Mitch Bouyer: The Montana Column’s Mixed-Blood Middle-Man and Scout

Like several other prominent players at the Little Bighorn, Mitch Bouyer was born in the late 1830’s – most likely 1837.  His father, John Baptiste Bouyer, was French. His mother was a Santee Sioux.

Name Variations

Some may struggle at pronouncing Bouyer’s last name correctly (except for those who speak French). Many seem to struggle with its spelling as well. The name appears as Bouyer, Boyer, Bowyer and Bouie in widely distributed Little Bighorn writings.

Besides Mitch, Bouyer is sometimes called “Minton” or “Michael.” The Minton moniker may be doubtful, but it appears Bouyer’s French father named him Michel. He was known to Crows and other Indians as “Man Wearing Calfskin Vest.” “Hammering Out,” another of Bouyer’s possible Indian names presumably comes from his father’s blacksmith trade.

Skills

Bouyer lived among both whites and Indians and spoke English, Sioux and Crow. This made him invaluable as an interpreter. However, Bouyer’s knowledge of the lands across present-day eastern Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas made him invaluable as a scout.

A Sought-After Scout

Several writers assert that Bouyer was a “protégé” of the renowned scout Jim Bridger. Regardless, his knowledge of the Powder River, Tongue River, Rosebud Creek and Bighorn River regions made him sought-after as a scout. Sadly, his skills would lead to his untimely demise.

Bouyer had worked as a scout for troops escorting the Yellowstone railroad survey in 1872. He was married to a Crow Indian wife and was been employed either at the agency or as a scout until April 1876.

When Colonel John Gibbon led his Montana Column eastward along the Yellowstone River from Fort Ellis, he sent specifically for Bouyer. He recruited Bouyer and employed him as a guide.

Gibbon was at the Crow Indian agency at the time, enlisting nearly two dozen Crow scouts. Their knowledge of the region would be invaluable as well. Bouyer, however brought with him the added skill of interpreting between various tribes and the white soldiers. He was fluent in both vocal and sign languages.

War-time Wages

Congress’ guidelines at that time provided that Indian scouts would be enlisted and paid as soldiers. Their enlistment terms, however, were limited according to the needs of a given campaign. In addition to the standard pay of $13 per month, each scout was also issued uniform items and allotted an additional $12 more for each horse he brought.

White and mixed-blood scouts, however, were employed as civilians. Their pay seemed open to negotiation at times, and incentives or bonuses were added for hazardous extra assignments. (More to come on that topic.) Thus, Mitch Bouyer, bringing added skills and value, was hired at the rate of $150 per month, more than 10 times an enlisted man’s pay.

Searching for Sioux

It could be Bouyer’s employment as a scout against the Sioux was due to the fact his father was killed by Indians while trapping near Fort Laramie in 1863. The culprits were most likely either Oglala or the more warlike Miniconjou Sioux prevalent in the region at that time.  Regardless, after Bouyer was employed to scout for the Montana Column in 1876, he would fatefully be commandeered assigned to the Dakota Column when the two commands met.

About a week into June, Gibbon’s 7^th Infantry met General Terry’s 7^th Cavalry along the Yellowstone River near the Powder River’s mouth. By June 10^th Major Marcus Reno was sent out on an eight-day scouting foray. He would go up the Powder River and was directed to descend the Tongue River drainage after scouting for hostiles in the intervening territory.

Due to his knowledge of the region General Terry sent Bouyer with Reno’s detachment. Bouyer had been with Lt. James Bradley, Colonel Gibbon’s chief of scouts, when Bradley twice saw a large village of “hostiles” from a distance along the Tongue River. By the time of Reno’s scout, though, the village had moved to Rosebud Creek. There a large Sun Dance gathering of Sioux and Cheyenne was held.

That huge gathering of “hostiles” would soon move toward the Little Bighorn. It left, as one might imagine, a huge trail of pony tracks and drag marks made by lodge poles forming “travois,” or “pony drags.” Reno defied orders and followed that trail beyond where Terry had directed him to scout. While Terry and Custer fumed over the defiance for different reasons, Bouyer seems to had no say in it.

After Reno’s return, Custer was sent out up Rosebud Creek on June 22 with 15 days’ rations. Unlike Reno’s six companies, with a Gatling Gun and 11 mules per troop, Custer’s 12 companies packed light and prepared to move quickly. Custer allowed just one pack mule per troop, plus ammunition packs. He refused Gatling guns. Bouyer was assigned to him, along with six hand-picked Crow scouts.

General Terry, with Gibbon’s Montana Column, would move up the Bighorn and Little Bighorn drainages, hoping to catch the “hostiles” in a pincer attack.

As Custer’s command moved up Rosebud Creek, scouts found the travois trail becoming fresher. The huge non-treaty gathering had moved at a leisurely pace, dictated by their herds’ grazing needs. By June 25, fate would intervene and the command’s presence became known (in reality, the soldiers’ general presence had been known by tribes for quite some time.) Custer felt compelled to attack immediately.

Unheeded Warnings

The previous night, as Custer summoned his officers for a council, several scouts had warned him the hostile village was too large for his force. He disagreed. Bouyer told Lt. Edward Godfrey the command was in for a huge fight, implying more than just a large battle.

The morning of June 25, when scouts spotted the village 15 miles away several including Bouyer warned Custer again. When Custer asked why the scouts were painting themselves and singing “death” songs, Bouyer interpreted. He conveyed that they knew they could not survive the coming battle.

As Custer advanced toward the village Bouyer warned him pointedly once more that they would face overwhelming numbers. Custer is said to have tried to shame him, telling him if he was afraid he could leave. Bouyer simply informed him, “If we go in there we will never come out.”

Dutiful to the Death

Custer had been unable to see the distant Sioux and Cheyenne village. He remained unconvinced it was even there. Perhaps his prior successes and Indian retreats had left him over-confident. True to form, he charged ahead. Sadly, he took many lives with him.

When Custer split his command, his Arikara scouts went with Major Reno, who attacked the camp’s south end. Bouyer and four Crow scouts went with Custer. Bouyer released the Crow scouts before Custer made his own attack, but he remained with the soldiers. His body was later found, badly mutilated, down near the Little Bighorn.

Friendship and Family

While with Gibbon’s command, Bouyer had forged a strong friendship with the white scout Thomas LeForge. Before the battle LeForge had fallen from his horse while chasing antelope and had broken a collar bone.  Keeping him out of action, it may have saved his life.

The friends had agreed to look out for each others’ families. True to his commitment, LeForge took Bouyer’s widow in to live with his family. When his own wife died, LeForge married Bouyer’s widow and adopted his daughters.

Frontier scouts assumed many risks, living in dangerous and difficult times. Mitch Bouyer had taken on such risks as the Montana Column’s mixed-blood middle man. Sadly, assigned to an audacious, un-listening and perhaps over-confident commander, he met his end at the Little Bighorn.