Weird Western Tales #48 "Slaveboat"

 Weird Western Tales #48 Sept/Oct 1978 

"Slaveboat"

Gerry Conway, story - Dick Ayers & George Evans, art - James Sherman & Dick Giordano, cover

Wednesday, April 23rd, 1862. New Orleans, Louisiana.

Scalphunter has been captured by Reginald Ashe and is bound in chains aboard the slaveboat (hence the title) Swanee Dawn. The slave master is whipping Scalphunter, berating him for being a white man in warpaint making him a savage. Scalphunter grabs the end of the whip and jerks the slave master down into the hold. Even in chains Scalphunter is a force of nature and he quickly cracks the man's neck. (notice how I didn't make any mention of the word 'Cracker'? Such restraint!)

  The slaves are worried what will become of them once this is discovered. Scalphunter says that together they can free themselves.

  We see that Mademoiselle Magarit is speaking with Reginald Ashe aboard ship. She warns him about keeping Scalphunter on board but Ashe is having none of it. He has paid for Magarit's girls to be on board and he expects them to be more 'friendly'. She reminds him that this was all her plan and he plants a big wet smacker on her. They are interrupted by General St. Samuels.

  The two men retire to Ashe's quarters where the General reveals that his spies downriver that Admiral Farragut has breached the the Confederate blockade of the Mississippi and that Farragut is planning on getting past the two Confederate forts guarding New Orleans and will land troops before dawn. He says they have to cast off immediately in order to get the slaves delivered else they shall have to kill them all. Ashe says he'll get the ship underway, but what could possibly go wrong. 

  On shore we see a dark hooded figure slide from the wharf into the water and make their way on board the Swanee Dawn. The figure slips into the stateroom of Mademoiselle Magarit and reveals himself to be Wakwame!!! Wakwame explains that he knows places on the body where a knife can go that will cause no serious injury. He managed to position himself at the right time so that Scalphunter's thrust did not cause death and that his 'death' was merely an illusion of magic. Since Ashe's men thought him dead, they tossed him aside and ignored him.

  Shortly thereafter, the Swanee Dawn casts off and makes its way north. Down in the hold we learn that the slaves have freed themselves from being chained to the ship, though they still have chains on their hands (it is unknown how they actually did it). They make their way through back passages in the hold, finding a concealed door. Scalphunter slowly opens the door and knocks out the guard that was napping on the other side. Scalphunter tells the slaves they now have a knife and a gun and fire but the slaves say that without the key to the shackles, they are unable to swim to shore. Scalphunter assures them he knows who holds the key...Reginald Ashe!

  A dozen miles downriver at Fort Jackson, lookouts realize that the U.S.S. Hartford, Brooklyn and Varuna are slipping past the fort. The alarm is sounded and the fort opens fire upon the ships. However, the ships are able make their way past the fort at 03:40, making their way to New Orleans.

  Back on the Swanee Dawn, the door to the bridge opens and Scalphunter grabs Ashe by the throat, dragging him out. Scalphunter demands the key to the shackles and Ashe tosses the key down to the slaves on deck. Scalphunter then demands to know what happened to Samantha Savage. She said she loved Ashe and was going to be his wife. Ashe says he sent her east to Atlanta. He says Samantha wanted to be married but not to him, so he had Mademoiselle Magarit take Samantha to a business partner of the Madam. Scalphunter asked if Samantha worked for Mademoiselle Magarit and Ashe starts to say she was the most promising...BAM! Scalphunter knocks him out cold.

  Scalphunter tells the slaves that he needs to find Mademoiselle Magarit and the slaves proceed to take over the Swanee Dawn. Scalphunter battles Confederate guards, searching for the woman and the ship is now engulfed in flame. Scalphunter grabs Ashe once again, demanding to know where his quarry is. In a fit of rage, Scalphunter grabs Ashe and pushes both of them over the railing into the Mississippi. 

The General and others on board attempt to follow suit but find themselves entangled in chains that formerly bound their cargo. Enmeshed in the iron, everyone on board is dragged to the bottom of the river.

On the shore, Reginald Ashe is horrified at the carnage and death but Scalphunter demands to know where his sister in located in Atlanta. Ashe says she is with a woman named Maxwell but he doesn't know the address. Scalphunter turns to leave into the dark as Ashe swears he will pay for what he has done to Ashe.

 That day, at an undisclosed location, Mademoiselle Magarit is riding is a carriage driven by Wakwame. Mademoiselle Magarit says they were very fortunate to have left the Swanee Dawn prior to its departure and Wakwame says he only wants to find his brothers in Atlanta. She says that will be no trouble because they are being hidden by a woman named Maxwell.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - Wow, this one is tough. We see Scalphunter kill four guards but we can't really count the entire passenger list of the boat on him since the fire was started from 'spilled torches'. Were these caused by the slaves rioting? The shelling from the Union boats? I'm gonna keep it at four but it's probably a lot more
Running Total - 91
Compared to Jonah Hex- Ten appearances in and Scalp has 91 vs Jonah's 56
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total- 14
Injuries - Whipped. 
Timeline - One day, Wednesday, April 23rd, 1862.

I enjoyed this one. More intrigue with Mademoiselle Magarit, Wakwame returns and an entire boatload of Confederates get an ironic death, and Scalphunter gets one step closer to finding his sister. This issue was part of the DC Explosion and had an 8 page backup introducing Cinnamon, a character that started off wonderfully but.... timelines and all that. I'll be giving her separate posts because I think there was a lot of potential there

Next Issue: A rocky train ride and nobody judges another man's Charity.

Weird Western Tales #47 "City of Shame!"

Weird Western Tales #47 Jul/Aug 1978 

"City of Shame!"
Gerry Conway, story - Dick Ayers & George Evans, art - George Evans, cover

Tuesday, April 22nd, 1862. New Orleans, Louisiana.

In the French Quarter, after a harsh rain, we find Scalphunter slipping in the muddy streets, almost falling under the thundering hooves of a horse drawn carriage. He goes flying face-first into the mud, much to the enjoyment of the onlookers. Scalphunter stands, snarling and one by one, the crowd quietly disperses, all except for one woman, herself an object of disrespect and scorn by many.

  She steps forward and introduces herself as Mademoiselle Magarit. She offers her 'house' to Scalphunter so that he may bathe and she will have his clothes cleaned.

  After his bath, several of Magarit's 'girls' are admiring Brian's chiseled form. Magarit apologizes for not being able to remove the bear smell from Scalphunter's coat but he replies that the bear had much medicine and he is proud to carry the scent. Magarit asks his business and he replies, walking out the door, that he seeks Reginald Ashe. As he leaves, Magarit calls over Judith and gives her a secret task.

