our
heads, and the soldiers were piled one on top of another, dead, and here
and there an Indian among the soldiers. We were so excited during the
battle that we killed our own Indians. I saw one that had been hit across
the head with a war axe, and others had been hit with arrows. After we
were done, we went back to the camp. After the onslaught I did not see
any soldiers scalped, but I saw the Indians piling up their clothes, and
there was shooting all over the hill, for the Indians were looking for the
wounded soldiers and were shooting them dead. Just as I got back to the
camp I heard that a packtrain was coming from over the hills. I looked
over the hills and saw the Sioux and Cheyennes moving that way. I
remained a little while to look after my wife and children. After I had
located my family I fired off my shells and got a new supply of ammunition
and went toward the packtrain. When I got over there the fighting had
begun. The packtrain had already fortified itself by making
entrenchments. The Indians were on the outside firing into it, and the
soldiers inside were firing at the Indians. During this last fight the
sun was getting low. After it grew dark the firing continued; you would
see the flash of the guns in the entrenchments. The Indians would crawl
up and fire a flock of arrows into the entrenchments and then scatter
away. This kept up all night. I did not stay, but went home. The next
morning I went over there and found that the Indians still had the
packtrain surrounded and the fight was still going on. We kept at long
range and continued our firing. The soldiers were all sharpshooters, and
the moment we put our heads up they fired at us and nearly hit us. The
news went around among all the Indians that they were to stay there, and
that all the soldiers in the entrenchment would be so dry soon that they
would have to get out and we would get them. I cannot quite remember, but
I think it was about noon--we held them until then--when news came from our
camp down on the plain that there was a big bunch of soldiers coming up
the river--General Terry with his men. As soon as we heard this we let the
packtrain go and fled back to our camp. We at once broke camp and fled up
the Little Big Horn, or Greasy Creek, as it is called by the Indians. If
it had not been for General Terry coming up as he did we would have had
that packtrain, for they were all dry--they had had no water for two days.