Today is day 3 of our Caravan Tour. So far we really are loving it. Jim is a fantastic guide and is so enthusiastic about history. He is a retired teacher and clearly loves what he is doing. Today was the first day that we were instructed to put our bags out in front of our rooms at 6:45 AM for a 7:45 AM departure. This is all new to us and to be honest, we were a little concerned that we would dislike the regiment. But, no. We would not have been good at doing all of this on our own. Having the guide and the transportation with an experienced tour company makes it so much less stressful than it would have been if we did it on our own. We had breakfast once again in the hotel and today lunch would also be included. Today we will cover 372 miles to Billings, Montana.
Leaving Rapid City, we entered the range lands and oil fields of Wyoming as we head west across the high plains. Today was basically a travelling day. We had a lot of miles to cover to get to Yellowstone. We made numerous rest stops along the way. Our first stop was for lunch at a Holiday Inn in the old western cowboy town of Sheridan. Lunch was a buffet, so we wasted no time getting back onto the coach. Next, we entered Montana, “Big Sky Country.” Here we visited Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in the Crow Nation. Here, in 1876, in the Valley of Little Big Horn, combined Sioux and Northern Cheyenne forces led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse overwhelmed General Custer and his cavalry.
Below are some of the names of the Indians that were killed.
The battle of Little Bighorn occurred in 1876 and is commonly referred to as “Custer’s Last Stand”. The battle took place between the U.S. Cavalry and northern tribe Indians, including the Cheyenne, Sioux, and Arapaho. Prior to the battle of Little Bighorn in Montana, the tribal armies, under the direction of Sitting Bull, had decided to wage war against the whites for their refusal to stay off of tribal lands in the Black Hills. In the spring of 1876, Sitting Bull and his tribal army had successfully battled the U.S. Cavalry twice.
The U.S. Cavalry was attempting to force the Indians back to their reservations and divided into three columns to attack. One of the columns was led by Lt. General George Custer, who spotted a Sioux camp and decided to attack it. However, Indian forces outnumbered his troops three to one, and Custer and his troops were forced to reorganize. While waiting aid from the other Cavalry forces, another group of Indian forces, led by Crazy Horse, effectively trapped Custer and his men. In a desperate attempt to hold off the Indian warriors, Custer ordered his men to shoot their horses and stack their bodies to form a barricade to protect them from the Indians.
It took less than an hour for the arrows and bullets of the Indians to wipe out General Custer and his men. Despite having won this battle, the Indians were not victorious. Outrage over the death of the popular Custer led the U.S. government to redraw the boundaries of the Black Hills so that the land would not be part of reservation property, which left it open for white men to settle.
Our next stop was at Pompey’s Pillar, located along the Lewis & Clark National Historical Trail. In 1806, during his return trip east, William Clark climbed the rock pillar and carved his name and the date into the sandstone. This simple inscription is the only remaining physical evidence of Lewis and Clark’s epic journey.
Arrived at the Hilton Garden Inn in Billings, Montana. Here we will only spend one night before leaving in the morning and heading to Yellowstone! So far we’ve had excellent weather. No need for jackets. Actually, it was somewhat warmer than we anticipated. But we know that will change tomorrow.
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