First stop was Cody Wyoming... and they have an Elks Lodge. I'd stop in daily for a drink between end of day's tour and beginning of group dinners. One day they were serving free biscuits and gravy so I had two dinners. Interesting place. Everyone was smoking at the bar.
The highlight of Cody is the the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, although he's buried in Golden CO. (They really hate that.) Lots of cool stuff like this famous painting of The Last Stand.
...or Sitting Bull's tomahawk...
...or Hoss's (Bonanza) 45 caliber revolver...
Even some original pictographs. You've probably seen these crude paintings on animal hide that Indians would make after a battle, buffalo hunt etc. This is one warrior's memory of The Last Stand.
Speaking of Bonanza, I thought I was pretty well versed in old western movies and TV shows but these Brits buried me. After Doug rattled off so and so and so and so from Wagon Train or High Noon, he explained that growing up in the 50's and 60's in the UK they had BBC 1, BBC2 and an American western channel. That's all they watched. I knew Brits were crazy about our Cowboy and Indian stuff when I signed on with a UK based tour company and glad I did.
Yellowstone National Park's closing due to flooding effected a couple days of the trip. We had two days and nights scheduled there. I'd seen it while relocating RV's to the west coast for Winnebago but felt sorry for my Brit colleagues. Not a word of complaint from them though. They are sooo polite. The next morning Floyd did drive us to the closed gate (I know not why) other than it was a scenic trip.
The Brits took turns standing at this entrance sign and I snapping a picture of each with their phones. Sure was a shame though. First unplanned stop to fill those two days was one of those history parks where they bring historic buildings all together in one place. Old Trail Town.
Jeremiah Johnson
The next day was a trip up to Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area. Beautiful. A hike up to view the Bighorn River which passes through it.
One of the thing that stood out on this trip for me was the wildlife viewing. I've been in the west plenty I think but never saw so much out the window. Maybe because I wasn't watching the road.
Last unrelated stop for the day was what remains of a Japanese-American Internment Camp outside of Cody. I wasn't so sure how my polite Brit colleagues were going to look at me until "Kevin" spoke softly saying..."Don't feel embarrassed Tim. We did the same to Brit Citizens of Italian decent during the war." Isn't history revealing? Kevin and I were pals this week and I enjoyed his company.
Back to Cody for the night, Elks Lodge, dinner with the group. You see the pattern. Meals are a big deal on tours and this company did a great job. Even two drinks were included. Who does that? An exception would have been Peter's steak one night. He raved about it. It looked like the cut you would get with a steak and eggs order at George Webb. The Brits aren't famous for their cuisine I guess. Here's Peter and I at one point on the tour. Another chap I got closer to than the others. Peter rolled his own smokes and a train buff like me so you can see why we got along. When I commented on the Billings railyard we could see from the rooftop bar at the Double Tree, he ran to his room and came back with a book he was traveling with on some historic UK train wreck in the 50's. Gave it to me. Sweet guy. Had never flown in his life until this trip and I appreciated how big of a deal it must have been for him. He was also the one with the cockney accent. Whenever he spoke, even the Brits would respond... "what?"
So FINALLY the battlefields begin. Bob was now "on" for the balance of the trip. His opening comment was...
"We are going to see how two very violent societies who absolutely hated each other interacted on the western plains."
It wouldn't be pretty.
Fort Phil Kearny was one of a series of short lived forts built along the Bozeman Trail in Dakota Territory (Wyoming) in 1866, shortly after the Civil War. Bozeman was another Jerimiah Johnson type guy who cut a few hundred miles out of the trip west and settlers started pouring through Indian treaty land from Ft Laramie to the Montana Territory with Chief Red Cloud's Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho constantly harassing their passage. Harassing in this sense could mean anything from shooting at few rounds over Ma's and Pa's head to rape or being skinned alive. The Period is referred to as Red Cloud's War of 1866-1868.
A very big fort covering 17 acres with 8 foot high stockade walls. Commanding Officer was Col. Henry B. Carrington. He had zero field experience but got the job from a General he carried a briefcase for in Washington during the Civil War. He poorly located the fort with some distance to a water source and hills on all sides. All of Carrington's subordinates were hardened war veterans and hated being under such a novice.
