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This excerpt from a book published in 1900 is a product of its times, lacking a balanced historical perspective.
From Then and Now; or, Thirty-Six Years in the Rockies by Robert Vaughn, 1900, pp. 305-328 [public domain] :
GEN. GEORGE A. CUSTER, U. S. A.
The Hero of Little Big Horn
It is plain that Custer laid his plans to win the fight, and at once. From the position in which the dead were found it is also clear that, having found themselves entirely outnumbered and beyond the reach of help, they took position as best they could in a sort of triangle on the rough, hot hill side, and there died in battle. Custer’s brother, Colonel Tom Custer, held one corner of the triangle, and down nearest the river his brother-in-law, Calhoun, another, while the general held the higher ground, so as to see and direct the battle to the end. The men fell almost in line. The officers, Calhoun and Crittenden, fell in their places, as if on parade.
Two years afterwards Robert E. Strahorne, a particular friend of mine, who was all through the campaign with General Crook, sent me the following statement in regard to this Indian war:
“I was, during the trying days of 1876–77, the representative of an Eastern journal and attached to the expeditions which Brigadier General George Crook led against the hostile Sioux and Cheyennes, then commanded by Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Dull Knife and Little Wolf.
“In this campaign we were obliged to go without clothing or bedding, save such as we carried on our backs, and without food, except the scantiest allowance possible of bacon and coffee. In this one point, Crook is without a rival in the regular army; he subjects himself to just the same discomfort and hardships as his men have to endure and cuts loose from his wagon train for weeks and months at a time. His wagons are never allowed to become receptacles of luxuries and toothsome delicacies for himself and officers; they carry only grain, ammunition and the necessary articles of daily food.
“At the engagement on the Rosebud, Montana, June 17, 1876, Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull ‘bounced’ Crook with a force of painted and feathered red devils numbering well up307 in the thousands. Poor Custer met his fate at the hands of these same warriors only a week later. Crook’s forces were not much, if any, superior to Custer’s whole command, but he was fortunate in keeping them undivided. He withstood the attack with great skill and courage, although for a while things certainly looked very blue. On this day, a little company of Montana miners, who had been out in the Black Hills prospecting and had joined Crook while on their way back to Montana, did splendid work with their Sharp’s sporting rifles. Crook and Terry, those grand soldiers, after poor Custer’s command had been wiped out, united their forces on the Yellowstone. How Terry then took for his share the task of cleaning out any hostiles to be found north of the Yellowstone, while Crook, like a bull-dog, hung to the trail which led to the south; how he followed it without bedding, without shelter, without food other than horse meat and berries found in captured villages, and in spite of the pitiless rain which beat down upon us (for I was one of those who camped on the trail), day after day, during the entire march from the mouth of Powder river to the Black Hills.
“I could write a book about our trials and tribulations on those marches, and sometime in the future the half-formed fancy of the present moment may take shape. One thing I wish to impress upon the minds of present and future Montanians, and that is the fact that the campaigns of General Crook and brother officers and men in 1876 and 1877 had the positive result of opening to their permanent occupation and use those vast and beautiful regions drained by the Yellowstone, Big Horn, Rosebud, Tongue, Powder, Musselshell and Judith rivers—regions which up that time had swarmed with the most powerful, vindictive and treacherous tribes of savages America has produced. I went into those campaigns knowing little of the regular army, and indeed somewhat308 prejudiced against it; I came out satisfied that the mass of its officers and men, the ‘youngsters’ especially, were brave, intelligent, patriotic, ambitious and courteous—men of whom any country should be proud.
“Closing this reminiscence of an arduous season of toil and danger, I am glad to say that among the lieutenants with whom I faced the red foe, and for whom I formed a great attachment, was the witty, bright and brave Schwatka, whose successes as an Arctic explorer have since made him world famous; Bourke, who besides being an officer of exceptional gallantry and good judgment, has devoted himself, with great patience, to the collection of memoranda upon the manners and customs of the aborigines; Carpenter, noted as an entomologist, and dozens of other officers—Eagan, Charles King, Schuyler, Allison, Chase, Lemley, McKinney (since killed), Delaney, Randall, Sibley, Nickerson, Henry, as brave and intelligent as any men can be—in the army or out of it.
“As Sherman’s army had an important element following and surrounding it—‘the bummers’—so this hard-worked force that Crook commanded had attached to it a force of correspondents whom I compare, and in all kindness, to the ‘bummers’ whom Sherman led to the sea. They were an exceptionally fine lot of men. There was Jack Finerty of the Chicago Times. I have always had a notion that he stepped out from some place in Lever’s novels; he was brave to rashness, and devoted to the interests of his great journal. Joe Wason, of the Alta California and the New York Tribune, always on the skirmish line after ‘pints.’ His red head shone like the danger signal of a freight train, but in spite of his red head he was one of the best fellows I ever knew. T. C. MacMillan of the Chicago Inter Ocean, and J. J. Roche of the New York Herald, both physically weak, but intellectually strong, and so on through the list. Readers of the Boston309 Advertiser, New York Herald and Tribune, Alta California, Philadelphia Press, Washington Star, Denver News, Omaha Republican and Herald, Cheyenne Sun, and other papers represented at various times during that campaign of seventeen months’ duration, never imagined while they were reading our letters at their comfortable breakfast table, and growling at the dashed correspondents because they ‘didn’t make ’em more full,’ that the ‘dashed correspondent,’ dressed in rags, soaked through with rain, and almost crazed with want of food and rest, was writing his letters on a cottonwood chip or a piece of flat stone, and often at the risk of his life from a stray bullet.”
There is now in this state one witness of the Custer battles, who is perhaps the only one living. He is William Jackson, an intelligent and well educated half-breed, who now lives at the Blackfeet reservation sixty-five miles from here.
After a long life as government scout, he has turned his attention to farming and cattle raising, and in this pursuit he has been quite successful. He was in this city a few days ago on his way from Helena, where he had been as a witness in a trial which was held in the United States court. A correspondent of the Anaconda Standard, at this place, had an important interview with Mr. Jackson, which is as follows. He says: “Mitch Bouille, William Cross and myself were acting as guides and scouts for the Custer-Terry expedition against the Sioux and Cheyennes who were under the leadership of the wily old Sitting Bull. The battle, as you know, took place on June 25, 1876. On the morning of that day the troopers had made an early start and we, the scouts, had gone ahead on a reconnoitering expedition. When we returned to report we met the command crossing the divide between the Rosebud and Little Big Horn rivers, General Custer rode at the head of his command, the Seventh Cavalry, and Captains311 French and Benteen and Major Reno were in command of other divisions.
“We had discovered the hostiles camped near the Little Big Horn and about seven miles straight ahead of the soldiers. We so reported to General Custer, and he, calling a halt, summoned the officers under him for a council. The troops were shut out from view on the part of the hostiles by a ridge of land, and it was at the base of this that the council of war was held. It lasted but a few minutes, and Custer’s desire for an immediate engagement carried the day. The soldiers were divided into three battalions. Major Reno with three companies and all of the scouts was to advance rapidly and from a commanding ridge make a charge upon the upper end of the Sioux camp, first gaining a patch of timber about six hundred yards from the enemy. In the meantime General Custer, with five companies, would deploy around the edge of the ridge where they were now halted and attack the lower end of the village and cut off all retreat on the part of the Sioux. Captain Benteen, with four companies, would take up a position on the east bank of the Little Big Horn, overlooking the village and protecting the pack train and baggage.
