The Battle of the Little Bighorn, long known as Custer’s Last Stand, has been examined through countless historical lenses. Now, a detailed account from Young Hawk, an Arikara scout who was present on the battlefield, provides a ground-level view of the chaos, courage, and desperation of that day.
Young Hawk’s testimony begins with the army assembling on a small knoll, where they were joined by Custer’s party descending from the high ground. There was considerable agitation among the scouts, who wondered how Custer would react upon learning that the Dakotas were already aware of his approach.
Custer conveyed his instructions through Fred Gerard, telling the scouts, "Boys, I require you to confiscate the horses from the Sioux camp." He urged the Arikara scouts to heed his orders and seize as many horses as possible. Custer was resolved to proceed directly to the encampment.
As the ridge was reached, the bugle sounded and the flag was unfurled. The scouts prepared themselves, tightening girths and lightening their loads. Another bugle blast ordered the scouts to advance. They descended into the dry creek and moved toward the high ridge on the right.
Young Hawk saw a group of scouts at the ridge’s lower end, peering toward a solitary tepee. The scouts slowed their pace, then heard Gerard’s call from behind: "The chief orders you to charge." Strikes the Enemy responded with a war whoop and rode on, with the others following.
Strikes the Enemy reached the lone tepee first, striking it with his whip. Young Hawk followed, dismounting on the tepee’s north side. Drawing a knife, he slashed the tent from top to bottom. Inside, he beheld a scaffold upon which lay a deceased body wrapped in a buffalo robe.
All the scouts galloped around to the tepee’s north side and veered into the dry creek beyond, where they overtook the white soldiers and rode on together in a chaotic throng. The most skilled riders kept pace with the soldiers, while others lagged behind.
Anticipating his own demise and scalping by the Dakotas, Young Hawk unbraided his hair, tied it forward with a bunch of loose eagle feathers, and prepared for the worst.
The battle commenced abruptly, with skirmishes erupting in front of the line. The soldiers formed a line to the right, while the scouts positioned themselves to the left near the ridge. Bob-tailed Bull stood farthest to the left, closest to the Dakota skirmishers who rode back and forth in front of the line.
Young Hawk shifted to the right, taking his place among the scouts. The order stood as follows: Red Bear, Little Brave, Forked Horn, Red Foolish Bear, Goose, Big Belly, Strikes the Enemy, and Bob-tailed Bull far out on the left flank.
Bloody Knife appeared, approaching Young Hawk directly. He wore a distinctive black handkerchief adorned with blue stars, a gift from Custer, and a bear’s claw with a clamshell. Bloody Knife declared that Custer’s orders regarding the Sioux horses were being executed. Then he proceeded behind the line and took his stand beside Little Brave.
The battle intensified, and the line curved back toward the river. Many soldiers fell, and the forces began to retreat. A Dakota warrior charged courageously, closing in on the soldiers, but was felled by a bullet approximately sixteen feet from the line. He rode a sorrel horse with a bald face and a tail tied up with a piece of red cloth.
As the warrior fell, the horse continued toward the scouts. Young Hawk claimed it and shouted to Red Bear, offering him the captured horse, but Red Bear did not come. Instead, Big Belly, a Crow Indian also known as Half Yellow Face, approached and said, "Brother, I desire this horse. Give it to me."
Big Belly was Young Hawk’s friend. He took the captured Dakota horse, released his own inferior mount, and mounted the new steed.
Meanwhile, the Dakotas had been gathering behind the ridge nearest to Bob-tailed Bull. Suddenly, a dense throng of Dakotas appeared over the ridge, charging toward him in a unified mass. A nearby white soldier turned to Young Hawk and exclaimed, "John, you go!"
The Dakota onslaught pushed the line back toward the soldiers, forcing a retreat across the river approximately two miles downstream. They traversed the flat and ascended the bluff diagonally, a grueling climb. The soldiers led the retreat, followed by the scouts: Half Yellow Face, Strikes the Enemy, Red Foolish Bear, Forked Horn, Goose, and Young Hawk.
As Young Hawk reached the timber, he heard Forked Horn cry, "Let’s dismount and make a stand." This was due to Bob-tailed Bull’s precarious situation, as he was being closely pursued by the Dakotas and had fallen back near the soldiers’ ford.
Young Hawk perceived this as a general signal for the scouts and leapt off his horse, followed by Goose. They fired at the Dakotas without halting their horses, and the Dakotas turned back. Bob-tailed Bull managed to cross the river at the soldiers’ ford.
Young Hawk intended to fire again but accidentally dropped his shell while loading his carbine. The four scouts—Half Yellow Face, Strikes the Enemy, Red Foolish Bear, and Forked Horn—rode into the brush and crossed the river farther downstream, less than an eighth of a mile away. Goose and Young Hawk followed, navigating dense brush and deep water, their horses struggling to reach the opposite bank.
They sought refuge in a dense grove of trees, where they found the other four scouts who had ridden ahead. Unbeknownst to them, the Dakotas surrounded them, firing through the trees as the scouts crouched on horseback.
Young Hawk and Goose stood facing each other. Then Goose groaned, "Cousin, I am wounded." Young Hawk’s resolve hardened, and he determined to fight to the death. Goose revealed his wounded right hand, and Young Hawk took his cartridge belt, donning it as he stood by the horse.
He helped Goose dismount, and as he did, Goose’s horse was felled by gunfire. Enraged, Young Hawk removed his coat and army blouse, ready to fight for his life. He positioned Goose against a tree, instructing him to hold the horse.