Red Cloud's group would just sit on the hills during the day and watch what was up behind the walls. Every morning a small detail of soldiers would travel up to the summit of the south hill called Pilot Knob (you can see the summit through the gate pictured above) and with a telescope observe the Bozeman Trail. When a wagon train, logging detail or railroad work crew was attacked, the detail would have a flag system to tell the fort of the issue. The Indians never bothered these solders because they too could see the flags and it would tell them the cavalry is coming shortly. Until the Little Bighorn campaign 10 years later, Indians would always hit quick and run so the cavalry rarely arrived in time.
Red Cloud
Two significant battles were fought outside this fort. The Fetterman Massacre and The Wagon Box Fight. First Fetterman.
Captain William J. Fetterman was a "Brevet" (temporary) General in the Civil War. One year after Lee's surrender an army of 1,000,000 was down to 45,000 men. Everyone gets demoted. He was generally unhappy with the way things were going with the Indians pretty much being able to do what they want and when they wanted. He often bragged that he could "ride through the whole Sioux Nation" with one company of cavalry.
Captain William J. Fetterman
Tim being a good student held on to every word as Bob described the ambush that unfolded. Braves were waiting in the dead view area to the right and in ravines to the left and even hiding in the snow with snow covered buffalo hides over them. Literally on the trail. When Crazy Horse and company started riding in a figure eight, that was the signal to attack. 1800 braves. It was over in minutes. Later a brave was asked how long the fight took. He answered saying "about as long as it takes a hungry man to eat a meal."
This monument back near the bus is the approximate spot where they found Fetterman's mutilated body. Speaking of mutilation, Indians were big on ritualistic mutilation to prevent the defeated enemy from coming after them in the Happy Hunting Ground. Not racist. They were doing it to each other for thousands of years. Experts believe Fetterman "saved the last one for himself" on this spot. The alternative to suicide was being captured alive. The worst end as it guaranteed a slow death from torture, again in keeping the vanquished away in the after life. The following day another column went out towards the direction of all the noise and gathered up the remains of the 81. Their report was so savage that it was buried at The War Department for years. Fetterman's bugler wasn't chopped up like the others. He was found intact with his bugle smashed flat from defending himself. It's believed the Sioux thought this guy was pretty special and left him alone.
Funny side story. Bob got in a bit of an exchange with the Park Ranger because he was using the term "massacre" and they don't call it a massacre anymore. Insensitive to the Indian victors. I saw her running towards him, hair on fire and saying..."Ok Mr. Know-it-All". He would make fun of it for the balance of the trip.
The next battle of note near Ft. Kearny was the Wagon Box Fight the following summer. Everyday a logging detachment would head out to a forest about 5 miles from the fort to keep up with the fort's endless need for lumber The wagons had their "box" removed to allow for the lumber to be stacked on the running gear for the trip home. The discarded boxes were arranged to protect members of the detail from the routine Indian harassment. Only one box shown here but a dozen or so would have been arranged in a shoebox shape indicated by the pink posts.
Then off to Sheridan Wyoming for the night. Another great town. Great bars, great urinals at the local American Legion...
and of course....
Another great Elks Lodge
The morning before we headed out, something happened on the tour that was truly amazing. We all know the guy who never has a question during Q&A but only raises his hand to make a statement to show off how much he knows on the subject at hand. This guy topped them all when he asked Doug if he could give a short 15 minute presentation to the group on someone he had researched from the period. Bob said sure, it wasn't 15 minutes and Doug was annoyed...but remember soooo polite these folks are. This guys was always hogging the seat next to Bob on the coach. Another Yank. Aghh!!
Then we headed to the field of operations that resulted in Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer's demise. The United States was in the middle of celebrating our Centennial and Washington was party central. So much in fact that the commander in the west General Sheridan was away from his HQ in St Paul and in DC doing the gala circuit for months. President Grant wanted to "finish this Indian problem once and for all" (although they called it The 1876 Campaign) before the 4th of July so Sheridan sent orders to converge in an area (1000 square miles) where Sioux, Cheyenne and several other tribes were rumored to be gathering in large bands. For some years various bands had been leaving the reservations and going back to the wilderness due to poor treatment, exploitation etc.
