Absolutely worth the effort. It gives you the visual far better than any book of course. And while there think about all that happened up until the “battle” later in the afternoon.

Custer had his troop up and moving by 0330 that day which was noted by all to be the hottest day any could remember. They pushed a LOT of miles in uneven country. That day and the previous days hard pushes down the Rosebud to get there had both man and beast worn, to say the least.

It was not Custers finest day of course but General Crook should have been there and in full support instead of playing around fishing and hunting down on goose creek near Sheridan. He’d been lounging there since loosing a handful of men north of his location nearer the Bighorn site a week earlier at the battle of the Rosebud. He had an entirety of over 1400 personnel. How he never faced the fire for not being at the Bighorn battle per orders is beyond understanding.

To Gooses remark, leaving the battlefield going east on 212 you go thru the Crow, then the Northern Cheyenne reservations. Go thru the roundabout on the highway in Lame Dear towards evening and you can see how government handouts have devastated a once proud people in vivid detail.

Osky

Stopped on my way out for a pronghorn hunt. It is a solemn eerie place knowing what happened there.

Yes

Put me in your will for it...if you will

It's not actually belted, but it does have a slight crimp near the base. Here's a couple more pictures.
Scott, I should have said, I assume it's 45/70.

Waggler have you seen the recent special of how they are tracking the guns by the location of bullets found? Crazy how they can tell you the totally different areas specific rifles were used.

In this entire topic discussion, which is always interesting, I find it sad no one appears to chase the information untold. There are elders on both the Crow and Cheyenne reservations who are still alive who could have heard the native version in their youth from people who were actually there and more likely said more to their own people.

Granted time shades memory but if even 10% of what they recall being told them is correct, there would be some very interesting things learned. I believe many interviews taken from first hand participants who soon after the battle were defeated and subjugated were sadly slanted.

Osky

Crazy horse is a good read, also Showdown battle of the Little Bighorn. After taking my kids there I had to know more. The place just gives you a feeling something important happened there. Last time I went by was during Covid so my wife has not seen it. I guess it would be too dangerous to walk outside. Really like for her to see it.

wws

I’ve been there probably 10-12 times always something new to learn was fortunate enough to spend time with some Crow tribal members working on power line row renewals around Lodge Grass,Ft Smith and on over the Pryor Mts. Their oral history is fascinating and they don’t share with very many people different buffalo jump sites,vison quest locations etc some really good people there Sad what alcohol and drugs are doing to too many of them though

I've done some reading. I could go on and on but the long and short of it is...

Sitting Bull was fighting the white man. He went off to have a vision. After steaming in a sauna and torturing himself with 50 pieces of flesh taken from each arm for vision he started dancing and didn't stop for 36 hours. At which point he had a vision. There would be a great fight and all the white soldiers would fall from their horses. When he spoke of his vision the next day he told everyone there was going to be a great fight and that if soldiers died that the Indians were not allowed to take the soldiers possessions. Then he broke camp and they headed to a pow wow. The pow wow was the largest group of Indians anyone alive could remember assembling. Somewhere in the range of 8,000 Indians. Camp went for like four miles along a river. Teepees everywhere.
There were like seven different distinct bands (sitting bulls being one) at this pow wow. He was the older respected chief and had the command and respect of everyone. Anyway they were meeting to discuss the white man and their future. It just so happened that Custer aka long hair aka yellow hair had been tracking Sitting Bull and was following his crew. When Custer got there his Indian scouts said that smoke is where Sitting Bull was. They called him like the great father or something I forget the name. Anyway the US Army had ordered all the Indians to be killed and Custer was seeking and destroying the enemy. His scouts told him there were more Indians there than he had bullets. He ignored them due to him believing he had superior fighting tactics. He sent three groups of men in three directions. They wanted to fight the battle on three fronts b/c he had success doing that before b/c it caused so much confusion. A group went left, a group stayed head on, and I believe it was Custer that was going to go around to the far right. When the soldiers were riding up the Indians rode out to meet them showing them it was a peaceful gathering and they started shooting Indians. Sitting bull would have been in charge but he was exhausted from his self mutilation and the sun dance he endured. Of the seven groups of Indians they all had warriors and chiefs of there own. Once the white soldiers started shooting the 8,000 strong Indian force lost their temper. An Indian in the Teepee said the battle began when the sun was at one side of the vent hole of his teepee and when the battle was over the sun had just made it across the hole to the other side. That's how long it took. The army had ordered to kill the Indians due to finding gold in the Black Hills and they had just signed the treaty of Laromie. That treaty clearly said no white man was allowed there. When they discovered gold there it was just in the roots of the grass and you just picked it up off the ground. Anyway, that's why the showed up there and how it shook out. I didn't know a lot of that and thought it was interesting.

Oh so the Indians then took all the possessions of the soldiers and didn't listen to sitting bulls vision from before he got there. Once Custer was defeated the Army went into all out war. The Indians scattered and ultimately lost all of their land and etc. There are some that believe that happened b/c the Indians deserve it due to taking the soldiers items and not respecting the vision. There are people now that believe that they will not get their lands back until all of those things are returned. I thought that was interesting too.

Its not hard to figure out which side gave that version.You can shoot as many holes in this story as people do in the troopers version.

Hello waggler,

Thanks for the additional photo's of the cartridge case.
That clears things up.
Interesting case head.

Doug
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