The reenactment of Custer's last stand was rained out--too wet for people and probably dangerous for the horses--so we went to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument instead. That was pretty wet too, but we didn't have to gallop uphill. The white tombstones on the hill and through the valley were evocative--but incomplete. They haven't put any in the ravine. And, it turns out, when the Feds sent the monuments sent to be installed they included some for another battlefield. Many markers are in pairs, but the archaeologists usually found evidence of at most one burial. They suspect that the bodies were covered, not buried, by scooping the loose dirt on top--and sometimes they scooped from both sides, leaving a depression on each side. When the markers went in, they went in by the depressions. And since there were too many markers sent, nobody noticed at the time. Duplicate markers cannot be removed, since they are now historical in their own right.
On a hill close to the cavalry's monument is a monument to the Indians who fought--it includes a list of all the warriors. (Some names have a lost story somewhere: "Not Good for Anything.") This monument tells the Sioux side (including a quotation from Custer promising he would never shoot at gun at them again) and celebrates their fight for their way of life.
The monuments celebrate courage and faithfulness.(*) On a rainy Friday morning it was crowded, and the docents were busy.
(*) Hmm. Maybe we could do something like that with the American Civil War? Do you think people would go for not just having monuments for the heroes of the winning side, but monuments for the heroes of the losing side as well--putting it all behind us and celebrating courage?
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