Curley

[tbw]

Curley used the term "quartered" in one of his interviews about what Custer did after leaving one of the lower fords. To paraphrase 'they quartered back to a ridge.'

The term 'quartered' means:

To cover or traverse an area of ground either laterally back and forth or by wandering freely over it from side to side while slowly advancing forward.

[joewiggs]

I can not think you enough for establishing these inquiries into the actions of Curly. I'm still researching the "bend" question you posted earlier. I believe that the many different stories about Curly (both pro and con) were the result of incompetent translators, competent translators who supplemented Curly's comments, and jealousy by the other scouts.

Further, as Curly stated, he didn't do anything great! I believe that upon reaching Calhoun Hill things had not yet reach critical mass. Custer was still on the move. It was here that Mitch request the scout to leave. The East was still open and Curly took it. From about a mile or so away, he observed the continuous encroachment and the surrounding of Custer's troops by the warriors.

As the circle of warriors slowing began to restrict, the results were inevitable. Curly departed to report the obvious, Custer was doomed.

From the moment he tried to relay this news, he was credited with things he never reported by those who desired to embellish the truth for their listeners thereby increasing their personal value in the process. When the idiotic stories began to flourish, Curly was straddled with all the blame.

[whitebull]

Curley has been charged with a whole bunch of lies by a whole bunch of people. It got so bad that many people have decided to write the man off as hopeless. Curley once said that he always told the same story but with different interpreters. Here's an example:

"The interviews that Curly gave in subsequent years are much more modest in their claims regarding the timing and manner of the battle. Curly himself later tried to point out the absurdity of the story of his asking Custer escape with him:

'The fact that I could speak no English and Custer not a word of Crow shows how ridiculous the story is.'

Custerology, p.210 - note 51

[joewiggs]

Yes, Curley caught a lot of grief for several reasons one of which was natural jealousy on behalf of the other three Crow scouts who insinuated that curley departed before they did..

The timing and the position of his escape from the field was perfect and could not have been better as the the vast majority of warriors were between Custer and the river to keep the troopers from the village.

It is believed that Curley rode out from the southwest corner of the reservation (not far from Calhoun Hill) shortly after the reunion. He went up a right hand ravine to the right of Godfrey's Springs where he stopped to look back after about an 1/2 hour later. In fact, almost every ravine available to Curley took on an easterly direction which would lead him into Upper Coulee about 1 1/2 miles from the battlefield.

The "disguised" fable must have come from a true event. Somewhere,during his escape, he came upon a saddled pony standing next to a dead Sioux.

[joewiggs]

As I ponder the legacy of Curley I can not help but reach a decision that explains away many of the idiosyncrasies that are accredited to him;at least for me it does.

Firstly, as he him self said he did nothing spectacular. He did not participate in the battle, he did not fire a shot and, I'm sure he was frightened to death during the entire action.

Young people, like Curley, who are inexperienced in a critical endeavor will often look to an "elder" for advise, comfort, and guidance. This truism has been part and parcel of men at war since the first cavemen struck out at other tribes who dared to encroach to closely their territory. The experienced fighters lead and guide the young to glory or death.

At 17 years of age the young Curley followed his idol, Mitch,from one location on the field of battle to another. However, the experienced and battle hardened Bouyer quickly realized that all possible areas of escape where being quickly blocked by the ever swirling, and embolden warriors.

A small gap to the east had yet to be infiltrated and snatched by the warriors. Mitch directed the young boy to flee whilst the opportunity to do so was available. Although frightened, Curley hesitated for a moment but acquiesced to Mitch's request to:
"Curley you better leave us here. You ride back over the trail a ways and then to one of the high points and watch a while and see if the Sioux are besting us, and you can make your way back to Terry and tell him we are all killed."

The lone recipient of such a sad duty empowered him to carry out this solemn task.

Once it was discovered that he was the last individual to see Custer alive all types of nonsense and foolish mutterings were accredited to him by persons eager and desperate to achieve the Holy grail:Custer's fall!

[stumblingbear]

I agree with you. The stories told about Curley by those who wanted to redicule him are not written in stone and provable. His story was very simple, he went up a ravine (east) until he reached a place that was away from the battle. He did not have to stay very long to see that the Indians were winning.

He comes upon a dead Indian and takes his blanket. From this we hear that Curley said he killed an Indian and escaped from the battle by covering himself with a blanket and just running through enemy lines without a scratch.

Like you said earlier Joe, Curley said "he always said the same thing" it was the interpreters who said different!

[joewiggs]

Exactly! Once the story of Curley's actions are voided of the ridiculous and impossible, the remainder is a very plausible report of what actually occurred.

Curley witnessed the final stages of the warriors movements to completely surround Custer's troops. Because of the terrain of the battlefield, the warriors were able to fire upon Custer and his men while hidden by sagebrush, foliage, and stealth infiltration of the area. The troopers were literally "sitting ducks" with their only barricade of coverage being the bodies of their mounts and fellow, fallen troopers.

Curley could leave the area and head back to report the end of the battle as he realized that the end was just a matter of time;mere minutes!

[joewiggs]

Let's review the Curley story in hopes of defining what he actually said and what he did not say. While it is impossible to reduce his spoken word to a finite response, perhaps we can glean a bit of "reality" regarding what Curley actually said as opposed to the fantasy build around him by others.

Probably the "genesis " of the Curley "myth" was the Coleman-Morgan interpretation of Curley's initial report.

In this story George Morgan proffered that Curley said that he had crawled two miles wrapped in a Sioux blanket;that Custer's command was wiped out and that Reno was in great danger.

Of course Curley could not have crawled in a blanket two miles anywhere, could not have known Custer's final disposition as he fled before the final curtain, and could not have known Reno's final disposition as he saw nothing of Reno.

Thus, the above can be disregarded as a fabrication by Morgan. However, Lt. Bradley, shortly after the battle interpreted Curley's words and has him saying, "I did nothing wonderful-I was not in the fight."
The truth of Curley's actions were not the exciting and blood curdling verbiage that Newspapers,then and now, yearn for and (as a result)were, for the more flamboyant headlines of dis-em-bowled horses.

Yes, gross exaggerations, lies, and disgraceful innuendos were shamefully appended to the actual remarks of the youth known as Curley until the scout became as ridiculous in the minds of historians as the Arm-Chair Generals of the modern era.

He deserves so much better!