Post by fred on May 3, 2012 20:48:46 GMT -6
Let's change course here for a little bit... a warrior this time. As usual, my musings are in yellow.
TWO MOON (NORTHERN CHEYENNE)
1898—Graham, W. A., COL, The Custer Myth. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA: 1953 (2000). Interviewed by Hamlin Garland, from McClure’s Magazine, September 1898, Wolf Voice, the Cheyenne interpreter. This is supplemented by the full interview in Hardorff, Richard, ed., Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1995.
1. In the spring of 1876, he was camped on the Powder River with 50 lodges of his people. They were attacked by Colonel McKenzie’s (“Three Fingers”) command. [Myth, 101] [Are we sure this wasn’t the Reynolds attack?]
2. After that, the camp traveled and eventually met up with a large Sioux camp at Charcoal Butte. It was Crazy Horse’s camp. [Myth, 101]
3. Sitting Bull’s camp was a little below, on the Little Missouri River. [Myth, 101] [This is obviously the camp Charlie Reynolds reported to Terry.]
4. When they fought Crook in June, there was a great deal of dust and smoke. [Myth, 102] [This is mentioned in other accounts, as well, and should be taken into consideration when assessing casualties and what could be seen when fighting.]
5. The first he knew of any soldiers coming on the 25th was as he was returning from a swim, he looked upriver and saw a large dust cloud, then Sioux horsemen rushing into camp with the alarm. [Myth, 102]
6. He heard shooting, but when he looked he saw no Indians; they went out to get horses. [Myth, 102]
7. When he reached the Hunkpapa camp, he saw the soldiers in a line, Indians covering the flat. [Myth, 102] [He is not clear here, whether the soldiers’ line was in the prairie or on the brow of the old river bed. It seems as though he means the prairie, but if he does, there would be a timing issue regarding the first alarm and Reno still on the skirmish line when Two Moon reached the area.]
8. Everything was mixed up, Sioux amongst soldiers, all shooting. “The air was full of smoke and dust.” [Cheyenne Memories, 101]
9. He saw the soldiers fall into the water like buffalo. [Cheyenne Memories, 101]
10. Two Moon claimed that Reno’s men were driven up the hills and there met “wagons.” [Myth, 102] [We know that is not correct!]
11. Another alarm was raised that soldiers were coming to kill the women. [Myth, 102]
12. As Two Moon rode back toward his own camp, he “saw flags come up over the hill to the east… Then the soldiers rose all at once, all on horses… [… marching in columns of fours]. They formed into three branches… with a little ways in between. Then a bugle sounded, and they all got off their horses, and some soldiers led the horses back over the hill.” [Myth, 102 – 103; Memories, 102] [This is an interesting statement, though he has compressed time and the overall comment could refer to almost any action on the field, from Ford B to Last Stand Hill.]
13. Sioux rode up the ridge on all sides; the Cheyenne went up the left. [Myth, 103]
14. There was tremendous dust and smoke. [Myth, 103]
15. He related the story of the brave soldier with the sorrel horse with white face and four white stockings. [Myth, 103]
16. He said, finally “100” men and five horsemen stood together on the hill. He heard a soldier chief was killed and about 40 of the men, plus the five horsemen, broke for the river. [Myth, 103]
17. A bugler—trumpeter—who was also very brave, kept blowing his commands. [Cheyenne Memories, 103]
18. [The article contains a note from Garland saying the man on the white-faced sorrel was “apparently a scout.” That could only have been Mitch Boyer.] [Myth, 103]
19. The man on the sorrel had long black hair and mustache and wore a buckskin shirt. He carried a “big knife.” [Myth, 103]
20. Two Moon claimed 39 Sioux and seven Cheyenne were killed, and about 100 wounded. [Myth, 103]
21. He also said they counted sticks for the dead soldiers: 388. [Myth, 103] [They were obviously using a different decimal system!]
22. [Wooden Leg, in an interview with Dr. Thomas B. Marquis, said Lame White Man led the Cheyenne, not Two Moon, who was later appointed head man of the tribe by General Miles. Wooden Leg said Two Moon was a great liar, believing it was okay to lie to the white man.] [Myth, 106]
1901—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview conducted—probably in 1901—by J. M. Thralls at the Custer Battlefield, Montana.
