Trego's Mountain Ear

Not everyone winds up with a good memorial.  Charley White died at the battle of Slim Buttes on September 9, 1876 – the battle that shifted control of the Sioux Wars to the US Army after Custer’s defeat at the Little Bighorn.  He was buried on the battlefield, then dug up by Lakota warriors.  The final blow of fate was that his marker not only doesn’t stand over his grave – it has his name wrong.

Wikipedia describes Charlie White as Buffalo Bill’s childhood friend.  Another origin legend is that Bill Cody paid for medical treatment for the former Confederate soldier, and Charlie became his sidekick.  There are several descriptions of how he was given the name “Buffalo Chips.” 

Findagrave gives this one: “Buffalo Chips received his name from 5th Cavalry troopers because of his habit of closely tailing Cody on Gen. Merritt’s campaign along Sage, Rawhide, and War Bonnet Creeks earlier in 1876.” 

Wikipedia has this listed about Charlie White: “Buffalo Chips” White was a boyhood friend of Col. Cody and also a scout. He wanted to be like Buffalo Bill and acquired the sobriquet “Buffalo Chips” when Gen. Phillip Sheridan said he was more like Buffalo Chips than Buffalo Bill. Major Bourke described him as a “good-natured liar who played Sancho Panza to Buffalo Bill’s Don Quixote.” Gen. Charles King said he was a good man.^” 

Frank Grouard described Charley White’s death: “Buffalo Chips was standing opposite me. He was one of those long-haired scouts, and claimed to be a partner of Buffalo Bill’s. He thought it was a good place to make name for himself, I suppose, for he told Big Bat that he was going to have one of the Indians’ scalps. He had no more than got the words out of his mouth before he yelled, “My God, I am shot.” I heard this cry and looked around, Buffalo Chips was falling over into the hole where the Indians were hiding. Bat was looking into the cave where the Indians were, and about five seconds afterwards jumped out with an Indian’s scalp in his hand, telling me that he had scalped one of the redskins alive, which I found out to be true. He had seen the Indian that killed Buffalo Chips, and he jumped down onto him as the Indian was reaching to get White’s six-shooter. Bat had jumped right down on top of him and scalped him and got out of the cave before anybody knew what he was doing.”

An unrespected nickname, a desecrated grave, and the wrong name on a memorial stone.  Let’s stick with General King’s analysis that Buffalo Chips was a good man.