The Storytellers
Explore the Story
Feel free to look around. Here you will find pictures and stories about all of the real-life places and characters that populate the pages of THE STORYTELLERS. There just wasn’t room to squeeze all of that between the covers of the printed book. Among other things, I wanted this site to be my scrapbook of sorts.
Here you will find the McHenry House in Meadville, Pa., The Southern Hotel in St. Louis, MO., Fort Abraham Lincoln in Bismarck, ND., The Brooklyn Bridge in New York, the Eads Bridge in St. Louis, the Little Bighorn Valley in Montana and, yes, Last Stand Hill.
You will find period works by Remington, Schreyvogel and others. These I surrounded myself with to help me transport myself back to that period.
A Fantastical Reimagining of Gen. George Armstrong Custer’s bloody defeat at Little Bighorn, told from the perspective of an investigating detective.
- Kirkus Reviews
My interest in the mysteries of The Battle of the Little bighorn began in a public library which I used to haunt. I had picked a Time/Life book entitled The Soldiers that covered the daily lives and struggles of the frontier soldiers in the 1800s. I settled myself into my favorite forgotten nook and let myself be transported to a different century. One particular segment of that book included a description of the dedication of Gen. George Custer’s monument at West Point Military Academy in 1879. A newspaper reporter was interviewing various dignitaries present at the event and recorded their quotes. All of them were laudatory, of course, except the last one. It was from a Captain Benteen who had served under Custer for many years on the plains. His quote … “I am only too proud to say that I despised him.”
What a curious thing to say at such an event! It seemed clear to me that Benteen had much more he would probably want to say. The reporter did not follow up. I did.
I purchased a little-known book entitled Harvest of Barren Regrets written by Charles Mills (Arthur H. Clark Co. 1985). It is the biography of Frederick William Benteen USA. Evidently Charles Mills had been as intrigued as I was for Captain Benteen, indeed, had much more to say.
And so began my fascination with the Battle of the Little Bighorn. The more I studied it the more questions arose. Why were there 265 headstones dotting a battlefield where only 215 men died? Why did the various native tribes consider the valley haunted at the time? Why did Custer disobey his orders? Why did Custer not listen to his many scouts who warned him that he was about to lose his life and the lives of all his men?
As I endeavored to answer these questions, I came across another book entitled Custer in ’76. Walter Camps notes on the Custer fight. (Univ. of Oklahoma Press 1976). Evidently Mr. Camp had been as intrigued with the mysteries as I am as he spent the latter part on the 19th century seeking out all of the eye-witnesses he could find and interviewing them. This book became my “Bible”.
About ten years ago, another mystery surfaced in the form of a Montana newspaper article that described a donation made to the Fort Abraham Lincoln historical site of a framed facsimile of George Custer’s Life Insurance policy by The New York Life Insurance Co. The article mentioned that Custer and four of his officers had been policy holders. It was my inquiry as to the names of the other officers that furnished me with my last mystery. Why did army officers who, in 1876, were being paid $50/month pay upwards of $265/year in premiums for life insurance policies they didn’t appear to need?
And so I set my fictitious private investigator to work. His investigation into these mysteries fills the pages of The Storytellers.
I love to read books that transport me to different times and places. I appreciate the skill of a true wordsmith who can paint a scene with words. I have endeavored to do just that in The Storytellers. I hope I have succeeded!
The specter moved not like any human but more like a cloud of black smoke, propelled by the breeze across the gold canvas of the moon. It moved along the hogback, unafraid of who might see it or who might hear it. For as it grew closer, a distinct cry floated along with it – a woeful keening of despair.
The Girl I Left Behind Me
“We moved along the bluffs, with the river hugging their base and the valley stretching off to the west. The crash of the volley firing had ceased, but the sharp report of thousands of weapons could still be heard. The village below us was enormous, and we could not yet see its end. We soon came to a high point, a promontory, that offered a complete look of the surrounding country for miles in any direction. I took advantage of this geography to scout the country. As I stood on the peak, an incredible panorama unfolded before me.
LIST OF CHARACTERS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE:
Harlen – (Fictional) A drunk from Deadwood. Joe’s partner.
Joe – (Fictional) Abigail Weech’s cousin
Captain Tom Weir – (Historical) Commander of D Troop in Gen. George Custer’s 7th Cavalry
General George Custer – (Historical) Commander of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Captain Tom Custer – (Historical) Commander of C Troop in Gen GeorgeCuster’s 7th Cavalry
Elizabeth (Libby) Custer – (Historical) Gen. George Custer’s widow
DelCol – (Fictional) An independent investigator from New York City
Ansley – (Fictional) A New York City coroner
Samuel J. Hopkins – (Fictional) An investigator for the New York Life Insurance Co.
Runs Far – (Fictional) A young, Crow warrior
Colonel Paris DelCol – (Fictional) DelCol’s uncle
General Jeb Stuart – (Historical) Confederate commander of cavalry under Gen. Robert E. Lee
Kit Carson – (Historical) A legendary frontiersman and army scout.
Donehogoa – (Historical) aka Colonel (later General) Ely Parker. A chief of the Seneca Nation. An engineering officer and Adjutant to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War. He was later Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs after Grant was elected President.
John D. Rockefeller – (Historical) Founder and President of the Standard Oil Co. In 1877 he was one of the richest men in the world.
Captain Nathan Brittles – (Fictional) A Captain in the US Cavalry
Annie Yates – (Historical) The widow of Captain George Yates who died with Gen. George Custer on Last Stand Hill at the Little Bighorn
Zeke – (Fictional) The adopted son of George and Annie yates. He is a drummer boy in the US Army.
