The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-03-03

1t was horrible scar. Commencing
at the roots of the hair, Just over the
left temple, it ran down across the face
to the right-hand corner of the mouth.
The flesh had closed together in a great
ridge, and the nose seemed to have been
shortened half inch by the process
of healing. The man with the scar sang
two or three songs, and then passed his
hat around for pennies.
" Did blow of an Injun's tomahawk
do that?" he repeated. "No, sir; cot
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 | was! | smashed up so
many horses l was owing the Confeder-
ate Government 100000 when it col
lapsed. 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:
81 don't believe tomahawk could
leave scar like this. 1t takes good
sharp saber to spoil a mans face so that
he daren't look in the glass or have his
photograph taken. A Yank slashed me,
of course, but who do you suppose it
was? You couldn't guess to save your
neck, and so I'll tell you lit was Custer,
the long-haired, Yankee General, who
used to ride around with blood in his eve
and an extra saber in his teeth. He
thought he'd done for me when he gave
me this lick, but he didn't know our fam
lily"
"How was it,"
1t was down at Travillan station.
He was raIding around with a lot of
cavalry, and our folks got him in box.
Somehow we got around him on all sides,
and we had cavalry, infantry and artil-
lery. We were two to one, had him
fairly coOpered and by all decent rules
OF warfare he ought to have hung out
the white flag, handed over his saber,
and politely said: Boys, you've got the
grapevine twist on me and l cave We
expected it; but, confound him! he didn't
do any such thing. No, sir. He massed
his troopers, gave 'em to understand that
1t was death or home and the whole
caboodle of 'em came for us on the gal
lop, 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
" Wasn't it hot fight! We were all
mixed up, bullets flying, sabers hacking,
men yelling, horses neighing, everybody
shouting, and it was fends' dance all
around! lheard Yank shouting orders,
as if he was some big gun or other, and
| worked up to him through the smoke.
1t was Custer. had seen him before,
and | knew what a fighter he was. /
pushed right up to him, gave my old
saber twist and cut, and off went his
headn
He looked up with wicked twinkle
in his eyes, and added:
g In 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 through
the saber cut across my face l was
whole year getting over it, and then |
looked so handsome that | was turned
over to the home guards for the rest of
the war. Sometimes feel like suicide,
and agin l don't care. | didn't bear no
Crude ag'in Custer for the slash, but he
might just as well have put his cheese
knife through me as to have given nc
this y his mark to lug around And
that's what ails this old reb, and that's
how feel."- NJ Y San.