Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1913-11-14

I comparative strangers" He stood up
lifting in one hand u tin cup of coffee
"Gentlemen, all we OF the Seventh re-
joice In the honor OF the service
whether 1t be upheld by officer or en-
listed man. l bid you drink a toast
with me to Sergeant Hamlin."
But. General, l have done nothing
to deserve"
"Observe thu modesty of a real
hero. Yet wait until l am through
With due regard for his achievements
as a soldier, / propose this toast IN
commemoratton Of a greater deed OF
galIantry han those of arms-the cap
ture OF Miss Molly McDonald!"
There was a quick uplifting OF cups
a burst Of laughter, and a volley OF
questions. the Sergeant staring about
m~otionless. his face flushed.
What is 1T, G~eneral7"
Tell US the story!"
Give US the tokel"
But / assure you 1t Is no joke.
have 1t direct from the fair hips Of the
lady. Brace yourselves, gentlemen,
for the shock You young West Point
ers lose, and yet the honor remains
with the regiment. Miss Molly Nc,
Donald, the toast of old Fort Dodge,
whose bright eyes have won all your
hearts. has given hers to Sergeant
Hamltn Of the Seventh. And now
again, boys, to the honor OF the regi,
ment!"
Out OF the buzz Of conversation and
the hearty words OF congratulation,
Hamlin emerged bewildered, finding
himself again facing Custer, whose
manner had as swiftly changed into
the brusque note of command.
II have met you before. Sergeant"
ne said slowly, before our assign
ment to the Seventh, I think. / am
not sure where: were you in the Shen-
andoah?"
Il was, sir"
"At Winchester"
II saw you FIRST at Cedar Creek.
General Custer; I brought a flag"
That's 1t; I have the incident
clearly before me now. You were a
lieutenant-colonel?"
"Of the Fourth Texas, sir"
Exactly; I think I heard later-but
never mind that now. Sheridan re-
uSI1uclb you hc SfSu HeLllOlleu
your name to me a few weeks ago. No
doubt that was what caused me to
recognize your ACE again after all
these years. How long have you been
in our service?"
Ever since h war closed"
For a moment the two men looked
into each others faces, the command
er smiling, the enlisted man at re-
spectful attention.
Il will talk with you at some future
time, Sergeant" Custer said at last.
resuming his seal on a log. Now we
shall have to consider tomorrow's
march. Were you within sight of
Black Kettles CAMP"
mo. sir; only Of his pony herd
out In the valley of the Canadian"
Where would you suppose the
camp situated?"
Above. behind the bluffs, about
the mouth Of Buffalo Creek"
Custer drew the map toward him.
~scru4nizing 1t carefully.
You may be right, OF course he
commented, his glance on the faces of
the officers, but this does not agree
with the understanding at Camp Sup
ply, nor the report Of our Indian
scouts. We supposed Black Kettle to
be farther south on the Washita, How
large was the pony herd?"
We were not nea enough to count
the animals, Sir, but there must have
been two hundred head"
"A large party then, at least. What
do you say. Corbin? ?"
The scout addressed. conspicuous
in mis- buffalo skin coat, leaned against
me tent-pole. his black whiskers NOV
ing industriously as he chewed.
Wal. Gineral," he said slowly, ct
know this yere Brick Hamlins an
he's a right smart plainsman. sojsr 'er
no soJer. II he says he saw tibet pony
herd. then he sure lid. Thet means a
considerable bunch O Injuns thar. er
tharabouts. Now I know Black Ket-
ties outfit is down on the Washita, so
the only conclusion is that his yere
band thet the Sergeant stirred up is
some new tribe er other, a-driftin'
down frum the north. I reckon If we