camp have been discovered twenty or thirty miles up the Eosebud. Gibbon's column will move this morning on the north side of the Yellowstone, for the mouth of the Big Horn, where it will be ferried across by the supply steamer, and whence it will proceed to the mouth of the Little Horn, and so on. Custer Avill go up the Eosebud to-morrow with his whole regiment, and thence to the head-waters of the Little Horn, thence down the Little Horn. CHAPTER V. THE LAST BATTLE. BEFOEE entering on the consideration of Custer's last march and battle, it is necessary to correct a mistaken impression set afloat by those same insincere friends and real enemies who had already done their best to embroil and embitter the close of his life. This impression is, that Custer, during the whole of the last campaign, was suffering from depression of spirits, that he felt his disgrace keenly, that he was slighted by General Terry, and that these stings induced him to act rashly. The facts are exactly the reverse. General Terry, from the very commencement of the expe- dition, trusted Custer implicitly, and the very best feeling existed between them. No one was more modest than Terry, nor more wilHng to defer to the experience of Custer ; and inasmuch as the route followed by the Terry column was the very same as that followed three years before by the Stanley expedition, Gen- eral Terry was only too glad to avail himself of Custer's help to pilot the column, just as Stanley had in his time. It becarae Custer's regular duty to ride ahead of the main body with a battalion of the Seventh Cavalry'-, and to mark out the day's march for the wagons by leaving a broad trail. An officer present during the whole compaign, whose name we at present withhold, says: As he seemed to me first, so he was to the last, the incarnation of energy. How often I watched him in our march to the Powder Eiver, like the thoroughbred he rode, champing the bit and chaf- ing to be off, longing for action. Our last day's march before 574 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. reaching Powder Eiver was through the worst and roughest country that I have ever seen a train taken over in campaign. Early in the day the guides and scouts were baffled by the labyrinth of ravines and confusion of bad-lands. Custer took the lead and took us through. I heard General Terry express his satisfaction that evening in these words : " No one hut General Custer could have hrouglit us through. He is the lest guide lever satv." Notwithstanding his manifestation of a little restiveness during this march, I was glad to know that he was steadily reveal- ing his fine qualities to General Terry, and winning his way to the position which drew from his commanding officer the carte blanche under Avhich he marched up the Eosebud on the 22d June. It will not do for any one to say that he disobeyed orders on that occasion. He did as every one capable of comprehending him and his orders knew that he would do, and by those orders I am will- ing that he shall be judged, not by documents or explanations outside of them. The reader will now very naturally ask to see these orders and find what they were. Fortunately they exist, and are as follows : Zieid. Col. Custer, Seventh Cavalry: Colonel : — The Brigadier-General Commanding directs that ■ as soon as your regiment can be made ready for the march you proceed up the Rosebud in pursuit of the Indians whose trail was discovered by Major Eeno a few days since. It is, of course, im- possible to give any definite instructions in regard to this move- ment, and, were it not impossible to do so, the Department Com- mander places too much confidence in your zeal, energy and abil- ity to wish to impose upon you precise orders which might hamper your action when nearly in contact with the enemy. He will, however, indicate to you his own view^s of what your action should be, and he desires that you sbould conform to them unless you shall see sufficient reason for departing from them. He thinks that you should j^roceed up the Eosebud until you ascertain defi- nitely the direction in which the trail above spoken of leads. Should it be found, as it appears to be almost certain that it will be found, to turn toward the Little Big Horn, he thinks that you should still proceed southward, perhaps, as far as the head-waters of the Tongue, and then turn toward the Little Big Horn, feeling THE LAST BATTLE. 575 constantly, however, to your left so as to preclude tlie possibility of the escape of the Indians to the south or south-east by passing around your left flank. The column of Col. Gibbon is now in motion for the mouth of the Big Horn. As soon as it reaches that point it will cross the Yellowstone and move up at least as far as the parks of the Big and Little Big Horn. Of course its future movements must be controlled by circumstances as they arise ; but it is hoped that the Indians, if ui^on the Little Big Horn, may be so nearly inclosed by two columns that their escape will be impossible. The Department Commander desires that on your Avay up the Rosebud you should thoroughly examine the upper part of Tulloch's Creek, and that you should endeavor to send a scout through to Col. Gibbon's column with information of the result of your examination. The lower part of this creek will be examined by a detachment from Col. Gibbon's command. The supply steamer will be pushed up the Big Horn as far as the forks of the river are found to be navigable for that space, and the Department Commander, who will accompany the column of Col. Gibbon, desires you to report to him there not later than the expiration of the time for which your troops are rationed, unless in the meantime you receive further orders. Respectfully, etc., E. W. Smith, Captain 18th Infantry. Acting Assistant Adjutant-General. These orders are quite clear and explicit on one subject. Custer was sent out to find the Indians by following their trail up the Rosebud, and Gibbon was to hunt them from another direction, first up the Yellowstone, then up the Big Horn River. This would bring the two columns together on the Big Horn somewhere to the south of the place where the battle finally occurred, if both moved at the same rate, for tlieir trails would, then be each round two sides of a rectangle, from corner to cor- ner. The first corner was the junction of the Rosebud and Yellowstone, the opposite one Sitting Bull's village on the Big Horn, l^othing, however, was said in the order about rates of marching, and Caster was left entirely to his own discretion as to what he should do if he struck the enemy first. The only limit placed to his time in the order is the period for which his 576 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. troops are rationed. That period was fifteen days. The only expression of opinion on future movements is found in the sen- tence " it is hoped that the Indians, if upon the Little Big Horn^ may he so nearly enclosed hy the tiao columns that es- cape may he impossihlej'^ The only fear of Terry seems to be that the Indians will escape. On Custer's way up the Kose- bud, he is directed to examine " the upper part of Tulloch's Creek." This creek runs into the Big Horn near its mouth. Its " upper part," was some ten miles to the right of Custer's actual trail, which followed that of the Indian village previously found by Reno. Custer was to '* endeavor to send through a scout to Colonel Gibbon's column." If he found that the trail turned, (as it did) to the right, Terry '• thinks you shoidd still proceed southward'''' to the head waters of the Tongue before turning after the Indians. All these instructions, it will be no- ticed, are entirely advisory and permissory, not perempto7'y. Terry expresses his conviction of the impossibility of giving any precise orders " which might hamper your action when nearly in contact with the enemy," and only desires Custer to conform to his views " nnless you shall see sufficient reason for departing from them." It is quite clear on the face of these orders that Custer cannot be held legally or morally responsible for any departure from Terry's advice. The whole matter is left entirely in his discretion, the general placing " too mucli confidence in jowy zeal, energy and ability " to give any orders, beyond one to report in fifteen days. On his discretion solely he must be judged. In following him through the course of this his last march, we shall embody so much of the official re- port of his second in command, Major Reno, made at the close of the operations, as covers the period to Custer's death, illus- trating it by the evidence of other persons, taken since that time. This report is valuable on account of its presumed relia- bility as to dates, times and places. It was first published in the Army and Navy Journal of New York City, the official Army paper, and is addressed according to military etiquette, to THE LAST BATTLE. 577 the chief of Terr3''s staff for tlie time being. It commences as follows : Headquarteus, Seventh Cavalry, Camp on Yellowstone River, July 5, 1876. Oaptnin E. W. Smith, A. D. C. and A. A. A. G. : The command of the Eegiment having devolved upon me, as the senior surviving officer from the battle of June 25th and 26th, between the Seventh Cavalry and Sitting Bull's band of hostile Sioux, on the Little Big Horn Eiver, I have the honor to submit the following report of its operations from the time of leaving the main column until the command was united in the vicinity of the Indian village. The regiment left the camp at the mouth of Eosebud Eiver, after passing in review before the Department Commander, under command of Brevet Major-General Sr. A. Custer, lieutenant-colo- nel, on the afternoon of the 22d of June, and marched up the Eosebud twelve miles, and encamped. 23d. Marched uj) the Eose- bud, passing many old Indian camps, and following a very large lodge pole trail, but not fresh, making thirty-three miles. 24th. The march was continued up the Eosebud, the trail and signs fresh- ening with every mile until we had made twenty-eight miles, and we then encamped and waited for information from the scouts. At 9.25. P. M., Custer called the officers together, and informed us that, beyond a doubt, the village was in the valley of the Little Big Horn, and that to reach it, it was necessary to cross the di- vide between Eosebud and Little Big Horn, and it would be im- possible to do so, in the daytime, without discovering our march to the Indians ; that we would prepare to move at 11 p. M. This was done, the line of march turning from the Eosebud to the right, up one of its branches, which headed near the summit of the divide. About 2 A. M. of the 25th, the scouts told him that he could not cross the divide before daylight. We then made coffee and rested for three hours, at the expiration of which time the march was resnmed, the divide crossed, and about 8 a. m. the command was in the valley of one of the branches of the Little Big Horn. By this time Indians had been seen, and it was certain that we could not surprise them, and it was determined to move at once to the attack. Previous to this no division of the regiment had been made since the order was issued, on the Yellowstone, annulling wing 37 678 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. and battalion organizations. General Custer informed me he would assign commands on the march. I was ordered by Lieu- tenant ^Y. W. Cook, adjutant, to assume command of Companies M, A and G- ; Captain Benteen, of Comj^anies H, D and K ; Cus- ter retaining C, E, F, I and L, under his immediate command, and Company B, Captain IMcDougall, in rear of the pack train. I assumed command of the companies assigned to me, and with- out any definite orders moved forward with the rest of the col- umn, and well to its left. I saw Benteen moving further to the left, and, as they passed, he told me he had orders to move well to the left, and sweep everything before him ; I did not see him again until about 2.30 p. m. The command moved down the creek towards the Little Big Horn valley. Custer, with five companies on the right bank ; myself and three companies on the left bank ; and Benteen farther to the left, and out of sight. . . . Here we must pause awhile. Major Keno, Brevet-colonel Benteen and President Grant have made the pause necessary, by official accusations of Custer's action up to this point. Major Reno, near the close of his report, accuses Custer in these words: I think (after the great number of Indians there were in the village) that the following reasons obtained for the misfortune ; his rapid marching for two days and one night before the fight, attacking in the daytime at 12 m., and when they Avere on the qui vive, instead of early in the morning, and lastly, his unfortunate division of the regiment into three commands. General Terry, in a subsequent despatch to Shevidan , quotitig Benteeyi, accuses Custer of the same ftiult, and states that Custer had told him that his marches " would be at the rate of thirty miles a day." Custer, according to Reno's report, left Terry at noon 22d June, and struck Sitting Bull on the morning of June 25th, hav- ing made one night march only. On the face of Reno's report, the night march was only from 11 p. m. to 2 a. m., or three hours. Then came a rest of three hours, with feed for man and horse, the march resumed at 5 a. m. the Indians seen at 8 a. m., finally struck at 12.30. This gives a period of three whole days in all, at 30 miles a day, making DO miles. The actual distance. THE LAST BATTLE. 579 measured on the best accessible map, makes the length of Cus- ter's trail just 90 miles ; and we can afford to allow 10 more for windings. According to Eeno's report, the distance marched to the evening of the 24th June was 73 miles (12 + 33 + 28) leaving only 27 miles for the distance covered during the fol- lowing night and day march. In Terry's despatch of self-justi- fication, above referred to, he says, " I learned from Captain Benteen^ that on the 22d the cavalry marched 12 miles ; on the 23d, 25 miles ; from 5 a. m. till 8 p. m. of the 24th, 45 miles, and then after night 10 miles further, resting but without unsad- dling, 23 miles to the battle-field." This account adds just 15 miles to the actual distance. It also subtracts 8 miles from Reno's report of the march of the 23d June, and puts on 17 miles to Reno's account of the march of the 24th. Where Reno says 33, Terry, quoting Benteen^ says 25 ; where Reno says 28, Terry, quoting Benteen, says 45. President Grant, who hated Custer, as he had reason to, having injured him, distorts the facts still more in his published interview with a Herald correspondent, months after. "We give this part of the interview entire, question and answer. Correspondent — Was not Custer's massacre a disgraceful de- feat of our troops ? The President — (with an expression of manifest and keenly felt regret) — I regard Custer's massacre as a sacrifice of troops, brought on by Custer himself, that was wholly unnecessary — wholly unnecessary. Correspondent — How so, Mr. President ? The President — He was not to have made the attack before effecting a junction with Terry and Gibbon. He was notified to meet them on the 2Gth, but instead of marching slowly, as his orders required, in order to effect the junction on the 26th, he enters upon a forced march of eighty-three miles in tioenty-four hours, and thus had to meet the Indians alone on the 25th. Thus Reno, who, whatever his faults, is apparently an hon- orable man, who labors to tell the truth, makes the whole march 580 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of the 24th and 25th June only 55 miles (28 + 27) agreeing with the map ; Terry, quoting Benteen, makes it 78 miles (45 + 10 + 23) ; Grant, the President, in his eagerness to bury a dead man out of sight, makes it 83 miles. On the face of Reno's report, and compared with the actual distance, judging Custer as we have a right to, solely on his "zeal, energy and ability," not on supposed orders, which Terry's written instructions prove he never received, it appears that so far he had done everything that a cool and wary Indian fighter could have done. At all events the Indians had not escaped. Let us see now what followed, still quoting Keno. His report proceeds thus : As we approached a deserted village, in which was standing one tepee, about 11 a. m., Custer motioned me to cross to him, which I did, and moved nearer to his column, until about 12.30 A. n., when Lieutenant Cook, adjutant, came to me and said the village was only two miles ahead and running away. To *' move forward at as rapid gait as I thought prudent and to charge afterwards, and the whole outfit would sujjport me ; " I think those were his exact words. I at once took a fast trot, and moved down about two miles, when I came to a ford of the river. I crossed immediately, and halted about ten minutes or less, to gather the battalion, sending word to Custer that I had everything in front of me, and that they were strong. I deployed, and with the Ree scouts on my left, charged down the valley, driving the Indians Avith great ease for about 24^ miles. I however, soon saw that I was being drawn into some trap, as they certainly would fight harder, .and especially as we were near- ing their village, which was still standing ; besides, I could not see Custer,* or any other support, and at the same time the very earth seemed to grow Indians, and they were running towards me in swarms, and from all directions. I saw I must defend myself, and give up the attack mounted. This I did, taking possession of a point of woods, and which furnished, near its edge, a shelter * This fact, of not seeing Custer, evidently frightened Reno excessively, and his story shows how unfit he was to take part in any operation requiring combined efforts. Had he gone on, as he was ordered, he would have found Custer supporting him, in the most effective manner possible, by attacking the enemy in rear. THE LAST BATTLE. 