Post by blaque on Jul 17, 2006 8:23:38 GMT -6
George,
Varnum told Camp on 1909 that he was able to see two Indian lodges along Reno creek from the Crow’s Nest (Hammer, Ci76, p. 60). And Gerard, when questioned by Libby about his observations from the Crow’s Nest, told that 'the camp we had found was the smaller camp –the larger camp was downstream farther– and was on the way to the larger camp, and this led us all to believe that the Indians were stampeded (Arikara Narrative, p. 171). Private Pickard wrote in his recollections that ‘scouts were sent to locate the village […] and reported they had located the Indian village on Greasy Grass creek [Reno creek] 5 miles away. Arrangements were at once perfected to attack the village… When we came in sight of the village we found it had been deserted hastily, as the camp fire embers were still burning’. Then we have a curious story reproduced in Graham’s Custer Myth, taken from the New York Herald of August 1, 1876. For Graham it is a typical example of the absurd tales circulating after the battle –in this case, the story of the treacherous scout who led Custer to an ambush. But we know that behind most legends and myths there is bit of truth, and this may be the case. The Herald quotes the letter dated July 15 by a sargent in the 6th Infantry, which reads: ‘They also say that the night before the fight this Cross [scout Billy Cross] was sent out to scout and reconnoitre and was gone ten or eleven hours; that he returned in the morning and informed General Custer that the village was a small one and he would encounter but very little difficulty in obtaining an easy victory. Custer… mounted his command and gave the command forward. The command came in sight of the village within an hour and a half and he gave the order to charge it, which was gallantly done, but no resistance was met with until they arrived at the other side of the village location…’ Then follows the fantastic tale of the Indian ambush, but the preliminaries of the story seems to corroborate what Varnum, Gerard, Pickard (also Private Donoughue and others) told about the LT episode. Sklenar’s hypothesis has some foundation.
Varnum told Camp on 1909 that he was able to see two Indian lodges along Reno creek from the Crow’s Nest (Hammer, Ci76, p. 60). And Gerard, when questioned by Libby about his observations from the Crow’s Nest, told that 'the camp we had found was the smaller camp –the larger camp was downstream farther– and was on the way to the larger camp, and this led us all to believe that the Indians were stampeded (Arikara Narrative, p. 171). Private Pickard wrote in his recollections that ‘scouts were sent to locate the village […] and reported they had located the Indian village on Greasy Grass creek [Reno creek] 5 miles away. Arrangements were at once perfected to attack the village… When we came in sight of the village we found it had been deserted hastily, as the camp fire embers were still burning’. Then we have a curious story reproduced in Graham’s Custer Myth, taken from the New York Herald of August 1, 1876. For Graham it is a typical example of the absurd tales circulating after the battle –in this case, the story of the treacherous scout who led Custer to an ambush. But we know that behind most legends and myths there is bit of truth, and this may be the case. The Herald quotes the letter dated July 15 by a sargent in the 6th Infantry, which reads: ‘They also say that the night before the fight this Cross [scout Billy Cross] was sent out to scout and reconnoitre and was gone ten or eleven hours; that he returned in the morning and informed General Custer that the village was a small one and he would encounter but very little difficulty in obtaining an easy victory. Custer… mounted his command and gave the command forward. The command came in sight of the village within an hour and a half and he gave the order to charge it, which was gallantly done, but no resistance was met with until they arrived at the other side of the village location…’ Then follows the fantastic tale of the Indian ambush, but the preliminaries of the story seems to corroborate what Varnum, Gerard, Pickard (also Private Donoughue and others) told about the LT episode. Sklenar’s hypothesis has some foundation.