  Not long after, Scalphunter finds himself at the docks in front of the Swanee Dawn where he witnesses a slave owner getting ready to whip a female slave. Without thinking, Scalphunter draws his knife and advances but is quickly stopped by Wakwame. Wakwame warns Scalphunter that he can't help the woman by interfering, he must stay silent and come with him. As they leave, Wakwame explains that he is about to use his Shaman medicines to help free his African brothers. Scalphunter acknowledges that Wakwame once saved his life and is willing to help.

  Sadly, they are deep in conversation and do not see the two Confederate soldiers approach them and start taunting them. Something snaps inside Brian and he lunges, tackling one of the soldiers. Wakwame throws a knife into the neck of the other soldier as Scalphunter quietly snaps the neck of the man he holds down. Brian then scalps the man and the two leave to continue their plans elsewhere.

  Later than night, at Magarit's house, she is entertaining Reginald Ashe and Confederate General St. Samuels. She explains about Scalphunter looking for Ashe and she fears he may upset their plans. Ashe tells them there is nothing anyone can do, the Swanee Dawn will sail upriver tomorrow and that is that. The General rants that Ashe doesn't have a grasp of the situation. Farragut is about to capture New Orleans and even now is outside Fort Jackson and Fort St. Philip. Ashe tries to ease St. Samuels fears and states that he has to leave for his mother's birthday party. He gives Magarit a deep kiss and leaves. Samuels puts forth "That man will doom us all."

  A mile northeast of the city, deep in the swamps, Scalphunter and Wakwame talk around a fire. Scalphunter tells of his search for his sister, Samantha, and how he learned she was in New Orleans. The trail has lead to Reginald Ashe. Wakwame also explains that his quest leads to Ashe due to a vision he received last month. Wakwame has learned where Ashe lives and they will go there tonight.

  Later, under cover of darkness, Scalphunter easily overcomes the wall surrounding Ashe's plantation. He dispatches a guard via quick use of a club and then enters the mansion, knife drawn. There is a large party taking place and Scalphunter makes his way to Ashe's office. Once there, he searches through Ashe's desk and finds a daguerrotype, more recent than the one he carries, but obviously it is Samantha. Just then a voice from the doorway reveals that Scalphunter has been discovered.

  Reginald Ashe stands there with two Confederate guards, gloating of how they captured Wakwame and how he will kill him and Scalphunter. The guards open fire as Scalphunter dives to the floor, rolling under a couch. He picks up the couch, using it as a shield, rushing the two guards. An unseen third guard comes from behind and knocks Scalphunter out.

  Some time later, Scalphunter regains consciousness and he finds himself in a ring surrounding by a roaring crowd. Lit by torches, the ring is one for battle. In the sand before him is a knife and across the ring is Wakwame, already armed. Ashe explains that the two captives are to battle to the death for the pleasure of his friends. Scalphunter refuses but Ashe explains that he will shoot all of the slaves unless the battle takes place. Wakwame whispers to Scalphunter that they have no choice and he rushes at Scalphunter. 

  The fight ensues, during which Wakwame reminding Scalphunter that the African is a man of medicine, medicine of Africa, or Kiowa and even of voodoo. Even though Wakwame may be cut, may bleed, may even die, he cannot be defeated. The pitched battle continues for half an hour until Wakwame moves into position and Scalphunter drives his knife home. The African shaman slumps to the sand, thanking Scalphunter, exhorting him to free the slaves until Wakwame returns.

  Scalphunter watches his friend fall to the sand, he turns and rushes towards the nearest guard, but the butt of a rifle comes down upon his skull, once more thrusting him into darkness. When he awakens, he is bound in chains upon the Swanee Dawn along with a boatload of slaves, Reginald Ashe standing before him, gloating at the Kiowas fate.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - One wharf guard and Wakwame
Running Total - 87
Compared to Jonah Hex- Nine appearances in and Scalp has 87 vs Jonah's 39
Scalps Taken - 2
Running Total- 14
Injuries - Knocked out twice. 
Timeline - One day, April 22nd, 1862.

A nice issue with a reappearance of Wakwame from issue 41 from the year prior. Just one major problem... dates. Surprised? Issue 41, written by Michael Fleisher, took place in Summer, 1862 and once Gerry Conway took the reins, two issues ago, he placed us firmly in March, 1862. So, I'm calling an audible and saying that since there is nothing in issue 41 tying it historically to 1862, I'm gonna say Scalphunter and Wakwame first met in 1861. I like Wakwame as a character and how he is his somewhat appalled at Scalphunter taking scalps.

I enjoy that they are putting Sclaphunter in actual history in a believable timeline. He was last seen in St. Louis in March and now we're in New Orleans in the end of April. A nice amount of time to cover that distance. 

Next Issue: Scalphunter finds himself up the river without a paddle, and Matching Dragoons takes the Cinnamon Challenge!

Weird Western Tales #46 "The Savage Streets"

Weird Western Tales #46 May/June 1978

"The Savage Streets"
Gerry Conway, story - Dick Ayers & George Evans, art - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, cover

March, 1862. St. Louis, Mo.

We see Scalphunter climbing up the outside of a building, knife wielded between his teeth. Two days have passed since last issue and he has finally made his way back here searching for Bat Lash. Scalphunter makes his way, via rooftop, to the warehouse of Cyrus Calhoun. He overtakes the guards, killing both of them and then breaks into Calhoun's study, demanding to know the location of Bat Lash.

  At knifepoint, Calhoun spills the info that Lash was taking the Gatling Gun and was going to auction it off to the highest bidder. Scalphunter demands Lash's location but Calhoun says that he doesn't know, the army doesn't know, everyone is looking for Bat Lash. He says that lash had stayed at the Grand Hotel earlier and Scalphunter tosses him aside, crashing Calhoun's skull against a nearby safe.

  Scalphunter moves off into the night, making his way through the shadows of the city in search of Bat Lash.

  We find Mr. Lash a lot easier for he is in the Hotel St Louis, in the company of two 'lovely' French ladies. As they are about to kiss, two men kick in the door, shouting and Lash dispatches them quickly with the help of Mr. Colt. Bat goes through the dead men's pockets, finding Confederate money. He steals one last kiss and departs just as the sheriff arrives.

  Under cover of dark, he makes his way down to the riverfront, sneaks into a warehouse and checks on his precious Gatling Gun. He wanted to be sure that General Beauregard Smith, a bidder in the upcoming auction, hadn't made off with the prize weapon while bat was combating the General's hired goons. Lash decides to spend the night with his prize to insure its safety.

