Detachment Delta (23 page)

“White Bull and a Cheyenne were side by side in a ravine by the hill, shooting at the ten soldiers there, and the troopers finally got up and charged White Bull's position. White Bull shot one of the two leaders of the charge, who was already severely wounded, and the Cheyenne shot the other. The other eight kept charging, which forced White Bull and the Cheyenne up over the edge of that ravine. But up above, White Bull stumbled and fell down. He had been hit by a ricocheting bullet, which numbed his leg and made it swell, but never broke the skin.

“The attack went on, with soldiers trying to mount up and break away. So terrorized were the troopers that, near the end of the battle, some of the soldiers started to shoot at each other. Finally, there were only four left in that group, and they all mounted up and made a mad dash for freedom. Three were overtaken easily and killed, but the fourth, Lieutenant Harrington of C Company, had a fast-moving horse. He outran the pursuing Cheyenne and made his way to and along the river right down there, running that way.

“They chased him for a distance and finally caught up with him. Instead of killing him, however, they rode up alongside and lashed his horse's rump with their quirts and bows. Several times they fired at him but missed. Finally, Harrington pulled out his gun. Instead of shooting at them, he stuck the barrel beneath his chin and pulled the trigger.

“The last survivors of Custer's command were from C and F Companies, and they tried to make their stand on the hillside there where you see the headstones. There they were to be cut down by long-range fire, their bodies falling onto those of their own dead buddies as they died off one by one.

“The very last one to go down was Sergeant Butler of L Company. He had been severely wounded earlier in the fight, but now stood up to face the thousands of warriors and fire in every direction, apparently wanting to die fighting. A number of warriors, genuinely respectful of this brave pony soldier, rushed forward, eager to count coup on an enemy so worthy. He repelled every attack with well-placed shots, and many warriors gathered around to watch, marveling at his courage. Several warriors mounted up, and had just started to make a charge when the sergeant was struck down by a long-range shot into his chest.

“In the great battle's aftermath, old men and young boys who'd only watched the fight rode down and killed off the soldiers who were critically wounded but still alive. Women came out from the encampment to strip and mutilate bodies, while warriors and young boys took scalps.

“As the final troopers died, Captain Myles Keogh seemed to rise from the dead. Braves were going from soldier to soldier shooting the troopers in the foreheads with their own pistols. As they approached the body of Captain Keogh, he suddenly sat up and leaned on one elbow. He was dazed and disoriented.

“Now, pistol in hand, the captain looked around wildly from Indian to Indian. A Lakota warrior finally ran forward, yanked the pistol from the commander's hand, and shot Keogh in the forehead with it. A number of Cheyennes then ran forward and stabbed and clubbed the captain's body over and over again. According to all the Indians who were there, he was the very last man of Custer's command seen alive. His horse, Comanche, was the only part of Custer's command that lived, aside from Curly and some of the other Crow scouts who left earlier.

“Rain-in-the-Face had sworn an oath against Custer's brother. He found the body of Captain Tom Custer over there and, true to his vow to someday cut out the Medal of Honor recipient's heart and eat it, he knelt down and cut the man's heart out of his chest. While others watched, Rain-in-the-Face mounted up and rode down to the camp, presumably to eat the heart.

“Many of the warriors now remembered Reno's command, which was still fortifying its position on a bluff farther down the river, around that bend. We'll drive over there in a minute. They left for that location. Others, battle-weary, returned to the camp, while still others remained on the battlefield, collecting ‘trophies.' Custer's body was not touched or mutilated, for he had committed suicide and thereby dishonored himself.

“The only comment my several times great-grandfather Sitting Bull later would make about the devastating defeat his forces exacted on the 7th Cavalry was, ‘They compelled us to fight them.'

“Now he went out to meet with his people and count the friendly casualties. Altogether, with the Custer and Reno fights, only thirty-two warriors had been killed. The families of the thirty-two slain warriors met together to mourn, and Sitting Bull joined them.

“He spoke solemnly. ‘My heart is sad for our fallen warriors—and for those white soldiers who fell before us. This night, we shall mourn alike for our own dead and for those brave white men lying up there.'