John Fisher – (Historical) Sarah Fisher’s husband
Sarah Fisher – (Historical) John Fisher’s wife.
George Herendeen – (Historical) Pronounced (hair-en-deen) Frontiersman and Army scout.
Captain Frederick Benteen – (Historical) Senior Captain of the 7th Cavalry. Commander of H Troop, he commanded a squadron of three Companies of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Lt. Johnny Shiloh – (Historical) Born John Clem he is a legendary Civil War drummer boy turned Army officer. In 1877 he is a Lieutenant of Artillery.
Getty - DelCol’s horse. A beautiful Golden Appaloosa Palomino.
Sgt. Charles White – (Historical) A Sergeant in the 7th Cavalry.
Captain Nowlan – (Historical) A Captain in the 7th Cavalry
Young Hawk – (Historical) Ree Indian scout for the 7th Cavalry
Lt. George D. Wallace – (Historical) Second in command of G Troop at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Sgt. Daniel Knipe – (Historical) A Sergeant in C Troop during the battle of the Little Bighorn
Abigail Weech (Fictional) A saloon owner in Deadwood. Joe’s cousin.
Sgt. London DelCol – (Fictional) DelCol’s father. Paris DelCol’s brother. Standard bearer for Gen. George Custer at the Battle of Gettysburg.
White Man Runs Him – (Historical) Crow warrior
Curly – (Historical) Crow warrior
Goes Ahead – (Historical) Crow warrior
Hairy Moccasin – (Historical) Crow warrior
Wren – (Fictional) A Shoshone warrior
Sadee – (Fictional) A Shoshone warrior
Chapha – (Fictional) A renegade Sioux warrior
Mary Crawler – (Historical) aka Tashna Mani, aka Walking Robe Woman. She is the daughter of Sioux chief Crawler
Crawler – (Historical) Sioux chieftain
Dr. Schufeldt – (Historical) US Army surgeon attached to the 1877 body recovery expedition.
Crazy Horse – (Historical) Legendary Sioux War Chief.
Pennyweather – (Fictional) Mr. Rockefeller’s office manager
Deputy Bobby Howfield – (Fictional) Deputy Sherriff of Cahoon, Texas
Sherriff Jethro Coltrane – (Fictional) Sherriff of Cahoon, Texas
Grace Harrington – (Historical) Widow of Captain Henry Harrington.
Sitting Bull – (Historical) Legendary Sioux chieftain and Holy Man. Leader of the Free Roamers.
Brave Bear – (Historical) A Cheyenne Dog Soldier warrior who fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Red Horse – (Historical) Sioux warrior who fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
Foolish Elk – (Historical) Sioux warrior who fought at the Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Magnificent McHenry House
As time progresses forward it becomes increasingly difficult to imagine the grand structures that once dominated the landscapes of our community. While a long list of such buildings could be compiled for Crawford County, few would compare to the magnitude and grandeur of the McHenry House and the adjoining depot of the Atlantic and Great Western Railroad in Meadville.
The McHenry House was a premier dining hall and hotel, named in honor of James McHenry, Esquire, the London financial agent sent in 1859 to ensure the successful construction of the Atlantic and Great Western (A & GW) Railroad. McHenry couldn’t have imagined the challenges that awaited him, but even so, he managed to secure needed resources, albeit controversially, despite labor shortages, political infighting, and the Civil War.
Read more about the McHenry House here!
Edgar Paxson’s CUSTERS
LAST STAND Painting
The very first page of The Storytellers is dominated by Edgar Paxson’s 1895 painting of the final moments of the death-struggle on Last Stand Hill. Mr. Paxson moved to Montana in 1877 and immediately became a passionate student of the desperate struggle that took place one year earlier on that wind-swept hillside.
He interviewed over one hundred of the surviving participants of the battle including ninety-six surviving 7th Cavalry soldiers, Sitting Bull, Gall, Rain-in-the-Face and Lt. Godfrey who had ridden with Captain Benteen’s squadron.
They guided him in his sketches and renderings to achieve the most accurate depiction of those final moments.
A companion photo on my site is of Last Stand Hill today taken from the same vantage point as Mr. Paxson’s painting.
The finished canvas is 6 feet by 9 feet and includes more than two hundred figures. Many of the portraits are of actual participants. It hangs today in the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming.
View of Last Stand Hill as seen from identical angle as Edgar Paxson’s “Custer’s Last Stand” featured on first page of The Storytellers
This 1877 photo of the Brooklyn Bridge under construction was taken from the top of the south tower which means that the section of New York in the background is Manhattan! Notice how the north tower dwarfs everything else in the picture. In The Storytellers, the detective, Mr. DelCol, has offices in the Schermerhorn building at #2 Fulton St. That building is still there and would be just above the heads of the two men standing on the catwalk.
General George Custer (center) leads the head-on Union cavalry charge against Confederate cavalry under the command of Gen J.E.B. Stuart 5 miles east of Gettysburg on that battles third, and final, day. In The STORYTELLERS, DelCol’s father was one of the standard bearers following Custer.
In Chapter 7 of THE STORYTELLERS, DelCol meets and interviews General Ely Parker (aka Donehogawa) on the train west. Gen. Parker was the adjutant to Gen. Ulysses Grant during the Civil War. He is best known for writing out the articles of surrender in his own hand after Gen. Robert E. Lee and Grant had agreed upon the terms at Appomattox. In the painting depicting that moment Gen. Parker can be seen standing at Grants left. Gen. Custer stands right behind him. Donehogawa was a Seneca chieftain and Iroquois statesman. He held a dual degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic in law and engineering. When Grant became President he named Donehogawa to be the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He became the only Native American to ever hold that post.
