A way out.

[**The following is part of an excerpt of a contemporary account from the Battle of Little Bighorn. The witness was a Native American who later recalled the events.**] >Lame White Man, the bravest Cheyenne warrior chief, stayed in hiding close to where the small band of soldiers got off their horses. From there he called to the young men, and they began creeping and dodging back to him. The Ogallala Sioux chiefs also called to their young men, and these also returned to the fight. Within a few minutes there were many hundreds of warriors wriggling along the gullies all around those soldiers. >I saw one of the white men there kill himself, with his own gun, just after they got off their horses. Soon afterward I saw another one do the same act. […] >Just then I saw a soldier shoot himself by holding his revolver at his head. Then another one did the same, and another. Right away, all of them began shooting themselves or shooting each other. I saw several different pairs of them fire their guns at the same time and shoot one another in the breast. For a short time the Indians just stayed where they were and looked. Then they rushed forward. But not many of them got to strike coup blows on living enemies. Before they could get to them, all of the white men were dead… >[…] >Pretty soon I saw that all of the white men there were dead and the warriors were among them getting their guns. I did not see how they were killed, but I think they must have killed themselves. The Indians crowded on westward along the ridge and along its two sides. I followed, but keeping myself back so I would not be hit by a bullet. I stopped to look over a little hill and watch a band of soldiers [[Custer]( https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Custer_Bvt_MG_Geo_A_1865_LC-BH831-365-crop.jpg) and the remnants of his column] on the ground at the north slope of the ridge. Warriors were all around those men, creeping closer and closer. The white men’s horses were all gone from there. After I had been looking but a few minutes at those men I saw them go at shooting each other and shooting themselves, the same as I had seen it done by the soldiers down toward the river. ____________________________________ **Source:** Stephens, John Richard. “Eyewitness Reports.” *Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior*. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 5, 6. Print. __________________________________ **Further Reading:** [Vé'ho'énȯhnéhe (Lame White Man)]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lame_White_Man) [The Cheyenne]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheyenne) [Oglala Lakota / Oglala Sioux]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oglala_Lakota) [The Sioux]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux) [Battle of Little Bighorn / Battle of Greasy Grass / Custer’s Last Stand]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Little_Bighorn) [George Armstrong Custer]( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Armstrong_Custer)