Medicine Man Sitting Bull had been trying to get the nomad life-styled Indians to come together in one big camp to defend themselves from the white man, but with little success. Then, suddenly during the previous winter these small bands found the army systematically slaughtering all members of their villages. They started to realize then that the army wasn't trying to round them up to go back to the reservations but actually exterminating them. That got everyone to start thinking the way Sitting Bull was.
The Army's plan was to have three columns converge in this vast area to try and locate the large village. General Alfred Terry's column from Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory from the east. (Custer was in that command) Col. John Gibbons' column from Fort Ellis in Montana Territory to the west (never saw any action) and General George Crook's column, the largest of the three, coming up from Fort Fetterman in Wyoming Territory in the south. Crook had 1000 men in 20 companies. Also 276 Shoshone and Crow scouts. Crows were the natural enemy of the Sioux so happy to help.
Crook would be the first to be attacked by Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne when he made camp at The Rosebud. Rosebud is the name of the river and name of the battle. With the exception of Gettysburg, the army named battles after the nearest river.
The stone ledge in the middle is actually an ancient buffalo jump.
Yellowstone River landing and paddle wheeler HQ
Reno
Indian fighting strategy had always been to split your forces to try and get around and behind the enemy to prevent them from fleeing. Hit and run had been the Indian method forever. This was a significant day in military history because the Indians didn't flee but kept coming. Once Crook realized this it was too late as he already had sent two companies to the right along the river, one with Col. William B. Royal to the left up a hillside and one to the rear in reserve. The battle went on all day, ebbed and flowed. Royal's companies took the most significant casualties in their retreat back to Crook's position. Then, for no apparent reason the Indians must have felt it was a good enough day and headed home. Crazy Horse was here too that day.
Most significantly, after burying his dead, Crook pulled back several miles so his command could "recuperate, play cards and fish" for several days. Basically he was knocked out of the fight. Historians debate why Crook didn't send a messenger to the other two converging commands about this significant change in the Indian's tactics. That proved costly as army tactics at Little Bighorn remained the same.
I took a night off from dinner with the group and three of us enjoyed a Billings Mustangs baseball game. A great ballpark. A great outfield wall. Local airport is on top of that cliff actually. Guy in the middle is Kevin who I spent the most time conversing with on the trip. I spent the night explaining the game to him. Forget the other guys name but one of the other Yanks. From New Glarus WI in fact.
The next morning we started covering Custer's travels into the field of operation. Marching 300 miles for weeks from Bismarck, he met his commander General Terry where the Rosebud River meets the Yellowstone River. Gibbon's column arrived there also. Terry had it pretty good and arrived via a paddle wheeler and made his headquarter aboard it. Custer was ordered to take his infantry and cavalry up the Rosebud River in search of the Indian village, and return back and report when he found it. Villages are always on rivers. Turns out that he eventually disobeys this order and keeps going. Most believe he was obsessed with not letting the Sioux get away as they so often do.
Indians believe they and dogs can smell death. Custer's Crow scouts starting beating their tom-toms and wailing away all night. Custer's men knew what that meant and were on edge. Even Custer cut his long thinning hair very short. Very telling.
On the second day of their march a clear vision of what was ahead presented itself. Here along the Rosebud was the trampled grass of a recent village location. One mile long and 300 yards deep along the riverbank. It's estimated that the roving village had 9000 residents, up to 1500 braves, and 1000 teepees. No one had ever seen this large of an Indian gathering... ever. Tree line below is the riverbank.
The next day Custer's Crow scouts tell him of an vantage point ahead called "The Crow's Nest" where you can see for miles. Custer took a quick ride with the scouts and looking north toward the Little Bighorn River he could see the "earth moving like it was made of worms." This was the mass of ponies in the distance that always accompany an Indian village. Here is where he should have gone back and reported to Terry but convinced he'd been discovered, instead started a march towards the village with his 600 man 7th Cavalry. Maybe he thought "Custer's Luck" would continue for him. The expression refers to he not getting a scratch after 11 horses were shot out from under him during the Civil War.