Half Yellow Face came crawling toward them, exclaiming, "My friend is being slain. He lies just at the thicket edge." Young Hawk crawled with him to reach the fallen Crow scout, Strikes the Enemy, who lay on his back with arms raised. Together they dragged him to Goose’s position, where he sat against a tree.
Strikes the Enemy declared, "I fear not, for I am glad to be wounded." Young Hawk confessed that the sight of his wounded comrades filled him with unease, and he dreaded witnessing their torture. Thus, he resolved to perish at the timber’s edge.
Before departing, he embraced his horse’s neck, whispering, "I love you." He then crawled out, stood, and fired at the kneeling Sioux warriors. He received a volley but emerged unscathed. Determined to try again, he crawled out to a new location, fired, and drew another volley, dropping out of sight before being hit.
Nearby, he found a tree with driftwood piled against it, providing a safe haven. There he discovered Forked Horn lying face down to avoid being shot. When Forked Horn realized Young Hawk had drawn the Dakota’s fire twice, he admonished him, "Don’t do that again. It’s foolish to expose yourself as a target."
The Dakotas attempted to burn them out, but the grass was too green to ignite. Young Hawk sat still for a time, then fired at a nearby Dakota on a gray horse, missing him. He jumped up and shot again, this time killing him.
The horse, adorned with a handsome bridal and beautiful trimming, circled to the left after its rider fell, likely due to being tethered by a lariat. Young Hawk fired twice, finally killing the horse. As it fell, he let out the Arikara yell, a traditional cry signifying the defeat of an enemy.
Goose, witnessing the horse’s demise, asked Young Hawk to retrieve the fine bridle for him later. As the Sioux drew closer, Young Hawk took aim and felled another warrior, followed by the death call.
Dakota women rode up, urging their warriors to slay the Arikara with the woman’s yell. Their cries echoed through the bushes, but they soon departed with the others.
As the attack waned, Young Hawk noticed the Dakotas riding downstream, suggesting Custer’s assault had begun at the lower ford. They saw many Dakotas crossing the river and riding north past them.
After the shooting subsided, Young Hawk stood up and spotted a United States flag on the ridge above, marking the pack train’s location. Forked Horn praised him, saying, "My grandson, you have proven yourself the bravest. We must now strive to reach the pack train as Custer instructed."
To avoid being mistaken for Dakotas, Young Hawk fashioned a makeshift flag by tying his white handkerchief to a stick. They managed to mount Strikes the Enemy on his own horse despite his leg and right hand wounds. Goose rode Red Foolish Bear’s horse, while Red Foolish Bear proceeded on foot.
Young Hawk rode ahead, brandishing the white flag as they descended the stream and ascended the slope. They saw the Dakotas returning on the east side of the ridge, swarming toward the white camp. The Custer battle had ended, and the Dakotas overwhelmed the hill where the soldiers made their final stand.
The party turned back except for Young Hawk, who held his ground waving the white flag. The soldiers fired over him at the enemy, while the Dakotas targeted him near the camp. His horse was felled, but he sprang to his feet, still clutching the flag, and ran into the camp.
There he encountered Peaked Face, his chief of scouts, and found the pack train survivors from the Little Bighorn battle—Reno and Benteen’s troops—and the officer in charge, who greeted him with a relieved expression. The officer signaled that Bob-tailed Bull, the sergeant, had fallen and his horse was in camp.
Young Hawk spotted Little Brave’s spotted horse, caught it, and claimed it as his own, assuming Little Brave had fallen. As the Dakotas closed in, the other scouts rejoined him, and the entire party retreated into a nearby ravine.
The Dakotas launched a fierce attack, and the gunfire was deafening on both sides, with soldiers and horses falling rapidly. The Dakotas then flanked to the right and began firing into the ravine from one end.
The soldiers hastily constructed breastworks using cracker boxes, bacon bags, and other materials. Young Hawk did not participate in building the breastworks but used a cracker box as a makeshift shield as he lay on the ground.
The Dakotas surrounded them, firing from all sides, their lines advancing in a crouching position. The din of gunfire was overwhelming, making it impossible to hear anything else. The wounded were dragged to the breastworks, deemed the safest location.
This intense fighting continued unabated until darkness fell. As night descended, the wounded were tended to, and the dead were laid aside. The troops remained vigilant throughout the night, anticipating a Dakota attack at dawn.
A few shots were fired, and the battle resumed with ferocity, lasting until late afternoon. The scouts had regrouped on the side closest to the Dakota lines and the ridge.
During the first afternoon, an officer approached the scouts with a message to be delivered after dark. Forked Horn assented, "All right." The officer informed Goose that due to his wounds, he could not participate, and each scout would carry the same message.
Later, the officer returned with a sergeant, explaining that this man would accompany them to ensure that if all scouts were killed, the camp situation would be known. Goose insisted on joining despite his wounded hand, saying he wanted to share the same fate as the others.
The officer emphasized that the message was destined for the president of the United States, to inform everyone of the events that had transpired. They were permitted to ride government horses, which were faster than their own, and instructed to ride hard, ignoring anyone. If a scout fell wounded or shot, they were to leave the message paper on the ground so soldiers could later find it and understand the situation.
Forked Horn requested that the government horses’ shoes be removed, as he believed they would run better without them. Once the messages were prepared, the two Crow scouts remained behind—one wounded and the other staying to care for him.
The messengers were Goose, Forked Horn, Red Foolish Bear, Young Hawk, and the white sergeant, ready to embark on their perilous journey. As night fell, they followed the ravine out, but the Dakotas ambushed them, forcing a hasty retreat.