  Just down the street at the Hotel Grand, Scalphunter inquires at the front desk of Bat Lash. The clerk insults Scalphunter and tells him to leave, but when Scalphunter grabs him by the collar and pulls him across the counter, the clerk realizes that the Indian is a white man and apologizes. A couple of other men comes up, asking if Scalphunter is a friend of Lash's and attack him. Scalphunter engages in the fight, picking one man up and hurling across the clerks' desk just as the other man gets off a shot that's creases Scalphunter's...well, scalp, knocking him out. The men gather up his limp form and take him to Gen. Beauregard.

  Dawn, and Scalpunter finds himself tied to a post in the company of the General. Smith puts forth a plan wherein Scalphunter will help him obtain the Gatling Gun for the Confederacy. Smith explains that since the Confederacy's cash reserves are frozen in northern banks, he plans to steal the weapon. Smith wants Scalphunter to tell him where the gun and Lash are located.

  Scalphunter says that he doesn't know, Lash is his enemy and if Smith unties him, he will help Smith on one condition...Scalphunter gets to kill Lash afterward. Smith smiles the smile of a man who has instantly struck a bargain.

  About an hour later (less, actually), Smith and some other men meet with Lash in the warehouse. Bat is perched high atop some crates, shotgun in hand, overseeing the auction. The bidding starts with Mr. Samson, representing the USA, ponying up $5,000 (about $122k today). The second man, Cyrus Calhoun, puts forth $7,000 and Gen. Smith raises it to $10,000. Bat inquires as to if that is Federal or Confederate dollars. Smith states that it would be Confederate, of course, and Lash declares his bid invalid.

  Just then Scalphunter jumps down from a skylight, smashing Bat Lash to the floor. Smith pulls a pistol, mounts up onto the wagon containing the Gatling Gun, and bolts out of the warehouse. Scalphunter is left with the unconscious Lash, Calhoun and Samson. He pulls his knife, weighs his options and then runs into the street, stealing a nearby horse.

  Later, twenty miles from St. Louis (probably near present day Maryville, Mo.) Gen. Smith is setting up an ambush for a US patrol. Scalphunter is on a rocky outcropping, overlooking the General, and he pulls his knife, ready to pounce. Suddenly Bat Lash grabs him by the ankle and pulls a pistol. Scalphunter kicks it out of Lash's hand and dives onto Lash. They battle hand to hand and Lash suddenly flips Scalphunter and explains that the General can't kill anyone with that gun because he removed the......

  Scalphunter knocks Lash out and heads to stop Smith. Just then the US patrol shows up and Smith shouts out to them that he is General Smith pf the Confederacy and that they are cowards. The patrol rushes him. Smith starts to crank the handle but it won't move. He is cut down in a hail of Union gunfire as Scalphunter watches.

  Heading back to St. Louis, Lash explains that he did it for the money but he couldn't let anyone get killed by that gun so he pulled the cotter pins from the crank handle so it wouldn't turn. Lash asks Scalphunter what is plans are. Brian states that his sister lives with the whites. He'll find word of her in St. Louis and he will look for her and find her. The two men part ways.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - Two warehouse guards.
Running Total - 85
Compared to Jonah Hex- Eight appearances in and Scalp has 85 vs Jonah's 39
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Gut punched, bullet across the scalp. 
Timeline - Two days prior, one night and the next day. So we have spent four days in March, 1862.

Not a bad book overall. Some twists and turns. I especially enjoy the interaction between Scalphunter and Bat Lash, the savage of morals against the gentlemen of scoundrels. Conway's writing can be a little heavy handed, but that is to be expected when your main character doesn't spend half the book spouting forth exposition.

 Of course, a Lopez cover for me to drool over, never hurts.

Next Issue: The Search for his sister, Pit Fighters, and a Surprise from the Past!

Weird Western Tales #45 "Night of the Gun"

Weird Western Tales #45 Mar/Apr 1978

"Night of the Gun"
Gerry Conway - story, Dick Ayers and George Evans - art, Jim Starlin - cover

We have a new writer and a new direction for Scalphunter. Gerry Conway takes over the typewriter starting in this issue and we are plunked down square in St. Louis, Missouri in March, 1862. The Civil War has been raging for almost a year and Scalphunter strides boldly down the center of the street, people run from him and Union soldiers eye him carefully.

Suddenly the night is broken by a man getting thrown out through the doors of Clancy's saloon. Two Union soldiers run out of the saloon, their intention is to finish what they started with Bat Lash. Scalphunter quickly draws a knife and expertly throws it into the chest of one soldier while Lash swiftly gathers his wits and pumps four slugs into the other soldier. A crowd gathers and Bat Lash makes his introduction and gives his thanks to Scalphunter. Savage states that he has taken no sides in this fight but other soldiers quickly appear and the two men race away down a nearby alley and into an open doorway.

Lash realizes they are in a back storeroom of the saloon and he starts sampling some of the higher class wares of the establishment as he queries Scalphunter as to why a white man is wearing Kiowa warpaint. Savage ponders for a moment or two and then tells his story, of being kidnapped as a small child, raised by Kiowas and then finally being captured and returned home. Lash asks what Savage is doing in St Louis and the reply is that General Sterling Price was rumored to be hiding near Savages home and the Union soldiers came in and burned the town, killing several people in the process.

Cathy Masefield, a local newspaper woman, had been digging into Savages birth records and found out that the Savage's had a daughter. After Brian was kidnapped, the Savages shipped their daughter, Samantha, off to St. Louis to be raised by her grandmother. The grandmother took out adoption papers and as Cathy is about to tell Savage some more about his sister, Union soldiers ride up and start shooting. Savage tried to carry Cathy to safety but she was struck by a bullet and he took her to Doc Grey.

Scalphunter rushed back to his village but the soldiers had already been there and all but wiped out his people.

Bat Lash sits quietly and recalls his own trek of vengeance after the death of his parents then tells Scalphunter that he will need some money to be able to locate his missing sister and offers a way to make that money, if Scalphunter doesn't mind bending the law. Savage states that he does not respect the law of the White-eyes so Lash takes his new partner to the office of one Cyrus Calhoun.

Lash explains to Calhoun that Scalphunter is a white man that runs guns for a living and he would be more than able to help them handle that new Gatling Gun. The idea is that however owns the gun will be able to get rich off of it and be able to control the tide of the war. Gatling is shipping his prototype to Washington for the War Dept. and they plan to steal it.

Lash and Scalphunter take off into the night, riding east and near dawn they come to a high train trestle. Lash explains that the train will be coming around noon and he plans to blow up the bridge. He hands Scalphunter several stick of dynamite and confesses his fear of heights. Scalphunter quickly and easily clambers up the trestle and plants the explosives when suddenly Lash hears someone behind him.

