ISBN: 978--593-31815-7. Curley, a young Crow scout, would leave the command within the next ten minutes to take news of the battle to General Terry." On June 8, 2014, Robert Elbryan, 42, George Broussard, 64, and Christopher Boris, 52, escaped from a Quebec detention center with help from a helicopter. Custer was well versed in several Indian languages. I shook my head and answered, "No." Passing the ford on the run, we came to some underbrush; when we slowed down to a walk. Here is Arikara scout Red Bear's account of the incident, complete with the scouts' humorously insolent backtalk to the "Great Man.". The Indians while fighting remained mounted, the cavalry dismounted. Our men never wavered but hugged the ground as close as possible and fired whenever they found the slightest opportunity to do execution. While I looked at them, one rose to his feet and beckoned for us in the most friendly manner to advance. The commotion in the village had subsided; the signs of life were few; it appeared to me that it was deserted, so quiet and deathlike was the stillness. Custer then waved to Thompson and Watson, motioning them to follow him, and rode off. He was making his way towards a party Indians who were standing close to the river bank near a clump of underbrush. McDougal [Capt. But before we could reach it, they fired at us but as usual missed; but the twigs and leaves were cut by the bullets and we came to the conclusion that we were not to be killed by the Indians. After his arrest, he brought a lawsuit against authorities charging the prison commissioners with illegal arrest and used the incident to plan his next escape. The unexpected bonus in Thompson's tale is that he may reveal what Curley was up to when he vanished just before the start of the Custer fight -- and why he was always evasive about what happened at the river. Then others may ask why we did not go sooner. For about three miles on the left bank of the river the teepees were stretched, the white canvas gleaming in the sunlight. the other. It was our duty not to question, but to obey. I straightened myself up and said, "I will tell you what I will do." Peter's a public radio "lifer" who first got hooked on radio journalism in high school, while listening to and then interning with Danny Schechter the News Dissector at Boston's legendary WBCN. THOMSON, Illinois (KWQC) - Five inmates were captured after escaping from the USP Thomson prison camp last week according to AFGE 4070, the union representing workers at USP Thomson. Our means of defense were very poor. James Watson, was already dead by the time Thompson told his story), but actually Thompson's story had been circulating among the enlisted men (but not the officers) since 1876. The Sargeant told me of the hopelessness of the undertaking telling me if I should ever attempt to make the trip I would never get back alive. Water was not to be had for love or money. Each man was supposed to carry one hundred rounds of cartridges, but a great many had wasted theirs by firing at game along the route. Finckle had already missed the chance to carry Custer's last order -- and live -- because his mount was giving out.]. After we had climbed nearly half way up the bluff, the Indians commenced to fire at us, but that did not trouble us, because we knew that the Indians when excited were very poor shots; and in our case the bullets went wide of the mark. He did not need a second bidding, neither did he dismount in military style, but more like a frog landing with feet and hands in the water at the same time. He came to the same conclusion. OUR GREAT ESCAPE. Both Brennan and Fitzgerald turned their horses toward the rear, when they had gone two miles beyond the lone teepee. The tunnel was 1.7m (5.7ft) tall and 75cm (29.5in) in width. Here is An Anonymous Ree's account of what he thought were Thompson's last mintues on this planet. He was found very close to our position which goes to show how closely we were confined. After we began to climb the hill, I found my strength was giving out, and in spite of the fact that we were in full view of the Indians, I laid down to rest and all my entreaties for Watson to go on and save himself were fruitless. I made up my mind that all but one shot should be fired at the Indians, and that one would go into my head, for I had determined never to be taken alive. I gained the shelter of the ravine without a scratch and I was thankful. I mounted my horse again but found that a staggering walk was all I could get out of him. We could in all probability bury our unfortunate comrades who had fallen in battle, but it would be impossible for us to dispose of dead horses and mules. Peter Thompson 96K views 3 years ago. In a short time I secured two canteens and a coffee kettle. This was the 26th day of June, a day long to be remembered by all who took an active part, in fact, a day never to be forgotten. There were others also in the same fix. I gave them the other canteen and told them that if they should not require all the water that I would like it to be passed around to some other wounded ones lying close by, which was so done. Tony, for that was the man's name, was lying in the place best suited for the shelter and the men called to him to get out of the way. Watson began to crawl out of the water. [Note: Curley also spoke memorably of the continuous roar of battle.] I made a dive through the retreating column in quest of my horse and found it in the center of the command led by Fitzgerald, who seemed greatly surprised at seeing me saying, "I thought the Indians had your scalp!" This was actually an extremely BAD idea, but while they were cruising the banks of the river looking for a ford (see Peter Thompson Detail Map, #13), Thompson said he and Watson stumbled upon Custer and one of Custer's Crow scouts in the midst of some kinky business with a Sioux woman on a tether. Peter set up Thomson Bike Tours in 2001 and must have covered well over 250,000km on the . It was a foolish undertaking for, a short distance below us, the bluffs came close to the river and the water washing at the base for so long a time, had caused the bluff to cave in and for the distance of a hundred feet up was so steep that even a goat could not climb it. P.O. So here's a belated salute to a great American, Peter Thompson: he was courageous in battle, and courageous in telling America the truth about the battle afterwards. (360) 927-3234, Thompson was the last one to see Custer alive, gallop away a short distance to look around, a flat beside the river with a ford at the lower end, the Little Bighorn River ran hard against the bluffs, horsemen with Seventh Cavalry guidons climbing the bluffs above, Custer's Last Fight, The Experience of a Private in the Custer Massacre. Meanwhile, I was persuing my way along the trail on foot leading my horse for I was afraid he would fall down under me, so stumbling and staggering was his gait. But alas! "Well," said he, "Who