It was just five years since Marty and Dr. Brown had gone on their adventure through time. Marty was now married to Jennifer and Marty Jr was on his way. It was an exciting time, but, the truth be told Marty was in the mood for a new adventure in time.
Marty knew that he could go back or forward in time and come back without taking any of the time he would have with his family. He could set the time on the car to come and go at whatever time he would like to.
After the doc had come and met Jennifer and him at the railway that day Marty had gotten a letter from a lawyer where the doc had left Marty all of his money. The doc had a sizable fortune along with the home. In the home Marty had found the blueprints for the deloreon. He had gone to college and gotten a degree in engineering. He had studied the blueprints thoroughly and now knew that he was very capable of building his own time machine.
The doc was a bright man brilliant honestly. Marty knew that he had left the blueprints on purpose, therefore leaving it up to Marty as to whether or not he would ever travel through time would be Marty's decision. Marty was well aware of the dangers of traveling through time, however, the draw was much too strong.
Jennifer rarely went into his garage and he had been working on his own delorean for months when she had discovered what Marty was up to. She had been understanding, but had little interest in joining Marty on any traveling through time. The trip that she had taken was haunted by bad memories and although she too was curious she wasn't interested in going again.
It was during one of his many trips to the electronics store that Marty had met Tom. He was a good man with a brilliant sense for electronics and computers. With his assistance they had been able to modernize some of the docs blueprints. Although, he never asked Marty was sure that his friend knew what he was up to.
One day while Marty was at home he showed John his project. Tom was amazed and very knowledgable about the diferent systems and with his help the project was going much quicker. On the third of July 1990 Marty and Tom were ready to try out their new time machine.
This time they used Marty's dog to do the first trip through time. Because of the discovery of the doc about the alternative fuels they didn't need to use nuclear fuel as the doc and he had used just five years ago on their first flight. The fuel was much cheaper and safer and again they tried to do their first time travel from the Lone Pine Mall.
Marty had always felt a kindred to the Lone Pine Mall as that ;had been the place where he had first gone through time. He had damaged one of the pines while he was trying to escape from the family of farmers who had shot at him when he had hit their barn as he had landed back in the year 1955.
The experiment had gone well and it was time for Tom and Marty to go on their new adventure. It had been decided that it was safer for the two of them to go together, so that if either one of them had gotten into trouble they had someone to fall back on from their own time.
Both Marty and Tom had decided that they would like to go to places where there would be no memory of them, as there would be a disaster of some sort and that person would not be around to talk about what had happened with Marty and Tom anytime later.
There were several examples of this in history, but this had to happen on land and hopefully close enough to their own time, so that they could communicate with the people better. Both Marty and Tom had decided on meeting with General Custer and his men. The date that they selected was May 1, 1876 and the place would be Fort Abraham Lincoln. After much studying of the terrain and such, it was decided where to land the Deloreon. There was a cave, such as Marty had used when he had gone back in time where they could safely keep the vehicle. It was just five miles from the fort but quite secluded and hopefully would stay untouched.
There had been some changes to the vehicle so that Marty and Tom could bring a couple of good horses with them on their ride through time. For two men just to show up at a fort with no horses would draw too much suspicion from the members of the fort. They knew that travelers frequented the fort and with some care they would not stick out too much.
Tom and Marty had gone to great lengths to keep their saddles in the same condition one would expect to find in the 1880 s along with all of their belongings. Marty had become quite adapt to horseback riding from his trip out west and Tom seemed to be at home on his horse also.
As the deloreon went into the time travel moment she shook and banged like always but Tom and Marty found themselves just outside of the cave near Fort Abraham Lincoln as they had expected.
The horses were a little skiddish from the flight through time, however, both had survived and soon Marty and Tom were on horseback heading toward the fort. The weather was clear and cool perfect riding weather and within two hours they found themselves outside of the fort.
The men inside the fort were busy. There were three men dragging an indian over to a hut. He had obviously been beaten and appeared to be in dire need of medical help. They watched as the man was thrown into a hut with no windows. It must have been unberably hot in there also since there were no windows. A dark and hot place in the summer and dark and cold in the winter 'inhumane' Marty thought to himself.