Four men come riding up the canyon and are shooting at Lash. Bat returns fire and Scalphunter turns the battle in his favor by leaping from the bridge and stabbing two of the horsemen.

Bat Lash takes advantage of the diversion and quickly shoots the two remaining horsemen. Just then ten more horsemen top a nearby ridge and the leader, Bear Barker states that Lash and Scalphunter have just killed his scouts. Bear also demands to know why Lash and Scalphunter were planting explosives. Barker figures that there is gold on that train but Bat explains that there is a treasure greater than gold and if they are allowed to live, he will split it with the thieves. Barker agrees and soon the whistle of the train is heard.

Lash gives Scalphunter a rifle and asks if he can hit the dynamite from the edge of the ridge where they have taken up hiding. Savage takes aim, hits the dynamite and the entire bridge erupts, sending the locomotive and all the cars down into the gorge. At that point Bear Barker and Bat Lash are celebrating but Scalphunter merely scowls and mutters "I have done evil......" Barker wants to know what Scalphunter is referring do for doesn't he also hate the soldiers? Scalphunter explains that there is no honor is killing a man you cannot see.

They all make their way to the bottom of the gorge to find a boxcar labeled "Property Federal Government" sitting upright. Scalphunter and Lash start prying open the boxcar door. As the door slides open, Bear starts getting anxious about putting his hands on the gold. The crated Gatling Gun survived the fall and the crate is bolted and chained to the floor. Lash and Scalphunter enter the boxcar and go around to the back of the crate and start opening it. Bear, thinking that he will be happy to soon kill Lash and Scalphunter, starts shouting that he wants the gold now.

Lash grabs the handle of the gun and opens fire through the front of the crate, killing Bear and his men. Scalphunter stands silently by, looking at the carnage and then stares at Lash. There is a moment where both men try to read each other and Scalphunter picks up a large chunk of the busted crate. Lash asks what Sclphunter's plans are and he replies that there is no honor is killing men in this manner, soldiers should not be allowed to wipe out each other like bugs and he is going to destroy the gun.

Scalphunter starts pounding away at the gun but Lash quickly knocks him out with the but of his pistol. When Scalphunter comes to he is alone in the boxcar, the Gatling gun and Bat Lash both gone. Gone, but now with a vengeful Indian warrior after them.

Statistics for this Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - One soldier in St. Louis, two bushwackers in the gorge and an entire train of Union soldiers (50? 100?) and the train crew (Let's say 4). Being conservative that puts this issues total at 57!
Running Total - 83
Compared to Jonah Hex- 83 vs 35 Scalphunter takes the lead in a big way.
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Knocked out with a pistol butt
Timeline - One night and the next day in March 1862

I have to admit I enjoyed Conway's run on Scalphunter a lot more than I did Fleisher's. Conway gave us a believable reason for Savage to move from the frontier and into 'civilization' even though it could be said that he lifted it from the TV series "The Quest" that ran two years prior. This was also a starting point in an acceptable ongoing continuity for Scalphunter, one that impressed me way back when I read it when the books hit the stands.

One thing that bothered me about this story was that Scalphunter plants the dynamite, knowing that Lash planned on blowing the bridge and killing the soldiers and he even accepted the responsibility of firing the shot to set off the explosives. Why, once it happened, did he suddenly have all of this remorse? Did he not know what he was doing? That was the one glaring moment that Scalphunter was acting totally out of character. Also, didn't he realize what the Gatling Gun would do? It's almost like he was in a daze through those parts of the story.

I did like that Cathy Masefield was removed from the series, I didn't think she really added much to the book.

Next Issue: Scalphunter gets even and Bat Lash gets lucky.

Weird Western Tales #44 "Covered Wagon to Doomsday!"

Weird Western Tales #44 Feb 1978
"Covered Wagon to Doomsday!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - Jim Starlin and Al Milgrom, cover

Scalphunter is hanging upside down from a tree after being captured by Sheriff Brett Harley, brother to a bank robber that Scalphunter killed as revenge for killing an Indian child. Just as Harley is ready to pull the trigger, two riders happen upon the scene. They are Obadiah Jethro, head of some Quakers heading to California, lead by their wagon master Travis Barnes.

Harley tells them to butt out, but Jethro wants to be sure that Scalphunter is taken to trial. At the point of Jethro's shotgun, Harley cuts Scalphunter down. Then they all head back to the wagon train. The wagon train stops for the night and Scalphunter is tied to a wagon wheel. When a woman and her younger brother attempt to give Scalphunter food, Harley slaps her down into the snow. Jethro steps in to sort things out.

  Jethro gets everyone to calm down and tells his folks that as long as Harley doesn't actually harm Scalphunter, they should leave well enough alone. Later that night, Davey, the brother of the clapped girl, brings Scalphunter some food and water. After making Scalphunter promise to not escape, he cuts the bonds holding one hand so he can eat. Of course, things being what they are, Harley shows up.

 Harley, doing his best Pappy Hex impersonation, is drinking and pulls off his thick leather belt and beats Davey senseless with it. Scalphunter is helpless and watches as Harley drinks his bottle empty and then breaks it on the wagon. Harley is advancing on young Davey with the broken bottle. Finally, Scalphunter reaches behind him and grabs a pitchfork off the wagon behind him and throws it into Harley, killing him instantly. Everyone hears Harley's dying scream and they come running.

Davey explains what happened but Travis Barnes has had enough, he wants to kill Scalphunter then and there. Jethro will have none of it and demands they take Scalphunter in to the authorities so everyone needs to go back to sleep. Scalphunter tells them if they sleep, they will not wake for he has seen the signal fire of Apaches on a nearby cliff. The fire signals a war dance and that they will attack at dawn.

There is a lot of fear and argument amongst the wagon train but Jethro decides to travel at first light. Scalphunter protests and Barnes clubs him unconscious with a rifle butt.

Just as the sun starts to break over the horizon, a lookout is tending the fire. Suddenly an arrow pierces the coffee pot and two more arrows pierce his sternum. The Apaches descend onto the wagon train, killing, scalping, and setting the wagons alight. As quickly as they arrived, they ride off into the snow.

From the carnage emerges Angela (the slapped girl) and Davey. Barnes comes running up. Seems he was out early looking for firewood. Davey sees something moving under a burning overturned wagon. It is Scalphunter. They right the wagon and free Scalphunter and then they realize that all the horses are dead. Scalphunter offers to lead them to Fort Onondaga (more on that later) but it is a two day walk, so they should get moving. Barnes doesn't want to be led anywhere by an Indian so Scalphunter takes a cue and leads Barnes to...PAINVILLE!

