SHERIDAN, Wyo., August 15, 2010 -- Another trip back in time, another brilliant commander -- but this time, the commander's brilliance gets the best of him.
The Little Big Horn National Monument provided us a sobering glimpse of yet another of our country's skeletons in the closet -- our eradication of the Indian way of life. We toured the site of Custer's Last Stand, and heard the story of our country's second-youngest major general, a storied Indian fighter whose success and confidence on the battlefield was his undoing. Custer was impulsive, and was known for a "sixth sense" on the battlefield -- an uncanny ability to read the ebb and flow of fighting and take advantage of the enemy's moment of weakness. That ability served him well, until he met Sitting Bull and a battalion of Lakota, Cherokee and Arapaho braves fighting desperately to preserve their way of life. In this battle -- his last, as it turned out -- Custer mis-read the situation and set himself up for a cataclysmic defeat.
We were sobered by the monuments, especially one marking the mass grave of enlisted men who died on that fateful Sunday afternoon. We were sobered by the monument commemorating the Indian tribes who fought -- three against the U.S. forces, two alongside -- in a striking memorial full of native symbolism. We were astounded by the enthusiasm and knowledge of our tour guide, an art professor from Temple College in Temple, Texas, who -- because of an intense interest in Custer's Last Stand -- has spent the last 21 summers leading tours at the monument. And Joe was particularly enthralled. As he said, "It's amazing that I am even here."
The road led us to the "#1 Western Town in America" -- Sheridan, Wyo. Which is #1 because they say it is.
All day we've been sharing the road with Harley riders leaving the Sturgis event. Here's hoping that they all make it home tonight. Great folks, but I for one am tired of listening to the roar of their hogs.
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