“As the officers left the council they quickly gave orders to the men, and in an instant all were busy inspecting and loading their pistols and carbines, filling their ammunition belts, tightening saddles and looking to every detail preparatory to the fight. Soon the bugle sounded, ‘Prepare to mount; mount, forward!’ Custer and his men went to the right, Reno to the left, toward the ford of the Little Big Horn. The horses went forward at a sharp trot, and in the moment of waiting on the bank of the stream I looked back and saw Custer with his five companies charging upon the village, Custer fully fifty yards in the lead. That was the last time I ever looked upon that heroic soldier alive or his gallant men. We312 were soon busy in making the ford, which was somewhat difficult, and then we advanced up the ridge, taking the position assigned us at the council. Up to that time there had been no incident of interest. The troops were dismounted and the horses left in the care of every fourth soldier. Everything was ready for the fight to begin and the wait was not long.
“The hostiles had discovered us at once and took the initiative by making a vicious charge up the hill. Their main body gained a vantage ground behind an elevation sufficient to protect them and just in front of our position. As they charged they drove in our skirmish line, which took a position just inside the timber. The fight was furious for a time, the Indians outnumbering Reno’s command at least ten to one. A second charge from the hostiles drove us still higher up the ridge, at least one mile further from the village, and it was in our retreat that we first heard the sounds of firing in the lower end of the village where Custer was engaged. It could not have been very heavy, as he met but few hostiles at the first of the engagement, but it was sufficient to draw the attention of the Indians away from us and turn it upon the unfortunates who were attacking them in the rear. This was between 3 and 4 o’clock in the afternoon and from that time the fighting in the lower end of the Indian camp was hot and heavy. The sound of firing increased steadily until it became a roar, and then it died gradually away until there was only the scattered reports of single shots. All this took place in the space of two hours, and when the June sun set behind the Little Big Horn mountains the Custer command had been entirely wiped out.
“Of course we did not know this at the time, but wondered how the fight had gone. Soon we suspected that something was wrong, for the Indians again turned their attention to313 Reno, and from that time there was no opportunity to think of anything save what we saw going on about us, and in which we were vitally interested, for the onslaughts of the painted warriors became desperate. Inflamed by their success in killing the Custer command, they now determined to sweep away the rest of their enemies, and time and again they charged up the hill to capture Reno. Only the strength of our position prevented our meeting a fate like that of Custer, and it was after dark before the hostiles gave up their attempt to dislodge and slaughter us. My personal interest in the fray was strong. I had been in the skirmish line, and when we were driven back by the hostiles we retreated slowly, protecting the withdrawal of the main body of Reno’s command. In doing this fourteen of us were cut off from the command and had to take to the brush and hide. Before we could conceal ourselves ten of the fourteen had been killed, leaving only Lieutenant Deridio, F. F. Gerard, Tom O’Neal and myself.
“Fortunately we were not discovered, and at midnight, after all danger of the enemy was past, we slipped from our covert and made ready to join our command. We stripped the blankets from the bodies of dead Indians, which were plentifully strewn through the timber, and wrapping these about us we filed Indian fashion up the bank of the stream. We did not know just where Reno was camped and our first desire was to get outside of the ‘dead circle,’ or picket line, of the Sioux. We advanced cautiously and making as little noise as possible, but in spite of that we suddenly ran into a body of fifteen Sioux pickets. To hesitate was to be suspected, and suspicion on their part just then meant death to us. We advanced steadily and without exhibiting surprise. We had partly passed the party when one of them demanded who we were. I could speak Sioux as well as my own tongue, and without delay replied ‘Us.’
314 “‘Where are you going?’ was the next question, and my answer to this was, ‘for our horses.’ This satisfied the interrogators, and we had escaped the first danger.
“We had succeeded in crossing the stream and following the trail along the bank, faint in the dim moonlight, when we came to an opening in the dense cottonwoods, and there we ran into a camp of several hundred Indians. Gerard immediately took them to be our men and belonging to Reno’s command. He shouted: ‘Don’t shoot, boys; we are friends.’ The startled Indians cried out: ‘Lay non; wa-see-cha ah-he-pe ah-lo!’ (It is the enemy; the evil bad snows are upon us!) At this I dropped my blanket and ran, getting into the brush and away from the trail. Some one followed me closely, and I made up my mind that if he ever caught me there would be a fight to death between us. I could actually feel the knive thrust between my ribs in my highly excited imagination, and when I reached the river bank I turned to face my pursuer. Then I found that it was none other than Gerard, who had chosen the same path as myself. We waited a minute or two and listened. Then we heard four shots, and we were sure that our companions were lost.
“We waited no longer but plunged into the stream and gained the opposite bank, following it as far as we dared. Dawn was breaking and through the day we lay hidden in the willows, watching the battle which followed between the Indians and Reno’s command. As the sun arose we could see the Indians circling about the camp and occupying every adjacent hill. A scattering fire was maintained until 9 o’clock, when the Indians made a savage assault upon the east side of Reno’s position. The soldiers appeared to be very cool and poured in a murderous fire, which forced the hostiles to fall back with heavy loss. An hour later they made a second desperate charge, and so fierce was this that they actually315 fought with the soldiers over the breastworks, hand to hand. But again the discipline of the soldiers was more than a match for the fanatical frenzy of the Sioux, and they were driven back the second time. The soldiers had lost but few in this conflict, while their savage foes were strewn all over the side of the hill. From that time until noon there was only firing at long range. Then came a third charge, easily repulsed. From that time until 4 o’clock in the afternoon each side rested on its arms. About that hour, sheltered by a hill and not more than one thousand yards distant from the soldiers, the Indians held a council of war. In a few minutes there were evidences of departure in the Indian village, and it was then that the strength of the foe appeared. They could be seen by the thousand, scurrying about through the camp, taking down the lodges, loading the ponies with packs and with travois, and when the baggage train was finally completed, hurrying off to the north under a strong escort of warriors, making for the Big Horn mountains. At sunset all of them had disappeared and we dared venture out from our hiding place.
“Approaching Reno’s position cautiously, for fear of being shot by the sentinels in the darkness, we were fortunate in getting inside the lines in time to meet Major Reno himself with members of his staff. To them I related what we had seen and heard, including the story of the loss of our companions, but before I had finished a challenge was heard, and into the camp came an orderly with Deridio and O’Neal. We were overjoyed, but there was little time for congratulations. Mounted on the best horse remaining in the command—for the long range fighting had killed many of those in the troop—I was sent with dispatches to Generals Custer and Terry.
“Three miles down the Little Big Horn I came upon the battlefield and it was a most grievious sight. Scattered or heaped up on the plain were the bodies of 237 men, every316 one save that of Custer mutilated in the most horrible manner known to the Indian mind. Not one had a vestage of clothing upon it; all had been stripped off and carried away by the exulting fiends. In Custer’s body there were the marks of two bullet wounds, and undoubtedly I was the first man to look upon the terrible sight. It was too much for me and I turned and rode swiftly away down the river, shortly afterward meeting General Terry and his soldiers. To him I gave my dispatches and was immediately sent back to Major Reno with instructions to bury the dead. This was completed about 1 o’clock in the afternoon of the 27th. The wounded in Reno’s command were taken to the mouth of the Big Horn river, and thence conveyed down the Yellowstone on the steamer Far West to Bismarck. The next day we gathered up large quantities of pemmican and other provisions and camp utensils left by the Sioux in their hurried flight, and burned them. Although I was but a youth when this occurred, it made an impression upon my mind that I shall never forget, and the details of those horrible two or three days are as fresh now as they were at the time of occurrence. Five years ago I went over ‘The Custer Battlefield,’ where the soldiers are buried, with Mrs. Eustis, whose son Jack, then a recent graduate from West Point, had been one of the victims under Custer. She had cherished a hope of recovering his bones, but although we had with us a number of Sioux and Cheyennes who had taken part in the fight, and each tried his best to recall all of the fearful scene, we were unable to help her, and she was obliged to return to her Eastern home with frustrated hopes. The incident, however, called up in mind all of the gruesome details of the battlefield as I saw it on that memorable morning, and I shall never care to repeat the experience.”
