  Long, Francis L.—Was a sergeant in Custer’s command. On the day before the massacre, Long volunteered to carry a message from Gen. Custer through the Indian lines to Major Reno, calling for help. Long got through and Reno moved, but camped at night, and thus failed to save the heroic command. Long was the first trooper to arrive on the scene of the massacre. He was also one of the six survivors of the ill-fated Greely arctic expedition. The New York “Sun” said of him the day after his death, June8,1916.: His Viking constitution and an utter absence of nervousness rendered him almost impervious to the ills of most explorers put on a short diet in a desolate land. He became the hunter of the Greely party, and it was chiefly through him that the commander himself was saved. He never tired of adventure, making several Arctic trips after his first hazardous polar experiment, the last being when he was past50. Except Rear Admiral Peary, it is said he spent more time north of the Arctic circle than any other white man. For the last dozen or more years Sergeant Long had charge of the local weather bureau at night, making up the chart and telling the newspapers what folks hereabouts might expect next day. He was an expert meteorologist and frequently made better local predictions than his superiors at Washington. Born at Wurtemberg, Germany. Came to the United States as a boy and entered the army at18. |
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