The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1885-06-25
INCIDENTS OF cUsTER's1uE.

IL sf 50
How the Clusters Passed Their honey.
!! se'- Efs, atr moon. f@-53.aai
From Mrs. Custer's Book s'Boots and saddles,n
We had no sooner reached Washing.
ton on our wedding journey than :tele-
grams came following one another in
quick succession, asking him to give up
the test of his leave of absence and,
hasten without an hours delay to The,
'front.' begged $50 hard not to be
left. behind that i finally prevailed.
The result was that found myself in
lew hours on the extreme wing Of the ar.
my OF the Potomac, in an isolated Vir-
g1nla farm house, finishing my honey
moon alone. had so besought him to
allow me to come that 7 did not dare to
own to myself the desolation and fright L
felt. In the preparation of the hurried
raid < which. my husband had been or
dered to make he had sent to cavalry
headquarters to provide for my safety,
and troops were in reality neur, although
i could not see them. -, ,5ss. go w.; Z
& The Generals old 3colored fservant.
Eliza, comforted me, and the Southern
family in the house took pity upon my
anxiety. 1t was a suddenzp plunge into
life; Of yicissitudes and danger, and I
hardly remembe the; time during the,
twelve years that ollowed when Il was
not in fear Of some immediate peril, or
in dread Of some danger that threatened.
After the raid was ended we spent some
delightful weeks together, and when the
regular spring campaign began re-
turned to. Washing ton, where remained
until the surrender and the close of the
war. 4 'sy .y.a4 ~ VI, +
After that we went to Texas for a
year, my husband still acting. as major
general in command of volunteers. In
1866 We returned to Michigan, and the
autumn Of the same year found us in
Kansas; where the General resumed
charge Of The It'll regular) cavalry, to
which he had been assigned with the
rank of lieutenant lonel in the regu-
lar army. We remained id Kansas five
years, during which time I was the only
officers wife'who always followed the
regiment. We were then ordered with
the regiment to Kentucky After be-
ing stationed in ElizabethtoWn5fo two
years, we went to Dakota in the spring
Of 1878. H q
On Sunday afternoon, the 25th Of
June, our little group Of saddened
women, borne down with the common
weight of anxiety, sought solaoe in
gathering togethersin onr house. III We
tried sto find some slight snrcease
from trouble in the aold hymns;
somes Of them dated back to our
childhood days, when our mothers
rocked us to sleep to theirs soothing
strains. I remember the grief with
which one fair young wife threw herself
on the carpet and pillowed her head on
the lap Of a tender friend. Another
sat detected, at the piano, and struck
soft cords that melted into the, notes Of
the voices. All were \ absorbed in the
same thoughts, and their eyes were
filed with far AWAY visions of longings.
describable yearnipgs for the. absent,
engrossed each heart. The words Of
the hymn n
VA Even though q cross itbe,
\ Nearer, my God, to Thee
came forth with almost sob from every
throat. All that very hour the fears
that our tortured minds had portrayed
in imagin nation were realities, and the
souls Of those We. Thought upon wero
ascending to meet their Maker. ~ From
that time the life went out Of the hearts
of the women who weep, z and God
| asked them to walk on ! alone and in the
shadow 81 X s.; 3