Custer's Folly

'Custer's Last Stand' was taught way back in grammar school showing General Custer as a true American hero and the Indians as the bad guys. I had listened to many of Grandfather's stories of his younger days trading with the Indians, first from a trading post he helped establish in Wyoming.  Later he would be away for up to three months riding horseback to Indian camps after getting married and settling in Idaho. 

Here Grandfather and his wife Sarah ran  a 'general store/ferry crossing/half-way house/post office' from a small farm on the Snake River.  Of course, the latter was his idea of "settling down as a husband and father" and Grandmother was often left to raise her brood which consisted of:  Hubert, Lila, John, Mae (the only surviving triplet, the first was a boy still-born, and the second an identical girl who died at the age of one due to Whooping Cough), then Helen, Clarence (my father) and lastly Dwight Jr.

Remember, this story is about Custer's folly the way my Grandfather told it to me.  "Custer was determined to be a hero and therefore planned the battle of 'Little Bighorn' against the Indians.  I knew of both Indian Chiefs, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull and neither had a desire to fight General Custer and his battalion.  Crazy Horse personally sent that message.

I guess it boiled down to the fact that if these tribes were forced to battle Custer they had no choice but to retaliate, and retaliate they did.  It was a slaughter. The history books  have tried  to show the General as a hero.  You see, Custer had anticipated his 'heroic action' making him a candidate for the Presidency of the United Stated. He was more of an egotist, a young General with big ideas."

I looked forward to weekends when I could sit at my grandparents' feet and listen to the stories they spun.  Over time I have had proof that they never lied to me, only repeating their connection to life as it was happening.  This story about Custer was of great interest to me and I could hardly wait to retell the story to my teacher and classmates.  I was sure they would appreciate hearing the truth.

Monday's school day seemed to arrive slower than usual.  I believe I skipped all the mile to school that morning not even scuffing the toes of my Buster Brown shoes.  Of course I had to sit at my desk once I reached the classroom and wait until after roll call to break the news that our history book was all wrong about 'Custer's Last Stand.'

Finally, it was time.  I raised my hand.  "You may be excused to go to the bathroom, but hurry back," was my answer. "No, I have something to tell everyone in this classroom."  She sighed and then asked what it was about.  I told her that my Grandfather had known Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull.  She looked a bit skeptical, but let me get up in front of the class to tell my story.

Well, when I got to the part that Custer really wasn't a hero at all she quickly stopped me in my tracks and asked me to "sit down."  Then she proceeded to explain to my fellow classmates that probably my Grandfather "had just made up a story to entertain Jean, sort of like a fairy tale."  I was angry because she didn't believe the story to be true, also disappointed that my classmates didn't believe my story either.  My entire day was absolutely ruined.  I remember that I refused to play at recess and none of my friends bothered to sit on the bench with me.  I was an outcast because of my 'far fetched' tale.

A more recent re-writing of the history, of the battle of 'Little Bighorn,' shows that Grandfather was truthful in correcting my history book way back then.  Makes me appreciate the stories that my grandparents took the time to relate to me.  Those were the days before television, when radio allowed children to imagine pictures in our own minds, the days when we were happy to play 'kick-the-can' or 'mother-may-I?' with the neighborhood kids, in the street with our parents watching from their porch when all cars were already parked safely in driveways. 

There are many more stories that I will enjoy passing on to my readers.  Today, grandchildren have other interests than story telling by their grandparents.