Re: and.....More, More Spirits At Little Bighorn!

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: : : : 
: : : : : 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.

: : ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

: : That sounds like 'Drumossie Moor' where the last battle on British soil, took place - the Battle of Culloden, between the Scots and the English on April 16, 1746.  Marker stones have been set at the raised grave-like spots where the various clans stood and fought - and died.  On each anniversary, it is said the battle is re-enacted by the ghosts of the fallen on both sides of the conflict and many visitors to the area on that day have spoken of hearing the skirl of the pipes, as the pipers lead their clans once more into battle.  At that time of year, mist often swirls round the field and I swear!! Through that mist, and from the corner of my eye, I've seen 'glimpses' of various tartans, caught the flashes of a watery sun on steel and heard the ring of metal on metal and the thudding of sabres against the hide of the targes!! I swear!!  Each year, the ghosts once more take up the torch and fight for FREEEEEDOOOMMMMMM!!! 

: : 'To all the ghosts who guard the flame, I promise you I won't forget!!'

: : The following could have been written about ANY battlefield:

: : 'I have been to hell today - I saw the devil's naked face
: : I felt the poison freeze my heart in that evil, evil place
: : I heard the ghosts cry out their warning
: : Their voices ringing through the years
: : I stood beneath the barbed-wire fence
: : and wept and wept bitter tears - never again.

: : I stod alone that winter's day 
: : on that barren killing ground
: : Inside my head the voices grew 
: : 'till my brain was bursting with the sound
: : They cried 'comrade, do not forget us'! 
: : And I replied 'I never will'! 
: : And as my soul in pity wept,
: : One by one the voices stilled - never again...

: : I've lived in freedom all my life 
: : Never thinking much about the cost
: : Of those who suffered and who died
: : So that freedom's flame would not be lost
: : I saw the flame in Sachsenhousen
: : In spite of all its burning yet
: : To all the ghosts who guard the flame
: : I promise you I won't forget! Never again.

: : ~ Eric Bogle.

: : (Written after a visit to the 'killing ground' of Sachsenhousen Concentration Camp but written as a 'pledge' to keep alive the spirit of all those who died in ALL wars - and pleading with THE WORLD not to stand by and allow wanton killing and dying to happen again!!) 

: : 
: : Take care, - and REMEMBER!
: : Kate.

: ~~~~

: To all of you wonderful memorial writers,

: *sitting with baggies under chin and both eyes*

: THANK YOU!  Epecially, this last one...FREEEEEEEEDOM.  Wooooohooooo!  I'll remember, Kate.

: Dana S.


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