The sea coast echo. [volume] (Bay Saint Louis, Miss.) 1892-current, 1892-08-20
A cHILD's FoREkNowLEDGE.
An Incident Relating to the Great Custer
Massacre.

Among the many curious instances OF
seeming second sight may be placed the
following incident of that saddest trag-
edy of modern days-the death of Gus.
ter and his gallant followers.
The love existing between Capt.
Blank and his blue-eyed, golden-curlcd
boy, little Buster" the pet and darling
of the whole garrison, was something
to be remembered. Wherever the tall
soldierly figure of the young father was
to be seen unless on duty, that of the
child was sure to be close beside, some
times riding on his fathers shoulder,
sometimes clinging to his hand, always
lifting to his eyes full of passionate
love and content.
When the dreaded day came that was
to separate those fearless men from the
women and children who so loved them,
Faster could hardly be torn from ,his
father, and my husband told me that
long after, the child's Shrek of utter
misery, unchildlilse in it's intensity, rang
in his ears. For some days after the
command had marched across the low
purple hills, out of the reach of loving
eyes, Buster dropped and pined; but he
was a child, and the old childish gaiety
came back to his eyes, and his laugh,
which rang out as happily as ever, al
most jarring upon his young mothers
ear.
One warm June day at Fort Lincoln
Mrs. Blank sat sewing in her tiny par
lor, her baby creeping about the floor
at her feet, while she chatted with two
or three more lonely wives, perhaps of
the beloved ones far off across the
plains and their possible return. Sud-
denly Buster rushed in through the
open door, eyes sparkling, hair flying
Mamma" he shouted, my papa's
s'ooting his 'volver! heard himv'
"Did you, darling?" his young mother
said, STOPPING to kiss the little flushed,
eager face "How very nice! / wish he
could come home and SCOT it. Don't
you?"
:'He's sooting Injuns;" the child went
on; "and he'll SCOT 'em all, and zen he'll
tome home"
I'm sure hope he will" sighed Mrs.
Blank. "Run out and play, Buster, and
don't go in the SUM-"
"How Buster does talk about his
father" some one remarked. 81 often
meet him running along with some one,
and, child or man, soldier or officer,
you can always catch the words my
papa if you listen to him.
Then the talk wandered on, always
in a minor key, for there had been quite
an interval of time since the last le tiers,
and there was always unacknowledged
anxiety, though all felt unbounded
faith in the powers of the gallant
Seventh
Presently the sound of child's bitter
crying brought them all to their feet,
and Buster ran into his mothers arms
at the door, sobbing wildly:
Mamma" he sobbed, ''the Injuns
hes dot my papa. He's dot no more
SCOTS in his 'volver; he's s'ooted it all
Oh, want my papa, and the bad In.
juns dot him!'
Mrs. Blank knelt down on the floor
beside her boy, drawing him close to
her heart, 'Hush, Buster" she said,
very gently, but firmly, ''you must not
be such silly little boy: the Injuns can
not get your papa. Gen. Custer is there,
he will take care of papa and all the
men. Do you think f Troop would let
the iniuns get papa? See you are MAX
ing us all feel very bad, and papa would
say that you were not his brave little
lad. Now stop crying and 60 and
play: you could not hear papa's 'volver
SO far away"
"Yes," the child exclaimed, earnestly,
II tan hear my papa's 'volver, and /
know he's s'ooted it allT' But army dis
cipline prevailed, and the bov cholxed
back his sobs, nesting in his mothers
arms and resting there, strangely quiet,
for the rest of the long summer day.
That evening, when the children were
both sleeping, and the daily bulletin to
her absent husband had been written,
Mrs. Blank sat for some moments in
silent thought, then drawing sheet of
paper to her, wrote down the date, June
26, and poured out to her only brother
the aching of her heart and the sense
less anxiety caused by the childs fool
ish words, the memory of which still
stirred him in his sleep, for he sobbed
and tossed all night.
On the 9Th of July, when the whole
army writhed and cried out in agony at
the news that had come to us, we, to
whom Mr.. B. had shown his sisters let
ter, knew that on the goth of June
Capt. Blank had dearly sold his life, and
had been found pierced with many
wounds, his empty revolver clasped in
his stiffened hand. And far way, in his
quiet home, his baby boy had seemed to
know it.-Harper's Weekly.
Doubtful Compliment.
Gus De Smith has been in rather
straightened circumstances of late. He
called on Col. Gilhooly for some assist
ance, and the colonel came to his relief
with some good advice.
If Iwere you would try and see
old Twopercent and negotiate loan"
But ! heard" responded Gus, "that
the other day he kicked one of the best
looking and most Intelligent young men
of New York out of his office"
That's the very reason you are safe
in applvinu IN him If 1,a 1y;ol,oI oxl