They didn't lop it off, LH, they shoved an arrow up it--a certain "stiffening" effect, I'm sure. Many people have wondered if Monaseta had anything to do with that. She was there, and had plenty of reason to be pissed off. There is an account of her and her aunt preventing Custer from being totally carved up, saying "He is our relative," then driving a sewing awl into his ears so he would hear better in the spirit world.

Teribus, I agree with Stilly about the reliability of Wikipedia. Any idiot can edit it--me, for example. Somebody on the lbha forum quoted the article about Myles Keogh to me, and I had to tell him I was the last one who edited it, and I'm not exactly the world's expert (though I admit to working toward that status! ;-D) It's just that it contained some info that I knew to be incorrect, so I fixed it. I still don't understand how to sign it properly, so I didn't, but I did cite my sources.

ADHD--Custer had every symptom in the book--he never slowed down, never stopped talking at high speed, and was totally self-centered and oblivious to the needs of others. Sanitized history has it that he was lovingly called Old Curly for his flowing locks; in fact, his loving men called him Hard Ass or Iron Butt, because he could ride all day and all night--and it never occurred to him that they couldn't. I began to think about this when I became acquainted with a young person who has this condition, and has exactly the same personality traits. Not a bad person--has spontaneously done kind and friendly things, but is completely unaware of the reactions of other people, walking on their faces and pissing them off. Custer was also bright, but a terrible student, barely squeaking through West Point, but excelling at subjects that interested him, another classic symptom.

The soldiers were always complaining that the Indians were armed with the latest models, courtesy of the Department of the Interior, as a result of the provisions of various treaties. Keogh wrote a letter to a friend about it which was published in the NY Times. From his point of view, it must have seemed as absurd as the Union arming the Confederacy. Most of these guys had just finished up a nice, civilized war against opponents of their own cultural background, with similar values. Indian fighting came as a very rude shock. Custer took to it like a duck to water, being a lunatic who loved a good dust-up, no matter who with.

The real fascination of the Little Bighorn is that nobody can say for sure exactly what happened, not even the people who were there. It is agreed that it was the largest Indian village ever assembled on the Plains, but estimates range from 2,000 to 20,000 (Benteen said 20,000, but it probably just looked that way to him when they were charging!). Accounts by survivors, Indian and white, are wildly contradictory in many cases.

If you guys really want to get into it on a level of total picky detail, I really recommend checking out the link I posted above. It is a forum of both amateur and professional historians who read and discuss endlessly, and the value is in the many points of view presented, so that you can decide for yourself what your own opinions are, based on a mass of info.

Shambles, I am basing my opinion of Crazy Horse's opinion on my own reaction to Mt. Rushmore. I grew up always wanting to see it, and when I finally did, at the age of 19, I couldn't believe how grossed out I was--I really didn't expect to have that reaction. But it was a terrible thing to do to a nice mountain. If ya want a statue, cast it in bronze or something, don't deface the wilderness.