Custer's Last Fight

Abstract

ON MONDAY, June 26, 1876, New York Herald printed two dispatches from Wyoming Territory filed in Cheyenne day before. One informed readers of Herald that courier who left Goose Creek last Monday with duplicate Herald specials and orders to reach Fetterman Wednesday night has not yet reported and is supposed to have fallen into hands of Indians. The other Cheyenne dispatch meant more than it seemed to say, after occasional manner of press flashes. It read: Seven thousand pounds of gold quartz arrived here yesterday from Deadwood. Because there were miners in Black Hills there were Sioux on warpath in Dakota and Montana. A bit of Army intelligence in Herald that day was to effect that sundry army promotions had resulted in making the dashing cavalry George A. Custer, senior Lieutenant Colonel in that arm of service, and therefore, first on list for promotion. It was not until Thursday, July sixth, that New York Times shocked placid East with news of a disaster to American arms, somewhere in Indian country. The news came by a devious route. Muggins Taylor, a scout with General Gibbon, told someone at Stillwater post, and Stillwater man passed it along to Helena, Montana, Herald. From there it dropped swiftly to Salt Lake City and Salt Lake put it on wire for New York. No matter how crooked route by which it came, news was bad. Custer, the dashing cavalry leader, first now on list for promotion, lieutenant colonel and leader of Seventh Cavalry in campaign against Sioux, had been killed, and seventeen of his officers with him. The dispatch added a touch of disturbing realism by naming Lieutenant son of General Crittenden, among killed. The next day American world learned that news was true, and worse than first belated echo. They knew that tragedy had occurred somewhere in Montana near a river with quaint name of Little Big Horn, a branch of Yellowstone, and that not only Custer and his officers, but all men of five companies of Seventh Cavalry regiment had died on a bare ridge above river with curious name. And that was way that report of Battle of Little Big Horn, Custer's Last Stand, classic act of long drama of Indian's losing war with whites, came to Atlantic seaboard. It was greatest Indian fight-and last. It was as though fate had decreed that Indian should