Little Big Horn Battlefield, Montana

Departed the Black Hills this morning under beautiful skies and headed into Wyoming and eventually north into Montana on I-90.  Stopped for lunch along the highway looking over the snow-covered mountains to the west now with us.

We stopped again at Little Big Horn National Monument last visited in 1987.  Way back in 1874 President Grant gave the Lakota, Sioux, and Cheyenne tribes most of the Black Hills and a part of eastern Wyoming by Treaty.  When gold was discovered miners arrived by the thousands pushing the Indian tribes out.  Feeling cheated they moved west into Wyoming and southeastern Montana.

When the Bureau of Indian Affairs reported to Washington that Indians had left the reservation, not wanting to be embarrassed politically by the press, reported that only about 700 had headed west.  Along comes Colonel George Armstrong Custer under command of General Terry in the 7^th U.S. Cavalry.  They depart Fort Abraham Lincoln in Dakota Territory to round up the Indians.  On the morning of June 25, 1976 he finds this little group camped along the Little Big Horn River valley covered with thick Cottonwood trees (see the trees at the bottom of the cemetery picture looking east) and the battle was on.

Imagine his surprise to discover that the combined Lakota, Sioux, and Cheyenne nations numbered here approximately 13,000.  It is estimated that 221 US soldiers and less than 100 indians died here.  Of course, had the commissioner of Indian Affairs publically told the truth the War Department would have send a larger force or tried to negotiate with the Indians.  Kind of sounds like our government hasn’t changed much today when confronted with an embarrassing event, does it?

We are in Hayden, MT tonight on a brief stop-over as we will arrive at Yellowstone National Park tomorrow.  We did hear from our friend’s, the Relyea’s, who are in Colorado tonight coming out of Dallas to join us here in Montana.