1. The first fighting began upriver with Reno. This was about one mile from where Two Moons was camped. [109]
2. The Indians did not know there were any soldiers in the vicinity until Reno attacked. [109]
3. The Indians were all preparing to go to fight Reno when, “Custer’s command came into sight on the ridge northeast of where the Indians were in camp.” [109] [This makes perfect sense and would seem to indicate Luce Ridge.]
4. Two Moons claimed, “the first soldiers killed were sixteen horse – holders.” [109] [While the number—16—is problematic, the event is not and would form the motivation for Keogh to have sent Harrington into Calhoun Coulee.]
5. This was followed by the complete destruction of these two companies by Gall and Rain In The Face. [110]
6. Two Moons had a band consisting of fifty lodges. [110]
7. Two Moons took his warriors and “went down the river and around west and northwest of what was left of Custer’s command.” [110]
8. He and his men dismounted “and crawled up to the top of the ridge overlooking a draw that now contains ninety-two soldier monuments in about a ¼ of a mile.” [110] [This is clearly overlooking the Keogh Sector.]
9. As the soldiers came closer, the Indians killed them. [110]
10. Custer himself “fell only a few steps from the site of the monument, at the high point of the hill, the spot where he fell being marked by a cross.” [110] [This is extremely accurate. In a footnote, Hardorff remarks that the site of the stone marker represents where both George and Tom Custer were buried. {111, FN 7}]
11. Two Moons said that nineteen men broke away from the group around Custer. [110 – 111] [The seventeen markers along the SSL represent these men.]
12. Two men came close to escaping. A stone marked where one had fallen, but the other was never found. Two Moons said that bones found in the village may have been from some men whose flesh had been eaten off by dogs. [111]
13. Squaws scalped the dead. [111]
14. After hearing that more soldiers were coming the Indians left camp the following day. [112]
15. Two Moons used one of Crook’s soldier’s guns in the LBH fight. [112]
16. While many Indians battled Reno, many more stayed in the village to protect the women and children. [112]
17. They did not find many cartridges on the dead troops. [113]
18. In an editorial note at the end of the interview, Thralls wrote that the Indians outnumbered Custer’s men by eight or ten to one. [113]
1901 or 1907—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview taken from the June 1908 issue of the Harness Gazette, a monthly magazine first published in 1882. The date of the interview is uncertain but appears to be some time, if not in 1907, then in 1901—more likely, according to Hardorff. The interview was conducted at the battlefield and the interviewer is unknown.
1. Once surrounded, the soldiers were killed quickly. [116]
2. Troops along Battle Ridge dismounted. [117]
3. It was estimated that there were 1,000 lodges along the river, indicating between 4,000 and 6,000 Indians, “probably half of whom were able – bodied fighting men.” [118]
1907—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview conducted by Richard Throssel—an educated Crow Indian—in Montana in 1907. Walter Camp transcribed the interview into his notes.
1. Two Moons was in the Crook fight on the Rosebud. [124]
2. He was with some Sioux who “had followed Custer as far west as Pumpkin Creek and then passed around him and went on ahead.” [124]
3. Two Moons camped at the extreme north end of the village. [124]
4. Crazy Horse was camped around the middle of the village. [124]
5. The camp had reports that soldiers would be coming about two days after they actually showed up. [124] [Hardorff relates that the source of this intelligence may have been the Brulé warrior, “Hollow Horn Bear, whose party monitored the progress of the Dakota column near the Heart River for several days.” {124, FN 1}]
6. Two Moons said that as soon as he began fighting in the valley, Reno’s troops retreated from the timber. [125] [So he was a late arrival as well, which makes sense since he was camped at the northern end of the village.]
7. Since the Sioux were handling Reno’s troops pretty well, Two Moons drew off, passing through many Sioux heading toward the hills and deserting the village. [125]
8. At this point, Two Moons was telling people they had won a victory and not to be alarmed. Suddenly, word reached them that more soldiers were coming down from the east. [126]
9. Custer’s troops came down to the river on horseback. [126]
10. He “stopped momentarily…” but was opposed by Sioux on both sides of the river. [126] [He seems to be compressing events here, for there is no other evidence of Sioux east of the river in this vicinity. He may be referring to a few who came down toward MTC from the bluffs along the river and were fired on by Keogh’s command.]
11. It appears Two Moons crossed the river at Ford B and followed in Custer’s rear. [126]
12. The soldiers fought on foot in two wings. They dismounted and “the horses led between them.” [126]
13. As Custer moved onto the high ground, the Indians split and moved into ravines. [126 – 127]
14. The soldiers with the gray horses were the last to fall. [127] [This statement contradicted some of Two Moons’ earlier comments, but is more in line with what others said.]
