“A story is going the rounds about Royall that does us all good, even in that dismal weather. A day or two before, so it was told, Royall ordered one of his battalion commanders to ‘put that battalion in camp on the other side of the river, facing east.’ A prominent and well-known characteristic of the subordinate officer referred to was a tendency to split hairs, discuss orders, and, in fine, to make trouble where there was a ghost of a chance of so doing unpunished. Presently the colonel saw that his instructions were not being carried out, and, not being in a mood for indirect action, he put spurs to his horse, dashed through the stream, and reined up alongside the victim with:
“’Didn’t I order you, sir, to put your battalion in camp along the river, facing east?’
“’Yes, sir; but this ain’t a river. It’s only a creek.’
“’Creek be d—d, sir! It’s a river—a river from this time forth, by order, sir. Now do as I tell you!’
“There was no further delay.”
[58]. “Crazy Horse was the personification of savage ferocity; though comparatively a young man, he was of a most restless and adventurous disposition, and had arrived at great renown among the warriors, even before he was twenty-six years of age. In fact, he had become the war chief of the southern Sioux and the recognized leader of the hostile Oglalas.”—“Personal Recollections of General Nelson A. Miles, U. S. A.”
[59]. One bullet smashed the pipe of a small camp stove in Captain Mills’ tent. When the Eastern papers learned the interesting fact that Mills’ stovepipe had been smashed, that gallant officer was severely censured, and much ridicule was heaped upon him, under the impression that he wore a “stovepipe” hat in action. By the way, when Captain Broke, of the British frigate Shannon, boarded the American frigate Chesapeake, Captain Lawrence, in the War of 1812, he wore just such a hat!
[60]. “Frank Gruard, a native of the Sandwich Islands, was for some years a mail rider in northern Montana, and was there captured by the forces of ‘Crazy Horse’; his dark skin and general appearance gave his captors the impression that Frank was a native Indian, whom they had recaptured from the whites; consequently, they did not kill him, but kept him a prisoner until he could recover what they believed to be his native tongue—the Sioux. Frank remained several years in the household of the great chief ‘Crazy Horse,’ whom he knew very well, as well as his medicine man, the since renowned ‘Sitting Bull.’ Gruard was one of the most remarkable woodsmen I have ever met; no Indian could surpass him in his intimate acquaintance with all that pertained to the topography, animal life, and other particulars of the great region between the head of the Piney, the first affluent of the Powder on the west, up to and beyond the Yellowstone on the north; no question could be asked him that he could not answer at once and correctly. His bravery and fidelity were never questioned; he never flinched under fire, and never growled at privation.”—“On the Border with Crook,” Captain John G. Bourke.
[61]. So called from the quantity of wild roses which grew along its banks in season.
[62]. For a sketch of General Henry and an account of his experiences in this battle and elsewhere, see the last chapter of this book.