581 for the horses ; dismounted, and fought them on foot, making headway through the wood. I soon found myself in the near vi- cinity of the village, saw that I was lighting odds of at least five to one, and that my only hope was to get out of the wood, where I would soon have been surrounded, and gain some high ground. I accomplished this by mounting and charging the Indians be- tAveen me and the bluffs, on the opposite side of the river. In this charge, First Lieutenant Donald Mcintosh, Second Lieuten- ant Ben H. Hodgson, Seventh Cavalry, and A. A. Surg. J. M. I)e Wolf, were killed. I succeeded in reaching the top of the bluff, with a loss of three officers and twenty-nine enlisted men killed, and seven men wounded. Almost at the same time I reached the top, mounted men were seen to be coming towards us, and it proved to be Colonel Benteen's battalion, companies H. D. and K ; we joined forces, and in a short time the pack train came up. As senior, my command was then companies A, B, D, G, H, K and M, about 380 men, and the following officers : Cap- tains Benteen, Weir, French and McDougall ; First Lieutenants Godfrey, Mathey, and Gibson ; Second Lieutenants Edgerly, Wal- lace, Varnum, and Hare ; A, A. Surg. Porter. First Lieutenant De Eudio was in the dismounted fight in the woods, but having some trouble with his horse, did not join the command in the charge out, and hiding himself in the woods, joined the command after nightfall of the 26th. Still hearing nothing of Custer, and with this reinforcement, I moved down the river in the direction of the village, keeping on the bluffs. We had heard firing in that direction, and knew it could only be Custer. I moved to the summit of the highest bluff, but seeing and hearing nothing, sent Captain Weir with his com- pany to open communication with the other command. He soon sent back word, by Lieutenant Hare, that he could go no farther, and that the Indians were getting around him ; at this time he was keeping up a heavy fire from his skirmish line. I at once turned everything back to the first position I had taken on the bluff, and which seemed to me the best. I dismounted the men, had the horses and mules of the pack train driven together in^-a depression, put the men on the crests of the hills making the de- pression, and had hardly done so, when I was furiously attacked ; this was about 6 p. m. ; we held our ground with the loss of eighteen enlisted men killed and forty-six wounded until the attack ceased, about 9 p. m. 682 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. A perusal of the first part of this account will show that whatever the length of the previous marches, the horses in Reno's column were not so fagged out but what they could take " a fast trot " for two miles to the ford, and then drive the In- dians two and a half miles further. This makes nearly five miles at a fast pace in column or in ranks, with packed saddles, and exhausted horses could not have done that. The next point to be considered is that of dividing the regiment into three commands. Here Custer is again blamed by Reno at the close of his report, as well as in a letter which the au- thor lately received from him, totally unsolicited, and in which he tries to justify his conduct. In the report he calls it " his unfortunate division of the regiment into three commands ; " in the letter he says " The division of the regiment into three sep- arate and independent commands he was responsible for, and must always be held so." It will be here observed by those who have read this history through, that Custer's invariable method of attack on an enemy was the same which he adopted on the Big Horn, an attack on front and flank at all events, both flanks and front if possible, from all sides at once if he had time to execute it. In every battle in the civil war when he was in an independent position, he always worked his command by fractions, so as to attack an enemy on several points at once, and always suc- ceeded, because he was always heartily seconded by men who adored him. He counted much on the moral efiect to be pro- duced on an enemy by combined attacks and a cross-fire, and always found his calculations correct. In fact only one thing could vitiate them. This was, cowardice or disobedience in the leader of any of the fractions which were to work simultane- ously ; and this misfortune Custer had never hitherto sufl'ered. His subordinates were used to be put into tight places, where everything at first seemed liopeless, trusting implicitly to their' leader's combinations to get them out. Next, were these commands independent ? "We can hardly THE LAST BATTLE. 583 see that, any more than regimental commanders are independ- ent in a brigade. No general can do anything if his colonels will not support him, no colonel can fight a cavalry regiment under Upton's tactics if his battalion commanders slight, dis- obey, or even misunderstand his orders. Custer was a peculiar man. He fought in a peculiar way, and needed to have men under him used to his rapid energetic style, and who understood him. Did Reno understand him, and was he used to him ? The official record says not. He had never served under Cus- ter in the field, nor seen an Indian fight since the civil war. Let us see whether he supported Custer. He says he " charged down the valley, driving the Indians with great ease for about 2 J miles." Then he suddenly stops. Why ? Ho says he " saw he was being drawn into some trap." An officer pres- ent with the expedition, who examined the ground, but whose name we prefer to withhold for the present, writes as follows : He [Reno] marched until he came to the village, dismounted, and occupied a timber bottom, which completely sheltered him and his horses. Girard (the interpreter) says, corroborated by Hern- don, a scout, not many Indians in sight at this time, and firing at 500 and 600 yards. So long was the range that Charley Reynolds, another scout, said, ^^ No use firing at this range ; we will have a better chance ^hy and hyP An officer present says that Reno mounted and dismounted, and then mounted again in hot haste, and made what figures in his report as a " charge." He is the only person I have heard call it by that name. The surgeon present says there was only one man wounded before Reno abandoned the timber, and his loss begun when he was making the charge, men and horses shot from behind. Think of the charge they must have made, across the Little Horn, and were checked in their flight by Benteen running into them. I say running into them, because it was mere accident. But where was Custer ? He moved down to the lower end of the village from three to four miles. How long did Reno engage the Sioux village ? Not over thirty minutes. What is the conclusion ? That Reno was in and out of the fight before Custer was engaged. If further proof is wanting, it is found in tlie fact that Reno says in his report he heard Custer's firing from the top of the hill to which he had retreated. 584: GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Besides the letter from which this extract is taken, the author has received a letter from another officer present with Major Reno, in response to one asking several detailed and specific questions as to the light in the bottom, the subsequent halt on the hill, and the possibility of cooperation with Custer on the part of Eeno and Benteen. This letter is especially valuable, because written with Major Reno's sanction and knowledge, and representing his side of the question as fully as could be desired. In the expression of opinion on probabilities this officer coincides with Reno, but his facts corroborate those stated by the other officer, whose opinions are exactly opposite. The facts furnished by Major Reno's friend are as follows : " At the time Reno ceased his forward movement, no man had been killed or wounded, but the cloud of dust denoted an immense number of Indians a short way off, and several times that number between us and that cloud, which was over the village, advanc- ing in their peculiar manner andpassing to our left andrear. . . The command was dismounted, the horses placed in a wood, and the men deployed on foot across the plain. The number of In- dians continued to increase and to surround us. Colonel Reno ordered us to prepare to mount, which of course took every one to the wood. We were mounted as though to charge, and in an in- stant afterward dismounted, and I supposed we were to fight it out there, when a fire opened from the rear through the brush . . . We xoere ordered to moxint. I was by the side of Colonel Reno, going out of the wood, and asked if we were to charge through. He said yes, and the command moved, Colonel Reno leading. I was here separated from the command for a time, and on turning towards it, saw it moving towards the ford that led to the hill. The column was fighting at close ratigeirom all sides. I rejoined with difficulty, and followed close along the rear to the ford, and here the confusion began. Previously the men had kept in column^ using their pistols. When the ford was reached, it was each man for himself. In passing up the hill, beyond the river, horses and men were joined together, and some of the hindmost suffered necessarily. So far, as to the facts of the fight in the bottom, Reno's fi-iend even exceeds the testimonv of Reno's harshest critics as to THE LAST BATTLE. 685 liis incapacity and utter demoralization during the attack of the Indians. We have italicized the places of most importance, as they tell the real story. " Advancing in their peculiar manner," — what does this mean in plain English ? That the Indians were all at full speed, crouching over the necks of their fleet little ponies, flogging away with their short whips, and all the time yelling out their " Hi !—yip — yip — yip — yip — hi yah ! 1 1 " firing random bullets in the air. These sights and sounds seem to have deprived Keno of all presence of mind. This he shows clearly by his repeated changes of policy, mounting and dismounting four times in as many minutes, and finally charg- ing out in column^ firing pistols, said column speedily becoming a huddled mass of frightened fugitives. y^ As to the halt on the hill, this oflScer diflers materially with Eeno and Benteen, in point of time. He admits hearing a few shots down the stream, but no heavy firing, and states that it was an hour before Benteen arrived, and half an hour more before the packs came up, whereas Benteen and Reno both agree that they came together, almost immediately after Reno's action. In this matter it is pretty clear that the recollection of Major Reno's friend must deceive him, as he places Weir's ad- vance almost imm.ediately after the junction, and it is clear from Reno's report that AVeir must have started out after five o'clock, for it was only fifteen minutes from his return to the beginning of the siege on the hill (at 6 p. m.) on Reno's show- ing. This officer, like Benteen, thinks that Custer had been destroyed by the time Benteen arrived on the hill, whereas Kill Eagle's evidence, subsequently mentioned, shows that this was not the case till sunset. He makes one curious assertion in giving his estimate of the Indian warriors, which he places at 3,500. It is this : in a milage, standing, squaws, old men, and hoys, are as effective as the ordinary recruitP Endorsing such opinions, is it any wonder Reno's battalion was beaten, when they are ready to succumb to squaws, old men, and boys ? Now let us return to Reno's report, and try it by the test 586 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of time and place. He sajs that Adjutant Cook told him to attack at 12.30, that he advanced altogether 4:^ miles, crossed a river, halted ten minutes, had his fight, and came back, meet- ing Ben teen. When did he meet Benteen ? Look back to the report. He there says of Benteen, "I did not see him again till about 2.30 p. m." That gives two hours for his ad- vance of 4|- miles, fording the river twice, driving the enenjy 2^ miles and the dismounted fight. Our period of thirty minutes for the fight in the bottom seems to tally with Keno's report. It is clear that it was a short fight, and Reno confesses his over caution in the words " / saw that I was being drawn into some trap.^^ The next question is, how long did Reno remain on the hill with his seven companies, in safety and unassailed. Here again his report helps us. He met Benteen at 2,30 p. m. : he was ^'furiously attacked ; this was ahout 6 p. m." The time is thus complete. Three hours and a half of waiting on the hill, listening to Custer's volleys, and not a step taken to renew the attack. Another piece of evidence is found in the narrative of Herndon, the scout, who was with Reno. When the major " charged " out, Herndou's horse fell and threw him, then i-an away, leaving him in the bush, where he was joined by thir- teen soldiers, three of them wounded and left behind. His story was published in all the papers, but I quote from the Army and Navy Journal of July 15, 1876, as a semi-official paper, and the one chosen by Reno for publication of his re- port. Statements in that paper on army subjects are apt to be more reliable than elsewhere, as, being the only professional paper in the country, all army officers watch its columns and correct every mistake. Herndon says of the " charge " which he saw from the timber, " Little resistance was offered, and it was a complete rout to the ford. I did not see the men at the ford, and do not know what took place, further than a good many were killed when the command left the timber." Hern- don and his thirteen comrades remained in the timber un- THE LAST BATTLE. 587 molested for nearly three liours, after Reno's fiiglit, hearing firing down the river about two miles, while nearly all the In- dians in their front left, and went down the valley. Then the little party got out and went to Reno, meeting only a roving group of five Indians, whom they beat ofi", then crossed the river to Reno. In fifteen minutes after, the siege on the hill commenced.* AVhat should Reno have done ? His only real safety was to hug the timber and defend himself, surrounded or not. Custer had done so on the Yellowstone in 1873, ninety against three hundred ; Robbins had done even better in defending his w^ag- ons in 1867, forty against six hundred. In both these eases there was no apparent hope of succor coming, and yet Robbins and Custer found the reward of their tenacity, help coming when it was least expected, and victory following. On Reno's own statement, he had one hundred and forty-five men, who in a circle, lining the edge of the wood, could have held it for hours. The Indians were fighting mounted, and could never have stormed the wood, and help was coming. Custer had promised to come. If Reno could get no further he could at least defend himself, die in his tracks if need be, like a soldier. Instead of this, he tried to escape by running away from an enemy who had the advantage in speed, and who could ride alongside of the demoralized cavalry, pouring in perfect streams of bullets from their AVinchester rifles. By his inexperience in Indian warfare, Major Reno thus gave himself up, helpless, to the favorite style of fighting of his enemies, wdierein their supe- rior horsemanship and superior arms had a full chance to assert themselves. Looking for personal security, he took the course least adapted to secure it. * " Lieutenant de Radio, mentioned in Reno's report, was also left be- hind, and remained in the wood, together with Mr. Girard, (the interpreter) Private O'Neill, and a half breed scout. All these four got off, some that night, some next night. De Rudio's account shows a general careless hap. liazard state of things among the Indians, entirely opposed to any deliberate trap or generalship. I 588 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. The major indeed seems, from liis hesitating movements in the fight, mounting and dismounting, to have been quite over- whehned from the first by the novelty of his position, cowed by the fierce yells and rapid charge of the Indians, and finally to have completely lost his head. For all this we wish it distinctly understood that we do not deem Reno so blamable, as for sub- sequent events. It was his first Indian fight, and many a man has done badly in his first fight, who has afterwards succeeded. We should not have occasion to dissect his conduct in the afifair, were it not for that unjust sentence in his ofiieial report in which he throws the blame of a disaster, brought on by his own incapacity, on the shoulders of his dead chief. Tlie facts shown by himself in the same report, illustrated by eye-wit- nesses, pass a different verdict on his actions. But now, where was Benteen all the time of this fight? His own statement, published in the 'New York Jleralrl, gives his movements. It seems that when he was sent out on the left bank of the stream with orders to sweep everything, he found no Indians, and that he recrossed the stream, and rejoined the main trail. He says, " the whole time occupied in this march was about an hour and a half," to the main trail, about three miles from the point where Reno came back over the ford. From Major Reno's statement in the same paper, in reply to a letter of General Rosser, we learn that the division into battal- ions which sent Benteen off to the left was made at half past ten A. M. An hour and a half brings us to nooji and Benteen with- in three miles of the battle field. At 12.30 Reno was ordered by Cook, the adjutant, to attack, and trotted off. At this time Benteen says : About three miles from the point where Reno crossed the ford I met a sergeant bringing orders to tlie commanding officer of the rear guard, Captain McDougall, Company B, to hurry up the pack trains. A mile further I was met by my trumpeter, bringing a written order from Lieutenant Cook, the adjutant of the regi- ment, to this effect : " Benteen, come on ; big village : be quick ; THE LAST BATTLE. 589 bring packs." And a postscript saying, "Bring packs." A mile or a mile and a half further on, I first came in sight of the valley and Little Big Horn. About twelve or fifteen dismounted men were fighting on the plain with Indians, charging and recharging them. This body [the Indians] numbered about 900 at this time. Colonel Eeno's mounted party were retiring across the river to the bluffs. I did not recognize till later what part of the command this was,but was clear that they had been beaten. I then marched my command in line to their succor. On reaching the bluff I re- ported to Colonel Keno, and first learned that the command had been separated, and that Custer was not in that part of the field, and no one of Eeno's command was able to inform me of the whereabouts of General Custer. Reno's report states that he met Benteen at 2.30 p. m. It seems thus, that it took Benteen two hours and a half to cover a distance of three miles. What was he doing all this time ? One incident, furnished us by an officer who was present, shows. With Custer on this campaign was his brother, Boston Cus- ter, who was the civilian forage master of the column. It seems that Boston Custer came to the rear during this period, went to the pack train, in rear of Benteen, got a fresh horse, and passed Benteen on his way back, speaking to some of the officers. Benteen was then watering his horses. Where did he water? He could only have done it at one place, whe7'e he crossed the river, that is, three miles above the ford where he met Reno. Boston Custer had time to get back to the general and be killed in the fight. Benteen kept on at a slow pace. Did he obey the order '"'• Benteen^ come on ^ Mg village , hequich; hring jpacTcsf'' What did this order direct from Custer mean ? what could it mean, but that Custer wanted every man in his fight ? He had sent in Reno, and he needed Ben teen's battalion and the com- pany guarding the packs with himself. That this was his in- tention is proved by Reno, in his letter to Rosser, by these words : Trumpeter Martin, of Company H, and who the last time of any living person heard and saw General Custer, and who brought 590 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the last order his Adjutant, Colonel Cook, ever penciled, says he left the general at the summit of the highest bluff' on that side, and which overlooked the village and my first battle-field, and as he turned, General Custer raised his hat and gave a yell, saying they were asleep in their tepees and surprised, and to charge. Cook's order, [Custer's order, through his adjutant] sent to Ben- teen, and which I afterwards saw and read, said, " Big village ; big thing ; * bring up the packs." Thus Benteen and Eeno both unite in ascribing the same plan to Custer, that of charging with all liis force from two points. Both admit by their testimony that they disobeyed orders. Reno was ordered to " charge : " he obeyed by opening a hesitating skirmish and then running away. Benteen was ordered to " come on ; be quick." He obeyed by advancing three miles in two hours, and joining Eeno in a three hours' halt. The order to " come on " was from Custer, not Reno. Benteen made, on his own statement, no effort to obey it. He might have known where Custer was. Reno lets that much out. Benteen could have questioned Trumpeter Martin, who brought the order. No, he stopped, and let his chief perish. Looking at all the testimony impartially from this distance of time, the conduct of Benteen is fer worse than that of Reno. The major did his best in his fight, and it was nothing but want of experience in command and in Indian warfare that caused his defeat. Benteen's case is different. He was an old Indian- lighter, a man of remarkable personal courage, as he proved in the subsequent battle, had often fought under Custer, and knew his business perfectly. That he should have, as his own testi- mony confesses, deliberately disobeyed t\\Q peremjptory order of Custer to " come on,'' argues either a desire to sacrifice Custer, or an ignorance of which his past career renders him incapable. * There is a great difference between the words "big thing" and " be quick," and I am inclined to believe that the expression "big thing" is an afterthought of Major Reno's, as tending to confirm the notion which he in- culcates all through his report and evidence, that Custer ran into a trap and was full of rash eagerness. Benteen got the order and he says it was "be quick," and that " bring packs " was repeated. THE LAST BATTLE. 