15. He did not recognize Custer at any time. [127]
1909—Hardorff, Richard G., ed., Lakota Recollections of the Custer Fight. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE: 1991 (1997). Interviewed by Richard Throssel, summer 1909, at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer, MT. The interpreter was an educated Cheyenne named Red Water. The interview appeared in the Billings Daily Gazette, in 1911.
1. During the spring of 1876, Two Moon heard that soldiers were coming after the Indians. He wanted to get his people back to Fort Laramie. [131 – 132]
2. Two Moons was pretty friendly with the whites. [131]
3. It was Two Moon’s camp on the Powder River that was attacked by COL Joseph J. Reynolds on March 17, 1876. Two Moons claimed they were headed back to the agency. The attack caused these Cheyenne to change their opinions of the whites. [132] [There were 10 – 15 lodges of Oglala Sioux camped with these Cheyenne and many officers later thought—you can see it in their post-LBH reports—that this was the village of Crazy Horse.]
4. At the LBH, the Cheyenne camped “at Medicine Tail’s place.” [134]
5. On the morning of June 25, Two Moon decided to water his horses. As he went into the hills [east of the LBH and north of the Cheyenne camp], he looked up the valley and saw a large cloud of dust. He did not understand what it was, so he took his horses to the river, watered them, and returned to the hills. That was when he saw the fighting begin. [134 – 135]
6. Old men, women, and children were running through the camp while the warriors prepared for battle. [135]
7. Two Moons admitted moving slowly toward the battle, cautioning people to go slow. [135]
8. When he reached the battle area, a number of his warriors were already gathered there, ready to fight. [135 – 136]
9. Reno’s command had gotten to the edge of the Sioux camp. [136]
10. As Reno’s men retreated and crossed the river, the “pack drivers” arrived on the hill at the same time Reno’s men arrived. [136] [“Pack drivers” refers to the mules, but he compressed time here and meant the arrival of Benteen’s men.]
11. As the Indians captured army horses, Two Moon claimed they all had small round cans containing whiskey. Apparently, Two Moon never mentioned this in the Hamlin Garland interview back in 1898. [136 and 136, FN 14]
12. In this interview, Two Moon said that Custer’s command was spotted heading down a draw, i. e., MTC. In previous interviews, Two Moon claimed the troops were never near the water. [137]
13. He said the soldiers came to the edge of the river and stopped. [137]
14. Custer’s men dismounted and moved up the ridge slowly, the troops surrounding their horses. [137] [Doesn’t sound like a command in much of a hurry or one being chased by Indians.]
15. The Indians kept circling, around and around, then charged. [137]
16. The Gray Horse Troop was the last group of soldiers killed. [138]
17. The soldiers “did not run nor seek shelter, but stayed right out in the open where it was easy to shoot them down. Any ordinary bunch of men would have dropped into a watercourse, or a draw, where they could have fought for a long time.” [138]
1909—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview with Dr. Joseph K. Dixon on the Custer battlefield in 1909. It was first published in 1913.
1. Two Moons said that Custer marched up behind Battle Ridge, riding beyond where the monument is and “down into the valley until we could not see them.” [130 – 131] [This seems to indicate that Custer moved behind or north of Cemetery Ridge. It would also lend credence to the Ford D theory.]
2. The troops on the hill where the monument is had gray horses. [131]
3. The whole valley was filled with smoke and the gunfire was so loud they could hardly hear anything else. [132]
4. The Indians left when they learned of Terry’s approach. [133]
1913—Hardorff, Richard G., Indian Views of the Custer Fight, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005. This is a series of interviews taking place on Monday, March 3, through Wednesday, March 5, 1913, at the New Capitol Hotel, Washington City.
1. [First interview, 3 March 1913] Two Moons claimed to be at the Tongue [sic, Powder] River fight on 17 March 1876, against COL Joseph J. Reynolds. He claimed there were 200 Sioux warriors under Crazy Horse present. [108] [He Dog, a friend of Crazy Horse and who was there, said there were only 10 Sioux lodges present. Crazy Horse was not there.]
2. Sitting Bull was at neither the Powder River, nor Rosebud battles. [108] [This is probably wrong. There is sufficient evidence to believe Sitting Bull was at the Rosebud fight, though because of a weakened condition due to his sundance ritual, he did not take an active part.]
3. Three Cheyenne warriors were killed at the Rosebud. [108] [Only two names are known: Scabby and Black Sun {also known as Water Dog}.]
