The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1877-01-11
HcW Gen. Custer Left Ills Mark On Q Co2fec-
crate.

TWAS horrible scar. Commencing
at the roots of the hair, just over the iet'
temple, il ran down across the face TO
the right hand corner Of the mouth
The flesh had closed together IN great
ridge, and the nose seemed to have been
shortened half an inch by the process OF
healing. The man with the scar sang
two or three songs and then passed his
cap around for pennies.
aDid a blow of an Injun's tomaha0k
do that" he repeated. "No, sir; 1 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
country"
"You were in the cavalry"
"You bet | wasi / smashed up so
many horses that I was owing the con-
federate government 500. 900 when it
collapsed. If she hadn't collapsed I'd
been forced into bankruptcy"
He chucl1led and raised his hat so as
to reveal the scar in all its hiGiousness,
and continued:
al don't believe tomabawk could
leave n scar like this. 1t takes good
sharp sabre to spoil mans face so that
he daren't look into the glass or have
his photograph taken. A Yank slashed
me, of course, but who do you suppose
it was? You couldn't guess 10 save your
neck, and so I'll tell-it was Custer, the
long-halred, daredevil Yankee general,
who used to ride around with blood in
bis eye and an extra sabre in his teeth.
He thought he'd done for me when be
gave me this lick, but be didn't know
our family"
Chow was III"
alt was down at Travilian Station
He was raiding around with lot of
cavalry, and our folks got him in box
Somehow we got around him on all sides,
and we had cavalry, Infantry, AID artll-
lery. We were two to one, had him
fairly cooperod, and by ali decent rules
of warfare he out TO have hung out the
white flag, handed over his sabre, and
politely said: Boys, you've gothic grape
vine twist on me. and cave. We ex-
pected it; bat, blast him! he didn't do
any such thing. No, SIT. lie masscd
his troopers, gave 'em to understand ii
was fhell or home and the whole caboo- |
die of 'em came for us on tho gallop, |
bands PLAYING, flags flying. and troopers
yelling like wild Injuns. Our batteries
played on en- from n dozen hills; our
infantry fusiIIadcd 'eln good and strong,
and our troopers got the word to charge
"Durn my buttons, but wasn't ita no;
fight. We were all mixed Dp, bullets
flying, sabres hacking, men yelling, hor-
ses neighing, everybody shouting, ana
it was devils dance all around. ]
heard Yank shouting orders, as if he
~as some big gun or other, and work
ed up TO him through the smoke. TWAS
Custer. had seen him before, and |
knew what fighter he was. pushed
right up to him, gave my old sabre
twist and cut, and off went his head!"
lie looked up with wicked twinkle
in his eyes, and added:
ain 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, saw flash, and
the next thing knew | had been In the
hospital for two weeks, and the surgeons
were trying TO look into my boots
the sabre cut across my face.
l was a whole year getting over it, and
thon looked so handsome that was
turned over to the home guards for
the rest of the war. Sometimes | feel
like suicide, and agin don't care.
didn't bear no grudgo ag'in Custer for
the slash, but he might just as we'll
have put his cheese-knifc through me
as to have given me this * his mark
TO lug around. And that's what ails
this old reb, and that's how l feel."-