June 26th, 2006
When the time came to transport the prisoner to the gallows, Big Crow began singing his death song. When they arrived at the scaffold, chains were placed about his neck and his hands tied with rope in front of him. When the wagon pulled away, Big Crow was able to grab the chain, and with his great strength hoist himself up to the cross piece. There he sat, while his captors decided what to do. Some wanted to shoot him, but the orders said hanging. Finally, a powerfully built young soldier climbed up the chain and grabbed the Indian, both falling to the ground. This time there was no reprieve. Big Crow was hanged with the ball and chain that had manacled him still attached to his leg, and it was not long before the body decayed sufficiently so that the weight of the ball pulled off the limb, and there the grisly remains stayed as a warning to others.
Page 57 Circle of Fire, the Indian war of 1865 John McDermott