4. Only 20 – 30 Indians were killed at the LBH, seven of them Cheyenne. [108]
5. After the Indians drove Reno back across the LBH, they left a guard to make sure he remained on the ridge, then went downstream to attack Custer. [109] [He gives us no indication of how many Indians remained to guard Reno, but it had to be a fairly considerable number.]
6. Two Moons said a woman gave the warning of Custer’s approach. [109]
7. He repeatedly emphasized that Custer did not cross the LBH. [109]
8. He said the White [Gray] Horse Troop was especially brave. [109]
9. Indians knocked soldiers off their horses with tomahawks. [109]
10. [Second interview, 4 March 1913; interpreter: Willis T. Rowland, aka, Long Forehead]. After helping drive Reno back across the river, Two Moons returned to the camp and began telling the women and children to pack their belongings and be ready to leave. Shortly, another warning was issued that more soldiers were coming. [110] [This was another indication that time elapsed between Reno’s retreat to the hill and any general move of the “Reno” Indians toward Custer.]
11. Custer seemed to be headed for crossing the river, but Indian firing turned him away. Custer got within a few yards of the stream. When he moved back he moved about ½ mile. [110]
12. “When Custer got on top where the [present kill site] stones are, the troops dismounted and they tried to lead the horses down into a gulch.” [110] [Hardorff believes this is an allusion to the troops moving to Calhoun Hill, but it could also mean Last Stand Hill from Cemetery Ridge. I think Hardorff may be closer to the mark.]
13. The Gray Horse Troop was the only company that held its horses. Each man held his own and there was no shooting by them. “They were making preparations.” [110 – 111]
14. According to Two Moons there were only a few Sioux—predominantly Cheyenne—attacking troops in the Calhoun Hill area. [111] [While this is not universally accepted—even by some of the Sioux who claimed to have fought there—it makes sense, for the Cheyenne village was close to Ford B, it was mainly Cheyenne who opposed Custer and Smith at the ford, and Lame White Man—the Cheyenne chief—was killed in the Calhoun Hill area. Wooden Leg—another Cheyenne—also confirms a heavy Cheyenne presence there.]
15. Two Moons ordered a charge onto Calhoun Hill. [111]
16. The Cheyenne warriors made three charges before they overran Calhoun’s men, the soldier firing being so great; “after this it was merely a slaughter.” [111] [Hardorff wrote, “some Sioux combatants, among whom He Dog, Oglala tribal historian, later stated that the Cheyennes took the leading part in the fight because the advance of Custer’s troops threatened their camp.” {111, FN 10}]
17. Two Moons and his warriors swept to the right and north of the ridge. Soldier horses in the gulley—the swale—were turned loose and they fled toward the river. [111]
18. The fight did not last more than 2½ hours from beginning to end. [112] [This must be from the start of Reno’s fighting to the death of Custer’s command. My estimate is 3 hours, five minutes; 1:35 PM – 4:40 PM. Fairly close.]
19. Younger Indians wore the soldiers’ clothing after the Custer fighting was over. [112]
20. [Third interview, Wednesday evening, 5 March 1913; interpreter: Willis T. Rowland, aka, Long Forehead] Two Moons said the Cheyenne crossed at the Medicine Tail crossing while the Sioux crossed farther downstream at Deep Ravine. [112] [Hardorff wrote that Deep Ravine is also known as Crazy Horse Gully. {112, FN 11}]
21. The interpreter’s uncle was a Cheyenne warrior named Roan Bear who was at the battle. Roan Bear told Rowland that the Gray Horse Troop stood its ground at the top of the knoll where the monument now stands, finally releasing their horses because they were hard-pressed and surrounded. [114] [In another footnote, Hardorff confirms this account citing the Minneconjou warrior, Iron Hawk. “Some mistook the stampeding grey horses for a mounted charge by the soldiers.” {114, FN 14}]
22. When Custer’s troops were discovered, word was sent to those fighting Reno. They were told to leave a guard behind and then come to help fight Custer. [114] [This sounds reasonably plausible and hints at a period of elapsed time before a fairly large number of warriors would be leaving the Reno fighting.]
23. The Sioux crossed at the lower crossing and waited in the breaks. [114] [This is obviously until they built up enough strength.]
24. A great deal of whisky was found on the soldiers’ horses. [115]
25. Two Cheyenne warriors near Ford B were the first to fire on the advancing Custer column. [115]
Best wishes,
Fred.
