Custer's Last Stand

Last weekend I went to Crow Agency, Montana to watch the re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn. I camped on the original Indian camping ground in the trees by the river from where the hill that Custer and the calvary came riding over in a futile attempt to herd the Indians onto a reservation was clearly visible.

The evening before the re-enactment I got to take a tour of the battle site and surrounding rolling terrain by horseback. It had been a wet spring so the grass and wildflowers were particularly lush this year. Several small isolated thunderstorms blew across the wide Montana horizon sending an occasional strike cloud to ground. Black clouds developed a silver lining and rain shafts were illuminated by the setting sun to the northwest. Later the sunset blazed like a prairie fire as we rode our horses back to the horse camp.

I had never been to a re-enactment before, so I really didn't know what to expect. The re-enactment was basically taken from the Indian perspective. The historical background to the battle was that the US government had signed several different treaties with the Indians living in that area promising that the white settlers would just be passing through and that the Indians could remain living as they had for centuries on what was thought to be worthless land. However, gold was discovered in the Bozeman, MT area as well as the Black Hills of SD so instantly the treaties were ignored as cities sprang up overnight and the calvary was sent in to protect the new settlers. The Indians finally decided to try to defend their land against the onslot right about the time Custer was sent out to round them up onto land that was considered even more worthless than that previously promised. The resultant battle was disastrous for Custer but proved to be enjoyable for the modern day spectator.

The re-enactors were fairly authentic in appearance. Custer really looked like himself. However, it was the Indians who were most impressive. About 100 locals from the Crow Indian reservation played the part of the Indians. Wearing nothing but a loincloth and war paint, they rode their horses bareback without saddles (or jocks/cups!). We're not talking gentle riding, but rather full on galloping over rough terrain and across a river. I still don't know how injury was avoided.

I imagine this re-enactment was more exciting than the typical Civil War re-enactments mostly because everyone was on horses running around at top speed in total chaos. Then there were the scalpings. It was all over pretty quickly - probably just like the massacre that occurred in real life. I also enjoyed the Indian drumming, singing, and dancing. I think that if I was traveling west 150 years ago and heard the otherworldly shrieks, atonal singing, and pulsating drums drifting across the prairie, I might have been encouraged to turn around and go home (or get out my rave whistle and let out a few "whoo-oop, whoo-oops" myself). All in all a good show and an enjoyable weekend.