The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, June 20, 1936, Page 17

THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE, _SATURDAY, JUNE 20, 1936 17 ~ Army ‘Red Tape’ Saved Horner From Little Big Horn Grave Bismarcker Left At Powder River Having No Horse Recruit Cavalryman and 77 Mountless Troop- ers Called ‘Jackass Battery’; Guyed by Men Who Never Were to Return To some unknown army official back in 1876 who was slow about “locating” 78 horses, 82-year-old Jacob Horner, 609 4th St., probably owes his life. ... , Horner, one of the few living members of General Custer’s ill-fated Seventh Cavalry, was one of a group of 78 recruits who arrived at Fort Abraham Lincoln on April 30, 1876. Seventy- eight horses that had been ordered for them never showed up. And so when the Seventh Cavalry took the field May 17 on its historic expedition to Montana against the Sioux, Horner and the other 77 walked. If they had been mounted, they would not have been left behind at the mouth of the Powder river with the Seventeenth infantry while Custer and 12 companies of the Seventh Cavalry went on ahead to locate the Indians. That march in cavalry boots across 300 miles of prairie grassland is among the most disagreeable of Horner’s memories. “We weren't equipped for walking, like the infantry was,” he said the other day. “Our feet got sore, and ‘we got hungry. Twelve pieces of hardtack—each one about the size of @ soda cracker—and a strip of sow- belly, as we called it, was our entirt daily ration. I'd eat it all for break- fast and still be hungry.” Custer Goes Ahead A Arriving at the mouth of Powder river on the Yellowstone, the expedi- tion split the first time. Custer, with * the 12 mounted companies of the Sev- enth Cavalry, went on ahead to locate the Sioux. The 78 unmounted cavai- rymen stayed behind with the Seven- teenth Infantry. “We never saw Custer again,” Hor- ner said. Left with the infantry, the 78 foot- sore recruits were the butt of many jokes, Horner recalled. “We were Known as the Jackass Battery,” he | oul laughed. Horner joins most military authori- ties in believing that Custer’s division of his regiment was a fatal mistake. “The day of the fight, he made three battalions of it,” he said. “Reno took three companies, Colonel Benteen took three, and Custer himself took five. One remained with the pack train, Custer Figured Wrong “Custer thought that at the most there were 1,500 Indians in that re- gion. Actually, of course, there were 3,500 or 4,000. “The six hundred men who com- prised the 12 companies would prob- ably have been wiped out just as the 219 were. But they would have put up a better fight.” About 10 years ago Horner talked to an Indian whose father had taken part in the battle that wiped out Cus- ter’s little command. “He told me his father said the whole battle didn’t last over 20 minutes,” Horner said. Indians Brought Story The fight took place June 25, but it_was nearly a week before the men | w: left behind at Powder river found out what had happened. About July 1 they learned from a few Indians that “a big fight” had taken place, but they had no idea who had won. Early in the morning of July 4, they heard the whistle of the little steamboat, Far West, arriving at the mouth of Powder river. Laid out on its decks were Reno’s wounded from the three days’ fighting, ‘and from their lips Horner first learned of the catastrophe. ‘The next night at 11 p. m. the Far ‘West, captained by Grant Marsh, was in Bismarck, after the fastest steam- boat journey ever made on the Mis- sourl. Indians Knew Strength Horner said he believed the Indians had known the location, number of men, and number of guns of Custer’s ition every minute since it set from Fort Abraham Lincoln. “shortly after they met the Far West, the Seventeenth infantry and the re- mainder of the Seventh Cavalry moved on up the Yellowstone under General Terry to join Crook and Gibbons on the Rosebud river. “We crossed the Yellowstone river,” Horner said, “and went up on the other side. There were about two hun- dred of us. The day after we crossed, we saw Sitting Bull and the entire band of 3,500 Sioux that had engaged the Seventh Cavalry go hurrying north, on