The firing on the part of the Indians was rather dilatory. I had gotten so far without being hit that I thought I was going to get through safe, but as I was entering the mouth of the ravine, a volley was fired by the Indians who occupied it and over I tumbled shot through the right hand and arm. We kept very close to the underbrush, which lined the bank of the river. A peculiar accident happened to a man lying next to me, sheltered by a cracker box and talking in a cheerful manner about the probabilities of us getting out of our present difficulty, when a ball came crashing through the box hitting him and killing him instantly. Beside him, I saw Sergeant Finkle [Sgt. This is very trying to a cavalry man, for next to himself, he loves his horse, especially on a campaign of this kind. A heavy volley of bullets was the result. Kinging things off is our founder, Peter Thomson. It seemed as if it would be impossible to dislodge them. Some of them were so close to us that their fire was very affective. I knew that there were two with General Custer, but I was not sure whether we had one with us here or not. I asked him if his horse was not played out; he said it was. Detroit Institute of Arts. I peeped over the fallen tree and saw a group of mounted Indians gesticulating, grunting out their words, and pointing towards the advancing cavalry. Our means of defense were very poor. I was anxious to save him and if I did I must act quickly. But now they were beginning to recover themselves. "Sporting Life," July 12, 1972-February 1, 1973. This was the appearance of Custer on the day that he entered his last battle, and just one half hour before the fight commenced between him and the Sioux. No doubt they were coming this way in order to enter the village by the ford. The cavalry dashed into the village where one of the noncommissioned officers halted and struck up the company's guidon alongside of a teepee before he was shot from his horse. In 1986, at age 19, Matt was convicted and sentenced to a year in jail. After I had travelled a considerable distance, I came to a turn in the ravine. He suddenly turned aside from the trail as if he wished to avoid some threatening danger. Marking: [label] Peter Thomson, Philadelphia - New York The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The red devil still kept aiming at me; I was a better target for him now than before. The deep voices of the braves, the howling of the squaws, the shrill piping of the children and the barking of the dogs made night hideous; but they appeared to enjoy it amazingly. I straightened myself up and said, "I will tell you what I will do." After we had climbed nearly half way up the bluff, the Indians commenced to fire at us, but that did not trouble us, because we knew that the Indians when excited were very poor shots; and in our case the bullets went wide of the mark. I jerked it from his grasp and passed it on to the next. But I could not; so I gave a leap which landed me many feet below, and strange to say, I did not lose my balance. While I was wondering what it could be, I saw a small party of Indians, about thirty in number driving a small bunch of ponies and mules, coming toward us. The one that was left stood facing me, still disputing our passage across the river. He died two months later. 5 Jan 2023. I turned around and made my way through the midst of several citizen packers who accompanied us on our expedition. We concluded to seek some sheltered nook to cover ourselves from the extreme heat of the sun, and to wait until the Indians had quieted down for they were beginning to be like a swarm of bees. Suddenly we heard above all other sounds, the call of a bugle. Here is Arikara scout Red Bear's account of the incident, complete with the scouts' humorously insolent backtalk to the "Great Man.". A man, by the name of McVey [Trumpeter David McVeigh], to whom I handed the canteen that he might drink seemed determined to keep it in his possession. Benteen soon joined them and made a short speech. Just then the order was given to retreat and Reno's command began to march slowly to the rear. We did not feel any way alarmed on their account for we felt able to cope with that number. When he was passing us he slightly checked his horse and waved his right hand twice for us to follow him. We finally decided to go down the right bank of the stream and see if we could not get sight of Custer's command, and join our ranks where we were much needed. "Heritage and Horizon: American Painting, 1776-1976," May 5, 1976-June 13, 1976. said he, "Let's move." But alas! [Note: this is an interesting observation -- the first description I know of by a white of the "stationary wheel" technique which allowed the mounted, circling Indian cavalry to (1) maximize the concentration of their firepower, and (2) minimize their exposure to American soldiers's fire. To say that we were astonished would faintly express our feelings. The tunnel was 1.7m (5.7ft) tall and 75cm (29.5in) in width. He later turned himself in to authorities after being diagnosed with cancer in an attempt to take advantage of free medical care he would receive in prison. Or at least that's one plausible way to read the eye-witness record of the battle. He walked a few steps and fell to the ground heedless to the heat of the sun or anything else going on