are those ahead of us?" "Of approximately 210 men," writes Bray, "only one would survive the next hour. All realized that the less ammunition expended the better. Pausing for a moment I looked cautiously around the bend and there before me was running water, the Little Horn River, on the opposite side was a thick cover of cottonwood timber, the sight of which made me hesitate for a moment. Not even close. The "problematic passages" in Thompson's first-person account of the battle center on Thompson and fellow straggler Pvt. Custer had done so repeatedly on the Seventh Cavalry's approach to the Little Bighorn. Actually, these aren't "impossible" either. The problem that now perplexed us was what we were to do. Most modern accounts of the Battle of the little Bighorn confidently state that Daniel Kanipe and John Martin -- or Curley, if they're being liberal enough to consider Indians human -- were the last Seventh Cavalry survivors to see Custer alive, even though Kanipe himself said that Thompson was the last one to see Custer alive. The question may be asked why we attempted to join our commands after two hours and a half. When we stepped out into the trail at the head of the advancing column, it was about five o'clock in the afternoon. The bank being very wet, my feet slipped from under me several times. The firing was growing less every minute, but the Indians still kept up their seemingly tireless circling, making a great cloud of dust. We were in a very precarious condition. The trail we had followed had been made by buffalo, when going to and from the river. After leaving three canteens for the wounded at the hospital, I took the other two and gave them to my wounded comrades. See Who Killed Custer -- Part 11 "War Crime Time" for more info.]. He was attended by John Mahoney [Pvt. But when I looked closer, I could see a few Indians sneaking around here and there, and every once in awhile an Indian would dash out of the village as if anxious to get to some given point in the least possible time. Thomson won the British Open in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, and 1965, matching the number of wins by John Henry Taylor and James Braid and . The only hope f or us to accomplish our purpose was to make the effort after night came on. Some of us unloaded the mules of the hard tack they were carrying and used the boxes for a breastwork. He was convicted for car theft and sentenced for four years imprisonment. We felt we were discovered. During the fight between Custer and the Sioux, scores of Indians had stationed themselves on the bluffs overlooking the village as far as we could see, so that any movement on our part would have led to our discovery; but nevertheless we made up our minds not to remain long in our present place of concealment. On March 17, 1995, in Sublette, Kansas Dawn Amos, Douglas Winter and David Spain escaped in the early morning hours after shooting Sheriff Deputy, Irvin Powell twice. View the profiles of professionals named "Peter Thomson" on LinkedIn. While wondering as to my next move, I was suddenly brought to myself with the question, "Where are you going? After Custer excused the scouts from further service, Goes Ahead said he and Hairy Moccasin and White Man Runs Him went together to the river on their own, and Sioux warrior White Cow Bull said he saw three Crows on the bluffs above Medicine Tail Coulee just before Cuter attacked the village. New York. Here, there, and everywhere he thought he was needed. He had managed to make his way under cover of the ravine to the place where I found him. He had begged in vain to have Reno advance to Custer's relief. When he saw my maneauvers, he took aim at me and shot. So it turns out that there's actually an abundance of reasonable suspects among Custer's Crow scouts! Sentenced to life imprisonment as a fourth time offender, he was transferred to the Philadelphia County Prison. The animals the scouts had they had captured from the Sioux. World Ocean Summit speech by Ambassador Peter Thomson, UNSG's Special Envoy for the Ocean. While I was thus engaged and when Watson had forded to the middle of the stream, I heard the crack of three rifles which caused me to straighten up quickly and look around to see what the trouble was. The offers of money by the wounded for a drink of water was painful to hear. We finally concluded to enter the village by way of the trail. The hill we were climbing seemed very long, so much so to me that I fell down and lay there without any inclination to move again, until Watson called my attention to the head of the column of cavalry which now came into plain view. Mr. Thomson brings a distinguished experience in diplomatic services and is familiar with the work of the United Nations, including as Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN and President of. He was one of the most wanted criminals in the. In New York, convicted murderers Timothy A. Vail and Timothy G. Morgan escaped from Elmira State Penitentiary in July 2003; both were recaptured in two days. When the Fotki album comes up, click on the first picture for a larger view. For instance, the sequence of physical landmarks described by Thompson almost exactly matchs the actual landscape of lower Medicine Tail Coulee and the adjacent Little Bighorn River (see detail map left and full map above). Join Facebook to connect with Peter Thomson and others you may know. I had not gone far before I became aware of the fact that I had company. But we ourselves were no better off. I had lost sight of Watson and thinking that I could make my horse go faster by mounting, I did so. "Movie Made Escaped Convict Go Back to Charleston Prison". I started on looking back once in a while to see if the Indians were coming. Then Jackson informed him Custer had shot at him cutting away the strap that connected his stirrup to the saddle, and in order to save his life he had ridden away. The noise gradually became louder and louder until it became indescribably and almost unbearable to the ears of civilized persons. After this, I began to feel very sick and looked around for a sheltered place to avoid the heat of the sun. In 1976, sex cult leader and convicted rapist. The well-trained horses were kept well in hand. Fortunately I was not armed or I would have committed an act that I would have been sorry for afterwards. When I thought it time for him to fire, I dropped to my left side, the bullet whistling over my head, buried itself in the bluff behind me. My action would have been justified by the law, as it would have been an act of self defense. The cavalry dashed into the village where one of the noncommissioned officers halted and struck up the company's guidon alongside of a teepee before he was shot from his horse. Looking to my right, I saw a ravine and at the bottom of it a small clump of wild cherry bushes. Wherever they attacked, our men were always ready. 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