Posted by Rich on May 23, 2000 at 12:25:50:
In Reply to: Re: and.....More Spirits At Little Bighorn! posted by Rich on May 23, 2000 at 04:30:00:
:
: : And since our Richard has visited the site of Little
: : Bighorn, how about it, Ricardo? Did you get any vibes
: : there?
: : Scary Doc Mary
: MARY!!! You KNOW better than to bring that subject up!!!!
: Vibes? Oh, YES! What a place!!! In fact, there was a documentary done on that subject on PBS, I believe, called, "Ghosts Along the Little Bighorn."
: I'm splashing down coffee right now, in a vain attempt to get "ready" for work ... More later!
: Oh, and did I mention that the last day of this year's Gathering takes place on the 174th Anniversary of The Battle of the Little Bighorn, aka Custer's Last Stand?? Be careful what you say to me that day ... I might NEVER shut up!!!
It's later, so here's more:
I have recollections of having discussed this here before. Archivist??? Where's the post?
Anyhow ... Mardell Plainfeather is a Crow Indian who works (or did) at Little Bighorn National Battlefield. She is articulate and very well respected. Not a loon, in other words. She steadfastly maintains that she saw two Sioux warriors, horseback if I recollect correctly, near the river. It's a great piece, that documentary. One you should see.
I believe Ms. Plainfeather. I'm not sure that I believe in "ghosts," though I do believe in "spirits." Is there a difference? To my way of thinking, yes. At any rate, if there is any place on this continent where Spirits might be present, Little Bighorn might just be the place ...
Yes, Gettysburg is a VERY powerful place, particularly at the Pickett's Charge site, even more precisely, at two places ... for me. One of those is the place where Confederate General Armistead was shot & killed, after breaching the Union lines, urging the few soldiers behind him forward. Against all odds, he was willing to keep pressing. Unbelievable! It cost him his life. The other is a place just down the Union line from there where a North Carolina regiment made it to within several feet of the line, only to be demolished, at point blank range, by Union canister. I trembled at both places. You CAN feel it.
Little Bighorn is an entirely different matter for me. The peaceful little valley, stark in its barreness ... the meandering stream ... it all looks very much as it did in 1876. That alone makes it special. Here in the east, we have lost much of the pristine look to our memorial areas. Then, too, there's the general lack of crowds. You can contemplate, allow your YOUR spirit to meet with those present, without the constant chatter & vehicle noise all around you. It is remarkable. Add all that to the fact that a way of live ENDED right there ... not to mention lives ...
But, the killer ... the granite stones scattered about the field. No other battlefield has what Little Bighorn does. It is what makes that place unique. Well over 200 little markers. Erected where burial details originally buried the Custer dead. Each stone, then, represents a fallen man. Right at the spot he was killed at ... or very near so. It then becomes so very easy to actually SEE the men in their blue uniforms clinging dearly to their lives. Much as their loin-clothed (there's THAT word again) foe was desperately clinging to their way of life. You can SEE the smoke & dust. You can HEAR the gunfire & shouts. You can SMELL death.
Vibes?? Oh boy! Never have I felt vibes like I did there. Something awful happened there & the ground shouts it out to all that care to listen.