"Hanging for a Scalphunter"
Gerry Conway, story - Dick Ayers & Luis Dominguez, art - Luis Dominguez, cover
Atlanta, Georgia. Early May, 1862
Scalphunter is bound and sitting in a jail cell. Confederate guards insult and taunt him. It is just before dawn and three guards are escorting him to the gallows. As they walk through the prison they pass the cell of Samantha Savage, Scalphunter's long lost sister. She reaches out to him, touching him on the arm and expresses a connection that she has felt since they met two days ago (He has not revealed his true identity to her). A guard smacks her arm with a rifle barrel and Scalphunter whirls and snarls at the guard, who tells Scalphunter to PLEASE try something.
The guards lead Scalphunter to the main room of the jail which resembles an administration room. Once in the room, Scalphunter lunges towards a guard with his shoulder, knocking the man down and the kerosene lantern he is holding shatters, setting a desk on fire. He then head butts another guard through a door and while a third guard manages to get a shot off, Scalphunter flips backwards to avoid being hit.
Just then Colonel Tremayne and more guards come into the room and the Colonel shouts that Scalphunter will surely hang. The guards rush him and Scalphunter backpedals away, slamming into a large mirror on the wall and then falls unconscious. The guards load him up into a wagon and head towards the gallows erected in the city square. A large crowd has gathered to see the Indian hang.
It takes six guards to get Scalphunter out of the wagon and up the steps to the noose. Scalphunter snarls at those gathered and we have a 1+ page flashback of the previous five issues including the never before seen trial of Scalphunter and Samantha where they were found guilty of being spies. After sentencing, Scalphunter tears apart the rope holding him grabs Dasher and hurls him out the fifth floor window to his death. 
Drake, wearing handcuffs, charges Scalphunter and manages to get him into a bear hug, crushing his ribs. Scalphunter manages to get his hands around Drake's neck and both men crash to the floor, unconscious.
Drake, wearing handcuffs, charges Scalphunter and manages to get him into a bear hug, crushing his ribs. Scalphunter manages to get his hands around Drake's neck and both men crash to the floor, unconscious.
As the guards approach, they learn that Drake is dead and Scalphunter jumps up and grabs another guard and starts strangling him. Colonel Tremayne intervenes by pistol whipping Scalphunter unconscious.
Back at the present and at the gallows, the noose is placed around Scalphunter's neck, the hangman advances to the lever and shoves the lever downward. The door opens and Scalphunter falls but he suddenly takes a piece of broken mirror, cuts his bonds, grabs the rope and slices the noose before it goes taut, he then drops to the ground, alive and then rushes and grabs a horse hitched to a buggy, he slices the harness and escapes.
The Senator declares that any man that possesses such horsemanship cannot be a spy. He demands that Colonel Tremayne bring Samantha Savage to the plantation that evening or there will be the Devil to pay.
Later in a hotel Mademoiselle Magarit is mulling over that her spy has allowed her two best men to be captured, has allowed Scalphunter and Samantha to be hung as spies and Scalphunter has escaped. Soon people will make the connection and realize that she was the one passing Rebel plans to the officials in Washington.... and just then the door to her room swings open and Scalphunter walks in. We then hear her scream.
That evening at Creighton House everyone is gathered, with the Senator demanding of Samantha that she reveal if she is a spy or not. She admits that she is not and the Senator demands to know is! Just then Scalphunter and Magarit enter, with Magarit stating that Samantha is innocent. She also explains her connection to Reginald Ashe and Samantha was unknowingly carrying instructions to the real spy here in Atlanta. As she is about to reveal the spy's identity, she is fatally shot. Colonel Tremayne steps from behind a curtain, places the smoking pistol to his temple and kills himself.
The next morning, Scalphunter is readying his horse when Samantha approaches him. She said she never did learn why he came here and who is his. Scalphunter looks into her eyes, thinks for a quick moment and then mounts up stating...
Statistics for this issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - two
Running Total - 97
Compared to Jonah Hex - 13th appearance and Scalphunter has 97 vs Jonah's 65
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total - 14
Injuries - Knocked out twice and almost hung
Timeline - One day and the next morning.
This was a very very nice conclusion to the Samantha Savage quest as well as the Mademoiselle Magrit intrigue. I did enjoy the flashback plus the extra part covering the sentencing, this allowed the story to start right into the action. Conway was always adept at this typo of story structure. The escape by Scalphunter was somewhat ruined by the cover reveal, but we always knew that covers couldn't be trusted, right???
Next Issue: Scalphunter goes to Washington DC via the Swamp, Faces Monumental problems, Bat Lash and a plot to kill Lincoln!! How much more can they cram into one issue?!?!?!
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