Little Bighorn Lone Survivor

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Scott recounts a memorable visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana. The story unfolds with dramatic recollections from the historic Battle of Little Bighorn, particularly focusing on the lone survivor found on the battlefield. Scott shares the awe-inspiring plains of Montana, unexpected encounters, and a detailed history of the survivor's life and legacy at Fort Riley.

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Episode Transcript

Scott (00:00):
Welcome to Talk with History.
I'm your host, Scott, and my wifeand historian, Jen, is traveling
for a special project this week.
So I thought I would bring youa story from our past travels.
So I hope you enjoythis history road trip.

(00:21):
We stopped along the ridge thatoutlined the battlefield of Little
Bighorn, overlooking the river.
Out of the corner of my eye, Isaw a tall figure walking straight
towards Jen and not stopping.
That's odd.
Traveling through Montana with the familyhad been an otherworldly experience.
It really is someplace you have to be.

(00:46):
We had driven up from Wyoming viaDevil's Tower, and I couldn't stop
gaping at the wide open plainsthat had inspired so many songs.
Cowboys and western tall tales.
There it was.
The sign indicating that we wereentering the Crow Indian Reservation.
The little bighorn battlefieldmonument is on the reservation.

(01:06):
It's beautiful, isn't it?
And about 70 miles from both Sheridan,Wyoming, and Billings, Montana.
It's pretty out there.
As we drove up to the monument,I wondered what it must have been
like the morning of June 25th, 1876.
147 years before our tripacross these great plains.

(01:45):
Nobody survived Custer's Last Stand.
Or so they thought.
It was supposed to have been an easyride, at least according to Custer.
We had ridden many days andweeks to get to this river.
What was it again?
Little?
Big?
Something?
I could barely think of that now,that we were surrounded by the
very people we had been chasing.

(02:06):
Bullets and arrows whizzed through the airas chaos and fear took over the plains.
I felt the ground tremblebeneath me from the onslaught
of warriors and soldiers alike.
My heart pounded in rhythmwith the beat of the war drums
that echoed from the distance.
My best friend and partner the pastcouple years, Captain Kyo, rode with
me, guiding me through the pandemonium.
Together we had pressed forward, hissteady hand and firm voice reassuring

(02:29):
me despite the chaos around us.
We had been through many battlestogether, but this one felt different.
There was a sense of desperation inhis voice, a tension in his demeanor.
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in myflank, my legs gave way, but I fought
to stay standing, to continue fighting.
But the pain was too much, and I stumbled,accidentally bringing Captain Keo with me.

(02:51):
I tried to rise, butthe pain overpowered me.
I watched as he was swallowed up bythe chaos, disappearing from my sight.
I lay there in the dust, the battleraging around me, the noise slowly
faded, replaced by a strange silence.
The Indian warriors had moved on,leaving behind the fallen and the broken.

(03:14):
Days passed in a haze of pain andfear, the battlefield was a grim sight,
littered with the casualties of war.
I was alone, nursing my wounds,waiting for the end, but it never came.
Instead, I saw the blursof blue uniforms appear.
They approached cautiously,their eyes scanning the
devastation across the hilltop.

(03:34):
They found me, injuredand barely able to move.
They spoke in hushed voices, their handsgentle as they tended to my wounds.
Their touch was kind,their voices soothing.
I felt the pain recede, replacedby a warm, comforting sensation.
They fed me, gave me somewater, and slowly, they left.
I regained my strength.

(03:57):
In the days that followed, Igained enough strength to show my
gratitude and accept their help.
They seemed to understandmy loss, my pain.
They treated me withrespect, almost reverence.
I was a survivor, a living testamentto the battle that had consumed so
many at the Little Bighorn River.
As I regained my strength, peoplesaid I was more than just a survivor.
They said I was a symbol.

(04:18):
A beacon of hope amid the devastation.
I just knew that I was Comanche,the horse of Captain Keo.
I was the lone survivor ofthe Battle of Little Bighorn.
The man walking towards Jen brieflydisappeared as he walked behind a truck.

(04:42):
I started to turn andwalk towards Jen as well.
I had lost sight of her for a moment asa tour group passed in front of me, but
then, surprisingly, I heard laughter.
The group passed, and there was the manchatting happily away with my better half.
He recognized me from thechannel, she burst aloud.
He grinned sheepishly,almost as if embarrassed.
I saw the collaboration youguys did with JD, and I've

(05:03):
followed your channel ever since.
I smiled.
JD's a friend of ours withanother history YouTube channel.
Great guy, super supportive.
Of course, the first time Jen ever getsrecognized from the channel, we're about
as far away from home as we've ever been.
In fact, we were a little over 2000 milesaway and we got a picture with him and

(05:25):
he went on his way, all of us smiling.
Quite a different interactionwith a stranger than Custer had.
The story here at Little Bighorn was somuch more complex than I expected, with
broken promises, ominous forewarnings,and ultimately the decimation of
Custer's troops on Last Stand Hill.
The story of Comanche, the horse ofCaptain Miles Keough, is true, The

(05:52):
horse was found on the battlefield by U.
S.
soldiers who presumed he hadn't beentaken due to his two gunshot wounds.
He was standing over his captain.
And the soldiers eventuallynursed him back to health.
The horse stayed at Fort Meade until 1887when he was shipped to Fort Riley, Kansas.
He remained at Fort Rileyfor the rest of his life.
Comanche received heroattention at Fort Riley.

(06:15):
On April 10, 1878, General Order No.
7 was issued stating, The horse knownas Comanche being the only living
representative of the bloody tragedyof Little Bighorn, June 25, 1876, his
kind treatment and comfort shall be amatter of special pride and solicitude
on the part of every member of the7th Calvary to the end that his life

(06:38):
be preserved to the utmost limit.
Further, company, I will see that aspecial and comfortable stable is fitted
for him and he will not be ridden by anyperson whatsoever under any circumstances,
nor will be put to any kind of work.
Having led near every parade at thefort during his time there, he became
something of a celebrity and was treatedwith reverence and pride by every soldier.

(07:01):
On November 7th, 1891, Comanchedied of colic, a digestive disorder
not uncommon in elderly horses.
He was 29 years old.
I
highly recommend, if you ever havea chance to go to Little Bighorn,
you're in the Montana, Wyoming area.

(07:22):
You go do it.
It's a must see, and itreally takes you back in time.
Thank you for listening to the Talkwith History podcast, and please
reach out to us at thehistoryroadtrip.
com, where you can chat with us and ourcommunity of fellow history travelers.
That is thehistoryroadtrip.
com.
Thank you, and we'lltalk to you next time.