In This Issue The Weekly Magazine of Cranbrook School

Battle of Little Big Horn
On Sunday, 25 June 1876, General George
Armstrong Custer led 647 of the Seventh
Cavalry into the valley of Little Bighorn.
Even though 4000 brave Sioux and
Cheyenne warriors experienced a glorious
victory, more than 260 soldiers were killed.
The Battle of The Little Bighorn marked a
tragic last stand for them as well.
Previously Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull,
leaders of the Sioux tribe, had resisted the
efforts of the US government to confine their
people to reservations. Due to the discovery
of gold nearby, Indians had been forced
into government reservations. Outraged by
this, they gathered in Montana with the
great warrior, Sitting Bull, to fight for their
lands. By the late spring of 1876, more than
10,000 Native Americans had gathered in a
camp along the Little Bighorn River. This,
however, was against the command and they
were ordered to return or risk being attacked.
When Custer entered the valley, Crazy
Horse and Sitting Bull rallied the warriors
and set off to face the attackers head on.
Overwhelming Custer and his men, they
were forced to fight 200 to an estimated
3000. Within an hour, Custer and every
last one of his soldiers were dead, the
sole surviving animal discovered on the
battlefield was a horse named Comanche.
The battle of little Big Horn was an
important event for Native Americans,
marking a decisive Native American victory
and the worst US Army defeat in the long
Plains Indian War. However, sadly within
five years, almost all of the Sioux and
Cheyenne would be confined to reservations.
John Gotti (Teflon Don)
John Gotti was the boss of the Gambino
crime family. He was sentenced to life
imprisonment on 23 June, 1992 having been
charged with conspiracy to commit thirteen
murders. He attained his nickname ‘Teflon
Don’ because of the majority of attempts to
convict him resulted in either a hung vote or
an acquittal.
Gotti grew up on the streets of New York
and became head of family after boss, Paul
Castellano, was murdered. The Gambino
family was known for its illegal narcotics
operations, gambling activities and car theft.
During the next five years, Gotti rapidly
Page 13 - Cranbrook Chronicle
By Jake Waitsman
Also this Week
1812 – Napoleon invades Russia.
1894 – The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne, Paris.
1941 – Ford signs the first contract with Autoworkers’ Union
1947 – The Diary of Anne Frank is published.
1986 – Maradona’s controversial hand of god goal helps Argentina through to the semi-finals of the World Cup.
2009 – Michael Jackson dies aged 50.
expanded his criminal empire, and his family
grew into the nation’s most powerful Mafia
family.
On 11 December, Gotti was arrested for
three counts of murder including that of
Paul Castellano, obstruction of justice,
illegal gambling and tax evasion. The federal
prosecutor’s evidence was overwhelming. Not
only did they have Gotti on tape but they
also had several witnesses to testify against
Gotti.
On 23 June, 1992, Judge Glasser sentenced
Gotti to life imprisonment without
possibility of parole. John Gotti died of
throat cancer at 12.45pm on 10 June, 2002
in a prison hospital to where he had been
transferred once the cancer was diagnosed.
He was 61.