General Terry, in his official report dated Camp on Little Big Horn, June 27, 1876, noticed the military movement in317 the direction where Custer and his men had fallen, and submitted for the information of the war department the following important explanation:
“At the mouth of the Rosebud I informed General Custer that I should take the supply steamer Far West up the Yellowstone to ferry General Gibbon’s column over the river; that I should personally accompany that column, and that it would in all probability reach the mouth of the Little Big Horn, on the 26th inst. The steamer reached General Gibbon’s troops, near the mouth of the Big Horn, early on the 24th, and at 4 o’clock in the afternoon all his men and animals were across the Yellowstone. At 5 o’clock the column, consisting of five companies of the Seventh Infantry, four companies of the Seventh Cavalry, and a battery of three gatling guns, marched out to and across Tullock’s creek, starting soon after 5 o’clock on the morning of the 25th. The infantry made a march of twenty-two miles over the most difficult country I have ever seen. In order that scouts might be sent into the valley of the Little Big Horn, the cavalry with the battery was then pushed on thirteen or fourteen miles further, reaching camp at midnight. The scouts were sent out at 4:30 on the morning of the 26th. The scouts discovered three Indians, who were at first supposed to be Sioux, but when overtaken they proved to be Crows, who had been with General Custer. They brought the first intelligence of the battle. Their story was not credited. It was supposed that some fighting, perhaps severe fighting, had taken place, but it was not believed that disaster could have overtaken so large a force as twelve companies of cavalry. The infantry, which had broken camp very early, soon came up and the whole column entered and moved up the valley of the Little Big Horn. During the afternoon efforts were made to send scouts to what was supposed to be General Custer’s position, and to318 obtain information of the condition of affairs, but those who were sent out were driven back by parties of Indians, who, in increasing numbers, were seen hovering on General Gibbon’s front. At twenty minutes before 9 o’clock in the evening the infantry had marched between twenty-five and thirty miles; the men were very weary and daylight was falling; the column was, therefore, halted for the night at a point about eleven miles in a straight line above the mouth of the stream. Next morning the movement was resumed, and after a march of nine miles Major Reno’s intrenched position was reached. The withdrawal of the Indians from around Reno’s command, and from the valley, was undoubtedly caused by the appearance of General Gibbon’s troops. Major Reno and Captain Benteen, both of whom are officers of great experience, accustomed to see large masses of mounted men, estimated the number of Indians engaged at not less than twenty-five hundred. Other officers think that the number was greater than this. The village in the valley was about three miles in length and about a mile in width. Besides the lodges proper, a great number of temporary brushwood shelters were found in it, indicating that many men, besides its proper inhabitants, had gathered together there.”
William Sellow, who now lives in Teton county, Montana, also one of the scouts who served under General Custer, contributes the following to the Dupuyer Acantha, July 15, 1899:
“Quite often, especially of recent years, I have seen articles in papers and magazines relating to the actions and motives of General Custer that led up to the massacre of his historic band. Most of these do grievious wrong to the bravest and best officer the United States government ever sent out to fight Indians on the frontier. Books, too, go so far as to call him a suicide and murderer for going at the head of his men into the battle of Little Big Horn on June 25, 1876.
319 “At that time I was in Custer’s employ as a civilian scout, and had known him for a long time. I knew his ways of attacking Indians, and knew his unbounded confidence in his men. I had known him to win Indian fights against greater odds than his last one. For instance, at Wichita, he routed them with a force that numbered ten to one. Had he, in his last fight been supported as he could and should have been, he would have won the day, and then the Sitting Bull war would have ended and not have lasted until it cost much money and many lives. Not until the buffalo were killed and other game became scarce were the Indians satisfied to accept government rations and spend their honeymoon at home. An Indian’s heart is never good until he is hungry and cold.
“Custer has been accused by would-be historians of going contrary to orders in his last campaign, and to refute these charges I write to follow him as far, or farther, than anyone else is truthfully capable of doing. That he did not go contrary to orders in his last movements the captain acting as General Terry’s adjutant at the time, if he is alive, will gladly, doubtless, testify. Unfortunately, I have forgotten his name. He will remember the greater part of the orders.
“After we, the scouts, delivered to Custer his last orders, I know he had no opportunity to receive any more, and as I recount the events as nearly as I can remember them at this length of time, it will be seen that I am correct.
“General Terry started myself and another scout to overtake and join Custer. After leaving the supply train and headquarters on about June 22, 1876, we reached the camp that night and delivered our message. The reader will see that in those stirring times when a scout was given a message it was in duplicate, one for the perusal of the scout and one for the receiver. These precautions were taken for fear one or both might be lost en route. In the first case the open one could be delivered, and in the second the scout might deliver320 the message from memory. I have yet in my possession the extra copy of this message, but unfortunately, it is so old and pocket-worn as to be only partially decipherable. From this, aided by memory, I give the message:
“‘To Lieutenant Colonel Custer, Seventh United States Cavalry:
“‘The brigadier general commanding desires that you proceed up the Rosebud in pursuit of the Indians, whose trail was discovered by Major Reno’s scouts a few days ago. Of course, it is impossible for me to give definite instructions with regard to this movement, and were it not impossible to do so, the department commander places too much confidence in your zeal, energy and ability to wish to impose upon you orders that would conflict with your own judgment and which might hamper your actions when nearly in contact with the enemy. I will, however, indicate to you his ideas of what your movements should be and he desires you to conform to them unless your own judgment should give you sufficient reasons for departing from them. He thinks you should proceed up the Rosebud until you ascertain definitely the direction in which the trail above spoken of leads. Should it be found that it turns toward the Little Big Horn he thinks you should still proceed southward as far as the headwaters of Tongue river and then toward the Rosebud and the Little Big Horn, keeping scouts out constantly to your left, so as to prevent the possibility of the escape of the Indians to the south or southeast by passing around your left flank. The column of Colonel Gibbons is now in motion for the mouth of the Big Horn. As soon as it reaches that point it will cross the Yellowstone and move up as far at least as the forks of the Big Horn and the Little Big Horn. Of course, its future will be controlled by circumstances as they exist. But it is hoped that the Indians, if upon the Little Big Horn, may be so nearly enclosed by the two columns that their escape will be impossible.
321 “‘The department commander desires that, on your way up the Rosebud, you should have your scouts thoroughly examine the upper part of Tullock’s fork, and that you should endeavor to send scouts through to Colonel Gibbon’s command with the result of your examination. The lower part of this will be examined by Colonel Gibbon’s scouts.
“‘The supply steamer will be pushed up the Big Horn as far as the forks of the Big and Little Big Horn, if the river is found navigable that far.
“‘The department commander, who will accompany the column of Colonel Gibbons, desires you to report to him there no later than the expiration of the time for which your troops are rationed, unless in the meantime you receive further orders.’
“After sleeping about two hours that same night we got fresh horses and Custer started us with instructions to go to the east of Tullock’s fork and to follow it down to its mouth at Tullock’s creek and to keep a sharp lookout for any signs of Indians, and to report to him again that night if possible. This we did, seeing nothing but the trail of a small war party going toward the Big Horn.