Angela breaks up the fight and says they HAVE to trust Scalphunter. Barnes agrees but he will turn the Indian in to the Fort authorities.

Later, as they are walking through the snow covered forest, a mountain lion leaps out of a tree and attacks them. Scalphunter draws his knife and prepares to vanquish the huge cat, but Barnes panics and unloads five shots into the cat. Davey goes bananas, telling Barnes that every Apache in the county heard those gunshots and now they are in deep doo-doo. On top of it, in the excitement, Angela twisted her leg and can't walk.

Scalphunter tells Barnes and Davey to hide the cougar in the nearby brush and then they will hide for the night in that nearby cave up on the cliff. Some time later, Davey is keeping lookout with a spyglass and sees some Apaches find the dead cougar. Scalphunter asks Barnes how much ammo he has left. Surprise!! He's empty, having panicked and unloaded on the cougar. Scalphunter then concocts a plan.

We see Angela standing out on a snowy overhang, not a care in the world as the two Apaches sneak up on her from below. Higher above her is Scalphunter, Davey, and Barnes. Scalphunter will take out the first Apache and Barnes the second. Scalphunter gives the signal and jumps, boots to the Apache's face. Barnes, however, totally has a panic attack and freezes in his tracks. Davey grabs a knife and jumps over the edge himself, knocking away an Apache that was sneaking up behind Scalphunter, but suddenly Davey is in trouble so Scalphunter finishes off his attacker and then rescues Davey.

Two days later at Fort Onondaga the General of the Fort hears their story and promises to go round up the Apache. He then asks how did Ke-Woh-No-Tay come to be teamed up with the Quakers. Barnes is about to spill the truth when Angela interrupts and says that Scalphunter was hired as a guide. A few hours later Scalphunter rides off with the scalps that will prove that he has completed his Death Stalk.

Statistics for This Issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - 3
Running Total - 26
Compared to Jonah Hex- 26 vs 28 Jonah still leads.
Scalps Taken - 2
Running Total- 12
Injuries - Dropped on his head, knocked out with a rifle butt,
Timeline - This covers about two days.

I was getting ready to write this and then decided to check my draft folder. Surprise! I had written this waaaaaay back in 2012. It always pays to work ahead! I really enjoyed this issue. The cover was great with the tilt to the cover and I always enjoy covers where they incorporate the title of the book into a word balloon. I'm a sucker for that. 

 Death by pitchfork is another soft spot for me. There just isn't enough DbPf in books nowadays, in my opinion. Scalphunter's offering the scalp to Davey and the steps Davey takes during this issue as he matures were other good steps in the storyline. A fine ending to a multi-issue story. We wrap it up next week when Scalphunter returns with the scalps to finish his Death Stalk.

Weird Western Tales #43 "Feather for a Savage!"

Weird Western Tales #43 Dec 1977
"Feather for a Savage!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - George Evans, cover

We start off with a three page recap that brings us to the point where Scalphunter and Sixteen Hands are bound hand and foot as the bank robbers decide what to do with them. Pete, the leader, gets the idea to use the dynamite they had been saving for a big job.

The robbers set the dynamite a short ways from the captives, put an incredibly long fuse on it, light it and ride off chortling. Alone, Sixteen Hands confesses of his plan to kill Ke-Woh-No-Tay. Ke-Woh tells him to shut his yapper and then rolls upside down to dislodge a knife in his boot. Holding the knife he tells Sixteen Hands to cut his own bonds. Sixteen Hands does this, grabs the knife from Ke-Woh, cuts loose his feet and then throws himself onto the dynamite to save Ke-Woh-No-Tay.

The dynamite goes off and then Ke-Woh-No-Tay has to wriggle across the snow, pick up the knife in his teeth and cut himself loose. After all of that, Sixteen Hands is still not dead. He still has time to wish Ke-Woh-No-Tay luck on his Death Stalk and gives him his own feather, making him a warrior.

Off in the distance, the bank robbers hear the explosion and celebrate. Pete tells everyone to break up and head back to their old jobs. They can lay low for awhile since nobody knows it was them that robbed the bank. However, Ke-Woh-No-Tay overhears everything since he is high above them in the trees.

Several days go by and Pete and Bart are working in the barn. Suddenly they smell smoke. Pete runs out and finds some rags on fire on the ground and a huge white man raised by Kiowas leaping from the barn roof. He puts up a gallant effort, but Ke-Woh-No-Tay holds him down and stabs him repeatedly. Bart tries to intervene, but the Kiowa brave reacts instinctively and scalps both men.

A few days later, Mike and Red are hanging out in the blacksmith shop wondering why they haven't heard from Pete. They decide to mount up and mosey on over and see what's up. On the way over, Mike's horse falls into a huge covered pit and Ke-Woh-No-Tay leaps from an overhanging tree. As Read panics and turns tail, we hear the agonizing screams of Mike.

Red pulls up in front of the sheriff's office and runs in pleading his brother, Brett, for help. Red tells MOST of the story and gets Brett to help him find the Indian. Brett and Red use a shortcut to lie in wait for Ke-Woh-No-Tay and Brett gets a shot off, knocking the Indian off his horse and into the tall grass and cattails. When they rush down to inspect the body, Ke-Woh-No-Tay is gone. The men decide to split up and in a short time Red is ambushed by a bent sapling.

On his knees begging for mercy, Red watches as Ke-Woh-No-Tay slowly walks forward, grabs Red by the hair on his head and then buries his tomahawk into the man's skull. As Ke-Woh-No-Tay is taking Red's scalp, Brett shows up and his horse kicks Ke-Woh-No-Tay as he rushes Brett.

Brett, slips a rope around the Indian's ankles,, drags him to a nearby tree and hangs him upside down as he takes careful aim with his rifle...

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Scalphunter - 4
Running Total - 23
Compared to Jonah Hex - 23 vs 22
Scalps taken - 4
Running Total -10
Injuries - Shot in head, kicked by a horse
Timeline - Several days and then a few days in Winter, 1865 (can we say a week?)

A seventeen page story with three pages of recap doesn't leave much room, but this one is packed with action. True, the dynamite was terribly slow and Sixteen Hands appeared to be able to live through almost anything, but the out and out savagery depicted in the scalpings really helped the book live up to its name. One thing bothered me, it seems like two weeks has gone by, so I'm wondering if Scalphunter is a dead man when he gets back to the tribe. (I'm not really wondering, I've already read all of these books. Just trying to build suspense.)

I'm liking the ongoing storyline and it's interesting that Ke-Woh-No-Tay's task is done, but he isn't out of the woods yet.

Next Issue: The wagon train of death, a killer cougar and...APACHE RAID!

Weird Western Tales #42 "Death Stalk!"

