[The following is in regards to a first-hand account from a Native American who claimed to be the one to personally defeat and kill George Armstrong Custer, at what would popularly be called Custer’s Last Stand.]
Sioux Chief White Bull was one of several warriors who claimed to be the one that killed Custer. In his account of what happened he said:
I charged in. A tall, well-built soldier with yellow hair and mustache saw me coming and tried to bluff me, aiming his rifle at me. But when I rushed him, he threw his rifle at me without shooting. I dodged it. We grabbed each other and wrestled there in the dust and smoke. …He tried to wrench my rifle from me, and nearly did it. I lashed him a cross the face with my quirt [A riding whip with a short stalk and a lash of braided leather], striking the coup. He let go, then grabbed my gun with both hands until I struck him again… He hit me with his fists on jaw and shoulders, then grabbed my long braids with both hands, pulled my face close and tried to bit my nose off. I yelled for help: “Hey, hey, come over and help me!” I thought the soldier would kill me… He drew his pistol. I wrenched it out of his hand and struck him with it three or four times on the head, knocked him over, shot him in the head and fired at his heart… Ho hechetu! That was a fight, a hard fight. But it was a glorious battle, I enjoyed it.
Chief White Bull said he didn’t know who it was he had fought until a warrior who knew Custer came up and said, “Long Hair thought he was the greatest man in the world. Now he lies there.”
Source:
Stephens, John Richard. “Eyewitness Reports.” Weird History 101: Tales of Intrigue, Mayhem, and Outrageous Behavior. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 9, 10. Print.
Further Reading:
Battle of the Little Bighorn / Battle of the Greasy Grass / Custer’s Last Stand
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