"Have them take off their sabres." As they crept, one after the other, to where he lay in the snow, the General, whose eyes had become accustomed to the moon-gleam, pointed out the location of the village and such natural surroundings as could be vaguely distinguished.

The situation thus outlined in their minds, they drew silently back from the crest, leaving there a single Osage guide on guard, and returned to the waiting regiment, standing to horse less than a mile distant.

Custer's orders for immediate attack came swiftly, and Hamlin, acting as his orderly, bore them to the several commands.

The entire force was slightly in excess of eight hundred men, and there was every probability that the Indians outnumbered them five to one.

Scouts had reported to Sheridan that this camp of Black Kettle's was the winter rendezvous not only of Cheyennes, but also of bands of fighting Arapahoes, Kiowas, Comanches, and even some Apaches, the most daring and desperate warriors of the plains.