American West: 1861-76

Lesson 6: The Battle of Washita

Custer Finds the Indian Village

George Armstrong Custer

Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, with two Osage scouts, silently advanced to the crest of a hill. From there they observed the indistinct form of a large group of animals in the valley below. Custer admits in My Life on the Plains that he could not determine what kind of animals they were. His scouts assured him they were the Indians’ pony herd.

One of the scouts heard the sound of a dog barking from somewhere below. He informed Custer that they had found the village. When Custer asked how he could be certain it was a village rather than a war party he was told that Indians did not bring their dogs along on war parties.

Throughout Custer's military career, and seemingly ever since his death, this man’s good and bad points have been discussed, argued, and sometimes fought over. The man may have done things that were not in is own best interest, such as deserting to visit his wife and shooting deserters, but it has to be admitted that Custer had no hesitation in listening to the advice of his scouts, Indian or white. Western history is filled with devastating tales of Army officers, usually the fresh young ones not long out of the Military Academy, who refused to take their scouts’ advise, and did not live to tell about it. Custer may have left West Point at the bottom of his class but, at least in this instance if not one time later, he paid heed to what he was told.

Soon, on the still crisp air, Custer also heard a dog bark. It was followed by the faint tinkling of a bell that probably hung from the neck of the leading pony of the herd.

Custer does not say what he felt at the next sound that reached them. Knowing that his army was about to attack homes where women and children lived, it is hoped that the wee faint cry of a baby caused this military man to pause for a moment in reflection of what the next several hours would bring — death and destruction. Or was he thinking of the white woman and her two-year-old son who was known to be held captive in this camp? Perhaps the childish sound he heard was that of a white child.

After Custer’s men had reached him, he informed his officers of their present situation, then preparations for a long cold wait were quietly made. Custer divided his command into four detachments as, throughout the night, his troops silently surrounded the sleeping village.

Just before dawn a light rose against the dark sky. It continued to slowly rise, majestically changing from one color to another. It was the brilliant and beautiful Morning Star, here in the first hours of November 27, 1868. For some watching this most heavenly of miracles at this hour, it would be their last hours.

One of the names the Indians hung on Custer was the "Morning Star." The reason is uncertain. The text of the article mentioned below might give a clue.

Venus: Inferno of the Solar System By Jason Wood http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/astr... Nicknamed the "Morning Star" and the "Evening Star", Venus is the second planet from the sun, and the second brightest 'light' in the sky. It routinly appears for a couple of hours after sunset and a few hours before sunrise. A more appropriate title would be "Hell" to describe Venus. It is by far the hottest planet in the solar system reaching temperatures as high as 500 degrees Celsius (932 degrees F).

Source for this section is:

Custer, George Armstrong. My Life on the Plains. Leisure Books, New York, NY.

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