around him. "Ten dollars for a drink," said one. We could in all probability bury our unfortunate comrades who had fallen in battle, but it would be impossible for us to dispose of dead horses and mules. The fire of the Indians seemed to come from three different directions and all exposed places were pretty well riddled. A s you've likely heard, the ocean's health is . He seemed to come to one conclusion, and that was that the 7th Cavalry was going to be whipped. On March 3, 1934, Dillinger escaped from the "escape-proof" (as it was dubbed by local authorities at the time) Crown Point, Indiana county jail, which was guarded by many police officers and national guardsmen. The men only fired where they thought they were going to do execution. One of them was injured during the escape, and while trying to get back into the prison, he got caught in the razor between the fences. So we left our retreat and moved down as far as we could for the cut in the bank. Custer had done so repeatedly on the Seventh Cavalry's approach to the Little Bighorn. We had scarcely got clear of the underbrush before we became aware of the fact that we had run into a hot place. In 2017 he initiated the transition of the program's Environment desk to the Livable Planet desk. The other two brought their guns to their shoulders and aimed at me. Enlisted in the United States Army for 5 years, September 1875. Payet (born 1963) is a French criminal who gained notoriety for his daring prison escapes using helicopters. James Watson, was already dead by the time Thompson told his story), but actually Thompson's story had been circulating among the enlisted men (but not the officers) since 1876. History hardly records a predicament such as we were in. When I returned to him I urged him to take a drink, but he refused to do so saying he was not in need of it. THOMSON, Illinois (KWQC) - Five inmates were captured after escaping from the USP Thomson prison camp last week according to AFGE 4070, the union representing workers at USP Thomson. Peter Thompson at the Little Bighorn Map. This was the 26th day of June, a day long to be remembered by all who took an active part, in fact, a day never to be forgotten. According to White Man Runs Him, they all "went with Custer down a dry gulch to near the river.". When one fell either dead or wounded he was carried from the field; but there remained plenty to take his place; but if a soldier fell there was no one to take his, and if wounded there was no one to bring him water to quench his thirst; if dying, no one to close his eyes. How deceptive are appearances. I made up my mind to climb to the top of the bank and let drive at our painted friend. Had it not been for the watchfulness of our men, they certainly would have got the best o f us. By Peter Thomson. After the disappearance of Custer and his men, I felt that I was in a terrible predicament to be left practically alone in an enemy's country, leading a horse practically useless. Considering that Reno's Arikara scouts had murdered a dozen Sioux squaws at the outset of Reno's attack a half hour before, what Thompson described the Crow scout doing with the tethered squaw isn't impossible at all. He escaped by crawling through a ventilation duct. Suddenly a small band of Indians came up towards us on a jog trot, which made us seek cover. On our part we never expended a cartridge unless we were sure that the body of an Indian was in sight. Sumas, WA 98295 I looked around me and saw what remained of those who had gone down the ravine against such fearful odds. Each man, commencing at the head of the company calls out in turn his number; one, two, three, four, and so these are repeated until the company is all numbered into sets of fours. OK, WHO WAS the Crow scout Thompson and Custer apparenlty caught mid-murder and/or rape? Linebaugh, Ch.1. Box 393 He had his gun in his hand and his eyes fixed on the grove of timber across the river watching for the enemy. "Well," said he, "Who are those ahead of us?" I had lost sight of Watson and thinking that I could make my horse go faster by mounting, I did so. As this duel had been one-sided so far, I determined to try my hand. How were we going to transport our wounded? So I turned around and called to Watson to run for it, and I went after him full speed, but kept my eye on the movement and seeing that they were making preparations to fire at us, I called out, "Stretch yourself, Watson." Although the Indians outnumbered us many times, they lacked the courage and determination of the day previous when they fought Custer; they no doubt had been taught a bitter lesson. He was convicted for a jewelry robbery and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in 1953. The cartridge was very dirty, a nice predicament for a man to be in when at close quarters with an enemy. We finally concluded to enter the village by way of the trail. Here's the sequence: you start with the little hill on the lower Medicine Tail Coulee Trail where his horse played out; then there's the ravine he jumped into; then there's the pilar of rock he climbed to; then there's the badly eroded trail he followed to the river; then there's the flat beside the river where he saw Custer and the Crow scout with a tethered Sioux squaw; then there's the ford at the lower end of the flat where he tried to cross the