591 Custer told him to " come on " and he " reported to Colonel Een ." Well then, it ma}- be said, what did Benteen, after- wards ? The rest of his testimony shows what he did. He says : While the command was awaiting the arrival of the pack mules, a company was sent forward in the direction supposed to have been taken by Custer. After proceeding about a mile, they were at- tacked and driven back. During this time I heard no heavy fir- ing, and there was nothing to indicate that a heavy fight was going on, and I believe that at this time Custer's immediate com- mand had been annihilated. The rest of the story you must get from Colonel Eeno, as he took command and knows more than any one else. It is curious in Benteen's evidence how his only estimate of time comes in lefore the battle. Afterwards, there is not a word about time. Who would think that this brief paragraph covered from 2. 80 to 6 p. m. If the one company was sent for- ward, why was it not supported by the whole outfit? Why ■was Custer left alone with his battalion, while the other battal- ions were out of danger ? The answer to the questions is given by Reno and Benteen, in their evidence, almost unassisted by others. The reasons were, Beno's incapacity and Benteen's disobedience. AVe have now examined Reno and Benteen : it is time to go to Custer. Where was Custer during all this time, from 12.30 to 6 p. M. ? Let Reno, Terry, and the trail answer ; assisted by Trumpeter Martin, the last white man who saw Custer alive ; Curl}', the Upsaroka scout, the last living being of his column ; and Kill Eagle, an Indian chief who M-as in Sitting Bull's camp, who has since come into Standing Rock agency to surrender, and has given evidence. Reno, in his letter says that Custer, after leaving him, " moved rapidly down the river to the ford, at which he at- tempted to cross." Curly, the Crow scout, calls it about four miles, and such the trail shows it, on account of the winding of the ravines. Reno's advance was about 2|- miles in a diagonal 592 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. line. Consequently his skirmish line at the edge of the woods was not over two miles from the ford wliich Custer tried to eross. The Indian village was 3i- miles long, and Custer struck it about the middle. When did he strike it? "VVe get this from the examination of Kill Eagle, published in the Xew York Herald of October 6th, '76. The deposition was taken by Captain Johnston, First Infantry, acting Indian agent. We extract all that concerns the light. The troops struck our trail on the tributary, followed it down, swam their horses over the Greasy Grass Creek and struck the camp at the upper end, where there was a clump of timber. On the southwest end of the camp they dismounted and tied their horses in the timber and opened the fight. When the firing com- menced the Indians rushed to the scene of action. I and my men were lower down, about the middle of the camp. The Indians drove the soldiers back out of the timber, and they crossed the Greasy Grass Creek below the mouth of the tributary, taking their position on the high hills, bare without any grass. There they were reinforced by the soldiers who had not crossed the creek (Colonel Benteen and Captain McDougall). Before retreating across the creek the soldiers (Colonel Eeno) got into the camj) and set fire to some of the lodges. On retreating across the creek to take position on the hill, they left their dead behind them. Another party appeared on top of a long hill moving toward, the south. After quitting the party on the knolls, word came that soldiers were on the left across the creek, and there was great excitement in the camp, the Indian warriors rushing to the left to meet the troops. The Indians crossed the creek and then the firing com- menced. It was very fust at times, then slower until it died away. (He describes the firing as follows : — He claps the palms of his hands together very fast for several minutes, stopping suddenly, which denotes the sound of the firing when they (Custer) first began. After a few seconds elapses he repeats the same as above and continues, but all the time lessens the quickness of the patting and sound until it gradually dies out.) The United States troops were all killed on the east side, none crossed the stream. I got the following information from Sitting Bull himself : — THE LAST BATTLE 593 After crossing the creek with his warriors, he met the troops (Cus- ter) about 600 yards east of the river. He drove the soldiers back up the hill. He then made a circuit to the right around the hill and drove off and captured most of the horses. The troops made a stand at the lower end of the hill, and there they were all killed. In going around the hill the Cheyenne Indians killed a warrior, thinking he was a scout, who left this agency ; but he was not, he was a hostile. Q. How long did the fight last on the right ? A. It was about noon when they [Reno] struck the camp, and it only lasted a feio minutes. The fight at the lower end {under Custer) VMS not finished till near sunset. Q. Did all the warriors leave the right and go to the left ? A. They did ; the ichole tJdng left. Q. When Reno was driven across the creek where was Sitting Bull ? A. I don't know. Q. What Avere the families doing when the fighting was going on on the hill ? A. The women fled to the lower end of the camp and left everything. Q. What did they do when they heard the firing on the left by Custer ? A. The upper end of the camp was at this time all deserted, and at the lower end of the camp they took down and packed the lodges ready for flight. Q. I have heard that after the Custer fight, the Indians went back to the other end and attacked there again. How is it ? A. That is correct ; the Indian soldiers went back and attacked the troops (Reno) on the hill again. Q. Did you hear the fij-ing ? A. Yes, I heard the firing while moving away. It must be explained that Kill Eagle took the opportunity of the confusion, to steal away from Sitting Bull's camp. His evidence shows that there was no design or trap on the part of the Indians, that they were really surprised, that Custer's attack was a second surprise, and that they were in the wildest confusion : this too, when Reno's hesitating assault had convinced them that there was nothing to be feared from him. 38 59i GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Now for Custer's fight. The trail shows tliat he came down to the ford, and was tliere driven back, leaving dead men and horses. The rest of the description is thus given by an oiB- cer of the general staff who examined the ground, and refers to the map which we annex. From this point he was driven back to make successive stands on the liigher ground. His line of retreat stretches from the river to the spot indicated on the map as that where he fell. On the line of .retreat, Calhoun's company seems to have been thrown across it to check the Indians. At a distance of about three-quarters of a mile from the river, the whole of Cal- houn's company lay dead, in an irregular line, Calhoun and Crit- tenden in place in the rear. About a mile beyond this, on the ridge parallel to the stream, still following the line of retreat indicated on the map, Keogh's company was slaughtered in position, his right resting on the hill where Custer fell, and which seems to have been held by Yates' company. On the most prominent point of this ridge, Custer mar^*^ li'« Ifo^- dpsne- rate stand. Here, with Captain Yates, Colon ; Custer, Lieutenant Riley, and others, and tl Yates' command, he went down, fighting lieroi against the tremendous odds which assailed them on all sides. It is believed by some that, finding the situation a desperate one, they killed their horses for a barricade. From the point where Custer fell, the line of retreat again doubles back toward the river through a ravine, and along this line in the ravine, twenty-three bodies of Smith's comj)any were found. Where this line termi- nates near the river, are found the dead men and horses of Cap- tain Custer's company commingled with Smith's, and the situa- tion of the dead indicates that some desperate attempt was made to make a stand near the river, or to gain the woods. There we have the short and simple history of the fight which was going on within two miles of Benteen and Reno, for three long weary hours. It is dry and simple in its words, but what a wealth of heroism that simple story reveals. This little band was made of Custer's men, under Custer's best officers, Cus- ter's little knot of chosen friends. All we can do is to fill out its details. On this line, Calhoun s company was thrown across to 596 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. check the Indians. The men lay dead in an irregular line, Calhoun and Crittenden in place in rear. This is the order of the tactics, the officers watching and moving along their line, within a few feet. There they fell, every man in his place. They were ordered to stay and be killed, to save the day, and they obeyed orders. Who then was Calhonn, that he was the first ordered to die ? Lieutenant James Calhoun of the Seventh Cavalry was the husband of Custer's only sister; he was Custer's dearest of all friends on earth ; he was the bravest and gentlest of men, with the face and form of an Apollo, bright fair hair and dark eyes, a man whom a lady who knew him well describes as the " hand- somest man I ever saw." He was a gentleman's son, with all the education of a gentleman, and the most refined literary taste, who yet had not hesitated to enlist as a private soldier in the regular army, and had actually worked his way up, refined and sensi- tive as he was, in the midst of all the discomforts, hardships and degradations which surrounded the life of a private soldier at the close of the war, to a well-earned commission. He mar- ried Maggie E. Custer in Monroe, Michigan, March Tth, 1872, and acted as Custer's post-adjutant during the time the regi- ment was divided. He was remarkably quiet and reserved in demeanor, but hid beneath his calm dignity of outward seeming the most lofty aspirations. Too young to have gained distinction in the civil war, he hoped yet to gain it by un- wavering fidelity to his duty. Duty was his one watchword, and by it he hoped to attain success. Such was the bright brave youth whom Custer told to stay behind and be killed, that so the day might be saved. Did Calhoun murmur — did he question the order? "Why did Custer leave him there to die? Not a murmur came from the one, and the other showed by this his first sacrifice that he placed the country above all his earthly loves, " The country needs; I give her a man who will do his duty to the death : I give them my first brother. 1 THE LAST BATTLE. 597 leave my best loved sister a widow, that so the day may be saved. Farewell." Well did Callioun redeem that trust. Every man in his place, no faltering, no going back, Calhoun's company kept on firing till the last cartridge was gone, and one by one dropped dead in his tracks under the fire of the swarms of Indians that kept dashing to and fro before them, firing volley after volley. Down they went, one after another, cheered up by this grand figure of Duty, young Calhoun encouraging them to the last. With him young Crittenden of the Twelfth Infantry, a mere boy, only appointed the previous fall, and temporarily with the cavalr}' in his first and last battle, as cool as his chief, cheered and steadied by the calm princely dignity of courage that inspired that glorious stand. So they stood till the last man was down, and Crittenden was killed, and then came the friendly bullet that sent the soul of James Calhoun to an eternity of glory. Let no man say such a life was thrown awa3^ The spectacle of so much courage must have nerved the whole command to the heroic resistance it made. Calhoun's men wonld never have died where they did, i7i liiie, had Calhoun not been there to cheer them. They would have been found in scattered groups, fleeing or huddled together, not fallen in their ranks, every man in his place, to the very last. Calhoun, Math his forty men, had done on an open field, what Eeno, with a hundred and forty, could not do defending a wood. He had died like a hero, and America will remember him, while she remembers heroes. Let us go on with the tale. About a mile heyoncl, KeogKs company was slaughtered in position, his right resting on the hill where Custer fell. Custer had chosen the best ground to be found, and was determined to retreat no farther. By this time he must have realized that Reno had been beaten, but he trusted at least to Benteen to come and help him. The Indians were all around him, but a vigorous attack by Benteen on their rear would beat them, could Custer only hold them long enough. Keogh was an older soldier than any there. He had been 598 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. an officer in the Papal service in the davs when Garibaldi made war upon the Holy Father, and he had served on the staiFs of Buford and Stoneman during the war. The sight of Calhoun's men, dying as they did, had nerved Keogh's men to the same pitch of sublime heroism. Every man realized that it w^as his last fight, and was resolved to die game. Down they M'ent, slaughtered in posiiion, man after man dropping in his place, the survivors contracting their line to close the gaps. We read of such things in history, and call them exaggerations. The silent witness of those dead bodies of heroes in that mountain pass cannot lie. It tells plainer than words how they died, the Indians all round them, first pressing them from the river, then curling round Calhoun, now round Keogh, till the last stand on the hill by Custer, with three companies. How that fight went. Curly the Upsaroka scout, tells us, he the only man who escaped alive, and who got away to the steamer Far West lying at the mouth of the river. His testi- mony was taken by the officers of Terry's staff, through an interpreter. It is plain and prosaic in its simplicity, but it tells the tale. He says ho went down with two other Crows and went into ac- tion with Custer. The General, he says, kept down the river on the north bank four miles, after Eeno had crossed to the south side above. He thought Eeno would drive down the valley, so that they could attack the village on two sides, he believing Eeno would take it at the upper end, while he (Custer) would go in at the lower end. Custer had to go farther down the river and far- ther away from Eeno than he wished on account of the steep bank along the north side ; but at last he found a ford and dashed for it. The Indians met him and poured in a heavy fire from across the narrow river. Custer dismounted to fight on foot, but could not get his skirmishers over the stream. Meantime hundreds of Indians, on foot and on ponies, poured over the river, which was only about three feet deep, and filled the ravine on each side of Custer's men. Custer then fell back to some high ground behind him and seized the ravines in his immediate vicinity. The In- dians completely surrounded Custer and poured in a terrible fire THE LAST BATTLE. 599 on all sides. They charged Custer on foot in vast numbers, but were again and again driven back. The fight began about 2 o'clock, and lasted, Curly says, almost until the sun went down over the hills. The men fought desperately, and, after the ammu- nition in their belts Avas exhausted, went to their saddlebags, got more and continued the fight. He also says the big chief, (Custer) lived until nearly all his men had been killed or wounded, and went about encouraging his soldiers to fight on. Curly says when he saw Custer was hopelessly surrounded, he watched his oppor- tunity, got a Sioux blanket, put it on, and worked up a ravine, and when the Sioux charged he got among them, and they did not know him from one of their own men. There were some mounted Sioux, and seeing one fall, Curly ran to him, mounted his pony, and galloped down as if going towards the white men, but went up a ravine and got away. When questioned closely by one of the officers,^ he mentioned one little fact about his escape that is pregnant with light on Custer's fate. When he saw that the party with the Genei'al was to be overwhelmed, he went to the General and begged him to let him show him a way to escape. General Custer dropped his head on his breast in thought for a moment, in a way he had of doing. Tiiere was a lull in the fight after a charge, the encircling Indians gathering for a fresh attack. In that moment, Custer looked at Curly, waved him away and rode back to the little group of men, to die with them. How many thoughts must have crossed that noble soul in that brief moment. There was no hope of victory if he stayed, nothing but certain death. Witli the scout he was nearly certain to escape. His horse was a thoroughbred and his way sure. He might have balanced the value of a leader's life against those of his men, and sought his safety. AVhy did he go back to certain death ? Because he felt that such a death as that which that little band of heroes was about to die, was worth the lives of all the general officers in the world. Thanks to the story of the Crow * This officer told the story personally to Mrs. Custer afterwards. 600 ■ GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. scout, we know that he had the chance to live alone, and that he deliberately accepted death with his men as the worthier. He weighed, in that brief moment of reflection, all the con- sequences to America of the lesson of life and the lesson of heroic death, and he chose death. The Indian hovered round the fight, still watching : in the confusion he was not noticed, or taken for a Sioux. He had washed off his Upsaroka paint, and let down his hair like a Sioux. Let us see what he saw. Curly did not leave Custer until the battle was nearly over, and he describes it as desperate in the extreme. He is quite sure the Indians had more killed than Custer had white men with him. There was the little group of men on the hill, the Indians hovering round them like hounds baying a lion, dashing up close and receding, the bullets flying like swarms of bees, the men in the little group dropping one by one. At last the charm of Custer's charmed life was broken. He got a shot in the left side and sat down, with his pistol in his hand. Another shot struck Custer and he fell over. The last ofldcer killed was a man who rode a white horse (believed to be Lieut. Cook, Adjutant of the Seventh, as Lieuts. Cook and Calhoun were the only officers who rode white horses, and Lieut. Calhoun was found dead on the skirmish line, near the ford, and probably fell early in the action). At last they were all gone, every oflicer of the group. Cus- ter fallen and Cook killed, the remaining men broke. Then the scout fled too. He says as he rode off he saw, when nearly a mile from the battle-field, a dozen or more soldiers in a ravine, fighting with Sioux all around them. He thinks all were killed, as tiiey were outnumbered five to one, and apparently dismounted. These were no doubt part of the thirty-five missing men reported in the official despatches of General Terry. Curly says he saw one cav- alry soldier who had got away. He was well mounted, but shot through both hips, and Curly thinks he died of his wounds, starved to death in the bad lands, or more likely his trail was followed, and he killed by the Sioux. THE LAST BATTLE. 