New Sources on Arikara Scouts

DEPOSITION OF STRIKES THE BEAR OR RED STAR, JULY 17, 1923Case of Strike-the-Bear, alias Red Star, Inv. Org. No. 17788On this 17 day of July, 1923, at near Ree county of McLean, State of North Dakota before me, E.W. Young, a Special Examiner of the Bureau of Pensions, personally appeared Strike-the-Bear,al. Red Star, being by me first duly sworn to answer truly all interrogatories propounded to himduring this special examination of aforesaid claim for pension, deposes and says:My age is 66 years, my postal address is Ree, Mercer Co., N.D., I raise some horses andcattle and a little farming for myself. I served twice as Scout for the United States Army.The first time I went I was aged 18 years; then I went in two years later again, as a Scoutfor the United States Army, both times as a Scout. The first time I enlisted at Fort Lincoln,below Bismarck, then marched up past here but on the other side of the Missouri. Gen. Custerwas at the head of the men I was with. We marched, all of us mounted, to the mouth of thePowder Horn, and there across the Powder Horn River we saw a camp of United States soldiers[Gibbon’s troops?]. And from where we were we went out to the battlefield on which Gen.Custer lost his life. We crossed two rivers and in the evening, instead of giving the orders tocamp, Gen. Custer ordered the scouts, I among them, to do scouting duty all the night to findthe hostiles. We did so, and in passing some Crows, they told us where the Hostile Sioux were,and that by going to a certain high hill we could see them. At daybreak, in the dim light, we sawwhat we thought was a fog rising. After watching it for a time, we concluded that it was thesmoke from the hostile camp. And looking back the direction from which we came we thensaw the smoke of our own camp rising, and we knew then surely that the smoke from the otherdirection was from the camp of the hostiles. The white man in command of us scouts sent backa note to Gen. Custer, and I was the bearer of that message, the rest of the Scouts remainingthere where they were. I arrived in camp just as there [sic] were finishing breakfast. I wasdrinking coffee when Gen. Custer came to me and asked me what I had seen with my own eyes,and whether I had seen tepees. I told him what I had seen. He order [sic] the soldiers to breakcamp, and march. I guided them to the other Scouts where I had left them. Gen. Custer askedthe opinion of the Crow Scouts as to the best plan of attack. They told him. He thoght [sic] hewould camp there for the day and surround and attack at night. The Crows told him that would50