NFL Quiz: Name the Top 5 all-time receivers, receptions.
Answer below.
The Indians Revenge
As we resume our story of the truth behind Little Big Horn, it”s
now June 1876 and Custer”s 7th Cavalry is on the move, heading
towards the Black Hills in search of Sitting Bull”s village.
On June 24, Custer”s men found a deserted encampment where
Sitting Bull had his premonition of white men falling. Custer”s
Indian scouts recognized that there was bad medicine in these
parts.
On the morning of June 25, Custer”s scout pointed out a distant
camp, some 15 miles away over the Little Bighorn Valley.
Custer couldn”t see what they saw, but he believed them.
[Neither the scouts nor Custer had any idea on the size of the
camp, however.]
As they got closer to the village, several parties of Indians were
glimpsed on the hillocks. The soldiers had been discovered.
Custer had to change his plan.
Rather than rest and attack the next day, the preferred operation,
Custer decided to advance and fight in one sweeping movement.
But without good information beforehand, the battle could unfold
only as it was received.
Advancing, Custer split his forces, sending Captain Benteen and
Major Reno in opposite directions. Benteen”s primary
responsibility was to operate in the rear and protect the supply
train. Reno was to take his 175 men and attack the south end of
the Indian camp.
Reno attacked first and, while the Indians were surprised, they
reacted quickly and with force. Neither Reno nor Custer yet
realized that thousands of Indians were in the camp, a far greater
number than they had originally planned on confronting. [The
exact number of warriors is unknown as whole families were
there. The best guess is about 2,000.]
Reno was quickly repelled and forced to retreat. He had lost 40
killed with 29 wounded. The Indians were thus able to quickly
turn their attention to the force up on the hill.
Custer had observed Reno”s troops in battle from a ridge
overlooking the camp. He then decided to lead his men down the
ravine to battle, while at the same time sending word back to
Captain Benteen to hasten forward. [When word reached
Benteen, to say he was slow in reacting is an understatement.]
The primarily Sioux warriors (there were Arapaho and Cheyenne
in the Indian camp as well) then went to meet Custer. Kill Eagle,
a Blackfoot Sioux chief, later said that the movement of Indians
toward Custer”s column was “like a hurricane.like bees
swarming out of a hive.” Sitting Bull was watching from across
the valley.
The Indians first massive charge caused Custer”s men to become
confused. One Indian woman commented, “The Indians acted
just like they were driving buffalo to a good place where they
could be easily slaughtered.”
And the soldiers “acted just like a herd of buffalo shattered into
panicked bunches by a force of yipping, shooting Indian hunters.
Like buffalo, the soldiers fell by the dozen and then by the score.
Rolling northward, the battle spun out clusters of smaller battles
that flashed in the rear.” [Robert Utley]
The soldiers dismounted when the Indians surrounded them.
Recounted one Indian, “They tried to hold on to their horses, but
as we pressed closer they let go. We crowded them toward our
main camp and killed them all. They kept in order and fought
like brave warriors as long as they had a man left.”
Ahh, not exactly. The largest group of Custer”s force retreated to
the hilltop where about 100 made their “last stand.” Then 40
suddenly broke for the river. They were pounced on and wiped
out.
Red Horse commented, “(Towards the end of the fighting), the
soldiers became foolish, many throwing away their guns and
raising their hands, saying, ”Sioux, pity us; take us prisoner.””
Then it was over…the whole battle lasted about one hour. All
210 of Custer”s men were dead. As for Long Hair, himself,
many claimed later to have killed him, but there were just as
many who said they never saw Custer.
Sitting Bull recounted one year after Little Big Horn that
Custer”s hair was shorter than it normally was, which may have
led to some confusion. But, brandishing the legend, an Arapaho
warrior said, “He was dressed in buckskin, coats and pants, and
was on his hands and knees. He had been shot through the side,
and there was blood coming from his mouth. He seemed to be
watching the Indians moving around him. Four soldiers were
sitting up around him, but they were all badly wounded.”
Meanwhile, Major Reno, who had retreated, hooked up with
Captain Benteen and his pack train about 4 miles from where
Custer was fighting. They could hear the fire. But rather than go
to Custer”s aid, they formed a defensive perimeter of their own
and waited for the Indians to come to them. The Indians attacked
but not in anywhere near the size of earlier in the day. At night,
both sides rested. Then, on the morning of June 26, the Indians
attacked the soldiers one last time before Sitting Bull told them
to back off. The Great Chief had had a premonition that more
soldiers were coming (they were) and he also wanted some
survivors to spread the word on the Indians great deed. Some
historians say it was a huge mistake for the Indians not to press
the issue further (kind of like McClellan letting Lee slip away
after the Battle of Antietam / Sharpsburg). But another reading
of the facts says that the Indians had expended almost all of their
ammunition and they knew they couldn”t fight the Army with
bows and arrows.
In the end, aside from Custer”s losses of 210, 53 others were
killed (mostly Reno”s men). The Indians lost only about 40.
Little Big Horn was the greatest victory for the Indians against
the U.S. Army. News of the disaster reached the East on July 4th,
the 100th anniversary of America”s independence. Reaction was
swift and the Plains Indians were in for a tough time. They were
soon reduced to six small reservations and their ability to use
force ended with the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, where
146 of them were killed.
Sources: “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” Dee Brown; “A
History of the American People,” Paul Johnson; “The Lance and
the Shield,” Robert Utley
Top 3 songs for the week of 8/26/72: #1 “Brandy (You”re A
Fine Girl)” (Looking Glass) #2 “Alone Again (Naturally)”
(Gilbert O”Sullivan.depressing tune) #3 “Long Cool Woman
(In A Black Dress)” (The Hollies)
NFL Quiz Answer: Jerry Rice, 1206; Andre Reed, 941; Art
Monk, 940; Cris Carter, 924; Steve Largent, 819.
Next Bar Chat, Friday…a look back at the 1968 Summer.