TWO MOON
1898—Graham, W. A., COL, The Custer Myth. Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA: 1953 (2000). Interviewed by Hamlin Garland, from McClure’s Magazine, September 1898, Wolf Voice, the Cheyenne interpreter. This is supplemented by the full interview in Hardorff, Richard, ed., Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE, 1995.
1. In the spring of 1876, he was camped on the Powder River with 50 lodges of his people. They were attacked by Colonel McKenzie’s (“Three Fingers”) command. [Myth, 101] [Are we sure this wasn’t the Reynolds attack?]
2. After that, the camp traveled and eventually met up with a large Sioux camp at Charcoal Butte. It was Crazy Horse’s camp. [Myth, 101]
3. Sitting Bull’s camp was a little below, on the Little Missouri River. [Myth, 101] [This is obviously the camp Charlie Reynolds reported to Terry.]
4. When they fought Crook in June, there was a great deal of dust and smoke. [Myth, 102] [This is mentioned in other accounts, as well, and should be taken into consideration when assessing casualties and what could be seen when fighting.]
5. The first he knew of any soldiers coming on the 25th was as he was returning from a swim, he looked upriver and saw a large dust cloud, then Sioux horsemen rushing into camp with the alarm. [Myth, 102]
6. He heard shooting, but when he looked he saw no Indians; they went out to get horses. [Myth, 102]
7. When he reached the Hunkpapa camp, he saw the soldiers in a line, Indians covering the flat. [Myth, 102] [He is not clear here, whether the soldiers’ line was in the prairie or on the brow of the old river bed. It seems as though he means the prairie, but if he does, there would be a timing issue regarding the first alarm and Reno still on the skirmish line when Two Moon reached the area.]
8. Everything was mixed up, Sioux amongst soldiers, all shooting. “The air was full of smoke and dust.” [Cheyenne Memories, 101]
9. He saw the soldiers fall into the water like buffalo. [Cheyenne Memories, 101]
10. Two Moon claimed that Reno’s men were driven up the hills and there met “wagons.” [Myth, 102] [We know that is not correct!]
11. Another alarm was raised that soldiers were coming to kill the women. [Myth, 102]
12. As Two Moon rode back toward his own camp, he “saw flags come up over the hill to the east… Then the soldiers rose all at once, all on horses… [… marching in columns of fours]. They formed into three branches… with a little ways in between. Then a bugle sounded, and they all got off their horses, and some soldiers led the horses back over the hill.” [Myth, 102 – 103; Memories, 102] [This is an interesting statement, though he has compressed time and the overall comment could refer to almost any action on the field, from Ford B to Last Stand Hill.]
13. Sioux rode up the ridge on all sides; the Cheyenne went up the left. [Myth, 103]
14. There was tremendous dust and smoke. [Myth, 103]
15. He related the story of the brave soldier with the sorrel horse with white face and four white stockings. [Myth, 103]
16. He said, finally “100” men and five horsemen stood together on the hill. He heard a soldier chief was killed and about 40 of the men, plus the five horsemen, broke for the river. [Myth, 103]
17. A bugler—trumpeter—who was also very brave, kept blowing his commands. [Cheyenne Memories, 103]
18. [The article contains a note from Garland saying the man on the white-faced sorrel was “apparently a scout.” That could only have been Mitch Boyer.] [Myth, 103]
19. The man on the sorrel had long black hair and mustache and wore a buckskin shirt. He carried a “big knife.” [Myth, 103]
20. Two Moon claimed 39 Sioux and seven Cheyenne were killed, and about 100 wounded. [Myth, 103]
21. He also said they counted sticks for the dead soldiers: 388. [Myth, 103] [They were obviously using a different decimal system!]
22. [Wooden Leg, in an interview with Dr. Thomas B. Marquis, said Lame White Man led the Cheyenne, not Two Moon, who was later appointed head man of the tribe by General Miles. Wooden Leg said Two Moon was a great liar, believing it was okay to lie to the white man.] [Myth, 106]
1901—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview conducted—probably in 1901—by J. M. Thralls at the Custer Battlefield, Montana.
1. The first fighting began upriver with Reno. This was about one mile from where Two Moons was camped. [109]
2. The Indians did not know there were any soldiers in the vicinity until Reno attacked. [109]
3. The Indians were all preparing to go to fight Reno when, “Custer’s command came into sight on the ridge northeast of where the Indians were in camp.” [109] [This makes perfect sense and would seem to indicate Luce Ridge.]
