The Last Link to the Little Bighorn
From sharing the stories of the Custer battle to fighting in WWII, Joe Medicine Crow is a national treasure.
By: Mark Boardman 11/03/2009
He is the one living connection to the Battle of the Little Bighorn, or Custer’s Last Stand if you prefer. He’s an old man now, 96 on October 27. His hearing is bad, his eyes are weak and he’s been sick a fair amount in the past year.
But Joe Medicine Crow’s mind is clear and his voice is strong as he tells the stories of that hot and dry day—June 25, 1876—when a large force of Indians destroyed the U.S. 7th Cavalry in southeastern Montana. Medicine Crow heard the stories from the men who were there, both Custer foes and allies.
Voices of the Elders
Medicine Crow’s mind retreats to 1920, when he was six or seven and living near Lodge Grass, Montana, about five miles from the battlefield. In the fall and spring, the old men gathered in the sweat lodges to purify their bodies and minds, to reminisce about the past and mourn for its loss.
Usually, they recounted their bravery in battle. As you might expect, the Little Bighorn was a favorite subject.
One of those men was his grandmother’s stepbrother (stay with us here), who by Crow tradition is also considered his grandfather. White Man Runs Him, born around 1858, was one of Custer’s scouts on the ill-fated mission. He took the boy Joe to the lodges to hear the tales.
The elders said the problems began before the fighting started. “White Man Runs Him insisted that Custer’s soldiers had been drinking that day,” Medicine Crow remembers. The men of the 7th weren’t ready for a tough fight.
Then the scouts went to a high point of rocks to spy on the Indian encampment—and realized that they faced several thousand warriors (just how many is still unclear). Custer didn’t really believe them, and he certainly wasn’t fazed; his only concern was that the Indian force might escape before he could get to them.
“Custer did not take the advice of his Crow scouts, who told him to wait for reinforcements before attacking the Sioux and Cheyenne camp,” Medicine Crow says. “Instead, he divided his force of 700 soldiers into three parts and attacked right away.” The scouts knew what awaited; they began changing from army uniforms into their native clothing and singing their death songs. Custer asked an interpreter to explain the Indians’ actions. When he was told, Custer accused them of being cowards and sent them away. That saved their lives.
The last White Man Runs Him saw of Custer and his detail, they were charging toward the Little Bighorn River, heading for the huge Indian village—estimates range from several hundred lodges to a couple thousand—and the stuff of legend.
At that point, White Man Runs Him said, “we went back along the ridge and found [Maj. Marcus] Reno’s men entrenched there. We stayed there all afternoon,” fighting off the Indians. When darkness fell, the scout made his way through enemy lines and found troops coming to support Custer.
It was a story that Joe Medicine Crow would hear many times.
Post A Comment