“We had been rolled up in our blankets but a few hours when Charlie Reynolds and a half-breed Sioux scout, Bill Cross, came in with a report which caused Custer to send for us again. After getting fresh horses we were given a dispatch to carry to Colonel Gibbon’s command. We reached the river, which we crossed by the aid of our horses’ tails with our clothes tied so as to keep them as dry as possible. We reached the command that day. The next morning I was sent back to the supply train, which was still at Powder river, and my companion was sent to join Benteen’s command. He was with the latter during his engagement with the Indians, and he gives Colonel322 Benteen great credit for bravery. The colonel, he says, when the men behind the breastworks ran short of ammunition, with his own hands carried it and threw it over to them, being all the time exposed to the deadly fire of the enemy.
“In twenty-four hours I reached the supply train and was afforded another opportunity to fill up and get some sleep. On the 26th we met a Sioux scout, Bloody Knife, coming in badly scared and he seemed to think that Custer had been killed, although he had not seen him. Another scout, George Mulligan, and myself had been sent out to find Custer.
“We had not gone far when we met Bill Cross and eight Ree Indian scouts. They had a few Sioux ponies which they said they had captured. They told us that Custer and his command were killed, but they did not seem to know much about it. They could not tell us just where the fight took place, hence we took little stock in their story. We learned afterward, however, that when Custer made the charge they gathered up the Sioux horses that had strayed out on the hills, and pulled out for a more healthy climate. Scout Reynolds had the same privilege, but chose to go into the battle, and was afterward found in the same deadly circle with General Custer with many empty shells around them as evidence of a desperate fight.
“Reynolds well knew of Custer’s ability to deal with the Indians against fearful odds, for he had previously fought with him. He also knew the odds he had to face that day, as we spoke of it when we last met and he proved by his actions that he could not have been aware of any wrong-doing on the part of the general when he, of his own free will, followed him that day.
“After leaving Cross and the Ree scouts we met Curley, the Crow Indian scout, who was with Custer at the beginning of the fight. That pock-marked villain and liar, Rain-in-the-Face,323 says Curley is a liar, that he was not there, but I know for a fact that Rain-in-the-Face had never met Curley, nor to the best of my knowledge has he ever seen him since. I have heard Rain talk and he will never get into the happy hunting grounds if veracity is to be his passport.
“When we met Curley he was so badly scared that I doubt if he would have known himself. He had a Sioux medicine or war pony in full paint and feathers, a Sioux blanket and part of a war bonnet that he wore in his escape, and which he got from a dead Sioux medicine man who was killed near him in the first attack. The blanket had some blood on it. His own horse was killed and he appropriated the medicine man’s property, and instead of trying to run the gauntlet he moved along with the enemy, trusting to his disguise to deceive them. When he saw an opportunity he dropped out of his bad company and escaped. When I last saw him with Custer he had his Crow clothes on and had his own pony, and he had no other chance to get the outfit. Had he been a white man he would not have had any chance of escape even with that rig. He does not claim to have tried to fight, but only to escape, and his first account of the affair is no doubt the correct one, as anyone acquainted with the Indians and their mode of fighting will admit its feasibility.
“I understand that there was an ex-soldier at the World’s Fair in Chicago, who posed as a soldier in the Seventh cavalry, who escaped from the fatal field. He was an impostor, for none but Curley left the ground alive. He may have dreamed it and believes in dreams.
“When the Seventh cavalry rode away from Fort Lincoln with the White Horse company, the band belonging to it played one of Custer’s favorites, ‘The Girl I Left Behind Me.’ Ever after that, when I heard the familiar tune on the plains, my mind was carried back to the parting scene at the fort,325 and in the foreground of memory’s picture stands, with tear-dimmed eyes, a sad, brave woman. Well might her heart nigh break, for she knew, as no one else did, that her brave husband was going on an expedition fraught with untold, hidden dangers, and not upon a summer outing.
“Crazy Horse and Goose, each with a band of Cheyennes, fought against Custer. In fact, the former was looked upon as the head war chief, Sitting Bull being more of a medicine man and prophet. The prevalent belief is that Sitting Bull was the worst Indian and head war chief. This is a mistake. There were several worse than he and more treacherous, but as most of them are dead and good Indians, I will not take the trouble to name them or to recount their good (?) deeds. Gall was the head man among those who fought Reno and Benteen, and would have got away with them only for the personal bravery of the latter.
“When General Terry left the field and General Miles took command all Terry’s and Custer’s scouts who were alive went to work for the new commander, except George Mulligan and Jimmy-from-Cork. But there were only five of us left—Bob and Bill Jackson, Vick Smith, Cody and myself. However, Miles re-enforced us with several others.
“Scout Billy Jackson was with Custer on the morning of the 25th, but left before the engagement to join Reno, and knew nothing of the terrible conflict until the next day. On the 27th they came to the battlefield, and Jackson, with four other scouts, identified the remains of General Custer and Scout Reynolds. His report of the battlefield may be vouched for, as he was ever known as a brave, cool, clear-headed and truthful scout, whom General Miles said he could always depend upon. He, too, maintains that Custer did not go contrary to orders.”
327 Custer had divided his force into three parts. Benteen had orders to sweep everything before him to the left, and Reno was to drive right at the enemy. But it seems that neither he nor any other officer who was in this campaign had an idea that the Indian forces were as strong as they proved to be. There were at least eight Indian warriors to one soldier; neither did he know that they were so well supplied with arms and ammunition. Here is where Custer was deceived, or likely he would have kept his men together and won the battle.
On the arrival of General Gibbon the dead were buried and the wounded men of Reno’s and Benteen’s commands were given attention. After Gibbon and his men returned to Fort Shaw, I had an interview with the general and with many of the soldiers who were on the battlefield and assisted in burying the dead. They said that all the men, except Custer, were horribly mutilated and divested of all their clothing.
Again we return to Sitting Bull. Soon after the death of Custer, Sheridan, who was at the head of the war department, called out troops and fought him the balance of the season almost continuously, but the great chief always avoided open battle. In October General Miles drove him across the Missouri river, killing some Indians, capturing two thousand men, women and children, and destroying many of their supplies. The warriors who remained were scattered and discouraged; skulked back into the mountains, while Sitting Bull, with his followers crossed the line into the British possessions. In the meantime Generals Crook and Terry fought and defeated Chief Crazy Horse on the Rosebud towards the close of the year.
To give an idea of the vastness of the country where the hostile Indians had established their camps, I will give the approximate area, which was 125 by 200 miles, or 25,000 square miles. The Yellowstone river is about 350 miles long,328 200 of which was included in this area. The length of Powder river is 150 miles; the Tongue river the same, the Rosebud 125, the Big Horn about of similar length. With all of the tributaries of these rivers, and with the hills and mountain passes, the Indians were familiar; in this respect they had the advantage over the military. To go into details of those campaigns, extending over this great territory—the fearful severity—the long marching for months at a time through an untrodden wilderness, and sometimes a scarcity of food, clothing and bedding—the many battles that were fought, to which I have made no reference; burying the dead and taking care of the wounded—to tell all this would make a book in itself. But one thing I will insert here: That monument in Custer county, which marks the graves of those who have given their lives for this mountain land, and are peacefully sleeping at the base of it, will be kept erect by the Montanians as long as those everlasting peaks which overlook this sacred spot from the mountain tops near by shall remain.
Robert Vaughn.
July 24, 1899.
The Vamps @ Fabrique, Milano - 11 marzo 2023
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The Vamps tornano in Italia per celebrare i loro 10 anni di carriera con il loro The Greatest Hits Tour, sabato 11 marzo 2023 al Fabrique di Milano.
