- THE POETRY OF JUSTICE - It is written in the Bible in the book of Romans, chapter 10, verse 17 – “Faith comes from hearing a word from God. “ The spoken word of Waken Taken { the Creator in Lakota } to Sitting Bull prior to the Cheyenne, Lakota and Arapaho victory over George Armstrong Custer at The Battle Of The Greasy Grass { The Little Big Horn } was, “ I give you these because they have no ears. “ During that time, nearly ¼ century from 1980 – 2004, I was working my art and taking frequent trips out to the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana { paulhammersten } , I was also on the staff of the small Eldredge Public Library on Cape Cod. I became friends with many of the libraries patrons and supporters. One friend, Dr. Roger Lockhead, gave me a book. The book Roger gave me was his leather bound gold guilt edged special presentation edition, #31 of only 60 copies, of Witnesses For The Defense Of General George Armstrong Custer by W. Donald Horn. The author whose life was saved by Dr. Lockhead, a retired heart surgeon, had signed and inscribed the book for Roger. W.Donald Horn dedicated the book to his father, L. Martin Horn, who also signed and gratefully inscribed the book for Dr. Lockhead. Roger simply wrote in the book, “ To my good friend, Paul “. In the light of the beauty of history and the poetry of justice, I doubt W. Donald Horn’s witnesses for the defense Custer would convince a jury of our time. Perhaps Bigelow Neal in The Last Of The Thundering Herd said it best, “ And the only thing possible to say in his defense is, that when the gates of that awful hell { The Battle of the Greasy Grass/The Little Big Horn } closed about him, like the brave man he was, he shared the fate of his men. “ Veterans of the battle, the greatest of all American military dramas, present and honored at the dedication 65 years ago in 1948 of The Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota were Crazy Horse Warriors – James Comes Again, Oglala Lakota – Joseph High Eagle, Oglala – Iron Hawk, Hunkpapa Lakota – Henry Little Soldier, Hunkpapa – Pemmican, Oglala. My copy of Witnesses For The Defense of General George Armstrong Custer will be sent to its permanent home - the library of The Indian Museum and University of North America at The Crazy Horse Memorial – next week for the occasion of the dual anniversary of the 1876 Battle of the Greasy Grass and Ruth Ziolkowski’s birthday 87 years ago.
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 18:24:25 +0000
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