4. Two Moons claimed, “the first soldiers killed were sixteen horse – holders.” [109] [While the number—16—is problematic, the event is not and would form the motivation for Keogh to have sent Harrington into Calhoun Coulee.]
5. This was followed by the complete destruction of these two companies by Gall and Rain In The Face. [110]
6. Two Moons had a band consisting of fifty lodges. [110]
7. Two Moons took his warriors and “went down the river and around west and northwest of what was left of Custer’s command.” [110]
8. He and his men dismounted “and crawled up to the top of the ridge overlooking a draw that now contains ninety-two soldier monuments in about a ¼ of a mile.” [110] [This is clearly overlooking the Keogh Sector.]
9. As the soldiers came closer, the Indians killed them. [110]
10. Custer himself “fell only a few steps from the site of the monument, at the high point of the hill, the spot where he fell being marked by a cross.” [110] [This is extremely accurate. In a footnote, Hardorff remarks that the site of the stone marker represents where both George and Tom Custer were buried. {111, FN 7}]
11. Two Moons said that nineteen men broke away from the group around Custer. [110 – 111] [The seventeen markers along the SSL represent these men.]
12. Two men came close to escaping. A stone marked where one had fallen, but the other was never found. Two Moons said that bones found in the village may have been from some men whose flesh had been eaten off by dogs. [111]
13. Squaws scalped the dead. [111]
14. After hearing that more soldiers were coming the Indians left camp the following day. [112]
15. Two Moons used one of Crook’s soldier’s guns in the LBH fight. [112]
16. While many Indians battled Reno, many more stayed in the village to protect the women and children. [112]
17. They did not find many cartridges on the dead troops. [113]
18. In an editorial note at the end of the interview, Thralls wrote that the Indians outnumbered Custer’s men by eight or ten to one. [113]
1901 or 1907—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview taken from the June 1908 issue of the Harness Gazette, a monthly magazine first published in 1882. The date of the interview is uncertain but appears to be some time, if not in 1907, then in 1901—more likely, according to Hardorff. The interview was conducted at the battlefield and the interviewer is unknown.
1. Once surrounded, the soldiers were killed quickly. [116]
2. Troops along Battle Ridge dismounted. [117]
3. It was estimated that there were 1,000 lodges along the river, indicating between 4,000 and 6,000 Indians, “probably half of whom were able – bodied fighting men.” [118]
1907—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview conducted by Richard Throssel—an educated Crow Indian—in Montana in 1907. Walter Camp transcribed the interview into his notes.
1. Two Moons was in the Crook fight on the Rosebud. [124]
2. He was with some Sioux who “had followed Custer as far west as Pumpkin Creek and then passed around him and went on ahead.” [124]
3. Two Moons camped at the extreme north end of the village. [124]
4. Crazy Horse was camped around the middle of the village. [124]
5. The camp had reports that soldiers would be coming about two days after they actually showed up. [124] [Hardorff relates that the source of this intelligence may have been the Brulé warrior, “Hollow Horn Bear, whose party monitored the progress of the Dakota column near the Heart River for several days.” {124, FN 1}]
6. Two Moons said that as soon as he began fighting in the valley, Reno’s troops retreated from the timber. [125] [So he was a late arrival as well, which makes sense since he was camped at the northern end of the village.]
7. Since the Sioux were handling Reno’s troops pretty well, Two Moons drew off, passing through many Sioux heading toward the hills and deserting the village. [125]
8. At this point, Two Moons was telling people they had won a victory and not to be alarmed. Suddenly, word reached them that more soldiers were coming down from the east. [126]
9. Custer’s troops came down to the river on horseback. [126]
10. He “stopped momentarily…” but was opposed by Sioux on both sides of the river. [126] [He seems to be compressing events here, for there is no other evidence of Sioux east of the river in this vicinity. He may be referring to a few who came down toward MTC from the bluffs along the river and were fired on by Keogh’s command.]
11. It appears Two Moons crossed the river at Ford B and followed in Custer’s rear. [126]
12. The soldiers fought on foot in two wings. They dismounted and “the horses led between them.” [126]
13. As Custer moved onto the high ground, the Indians split and moved into ravines. [126 – 127]
14. The soldiers with the gray horses were the last to fall. [127] [This statement contradicted some of Two Moons’ earlier comments, but is more in line with what others said.]
