George Herendeen: Salty Civilian Scout and Unheralded Hero of the Little Bighorn

Born in 1846 and orphaned at age 13, George Herendeen grew up tough. It paid off. His salt and savvy showed through at the Little Bighorn. He saved not only his own scalp but also the lives of at least a dozen more men.

Born in Ohio, Herendeen served in America’s Civil War. Few dates or timelines survive, but historian Thom Hatch records simply that Herendeen lived with an uncle in Indiana before moving west to Denver around 1868. He then “cowboyed” in New Mexico.

In Montana Territory

Herendeen apparently arrived in Montana Territory with a cattle drive. In 1874 he was part of the Yellowstone Wagonroad and Prospecting Expedition. This little-known foray intended what the name implies, including a searching for a fabled “lost cabin gold mine.” The expedition intruded into unceded lands set aside as hunting grounds exclusively for use by reservation Indians.

In 1875 Herendeen joined 42 trappers and traders led by Crow Indian agent Fellows Pease. They built the ill-fated post known as Fort Pease near the mouth of the Bighorn River. However, rather than cashing in on military trade, the post suffered repeated Sioux raids. By mid-February 1876 several members had died and others had scattered. Trader Paul McCormick trudged through a blizzard to Fort Ellis, 200 miles away, to request military help.

Salty and self-sufficient, Herendeen was found out trapping when the cavalry passed through. It is unclear whether he was forced to evacuate the area like other Fort Pease occupants. One later source simply stated he had lived in a cabin along the Yellowstone, and hostile Indians failed to find it.

A Salty, Self-Sufficient Scout

In early 1876 Colonel Gibbon hired Herendeen as a packer and guide to help escort his Montana Column in its efforts to locate hostiles. It seemed a particularly fortuitous hire. Lt. James Bradley mentioned Herendeen intermittently thoughout his journal. Each comment seems neutral at worst, if not universally favorable.

When General Terry, the ranking officer, commandeered interpreter/guide Mitch Bouyer and six Crow scouts at the mouth of the Rosebud, he also extended an offer for hazardous duty. He wanted to send a messenger when Custer took all 12 7^th Cavalry troops up Rosebud Creek to pick up the huge travois trail left by moving “hostiles.” That messenger would descend Tullock Creek once Custer’s plan took more definite shape.

The two forks of Tullock Creek lay between the Tongue River and Rosebud Creek. Reno was intended to have ruled out hostiles in the Tongue River drainage. He had disobeyed orders, instead following the huge “lodgepole trail” into the Rosebud drainage. Concern lingered that some “hostiles” might still lurk in those drainages. The messenger, though, would have to descend through this potentially dangerous region.

Custer was to check into the upper reaches of Tullock Creek’s two forks. It seems he did so by gaining a broad view from the Wolf Mountains west of the Rosebud. Some say he disobeyed this directive, but Herendeen later stated no hostiles were there and such efforts would have wasted time.

Unsent Messages

Regardless, Herendeen did accept General Terry’s offer, hazardous duty and all. In an 1878 letter to the New York Herald, Herendeen tried to clear up misinformation about Custer’s last campaign. In that letter he alluded to apparent negotiations, or at least clarifications, as to the commanders’ expectations and what compensation he would receive. Like Bouyer, Herendeen knew the region well. According to the letter, Custer was pleased and stated Herendeen was just the man he wanted along.

Part-way up Rosebud Creek, Custer’s troops found the abandoned site of the huge Sun Dance the combined nontreaty tribes had held. There they also found the scalp of a one of Gibbon’s soldiers. The man was one of three killed in an ambush along the Yellowstone one month before. As the troops move farther up the Rosebud, the travois trail became increasingly fresh.

Strangely – but again perhaps fortuitously – Custer refused to let Herendeen return with new of these findings. He stated no real news existed yet, but he would let Herendeen “earn his bonus” when news was encountered. The scout/courier was never dispatched back, and it is uncertain whether he ever collected hazard pay. He should have.

Events and plans changed quickly from there. Custer made a night march on June 24^th and ended up by dawn near at the divide between the Rosebud and Little Bighorn drainages. From “Crow’s Nest,” a promontory affording long views all around, Custer’s scouts spotted the hostile village 15 miles distant.

Soldiers were spotted by at least twice by “hostiles,” however, and Custer determined he must press an immediate attack. That would have been an ideal time to send Herendeen back with updates. It didn’t happen, though. He went with Custer toward the huge encampment on the Little Bighorn.

At the Little Bighorn

Oddly, after Custer divided his command, all his scouts but four Crows and Mitch Bouyer went with Major Reno. Herendeen was among them. Reno’s assigned attack on the village’s south end quickly turned into a rout – of his command, not of the Sioux. After warriors moved around his left flank he retreated to a stand of brush and timber, where he tried to regroup and reform.

Whether Reno lost his nerve or failed to communicate effectively, his command became disorganized and fractured. Reno led what he later called a “charge” out of the timber and up to higher ground on a bluff back across the Little Bighorn. He had previously commanded his men to dismount. Many failed to hear his order to remount and ride out.

Herendeen was among those who joined Reno initially in his headlong ride. However, Herendeen’s horse stumbled and fell on the rough, uneven ground, throwing him. He quickly joined roughly 16 men who had either not heard the command or had lost their mounts (Many horses died amidst chaotic firing; at least two scouts along with several troopers died as a result.) At least a dozen survived due to Herendeen’s savvy and leadership.

Saving Scalps

A reprint of Herendeen’s account will be posted separately. In short, he related how he met with other men left behind. Some still had horses and wanted to keep them, but he dissuaded them. Three were wounded – two so badly they could not use their arms. Herendeen told the group they must stand by the wounded.

Keeping the group concealed in the timber, he waited while most of the attackers raced downriver to what later proved to be Custer’s annihilation. The group heard firing for about an hour, then realized their attackers would soon return. Herendeen directed the group to leave, deploying them in skirmisher fashion. They met five mounted Indians who fled when the group returned their fire.

Crossing the chest-deep river, Herendeen’s stragglers all reached safety shortly before the main body of warriors returned. Two had stayed behind, wanting to await nightfall. Herendeen never saw them again, but the wounded who had gone with him survived.

Life After the Little Bighorn

Despite this being the hero’s own story, it bears credibility. Other accounts mention the thirteen stragglers reaching safety with those entrenching on the bluffs. Lt. Edward Mclernand, a 7^th Infantry engineer, described Herendeen as “an unusually reliable man.” Herendeen was called to testify extensively in the 1879 Reno Court of Inquiry, and his accounts have been highly regarded.

Additional information is spotty regarding Herendeen after he survived the Little Bighorn. He did serve as a scout during the 1877 Nez Perce campaign. He then worked in or around several cities in the developing territory and state, finally settling on the Fort Belknap Reservation. He apparently worked there constructing government buildings and eventually became Justice of the Peace in Harlem. He died in 1919.