Conventional tactics remained so several miles out at dawn on June 25th Custer sent Major Marcus A. Reno to the left with 3 companies, Captain Frederick W. Benteen waaaay left with 3 companies and Custer took his remaining five companies toward the village.
Benteen
At approximately 3:00 PM Reno was the first to encounter the mass of 1500 braves from the camp as he arrived at his "blocking the flee" position.
Reno attacked the south end of the village and Indians starting pouring out of these woods at his position like hornets. Think of the shock of expecting Custer to be attacking the opposite side of the camp but to look up on this ridgeline and seeing Custer still looking for a way down to the river. Reno screamed to his favorite Crow scout Bloody Knife "What should we do?" At that moment the Indian's head exploded with its contents thrown all over Reno. Reno then reportedly just lost it. Started yelling crazy orders and took off for nearby high ground yelling..."Run for your lives". It was a rout with over 40 killed.
Reno's command took heavy casualties all during the retreat. Through woods, across the Little Bighorn River, and up a hill to said high ground. Just as he and his battered command reached the hilltop and could form a perimeter to defend, Benteen arrives at the scene having gotten the following scrawled note from Custer. "Benteen, come on, big village, bring packs." The scrawl is in Custer's hand while the neater is Benteen copying it knowing there would be an investigation.
Benteen was supposed to join Custer with the requested packs (extra ammo) but Reno begged Benteen to stay and aid his fight, which he did. Their two commands fought a two day battle from that hilltop. Eventually the Indians dispersed when word arrived that Terry and Gibbons were nearing.
In the very early stages of this Reno/Benteen battle it is believed Custer's five companies were destroyed. Custer did send Yates and two companies down into this wash you see below to locate a route to the river bank and get everyone off the ridge. Yates was immediately attacked and fled towards Last Stand Hill. From Last Stand Hill you can see the grave markers of this flight. I should mention there are grave markers for miles at all locations where men fell. Their remains were eventually re-interned in a formal cemetery near the battlefield eventually becoming Little Bighorn National Cemetery.
Now Custer has given up any chance of getting to the village and was moving fast toward the highest ground...and under significant attack all along the way. Here too you can see grave markers lining the route up the hill towards me and Last Stand Hill.
Photo below is where it all ended for the estimated remaining 41 of Custer's annihilated 5 companies of 210 men. They shot their horses for breastworks and made a stand. I made a brief stop here during the aforementioned RV relocation but this was a full day. Again I had the clear sense of a very hot, bad day for a lot of people.
Custer is the black marker but he's actually now buried at West Point. The 7th Calvary was significantly out gunned. 2:1 in firearms not to mention bow and arrows, tomahawks, clubs and spears. Research estimates that the Indians fired 15 shots for each solider in the field. At this final stand where the fighting was very close-in, slow loading carbines become nothing more than clubs. Sabers would have been very handy but for unknown reasons Custer ordered his men to leave them behind back at the boat landing.
Again, pictographs later painted by braves who participated can tell some of the story. In particular the ritualistic mutilation of the defeated. This one was in the Visitors Center the last time Bob visited but gone today. He asked where it was. Ranger said they are remodeling. Doubt it will ever be seen again.
The photo below will give you a better idea. As I said this was not a rarity but the rule. For sure the vanquished would be stripped, muscles on limbs severed and usually organs removed. This poor guy hit for the cycle and lost his brains, heart and guts. Fortunately for him you would usually loose your blinkie too "and placed upon the body in a most vulgar way" to quote the buried Fetterman report. It appears he was spared.
The final day we returned to the battlefield for the annual reenactment of the battle.
Kind of a corny show but the young Indians who portrayed their ancestors were great horsemen. War paint, bare-back, bare-assed and riding like hell. Here's the guy who finished off Custer. Despite this great Indian victory, the end was near for the plains Indians lifestyle. The village split and traveled in many directions, some actually back to the reservations. Two more significant battles would be fought later that summer. Sitting Bull surrendered within two years with the last of his braves.
The final night we had a "farewell friends" type dinner at a great steakhouse in Billings. I was very happy to land in with the Brit company and getting a different version of history than what the Park Service provides. Really enjoyed all of them. I called Robin mid tour to check in and she said..."You're talking like them."
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