Il quartetto ha iniziato a spopolare nel 2012, anno nel quale grazie a YouTube sono riusciti a farsi conoscere in tutto il mondo.
Nel 2013 hanno pubblicato il singolo di debutto “Can We Dance” che ha ricevuto oltre 1 milione di views in sole due settimane e ha debuttato alla #2 della Official Single Charts, seguito dal singolo “Wild Heart”. Entrambi hanno anticipato l’uscita dell’album di debutto “Meet The Vamps” che ha debuttato alla #1 della Official Albums Chart. L’album ha ottenuto un ottimo riscontro da parte del pubblico, scalando le classifiche pop mondiali. Nel 2015 è stato pubblicato il secondo album “Wake Up”.
“Night & Day” è il titolo del terzo album rilasciato in due parti. La prima parte Night & Day (Night Edition) è stata pubblicata a luglio 2017, e “Night & Day (Day Edition) a luglio dell’anno successivo.
L’album è stato anticipato dai singoli “All Night”, “Middle of the Night” e “Hands”, il primo è certificato platino in Italia, ha totalizzato quasi 400 milioni di stream su Spotify con oltre 3,5 milioni di vendite.
The Vamps sono una delle band inglesi che ha raggiunto il maggior successo nel mondo con più di 2 miliardi di stream globali, 10 milioni di ascoltatori mensili e 2,7 milioni di follower su Spotify.
Nel corso della loro carriera hanno collaborato con numerosi artisti e hanno supportato band come i The Wanted, le Little Mix e cantanti come Demi Lovato, Selena Gomez e Taylor Swift.
Bradley Will Simpson proviene da Sutton Coldfield, West Midland. È il cantante e chitarrista della band, suona anche il piano, la batteria e l'ukulele. Bradley ha incontrato James McVey attraverso YouTube nel 2011 e da allora hanno lavorato al loro album di debutto.
James Daniel McVey proviene da Bournemouth, Dorset. È il chitarrista e fondatore della band, e prima che si formasse la band aveva già una piccola carriera e una pagina su iTunes. James ha incontrato Bradley Simpson attraverso YouTube nel 2011 e da allora hanno lavorato al loro album di debutto.
Connor Samuel John Ball proviene da Hatton, Warwickshire. È il bassista della band. È stato l'ultimo ad unirsi al gruppo nel 2013.
Tristan Oliver Vance Evans proviene da Exeter, Devon. È il batterista della band, ma sa suonare anche la chitarra. Tristan agisce anche come produttore, soprattutto nelle loro cover. Nel 2010, due anni prima di entrare nella band, ha ricevuto il premio “Best Young Drummer of the Year”.
i was very proud to participate in the inside-out | be the change project in athens, greece. on friday, june 21st, 2013, a group of young people plastered some portraits that i shot, along with extraordinary photographers, around klafthmonos square. this was one action of many, in which a new generation is being the change they want to see.
more information:
athens youth being the change they wish to see
I'm so excited to share with you that my Gratitude Pages have been published in the April issue of Art Journaling Magazine! More at my blog.
This is not just any book I am looking at. It is a photo book with write-ups about places in North America to travel with kids. Beyond that it is a book that a photo of MINE has been PUBLISHED! It just arrived this past week.
I must tell you I was blown away when I got the request to be paid to have a photo published in a book. (read my blog entry on it here). In addition to that they were paying me to have the photo in the book! AND... in addition to that they would send me a copy of it when it was in print - so here is my copy, in my hands.
See the next two photos in my stream to see the photo credits... and then too click one more photo further in my stream to see the page in the book with my photo printed on it!
Here is info about the book from an email that was written to me about the book when I was just learing about it. ... in case you are interested in getting a copy: Amazing Places to Take Your Kids in North America will be a large coffee table book that you'll be able to find in places like Wal Mart and on the bargain price bookshelves at places like Barnes & Noble. Travel agencies will also give them away as promotional items. About 10,000 copies will be printed.
This shot has been selected as a finalist in the Photographer's Forum 29th Annual Spring Photography contest; it will be published in the Best of Photography 2009 book! I will find out whether I'm an Honorable Mention or above in mid-August.
So excited!!
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Torna nella sua amata Italia Sting, con l’unica data italiana del “My Songs Tour” al Mediolanum Forum di Assago a Milano, martedì 29 ottobre. Neanche un problema alla spalla, che l’ha costretto ad una operazione la scorsa settimana, ha fermato l’energico artista britannico, che sarà quindi regolarmente sul palco di Assago.
Seppur il “My Songs Tour” nasca come ciclo di concerti per promuovere l’ultimo album “My Songs”, uscito il 24 maggio 2019, la tournée internazionale di Sting è di fatto l’occasione per fare il punto di una carriera irripetibile. Quella di Milano sarà la terzultima data europea per l’artista britannico, che poi volerà in America per altre cinque date. Il 9 dicembre, poi, Sting sarà al Beacon Theatre di New York insieme a Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Eurythmics, Shaggy e molti altri per l’edizione numero 30 dell’annuale concerto benefico del Rainforest Fund, l’organizzazione che lo stesso Sting ha fondato per raccogliere fondi in difesa della foresta pluviale amazzonica.
Sting, nome d’arte di Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, ex bassista e fondatore dei The Police, formati nel 1977 insieme al batterista statunitense Stewart Copeland e al chitarrista Henry Padovani, più tardi sostituito da Andy Summers. Dopo la separazione della band avvenuta nel 1983, Sting si dedica alla carriera solista che dura a tutt’oggi. Mentre è del 1979 la sua prima apparizione televisiva come attore, nel film Quadrophenia dei The Who. Altri film più avanti negli anni lo vedono protagonista, come Le due facce del male (Brimstone and Treacle) (1982), e nel ruolo semi-romantico di Mick in Plenty (con Meryl Streep); uno dei suoi ruoli più famosi è quello di Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen nell’adattamento cinematografico di Dune (1984). È stato candidato 3 volte per Oscar alla migliore canzone nel 2001, 2002 e 2004 per i film “Le follie dell’imperatore”, “Kate & Leopold” e “Ritorno a Cold Mountain”.
Two of my photos of Goshen, NY have been published in Hudson Valley, Magazine. April 2012 issue.
This is one of Main Street.
Originally published on Phogropathy here: bit.ly/151hCzi Be sure to also check put the community forums - bit.ly/Vdu0Hg
Published by Mundi Comics, Spain 1979
Autographed by Stan Lee, Len Wein, Herb Trimpe and John Romita
Description: Program published for the 1989 Ingleside Invaders baseball team. The programs were self-produced by the team under direction of their head coach Dan Harrington, with help from assistant coaches and other community members. Mr. Harrington has given his approval to the San Francisco Public Library for these publications to be reproduced here on Flickr in digital format. Mr. Harrington has written a description of these publications and the Ingleside Invaders baseball team..
"The last of the Sandlot League teams in San Francisco is the Ingleside Invaders, the only team to sign up in 1990 for the 18-and-under division of SF Rec-Park Baseball, the direct descendent of the Sandlot League known in the 1980s as the Neighborhood League. (I don't know when the Sandlot League started, but it is thought to have its origins before 1900).
"The Invaders ball club was a successful representative of the neighborhood, with players from many public, private and parochial high schools chipping in small amounts of money (no more than $25), getting to keep full uniforms; businesses donated funds (except for the Marines who still owe me fifty bucks!) while receiving ad-space for the team's self-produced publications showing stories about "the Greater Ingleside" history and contemporary times to the rest of San Francisco. The Invaders made some life-long friendships and fielded some good baseball teams!