15. He did not recognize Custer at any time. [127]
1909—Hardorff, Richard G., ed., Lakota Recollections of the Custer Fight. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE: 1991 (1997). Interviewed by Richard Throssel, summer 1909, at the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Lame Deer, MT. The interpreter was an educated Cheyenne named Red Water. The interview appeared in the Billings Daily Gazette, in 1911.
1. During the spring of 1876, Two Moon heard that soldiers were coming after the Indians. He wanted to get his people back to Fort Laramie. [131 – 132]
2. Two Moons was pretty friendly with the whites. [131]
3. It was Two Moon’s camp on the Powder River that was attacked by COL Joseph J. Reynolds on March 17, 1876. Two Moons claimed they were headed back to the agency. The attack caused these Cheyenne to change their opinions of the whites. [132] [There were 10 – 15 lodges of Oglala Sioux camped with these Cheyenne and many officers later thought—you can see it in their post-LBH reports—that this was the village of Crazy Horse.]
4. At the LBH, the Cheyenne camped “at Medicine Tail’s place.” [134]
5. On the morning of June 25, Two Moon decided to water his horses. As he went into the hills [east of the LBH and north of the Cheyenne camp], he looked up the valley and saw a large cloud of dust. He did not understand what it was, so he took his horses to the river, watered them, and returned to the hills. That was when he saw the fighting begin. [134 – 135]
6. Old men, women, and children were running through the camp while the warriors prepared for battle. [135]
7. Two Moons admitted moving slowly toward the battle, cautioning people to go slow. [135]
8. When he reached the battle area, a number of his warriors were already gathered there, ready to fight. [135 – 136]
9. Reno’s command had gotten to the edge of the Sioux camp. [136]
10. As Reno’s men retreated and crossed the river, the “pack drivers” arrived on the hill at the same time Reno’s men arrived. [136] [“Pack drivers” refers to the mules, but he compressed time here and meant the arrival of Benteen’s men.]
11. As the Indians captured army horses, Two Moon claimed they all had small round cans containing whiskey. Apparently, Two Moon never mentioned this in the Hamlin Garland interview back in 1898. [136 and 136, FN 14]
12. In this interview, Two Moon said that Custer’s command was spotted heading down a draw, i. e., MTC. In previous interviews, Two Moon claimed the troops were never near the water. [137]
13. He said the soldiers came to the edge of the river and stopped. [137]
14. Custer’s men dismounted and moved up the ridge slowly, the troops surrounding their horses. [137] [Doesn’t sound like a command in much of a hurry or one being chased by Indians.]
15. The Indians kept circling, around and around, then charged. [137]
16. The Gray Horse Troop was the last group of soldiers killed. [138]
17. The soldiers “did not run nor seek shelter, but stayed right out in the open where it was easy to shoot them down. Any ordinary bunch of men would have dropped into a watercourse, or a draw, where they could have fought for a long time.” [138]
1909—Hardorff, Richard, Cheyenne Memories of the Custer Fight. An interview with Dr. Joseph K. Dixon on the Custer battlefield in 1909. It was first published in 1913.
1. Two Moons said that Custer marched up behind Battle Ridge, riding beyond where the monument is and “down into the valley until we could not see them.” [130 – 131] [This seems to indicate that Custer moved behind or north of Cemetery Ridge. It would also lend credence to the Ford D theory.]
2. The troops on the hill where the monument is had gray horses. [131]
3. The whole valley was filled with smoke and the gunfire was so loud they could hardly hear anything else. [132]
4. The Indians left when they learned of Terry’s approach. [133]
1913—Hardorff, Richard G., Indian Views of the Custer Fight, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 2005. This is a series of interviews taking place on Monday, March 3, through Wednesday, March 5, 1913, at the New Capitol Hotel, Washington City.
1. [First interview, 3 March 1913] Two Moons claimed to be at the Tongue [sic, Powder] River fight on 17 March 1876, against COL Joseph J. Reynolds. He claimed there were 200 Sioux warriors under Crazy Horse present. [108] [He Dog, a friend of Crazy Horse and who was there, said there were only 10 Sioux lodges present. Crazy Horse was not there.]
2. Sitting Bull was at neither the Powder River, nor Rosebud battles. [108] [This is probably wrong. There is sufficient evidence to believe Sitting Bull was at the Rosebud fight, though because of a weakened condition due to his sundance ritual, he did not take an active part.]
3. Three Cheyenne warriors were killed at the Rosebud. [108] [Only two names are known: Scabby and Black Sun {also known as Water Dog}.]