They dismounted and went right to the cantina. This was where they knew that they would have a chance to meet some of the men who would become famous as victims and survivors of the Little Big Horn.
The cantina looked nothing like Marty or Tom had seen in the movies. Marty had already been shocked when he had gone back in time to the past a few years ago, but Tom was very surprised. The salon girls were old fat and toothless for the most part. They were smoking what appeared to be cigars and were swearing like long lost soliders. The stench was unbearable and it looked to them as if a glass hadn't been washed since the place opened.
At the bar stood one man, he was an older man with white hair and a handlebar mustache. He nodded to the two strangers and went on to take a drink. Both Tom and Marty ordered a whiskey and took a seat. As soon as Marty had sat down one of the saloon girls came over and made a pass at him. The smell of her breath the whiskey and smoke were almost too much for him to bear. Since deoderant wasn't used at this time the smell from her body odor was overwhelming.
Marty managed to push the lady away and just sat there. There was a group of men playing poker in the corner and they were getting loud. He looked accross the street and saw a hotel so Tom and Marty paid their bill and headed over.
This hotel was not like a hotel of the twentieth century. It had no running water no central heat or fans. It was dark and smokey and a lone man was behind the counter reading the paper. They paid for their room and went upstairs. The room was but two bits and Marty felt as if they had been overcharged. The sheets were dirty and they had to go downstairs to the well for their water. If they wanted water delivered to their room it was an extra nickel. There were two lanterns in the room for light and they had a direct view of the saloon.
By the time Marty and Tom had done all these things it was early evening. They heard the sound of horses arriving into town and looked down the street. In front of them was General George Armstrong Custer. He was easilly recognizable with his bright red hair.
From the house down the street they watched as a lady and several dogs came out to meet the group. From their history books they knew that Custer brought his dogs with him just about everywhere and that his wife's name was Libbie. She appeared to be a nce looking lady in her thirties who was very glad to see her husband home.
With Custer and his troops back in the fort Marty knew that they would soon be at the cantina. This was a hot spot for soldiers then as it was in the 1980 s. Since they had not brought but one change of clothes they walked over to the cantina again.
This time the cantina was very busy with many off duty soldiers. The men were running their mouths about how the 7th calvary was unbeatable and how they had just beaten a group of indians the other day. The men could not wait for the poor indian who was still inprisoned in the small hut to stand trial. 'there was to be a hanging in the next few days' they were yelling.
Marty and Tom did tend to stand out as strangers were not seen as often as they had thought out here at the fort, however, they were careful not to step on anybody's toes. Marty had learned to be very careful with what he said after the fiasco with the doc when he had gone back to the wild west.
They learned that the indians were giving the soldiers alot of grief and had been taking pot shots at them from the cliffs killing three of their men. There was word of a large group of sioux arriving in the area also. They would just have to go to their camp and take care of the situation they would boast.
Most of the members of the 7th calvary were rough and tough. Many had served in the civil war and were hardened by what they had seen. None of the men had ever lived a life where a daily bath was a must and the odor made that quite obvious.
The next morning as Marty and Tom were getting their horses ready they were approached by a calvary officer. His name was Major Marcus Reno. He was a man that held himself in high esteem and was looking over their horses.
"These are quite fancy horses for someone who has been riding the trail such as you. They appear to have been bread and pampered. These horses show no sign of being trailed or forced into any long trips. I am willing to pay you a high fee for these horses if you can prove that they are rightfully yours." Major Reno said in a slightly threatening tone.
"These horses were bred at my parents ranch not over thirty miles from here in a small settlement. My friend and I have come here to perhaps join the infantry" Marty offered.
Tom nearly had a heart attack. There had never been any mention of them joining the calvary, especially one that would be the subject of such controversy and over one third of them would be dead by the end of the next month. He cleared his throat and looked up at the major.
" I watched you as you came in and you appear to be quite natural on your horses. What sort of education do you have? Can you read or write?" the major inquired.
"I am an engineer. I went out to college in the east and am very well read." Marty offered.
"I am a more self taught man, however I can read write and am very handy with tools." Tom offered.
The major looked over the two men who were standing in front of him. He would try them out. If they did not work out well, he would see to it that they were discharged.
