The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1876-08-03
The Story of Clusters COurtship.
Washington Correspondence Of the Chicago Inter
Qcean.

Washington .COrrespOndsncs of the Chicago Inter
Ocean.
have heard from his lips the story
| of his cOurtship, and it was so character
| lstic Of the man, so illustrative of his
| can 'tbe-beaten disposition, that it must
! be told. During his absence at West
! Point his family moved from Ohio to
| Monroe, Mich. where they now reside,
| and after one of his campaigns in Vir-
| ginia, the bOy-generaI went home on
! furlOugh. He was fresh from some of
! his raids, and he had already captured
! more flags and prisoners than any officer
| In the war. There was an ovation for
him at his home. The people of Mon
roe rejOiced in his successes then, as they
are mourning for his fate to-day. But
there Was one gentle maiden in that
town, a Miss Bacon, daughter of one of his
fathers neighbOrs, who had no taste
for soldiers, and who rather frowned
than smiled on the gallant young cava-
lier. As fate would have it, Custer was
more attracted by her than by all other
ladies In this new home he was visiting
for the first time, and her repulses az
graYated him till his obstinacy was
aroused, and he determined to conquer
this naughty country girl who refused to
smile with the rest of W0mankind upon
him. / remember how he described
his feelings; how be proceeded in his
suit, inquired about and ascertained the
characteristics of the lady, and how he
resolved to lay deliberate siege for the
occupation Of her heart. He called up
on her one day, but the servant was in
stTucted to ask that Miss Bacon might
be excused. He called again, and
caught her at window unprepared.
Here the siege began; her aversion vas
conquered, and when he went back to
the army IN Virginia, he took her with
him as his bEide. She rode beside him,
in all his marches afterwards In the war.
She slept beside him many a night
when they biVOuacked, with no coverlid
but the stars; she watched his departure
for many battle, and welcomed his re-
turn. She was the patron SAINT of his
army and her gentle sympathy and
kindness are remembered BY thousands
of soldiers to-day. At the close of the
war she went with him to Texas. and &C
cOmpanied him on several severe cam
paign5. In 1872 she rode with the reg
iment from Texas to Fort Lincoln, Oak,
8 distance of 1000 miles Custer had
his faults, but if a wiGe's pure heart
and character that meets the type of
womanly nobility, purity and goodness
can encirCl5 in its halo an object loved,
Custer can Partake of her salvation, for
she, if a woman ever did, has plenty Of
grace to spare. Long association with
. danger, long experience with the pri-
! vations and annOyauces Of a frontier
life have sweetened rather shan poisoned
her disposition, and she was as
we'll prepared as a wife ever could be for
| the pain she is suffering to-day,
While | was the guest Of Gen. Custer
at Fort Lincoln in 1874, | was a witness
of an incident that impressed me. en-
tered his library one evening, and found
him sitting on low stool by his desk,
with q spelling book in his hand. Be
fore him were two little girls, one white
and the other colored, the children Of
his servants. Apologizing for my inter
ruptiOn, l started to Withdraw, when he
cried out in his hearty way:
Don't 90 Come in and see nv
school" and 1 found it was his custom
daily to spend an hour hearing the reel
tations of those children, for whom at
the post there were no schools.