Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, D.T. [N.D.]) 1875-1878, 1877-01-31
CUsTER,s MARK

q = (
A Little Story that tho Man with
tho Scar Told After He had Pass
i cd tho Hat.
Itwas horrible scar. Commencing
at the roots of the hair, just over the left
temple, it ran down across the face to he
right-hand corner of the mouth. The
flesh had closed together in great ridge,
and the nose seemed to. have been short
ened half an inch by the process of heal
ing. The man with the scar sang lw.,
or three songs, and then passed his cap
around for pennies.
do that?' he repeated 'tNo, sir; got
that cut down in Old Virginia during the
war, bout the time it looked as If jeff
Davis was the biggest patriot in the coun-
try" .t
s'You were in the Cavalry?'
e You bet was! I smashed up so
many horses that j was owing the Con-
federate government 100000 when it
collapsed. If she. hadn't collapsed I'd
been forced into bankruptcy
} He chuckled, and raised his hat SO as
to reveal the scar in all its hideousness,
and continued: ut
~ don't believe a tomahawk could leave
a scar like this. It takes a good sharp
sabre to spoil mans face SO that he
darn't look in the glass or have his pho
graph taken. A Yank slashed me, of
course, but who do you suppose it was?
soou couldn't guess to save your neck, and
ed I'll tell-it was Custer, that long-hair-
to daredevil Yankee General who used
Y ride around with blood in his eyes and
an extra sabre in his teeth. He thought
he'd done for me when he gave me this
lick, but he didn't know our family"
ai"How was it p
sit was. down at Travillian station. He
was raiding around with lot of cavalry,
and our folks got him in a box. Some
how we got around him on all sides, and
we had cavalry, infantry and artillery.
We were two to one, had him fairly cop
pered, and by all decent rules of warfare
he ought to have hung out the white flag,
handed over his sabre, and politely said:
tBoys, you've got the grapevine twist on
me, and cave We expected it, but,
blast him! he didn't do any such thing.
No, sir. He massed his troopers, gave
'em to understand that it was she'll or
home,' and the whole caboodle of'em
came for us on the gallop, bands playing,
flags flying, and troopers yelling like wild
Injuns. Our batteries played on 'em
from dozen hills; our infantry fusilladed
'em good and strong, and our troopers
got the word to charge.
ttDurn my buttons, but wasn't it hot
fight! We were all mixed up, bullets
flying sabres hacking, men yelling. horses
everybody shouting, and twas
a devils dance all around. heard
Yank shouting orders, as if he was some
big gun or other, and worked up to him
through the smoke It was Custer. I
had seen him before, and Itknew what a
fighter he was. pushed right up to him,
gave my old sabre twist and cut, and
off went his head!.'
He looked up with wicked twinkle
in his eyes, and added:
tsln horn! rose in my stirrups and
struck at him with force enough to cut
clean down to the saddle, but he parried
the blow, leaned over, I sawa flash, and
the next thing I knew I had been in the
hospital for two weeks, and the surgeons
were trying to look into my boots through
this sabre cut across my face. was a
whole year getting over it, and then |
looked so handsome that l was turned
over to the home guards for the rest OF
the war. Sometimes I feel like suicide,
and agin don't care. didn't bear no
srudge agin Custer for the slash, but he
might just as we'll have put his cheese
<nife through ne as to have given me
his * his mark to lug around. And
hats what ails this old reb, and that's
1ow feel."-N. T. Sun.