The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1911-08-17
DEADWOOD DICK AN OUTCAsT.
Man Who Was With Custer at the
Massacre at Little Big Horn.

GAIL the worlds a stage, and all the
men and women only players;
They have their exits and their en-
frances"
And no one believes this more to-
day than Walter Richard Morrison,
at present an inmate of the county
Jail. AS Deadwood Dick his entrance
on the stage of the world was to play
a leading part in one of the most ex-
citing dramas the west has ever
known. AS Walter Richard Morrison
his exit in the world is to play the
lowest part on the stage of life as it
is found in every large city in the
country. To-day he is vagrant in
the West Side Jail.
From the honored place Of scout
to General Custer up to almost the
very time when the fighting COM
mander fell with his men on the
bloody battlefield of the Little Big
Horn, Morrison has fallen to become
figure we'll known to the police and
jail officials of Denver.
His life history is one full of ro-
nance and pathos. In his younger
days he was one of the men who aid
ed in the making of the great west.
To-day he is an old man, past three
score and ten, for whom life seeming
ly holds but little. But even in his
present condition he is not disheart-
ened. Although, to use an everyday
expression, he is down and out" he
still finds something to live for, but
his greatest JOY and pleasure is in
telling of the days when he was a
scout with Custer.
Deadwood Dick has been a famil-
lar sight in Denver for Is years. He
| was at one time wealthy, and until
seven years ago he was in comfort
able circumstances. But since that
time he has been eking out an exist
ence by manufacturing and selling
an insect powder. The old man is a
pitiful sight as he sits in the jail.
He has long, black hair that almost
reaches to his waist, and this he says
| is the pride of his life.
"I stood it all when I lost my
money" he said, "but it would kill
me if I should lose my hair. It is the
only comfort I have"
Deadwood Dick tells remarkable
story of his experience with General
| Custer. 81 was with him during all
the trouble on the Little Big Horn, "
he said. ION the night before the
massacre told Custer that there was
but one way to get away from the In
dams. At that time we thought there
| was about 1900 red men. But in
stead of that there were more than
5000. Most of the men were under
Sitting Bull. Custer told the men
that there was no danger, and the
best thing for us to do was to stay
right where we were.
"a scout by the name Of Texas
Jack and myself left the camp to
take a look about. This was on the
day before Custer and his men were
killed. Texas Jack and myself rode
for some distance up the river. l
felt sure we were about to be cap
tured. So I told him would give
the Sioux war cry, for him to answer
with the coyote yell, for by doing this
! all the Indians would go in the direc-
ton of their chief. It worked out
just as I thought it would.
Call the Indians started in the
direction Of their chief and we start
ed up the river, which was the only
means of escape. We ran across one
small group Of Indians headed in the
direction we were going. We made
up our minds that the only thing to
do was to shoot until our ammunition
was gone and then run. We did
this and managed to get through. On
the next day the Indians, under Sit
ting Bull, killed Custer and his men,
We were the only two who escaped.
If General Custer had taken my ad-
vice Clusters last fight never would
have taken place."
Morrison refers to many of the
principal warrior chiefs.
While Sitting Bull was the big
chief, and the ruling spirit over all
the Indians, Crow King, Black Moon,
Low Dog and Crazy Horse, along
with many others, were to be feared.
These Indians which Morrison speaks
of are all mentioned in the history
of Clusters last fight.
Morrison, or Deadwood Dick, and
Texas Jack stayed together for some
time. They went into Mexico in a
prairie schooner, which they obtain
ed bv trading their ponies. They got