"My recently passed father Richard Harrington took many of the photos, while my brother Richard Jr, who passed away in 1998, compiled some stats and kept book for many of the games. The 1986 paper stock was provided by the Coca-Cola bottlers on Bayshore Blvd. and printed by the team, complete with a team picture in the relatively new light rail vehicle (LRV) "streetcar" yard off Ocean Ave.
"Ingleside finished second in 1986, 87, and 88. Ingleside was surprised in a playoff game in 1989. But it did give the best example of multiple schools represented on the same summer team and a model to use for the RBI Baseball and Softball program run independently by Dan Harrington (calling in lots of favors for help) in 1997 at Crocker-Amazon and Balboa Park, and in conjunction with City College baseball courses (John Vanoncini) and Columbia Park and San Francisco Boys and Girls Clubs from 1998 to 2010."
--Dan Harrington, May 2014
Collection: Ingleside Branch Archives
Repository: San Francisco Public Library - Ingleside Branch
This is the first picture I have had published in a magazine, turned out to be a page and a half spread.....pretty exciting for me
Link to original picture used below
Trade PB - ISBN 0-246-13420-8 - Grafton Books - published in the U.K. - copyright 1988 - foreword by Brian Aldiss
Well Mr. Pringle has selected his 100 best fantasy novels all published during 1946-1987. He certainly expects us readers to fume and fret why this piece of tripe was included and our old favorite was omitted. Nonetheless agree or disagree his reviews provide a clear and concise plot synopsis and a short biographical sketch of the author.
I have acquired a number of these "best novels" collections and find them very helpful discovering novels I would never have read.
The Brian Aldiss foreword is quite entertaining as he muses why his favorites weren't included.
The Postcard
A Newcolour Series postcard that was published by E. T. W. Dennis & Sons Ltd. of London and Scarborough. The quality of the image isn't up to much - they normally do better than that.
The card was posted in Southsea on Monday the 13th. July 1959 to:
Mrs. Matthews,
39, Church Road,
Southall,
Middlesex.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"We arrived here yesterday
until the 18th.
I can't think why you have
never answered my letter.
We hope you are both
keeping well.
This is a very nice place.
We had a trip to Hayling
Island this morning, the
wind is rather strong.
Write to let us know how
you are. No news from
the others.
All news when we see you.
Laura".
The 18th. July 1959 was a Saturday, the usual turn-around day for British seaside resorts when one group of holidaymakers would leave and another group would arrive.
Southsea
Southsea is a seaside resort located in Portsmouth at the southern end of Portsea Island, Hampshire. The name originates from Southsea Castle, a fort located on the seafront and constructed in 1544 to help defend the Solent and approaches to Portsmouth Harbour.
When Henry VIII was in the castle he witnessed the sinking of the warship Mary Rose in the Solent.
By the mid to late Victorian era, Southsea had become a largely middle-class neighbourhood, with many naval officers and other professionals in residence. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle moved from Portsmouth to Southsea in 1882 with less than £10 (about £900 today) to his name. He set up a medical practice at 1 Bush Villas in Elm Grove.
Southsea Common
Southsea Common was created when about 480 acres (2sq. km.) of marshland was drained. Because the castle required clear lines of fire, the area was not built on, and remains today as a park and garden.
The Common is home to a remarkable collection of mature elm trees, believed to be the oldest and largest surviving in Hampshire. They escaped Dutch elm disease because of their isolation.
The Ladies' Mile was set out within the Common in 1925. The Ladies' mile is home to several semi-mature date palms. Planted in 1996, these palms are now some of the largest in the UK, and for the last few years have fruited and produced viable seeds, the first time this species of palm has been recorded as doing so in the UK.
'Lonely Boy'
So what else happened on the day that Laura posted the card?
Well, on the 13th. July 1959, the Billboard Hot 100 Number One Hit was 'Lonely Boy' by Paul Anka.
A UFO Sighting in New Zealand
Also on that day, a farmer in Blenheim on the South Island claimed to have seen lights and a UFO containing two men in silvery suits. Maybe all those sheep had driven him mad.
This photograph was published in an online article in DEVON LIVE on 16th May 2025 by Kate Lally and titled:
''Kitchen staple that keeps slugs and other pests out of garden
The affordable item is a 'superstar' when it comes to the garden ''
It had previously been published in an online edition of DAILY EXPRESS UK newspaper on Friday April 4th 2025 written by Kate Lally titled:
'' 57p trick to get slugs out of your garden
Slugs can be a real annoyance, often munching their way through leaves and other plants ''
It had previously been published in an online edition of DAILY EXPRESS US newspaper on Friday March 28th 2025 written by Chloe Dobinson and Angela Patrone titled:
'' Slugs and snails '100% hate' 1 natural item that you can put in your garden
The pests are not the most popular of creatures among gardeners, especially when they are invading your plants and vegetable patch ''
It had previously been published in an online article on VT magazine in the lifestyle section on September 13th 2024. The article was titled:
'' Terrifying simulation shows what happened to a teenager who was dared to eat a live slug '', and written by James Kay.
It had been previously selected for sale in the GETTY IMAGES COLLECTION on September 10th 2020
CREATIVE RF gty.im/1271479948 MOMENT ROYALTY FREE COLLECTION and became my 4,572nd frame to be selected for sale in the Getty Images collection
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©All photographs on this site are copyright: DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) 2011 – 2020 & GETTY IMAGES ®
No license is given nor granted in respect of the use of any copyrighted material on this site other than with the express written agreement of DESPITE STRAIGHT LINES (Paul Williams) ©
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Photograph taken at an altitude of Fifty two metres at 07:22am on Wednesday 9th September 2020, of a Large red slug (Arion rufus) off Chessington Avenue in Bexleyheath, Kent.
Also known as the Red slug, Chocolate arion and European red slug, these are land slugs or roundback slugs in the family Arionidae. The opening on the right side is a pneumostome or respiratory pore which feeds air to the lung. They have a striped foot fringe and pale sole, and can reach 150mm fully extended.
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Nikon D850 Hand held with Sigma OS Optical Stabilization enabled on normal setting. Focal length 450mm Shutter speed: 1/40s Aperture f/6.0 iso250 Image area FX (36 x 24) NEF RAW L (8256 x 5504). NEF RAW L (14 bit uncompressed) Image size L (8256 x 5504 FX). Focus mode AF-C focus. AF-C Priority Selection: Release. Nikon Back button focusing enabled. AF-S Priority selection: Focus. 3D Tracking watch area: Normal 55 Tracking points.AF-Area mode single point & 73 point switchable. Exposure mode: Shutter Priority mode. Matrix metering. Auto ISO sensitivity control on (Max iso 800/ Minimum shutter speed 125). White balance on: Auto1. Colour space: RGB. Active D-lighting: Normal. Vignette control: Normal. Nikon Distortion control: Enabled. Picture control: Auto (Sharpening A +1/Clarity A+1)
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3DG OS HSM SPORTS. Lee SW150 MKI filter holder with MK2 light shield and custom made velcro fitting for the Sigma lens. Lee SW150 circular polariser glass filter.Lee SW150 Filters field pouch.Nikon GP-1 GPS module. Hoodman HEYENRG round eyepiece oversized eyecup.Mcoplus professional MB-D850 multi function battery grip 6960.Two Nikon EN-EL15a batteries (Priority to battery in Battery grip). Matin quick release neckstrap. My Memory 128GB Class 10 SDXC 80MB/s card. Lowepro Flipside 400 AW camera bag.