601 Thirty-two men of Yates' company fell with their chief and the other officers on the hill, the rest of them, with Captain Custer's and Captain Smitli's men, tried to cut their way to the river and all fell in the ravine, as marked on the map. Then, says Kill Eagle, the Indian wounded came streaming back into Sitting Bull's camp, saying : "' We have hilUd them all : put up your lodges where they arer From the account of some Indians who went across the line into British America, to trade with the Manitoba Indians, we gain more particulars of the last fight than Curly could see. The scout was so utterly broken down with fear and agony of mind when he reached the steamer, that he could not for a long time give a connected account, but his exultant enemies have filled the gap with their boasts. From these it appears that when only a few of the officers were left alive, the Indians made a hand to hand charge, in which Custer fought like a tiger with his sabre when his last shot was gone, that he killed or wounded three Indians with the sabre, and that as he ran the last man through, Rain-in-the-Face hept his oath and shot Custer. While this account disagrees with that of Curly, I am in- clined to believe it, for several reasons. Curly was some way off, the confusion was great, and the two brothers Custer were dressed alike and resembled each other closely in figure. I am inclined to believe that it was Colonel Tom Custer whom Curly saw fall as he described it. On the other hand, several Indians who were in the fight have told the same story about the sabre, and have given Big Rain or Rain-in-the-Face, as the man who shot the General. We know Custer to have been a man of great strength and activity, one who had used the sabre freely in the civil war; and in his last struggle such a man would have been as able to kill three Indians, as was Shaw the f:^nlous Eng- lish guardsman at Waterloo, who was seen to kill nine French cuirassiers with his sword before he was shot. A last reason that is convincing is this. It is well known that the Indians did 602 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. not mutilate Custer's body, it being the onlj^ one in that group entirely spared. The only reason for such a respect could have been a reverence for his valor. It is also well known that the Indians regard the striking of a living enemy with a hand wea- pon as the highest proof of valor possible, placing a very dif- ferent estimate on shooting an enemy. All the reports of the Indians who i-eached the British Possessions were unanimous in saying that they dreaded the sabre more than any thing, and this is easily understood when their superstition as to hand weapons is considered. It seems certain that they would never have reverenced Custer's body as they did, had he not struck down their best men in that grim hand-to-hand fight, wherein, among all the brave and strong, he was the bravest and best swordsman of all, the other officers having had but little teach- ing in the use of the sabre. Be that as it may, it is known that he must have died under circumstances of peculiar heroism to win such respect, and that he was only kiUed by the bravest Indian of the whole northwest, a man whose unflinching forti- tude had enabled him to hang in the air for four hours in the Sun Dance. So fell Custer, the brave cavalier, the Christian soldier, sur- rounded by foes, but dying in harness amid the men he loved. Who fell with him ? There by his side lay his brother Tom, brave Colonel Cus- ter, a double of the General, w4io had enlisted as a private soldier at sixteen, was an officer at nineteen, who wore what no other officer in the army could boast of, two medals, each for a flag taken from an enemy in battle. Brave and gentle, courte- ous and tender, a model officer of cavalry, God be with gallant Tom Custer till the last day. He died like all the Custers, with his face to the skj^ and his feet to the foe. Not far oflf", close together, lay two more of the same family, poor young Boston Custer and little Autie Reed, Custer's nephew, son of that good gentle Christian woman, who had saved Custer himself from a reckless career, whose prayers had THE LAST BATTLE. 603 helped to make liim the Christian knight he became. Brave boys, nearly boys both, no sworn soldier of the state could die more nobly than they, who would not abandon a brother and kinsman. They could do little for him, but they could die with him. Autie was fresh from school a few weeks before, and wild to see the Plains with " Uncle Autie." To take him along it was necessary to give him some official employment, and Custer, knowing that the rough hard life would make a man of the boy, had him and another schoolmate appointed herders, to help drive the great herd of cattle with the column. Kough as the lot was, the lad never complained. He was seeing wild life, which was all he wanted, and had obtained leave to go on this scout with the General. Boston Custer's official position was that of forage master to the Seventh Cavalry, which he had held some time. He had been for years of a consumptive tendency, and his only chance for life was the open air existence of the plains. How far better for him the wild heroic death he died, under the blue sky, fighting like a true Custer, to the slow lingering failing end of a consumptive, which was his certain portion had he lived. So closed the lives of the three Custers and their young nephew, fallen on that stricken field. It is time to turn to the comrades that fell with them. There is something remarkable in the power which Custer apparently possessed of attracting to his side and intimate com- panionship the noblest and best of the men with whom the army brought him in contact ; and the facts of his death bring out this power in a conspicuous manner. It is clear that Avhen he made the division of the regiment into battalions in the morning, Custer knew that heavy work was coming, and in- tended to take the heaviest work into his own hands, as he al- ways did. Into his own battalion he seems to have gathered all of his own familiar friends, including his three brothers, as knowing he could depend on them to the death. His confi- dence was well repaid, and we may say to-day, without fear 604 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. of contradiction, that Cnster and Custer's friends were the flower of the Seventh Cavakj. The battalion that fell with Custer held them nearly all. There was the Adjutant, Brevet-Colonel Wm. W. Cook, the last officer left living, and whose final fall broke the hearts of his men and ended the battle. Cook was a model of manly beaut}'', in a very different style from that of Calhoun. Fully as tall (both were over six feet) and as powerfully framed, Cook was the image of a typical English Life Guardsman, with his highbred aristocratic features and long wav}^ black moustache and whiskers. Like Iveogh, he was a foreigner, having been born in Canada, whence he entered the American service in the Twenty- fourth New York Cavalry, rising to its colonelcy. The reader has seen his name frequently during Custer's life on the plains. One proud sentence will be his best epitaph. In choosing an officer to command the sharp-shooters of the Seventh Cavalry in the Washita campaign the question was not, says Custer, " to choose a good one, but among m.any good to choose the hestP He chose Cook. Let it be written : " Custer said he was his best officer." By his side was gallant Yates, captain and brevet colonel, tender and true, a man like Calhoun, of old family and gentle blood, who had not hesitated to enter the ranks as a soldier in the war, had enlisted as a boy of sixteen and worked his way up to a captaincy in the Regular Army. Yates was a true, sterling fellow, a soldier to the backbone, with the crack com- pany of the Seventh. They used to call his troop the " band-box troop," so neat were they always, with an affectation of mili- tary dandyism. It was a tradition in that company that every man who died from it, " died with his boots on," the homely western phrase that tells such a story of unflinching courage. There fell brave old Yates, game to the last, with every man ot the little " band-box troop " in his place, round their leader, who fell with a smile on his lips. He and they had done their duty, and died like men. God will help the widow and fatherless. THE LAST BATTLE. 605 The last company commander of all fell near Yates, Lieuten- ant and Brevet Captain Algernon E. Smith, one more member of that little circle of refined qniet gentlemen who had shared Custer's friendship at Fort Lincoln. Captain Smith was one of the bravest and most modest of men. One little incident will illustrate his character better than a volume of description. During the civil war, while a captain of volunteers, Captain Smith was detailed on the staff of General Terrj, at that des- perate storming of Fort Fisher which gave Terry his star in the Regular Array. During the storming, a regiment faltered under the tremendous fire, having lost two color-bearers and all its field officers. Smith seized the colors, led on the regiment, sprang on the parapet, and was among the first in the works, where he fell severely wounded, his left shoulder smashed by a musket ball. For this he was bre vetted major of volunteers. The wound healed, but in such a manner that he could never after lift his left arm above the shoulder. He was appointed to the Seventh Cavalry in 1867 and served in every campaign, in fa- miliar intercourse with his brother officers ; yet very few in the regiment even knew he had served in the civil war, and none of the ladies would have known that he had been wounded, but for an accidental remark by his wife in 1875, from which it came out that he could not put on his uniform without assist- ance, on account of his crippled left arm. Algernon Smith died as he had lived, a simple, modest soldier, in front of his men ; while behind him lay the twenty-three bodies of the poor dis- heartened remnant that tried to cut their way out, when all was over and their beloved officer killed. And now we come to the last of all, the youngest of that little band, Lieutenant William Yan W. Reily. His portrait lies before me as these words are written, and it is hard to keep the cold composure of the impartial chronicler as I think of his peculiarly touching history. His father, a gallant officer of the U. S. navy, went down in his ship in the Indian Ocean, and not a soul came back to tell the tale, before Reily was born. That 606 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. father sailed away from a bride of a few months never to re- turn, and his boy left the mother who idolized him, to meet a similar fate, amid foes as pitiless as the ocean waves. Willie Reily fell next to Caster, and his fair young body was found lying at the feet of his commandei*. A good, noble-looking face he had, with a certain wistful musing expression, prophetic of his early fate. He had been ill for some time befoi^ the ex- pedition started, and the surgeon wished to order him on some post duty, but he refused to stay, and was eager to share the fate of his regiment whatever it might be. He had his dearest wish ; he died like his brave father, at his post doing his duty. Let no man say such an end was sad : it was heroic. We must all die some time, but not all like him. To him and all such, America says, " God bless our brave dead." I have told the facts of Custer's last battle as closely as the means at hand will permit the truth to be ascertained. Begin- ning my task with a strong impression, produced by the official reports, that Custer had been rash and imprudent, and that the conduct of Reno and Benteen had been that of prudent and brave soldiers, a careful examination of all the accessible evi- dence has left me no other course than to tell the whole story, to vindicate the reputation of a noble man from unjust asper- sions. I leave the facts to the world to judge whether I am not right in these conclusions : — 1. Had Reno fought as Custer fought, and had- Benteen obeyed Custer s orders, the hattle of the Little Horn might have ^proved Custer'' s last and greatest Indian victory. It may be objected to this conclusion that the numbers of the Indians were too great to admit it : but a careful examina- tion of the conflicting statements leads to the belief that these numbers have been exaggerated by Reno in his report, to cover THE LAST BATTLE. GOT his own conduct. He estimates tlie Indians at 3,500 "at tlie least," and the popular impression has since increased this esti- mate any where up to ten thousand. Herndon, the scout, a much cooler person, puts them at only 2,000 or 2,500 ; and Benteen thinks they were only 900. One means of approxi- mate computation is unwittingly offered by Reno. Near the close of his report, he mentions the whole village as defiling away before his eyes, and says, " the length of the column was fully equal to that of a large division of the cavalry corps of the Army of the Potomac, as I have seen it on the march." The divisions of the Cav^ah-y Corps, at their strongest, were about 4,000 men ; and they had no women and children with them. Making the very smallest allowance for led horses, pack horses, squaws and children, it is clear that at least one-half of the column must be taken away to leave the true number of warriors. This would give us 2,000, and if we allow 500 for the losses in fighting Reno and Custer, we come to Herndon's esti- mate. These numbers were four to one of Custer's, but he had fought such odds before, at the Washita, and come out tri- umphant. The obstinacy of his attack shows that he expected to conquer. He could have run like Reno had he wished, and Reno says in the report he thought Custer had done so. It is clear, in the light of Custer's previous character, that he held on to the last, expecting to be supported, as he had a right to expect. It was only when he clearly saw he had been betrayed, that he resolved to die game, as it was then too late to retreat. 2. Had not President Grant, moved hy private revenge^ displaced Custer from command of the Fort Lincoln column^ Custer would he alvve to-day and the Indian war settled. The Dakota column would have been confided to the best Indian-fighter of the army ; Reno and Benteen would never have dreamed of disobeying their chief, had they not known Custer and Gibbon would have 608 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. cooperated, as men both familiar with Indian warfare; and cross-pui'poses would have been avoided. The action of a court of inquiry, which will be able to call forth the testimony of officers whose names the author with- holds from the public at present, will settle whether these conclusions are correct or not. Many witnesses have been deterred from speaking b}' fear of those superiors whom their evidence will impeach ; and these witnesses will be able to swear in public to what they have hitherto only dared to say and write in private. The nation demands such a court, to vindicate the name of a dead hero from the pitiless malignity, which first slew him and then pursued him beyond the grave. NINTH BOOK.— SOLDIER AND MAN. CHAPTER I. CUSTER, THE SOLDIER. THE popular idea of Custer as a soldier is that of a brave, reckless, dashing trooper, always ready to charge any odds, without knowing or caring what was the strength of his enemy, and trusting to luck to get out of his scrapes. In the public mind, he has always been associated, even by his admirers, with Murat and Prince Rupert, as a type of mere impetuosity. A great deal of this impression among civilians has been the effect, partly of the frequency of his dashing personal ex- ploits, but very largely also to a combination of the sneers of professional soldiers envious of his fame, and of the anxiety of the war correspondents to write home a " picturesque " letter. During the civil war, the so-called war correspondents seldom knew much of military life, and had rarely been soldiers before that war. As a consequence, they wrote home a great many ridiculous stories about Custer, the product of camp gossip. He was accused of putting his hair up in papers, of wearing staj^s, using curling tongs, etc., and the ingenious correspondent of on6 New York paper set the seal on the whole by a stilted ac- count of the runaway of Don Juan and Custer at the last pa- rade. He thus became, to a large part of the public, a perfectly ideal personage, as unlike the real Custer as Tom Moore's po- etry was unlike the real quiet, domestic Tom Moore. The real Custer was as far from being the reckless liarum- 39 610 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. scarum cavalier of public fancy as possible. He was a remark- ably quiet, thoughtful man, when any work was on hand, one who never became flurried and excited in the hottest battle, and who, on a campaign, was a model of wary watchfulness, a man who was never surprised during his whole career^ and who was equal to any emergency of whatever kind. Three times during Custer's service as a brigade command- er, did he find himself surrounded by enemies and compelled to cut his way through; and on none of those three occasions could the slightest blame attach to him for the dilemma. The first time was at Brandy Station ; and there the fault was that of Meade or Pleasonton, who had divided their cavalry forces, so that when the separate units came together, the enemy was between them. The second time was at Buckland's Mills, where the disaster was due entirely to Kilpatrick's headlong rashness, after he had been warned of his danger by the wary Custer. The third time was at Trevillian Station, in 1864. There his danger was due to the accidental direction of a force of the en- emy, driven in by Custer's friends from another direction. It was, in fact. Brandy Station reversed. As a division commander, having no one else to trouble him, being responsible for his own actions, he was never in the slightest difficulty, and this is true of his whole after career. Put Custer in chief command, and he never made a mistake : put him under any one else, except Sheridan — as perfect a soldier as himself — and he was always suffering for the blun- ders, mistakes, or faint-heartedness of others, either his superi- ors or coadjutors. The consequence was, to both Custer and Sheridan, the envy and detraction of all those who could not understand their peculiar quality of instant and correct decision under fire, as to the right thing to do. This faculty is given to very few indeed. In the Army of the Potomac, Custer and Sheridan were its only possessors, in the highest degree, the degree pos- sessed by such men as Napoleon, Cromwell, Gustavus Adolphus, CUSTER THE SOLDIER. 611 Cffisar and Hannibal. It made them both supreme as " battle commanders," whatever their merits as strategists. Their detractors, who could not nnderstand this faculty, tried to belittle it, by setting down Sheridan as a " mere trooper," Custer as a reckless rider and fighter, a harum-scarum, light dragoon. In Custer's case, the prejudices of those who did not know him, invariably preceded his entrance on any new command, as invariably to be replaced by a feeling akin to adoration, from all who served under him, if they possessed any nobility and generosity of character. To dislike him was the infallible result either of want of personal knowledge, which was inno- cent, or of some meanness of character, with which Custer's impulsive generosity clashed. Of his first appearance in the Third Cavalry Division, General (then colonel) A. B. Kettleton, commander of the " Fighting Second Ohio," tlius speaks : I had never seen General Custer, prior to his promotion to>the command of our division, but he was well known to us by repute. Some of us were at first disposed to regard him as an adventurer, a disposition which a sight of his peculiar dress and long locks tended to confirm. One engagement with the enemy under Cus- ter's leadership dissipated all these impressions, and gave our new commander his proper place. Once under fire, we found that a master hand was at the helm, that beneath the golden curls and broad-brimmed hat was a cool brain and a level head. One thing that characterized Custer was this : having meas- ured as accurately as possible the strength and morale of his enemy, and having made his own disposition of troops carefully and personally, he Avent into every fight with complete confidence in the ability of his division to do the work marked out for it. Custer's conduct in battle was characteristic. He never ordered his men to go where he would not lead, and he never led where he did not expect his men to follow. He probably shared with the private soldier the danger of the skirmish line oftener than any ofiicer of his rank, not from wantonness of courage, but with a well-defined purpose on each occasion. He knew that the moral efiect of his personal presence at a critical moment, was equal to a reinforcement of troops, when a reinforcement could not be found. 