Crow Indian. Private, Indian Scouts. Participated in the ill-fated Custer Expedition in 1876, and may be the only human survivor of the Custer Column. Also called Shay-shee-ahsh. Born on the Little Rosebud Creek, Montana Territory. Enlisted April 10, 1876 at Crow Agency, Montana, for six months with the 7th Infantry. Accompanied Lieutenant Charles Varnum, 7th Cavalry, on the trip to Crow's Nest, on June 26, 1876. Assigned to Custer's attacking column that afternoon, he may have witnessed the final moments of the attack. He carried the news of Custer's defeat to the rendezvous point with the steamer "Far West" and although he did not speak English (and no one on the steamer spoke Crow), conveyed the idea of the disaster to the 7th Cavalry. In 1886, he divorced his wife, Bird Woman, and married Takes a Shield, another Crow. He received a pension for his service to the 7th Cavalry. He resided in the Little Big Horn Valley on his ranch near Crow Agency, MT, and died there of pneumonia. He was buried May 22, 1923 at the Custer (formerly Little Bighorn) National Cemetery.

Crow Indian. Private, Indian Scouts. Participated in the ill-fated Custer Expedition in 1876, and may be the only human survivor of the Custer Column. Also called Shay-shee-ahsh. Born on the Little Rosebud Creek, Montana Territory. Enlisted April 10, 1876 at Crow Agency, Montana, for six months with the 7th Infantry. Accompanied Lieutenant Charles Varnum, 7th Cavalry, on the trip to Crow's Nest, on June 26, 1876. Assigned to Custer's attacking column that afternoon, he may have witnessed the final moments of the attack. He carried the news of Custer's defeat to the rendezvous point with the steamer "Far West" and although he did not speak English (and no one on the steamer spoke Crow), conveyed the idea of the disaster to the 7th Cavalry. In 1886, he divorced his wife, Bird Woman, and married Takes a Shield, another Crow. He received a pension for his service to the 7th Cavalry. He resided in the Little Big Horn Valley on his ranch near Crow Agency, MT, and died there of pneumonia. He was buried May 22, 1923 at the Custer (formerly Little Bighorn) National Cemetery.

Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson