This area memorializes one of the last armed efforts of the Northern Plains Indians. Here in 1876, 263 soldiers and attached personnel of the U.S. Army,including Lt. Col. George A. Custer, met death at the hands of several thousand Lakota and Cheyenne warriors.
Address: Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument PO Box 39
,Crow Agency, MT 59022
Phone (406) 638-3204 Fax (406) 66W5-2623 See web cam
Died. Shuh-shee-ahsh, 68, also known as Curley, (Curly) (Ashishishe) a Crow Indian scout,
(there were other scout survivors, see picture below.
 Custer massacre, of cancer of the liver, at the Crow Agency, Mont.
He is buried at the Custer Battlefield. (Time, 1923) webmaster’s note, there are various listings of cause of death.
Webmaster's note: Curley later gave several variations on his account, and the accuracy
of his recollections has been questioned. The reader should determine for themselves. I have
added a links from wikipedia.com. It is a free site with readers writing in the history to give you a start.
If you do a search you will find different variations. Besides wikipedia.coms version I have added two other
sources, The Custer National Cemetery, Little Big Horn Battlefield and Chicago Tribune.
June 4, 1923 Died. Shuh-shee-ahsh, 68, also known as Curley a Crow Indian scout, the sole survivor.
Ashishishe was born in approximately 1856 in Montana Territory , the son of Strong Bear (Inside the Mouth)
and Strikes By the Side of the Water. Curley resided on the Crow Reservation in the vicinity of Pryor Creek,
and married Bird Woman.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army as an Indian scout on April 10, 1876 and was later chosen to scout for the
Seventh Cavalry during the Little Bighorn expedition in 1876 along with fellow Crow warriors
White Man Runs Him , Goes Ahead Hairy Moccasin and others.
He witnessed parts of the Battle of the Little Bighorn and his translated account later appeared
in several newspapers as he was thought to be the only surviving witness from the U.S. side of
Custer's Last Stand. Curly later gave several variations on his account, and the accuracy
his recollections has been questioned.
However, two of the most influential historians of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, Walter Mason
Camp (who interviewed Curly on several occasions) and John S. Gray accepted Curley's account.
Curley later lived on the Crow Reservation on the bank of the Little Bighorn River close to the
site of the Battle.
He served in the Crow Police. He divorced Bird Woman in 1886, and married Takes a Shield.
Curley had one daughter Awakuk Korita ha Sakush ("Bird of Another Year") who took the
English name Nora. Curley received a U.S. pension as of 1920. He died of pneumonia
in 1923, and his remains were interred in the National Cemetery at the Little Bighorn
Battlefield National Monument only a mile from his home.
The Custer National Cemetery, Little Big Horn Battlefield states the following:
Curly was one of scouts who accompanied the 7th Cavalry to the Little Bighorn. Curly is said
to have watched the battle from a distant ridge. There was great interest in Curly’s story but since he spoke
no English, his words may have been shaped by what his listeners wanted to hear. Curly attracted so
much attention that the other scouts became jealous and refused to associate with him, Eventually,
Curly himself became silent and withdrew from the limelight. He lived in a cabin near
Crow Agency where he died in 1923.
1) Chicago Tribune (29th July, 1876)
The Crow Indian Curly is believed to be the only survivor of the 250 men who went into action
with Custer. He is very clear his knowledge of the fight, and has made a statement.....The fight
began about 2 o'clock, and lasted, Curly says, almost until the sun went down over the hills....
Curly says more Indians were killed than Custer had men. He also says the big chief
(Custer) lived until nearly all his men had been killed or wounded, and went about encouraging
his soldiers to fight on....The last officer killed was a man who rode a white horse (believed to be Lieut. Cooke).
Curley from wikipedia.com
Atop Last Stand Hill on the Custer Battlefied, four of the 7th Cavaly’s
Crow scouts pay tribute to those who fell with Custer. L-R: White-Man-Runs-Him,
Hairy Moccasin, Curly and Goes Ahead.(photograph by Rodman Wanamaker, 1913.)
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This picture was taken by a Montana native photographer June 10th, 2007.
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