he red man remembers the brave paleface as well as the warrior of his own race and color.
The wild charge of Custer and his men and their utter defeat will be often told and retold in the wigwams of the tribes who fought him.
The Indians claim that the strange plant that is now found on the Custer battle ground has been created by some spirit which knew of the mighty courage of the white brave with yellow hair.
This plant is called Custer’s Heart. It has long, slender leaves curved exactly like a saber; the edges of these leaves are so sharp that they cut the hand that attempts to tear them from the plant.
If you touch the plant you will feel a chill, for each leaf is cold. The blossoms come in the hot summer days. The flowers are heart-shaped and yellow as gold, with a center of scarlet that looks like a drop of blood.
But whoever plucks the flower must hold it gently, for if it should be crushed, the scarlet stain, the Indians claim, could never be washed away. [[271]]
It may be that this flower is known only in the dreams of Indian braves, but the new legend shows how the memory of the brave general lives in the hearts of his red enemies. It shows that it is always in the heart of man to admire the brave deeds of another, even though the hero is an enemy.
This story tells us also that there are those among the red men who, while they may be dressed in paint, buckskin, and blankets, have thoughts like those expressed by the white man’s poets. [[272]]