Part 28 (1/2)

On ency, the Fifth Cavalry was sent out to scout the country between there and the Black Hills We operated along the south fork of the Cheyenne and about the foot of the Black Hills for teeks, and had several s that tierent, and it was plain froeneral understanding a all the redskins thereabout that the time had come to drive the white man from the country

Brevet-General Wesley Merritt, who had lately received his promotion to the colonelcy of the Fifth Cavalry, now took coretted that the command had been taken from General Carr I was fond of hiianization I soon became well acquainted with General Merritt, however, and found hii We soon believed we had driven all the hostile Indians out of that part of the country In fact, ere starting back to Fort Lara the business at hand as finished, when a scout arrived at our camp and reported the massacre of General Custer and his whole force on the Little Big Horn

This massacre occurred June 25, 1876, and its details are known, or ought to be known, by every schoolboy Custer was a brave, dashi+ng, headlong soldier, whose only fault was recklessness

He had been warned many times never to expose a small command to a superior force of Indians, and never to underestieneralshi+p of the Sioux He had unbounded confidence, however, in himself and his men, and I believe that not until he was struck down did he ever doubt that he would be able to cut his way out of the wall of warriors about hilorious and conspicuous victory

The news of the massacre, which was the most terrible that ever overtook a command of our soldiers, was a profound shock to all of us

We knew at once that ould all have work to do, and settled grimly into the preparations for it

Colonel Stanton, ith the Fifth Cavalry on this scout, had been sent to the Red Cloud Agency two days before That night a ht hundred warriors had left the agency to join Sitting Bull on the Little Big Horn Notwithstanding instructions to proceed immediately by way of Fort Fetterman to join Crook, General Merritt took the responsibility of endeavoring to intercept the Cheyennes and thereby perforeneral selected five hundreda forced march back to War Bonnet Creek Our intention was to reach the Indian trail running to the north across this watercourse before the Cheyennes could get there We arrived the next night

At daylight the next , July 17, I proceeded ahead on a scout I found that the Indians had not yet crossed the creek On e party of Indians I got close enough to observe the from the south With this information I hurried back to report

The cavalrymen were ordered to ht, while General Merritt, accompanied by two or three aides andhill

Fro al, fifteen or twenty of them wheeled and dashed off to the west, froht before

Searching the country to see what it hich had caused this unexpectedus on the trail Obviously they were bearing dispatches from the command of General Merritt

It was clear that the Indians who had left theirthese two reatly feared that they would accomplish this purpose How to aid them was a problem If soldiers were sent to their assistance, the Indians would observe the rescuers, and co in wait for them This of course would turn them back, and the object of our expedition would be defeated

The coestions

”General,” I replied, ”why not wait until the scouts get a little nearer? When they are about to charge on the two men, I will take fifteen soldiers, dash down and cut the back to report, and the others will fall into our trap”

The general at once saw the possibilities of the scheo ahead,” he said

I at once rushed back to the command and jumped on my horse

With fifteen of the best men I could pick in a hurry I returned to the point of observation I placed myself and ive ently studying the country before hiht the Indians were as close to the unsuspecting scouts as was safe, he sang out:

”Go on now, Cody, and be quick about it They are going to charge on the couriers”

The two soldiers were notready to swoop doere a hundred yards further on

We tore over the bluffs and advanced at a gallop They saw us and gave battle A running fight lasted for severalwhich we drove them back a fairly safe distance and killed three of their number

The ht, and the men who escaped from us rode back toward it The main force halted when its leaders beheld the skirmish, and seemed for a time at a loss as to as best to do

We turned toward General Merritt, and e hadsuddenly turned toward us and another lively skirmish took place