612 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. A large part of Custer's success was due to the fact that he was a good pursuer. Unlike many equally brave and skilful offi- cers, he was rarely content to hold a position or drive his enemy : he always gathered the fruit, as well as shook the tree of battle. He regarded his real work as only beginning, when the enemy was broken and flying. Although his special forte was the command of cavalry in the field, he was not deficient in camp. He was a good disciplinarian, without being a martinet ; particularly thorough in maintaining an effective picket line or outpost service, on which depends the safety of an army in quarters. By unexpected visits to the out- posts by day and night, he personally tested the faithfulness and alertness of officers and men on picket duty. On more than one occasion, I have known him take the trouble to write a letter of commendation to the commander of the regiment on the picket line, praising the manner in which the duty was performed. There was nothing of the military scold in his nature. By timely praise, oftener than by harsh criticism, he stimulated his subordi- nates to fidelity, watchfulness, and gallantry. General Nettleton is quite competent to give an opinion of Custer, for he served under him with the most distinguished gallantry ; and his regiment, the Second Ohio Cavalry, vs^on this official praise from their division commander, in a letter to Governor Brough of Ohio : " I assure your excellency that in my entire division of twelve regiments, from various States, there is not one on which I relv more implicitly than on the gallant Second. I have known it repeatedly to hold its place against terrible odds, w^hen almost any other regiment would have felt warranted in retiring." Of Kettleton himself he says : " I regard him as one of the most valuable officers in the service, and do not knov/ his su- perior in the army, as regards the qualities needed in a good cavalry commanderr We quote these words to show that in Nettleton a perfectly competent critic is found, as well as one possessing personal knowledge of Custer. His testimony is merely the echo of that of every officer of capacity who ever served under that general. CUSTER THE SOLDIER. 613 Some may think that in all this too much is claimed for our hero ; but this verdict can only be given by those who have not examined the evidence on which the estimate is founded. As an army commander like Sheridan, as a corps commander, there are no means of estimating his powers, for he never had an opportunity of exhibiting them. As a cavalry officer, pure and simple, the most carping criticism can find no flaw in Cus- ter's career, from the day he led the Michigan Brigade into the battle of Gettysburg, to that in which he fell, fighting like a lion bayed by the hunters, deserted by his supporting detach- ments. He was, in fact, as nearly perfect as a cavalry com- mander can be. Yiewed from the standpoint of Seydlitz and the Great Frederick, and that at present prevailing in Europe, the actions of Custer are faultless, as far as he himself is concerned. The only wrong feature pervading them is one which was the fault of the system in which American cavalry has always been trained, and which even Custer could not remedy entirely, though he did his utmost towards checking it. This was, the undue dependence of the men and officers on their firearms, and their reluctance to use the sabre. This fault Custer con- stantly strove against, and during his valley campaigns succeeded in forcing his men by personal example into charging with the sabre, with invariable success whenever it was employed. We must, however, for the truth's sake, undeceive the civilian reader who imagines that the sabre was the exclusive weapon used in any of the so-called " sabre charges," either of Custer's or any other cavalry command, during the war. A rattling irregular fusillade of pistol and carbine shots almost invariably accompa- nied the charge, and, as a rule, the men were very poor swords- men, solely from want of fencing practice. Since the war, the case has been still worse, the use of the sabre having been practically abolished ; and the diminished power of Custer, reduced as he was from a general to a field officer, added to the fact that he found the sense of his brother 614 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. officers generally against him on this point, prevented his giving the queen of cavalry weapons that attention which it deserves. But as a cavalry leader, Custer displayed more genius and natural talent than any officer in the American army ; genius, moreover, of a kind that would have raised him to eminence in any service. Had Custer, with the same natural talent, served in the Franco-Prussian war as an officer of uhlans, there is little or no doubt that he would have risen to higher command than he attained in our own service. The well known personal su- pervision of Von Moltke, which has made the Prussian army what it is, by promotions for merit alone, would never have passed by Custer, with his wonderful faculty of seizing the mo- ment and its fleeting opportunity. The best cavalry leader America has ever produced, is the only truthful verdict that experience can pass on him : a great cavalry leader for any time or country, history will finally pro- nounce him ; worthy to stand beside Hannibal's " thunderbolt " Mago ; Saladin, the leader of those " hurricanes of horse" that swept the Crusaders from Palestine ; Cromwell, Seydlitz or Zieten ; a perfect general of horse. CHAPTER II. CUSTER, THE INDIAN-FIGHTER. IF we devote a separate chapter to the consideration of Custer as an Indian campaigner, it is not because we deem that any different grade of talent is required for fighting Indians other than that which obtains in a contest with a civilized foe, but rather as a concession to the popular idea that such is the case. This idea is partly due to the natural propensity of " old Indian-fighters" to magnify their own office, but also to the equally common tendency of mankind in general to ignore tal- ent and special genius as a possible factor of success in anj^ pur- suit, making experience and age the only tests of competency. A comparison of results obtained in both kinds of warfare, will give strong reason to believe that Indian-fighting, the same as Arab-fighting in Algeria, is by no means as difficult to master as the art of fighting a properly equipped, civilized foe. Many an officer who has attained considerable success as an Indian- fighter, has turned out but a poor general in campaign against a regular enemy, whereas generals of remarkable talent in civ- ilized warfare — real generals, not mere " scientific soldiers," so miscalled — have never failed to give a good account of a bar- barian foe, be it Indian, Arab, African, or Tartar. The natural tendency above referred to, has however pro- duced in the American army a very exaggerated estimate of the necessity of long experience in Indian fighting to produce a perfect officer, and a fashion of depreciating every officer, no matter what his talent elsewhere, if his Indian experience be hrief. When Custer first went on the plains, he found this C16 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. feeling iii full force, and was constantly confronted with the express or implied statement that Indian-fighting was so totally different from other warfare that his previous experience was valueless, and that he would have to sit humbly and learn at the feet of this or that ofhcer, because the latter was " an old Indian- fighter." Yery early in his Indian career, however, Custer seems to have discovered that few army officers were able to supply him with much valuable information on the Indian subject ; and his keen perception showed him at the same time who could do it. He saw that the officers, especially the oldest of them, were too slow for him, just as they had been during the war, and he also saw that the rough and ready scouts, who lived in the same style as the Indians, would be his best masters. From them he seems from the first to have taken lessons, readily and humbly enough, as he tells us in his recorded experiences on the plains. His first master was Comstock, the scout who rode with hiui in his first campaign against Pawnee Killer; and Pawnee Killer himself, with Komeo and California Joe, gave him excellent lessons. When we consider that Custer made his first appearance on the plains the beginning of April, 1867, perfectly " green," as the old Indian-fighters thought, that the whole of his experience was limited to the months of April, Ma}"-, June and a few days of July in that year, that from that time till September, 1868, he was under arrest and suspended from field service, it will appear that he must have used his time well to have called forth from his superior officers the request that met him in Monroe in 1868. His Indian-fighting experience was then limited to less than four months ; there was a whole army to choose from ; the officers of the Seventh Cavalry had all been out on the plains a whole year ; General Sully, an Indian-fighter then possessing a high reputation, was in com- mand ; yet, such was the confidence in Custer's ability, pro- duced by his I'ecord of three months and a half, that Sherman, Sheridan, Sully, and all the officers of the regiment, old and CUSTER THE INDIAN FIGHTER. 617 new, joined in a request to have Custer back for the command of the field expedition. He came, and what was the result ? In six months he had pacified the whole of the southwestern tribes, first by a battle, then b}'- diplomacy, exhibiting throughout the campaign a combination of boldness and dexterity, of tact and shrewdness, that was crowned with complete success, and that stamped him as the best Indian -fighter in the service. Measured by his deeds and comparing them with those of any Indian-fighter in the service, no matter what his reputation, this claim is by no means extravagant. The exploits of those oflicers who fought Indians before the civil war, were not attended w^ith the same difilculties which surrounded Custer and the Indian- fighters of the present day. In those days the troops were better armed than the Indians ; now the Indians are better armed than the troops; then there was no Indian Department to feed the Indians and supply them with patent ammunition ; now this business has become recognized as the regular employ- ment of an Indian agent. In the old times the army was left alone to manage the Indians, to fight them if necessary, and Indian wars were easily settled on the plains ; now the army officer has to fight the Indians first and the Indian Department afterwards. All these things made Custer's task a much harder one than those of the officers who engaged in an occasional Indian skirmish before the civil war. With the services of any recent Indian campaigner, no matter who or what he may be, Custer's record need fear no comparison. The results of his campaign of 1868-9, when he was in full and unrestricted command, were superior to those gained by any other officer in the service, since 1866, and nothing but prejudice can gainsay the undoubted facts. What was it then, that gave Custer his remarkable success as an Indian-fighter, after such a brief experience, and what were the qualities which, so early in his career, gained him the implicit confidence — not of Sheridan, which was his already — 618 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. but of Sherman, who had onlj met him a few times, of Sully, who had not seen him at all in service ? It was his remarkable tact, shrewdness, and quickness to learn, the ardor with which he applied himself to the study of the Indian character, and the safety which had accompanied his most apparently audacious operations against the enemy, in his three months' service. Be- sides this, when under arrest and suspension, Custer had not been idle. He had made up his mind to master the problem of Indian character, and he devoted his enforced leisure to the task. Where another man would have been brooding, Custer was working, and he devoted his winter of disgrace at Fort Leavenworth — to what, think you ? — to learning the Indian sign language, which passed current among all the tribes, and serves as a medium of communication between Indians speaking every variety of language. This he studied to such good pur- pose, then and after, that he was able to converse, without an interpi-eter, with Indians of any tribe, as far as the sign language carries any of them. That old Indian-fighters in those days appreciated his knowl- edge of Indian character is evinced by the words of General Sturgis, himself an old ante-helium Indian-fighter of consider- able reputation, which words we have quoted elsewhere.* Custer, quick to learn Indian tactics, was equally quick to learn the habits and natures, peaceful and warlike, of the Indians themselves. An amusing anecdote, whose authenticity is vouched for, will show the tact and shrewdness with which he played on every point in Indian character. While in camp on the Black Hills expedition, in 1S73, be- ing then in the zenith of his reputation as an Indian-fighter, Custer retained a great many of his Indian scouts near head- quarters, under command of Bloodj^ Knife. One day, as Custer was writing in his tent, one of these Indian scouts came in, a good deal the worse for liquor, and began with some maunder- ing complaint of something that had offended him. Custer * Page 475. CUSTER THE INDIAN-FIGHTER. 619 looked up, saw the man was drunk, and ordered him out of the tent. Like all Indians in liquor, this one was insolent, and squaring himself before the general, became louder in his com- plaints and boasts of his own importance. Without another word, Custer sprang up, with the peculiar catlike agility he possessed, and quick as lightning struck the Indian two blows, in regular professional style, sending him to grass, with an ugly lump under the eye, and a nose badly pun- ished. The Indian was knocked half out of the tent door, and as Custer made a step towards him, as if to renew the assault, the red man picked himself up with surprising humility, and ran like a deer to the scouts' quarters, howling all the way. Custer returned to his writing as if nothing had happened. Yery few men possessed the physique to have punished a pow- erful Indian so quickly, but Custer's knuckles were very bony, and from a lad he had been the strongest of his .playmates. So far he had done nothing but what any powerful man of quick decision would have done. It is the sequel of the story which shows his tact. In a few minutes after, there was a great commotion in the Indian quarters, and the voices of the warriors could be heard, all together, in the high monotonous scream of the excited In- dian, trying to lash himself and fellows to fury. It brought out the guard in some alarm, and the other soldiers began to tum- ble out of their tents to see the fun. Custer, of course, heard the disturbance and knew the cause, but he continued tran- quilly writing, as if deafness had suddenly afflicted him. The noise increased, and he could hear the stern tones of the officer of the day in the wrangle, but even tliat dreaded official's au- thority did not appear to cow the Indians, for their fierce chat- tering grew shriller every moment. He heard in the hubbub the English words " Guard house ! Guard house ! Big chief — Guard house ! " and a smile gathered over his face as he went on writing. Presently a sudden hush came on the tumult. He heard 630 GENERAL GEORGE A. OUSTER. steps approaching, and a knock on the tent door, followed by the entrance of the officer of the day, who wore a countenance of some anxiety. It appeared from the officer's report that the Indians were insisting that the same measure of justice should be meted to Custer as to other offenders. They had been accustomed to see every man found fighting in camp put in the guard house. The big chief had hurt their comrade badl,y, therefore the big chief ought to go to the guard house. While ^ve cannot help smiling at the idea, it must be admitted that tlie rude sense of justice of the Indians was perfectly correct. The officer of the day further stated that he had pacified them by comnig to see the big chief, but that they w^ere very firm in their demands. It may be imagined by some that there was no great diffi- culty in this case, but the contrary is the fact. If Custer had allowed the first Indian to be drunk and insolent, he would have lost control over his capricious allies, who would have de- spised him. If he now refused them Justice they all would leave him, probably to join the hostiles. Custer's decision was instantly taken, though not in words. As soon as the officer had concluded his report, the General walked out of the tent, and found his Indian allies in a group, quite silent now, watching the tent. " Tell the chief to come here," said Custer to the officer of the day. In a few moments Bloody Knife approached, in a very lordly manner. As he left his comrades, he waved them back, ■with the grand air of a " big Injun " full of his own im- portance. Custer approached the chief several steps to meet him, took off his hat, and swept a low and ceremonious salute. Then shaking Bloody Knife's hand cordially, he and the Indian mutu- ally ejaculated " How ! how ! " Still retaining the chiefs hand, he led him into his own tent, and seated him in his own chair, an honor that gratified Bloody Knife still more. CUSTER THE INDIAN-FIGHTER. 621 Then the general took np an Indian pipe, filled it, lighted it, took a few whiffs, and handed it to the chief, the two sitting opposite to each other in solemn silence all the while. By this time the Indian was swelling with importance, and evidently imagined that the white chief was about to apologize and offer presents to pay for the wrong he had done. He behaved how- ever, with the strictest decorum, as an Indian generally does at a council. After several mutual whiffs, Custer gravely asked what had procured him the honor of this visit. Thus exhorted, Bloody Knife, in broken English, uttered his complaint with ceremonious gravity. " Big chief hurt Injun heap bad — near kill um — cut face open — Injun much heap mad — say big chief must go guard- house." And the chief grunted and relapsed into silence, smoking vigorously. " Is your man badly hurt ? " asked Custer, after the usual pause of ceremony. " Much heap bad — face all blood — may be die — Injuns put um in bed — tink he die — say big chief must go guard-house." And he grunted a second time, feeling that he had made a point, then ceremoniously handed the pipe to Custer. The fact probably was, he was waiting to be bribed. After a minute's pause, Custer spoke very gravely. " Listen. I am the big chief here. x\ll these soldiers are under me, and all their chiefs too. You see that ? " The chief bowed gravely, and grunted. " You are the chief of the scouts. All the Indians are under you, because you are a great warrior. You see ? " A more decided grunt of approbation and gratified vanity. " Whenever any of my soldiers has a complaint, he goes to his chief, and his chief comes to me. You see? " A sort of doubtful grunt. The Indian began to see that something else was coming. 