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LATITUDE: N 51d 28m 28.20s
LONGITUDE: E 0d 8m 10.28s
ALTITUDE: 54.0m
RAW (TIFF) FILE: 130.00MB NEF: 92.9MB
PROCESSED (JPeg) FILE: 44.00MB
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PROCESSING POWER:
Nikon D850 Firmware versions C 1.10 (9/05/2019) LD Distortion Data 2.018 (18/02/20) LF 1.00
HP 110-352na Desktop PC with AMD Quad-Core A6-5200 APU 64Bit processor. Radeon HD8400 graphics. 8 GB DDR3 Memory with 1TB Data storage. 64-bit Windows 10. Verbatim USB 2.0 1TB desktop hard drive. WD My Passport Ultra 1tb USB3 Portable hard drive. Nikon ViewNX-1 64bit Version 1.4.1 (18/02/2020). Nikon Capture NX-D 64bit Version 1.6.2 (18/02/2020). Nikon Picture Control Utility 2 (Version 2.4.5 (18/02/2020). Nikon Transfer 2 Version 2.13.5. Adobe photoshop Elements 8 Version 8.0 64bit.
This is my first picture i have had published and I'm absolutely oven the moon, really, no pun intended.
I can't even begin to explain how happy this has made me, I'm a total amateur, I'm not a professional photographer, i just like to get out there and take some pictures purely as a hobby when I have a spare 5 minutes, i only just bought my first DSLR 2 months before taking this picture on it.
I was paid for the picture, but the money actually means very little, what I'm really ecstatic about is the fact i now have a free copy of a magazine that has one of my pictures in it, money can't buy that.
3 years taking pictures when i could as a hobby and now i have a picture Published, need a say more ? I'm just so happy.
I don't necessarily agree with black & white photos and especially not night photos, but they paid for it, so the can use it how they like.
The original picture is here.
www.flickr.com/photos/55927440@N04/5557354906/
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To view this picture large just press L on your keyboard.
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**** Disclaimer ****
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I love long exposures, everything to do with night time, the dark, sunrise and sunset.
I like to take pictures mainly at night , sometimes during the day and in dull and fading light and I will sometimes display the time and date the picture was taken too.
I tend to take pictures of Light trails, Motorway traffic, Street lights, Buildings, Landscapes, Bokeh, Night bokeh and Hexagonal Night Bokeh in England.
All of my pictures are 100% natural and untouched in every way without ever been Photo shopped or altered or messed about with in anyway whatsoever, No multi layered photography, No HDR's and No image manipulation of any kind, all of my pictures look just the way they did when I saw them at the time of taking and I'm VERY PROUD of that.
I don't do any photo processing at all, I don't even own any photo software.
All of my starbursts are all 100% natural without using any filters or anything else, as is all my bokeh, night bokeh and hexagonal night bokeh, its all natural, no funny gimmicks at all.
I don't do anything with my pictures apart from take them and then upload them , 99.99999% of my pictures don't even get cropped , they are all 100% natural and untouched and then uploaded.
All of my pictures are copy right, © All rights reserved, you MAY NOT use any of my pictures without my written consent, you also MAY NOT change, alter, adjust or rearrange my pictures in anyway what so ever.
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© All rights reserved.
If you enjoy taking pictures of Car Light Trails At Night please feel free to join the group.
All of my pictures are copy right, © All rights reserved, you MAY NOT use any of my pictures without my written consent, you also MAY NOT change, alter, adjust or rearrange my pictures in anyway what so ever.
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© All rights reserved.
This is a book project titled "G.D Technology & Art / A story of innovation narrated by eighteen contemporary artists" that is published by Electa, the major Italian publisher for arts books, to celebrate the 85th year anniversary of an important Italian company, G.D. The Italian curator Ludovico Pratesi has asked several artists to photograph and interpret the industrial sites of their country.
Some of the artists who joined the project are Jules Spinatsch for Switzerland, Dayanita Singh for India, Olivier Richon for Great Britain, Caio Reisewitz for Brasil and Argentina, Naoya Hatakeyama for Japan, Gabriele Basilico for Italy, Anthony Goicolea for USA, Sanna Kannisto For Denmark, Murat Germen for Turkey, Gueorgui Pinkhassov for Russia.
G.D, world leader in the manufacture of packaging machines sold in 110 countries for the tobacco sector, is celebrating its 85th anniversary in 2008. The landmark of the celebrations has been the creation of an important photographic book illustrating industrial plants located in 18 different countries throughout the world, where G.D’s customers have their main production sites.
The editorial project of the book consists in photoreports carried out by important and well-known international photographers / artists who went to the customer factories to take the shots. The photos are focused on G.D machines, with or without the people working on them, and on general views of the plants and of the locations, also from the outside.
This photograph was published in the Illustrated Chronicle on the 5th of February 1916.
During the Great War the Illustrated Chronicle published photographs of soldiers and sailors from Newcastle and the North East of England, which had been in the news. The photographs were sent in by relatives and give us a glimpse into the past.
The physical collection held by Newcastle Libraries comprises bound volumes of the newspaper from 1910 to 1925. We are keen to find out more about the people in the photographs. If you recognise anyone in the images and have any stories or information to add please comment below.
Copies of this photograph may be ordered from us, for more information see: www.newcastle.gov.uk/tlt Please make a note of the image reference number above to help speed up your order.
Suspended Animation Classic #246
Originally published September 12, 1993 (#38)
(Dates are approximate)
Feiffer: The Collected Works
By Michael Vance
“Feiffer: The Collected Works” (v. 2 of 15), 90 pages, $10.95 from Fantagraphics Books/words and art by Jules Feiffer/available by special order from comic or book shops.
Munro was four years old. He was drafted into the Army and almost made it through boot camp. But, without looking up from his desk, Munro’s sergeant said, “It is the official policy of the Army not to draft men of four. Ergo, you cannot be four. Ergo, you only think you are four.”
“Munro” is incisive satire of military bureaucracy and the best piece of a Jules Feiffer anthology. It also features three attempted syndicated strips, selected 1950s illustrations, and the last of the cartoonist’s strip, “Clifford”.
Feiffer has been incisive since 1947. His work on “The Spirit”, a comic book inserted into newspapers, was insightful. He grumbled satirically with his “Playboy” cartoons, and became a real activist loudmouth with “Feiffer”, his “Village Voice” newspaper cartoons.
Let the boy yodel. Short and sweet, Feiffer sings neat. With no volume to the printed word, Feiffer sings loud about social injustice and stupidity.
But when he doesn’t warble about human irony, his voice sometimes cracks. His reprinted attempts at standard strips in this collection barely whimper.
And when he yodels, his hand must shake. On mainstream art, Feiffer is better than competent. On his best work, however, his art is a scratchy doodle. The doodle, thankfully, is overwhelmed and elevated by insightful, brilliant writing.
The best is yet to yodel. “Passionella”, “Boom”, and “Tantrum” are comic books in the truest sense of ‘book’. Screenplays for “Popeye” and “Carnal Knowledge” are coming attractions. Stage plays including “Little Murders” and “Grown Ups” wait in the wings. Hopefully, all will be reprinted soon.
Buy the books. After all, you all owe Feiffer more than you can repay. Because, without looking up, critics claimed comics are for kids. Ergo, “Munro” could not be for adults. Ergo, readers only think it’s adult.
But Jules looked up.
The Postcard
A carte postale which was published by Neurdein et Cie of 52, Av. de Breteuil, Paris.
It was posted via the Army Field Post Office on Sunday the 19th. January 1919 to:
Mrs. F. Hill,
12 Brunswick Road,
Balsall Heath,
Birmingham,
England.
