om off their wounded, panting
horses, and flung themselves flat upon their faces to sweep with
hastily levelled carbines the river banks below, Benteen came trotting
gallantly down the valley to their aid, his troopers fresh and eager to
be thrown forward on the firing-line. The worst was over, and like
maddened lions, the rallied soldiers of the Seventh, cursing their
folly, turned to strike and slay.

The valley was obscured with clouds of dust and smoke, the day
frightfully hot and suffocating. The various troop commanders, gaining
control over their men, were prompt to act. A line of skirmishers was
hastily thrown forward along the edge of the bluff, while volunteers,
urged by the agonized cries of the wounded, endeavored vainly to
procure a supply of water from the river. Again and again they made
the effort, only to be driven back by the deadly Indian rifle fire.
This came mostly from braves concealed behind rocks or protected by the
timber along the stream, but large numbers of hostiles were plainly
visible, not only in the valley, but also upon the ridges. The firing
upon their position continued incessantly, the warriors continually
changing their point of attack. By three o'clock, although the
majority of the savages had departed down the river, enough remained to
keep up a galling fire, and hold Reno strictly on the defensive. These
reds skulked in ravines, or lined the banks of the river, their
long-range rifles rendering the lighter carbines of the cavalrymen
almost valueless. A few crouched along the edge of higher eminences,
their shots crashing in among the unprotected troops.

As the men lay exposed to this continuous sniping fire, above the
surrounding din were borne to their ears the reports of distant guns.
It came distinctly from the northward, growing heavier and more
continuous. None among them doubted its ominous meaning. Custer was
already engaged in hot action at the right of the Indian village. Why
were they kept lying there in idleness? Why were they not pushed
forward to do their part? They looked into each other's faces. God!
They were three hundred now; they could sweep aside like chaff that
fringe of red skirmishers if only they got the word! With hearts
throbbing, every nerve tense, they waited, each trooper crouched for
the spring. Officer after officer, unable to restrain his impatience,
strode back across the bluff summit, amid whistling bullets, and
personally begge