“I am very proud to be a Sioux and proud of my ancestor's words and attitude towards the white soldiers he fought against. I am extremely proud to be an American fighting man.”

Fila, totally moved, walked over and kissed Charlie passionately, not caring that her smiling parents and his mom were watching. She stepped back and stared up into his dark eyes.

Dave said, “Wow! What a day!”

They drove on along the ridgeline and Charlie explained about the commands of Benteen and Reno, who were also attacked that day, and some of the interesting things that happened during their fights.

They got out and looked at the groves of trees they hid in, and Charlie explained how they were literally terrorized by the sounds of the Custer battle and then many of the Indians who participated in it.

Charlie said, “Oh, by the way, our people did not even know they killed Custer, who was very hated by the Lakota and Cheyenne, until the battle was over. Where I pointed things out back there, that is called Battle Ridge.

“My great-uncle I told you about, White Bull, unable to walk because of his wounded ankle, and a friend, Bad Soup, rode back to Battle Ridge, so that White Bull could find the leggings and saddle he had stripped from himself and his horse in mid-battle, for speed and freedom of movement. He found them, and had Bad Soup help him re-saddle while he put on his leggings. As he looked at the naked, mutilated corpses, he found one with powder burns at the temple. He remembered that wounded man with a hole in the left side of his chest, who had shot at him twice during the battle. The man had a leather jacket with brass buttons and long fringe, so White Bull took it for himself. After all, the man might not have committed suicide. Perhaps he had been shot in the temple by a warrior dispatching all the soldiers at the end of the battle.

“White Bull reached into the pocket of the jacket and pulled out several locks of long blond hair. He showed them to Bad Soup. They stared at the corpse, realizing now that this was Long Hair Custer.

“Not long after, Monahseetah, a Cheyenne woman, accompanied by her aunt Mahwissa and her little son Yellow Bird, went to Battle Ridge. They went up to one mutilated corpse and saw a brave hacking off the man's finger. The man had not been scalped, because his hair was cut so short.

“Monahseetah screamed, ‘
Ohohyaa!
'

“It meant ‘Creeping Panther,' and was the nickname given this man years ago, by her brother Black Kettle. He had been given the name in a council meeting between the Cheyenne and the
wasicun
, the white man, soldiers. She remembered, too, when this same soldier chief had killed her brother Black Kettle and many of the Southern Cheyenne on the Washita River so many years before. She also remembered when this soldier chief had taken her in his bed, raped her, and planted his seed in her. That seed had become little Yellow Bird, her son, who stood next to her right now.

“Monahseetah bent over the corpse with an awl in her hand and poked the awl into each of his ears.

“She said, ‘So that Long Hair, the Creeping Panther, will hear better in the Spirit Land. He must not have heard our chiefs when they warned him that if he broke his peace promise with them then everywhere Spirit would surely cause him to be killed.' ”

Fila just stared at Charlie and thought about his family history and what a part his family and Charlie himself had played out in the history of her adopted country, which she loved and wanted desperately to raise children in.

Charlie drove back toward Battle Ridge. The entrance and the headquarters building, store, could be seen along the same ridge and down a little lower. He got out and held the door for Fila.

He said to Dave, “Colonel, uh, I mean, Dave, would you mind driving you three to the building down there, get some souvenirs, and ask any questions you have of the Rangers? I need to show Fila something. We will walk down.”

“Sure,” Dave said and walked around to the driver's seat.

Charlie took Fila by the hand and led her toward the top of the ridgeline. They looked out over the massive battlefield area. They sat in the tall grass, and she pulled a little flower out and smelled it.

“This place means much to you, doesn't it?” she asked.

Charlie smiled warmly and looked out across the sweeping grassy valley and down at the long green serpent that wound its way along the base of the ridgeline. It was a serpent of trees, mainly cottonwoods, which had swallowed the Little Big Horn River. Cars drove by and people got out and looked around at the various sites.

