Every American child should know who
Custer was and why the troopers called upon each other to remember him
on the occasion referred to. It is less than twenty years since he died.
His name should be remembered by civilians as well as soldiers for
almost as many centuries to come.

There are some men who seem to defy and even court death. Custer was one
of these. He was so recklessly brave that he often caused anxiety to his
superior officers. Time and again he led a handful of men apparently
into the jaws of death and brought them out safely, after having
practically annihilated the foe. As the pitcher which is carried safely
to the well ninety-nine times sometimes gets broken at the hundredth
attempt, so was it with General Custer. In June, 1876, his detachment
was outnumbered twenty to one at a little ford near Crazy Horse Creek,
in Dakota, and his entire command was wiped out. An adopted son of
"Sitting Bull," the famous Indian, states that he saw Custer die, adding
that he twice witnessed the hero lying on his back fighting his foes.
The third time he saw him a blanket was drawn over the hero, who was
apparently dead.

On another page is given an admirable illustration of the camp and ford,
as well as of the monument erected in Custer's memory, with typical
Indian camp scene. This picture is from photographs taken specially for
Mr. Charles S. Fee, General Passenger Agent of the Northern Pacific
Railroad, whose tracks run close by this scene of such sad history.

A volume could be devoted to the life of Custer, the adventures he
encountered, and the risks he ran in the course of his eventful and
useful career. His works and his memoirs bristle with information
concerning the actual truths of border life and Indian warfare, bereft
of romance and exaggeration. Like almost all Indian fighters, Custer
entertained a supreme contempt for the red man generally, although his
naturally kind disposition led him to give credit to individual red men
for bravery, gratitude, and other characteristics generally believed to
be inconsistent with their character and nationality.

Besides being a gallant fighter, Custer was also a great lover of
recreation and fun, while a genuine hunting expedition drew him out from
his almost habitual quiet and made him the natural leader of the party.
Among his friends was William Cody, better known to the amusement loving
world as Buffalo Bill, on account of his alleged excessive prowess in
th