The message on the back of the card was as follows:
"On Active Service.
Dear F,
Just a few lines to let you
know that I am alright.
Hope you are keeping well.
I will write you a letter
later.
Love Fred".
The message was over-printed with a censor's stamp which stated:
'Passed by censor no. 8940'
Fécamp
Fécamp is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of north-western France.
Fécamp is situated in the valley of the river Valmont, at the heart of the Pays de Caux, on the Alabaster Coast. It is around 35 km northeast of Le Havre, and around 60 km northwest of Rouen.
In 2017, Fécamp had a population of 18,641 individuals.
History of Fécamp
The prehistoric site, on the high ground inland from the port of Fécamp, reveals human occupation dating back to Neolithic times. Spreading over 21 hectares, surrounded by walls and ditches for a length of nearly 2000 meters, the area has yielded objects ranging in date from the Neolithic until Roman times.
Many items of the Gallo-Roman period have been found locally, particularly coins (including two gold Gallic coins found in 1839). A bronze axe, of Celtic design, was unearthed in 1859.
The history of Fécamp has always revolved around the fishing industry and its harbour (first mentioned in the 11th century). The reputation of the salt-herrings of Fécamp was established as early as the 10th. century, and that of smoked herrings from the 13th. century.
An association of whale fishermen was created in the 11th. century. Fishing for cod started commercially in the 16th. century, under the impetus of Nicolas Selles, an early shipping magnate.
Throughout the 19th. century and the early part of the 20th. century, Fécamp had an important role as the chief fishing port in France for cod and cod-related fish. This was the case up until the 1970's, when Canada stopped all access to their fishing grounds.
First practised by three-masted sailing ships, Atlantic fishing trips could last more than six months, the time taken to fill the hold with cod, which were salted to preserve them.
The fishing was actually carried out in small boats, carrying only two or three fishermen. Many of these small boats became lost in the fog, and never returned to the main ship.
As technology evolved, the three-mast boats disappeared, giving way to steamers, then to diesel-engined vessels. These days, only a small fishing fleet survives, restricted to fishing around coastal waters. In the harbour, pleasure-boats have taken the place of all but a few fishing-boats.
Civil Architecture of Fécamp
-- Ruins of the 12th. to 14th. century former ducal palace enclosed in the abbey grounds – two towers and a wall section.
-- Remains of the fort of Bourg-Baudouin, on the approach to Notre-Dame-du-Salut.
-- Benedictine Palace, ruined buildings of the Benedictine abbey.
-- Former mill of the 18th. century.
-- The Town hall, a Louis XVI style building.
-- Former hostelry of the Grand Cerf, 16th. century.
-- Courtyard de la Maîtrise with an 11th. to 12th. century tower.
-- Old houses in the neighbourhood of the Hallettes, of which two houses are 16th. century - in Rue Arquaise and Rue de la Voûte (built with reclaimed materials from the abbey palace).
-- Water Tower 13th. century.
-- Épinay farm, 16th. century, former country retreat of a religious order.
Church Architecture of Fécamp
-- Church of the Trinity: Primitive Norman Gothic style, constructed from 1175 to 1220 with some Roman traces. Lantern tower from the 12th. century; Façade - 18th. century; Porch - 13th. century; choir - 14th. to 15th. century; Chapel of the Virgin 16th. century with 13th. century stained-glass windows; Organ from 1746, originating from Montivilliers Abbey; Group of multi-coloured stone from the 15th. century; 16th. century balustrades and tombs of the Dukes of Normandy from the 13th. to 14th. centuries.
-- Saint-Étienne’s church: 16th. century flamboyant Gothic porch and south transept from 1500, façade and tower from the 19th. century; wooden statues and pulpit 17th. to 18th. century.
-- Chapel Notre-Dame-du-Salut: Originally 14th. century, on a cliff: Rebuilt in the 17th. century; a gilded statue of the Virgin on the roof.
-- Chapel of the Precious Blood: Rebuilt in stone in the 17th. century, covering the miraculous source of the "Precious Blood".
Fécamp Museums
Fécamp museums are as follows:
-- Municipal Museum: Earthenware, glassware, 18th. and 19th. century paintings, archaeology, religious art and maritime folklore.
-- Benedictine Palace Museum: Objects of religious art from the 12th. to 18th. century (some of the collection originates from the former abbey); 14th. to 18th. century metalwork; Benedictine liquor manufacturing equipment for distillation etc.
-- Museum of Arts et de l'Enfance: Gallo-Roman objects found in the 19th. century explaining man's beginnings in Fécamp.
-- Museum Terre-Neuvas et de la Pêche (Newfoundland and Fishing): Museum of Fécamp's glorious maritime past, inaugurated in 1988 but closed in 2012 to be integrated in the new "Musée des Pêcheries". The adventures of the cod-fishermen that left for long months in the icy waters of Newfoundland (boats, models, equipment), construction and naval repair, architectural model of the town, audio-visual events and exhibitions of painting (annual display of naval painting).
The Musée des Pêcheries gathers together the municipal collections. It includes: art and history items, ethnographic items linked to fishing and sailors, and Doctor Dufour's childhood collection. The museum occupies a historical building, a former fish factory which has been partly transformed to welcome the collections. It has been given a roof extension that gives a 360 degree view of Fécamp's port.
-- Musée du Chocolat: Chocolate discovery museum.
-- Visits to the watercress beds.
-- Maison du Patrimoine (Heritage house) Built and furnished as in the 16th century. Since 2005, the municipal archives have been stored here.
Villa Émilie, Art Nouveau style house from the end of the 19th. century.
People Associated with Fécamp
Notable people associated with Fécamp include:
-- Jean Accart, World War II fighter pilot – born in Fécamp.
-- David Belle (1973), creator of Parkour.
-- Pierre Carron (1932), sculptor and painter.
-- Louis-Armand Chardin (1755–1793), baritone and composer.
-- Étienne Chicot, comedian, born in Fécamp.
-- Remigius de Fécamp, first bishop of Lincoln.
-- Raoul Dufy (1877–1953), Fauvist painter.
-- Guy Dupré (born 1928), writer - born in Fécamp.
-- Edward the Confessor, exiled to Fécamp.
-- Gustave Lambert, explorer.
-- Alexandre Legrand, industrialist, “rediscovered” Bénédictine.
-- René Legros [fr], inventor, born in Fécamp.
-- Eugène Lepoittevin, painter.
-- Louis Levacher (1934–1983), sculptor and painter.
-- Jean Lorrain, writer was born in Fécamp (9 August 1855).
-- Jacques Mazoyhie, ship owner.
-- Guy de Maupassant, once lived in Fécamp.
-- Tony Parker, French basketball player (played one year with Fécamp).
-- Bella Pochez, resistance member, murdered in Auschwitz.
-- Philippe Porée-Kurrer (1954), writer.
-- Richard I of Normandy (933-996).
-- Paul Vasselin, politician.
-- Wace, writer – stayed in Fécamp.
-- William of Volpiano, religious reformer - buried in Fécamp in 1031.
A Rooftop Aeroplane Landing
So what else happened on the day that Fred posted the card?
Well, on the 19th. January 1919, French aviator Jules Védrines claimed a 25,000 franc prize by landing a Caudron G.3 aircraft on the roof of a department store in Paris, though he was injured, and his aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
'Ravished Armenia'
Also on that day, 'Ravished Armenia', the first film to depict the Armenian Genocide of 1915, was released by First National Pictures.
The film was adapted from the autobiography of Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the genocide who also starred in the film.
One portion of the film has survived, with a 24-minute sequence being restored in 2009.