Weird Western Tales #42 Oct 1977
"Death Stalk!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - Alan Weiss, cover

Cantwell, Missouri, 1865. We last saw the town of Cantwell two issues ago, ya know, back in 1862.  Now, three years later, six men on horseback ride into town. They pull up in front of the bank and tell Brandy to keep watch. They go inside and rob the bank and the patrons, gunning down one old farmer. The bandana slips off of Red's face and a woman recognizes him as the younger brother of Sheriff Brett Harley.

The robbers are left with no choice but to kill the teller and the other three patrons. They run from the bank, mount up and ride off into the growing snowstorm.

Meanwhile in the snowy hills above town, Ke-Woh-No-Tay is teaching Little Bear how to hunt for food using only a bow and arrow. Little Bear wishes that Scalphunter had brought his rifle but gets a lesson on Kiowa preparedness instead. While Scalphunter cleans the deer, Little Bear chases down a fox and while trailing the fox, he comes to a cave where Bart and his gang of robbers are holed up. The robbers spot him and give chase, thinking that he heard something and can snitch on them.

Little Bear is running away but is soon surrounded by the six men on horseback. Little Bear panics and fires an arrow at Pete, who in turn get angry and shoots Little Bear. The shots alert Scalphunter and he arrives on a hillside overlooking the scene. As he draws back his bow, the robbers fire on him, grazing his head and the men ride off.

Hours later, Scalphunter comes to and rushes to Little Bear. He picks him up and sings his Death Song. Much later Scalphunter walks into the village with the body of Little Bear. He tells the story and Little Bear's mother is distraught. Another brave, Sixteen Hands Horse berates Ke-Woh-No-Tay as being a coward, afraid of the white man. Scalphunter responds..

Sixteen Hands pulls a tomahawk and rushes Scalphunter but is quickly cooled off by being thrown into the lake. The Chief finally shows up to see the ruckus and tells Scalphunter that there is only one way to remove the dishonor that he has brought upon himself. Scalpy must track down these six men and count coup with only a tomahawk and a knife and he has only two weeks (the Chief states that the moon is hiding and he has until the moon is full. That's two weeks, isn't it?) to complete this mission, otherwise, Scalphunter will die at the stake in place of the killers of Little Bear.

Scalphunter rides off and the Chief tasks Sixteen Hands Horse with following Scalphunter and if Scalpy wavers in his task, Sixteen Hands is to bring him back to the village. However, Sixteen Hands plans on exacting revenge upon Scalpy himself.

Five days later, the robbers are riding through a narrow pass and Scalphunter is hiding in the snow above them. Brandy, the alcoholic of the bunch, falls behind to take a snort on his flask and it's true that liquor will kill ya....

After a while, one of the men rides back to see Scalphunter holding up Brandy's bloody dripping scalp. Scalpy rushes him and plunges his knife into the man's ribs.

Up above, in the hills, Sixteen Hands is taking aim with his rifle in order to kill Scalphunter. Just then a grizzly bear (Seemingly possessed, as indicated by the red glowing eyes) rushes Sixteen Hands. Scalphunter hears the screams and realizes that Sixteen Hands is in danger. He grabs a rope from the dead man's horse and lasso's an outcrop and scales the cliff. He then rushes into the arms of Wa-Noh-Nah (the bear) and finally vanquishes the beast.

As Scalphunter turns to Sixteen Hands and demands to know why HE is there, the two Indians suddenly find themselves set upon by the four remaining robbers....

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Scalphunter - 2
Running Total - 19
Compared to Jonah Hex - 19 vs 20
Scalps taken - 2
Running Total - 6
Injuries - Shot in head
Timeline - Six days in Winter, 1865 (really?)

I liked this book a lot, mainly because of the interior inking of George Evans. Evans is a gritty inker and it really makes the book shine. We also have the beginning of an ongoing story and I'm happy to see some continuity (even though it is three years off the mark...maybe).

Also, this is the first time that we have seen Scalphunter interacting with other Indians and it appears that he even is a member of a tribe. In past issues we have seen how Brain is not accepted by the White men but in this issue we see how he isn't fully accepted by his own tribe. The last we saw of the Kiowa tribe was back in issue #39 where a large bunch of them were killed. I liked the cover. At first I thought it was Alfredo Alcala, but then I saw the Weiss signature.

And this brings up one other thing. Our hero has four names; Scalphunter, Brian Savage, Ke-Woh-No-Tay, He Who is Less Than Human. In the book, he is rarely referred to as Scalphunter or as Brian Savage. The Indians always call him Ke-Woh-No-Tay (which they never translate as He Who is Less Than Human) but refer to each other as their translated names (Sixteen Hands Horse, Little Bear). So, with all that information, how shall I denote our hero? I would like to stay consistent (and I have tried three of the four names to see how they 'feel')

Next Issue: Things get really really bloody and there is a transfer of plumage!

Weird Western Tales #41 "The Black Seer of Death Canyon!"

Weird Western Tales #41 August 1977
"The Black Seer of Death Canyon!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and Frank Springer, art - George Evans, cover

Summer, 1862. Brian Savage finds himself riding near the Canyon De La Muerte when he hears a man screaming for help. Turns out several men are terrorizing an old prospector when one of them is suddenly shot to death. Several of the men take off towards the cliffs where the shots came from, leaving behind one man to guard the old prospector. But, that idea doesn't pay off too well...

Brian grabs up the old man and runs off with the old man and his burro and attempts to nurse him back to health. The old man tells Brian that he was searching for his old pal Skeeter Short. Brian has to tell Skeeter that the old man, Muskrat Charlie, finally hit it rich and that he hid the map. All you have to do is look through the eye... the eye...needle....PLOTZ!! He's DEAD!!!!!

Brian buries the old man and the rides off with the man's burro in tow.

The next afternoon in a nearby town, the thugs that were killing the old man recognize the burro as Brian rides into town. They get an idea and tell the sheriff that Brian murdered the old prospector and stole the burro. Brian says that they are lying, that the men killed the prospector and resists the sheriff's attempt to jail him. One of the thugs pistol whips Brian, knocking him out.

Several hours later, the sheriff is bringing Brian a meal in jail, but when the sheriff tries to awaken Brian, he learns that the form on the cot is just a bundle of blankets. Brian drops from the ceiling and knocks out the sheriff and sneaks out the second story window of the jail. He jumps from the balcony onto a buckboard below, knocking out the driver, and then steers the team towards the livery. As he nears the livery, he jumps off, leaving the woman passenger at the mercy of the runaway horses.

Brian bursts into the livery in order to obtain his horse. He refuses to pay and rides off into the night. In the darkness the sheriff and the thugs laugh to themselves about how easily they let Brian escape so that he could lead them to the map and the treasure.

