[94]. Rain-in-the-Face afterward drew a picture or map of the battle of the Little Big Horn, on the back of a handsome buckskin hunting-shirt. A cut of this picture appears on the following page. It is believed to be the only map of the battle drawn by one of the Indian participants therein.—C. T. B.
[95]. Notwithstanding his “white weasel-tail charm,” Rain-in-the-Face was wounded in this battle. A bullet pierced his right leg above the knee. Among the plunder which fell to him after the action was over was a razor taken from the person of some dead soldier. With this razor the wounded man essayed some home-made surgery. First he cut deeply into the front of his leg, but failed to reach the bullet. Then he reached around to the back of his leg and chopped recklessly into the flesh from that quarter. He got the bullet, also several tendons, and narrowly missed cutting the artery and bleeding to death. He was lame and had to walk on crutches all his life thereafter.
—Statement of Mr. Esmonde.
Colonel Godfrey, in his Century article, relates a similar instance of courage and endurance on the part of one of his troopers:
“Among the wounded was Saddler ‘Mike Madden,’ of my troop, whom I promoted to be sergeant on the field for gallantry. Madden was very fond of his grog. His long abstinence had given him a famous thirst. It was necessary to amputate his leg, which was done without administering any anæsthetic; but after the amputation, the surgeon gave him a good stiff drink of brandy. Madden eagerly gulped it down, and his eyes fairly danced as he smacked his lips and said:
“’M-eh, doctor, cut off my other leg.’”—C. T. B.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Two Interesting Affairs
I. The Fight on the War Bonnet
Before entering upon a detailed description of the larger events of the campaign after the Battle of the Rosebud and Little Big Horn, two smaller affairs are worthy of mention. One, though nothing but a skirmish, was of great importance in determining the final result. The other well illustrates something of the adventurous life and perilous duty of a soldier in Indian warfare.
On Saturday, July 15, 1876, the Fifth Cavalry, under General Wesley Merritt, was marching toward Fort Laramie, under orders to join Crook. At noon word was received from the agency that a body of Cheyennes, numbering, perhaps, one thousand warriors, who had heretofore remained quiet on the reservation at the Red Cloud Agency, on the White River, South Dakota—the Pine Ridge Agency—was about to break away and join the Indians in the field. Their minds had been inflamed by the story of Crook’s defeat and the account of the disaster to the Seventh Cavalry. They thought they saw unlimited opportunities for plunder, scalp-taking, and successful fighting—therefore they decided to go on the war-path without delay. There were not troops enough near the agency to prevent this action, which was entirely unsuspected anyway.