river; then there's the bend where the river runs hard against the bluffs he tried to climb; then there's the oxbow he hid in; then there's the flat where he saw the Indians in some sort of council; then there are the bluffs he saw Reno's men retreating up, etc. A white man capturing an enemy usually spares his life but if captured by hostile Indians, his days are numbered and he is known of men on earth no more. It was just the way Custer and his mercinary scouts did business. This, for a time, seemed to deter him for he laid down his gun and commenced work at his former occupation. The hill we were climbing seemed very long, so much so to me that I fell down and lay there without any inclination to move again, until Watson called my attention to the head of the column of cavalry which now came into plain view. We determined to ambush them if they attempted to pursue us. Being very thirsty I forgot everything else, and stooping down, began to dip water from the river in my hands and drink. I made my way slowly over the small place in which we huddled together and was very pleased to see some of the men stretching canvas over the wounded and dying. As I went down the ravine, I found it got narrower and deeper, and became more lonesome and naturally more depressing. The firing was growing less every minute, but the Indians still kept up their seemingly tireless circling, making a great cloud of dust. The trail we had followed had been made by buffalo, when going to and from the river. I had made haste to fill the canteens and started on my way to camp bidding Mike Madden to be of good cheer and he made a cheerful reply. This caused me some surprise, as I knew he had lost a great deal of blood which is almost invariably followed by great thirst. At this juncture the dry grass caught on fire threatening the destruction of the village, but the squaws fearless as the braves themselves fought the fire and tore down the teepees which were in danger of burning. I struggled to my feet and staggered after Watson. It was utterly impossible to move our wounded, as we had no means at hand with which we could do so. After completing my inventory, I sat down and began to reflect on my chances for my life, if I remained where I was. Almost instantly my carbine was at my shoulder, aiming at them; but it was empty; while in the ranks or on horseback, I made it a practice to carry it empty. Benteen seemed to be aware of the impending danger, and was forming all the men he possibly could into line at the point where it was expected that the Indians would attack us. I first found a man by the name of Bennett [Pvt. The term was interrupted when Matt, taking advantage of a guard's mistake, slipped out of his cell, scaled a 9-foot brick and metal wall topped with razor wire and hopped a freight train to his brother's house in Tonawanda. Five days later, police officers found him brandishing an ax handle in his brother's apartment. See Sioux and Cheyenne Military Tactics for more info.] We also know that Curley was there at the river too from what he described of the beginning of the Custer fight. The question may be asked why we attempted to join our commands after two hours and a half. Round and round rode the savages in a seemingly tireless circle. About Peter Thomson Peter lives in Canberra, which most people mistake for the capital of Australia, and passes the time writing and telling stories to children. By his own word, he was watching through binoculars when Custer attacked at Medicine Tail Coulee. What Mockery! He told me he had gone to the river for water and when he was coming up from the bed of the river with two kettles filled with water, a volley had been fired at him, one of the bullets hitting him and breaking his leg below the knee, the others riddling his kettles. We felt we were discovered. Ladies and Gentlemen, In these days of virtual communication, it is often difficult to know whom one is addressing and how you are all faring as we work our way out of this global . I slept so soundly that I heard and knew nothing until I felt someone kicking the soles of my boots. The Sargeant told me of the hopelessness of the undertaking telling me if I should ever attempt to make the trip I would never get back alive. Look where you would, you could see either dead or wounded soldiers and the end not yet. On hearing me, he checked up his horse and looked around. A short distance below I saw several cavalry men who were soon joined by others, eleven in all; a slim force indeed to clean out the ravine held by so many Indians, but they were resolute men. Watson, surprised, answered, "No," and again asked what was up. I could not keep still and so got onto my feet again. Peter graduated from their alma mater, General Assembly and is currently based in New York. Again we were sent to cover by the approach of more Indians. Likewise, it was certainly not unusual for Custer to ride alone ahead of his men when scouting. The squaws had got the fire under control and had it confined to a comparatively small space. The Indians no doubt thought that they had finished him for two of them turned and disappeared in the village. I had not gone far before I became aware of the fact that I had company. Each man was supposed to carry one hundred rounds of cartridges, but a great many had wasted theirs by firing