622 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. "No one ever enters this tent but chiefs and great warriors. Them I am always glad to see. You T am glad to see. You are a chief, and a great warrior. You see ? " The grunt this time was one of unmixed satisfaction. " When a man comes into my tent without first going to his chief," pursued Custer slowly, watching his auditor closely, " he dishonors his chief — ^you see ? — makes a squaw of his chief — you see? — throws dirt in his chief's face — you see? — says ' You are no chief — you are a squaw — a dog.' — Do you see ? " In his turn, Custer resumed the puffing of his pipe, which he had interrupted to speak. For fully a minute there was a dead silence. Then the chief rose, and Custer laid aside the pipe and fol- lowed suit. Not being a smoker, he was only too glad to do it. The chief shook his hand ceremoniously. ^^ Hovj ! How!" said he. Then suddenly dropping his dignity, he shot out of tlie tent toward the Indian quarters, and a moment later, Custer heard his voice raised in a perfect frenzy of rage, yelling out an impassioned appeal to his follow- ers to avenge him on the man who had made a squaw of so great a chief as Bloody Knife, the Arickaree. A few moments later, all the Indians rushed to the quarters, where the poor sufferer was in bed, nursed by his friends, pulled him out, aad commenced lashing him with their heavy buffalo whips, the chief being the heaviest in his blows. The innate sense of the necessity of subordination in military society was aroused. Even the wild savage could see the force of Custer's lucid argument, though delivered in a strange language, and •with some words only half understood.* Custer had no more trouble with his Indian scouts, and he showed the same knowledge of Indian character throughout his career. The story of Rain-in-the-Face partly illustrates it, * A partial version of this anecdote first appeared in the Chicago Inter Ocean, and subsequent investigation by the author has resulted in the above facts. Poor Bloody Knife fell with Custer at the Little Horn. CUSTER THE INDIAN-FIGHTER. 623 but there are enough anecdotes of the kind to fill a book much larger than this, which cannot now be told. In the southwest and northwest alike, when the outside world deemed that Cus- ter was merely stagnating in ordinary army style, he was carry- ing on his study of Indian character, and acquiring ascendency and reputation among the tribes. In his visits to New York, he took occasion to learn a good many feats of conjuring, sleight- of-hand, etc., which he used in various adroit ways to increase this ascendency ; so that, at the time of his death, he had the repu- tation among the Indians of being a. great magician or " medicine man," which increased the awe with which they regarded him. That, and his super-human courage, which Indians of all men are the first to respect, procured him the last honor which they could pay to his mortal remains. They dared to kill him from afar with bullets-that was merely the crooking of a finger-but something in that dead body struck even Rain-in-the-Face with a sense of awe, and the bravest Sioux of the northwest did not dare to lift his hand to strike dead Custer. Will any be found to take his place and do as well as he has done ? It is hard to say. So far, the American army has produced but one Custer, and it is doubtful whether the pecu- liar combination of qualities which made him what he was, will ever be duplicated. If one be found to lead men to success as he has done, he must be looked for among the younger officers of the army, the men whose careers are yet to culminate, who show symptoms of life amid the too general stagnation of frontier service. Two at least of this class, the hope of the army of the future, have developed talents of the same nature as those of Custer, and which may in time equal them in degree. To them the countr}^ looks to give it a successor to Custer the Indian- fighter, in quickness of resolution, impetuosity of attack, saga- city of plan. One of them, since the greater part of these pages were written, has gained the only success of a disastrous cam- paign, by meeting Sitting Bull on open ground and aided by artillery, repulsing his attack with severe loss ; the other, by his 624 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. now nearly forgotten raid over the Mexican border, showed the possession of just such boldness and enterprise as were con- spicuous in Custer ; and to Miles and Mackenzie the array looks to give them another successful Indian-fighter, a man not afraid of the Indians, but fighting as if he expected a victory. But, as we have before this insisted on, the greatest reform necessary in the present regular cavalry, to make it uniformly effective against Indians, is in the instruction of the rank and file, and especially in the cultivation of that neglected weapon, the sabre, to raise the morale of the force. As it is, it takes more than ordinary bravery and conduct in any officer to achieve success with the half-trained recruits that form the main body of the frontier army ; and the disuse of the sabre has turned the once brave American dragoon into a timid skirmisher, who shrinks from the shock of the levelled lance, and seeks safety in infantry tactics. '^ CHAPTER III. CUSTER, THE MAN". IF the readers of this book liave not by this time formed some idea of the character of Custer as a man, the Labors of the author have been spent in vain, and it would be useless to write further. Still, inasmuch as the beautiful family and social life of our hero has not been fully treated of elsewhere, we have judged it best to say here a few words on the subject, to complete the picture. Of General Custer's personal appearance at various times of his life the portraits and illustrations of this book will give a good idea. They were, most of them, made by an artist who knew Custer well when he was a young officer, and whose war experience has enabled him to give truthful pictures. The face and figure of our hero varied much at different times of his life, his face as a cadet being smooth and beardless, and by no means as handsome as it afterwards became. In the portrait on wood, with the broad hat and open collar, we have Custer at Appo- mattox, haggard and gaunt after his tremendous labors : in the steel portrait which heads the book, we have him in later life, with the strong impress of mature thought, and an earnestness of expression that tells of his single-minded nobility of purpose. It gives very truly his habitual expression during the long pe- riods of deep musing into which he was wont to fall, when he would sit for hours totally silent. Ir society, apart from these occasional moody intervals, he was exceedingl}' light-hearted, with a boyish tendency to frolic and playfulness that seemed common to all the Custer boys. In "40 626 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. Fort Lincoln, where he was thrown almost alone during the winter into a very small circle of intimate friends, he and his brothers, Tom and Boston, were the life of the place, while the refining influence of the society of the few ladies that clus- tered round Mrs. Custer made the circle extremely delightful. No man valued more highly than Custer the influence of \vomeu to ameliorate men, and no man had more reason. The little group of ladies, Mrs. Custer, Mrs. Calhoun, Mrs. Yates, Mrs. Smith, and the one or two young ladies from Monroe who were always visiting Mrs. Custer, made the home circle at the fort a perfect haven of rest to the ofiicers fortunate enough to possess Custer's friendship. The general was always very fond of children. One of his Eastern friends, whom he frequently visited, tells how he would often leave a circle of fashionable people, with whom he was very shy and reserved, to sit in a corner with two children, who begged him for Indian stories. Although very reticent to others about his deeds, he always unbent to these children, and so won their hearts that to-day they always protest that Gen- eral Custer was the kindest and nicest gentleman that ever vis- ited their father's house. I set a high value on this foct. Children, especially girls, are unerring readers of character, and there must have been something singularly pure and frank in Custer's character to have attracted the love of these children. Another point in Custer was his perfect nobility of forgive- ness. We have seen how his court-martial in 1867 was caused by an oflEicer, brave and capable enough, but who hated him. Only a year later, this same ofiicer, then out of the service, ap- plied to Custer for a position as trader or sutler in an expedi- tion commanded by him, expressing his sorrow for the past. Custer at once gave him the place, which was in his gift. Yet his critics have called him " a good friend and a bitter enemy." Never was a falser saying. The man seemed incapable of pri- vate malice. Even under the unjust persecution of Grant he was cheerful, and always said to those who spoke bitterly of the CUSTER THE MAN. 627 Pj-esident, " Never mind : it will all come right at last. The President is mistaken ; but it will all come right at last, if I do mv duty." He ivas never hnown to return an injury. In his devotion to duty and honesty, to fair dealing and justice, he was almost fanatical. There indeed he was stern, and his indignation at the robbery and rapacity of the Indian ring and the post traders' ring was frequent and outspoken. It caused all his subsequent trouble. He saw the poor agency Indians robbed while the agents grew rich, and his anger, which could not find vent through oflScial channels, was heard in the press, and given to the world in his " Life on the Plains." Can we blame him for that ? Custer knew, as every officer in the army knows, that the Indian Department is a perfect mine of wealth to the men of politics, and that, were it not for the supplies of arms furnished to the Indians by that department, there would be no Indian wars. He and his men were finally shot to death with bullets loaded into Winchester metallic ammunition at Kew Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, and furnished to the Indians b}'- the Indian Bureau. He knew that in every fight he had with Indians, they confronted him with weapons sold them by trad- ers under the protection of the agencies. He knew that every attempt by honest men in Congress to abolish this grand cor- ruption mine had been defeated by the vote of a purchased ma- jority. He knew that the reason for this vote was the enor- mous amount of power given by the use of such a huge corrup- tion fund for political purposes. He knew that the very arms sold to hostile Indians were made a means of cheating them, so that a single Winchester rifle, worth thirty dollars, sold for two hundred buffalo robes at Fort Peck. He saw all these soulless cheats around him bartering away the lives of the frontier set- tlers by the hundred for their gain, and he groaned in spirit, and spoke out again and again, in fiery anger against such mon- strous wrongs. Can we blame him ? His one fault, to the sense of cool selfish men of the world, 628 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. was his outspoken frankness, bis anger at wrong, his want of conceahnent. Make the most of that, and it is a noble fault. It brought him his death. Truth and sincerity, honor and bravery, tenderness and sympathy, unassuming piety and temperance, were the main- spring of Custer, the man. As a soldier there is no spot on his armor, as a man no taint on his honor. We have followed him through all his life, and passed in review boy, cadet, lieutenant, captain, general, and Indian- fighter, without finding one deed to bring shame on soldier or man. People of the land he loved, my task is ended. Would it had been committed to worthier hands. Four simple lines, written by an unknown poet, form his best epitaph. Who early thus upon the field of glory Like thee doth fall and die, needs for his fame Naught but the simple telling of his story. The naming of his name. ^;^r^^ TENTH BOOK. PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS OF GENERAL CUSTER. BY LAWRENCE BAERETT, THE GREAT TRAGEDIAN. CONTRIBUTED AT THE JOINT REQUEST OF MRS. CUSTER, THE AUTHOR, AND THE PUBLISHERS. George Armstrong Custer was of that great industrial class from which so many of our original men are springing. "With no marked advantages of education, no influence to push forward his fortunes, or wealth to command situation, he yet passed through such a career, was so rapid in growth and de- velopment, that he was ripe in honors when the bullet of the Indian warrior pierced his heart. Adv^ancement so swift, a career so brilliant that his deeds have become household words in the land, indicate the possession of more than ordinary qual- ities in the subject of this memoir. Leaving, at barely his majority, the military academy where his original address and marked demeanor had placed him, without the usual influence which people's our national training schools, he was thrust at once into a command at the outbreak of tlie war. Having barely reached a man's estate, unused to the world, unacquainted with men, untrained in active warfare, he was suddenly to be 630 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. called upon for the exhibition of the qualities which lead and govern armies. The sword of the cadet was to be unsheathed by youthful hands amidst the din of a civil strife, unexampled in history for the fierceness of its character and for the impor- tance of its results. Out of this trial our hero was to emerge covered with the glory of a veteran, decorated, after five years of service, at the age of twenty -six, with the stars of a Major- General, and renowned from one end of the country to the other — throughout the world indeed — as an original and brilliant fighter, a bold and dasliing soldier, a successful commander. The greater part of his career, so sadly terminated, was passed where the fight raged hottest, where death and carnage reigned supreme ; and finally, at the age of thirty-seven, an age when the careers of most men are beginning, he was snatched away, covered with glory, the mourned darling of a nation. We must look into the records of heroic ages for a parallel to this career, through which our biographer has so lovingly followed him. The incidents of that extraordinary military history can be followed and proven in the annals of the war. Dates and official records will amply note and verify the conspicuous part borne by General Custer. His place among the heroes of our country will be gratefully allowed so long as patriotism endures ; his chivalrous deeds will be immortalized by bard, and per- petuated by historian. The chapter of great warriors will hereafter be incomplete, which does not record the exploits of Custer and his gallant riders, from Bull Run to the Appomattox. It is the misfortune of men in high public station that the brilliancy of their professional careers obscures the private char- acter of the individual. They are seen through a misty veil and by their position shut out from the close observation of their fellows. It was my happiness to have known intimately, and to have enjoyed for many years the society of General Cus- ter, and it may, therefore, be allowed me to record my impres- sion of him as divested of the pomp of war, and mingling in the pursuits of social life. Abler hands may collect and en- PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 631 gross the various incidents of this heroic life, compiling a suit- able biography for his countrymen's instruction, and these rem- iniscences should be accepted simply as a tribute of affection to a dearly beloved friend. No one had followed General Cus- ter's military career with more enthusiasm than tlie writer. The successive battles in which he bore so conspicuous and gal- lant a part were studied with ardor by his then unknown friend, who was thus prepared, should the moment ever arrive, to meet M'ith interest and embrace with affection the hero whose deeds had already won ardent admiration. The stirring incidents of the war had developed two men whose exploits had made them objects of the writer's sincere attachment. Both young, their rapidity of promotion alike extraordinary and acquired by abso- lute merit, it was my happiness to claim their friendship and at last bring them together. In the war they had fought side by side, each unacquainted with the other, except in their achievements. At my fireside they came together in friendly meeting and cemented in private the attachment which sym- pathy of character always creates. One now lies ill among the Berkshire hills, his youthful form scarred with wounds received in his country's service ; the other, dead at thirty-seven, sleeps where no stone may mark his resting-place, beneath the blood- stained sod of the cold and cheerless plains. In the fall of 1866, while fulfilling an engagement at St. Louis, I met the General for the first time, and under such peculiar circumstances that they may bear narration. The play was over, the curtain fallen, and while still preparing to return to my hotel after my night's entertainment, a knock was heard at my dressing-room door. Obedient to the answer- ing summons, entered a tall, fair haired, blue eyed, smiling gentleman, clad in military undress. Apologizing for the intrusion, he gave his name as General Custer. No such introduction was necessary. By those well known features I recognized at once the young cavalry leader. He had been sent to bring me to the hotel where he was temporarily resid- 632 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. ing, while en route to his command at Fort Leavenworth. I was to go with him to meet Mrs. Custer and other members of his paity. Excuses were set aside. He pleaded " orders " which must be obeyed, and refusal was impossible. A happy hour in his society was passed ; and thus began an acquaintance, ripening within the next ten years into the most genuine friend- ship, in which I learned to esteem the qualities of the man as sincerely as I had admired the achievements of the soldier. At that early time General Custer had not outgrown the habits of the camp. He still wore the long hair which is so familiar in his earl}^ pictures, his face was bronzed and sun- burned by out-door exposure, his bearing a mixture of the student and the soldier. No pen portrait of General Custer would be complete which did not give the simple, boyish side of his character, seemingly more marked from the daring, ad- venturous spirit which the war had made us familiar with. His voice was earnest, soft, tender and appealing, with a quick- ness of the utterance which became at times choked by the rapid flow of ideas, and a nervous hesitancy of speech, betray- ing intensity of thought. There was a searching expression of the eye, which riveted the speaker, as if each word was being- measured mei'cilessly by the listener. Peculiarly nervous, he yet seemed able to control himself at will. His fund of humor was betrayed by a chuckle of a laugh, such as those who have ever known Arteraus Ward will remember — a laugh which became infectious and seemed to gurgle up from the depths of the full and joyous heart of the sunny, affectionate Custer. In the years which passed on, following our first meeting, duty separated, vacations reunited us. Custer's appointment to duty in Kentucky afforded me several weeks of his society, during which we were rarely apart. At that time he ran over his remembrances of the war to me, speaking of himself with modesty, of others with enthusiasm, until it became a delight to listen. Thus I had the description of the winter campaign against the Indians on the Washita before it was in print, told PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 633 in his graphic, fervent style, and acted over until it seemed as if I were a participant in the strife. At this time he began those sketches in the Galaxy which were at once received with fa- vor. Again separated, we were next to meet during the tour of the Grand Duke Alexis, in whose suite he