At dawn on June 25, 1876, Lt. Charles Varnum, head of Custer’s scouts, found himself at an outcropping of rocks known as the Crow’s Nest. This prominence was used by Crow Indians for scouting the valley of the Little Bighorn for buffalo or enemies. This morning the scouts with Varnum tried to point out to him the location of what they could tell was an enormous Indian village. Varnum could not make out the camp. Even with the use of his spy glass he was unable to see what the scouts could see. Receiving a note from Varnum, Custer joined him at the Crow’s Nest, but by that time the morning winds had wiped up dust and the far valley disappeared from sight.
At this point, Custer decided to attack. Varnum, who rode with Reno’s men, survived the fight and when he died in San Francisco in 1936 he was the last surviving officer of the 7th Cavalry who rode into battle on that famous day.
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