“When we reached the crest of the plateau [in Montana Territory}, there appeared in our front a formidable band of those justly celebrated Sioux and Cheyenne warriors, magnificently mounted and in all the splendor of war paint and feathers. Every hill appeared to be covered with their swarming legions, and up from every ravine and out of every little vale more seemed to be coming. Many wore the long Sioux warbonnet of eagle plumes, which floated and fluttered in the air, back of the wearer, to the distance of 5 or 6 feet, while others wore half masks of the heads of wild animals, with the ears and sometimes the horns still protruding, giving them the appearance of devils from the netherworld or uncouth demons from the hills of Brocken.”
No, the words above are not from one of the officers who rode toward the Little Bighorn with Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer in June 1876 but managed to survive what will forever be the most famous battle of the Indian wars. Historians sometimes lavish attention on one monumental battle, while virtually ignoring others of genuine significance. Such is the case with the Battle of the Little Bighorn, fought on June 25 and 26, 1876, and the Battle of the Rosebud, fought eight days earlier and just 30 miles away. The scene above, written by Brig. Gen. George Crook’s aide-de-camp Captain Azor H. Nickerson, describes the opening moments of the unsung June 17 clash.