at game along the route. This canvas the officers had brought along for their own use, but it was given by them for the humane purpose of sheltering the helpless. I made up my mind that all but one shot should be fired at the Indians, and that one would go into my head, for I had determined never to be taken alive. Cavalry men were also falling and the ranks gradually melting away, but they sternly and bravely faced their foes; the cavalry men fighting for $13 a month. My next trip to the river was taken with more courage. We formed the cracker boxes into a half circle and kept them as close together as possible. We were becoming so tired that the presence of the Indians was no longer a terror to us. I was curious to know who he was. The firing in the direction of the battlefield had just now ceased, showing this act of the tragedy was ended. In a short time I secured two canteens and a coffee kettle. Related Goals. Looking in the direction of the battle, I saw that the cavalry were being driven towards the foot of a small hill; their number greatly reduced. I told him I was too good a runner for that. [Note: according to Edward Godfrey, Weir did not ask permission, but did, in fact, lead a foray in Custer's direction, but was quickly driven back by the Sioiux and Cheyenne.]. 2. This is even true of Kingsley Bray's generally admirable 2006 Crazy Horse: A Lakota Life. A large-scale search was made of the surrounding area, but he was never found. 14. Copyright 1973 - 2020 by Bruce Brown and BF Communications Inc. Astonisher, Astonisher.com, Conversations With Crazy Horse, 100 Voices, Who Killed Custer?, The Winter Count of Crazy Horse's Life, and Mysteries of the Little Bighorn are trademarks of BF Communications Inc. BF Communications Inc. I gave them the other canteen and told them that if they should not require all the water that I would like it to be passed around to some other wounded ones lying close by, which was so done. The well-trained horses were kept well in hand. Watson said he saw that the stirrup strap was broken off and Jackson without any hat, presented a wild appearance. On 7 July 1985, in prison of San Sebastian two prisoners escaped: In 1984, six death row inmates, including the. I do not know how long I lay there, but I have a faint recollection of being turned and my gun taken from me. A message from Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG's Special Envoy for the Ocean to the IOC-UNESCO Ocean Literacy Training Courses. View the profiles of people named Peter Thomson. He was never captured, but DNA-confirmed remains of his skull were found near Del Valle, Texas on September 8, 2014. He added, "If they succeed, it will be a sad day with us.". We saw plenty of Indians on our side of the stream; they seemed to get bolder and more numerous, but so far they were some distance away. Facebook gives people the power to. He was one of the most wanted criminals in the. When the Crow scout left him, he wheeled around and made for the same point in the river where we had first seen him. Their ammunition was limited. Most modern accounts of the Battle of the little Bighorn confidently state that Daniel Kanipe and John Martin -- or Curley, if they're being liberal enough to consider Indians human -- were the last Seventh Cavalry survivors to see Custer alive, even though Kanipe himself said that Thompson was the last one to see Custer alive. I now struggled to my feet and found that I was weak and dizzy from the loss of blood. ", And Custer was riding ahead of his men with scout Fred Gerard minutes before Reno's attack when he encountered a group of Seventh Cavalry scouts at the "Lone Tepee." The unexpected bonus in Thompson's tale is that he may reveal what Curley was up to when he vanished just before the start of the Custer fight -- and why he was always evasive about what happened at the river. As I gained the rise of ground that commanded a view of the village, river and surrounding country I saw a small group of men examining an object lying on the ground which I found to be an Indian bedecked in all his war paint, which goes to make up a part of their apparent courage and fierce appearance. Michael P. Madden] the wounded man I had just left, watched me with great interest. Thomson and Watson eventually found each other, banded together, and survived with Reno. When we stepped out into the trail at the head of the advancing column, it was about five o'clock in the afternoon. Confident this will flow on to benefits for SDG14 & Ocean biodiversity. He escaped from Chelmsford Prison less than a year later. I discovered a pool of blood a short distance from him which had come from a terrible wound in his leg. Leonard T. Fristoe was imprisoned for double murder in 1920 of a police Constable and a deputy Sherriff in Nevada. Najmrodzki was a famous robber and thief, known for escaping 29 times from the prison and the authorities. So, loading my carbine which was done in a moment, I took aim at him as he turned to go to his pony which was about thirty feet back of him on a slight elevation winding up his rawhide rope as he did so, I fired, but missed him because Watson who was on the line with the Indian made a movement which distracted my aim. Tom Custer, 1st Lieut. While the hottest of the fight was going on and the tide of battle seemed to be against