had been placed by the government. Here his truly American characteristics gained him a friend, whose quick ej'e discerned the depths of that genuine nature and valued it. The friendship which arose between the Russian Grand Duke and General Custer, from their association on this tour, was very honorable to both. The polished courtier discerned in the young Democrat those ster- ling qualities of manhood which maintained their individuality in the midst of ceremonies and flatteries, and the correspond- ence which passed between them upon the return of the Grand Duke to Russia was highly gratifying to Custer. Enjoying his vacation as keenly as a school-boy, General Custer was always apparently " awaiting orders," and when they came, his whole manner changed: he seemed to put on the soldier with the uni- form. He often said that his duties on the plains were the happiest events of his life — not that he loved war for war's sake, but that he loved to feel that he was on " duty." The freedom of the plains, the constant companionship of his idol- ized wife — now sitting in the shadow of her last and greatest bereavement — his horses and his gun his regiment and its beloved officers, amply replaced the allurements of civil life. It was impossible for Custer to appear otherwise than him- self. He had none of that affectation of manner or bearing which arises from egotism or timidity. Reticent among strangers, even to a fault, his enemies, if he had any, must have recognized his perfect integrity of character. Indeed, this reti- cence often caused him to be misunderstood, and he himself fre- quently complained that he could not be " all things to all men." It was only in the companionship of his intimates and close friends that the real joy ousness of his nature shone forth. Then he was all confidence, his eye would brighten, his face light up and 634 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. his whole heart seemed to expand. He had something of the Frenchman in liis gayety, much of the German in a certain tena- city of purpose. Utterly fearless of danger, he seemed in pri- vate to become as gentle as a woman. [Some have thought that Custer's courage was of the bull- dog kind ; that he knew no danger and feared none. J^othing can be further from the truth. He said to the writer that, the first few battles he was in, he was almost overcome with fear : he also intimates this very clearly in his "War Memoirs." His courage was purely a triumph of mind over physical fear. Toward the close of the war he became convinced that he would not be killed. The truth doubtless is that he was fully conscious that he possessed the ability to rise in his pro- fession, and he had determined to do so at all hazards. He chose the post of danger at the head of his column, simply be- cause he was aware that it was the place to obtain success. He knew that thus, and thus only, he could inspire his men with confidence, and make of each a hero. All this was the result of a deliberate plan. He had counted the cost of success and was fully prepared to pay it. He wanted honor and distinction among his fellow men, or death on the field. He put this spirit into his division by his example, and they were invincible.]* In the society of ladies, with whom his deeds had made him a favorite, he manifested none of the gallantries which arise from vanity. When ordered to Fort Lincoln, General Custer was lost to me for several months, but our correspondence was constant. He was eager that I should visit him, and it was only by a pres- sure of professional duties at the time, that I was denied the pleasure of being his companion upon the first expedition to the Black Hills. The succeeding fall he made his vacation with me, and for two happy weeks we were constantly together. This was in Chicago. If an engagement to dinner took him its conclusion to my dressing-room at * Remarks by another intimate friend of General Custer. PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 635 the theatre ; and thence, arm-in-arm, we would return home to- gether. Thus I have seen him in the midst of social tempta- tions, sufBcient to overcome ordinary men, maintain the strict sobriety of his habits. He never touched wine, nor used tobac- co in any form, and I never heard a profane word from his lips. His obstinate valor as a soldier made him courteous and forgiv- ing to a defeated enemy and he became a Democrat in his opin- ions, regarding the manner in which the south should be treated after the close of the rebellion. This made him unpopular at headquarters, and perhaps influenced his promotion and hin- dered his career. He loved his profession and was jealous of its fame, tenacious of the honor of his cloth, and intolerant of the abuses which the army suffered by that pernicious system wherein politics were the means by which many unworthy men entered the service. He had that love of military display which distinguishes the Frenchman, and his uniform was the badge of his glory. A fondness for theatrical representations he shared in common with the members of his profession, and a more enthusiastic auditor I never saw. The last winter of Custer's life now approaches. He had obtained leave of absence for two months, intending to spend his time in New York ; and, that he might leave behind him a record of his career, and also that he might eke out his slender income, his sketches in the Galaxy were resumed. It was during this vacation, extended to five months in all, that the happiest hours of my association with him were passed. Being myself for the winter in New York, we made all our engagements mutual, going into company together, meeting at my own fireside always on Sundays ; and each evening during the run of " Julius Csesar " the place of honor in my dressing-room at Booth's was filled by my dear friend. Those were indeed happy hours. I recall especially one passed at the Century Club, where he was the recipient of great attentions. How bright and joyous he was, and how eager that his friend should know and enjoy the friendship of those whom he himself esteemed. Surrounded by 636 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. the followers of literature, science, and art, and their cultured patrons, the young soldier, whose whole life and education were of the camp, attracted the attention and won the respect of all who met him. With that rare facility given but to few, he drew from the artist and the historian the best fruits of their labors, and as warmly listened as he could warmly speak. His love for art was no affected dilettanteism. Appreciating the glories of nature with an enthusiast's soul, he learned to trace her likeness in the works of her copyists. The studio of Bier- stadt was a happy resting-place for him. Here, while the great painter labored, the young soldier would lovingly follow the master hand, identifying the exactness of the picture by his own knowledge of the scenery or groupings so vividly reproduced. It has been said that " military experience so exhausts the body, by daily, and for the most part useless exercises, that it renders it difficult to cultivate one's mind," but this w^as not true of General Custer. ITot having received in his youth the advan- tages of a college education, he betrayed the keenest desire for knowledge and cultivation. [General Custer was a great reader, and his taste ran almost entirely in the line of the best literature. His pleasure seemed to be, to constantly add to his stock of information. He spent a large share of his time during the winter seasons in reading such works as "Napier's Peninsular War," " ISTapoleon's Cam- paigns," and works of this class which would perfect him in his profession. Often he would spend a whole day and a large part of the night over a few pages of these works : having a large map before him, he was determined to fully understand each movement and campaign made by these great masters of the art of war. Perfection in his chosen profession seemed to be the main-spring of all his actions. He was ready to miake any and all sacrifices which would contribute to this end. He seemed thoroughly to have adopted the motto that "nothing is done while anything remains to be accomplished." His powers of mental work were fully equal to his physical endurance ; six PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 637 hours of sleep seemed to be all he required, and his great mental activity rendered it almost impossible for him to be idle an hour.] A distinguished gentleman whose Friday evenings at his home on Fifth Avenue were regarded as happy privileges for the best minds of the metropolis, extended to the General hos- pitality and advantages which were eagerly accepted and as earnestly enjoyed. Here, where the flame of thought was of the loftiest character, Custer would sit, an attentive and ad- miring listener, drinking from the rich fountain of instruction. After an evening thus passed, and upon emerging into the silent avenue, the impressions of the recent conversation still upon us, excited by the interchange of friendly converse, he would take my arm, and against my entreaty become my escort home, alleging as a reason his want of exercise, although I knew that in his loving care he feared some danger might befall his friend, and thus went far out of his way to see me safely housed. Such acts as these, trivial though they seem in narration, are those which make that fearful day in June so terrible to me, making it seem impossible that I am never again to clasp that hand so true and tried, never again to look into that face so dearly loved. The winter passed only too quickly. His original leave of two months had been granted by his immediate superior, Gen- eral Terry, his friend as well as commander, and his extended leave came from General Sheridan, no less friendly. But another extension, earned by him surely through his months of labor at Fort Lincoln, was refused as soon as asked, and he was at once ordered to rejoin his regiment by General Belknap, then Secretary of "War. For some unexplained reason, General Custer believed the secretary to be his enemy, and dreaded the linal appeal for that extension of leave which his aftaii-s so much demanded. When refusal came, although it disappointed him, it did not the less find him prepared for obedience to orders. His literary work for the Galaxy had been undertaken, as has 638 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. been stated, to eke out his income and more generously support the expenses of his family, and he had formed another plan by which he hoped to still more liberally provide for the future of all those dependent upon him. The agent of the Literary Bu- reau, Mr. Tledpath, of Boston, having made him a liberal offer to deliver a number of lectures during the next winter, he was, at the moment the Secretary's orders came, perfecting his plans to that end. After the summer's campaign he was again to visit New York, his lecture in the meantime to be written, and we M^ere to " rehearse " his appearance before the public passed judgment upon him. This project was left incomplete as to details, but he looked forward to its accomplishment as a happy means of increasing his income and meeting face to face his admirers, the public. Custer went one March day upon his journey. No fore- bodings of evil embittered the parting : we were to meet again. He had not yet fallen under the public accusation which was afterwards hurled upon him. Although he left so many pleas- ant associations and gave up so many personal enjoyments, he was going to his duty, and that sufficed. A winter trip across the Dakota plains had no terrors for him, nor for her who never left his side while it was her privilege to remain there. After many hardships they at last reached Fort Lincoln, and then be- gan his preparations for the fatal expedition. Loving friends, unacquainted with the details of warfare, and jealous only of his reputation, will always, perhaps unjustly, believe that had all gone forward as it began, under his own personal control, the disaster and annihilation which followed would never have occurred. No reflection upon the capacity of General Custer's superiors is here intended, but it may be justly claimed that the complications which followed as the result of the appearance be- fore the investigating committee at Washington, arose, in a great measure, from the disorders of a change of command al- most in the enemy's front ; that suspicion on the one side, and crippled powers, laboring under ungenerous and undeserved \ PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 639 imputations, upon the other, created a confusion which could not but be detrimental. The belief will always prevail anion^^ the friends of General Custer that familiarity with the Indian mode of warfare, a certain subtlety in his preparations for attack or resistance, and the " dash " which has never been denied him, well fitted him to organize and conduct such a cam- paign. He who had so often challenged the bravest of the red warriors and wrung from them the title of the " Big Yellow Chief," was fully able not only to lead his own " gallant Seventh," but also to organize the campaign and overlook the plan. This was denied him. At the supreme moment of his fortunes he was summoned to Washington. The appearance of General Custer before the Investigating Committee at Washington and the effect of his testimony upon the public mind are already familiar to the reader. The fact came upon his most intimate friends unannounced, and the un- favorable comments of the party press upon his evidence and his character caused the greatest surprise to those who knew him best. The most reserved and reticent of men had suddenly be- come politically conspicuous, and calumny was busy with that hitherto spotless name. The political temper of the time had undoubtedly, much to do with the effect produced by his testi- mony. The strife of party, and the bitterness with which men of opposite opinions assailed each other ; the influence upon the approaching election of the investigation then going forward ; the reputation for truth and candor never denied to General Custer ; combined to make the attacks upon him unusually severe. He had never obtruded his political sentiments, but they were known to his friends and were never disowned. He could not have sought the unenviable position in which he found him- self ; he had endeavored by every honorable means to escape from it, but in vain. The effect upon his nature of the abuse suddenly heaped upon him, may be measured by the desire he had always evinced to escape public observation, except in the line of his duty; and this was, undoubtedly, one of the saddest 640 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. eras of his life. The esteem of his countrymen, earned by years of hard service and dearly prized, seemed in an instant to be taken from him. His report upon the evils of the post-trading system had been forwarded to the head of his department long before; his acquaintance with those evils was known to many ; not to have answered frankly the questions of the committee would have exposed him to self-contempt. How easily could he have trimmed his sail to the popular breeze, and floated into the smooth waters of political favor. The promotion which his valor had earned ; which was due to his merit ; which had been bestowed upon his inferiors ; lay within his grasp ; but the sacrifice was one from which his proud soul revolted. The perfect integrity of his character should never be sullied, to pur- chase that preferment which had been denied to his public ser- vices, and which was in every way due him. He could honestly exclaim, "It is better to be right than to hold the most exalted rank." That he was wounded none who knew him can doubt. In the midst of those exposures which tarnished the reputation of so many brother officers, he had happily escaped. At his post upon the distant frontier, occupied with the duties which he loved, surrounded by a small band who I'egarded their yonng commander with veneration, he might well feel happy in his es- cape from that political whirlpool which engulphed so many of his friends, and which swallowed up reputations gained in hard- fought fields. Now, against his will, called peremptorily from the organization of his command, he found himself helplessly drawn into the current, publicly condemned for speaking that which he knew to be true, connnented upon by enemies in the coarsest terms, the target of political rancor. The deptli of his humiliation was reached, when, upon leaving the capital, he waited for hours at the door of the President, and was, at last turned away with studied contempt. The effect of these slights upon his proud and sensitive heart may be imagined. Upheld as he was by the conscience which whispered that he had done his duty, he must still have sujffered much in concealing his sor- PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 641 row from the world ; though he scorned to complain, as he would have scorned to bend before the calumny of his enemies. Our last meeting, which took place at the close of his first visit to Washington, was yet full of happiness. Rallied upon his political relations, he sunnily threw aside his chagrin, and seemed indifferent to all but the approaching separation, anxious only that our plan for the next winter should not fail. No premonition of danger clouded our parting. The thought that he was going into action, into certain peril, did not make me fearful. He was so associated with success, had escaped from so many dangers, his long future career was so hopeful, that he seemed invincible. He predicted a severe campaign, but was not doubtful of the result. His plans were well laid, his command efficient ; and he joyfully obeyed the summons to return to his duty, happy to escape from the scene where truth was repaid with calumny. The delay in Chicago ; the deprivation of command which overtook him there by order of the President; all these anxious days passed while awaiting the orders of his superiors, were undeserved cruelties. The influences which at length ended his suspense, and gave him a subordinate place in the expedi- tion planned by himself, have been explained elsewhere. The disgrace 'Of being supplanted by an inferior in rank or an en- vious rival was averted, and thus much of the bitterness of his position softened. If he could have chosen his successor, he could not have been better pleased than with the appoint- ment of General Terry. Under him he declared he would go with the command, if obliged to serve as a common soldier. By the tender consideration and courtesy of that gallant officer Custer was permitted to recover that confidence in himself of which his unmerited trials must have well nigh robbed him. With the delicacy of a gentleman, the appreciation of a kindred soul, Terry restored him to the command which was his due, in fact, if not in appearance, and brought to his aid the advice and experience of the young cavalier whose counsel would be 41 G42 GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER. invaluable, whose valor and foresight would be a support, and to whose sword the service would so soon be indebted for its defence. Those who knew General Custer best, can well understand how he valued such a privilege. To have been left behind would have been worse tlian death, when his gallant Seventh and so many of his old comrades were in the field. As he rode out of Fort Lincoln for the last time, he was as full of glee as a child ; his duty lay before him, his glory, of which no enemy could rob him. That the wishes of the nation, which followed that gallant band and looked hopefully forward to its movements as a final solution of the Indian question, dwelt with the greatest confidence upon the frontier experience of General Custer, will scarcely be denied. In every campaign he had been victorious, and the wiles and stratagems of the foe were familiar to him. Calumny and envy must be silent be- fore the intrepid heroism of that immortal band as they rode into the " jaM's of death," where perished not only the noble Custer and his adoring followers, but also the hope of a nation, the shield of a devoted family. Glancing back over these pages, how poor and unworthy seems the picture I would paint. Compared with the image engraved upon the heart, this transcript is cold and artificial. When the smoke of the battle has passed away, when envy and cowardice have been consigned to their merited oblivion, some truer likeness shall be made of him who was the bravest of the brave. His career may be thus briefiy given : He was born in obscurity ; he rose to eminence : denied social advantages in his youth, his untiring industry supplied them; the obstacles to his advancement became the stepping-stones to his for- tunes ; free to choose for good or evil, he chose rightly ; truth was his striking characteristic ; he was fitted to command, for he had learned to obey ; his acts found their severest critic in his own breast ; he was a good son, a good brother, a good and aflfectionate husband, a Christian soldier, a steadfast friend. Entering the army, a cadet in early youth, he became a general PERSONAL RECOLLECTIONS. 