I was under General Terry at the Yellowstone at the mouth of the Big Horn.
There was a boat at the mouth of the Big Horn. The steamboat had a
pontoon bridge reaching to the shore. The soldiers came off the boat and
joined General Terry’s command. Then General Terry gave the command for
us all to mount and go ahead of the line. Then he selected men from this
line of scouts to send to General Custer as scouts. He mentioned my name
and also called Yellow-Shield, White-Man-Runs-Him, White Swan, Hairy
Moccasin, and Curly out of this line. There were six of us. Then they
gave us orders to go on the steamboat. We sailed down to the mouth of the
Little Rosebud, there we got off the boat. Then our interpreter told us
there was a man in the camp of the army who wanted to see us, and we went
over there. Then we went into General Custer’s tent; we sat on one side
of the tent, and that was a day of great pleasure to me. I saw that
General Custer was a man of about six feet two inches, slim and
well-built, and kind-hearted. He wore long hair. General Custer told us
that he had heard that the Crow Indians were the bravest scouts and the
best horsemen among all the Indians, and that was the reason he asked
General Terry to send us to him. He said he had some Mandan scouts but
they were not going to do any Indian scouting for him, but would remain in
the line and do the cooking for the scouts. Then General Custer told us
he wanted us to find the Sioux trail and follow it until we reached the
Sioux camp and to report to him where they were. He did not want us to
enter into battle with the Sioux, but to come back and tell him the
location of their camp. Then after he had won the battle he would give us
all the Sioux horses we could drive home. Then we scouted in search of
the Sioux. We followed the trail of the Sioux where they had been moving,
and we got to where they had camped on the Little Rosebud. I got to the
place where they had been camping just after their fight with General
Crook at the battle of the Little Rosebud, and they had moved to the
Little Horn. General Custer gave us strict orders when we were scouting
not to mistake the scouts of General Terry and General Crook for the other
Indians, because we might run across them and to be sure we had seen the
Sioux. We were two nights on our way before we came upon the village. It
was located on the plain above where the Custer fight took place, on the
banks of the Little Horn. I was by myself and after I saw the village I
went back and reported to General Custer and he was greatly pleased. I
always tried to obey orders and follow closely my instructions. I
reported to General Custer that it was a pretty big village. Custer said
“That is just what I am looking for; we might just as well enter the
battle.” General Custer told me to go ahead of his column, and keep
ahead, but not to go too far for fear the enemy would capture me, and I
did what he ordered me to do. General Custer marched his troops all night
up to a point about five miles from where I reported to him, and then he
divided his command. Reno followed down the Reno Creek, Custer crossed
the ridge, going over to the Medicine Tail Creek which runs into the
Little Horn. There on the creek General Custer dismounted, and said
prayers to the Heavenly Father. Then he rose and shook hands with me, and
said: “My scout, if we win the battle, you will be one of the noted men of
the Crow Nation.” In a moment or two he turned around again and said to
me: “I have forgotten to tell you, you are not to fight in this battle,
but to go back and save your life.” White-Man-Runs-Him and Hairy Moccasin
and Curly heard what Custer said. The other two were with Reno. We were
in sight of the camp when Custer told us this. Reno had then crossed the
Little Horn with his two Crow scouts and the rest of the Mandans. If we
had been smart enough we would have asked General Custer to give us a
paper as a recommendation, but we did not know anything much in those
days. As we stood looking, we saw Reno take his battle position between
eight and nine o’clock. Custer stood there a little for we expected all
the Crow Creeks, and Terry’s command, to meet us there that day, and make
a battle that day. After he said this Custer started into the battle and
opened fire on the camp. We scouts were up on top of the bluff, and we
fired at the camp. Hairy Moccasin and White-Man-Runs-Him were with him.
Curly I did not see because he carried the last dispatch to Reno.
Although Custer had given us command to do no fighting, it was impossible
for us to stand there on the bluff and see the soldiers fighting and not
do something, so we had to fire. I do not want to make any mistake in
this story, and I have told you the truth. Reno took the battle. There
was so much smoke and dust that I could hardly tell, but Reno was driven
back by the Indians toward the bluff. In all the valley and woods there
was nothing but Indians. Then I did not know which way he went, for I was
fighting my own way. Custer also opened fire just beyond the Medicine
Creek where he had crossed. Soon after Reno opened fire Custer began his
fire. From there I cannot tell you. About four or five o’clock the
packtrain came up and the hard fighting was down there. I went back to
the packtrain and helped fight a while and then I took to the pine hills
away over to the east. When I heard that Custer had been killed I said:
“He is a man to fight the enemy. He loved to fight, but if he fights and
is killed, he will have to be killed.”