The source transcript is a fragment of a much longer historical narrative, written in the first person, from the perspective of an Oglala Lakota warrior who participated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The text contains a mix of autobiographical memory, specific combat details, cultural observations, and references to key figures such as Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, and Gall. The narrative includes a famous, albeit disputed, passage about the killing and scalping of a soldier described as having “long yellow hair,” which has been historically debated as a possible claim of killing Custer, though the passage includes a likely interpolation by the editor, as the narrator cannot confirm the identity of the soldier. The text also covers the tension between Sitting Bull and Gall, the Indian victory dances, and the aftermath as the Lakota and Cheyenne retreated.
The narrative is told by Black Elk, or a relative of his, and provides an insider’s view of the battle, including the chaotic fighting, the stripping of the dead, and the eventual escape. CONTENT: In the chaotic aftermath of the fight along the Little Bighorn River, a young Oglala Lakota warrior recalled the terror and frenzy of the battle. As the conflict began to turn in favor of the Native forces, he found himself in the middle of the chaos, separated from his own unit. He described how the soldiers and Lakota warriors clashed directly in the river, and he was eventually pushed into the water.
After scrambling out, he witnessed warriors stripping the dead soldiers of their clothing and taking it for themselves. He saw one soldier on the ground, still moving, and in the heat of the moment, he shot and scalped the man, noting that the soldier’s hair was short and his own knife was dull. He immediately regretted the act, admitting that he never returned to the battlefield after that moment. His personal account reveals the intense violence and the rapid collapse of the soldier’s line, but also highlights the fractured nature of the command, as he mentioned a dispute between the leaders Sitting Bull and Gaul over leadership.
This disagreement was so severe that it split the camp and prevented the warriors from fully pursuing the remaining soldiers on a nearby hill. The young man also described a crucial misunderstanding: he and others mistook a group of soldiers for African American “Buffalo Soldiers” from a distance, only realizing their error when they got closer. After the battle, the warriors celebrated with dances and songs, but the young man was exhausted, spending much of his time retrieving escaped puppies from a pony drag during the retreat. He then described moving with his family and the larger band up the valley, and he recounted a specific incident where he was told to be careful with the horses.
He remembered being cautioned about the soldiers’ scouts and the feeling of dread that washed over him before the fighting began. He also detailed the instructions from his elders to be brave and not act like a woman, and he described how the warriors successfully used the terrain to their advantage, eventually driving the soldiers back. He mentioned that he was too small to push through the crowds of men to directly engage in the hand-to-hand fighting, but he was present for the final, desperate push where the horses were stampeded. After the battle, he noted that the soldiers’ scouts were sent to pursue them but eventually gave up.
The narrative includes a specific, controversial passage where he claims to have scalped a soldier with “long yellow hair,” but he immediately qualifies this by stating he could not see the man’s face and did not know who it was, a detail that would later be interpreted by some as a claim of killing Custer, though the account does not support that conclusion. His description of the battle ends with him moving towards the hills, where he and others were still fighting, and his eventual departure from the field. He also described the confusion when the soldiers’ horses were spooked and ran through the camp, and how the warriors used this to their advantage. He described the tension between Sitting Bull and Gall, which he said was a personal matter that did not concern him, and he preferred dancing over fighting, as he was tired of the constant conflict.
The young man’s story is a rare, first-hand account of the Battle of the Little Bighorn from the perspective of a warrior who was not a major leader, offering a visceral and unvarnished look at the chaos and brutality of the fight, as well as the internal divisions that existed within the Lakota camp even in victory.