6Vc while still on the threshold of manhood ; with ability undenied, with valor proved on many a hard fought field, he acquired the affection of the nation ; and he died in action at the age of thirty-seven ; died as he would have wished to die ; no lin- gering disease preying upon that iron frame. At the head of his command, the messenger of death awaited him ; from the field of battle where he had so often "directed the storm," his gallant spirit took its flight. Cut off from aid ; abandoned in the midst of incredible odds ; waving aloft the sabre which had won him victory so often ; the pride and glory of his comrades, the noble Custer fell : bequeathing to the nation his sword ; to his comrades an example ; to his friends a memory ; and to his beloved one a Hero's name. 5£~SJ^»i^ INDEX Academy, Military, (See West Point.) Academy, Stcbbius', Custer's Scliool, 7-10. Agencies, Indian, 531-3. ATdie, Battle of, 155-9. Alexis, Grand Duke, of Russia, goes buffalo- huuling with Custer, 477, 63:2. Alger, General, 174-80, 198-300, 203-4, 234-5, 229-30, (note.^ Antietam. Battle of, 125, 130. Appointments, Civil, in the Army, 326, 333. Appomattox, Surrender at, .306-8. Arnold. Captain, 72, 73. Averill, General, 143, 2;J1, 239, 240. Bacon, Judge Daniel S., 11, 89, 90, 137-8, 206, 208-219. Death of, 341-2. Bacon, Miss Libbie, 11, 47, 48, 90, 93, 136-7, 209-16, (see Custer, Mrs. General.) Bad lands, 531. Baliran, Mr., Murder of, 497, 515, 516, 520- 21. Ball, Cadet, Custer's classmate, 39, 40. Band, Custer's, 254, 4:38, 452. Bands, Indian, 529-30. Barnard, General, 108, 109, 111, 112, 113. Barnitz, Albert, Captain 7th cavalry, 338, 401, 450. Barrett, Lawrence, his personal recollections of Custer, 627-43. Beauregard, General G. P. T., 50, 62. At Bull Run, 59, 76. Beaver Dam Station, Capture of, by Custer, 223 Belknap, Mr., his case, 546, 50. Benet, General, 45. Benteen, Frederick W., Captain 7th Cavalry, 3;«, 445, 579-81, 583, 585, .588-91, 607. Beverley Ford, Battle of, 146-7, 153. Big Horn, Battle of the, 580-608. Bingham, John A., sends Custer to West Point, 1.3-17. Black Hills Expedition, The. 501-14. Black Kettle, his band destroyed by Custer, 42,5-53. Bloody Knife, 482, 4a3, 492, 493, 507, 508. Brandy Station, Battle of, 197-202. Breckenridge, General, 237. Bresland, Patrick, Diary of, 498, 499. Booth, John Wilkes, .•^i)!). Bowen, Lieut. iKml Nicholas, 100, 117, 131. Boyd, Hev. Ml-., Custer's schoolmaster, 10. Marries him to Miss Bacon. 216. Bucklaiul's Mills, Battle of, 203. r.utT:il() Bill, 477. Buford. (ieiieral John, 145, 181-90, 300, 201. Death of, 320. Bulkier, John W., Custer's school chum, 7, 8. Bull Run, Battle of, 59-76. Cadets, Southern, at West Point, 36-40. Calhoun, Lieutenant Wm., 7th Cavalry, 479, Death of, 595-7. Calhoun, Mrs. Birth, 4. Marriage, 479, 480, 596. California Joe, 416-17, 433, 434-5, 441-2, 451, 453, 470. Canal, James River, Destruction of, by Mer ritt and Custer, 27G. Captures, of Custer's Cavalry Division, 307. Carvajal, General Jose, offers Custer com mand in Mexico, 341. Cavalry. American, Remarks on, 96, 145-6, 233-4, 261-2. Marches of, 404-5. Cavalry Corps, History of, 140-314. Last Re- view of, 311-12. Cedar Creek, Battle of, 263-70. Chancellorsville, Battle of, 143. Clymer, Heister, summons Custer to Wash- ington, 546-50. A cause of Custer's death 561. Comstock, William, scout, 373-82. Cooke, Brevet-Colonel, Wm. W., 347, 366, 373- 83, 418-19, 439, 479. Copeland, Major, 182-3. Courage, Character of Custer's. 633. Court-martial, The first, of Custer, 45. The second, 397-410. Crazy Horse, 530, 537-44. Crook, General, 231, 235, 264, 511, 537-43, 56:3-8. Culpepper, .Advance on, 19.3-6. Curly. Upsaroka (Crow) scout, 5 Custer, Boston, 4, 134, 589. Death of, 603-3. Custer, Brice W.,4. Custer, Emmanuel H., father of the General, 1, 2. Letter to, 13. A democrat, 13. Custer, Gen. George Armstrong. His char- acter, 1, 2, 7. 8. 9, 10, 46, 57, 58, 88-92, 151-2, 191-2, 280-4. 627-42 ; Birthplace, 3 ; Family, 3, 4, 5 ; Childhood, 5 ; First military suit, 6 ; First schooling, 7 ; Goe.s to Monroe, Mich., 7 ; Private school, 7 ; Love for militarv life, 8, 9 ; First Love, 10, 11 ; Let- ter to his parents, 12, 13 ; Teaching, 11, 13 ; Applies for a cadetship. 13, 17 ; Handwrit- ing, 14 ; Letters of, 13, 14, 15,- 12-2-4. 13.5-9, 149-51, 159, 206, 210-16 : Goes to West Point, 17 ; Experience as a Plebe, 31 ; As a cadet, 22-18 ; Graduates, 43 ; Officer of the guard, 44 ; Court-martialed, 45 ; Ordered to Wash- ington, 46 ; In love, 47, 48 ; First duty, 49 ; 1 Introduced to Gen. Scott, 53 ; Kides with 6-i:G INDEX. dispatches to Gen. McDowell 59-57; At Bull Run, 59-76 ; Kemarkson his Memoirs, 77, 78; After Bull Run. 79 ; On Kearny's staff, 82-87 ; First expedition, 83-87 ; Or- dered to his company, 87 ; On sick-leave, 88 ; Taking the pledge, 88-93 ; First charge, 95-96 ; Goes to the Peninsula, 97 ; At York- town, 100, 101 ; At Williamsburg, 104-106 ; On the Peninsula, 107-124 ; Wades the Chickahominy, 111 ; Conversation with McClellan, 112-14; Made a stafE captain, 115, 16 ; Captures a picket post, 116, 117, 118 : In the Seven Days' Fight, 120 ; At Malvern Hill, 121 ; Captures'a horse and sword, 124; Flirtations, 126-9; Feelings at McClellan's removal, 132-3 ; In idleness at Monroe, 134-9 ; Making love ; 136-7 ; Re- fused, 138 ; Patience of, 139 ; Helps to make up McClellan's report, 139-40 ; Re- joins the army, 140; On Pleasontou's staff, 145 ; On the Urbana expedition," 149-151 ; Writes love letters by proxy, 147, 148, 149- 51 ; At Aldie, 155-9 ; Made a brigadier, 160- 64 ; Takes command of Michigan Brig- ade, 167 ; His dress, 168-70 ; His difficul- ties, 170; His discipline, 171-2 ; His charge at Hunterstown, 173 ; At Two Taverns, 174; At Gettysburg, 174-80 ; Pursuit after Get- tysburg, 181-90 ; Advance on Culpepper, 193-6 ; Wounded, 196 (note) ; At Brandy Station, 197-202 ; At Buckland's Mills, 202- 204 ; Love affairs, 205-16 ; Marriage of, 216-17 ; At the Wilderness, 220-22 ; On Sheridan's first raid, 222-6 ; His brigade kills Stuart, 225 ; At Cold Harbor, 226-7 ; On Sheridan's second raid, 227-30 ; In the Valley, 231-71 ; At Winchester, 235-43 ; Commands Third Cavalry Division, 247; At " Woodstock Races," 256-62 ; At Cedar Creek, 265-9 ; Brevetted Major-General. 270 ; On Sheridan's last raid, 271-9 ; At Five Forks, 294-6 ; Pursuing Lee, 297-308 ; At Sailor's Creek, 301-4 : At Appomattox Sta- tion, 305-8 ; Farewell order of, 307 ; Re- turns to Washington, 309-11 ; At the last parade, 312-14 ; Goes to Texas. 319-21 ; Life in Texas, 321-4 ; Mustered out, 339 ; Home on leave, 340-41; "Swinging round the circle," 343-4 ; Made lieutenant-colonel, 7th Cavalry, &35; Applies for command in Mexico, .340-41 ; Ordered to Fort Riley, 345 ; Passion for hunting, 345-6 ; On the Hancock expedition,. 349-62 ; First sight of Indians in the field, 353-5 ; Pursues Indians, 357-8 ; First buffalo hunt, 358-60; First scout of, 362-70 ; First Indian fight, 366-9 ; Finds ths bodies of the Kidder party, 383-96 ; Is court martialed, 397^10 ; Suspension of, from duty, 410-14 ; Recalled, 414 ; Winter cam- paign commenced by, 415-23 ; At the bat- tle of the Washita, 425-52 ; Pacifies the Kiowas, 454-58; Brings in the Arapahoes, 458-62; TheCheyennes, 462-9 ; His prairie life, 472-4 ; Ordered to Kentucky, 476 ; Life in Kentucky, 476-8 ; Ordered to Dakota, 479 ; Writes for the Galaxy, 476 ; On the Yellowstone, 480-99 ; Goes on leave, 499 ; Ordered to Fort Lincoln, 500 ; Black Hills Expedition of, 500-14 ; Life at Fort Lincoln, 516-28 ; Captures the Grain thieves, 523-6 ; Ordered to command Dakota column against Sitting Bull, 545 ; Subpoenaed to testify in the Belknap case, 546-9; His testimony, 550 ; His long detention, 552 ; The President's anger against him, 551-61 ; Displaced from command, 554 ; Corre- spondence with Sherman, 555-61; Starts in subordinate command, 564; Ordered on a scout up the Rosebud, 570; His last march, 573-80 ; His last battle, 580-608 ; His character as a soldier, 609-15 ; As an In- dian-fighter, 615-22 ; As a man, 622-43 ; Per- sonal recollections of, by Mr. Lawrence Barrett, 627-43 ; Manner of his death dis- cussed, 601-2. Custer, Maggie E., (see Calhoun, Mrs., 3.) Custer, Maria W., mother to the General, 4. Custer, Matilda V., 4. Custer, Nevin J., 4. Custer, Mrs. General, 217-19, 270, 310, (note"), 319-22, 341-6, 476-80, 499-5C0, 513-14, 516-22. 631, (see also, Bacon, Miss Libbie.) Custer, Brevet-Colonel Thomas W. Birth, 4. In 7th Cavalry, 339, 450, 460, 470, 479, 482, 485-9, 518. Death of, 601-2. Department, Indian, 536. Deserters, shot by Custer, 399. Desertions, how prevented by Custer, 399- 400. De Smet. Father, .535. Devin, General Thomas C, 143, 220-1, 232, 243, 256, 271-308. Remarks on. 280-1. Discipline, Value of, at Bull Run, 71, 72. Remarks on, 130-1, 327-30. Division, Third Cavalry, History of, 247-314. Dodge, Lieutenant-colonel, his Black Hills Expedition, 510-12. Douty, Colonel, killed at Aldie, 156-7. Duffle, General. 160-1. Dug Outs, defenses against Indians, 403-4. Early, General Jubal, 2S9, 230-40, 264-71. Remarks on, 266. Chase of, 277. Egan, Captain, Second Cavalry, 540. Elliott, Major J. H., 7th Cavalry, 346, 365-6, 369-70, 384, 399, 425, 426, 431, 443. Death of, 449. Ewell. General, 62, 183, 304. Expedition, Custer's Urbana, 149-51. Fairoaks, Battle of, 119. Falling Waters, Battle of, 189-92. Ferry, Major N. H., killed at Gettysburg, 178. Fisher's Hill, Battle of, 247. Five Forks, Battle of, 279-96. Forsyth, General John A. (Sandy), 414, 503, 506. Fredericksburg, Battle of, 141. Gaines' Mills, Battle of, 120. Generals, Federal and Confederate, at Bull Run, 73. Gettysburg, Battle of, 174-80. Gibbon, General, 563-4, 568, 569, 570. Gibbs, Brevet Major-general, 270, 338. Death Gilmor, Harry, capture of, 271. Girard, Interpreter, 583, 587, (note.) Grain thieves. The, at Fort Lincoln, 523-26. Grant, General, U. S., 130, 220, 233. Letter of, about Custer, 340-1. Grant, Lieutenant Frederick D., 499, 503. Grant, President, 499, 551-561. Gregg, General J. W., 143, 174, 176. Griiiin, Captain, 41. Guide, Custer as a, 574. Hagerstown, Battle of, 188. Hamilton, Louis M.. Captain 7th Cavalrj-, 338, 369, 402, 431. Killed at the Washita, 443. Hampton, General W^ade, 173-80. Hancock, Major-general W. S., 104-106, 279. Expedition of, against the Sioux, 349-62. Hard Rope, 435-52, 461. INDEX. 647 Havens, Benny, 30-32, 43. Hazen, General, 45, 454-9, 570. Heintzelmaii, Colonel, 63, 72. Henry, Capta n Guy V., 566. Herndon, Scout, 583, 586, 587. Houzinger,Dr., Murder of, 497, 515, 516, 530-21. Hooker, General Joseph, 104, 141, 142, 152,153. Hopedale, Oliio, Custer teaches at, 11, 13. Hostiles, The Indian, 530-36. HuS, John A. kills Stuart, 225. Death of, 225. Humphreys, General, 304. Hunter, Colonel, 63. Indian-fighter, Custer as an, 614-23. Indians, method of attack of, 585. Confusion of at battle of Bif? Horn, 593. Indians, Kemarks on, 350, 351-7, 301, 373-82, 383, 387-96, 419-20, 427-30, 432-4. 439-41, 490- 95, 529-36, 601-2. Cruelties of, 395-6. Infantry, Remarks on, 421-2. Ingalls, General, 553. Iron Horn, 519, 521, 522. Jackson, General Stonewall, 63. Jesuits, French, as missionaries to Indians, 535. Johnson, President Andrew, 314, 316, 324, 342-5. Johnston.General Joseph E., 62. At Bull Run 63-76. On the Peninsula, 97-119. Wounded at Fairoaks, 120. Surrender of, 309. Kearny, General Philip R., his character, 82, 83, 84. Kellcy, Cadet, Custer's classmate, 39-40. Keogh, Myles W. Captain 7th Cavalry, 338. Death of, 596-7. Kershaw, General, 104, 233, 302. Kidder, Lieutenant, Massacre of, with party. Kill EaJ;le, 585. His evidence, 592-3. Kilpatrick, General Judson, 144, 154-9, 160, 171, 196, 197-2J4, 214. Sent out West, 220. Remarks on. 249. Kirkpatrick. Mrs., marries E. H. Custer, (see Custer, Maria W.) Kirkpatrick, David, half-brother to General Custer, 4. Kirkpatrick, Israel R., first husband of Gen- eral Custer's mother, 4. Lee, General Fitzhugh, 143, 239. Lee, GeueriU W. H. P., 14;^, 144, 145. Lee, General R. E., 120, 125, 131, 146, 193, 228- 9, 279, 298-.W7. Lectures, Custer's design to give, 637. Letters, of General Custer, 13, 14, 15, 122-4, 125-9, 149-51. 159, 206, 210-15. Lincoln. President, 80, 93, 96, 125. Assas- sinated, 309. Little Beaver, 425-52. Little Robe, 458-62. Lomax, General, 239, 253-7. Lone Wolf, 361, 454-.58. Longstreet, General, 62, 104, 277, 278. Mahwissa, 448, 458. Malvern Hill, Battle of, 121. Man, Custer as a, &ii-'i7. Martin, Trumpeter, 590, 591. Marcy, General, 554. March, Custer's Last, 572-80. MeClellan, General George B., 80. Com- mander-in-cluef, 81. His disputes with President Lincoln, 93. Goes to the Penin- sula, 95. Campaigns of, 94-130. Removal of, 130-31. Remarks on Custer's love for, 93, 114, 115. Promotes Custer, 113-116. McDougall, Captain, 7th Cavalry, 504, 588. McDowell, General Irvin M., 50, 52, 53, 55, 56. At Bull Run, 59-76. Remarks on, 79-80 McKenzie, Gen., 290, 298, 622. Meade, (Jeneral, 167, 193, 197, 220. Medicine Arrow, 465-7. Merrill. Colonel, 44. Merritt, Gen. Wesley, 160, 222, 232, 243, 250, 363-70, 271-308. Remarks on, 221, 280-2. Michigan Brigade, History of the, 167-246. Miles, Colonel, 63. Miles, Gen.N. A. 622. Mills, Capt. 3d Cavalry, 566-7. Moore, Captain Alexander, Third Cavalry, 540, 542. Morgan, Mrs., rescue of, from Indians, 465-9. Monroe, Mich., Custer at, 7, 47, 88-92, 134-40, 207-9, 216-17, 340, 341-3, 412-14. Myers, Rupert, Lieutenant-colonel, 338, 373, 431, 437, 445, 462. Moylan, Myles, Lieutenant 7th Cavalry, 338. Captain, 482, 490, 504. Nations, Indian, 530. New Rumley, Ohio, Custer's birth-place, 3, 10, 11. Noves, Captain Henry E., Second Cavalry, 540, 566-7. Orders, Custer's last, from Terry, 574. Palmer, General Innis W., 64, 65. Papers, The, on Custer, 560-1. Parker, Cadet, Custer's chum at West Point, 26,30. Dismissed,50. Subsequent career, 50. Parade, Dress, at West Point, 29; The last, at Washington, 309-14. Paul, E. A. Narrative of, used, 181-90. Pawnee Killer, 355, 364, 366-9. Pennington, General, 174-180. 198, 203-5. Peninsular Campaign, The, 94-124, 132. Peninsula, The, Description of, 107-8. Map of, 109-10. Pursuits, Of Lee after Gettysburg, 181-90 ; Of Rosser, 259-61; Of Early, 2^7; Of Lee to Appomattox, 297-308. Plebes, at West Point, their sorrows, 17-21. Custer as a, 21. Fleasonton, Major-General Alfred, 142, 146, 147, 148, 154-160, 163-8. Pickett, Gen., his division at Five Forks, 286-96. Pope, Gen., 125, 197. Pompey's Pillar, 499. Ponies, Indian, 437. 444, 446-7, 464. Powder River, Battle of, 539-44. Raids, Stoneman's, 143-5. Sheridan's first, 222-6 : second, 227-30 ; third, 271-9. Rain-in-the-Face, Story of, 515-38. Fortitude of, 527-8 (note) Kills General Custer, 601. Redpath, Mr., offers terms to Custer for lec- tures, 637. Reed, Autie, birth of. 9 ; death of, 602-3. lieed, David, marries Custer's half-sister, 4, 6. Reed, Mrs. Lj-dia A., Custer's half-sister, 4; Marriage of, 6, 7 ; Letters to, 47, 116. Regular Army, The, 335-35. Remarks on, 3i3l-3, 406-8. Reily, Lieut. W. Van W., death of, 605-6. Reno, Major, 7th Cavalry, 569, 576-608. Report, Reno's, 577-8, 580-1. Review. The last, 311-13. Reynolds, Charley, scout. 515, 583. Reynolds, General, 45, 502, 537-43. Riding, at West Point, 34. Custer's, 35. 158-9 Robbins, Samuel M., Lieutenant, 7th Cav airy, 338, 372-82, 400. 648 INDEX. Rodenbough, Captain, loseg arm at Win- chester, 244. Eomeo, 434, 441, 442, 447. Romero, Minister from Mexico, 340-1. Rosebud, Battle of the, 566-8. Rosser, Geu. Thomas L., 251-61, 480, 481, 588, 589. Royall, Capt., 566-8. , 177-8, 240, 244, 2-70 ; Last, of Sabre, Remarks on the, ISi 261, 544. Satanta, 361, 362, 4.'->4-58. Scott, Lieutenant-General Winfield, 41, Meets Custer, 52. Scout, Custer's first Indian, i Custer, 575-6. Seven Days' Fight, The, 120. Seventh Cavalry, History of. Formation of, 337-47. First officers of, 338-9. Seydlitz, General, 409-10. Sheridan, Lieutenant General Philip R., 130, 220. First raid of, 222-6. Second raid of, 227-30. In the Valley, 231-71. Last raid of, 271-8. At Five Forks, 280-94. Pursuing Lee, 297-308. Remarks on the genius of, 222-246, 280-90, 310. Profanity of, rare, 235. In Texas, 309. In Indian country, 411. Re- calls Custer, 414. Takes the field, 415-69. Order of, 450-51. Removes Custer, 555. His opinion of Custer, 562. Sherman, General, 75, 309, 364, 554-61. Sibley, Lieutenant, 542. Sitting Bull, 498, 529-36. Diary of, 534-5. Smith, Gen. E. Kirby, at Bull Run, 70-76. Surrender of, in Texas, 316, 317. Smith, Gen. W. F. (Baldy), 100-106. Smith, Colonel A. J., 7th Cavalry, 338, 348, 355. Retired from service, 475. Smith, Brevet Captain, Algernon E., 7th Cavalry, 47-9. Smith. Mrs. Algernon E., 480. Soldier, Custer as a, 609-14. Spottsylvania, Battle of, 222. Stagg, Colonel, 237, 303. Star, Remarkable, at battle of Washita, 43.5-6. Stanley, Brevet Major-General, Expedition of, 480-499. Stanton, Major, Paymaster, 540, 542. Stoneman, Gen., 14:3, 144. Stuart, Gen. J. E. B., 130, 154-9. Death of, 225. Sturgis, General, letter to endorse Custer, 475. Sully, General. 413, 414, 415, 421, 422. Sumter, Fort, fired on, news of, 41. Terkt, Brig. Gen. Alfred, U. S. A., 545-6, .559, 564, 573, C36. Texas, the Volunteers in, 315-24. Custer in, 319-24. Thompson, Colonel, takes back prisoner! from Waynesboro', 275. Thompson, Brevet Colonel, captain 7th Cav- alry, 338, 431. Torbert, Gen. A. T. A., 220, 221, 222, 231, 232, 234, 248. 249, 260. Town, Colonel, 177. Transportation, Amount of, in the Peninsu- lar Campaign, 97-99. Trevillian Station, Battle of, 229-30. Tribes, Indian, 529-30. Truce, Lee's flag of, sent through Custer, 306, (note) 308. Two Bears, 520. Tyler, General, 63. Varnum. Lieutenant, 7th Cavalry, 494. Volunteers. The, in Texas, 315-24. Disci- pline of, contrasted with that of regulars, 327-30. Re/narks on, 331. Wagon Train, Custer's, attacked by Indians, .371-82. Walker, Captain, 67, 68. Wallace, General Lew., 229. Ward, Artemus, 631- Warren, General, at Five Forks, 287-96. In the Black Hills, 501. Washita, Battle of, 425-.52. Waynesboro, Capture of, by Custer, 274-5. Weir, Captain Thos. B., 7th Cavalry, 346, 445. West Point, Custer at, 17-48. Routine at, 22-30. Riding at, 34. West, Captain Robert M., 7th Cavalry, 338, 366,372,382,431. White, Miss, rescue of, from Indians, 465-9. Whittaker, Lieutenant-Colonel, Capture of Harry Gilmor by, 271. Wilderness, Battle of the, 221. Williamsport, Battle of. 186-7. Williamsburg, Battle of, 104-106. Wilson, General J. II., 221, 234. 249. Winchester, taken by Ewell, 154. 231-47. Woodstock Races, 256-62. Wright, General H. G-, at Cedar Creek, 263-9. Yates George W., Brevet-Colonel, 151, 162. Captain 7th Cavalry, 346,479, 518-23. Death of, 595, 601,604. Yates, Mrs. 480,523-26. Yellow Bear, 361, 458-62. Yellowstone Expedition. The, 480-499. Yellow Tavern, Battle of, 224-6. Yorktown, Siege of, 100, 101, 102. Evacuatioi: of, 103. Young, P. M. B., Cadet, Custer's classmate 37. Goes west. 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