Several hours later, Brian rides up to needle rock and climbs up so that he can see through the eye. In the distance he spots a rock with a large X on it. Brian climbs down and heads over to the X and finds the map. Just then shots ring out and Brian topples over, the thugs come out of hiding and close in to recover the map.

Just then one of the thugs notices an African standing on a nearby boulder. The African is glowing and is wrapped in a large snake. Suddenly a spear pierces one thug, killing him, and the African vanishes only to appear behind them. He hurls the snake at the sheriff who gets squeezed to death and the remaining two thugs take off.

The glowing African then picks up Brian and takes him to a cave. Three days later when Brian comes to, the African explains that he is Wakwame, a shaman, a seer, a magician, a necromancer who can see the future and speak with the dead. He tells how he was kidnapped from Africa and there was a great revolt on the slavers ship. The slaves managed to kill the white men, but the ship crashed at sea and only he survived.

He gives Brian the map and tells Brian that the treasure house shall be the white men's tomb. Brian thanks him for his help and rides off.

A week later, Brian is riding along and finally locates Skeeter Short. Brian tells the story and Short busts out laughing because the map is for a mine full of fool's gold. Short says that Muskrat must have been senile and thanks Brian for his trouble. Brian rides off and suddenly Short is gunned down.

Brian hears the shots and rides back to find Short dead and the map gone. Brian has seen the map and knows where the mine is located.

At the mine, several of the thugs enter the mine and leave Lance to guard the entrance. They go in and find several bags of gold nuggets and then they realize that it's nothing but fool's gold. They look deeper into the mine and that's when they spot the real gold, further into the mine. Just then Lance stumbles into the mine with a large arrow sticking out of his chest. The thugs whirl around and see Brian standing at the entrance of the mine. One of them opens fire with his rifle and that sounds causes the entire mine to come crashing down on their heads, killing all of them.

Brian rides off, thinking about Wakwame.

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Scalphunter -3
Running Total - 17
Compared to Jonah Hex - 17 vs 17
Scalps taken -0
Running Total - 4
Injuries - Pistol whipped 
Timeline - Eleven days in summer, 1862

All in all kind of a 'meh' story but it was nice to see Brian encounter an African witch doctor and what the witch doctor did with the glowing and the vanishing and the snake did help the book live up to the Weird in Weird Western Tales. The bit with Brian leaving the woman in the buckboard (and probably resulting in her death when the wagon eventually overturned) was a bit unsettling. I know it was supposed to be funny, but it really wasn't.

Next Issue: A bank robbery, blood in the snow, and the start of an ongoing story arc.

Weird Western Tales #40 "The Mark of a Warrior!"

Weird Western Tales #40 June 1977
"The Mark of a Warrior!"
Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers and George Evans, art - George Evans, cover

It's been awhile so you might want to catch-up here.

Southwest Missouri, 1862. Miss Masefield, a blonde woman, is riding in a buckboard with Ed, a black man that works for her. Miss Masefield runs a newspaper and Ed is scared of what she has been writing, it might stir up trouble. Of course, it means trouble for Ed because at that very minute he gets shot in the chest.

Several men wearing white masks ride up and pull all of the papers out of the wagon. It seems that Miss Masefield is an abolitionist and declares so in her papers. The men set fire to the papers and then tear open the front of her dress when an arrow suddenly strikes one man in the chest. They all turn to see a horse with no rider bearing down on them. Too late they realize that there is an Indian hanging off the side of the horse and, using the horse for cover, shoots most of the men dead. The rest ride off, fearing for their lives.

The Indian, Scalphunter, examines Ed and states that he will live. Scalphunter then goes to the fallen men and scalps them all. Miss Masefield is appalled, but thankful for her life. Sclalphunter asks why she was attacked and she explains about the newspapers and her stand against slavery. Scalphunter mocks her for her writings but takes her into town to the doctor and then leaves.

She takes Ed to the doc (same one from last issue) and explains about the Indian. The doc chuckles and explains that is Brian Savage, the son of Matt Savage. 23 years ago (1839) Kiowas attacked the Savage ranch and carted off the young boy. Matt survived the raid and built a ranching empire, but about two months ago some troopers from Fort Caroline fought some Kiowas and brought back one, a white man, Brian Savage.

But Matt had died of TB but Brian refused to believe that he was born white and turned down the land that was left to him.

Back in town we find a Mr. Stockwell, who is very very angry. It was he that had hired those men to put Miss Masefield out of business and he has bigger and better plans to deal with her.

Later that night, in Southfield, Missouri, Miss Masefield and Ed are getting the next day's edition ready for the presses. There is a knock on the door and, thinking it is Brian Savage, Masefield opens the door. Sadly, it's Stockwell's men and they deliver a shotgun blast to Ed, killing him. They then take axes to the presses, pistol whip Masefield, and then torch the place.

They ride off and Miss Masefield comes to just as Scalphunter crashes through a window, scoops her up and carries her to safety. Scalphunter starts to leave, saying that he will find the men responsible and destroy them by Masefield asks to go along and then suddenly collapses. Scalphunter picks her up and takes her to the doctor.

The doc opens the door and starts to slam the door, stating that he doesn't treat Indians but Ke-Woh-No-Tay literally kicks the door off the hinges and tells the doctor to treat her or what is left of the doc's scalp will be used to braid a whip for his horse.

Several hours later Scalphunter locates Mr. Stockwell's place and finds the men who burnt the newspaper office. He is lurking outside but is discovered and brought inside. One of the men shouts that it's the Indian that attacked them. Stockwell starts hollering because his men had told him they had been attacked by a dozen Indians. Brian uses the distraction to knee on guy in the gut, but is suddenly brought down by being pistol-whipped.

Rather than killing the Indian outright, Stockwell decides to make an example of him and they haul Scalphunter to a grain mill and they tie him to a waterwheel to drown him. Stockwell's men leave and Brian uses a piece of glass that he has hidden in his hand. He obtained the glass when he kneed the one guy in the gut (causing him to drop a glass lantern). He manages to saw through his ropes and escape.

Shortly thereafter a flaming arrow bursts through Stockwell's window. Stockwell grabs a rifle and heads for the door, followed by several men. They see Brian standing in the darkness holding a bow and arrow. Before they can even blink, Savage grabs a rifle from behind him and kills them all. One last thug, the leader, sneaks out of the house and draws a bead on Savage as he leaves but is suddenly shot in the side of the head.

We discover that Masefield shot him with her rifle. Savage is not thankful. He says that a warrior must fight his own battles or stand shamed in the eyes of The Great Spirit and that a Kiowa squaw would know not to interfere. Masefield is incensed and demands to know why Brian showed up at the newspaper office, was it to learn to read (as she had offered earlier)?