Charlie said, “This tells me where I am from and what I am about. I feel a connection with White Bull and Sitting Bull. My great-great-great-grandfather and great-great-great-uncle were both incredible men and tremendous warriors. They respected strength in their enemy, and it was one reason they survived and did so well.

“I brought you here today for a couple of very important reasons. I'll get to the main two in a few minutes, but I want to share a little more about that day. I showed you all where Reno and his men had attacked the camp in the south and got pinned down in the trees. He lost over half his men just getting to the trees.

“My point is that Custer had told him to attack the south end of the village, but after Major Reno left to follow orders, Custer changed his plan without telling Reno, and he rode paralleling this ridge. He was worried that my people would get scared and ride away. The main thing, though, is he left Reno out in the cold, and because he was arrogant he left Captain Benteen and a large store of ammunition behind. Back near where we were parked but down in the trees, Isaiah Dorman was hiding. He had lived with the Lakota for a year or so, and spoke their tongue, so he had gotten a job with the 7th Cavalry as an interpreter. Isaiah was black, and the Sioux called him ‘the black white man.' In the timber, Dorman had been shot through the chest and was dying from the gaping wound.

“An old Hunkpapa woman came out to the battlefield to start collecting battle trophies, and discovered him lying in the woods.

“She pointed an old muzzle-loading rifle at his head, and was about to pull the trigger when he spoke in her tongue, saying, ‘Don't shoot me, Auntie! I'll be dead soon enough anyway!'

“She said, ‘You're a sneaking cur! Why did you bring the soldiers here?' ”

Fila interrupted. “What does ‘cur' mean?”

“I forgot. You speak so well, I forget you are from the Mideast sometimes,” Charlie said, while smiling. “It means ‘dog.'

“Dorman said to her, ‘I only wanted to see this Western country once more before I died.'

“Several Hunkpapa warriors rode up to strip his body and count coup. Dorman asked them not to, to let him die in peace.

“Sitting Bull himself then rode up and recognized Dorman from his times with the Sioux.

“Sitting Bull said, ‘Don't kill that man! He is
On Azinpi
. He used to be a friend of our people.'

“ ‘Sitting Bull,' ” Dorman said weakly. ‘It is good to see you, old friend. Can I have water?'

“Sitting Bull dismounted from his pony, and pulled from his parfleche his own polished buffalo horn drinking cup, and got Dorman water from the stream. Isaiah Dorman drank from Sitting Bull's drinking horn while the chief of all the Lakota held him up.”

Again, Fila interrupted. “I am sorry, but what is a ‘parfleche'?”

“Oh, sorry,” Charlie replied. “It is a leather pouch. Kind of like a daypack.”

“Oh.”

He went on. “Dorman looked around at the beautiful country and up into Sitting Bull's eyes, saying, ‘Sitting Bull, this is a good day to die.'

“That is a saying my people had when they were going into battle or facing danger.

“Sitting Bull said, ‘This is a good day to die.'

“Isaiah Dorman died. Sitting Bull mounted up on his black horse and headed back, telling the camp police to round up villagers and return them to their lodges.

“The chief knew, however, that this had to be a diversionary attack, and the main attack would still be coming. He told everyone to be on the alert for more attacks.

“Sitting Bull ran into my great-uncle One Bull, who was in on the Reno fight, too, and he was covered with blood. Great-Grandpa told him to get his wounds treated. One Bull replied proudly that he was wearing the blood of others and had no wounds at all. Relieved, Sitting Bull ordered him to go back and protect the encampment. One Bull set off for the area around Medicine Tail Coulee, where I showed you guys Custer crossed trying to attack the camp. Or actually tried to cross but was shot off his big chestnut thoroughbred, Vic. He had another like it, named Dandy.

“Custer had come back out onto the ridgeline, and watched Reno's attack until the battalion had to pull back in the timber. Custer got down off his horse and knelt in front of the column and prayed. He then made some hero speeches to his scouts and troopers. Next, he got his scouts and led the column along the ridgeline. He kept looking across the valley at the encampment, but it was mostly obscured by cottonwoods and little ridges.