the other side of the river. Fleeing ‘anada “They were fleeing from the sol- diers, toward Canada, and so they didn’t pay much attention to us. “I often wonder what would have happened if we hadn't crossed the river the day we did, though.” Horner tells an amusing story of their eventual meeting with Crook’s forces on the Rosebud. “We saw the dust from their col- umn from a long distance, and they saw the dust from ours,” he said. “Neither of us knew who the other as. “We both sent out our Indian Death Came Suddenly in 1868 scouts to learn the identity of the other party. Our scouts, who appar- ently just saw Crook's scouts, soon [came riding back with their rifles pointed downward, held at arm's length. That meant the Sioux were coming. In Battle Formation “We broke column and drew up in fighting formation, while the cloud of dust came closer. Every man was be- hind cover, and every rifle ready. “We were going to give those In-|I dians the warmest reception they'd ever had. “Suddenly over a nearby hill, all alone, rode a man whose flowing yel- low hair and mustache were known {to every Indian fighter west of the Mississippi. “It was Buffalo Bill. “Our nervous tension broke in a roar of laughter as Crook’s men followed ‘ the famous scout over the hill.” Late in the fall of 1876, after his return to Fort Lincoln, Horner was sent down south along the Missour! with a detachment whose object was to gather up United States property that the Indians had taken from Cus- ter’s men and captured in other en- gagements. Locate Large Village They located a large village just south of Fort Yates in Sioux county. “The chief told us they had maybe 25 ponies, but nothing else,” Horner said. “The commanding officer didn't believe him, and told us to search the village and bring out everything marked ‘U. 8.’ “With drawn pistols, we began our search, working in pairs. Another sol- dier and myself entered one tepee where there were a bunch of squaws and some children playing. “We looked around, find anything. Just as we were about to go, I happened to notice a blanket in the corner, near the children. I went over and threw it back. “Underneath were four pies. “How on earth they ever got there but couldn’t| 1! The lure of the west was the lure of death for this fron- tiersman, scalped on the plains in 1867. The victim was Ralph Morrison. The officer is Lieutenant Reade, and the civilian is Chief-of- ‘Scouts John O. Austin. Tak- en near the lime kiln, Fort 8.’, 50 we left them.” Burned Supplies In cleaning out the village, Horne! said, the soldiers collected a pile of | saddles, guns, cartridge belts and | other military supplies the size of a! haystack. They burned all of it be- fore leaving. “We also rounded up 2,000 ponies,” | he recalled. “I remember we brought them back to Bismarck first, and for a while everybody in town had @ pony, with quite a few to spare.” Horner figured in three campaigns, Custer's, the nine-month campaign in 1877 after Chief Joseph, “the second Napoleon,” and the Black Hills cam- paign of 1878. On April 18, 1880, Horner married Catherine Stuart, at Fort Totten, near Devils Lake, and the following year was mustered out of the army. Mrs. Horner had come to Fort Abra- ham Lincoln in April, 1873, on the same steamboat that brought General Custer. The daughter of an army of- ficer, who was also a member of the Seventh Cavalry, she was then 10 years old. Her marriage to Horner occurred on her 17th birthday. | Died in 1933 Mrs. Horner lived long enough to celebrate her golden wedding anni- Pee but died in Bismarck, Sept. 3, Of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Horner, two are dead. The other three, Leo Horner, John C. Horner, and Mrs. J. A. Morrison. All live in St. Paul. Horner was born in New York city, COMING TO BISMARCK --- JULY 3-4-5 ALL AMERICAN EXPOSITION SHOWS a Sz ES THIS 4 aN Oct. 6, 1854. His ass, Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Horner, took him to Alsace- Lorraine, France, to live, when he was 312 years old. There he received his education. When he was 15 years old, curiosity jabout the land of his birth sent him back to the United States alone. He learned the English language, and