us, our doctor dropped his bandages, and grasping a gun started toward the skirmish line. Palaiokostas once again escaped from prison by helicopter. Fifeshire, Scotland. I wondered whether it would be safe to stop long enough to put the water into the canteens, as the fire of the Indians seemed to come from a bend in the bank, a short distance from the mouth of the ravine on this side of the river. We stopped a moment to consider the best way to proceed and how to act. BUT WHAT ABOUT the "problematic passages" in Thompson's story? September 12, 2019 7:13 AM EDT. I was not sure but that the Indians might take a notion to follow me. If he was as thirsty as I was before he dismounted, I will guarantee that he was in that condition no longer. -- Bruce Brown He was a notorious bank robber who operated throughout the Midwest during the, Officials boasted that the Lake County Jail in. Just 148 players - the lowest since 1904 - entered and Thomson showed absolutely no nerves on his debut as he posted a flawless two-under 70 to sit in a tie for third after the opening round. But I could not see any, and this puzzled me very much, but on looking down to the lower end of the bluffs I could see a body of men on horseback mounting slowly up the trail on top of the bluffs. The heat of the day was oppressive and the guns of the Indians were silent and these facts brought a feeling of depression over us. The bank being very wet, my feet slipped from under me several times. Thomson is the U.N. Secretary-General's special envoy for the ocean. The same is also true of what seems, on the face of it, the wildest parts of Thompson's story: (1) the eye-witness account of how a white man with an Indian shot at him while he was fleeing to join Reno, (2) the hearsay claim (via his Seventh Cavalry straggler companion) James Watson, that Custer took a shot at half-Sioux Seventh Cavalry Scout Billy Jackson just before the beginning of the Custer fight. It was a sad, sad sight. When they had passed, we moved on our way. That being denied him, he asked permission to take his company and ascertain Custer's position; but he was refused that privilege. Peter Thompson 96K views 3 years ago. Pausing for a moment I looked cautiously around the bend and there before me was running water, the Little Horn River, on the opposite side was a thick cover of cottonwood timber, the sight of which made me hesitate for a moment. Medal of Honor winner Peter Thompson was the last Seventh Cavalry trooper to get out of George A. Custer's doomed command alive. 6 distinct works Similar authors. They must have suspected our intentions. When I fired this shot, Watson jumped to his feet and began to lead his horse out of the stream toward me. Peter Thompson was an American who put his life on the line for his comrades and his country -- and received the Medal of Honor for his valor -- but that hasn't stopped America from turning him into non-person in order to preserve its cherished, comfortable self-deceptions. I asked him to attend to me when he had time to do so. What I discovered was several Indians peering at us over the edge of the bluff; in all I counted eight and concluded that they were too many for us, especially with an uphill pull on our side. "Get out of here," he cried, And do your duty!". He had received this latter name from the fact that on the back of his buckskin shirt the print of two human hands was visible, either put there by red ink or blood. He came to the same conclusion. Peter Thompson was the father of Rick Malverne. I thought that if he was going to be stripped, it was a pity that the ammunition I had left should fall into the hands of an enemy. After Custer excused the scouts from further service, Goes Ahead said he and Hairy Moccasin and White Man Runs Him went together to the river on their own, and Sioux warrior White Cow Bull said he saw three Crows on the bluffs above Medicine Tail Coulee just before Cuter attacked the village. Cavalry men dismount and fight on foot except when a charge is made, but when a dismount is ordered, number four remains on his horse, numbers, one, two, and three dismount and hand their bridle reins to number four who holds the horses, while they deploy as skirmishers or as otherwise directed. meaning Indian Department. I called to Watson to keep quiet for a few moments, and began to walk backwards up the bank keeping my eyes fixed on the Indian and watching his every movement. I could see that the fight was well under way; hordes of savages had gained a footing on the right bank of the river and had driven the soldiers back a short distance. His being alone shows with what fearlessness he travelled about even in an enemy's country with hostiles all around him. He had begged in vain to have Reno advance to Custer's relief. I knew it was useless for me to try to avoid being seen so I depended on my ability to escape the bullets of the Indians. [Note: this was clearly the slow part of the troop -- Sgt. When I fell I managed to roll over on my face and place my carbine under me. During a 2 hour window of opportunity, Peter Thomson broke out from the education wing onto the grounds and promptly made his way over the prison wall. But in the meantime several accidents happened which helped to make it a serious matter for us.

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