Dreams of a Kitten by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Dreams of a Kitten

Page 386

orders upon you which might hamper your action when nearly in

contact with the enemy.” That was all the ambitious, headstrong

Custer needed to hear. It triggered the inevitable chain of

events that led to his death.

Counting 35 Indian scouts and civilians, Custer led 12

companies, 680 men, seemingly a substantial strike force. But by

the time he headed out from Fort Abraham Lincoln on June 22, the

number of Indians camped along the Little Bighorn had swelled to

7,000. Between 1,000 and 1,500 of these were warriors. Custer’s

scouts found numerous trails leading to the Little Bighorn, and

soon discovered the massive encampment that now held seven

different Indian bands in a straight line stretching almost

three miles. Even then, Custer did not seem to understand how

many armed warriors he was facing.

On June 25, as the main cavalry body drew closer, Custer feared

that his force had been detected, and instead of waiting for a

surprise assault at dawn, he decided to attack that afternoon.

Although his scouts continued to offer strong warnings, Custer

discounted their advice. Lieutenant Edward Godfrey recalled Ree

scout Bloody Knife saying; “We’ll find enough Sioux to keep us

fighting for two or three days.” But, Godfrey said; “Custer

remarked laughingly that he thought we could get through in one

day.” Lieutenant Charles Varnum overheard Custer’s chief scout,