Durango bugler Howard Kuhfal was learning to play “Taps” last winter while his wife recovered from pneumonia. She recalled waking each morning to the musical piece commonly played at funerals and thinking, “Maybe I died.”

Kuhfal, who has been bugling for 14 months, was practicing for the 21st annual re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Bighorn in southeastern Montana where he bugled with the 7th Cavalry.

Kuhfal, who has been attending the re-enactment on the Crow reservation for more than 12 years, said participating was surreal.

Initially, Kuhfal contacted the Cavalry School, an affiliate of the re-enactment, to become involved and help recreate the famous day of June 25, 1876.

“I am an experienced horseman, and I was interested in being on the other side of the bleachers this time instead of sitting and watching,” he said.

Kuhfal mentioned that he plays the bugle, and the school told him he could play calls with the other camp buglers at the re-enactment.

The Vietnam veteran began learning to play the bugle, so he could honor other veterans by playing “Taps” at military funerals with an organization called Bugles Across America.

“I haven’t auditioned yet because I want to make sure I’m ... well, perfect,” Kuhfal said. “It’s my way of giving back.”

He hopes to be proficient at “Taps” by November, when he will audition for Bugles Across America.

At the Battle of the Little Bighorn re-enactment, Kuhfal got the opportunity to play “Retreat” on his 19th century-style bugle with two other Cavalry troopers.

The call was played 5 p.m. daily at the camp when the flag was being lowered.

Leading up to the re-enactment, he would practice playing different calls on his bugle for up to two hours a day.

He often practices in the front yard, and prior to going to the re-enactment, he would get on one of his horses and play the bugle.

“I drive the neighbors crazy,” Kuhfal said.

His longtime friend Gregg Janus said playing the bugle is one of Kuhfal’s hidden talents.

“You don’t have to ask him much, and he’ll pull out all of his pictures from the re-enactment,” Janus said, “and if you’re lucky, he’ll pull out his bugle.”

From the time the Spanish conquistadors landed and European pilgrims began arriving, Native Americans were pushed off of their land, Kuhfal said. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was their last hoorah. They won the day, but by the next year, they were on the reservations, he said.

“This re-enactment is not about the cavalry, it’s about the horse culture that the Crows, Cheyenne and Sioux had,” he said. “This is their side of the story.”

As one of about 40 cavalry troopers in the re-enactment, Kuhfal was enlisted to battle warriors of the Sioux, Cheyenne and Crow tribes, wrangle wild mustangs and play bugle calls to signal troops.

Kuhfal said troopers gathered an estimated 100 wild mustangs for the re-enactment. The horses were set free after the re-enactment concluded.

Before the re-enactment, held June 27, 28 and 29, Kuhfal spent eight days at a cavalry school training for the battle.

“We learned to ride in formation, military style,” he said.

Troopers also practiced battle tactics and shooting from a rifle or pistol while riding a horse.

“I was pretty good at horseback riding, so I was a rough rider,” Kuhfal said.

Throughout the week, Kuhfal stayed along the Little Bighorn River in a sibley, a canvas tent used during the Civil War.

“We ate potatoes and eggs and whatever they found,” he said. “They fed us mountain lion for two days straight. They fed us what they had there. The idea was to give us the full experience to live in the camp life.”

The re-enactment of the battle, along the Little Bighorn River where Sitting Bull had his campsite, was spread out over three days. Each day, a portion of the battle would begin at 1 p.m. After participants in the re-enactment sang U.S. and Crow National Anthems, Native American warriors would come into the battlefield chasing the troops, he said.

“They came around us in a circle, screaming and shooting arrows while we were shooting our pistols,” he said. “We were panicked with all the noise.”

The Crow and Sioux wanted nothing better than to scare the cavalry horses, so they would rear up, he said.

The cavalry followed Custer’s footsteps from the Reno Valley Fight to Weir Point before dropping into Cedar Coulee and then into Medicine Tail Coulee Ford where participants re-enacted Custer’s Last Stand.

“At the Last Stand, the Indians crushed us, so we had to lay down and play dead,” he said.

It was surreal to be able to ride up the battle ridge in formation dressed in uniform to participate in the re-enactment, he said.

“We took the same path that Custer and the 7th Cavalry took,” Kuhfal said. “I will never get to go to the moon or climb Mount Everest, but I got to ride where Custer rode.”

After the re-enactment, troopers practiced shooting skills, participated in saber, horsemanship and shooting contests and wrangled more wild mustangs.

Kuhfal enjoyed experiencing the culture and everything involved in the re-enactment.

“I grew up wanting to play cowboys and Indians,” he said.

His wife, Cory Kuhfal, said he’s already eager for the snow to come and pass and then springtime to come for next year’s re-enactment.

After putting in more practice, Kuhfal hopes to play dual taps at next year’s re-enactment of the Battle of the Little Big Horn.

“I thank my lucky stars I was able to do this,” Kuhfal said. “I can’t stop smiling about it.”

tferraro@durangoherald.com