4. Only 20 – 30 Indians were killed at the LBH, seven of them Cheyenne. [108]
5. After the Indians drove Reno back across the LBH, they left a guard to make sure he remained on the ridge, then went downstream to attack Custer. [109] [He gives us no indication of how many Indians remained to guard Reno, but it had to be a fairly considerable number.]
6. Two Moons said a woman gave the warning of Custer’s approach. [109]
7. He repeatedly emphasized that Custer did not cross the LBH. [109]
8. He said the White [Gray] Horse Troop was especially brave. [109]
9. Indians knocked soldiers off their horses with tomahawks. [109]
10. [Second interview, 4 March 1913; interpreter: Willis T. Rowland, aka, Long Forehead]. After helping drive Reno back across the river, Two Moons returned to the camp and began telling the women and children to pack their belongings and be ready to leave. Shortly, another warning was issued that more soldiers were coming. [110] [This was another indication that time elapsed between Reno’s retreat to the hill and any general move of the “Reno” Indians toward Custer.]
11. Custer seemed to be headed for crossing the river, but Indian firing turned him away. Custer got within a few yards of the stream. When he moved back he moved about ½ mile. [110]
12. “When Custer got on top where the [present kill site] stones are, the troops dismounted and they tried to lead the horses down into a gulch.” [110] [Hardorff believes this is an allusion to the troops moving to Calhoun Hill, but it could also mean Last Stand Hill from Cemetery Ridge. I think Hardorff may be closer to the mark.]
13. The Gray Horse Troop was the only company that held its horses. Each man held his own and there was no shooting by them. “They were making preparations.” [110 – 111]
14. According to Two Moons there were only a few Sioux—predominantly Cheyenne—attacking troops in the Calhoun Hill area. [111] [While this is not universally accepted—even by some of the Sioux who claimed to have fought there—it makes sense, for the Cheyenne village was close to Ford B, it was mainly Cheyenne who opposed Custer and Smith at the ford, and Lame White Man—the Cheyenne chief—was killed in the Calhoun Hill area. Wooden Leg—another Cheyenne—also confirms a heavy Cheyenne presence there.]
15. Two Moons ordered a charge onto Calhoun Hill. [111]
16. The Cheyenne warriors made three charges before they overran Calhoun’s men, the soldier firing being so great; “after this it was merely a slaughter.” [111] [Hardorff wrote, “some Sioux combatants, among whom He Dog, Oglala tribal historian, later stated that the Cheyennes took the leading part in the fight because the advance of Custer’s troops threatened their camp.” {111, FN 10}]
17. Two Moons and his warriors swept to the right and north of the ridge. Soldier horses in the gulley—the swale—were turned loose and they fled toward the river. [111]
18. The fight did not last more than 2½ hours from beginning to end. [112] [This must be from the start of Reno’s fighting to the death of Custer’s command. My estimate is 3 hours, five minutes; 1:35 PM – 4:40 PM. Fairly close.]
19. Younger Indians wore the soldiers’ clothing after the Custer fighting was over. [112]
20. [Third interview, Wednesday evening, 5 March 1913; interpreter: Willis T. Rowland, aka, Long Forehead] Two Moons said the Cheyenne crossed at the Medicine Tail crossing while the Sioux crossed farther downstream at Deep Ravine. [112] [Hardorff wrote that Deep Ravine is also known as Crazy Horse Gully. {112, FN 11}]
21. The interpreter’s uncle was a Cheyenne warrior named Roan Bear who was at the battle. Roan Bear told Rowland that the Gray Horse Troop stood its ground at the top of the knoll where the monument now stands, finally releasing their horses because they were hard-pressed and surrounded. [114] [In another footnote, Hardorff confirms this account citing the Minneconjou warrior, Iron Hawk. “Some mistook the stampeding grey horses for a mounted charge by the soldiers.” {114, FN 14}]
22. When Custer’s troops were discovered, word was sent to those fighting Reno. They were told to leave a guard behind and then come to help fight Custer. [114] [This sounds reasonably plausible and hints at a period of elapsed time before a fairly large number of warriors would be leaving the Reno fighting.]
23. The Sioux crossed at the lower crossing and waited in the breaks. [114] [This is obviously until they built up enough strength.]
24. A great deal of whisky was found on the soldiers’ horses. [115]
25. Two Cheyenne warriors near Ford B were the first to fire on the advancing Custer column. [115]
Best wishes,
Fred.
