General Custer has left his own story of his plains days in Kansas and Nebraska. It lies before me. Mrs. Custer, his comrade of garrison and camp and march, has written several books about him. They lie before me. There is a biography by one Captain Whittaker, written at the close of the last battle, near forty years ago. With General Sheridan and General Custer upon their campaign against the Cheyennes and the Kiowas was a newspaper reporter, Randolph Keim, who also wrote a book. Chapters have there been, in other books and in magazines, and pamphlets of time agone; and, as I say, men and women are now alive who knew the general. From all these more information should be sought. No one pen can describe so fine a thing as a Man. So this book must tell of the Custer whom Ned the boy and youth saw; and of affairs in which he took part during that final struggle when the white race would supplant the red race, on the plains of north and south. In the narrative of these years I have tried to show how the white race felt and how the red race felt; for each had their rights and their wrongs, and each did right and did wrong. Out of the result came general good, that the church and the school-house might rise and people might work and play in peace, where formerly stood only the unproductive hide lodges, and the main thought was war and Plunder. EDWIN L. SABIN. Coronado, California, June 1, 1913. CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. A WAIF ON THE PRAIRIE 17 II. AT OLD FORT RILEY 34 III. THE SEVENTH TAKES THE FIELD 48 IV. SATANTA MAKES A SPEECH 67 V. IN BATTLE ARRAY 79 VI. THE ABANDONED INDIAN VILLAGE 89 VII. SCOUTING WITH CUSTER 104 VIII. PAWNEE KILLER PLAYS TRICKS 114 IX. DANGER ON EVERY SIDE 129 X. SAD NEWS FOR THE ARMY BLUE 142 XI. GRIM DAYS ALONG THE TRAIL 153 XII. PHIL SHERIDAN ARRIVES 160 XIII. THE YELLOW HAIR RIDES AGAIN 173 XIV. THE WINTER WARPATH 180 XV. “WE ATTACK AT DAYLIGHT” 192 XVI. “GARRYOWEN!” AND “CHARGE!” 204 XVII. AFTER THE BATTLE 215 XVIII. TO THE LAND OF THE DAKOTAH 227 XIX. SCOUTING AMONG THE SIOUX 236 XX. RAIN-IN-THE-FACE VOWS VENGEANCE 249 XXI. SITTING BULL SAYS: “COME ON!” 256 XXII. OUT AGAINST THE SIOUX 264 XXIII. LOOKING FOR SITTING BULL 274 XXIV. SITTING BULL AT BAY 290 ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE And now at full speed passing Ned also he leaned, Indian-wise _Frontispiece_