ex- cept for a visit in 1874, has never re- turned to France. SOLDIER VICTIMS OF |&= INDIAN WARS BURIED ON LITTLE BIG HORN 160 Hero Dead From Old Fort Lincoln Rest in National Cemetery At least 1,668 soldiers and pioneers, either killed in battles with Indians or victims of other hardships on the northwest frontier, are buried in the seven-and-a-half acre Custer na- tional cemetery. The cemetery is lo- cated in the valley of the Little Big Horn river, on the Crow Indian res- ervation, near Hardin, Mont., on the very spot where Custer and 218 men of the Seventh Cavalry were wiped out by Sitting Bull and 3,500 Sioux Indians on the afternoon of June 25, 1876, Since the cemetery was created by an executive order issued Dec. 7, 1886, the bones of these hardy trail-blaz- ers have been taken from graveyards at long-abandoned forts and battle. fields and re-interred at the national shrine. One hundred-sixty of the bodies now resting there are from Fort Ab- raham Lincoln, south of Mandan. A larger number came from only one fort, Fort Keogh, Montana, which yielded 173 dead. Other forts and the number of bodies taken from them to the national cemetery are: Fort Phil Kearny, Wyo., 111; Fort C. F. Smith, Mont., 17; Fort Sisseton, Da- kota, 40; Fort Totten, N. Dak., 27; Poplar River, Mont., Penning Ne N. D,, 25; Fott Mont., 22; Fort Fort ty-two of these bodies are known. Two hundred seventy-six are un- known. “Ice cream in season” advertised Busse and Smith’s City Restaurant in the 1879 city directory. Mont, 13; Fert) Cannibals Inhabited North Dakota Plains North Dakota was once the home of cannibals, declares L. A. Wilford, University of Minnesota anthropol- ogist. Early inhabitants of the plains ate the bone marrow and brains of rival Indians slain in battle or other- wise. Wilford’s statement is based upon the condition of bones found iz the excavation of Indian mounds, Congratulations, Dakota! We take this means of extending our sincere con- gratulations to Dakota on the occasion of its 75th an- niversary. Confidence . in this territory has caused the building up of this great state. It is also your confidence in us that has built this firm. You may have confidence in us when you let us handle your next insurance and investment business. P.C.Remington&Son The pioneer investment house Stocks, Bonds and Investment Trusts CITY INSURANCE AGENCY 11914 Fourth St. Bismarck Telephone 220 NOSE DIVES - - LOOP - THE LOOPS - - BARREL ROLLS - -- FORMATION FLIGHTS - - -. You'll Witness All the Thrills of the Air at the Bismarck Air Show and Dakota Air Tour JULY 3-4-5 ‘A Feature of the Pioneer Days Festival Richard W. Randolph of the National Soaring Society of America will fly a glider (pomarions airplane) and will do an outside loop in this machine, together with every stunt a power do. He is the only man in the U. S. putting on such an exhibition. This is the first time a slider has ever been flown in North Dakota doing such unusual maneuvers. An autogiro will participate and will carry passengers, offering a new thrill for veteran air« plane enthusiasts. A pusher-type safety plane will fly daily. This is declared to be the “coming thing” in avia- tion. It proves that aviation offers the transportation of tomorrow. Sensational features are: Balloon ascension by Prof. Winterringer of Sioux City, Iowa, using a balloon which is 70 feet high when inflated. Daily parachute jumps by men and women jumpers. Magnificent firworks displa: ay ak at Fy Show grounds on evening of July 4th. This is under the ical auspices of the Bismarck Am An airplane parade, races and — on all three days. Powered airplane acrobatics daily. Also airplane rides over Bismarck and surrounding country. ar er ee eT ras 4 This Plane Will Be Given Away Free During Show Tremtens zou the (0 hare this heaatityt in monoplane Porterfield cabi pictured here? SOME MEMBER OF THE BIS- MARCK AIR SHOW ASSOCIATION WILL RECEIVE THIS PLANE FREE —12— OF CHARGE DURING THE AIR HIGH CLASS PAID ara cnane ° BRING THE . WHOLE FAMILY A SHOW FOR YOUNG AND OLD ILLUSION SHOW MONKEY CIRCUS BIG SNAKE SHOW CIRCUS SIDE SHOW MUSICAL COMEDY ATHLETIC SHOWS WORLD FAIR TELEVISION Don’t oe mi ‘sy-high. Similar to dive of Scenic Railway.