The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-12-04
.PUT A BEGGAR ON HORSEBACK
AND HE'LL RIDE TO THE
DEVIL

qualification of the truth of this old proverb
than the recent letter of Col. A, j. johnson.
9TH V.R. c., published in the Union. How
ever fayorably inclined certain persons here
NAV previously have been towards him, this
letter convinces them that he never was any
thing but a vulgar loafer and an illiterate
BLACKBOARD Even what few friends the
man had, here, havs dropped him. since the
publication of that letter, aud actually hang
their heads in shame; while the Union has
NO word of approval for production so in
suferably stupid and vulgar, His former
friends are all disguised, and there are none,
now, who so far forget their own self.respect
as to defend so dirty loafer and blackguard.
It is only as a mere matter OF amusement
that we make few comments regarding him
and his letter.
In the first place, it is a mistake for this
"snob," johnson, to say that we have made
an attack upon him. We have never attack
ed him, nor been the aggressor upon him In
any manner, nor should we have noticed him
or his Jersey circular, at all, except for his
unfeeling attack upon a brave Union soldier
who was sleeping quietly and honorably in
his grave. But when this loafer and black
guard, with no possible reason, excuse or pro
vocation tor doing so, snsaked into the grave
yard, like hyena, to prey upon the honered
dead, we should have been false to our posi-
ton had we not defended the memory of the
brave and gallant soldier and accomplished
gentleman, Captain John Gitterman, who
died from wounds received in defending his
adopted country from the assault of traitors
who were encouraged to rebellion by this
man johnson, aud his Breckenridge Cocoon
spirators We made no attack on Johnson
we simply defended the memory of Captain
Gitterman from Johnson's shameful and cow
ardly attack And for defending the mem
ory of dead soldier, this loafer discharges,
from the back door of his hat shop, his slush-
is so peculiar, so unique, and this effort, espe-
cially. is so mixed up. like ''hash," that one
can hardly sort out the subjects,
1t is evident, from Johnson's letter, that he
has been barber as well as halter, and
that now he is out of the business, he is un-
WIlbAuSIy pOoiAE SOihO VI VIC II hC A1S
committed on his customers-some of the
tricks of the trade. He says that wigs are
''made from hair procured by mutiating the
dead" That Johnson is perfectly at home
in the matter of 'mutilating the dead" is
proved by his attack upon the dead soldier
of the rebel bull-pen, at this place, dead bod
les of prisoners of war were sold and carried
away, for dissection. Whether he shaved
the heads of the dead rebels and occupied his
spare time in making wigs from their hair,
we do not know, but the fact that he was
once barber, as we'll as q halter, ana that,
in his late letter, he admits the frauds prac
ticed in wig making, rather renders him liza
ole to that suspicion. If the wigs which
johnson made and sold were of hair procur-
ed by mutilating the dead" they must, like
his hats. have been very inferior article
People have generally supposed that nice
wigs are made, not from the short and worth
less hair of dead men, but from the long,
beautiful, natural-colored, live hair, procured
from the peasant girls of France, Germany
aud Italy, who visit the market places aud
sell their beautiful locks to procure means
with which to purchase such articles as they
need for their wardrobes. This is the kind
our wig maker, Mr.. VI. Campbell, 81 South
Clark street, Chicago, uses, as we are assured
by him, and by his foreman, Mr.. Charles
ROwley, an Englishmen, @ very superior
workman and reliable man.
But it may be that this man johnson tho't
1t a public disgrace to wear wig, and allud
dsd to the matter, for that reason, though he
"slopped over" and exposed the frauds he
had been perpetrating, as a barber 1t may
be disgrace to wear a wig. but we had re-
garded in the light of misfortune, the same
as with the little deformed child of Johnson's
"a misfortune for which neither the child or
its parents were. censurable. 1t is not our
fault that we have mo hair on the top of the
head in the place where the hair ought to
grow" any more than it is the fault of our
faeetious friend, Col. Quincy Mcneil, that he
is similarly situated. This man johnson did
not think, when he was trying to make
point on US, in the hair line, that he was hit
ting the witty author of the celebrated letter
to General Singleton. who, we learn, has sew
eral new works now in press, and shortly to
be issued, among which may be named -
"The Unexpected Heir, or the Bursted-. -
"The withered or What'll he do with
it?" and several other works of that sort,
which will, undoubtedly, be very entertain,
ing to the refined and cultivated johnson.