Scalphunter scoffs and says that watching the wriggling maggots is a pastime for women and then he mounts up and rides off into the night.

Statistics for This Issue

Men Killed by Scalphunter - 9
Running Total - 14
Compared to Jonah Hex - 14 vs 12
Scalps taken - 4
Running Total - 4
Injuries - Pistol whipped and almost drowned
Timeline - One day and one night in 1862

This was a pretty good issue and fairly gruesome. Scalphunter starts living up to his name and we do see a guy shot in the head. I find it interesting that Brian Savage is hanging around Missouri and hating all over the white man's ways rather than heading out west. We get another heaping helping of the "noble Savage" (hee hee, see what I did there?) and how he refuses to acknowledge any hint of a desire that he might have to want to learn of the white man's ways. Also, I'm not sure how 'hip' it was in 1862 to use the term 'chauvinist'.

I enjoyed Evans artwork. I'm normally a fan of cleaner work, but Evans stuff here is gritty and has a loose flowing quality to it. I would like to see this reprinted on quality paper with better or no coloring.

It was also around this time that the TV show "The Quest" aired in 76. Coincidence? I think not. YouTube disabled embedding for this video, but here ya go, you can watch the whole pilot.

Next Issue: A map to a lost mine and the power of Voodoo!

Weird Western Tales #39 "Scalphunter"

Weird Western Tales #39 Apr 1977
"Scalphunter"Michael Fleisher, story - Dick Ayers & George Evans, art - Jose Luis Garcia Lopez & George Evans, cover
Jonah Hex is in his own book so what will DC do with Weird Western Tales? Canceling it was one option, the other was to come up with another character and Scalphunter (created by Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando) fit the bill.

We start our tale with a splash page of Scalphunter leaping towards us, knife at the ready, warpaint applied and this text:

This is the tale of an outcast..of a man who lived in two worlds, but was at home in neither. The Kiowa named him Ke-Woh-No-Tay, "He Who is Less Than Human."
White men called him Scalphunter. This is his story.

So, what do we know about the Kiowa? They lived mostly in north Texas, east New Mexico and all of Oklahoma and in 1867 the Kiowa were placed on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma.

The story starts with a Kiowa medicine man praying in a Kiowa burial ground. Suddenly the old man is gunned down by seven cowboys who are intent on robbing the graves of gold. Once they are finished digging up the graves, the cowboys are getting ready to head out with their loot when they are set upon by a band of Kiowas, hellbent on revenge.

Meanwhile, not far away...(yup, I stole that from the comic itself. Why mess with conciseness?) there is a division of the U.S. Cavalry who spots the Kiowa surrounding the cowboys. They charge in a kill all of the Indians. Afterward, they notice that one of the braves is a white man. As a couple of soldiers draw closer, the brave knocks them out with a rifle and starts running for a pony but is dropped by a bullet in the back. The brave is still alive so they have him mount up and they all head back to Fort Caroline.

While the fort doctor is bandaging up the wounded man, he notices a birthmark in the shape of a star on the man's neck. Please note that it is a star and not a diamond. Don't get confused. The doc goes to see the Captain and explains that the birthmark indicates that their prisoner is the son of Matt Savage (but it has been decided that this is not Matt Savage, Trail Boss). The Captain says that since Matt Savage is dying, they need to confirm if this is really his son. They chain Scalphunter and take him to the ranch of Matt Savage.

At the ranch house, they remove the ankle shackles and take Scalphunter in to see the dying Matt Savage. Matt asks if Scalphunter is really Brian and Scalphunter replies that he is Ke-Woh-No-Tay, a Kiowa warrior. Matt declares that he recognizes the eyes and Scalphunter has no feather since the Kiowa won't let a white Indian earn a feather. Sclphunter denies the relationship and tries to choke Matt.

For his outburst he is rewarded with a rifle butt to the head. With Scalphunter on the floor, Matt explains that 23 years ago his wife was murdered and his young son kidnapped by Kiowas. Matt tells Brian that he will welcome him back to the family, but Scalphunter spits in the old man's face, saying that he tells lies. The Captain claps Scalphunter back into irons and takes him back to the fort to stand trial a week later.

During the trial, the judge states that they have found Brian guilty of killing three prospectors. Brian states that they were grave robbers, not prospectors but he is sentenced to ten years in the state pen in Hainesville, Mo (This is supposedly the town that Charlie Bigelow is buried in but I can't find any modern reference to it, not unusual for small Missouri towns.).

Scalphunter is put to work on the rock pile but assaults another prisoner with a sledgehammer. He is then held by two other prisoners and beat repeatedly until a guard gets in on the action and starts whipping Scalphunter. Scalphunter grabs the whip and chokes the guard to death and then climbs the main gate to get on top of the wall. Once there, he beats another guard with his chains, knocking him off the prison wall to his death, and jumps off the wall into the raging river below.

Ten days later, the survivors of the gang that robbed the burial mounds are sitting around a campfire on the Kansas Salt Flats when one of them suddenly sprouts an arrow from the middle of his back. A second one catches an arrow in the chest

and a third gets a tomahawk in the heart. Scalphunter jumps the last robber who swears to tell everything if he is allowed to live.

Back in court, Scalphunter is freed and given a full pardon based on the robber's testimony. As Scalphunter is getting ready to leave town, the doctor that tended him tells him that Matt Savage is dead and hands Scalphunter the deed to all of the Savage property along with a gold watch. Scalphunter takes the watch but says that nobody can own land, only God may own the earth. He mounts up and rides off as the doctor shouts that the funeral is tomorrow.

The next morning at the funeral for Matt Savage, the doc and one of the ranch hands are discussing the fact that Brian didn't come to the funeral. Just then they spot Scalphunter on an overlooking bluff, astride a pony, singing a Kiowa song. The ranch hand says that he is singing a song that the Kiowa use when a warrior's father dies. We see the gold watch in Scalphunter's hand and it contains a photo of him and his mom & dad.

Statistics for this issue

Men killed by Scalphunter - 5

Running total - 5

Scalphunter's Injuries - beat, whipped, knocked out, and shot in the back.

Timeline - There is nothing to go on with the beginning of this tale. Later stories have more of a timeline and when we reach those, I'll come back and revisit this. The story does cover 32 days.

For an opening issue, it's not bad. I couldn't find out anything about salt flats in Kansas, there are some in Oklahoma, so I guess that is close enough. We also have a nice letter column explaining how Sergio Aragones and Joe Orlando came up with the idea of Scalphunter.

Next Issue - The power of the press and waterboarding, 1860's style.