At that point Marty and Tom found themselves a member of the 7th calvary. They were assigned under Major Reno directly with Custer being the commanding officer. This would be their chance to learn history first hand if they had the luck of staying with Reno and surviving the battle of Little Big Horn.
Unfortunately for both Tom and Marty neither of the men were that good at aiming and shooting the old antiquated guns and Major Reno wondered if allowing them to join the calvary had been a good choice, however, they were both very smart and quick learners.
Each day Marty and Tom found themselves involved in the life of an army private. The food was terrible and the water was barely drinkable, but they did each have a warm bed and were making friends. Many times they were assigned to be a lookout at the gate. They found themselves making things for the men and to work a twelve hour day was the norm.
Custer had just gotten back from Washington DC when he announced to the troops that they would be leaving in the morning to meet with some indians who had illegally left their reservation. Their orders were to force all the indians back to their own land. There would be no acception.
That afternoon Custer and Major Reno held court regarding the indian who had been captured just the day that they had arrived and two other prisoners who had been caught while he was gone. All three were sentenced to be immediately hung. It was a mockery of a trial as they were not allowed to speak or have council and to Marty and Tom's dismay they were hung right out in the courtyard ten minutes after sentencing.
It was obvious to both of the strange men from another time that indians were not treated well and had no choice but to fight against the white man. Custer and Reno had no sympathy for the indian and either did any of the soldiers belonging to the 7th calvary.
It was all that the men could do not to get involved in what was happening during this time. Marty and Tom had to keep reminding themselves that they were there to observe only. Changing history was not an option, and so they said nothing.
The ride was to be a long one, it was to last many weeks and the dangers were real. Marty and Tom were shot at by many indians and somehow managed to survive. The day of the battle was there and the fear was real. Neither one of them could leave even though they had asked for a short furlough to go and see their family and were told if they tried to leave they would be shot as deserters.
Custer and his men could be seen clearly accross the river as Marty Tom and the men of Major Reno s squadron watched. Custer went into a large encampment burning all the teepees and killing a few men. With the binnoculars that Marty had taken with him, he could clearly see that everyone in the encampment were either very old or women and children. Custer showed no mercy on them and forced them towards the river.
Shaking his head he looked forward and saw too many indians coming toward them to make Marty and Tom confortable. They fought for nearly ten minutes when Custer's men were spotted. The indians were obviously upset seeing their woman and children being chased and started toward Custer's men.
What happened next is not clear as Marty and Tom had been ordered by Major Reno to go into the brush for cover. This didn't work and soldiers were being picked off by the indians like they were just doing target practice. Henceforth Major Reno ordered his men to go to the top of the bluff.
Fortunately for the men under Major Reno most of the indians headed back toward Custer. They could hear the shots of a battle from their vantage point but could see nothing. A runner came up to Major Reno and handed an order from General Custer, however, Tom and Marty witnessed him put it in his jacket. From that point on the men under Major Reno just sat and waited for reinforcements.
When the battle was over between Custer and the indians there was a strange silence. It was the quiet of death. Marty and Tom and the rest of Major Reno's group were in trouble, but they knew that General Terry would arrive and save their lives.
When Marty and Tom saw the general and his men arrive they knew that all were safe and breathed a sigh of relief. The general went over to where Custer's men were and Major Reno and his men , including Marty and Tom were assigned to bury the men.
It is hard for one to describe the carnage that the two time travelers witnessed that day, the men had been skinned and scalped. Most of their faces were completely mutilated leaving most of the soldiers unrecognizable. It was quite obvious from the way that the horses were lying that Custer's men had shot them in an attempt to protect themselves from the indians.
There were the dead and dying indians who the soldiers just reached out and shot. There was a young indian warrier who had been shot in the leg, and the soldiers just shot him in the head. The general and major had no use for such people.
When they arrived back at the fort they were treated as though they were heroes. There were a few indians who had been captured and were to stand trial later that week. Marty and Tom wanted to leave and forget what they had just witnessed.
The major was busy figuring out how to make it look as though he was the hero of the battle and Marty and Tom found him more than happy to allow them to go to their home as long as they returned in two weeks.
With that Tom and Marty headed back to the delorean where they went quickly back to their own time. In their own time they had only been gone for about two minutes. As Marty got to his house he was relieved to see Jennifer waving to him from their porch.