Name: Gust Larsson
Age: 24
Sex: M
Height: 5'10"
Weight: 160 lbs
Handedness: Right
Birthplace/Origin: Grenna, Sweden
Description:  Gust is light skinned with blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.  He looks every bit like a northerner from Sweden.  He has a medium build, is not overly strong, but has the hardiness and durability that comes from being raised on a farm.

Background:  Gust Larsson was born outside of a small village in Grenna, Sweden. The youngest of eight children by Lars Eriksson and Maja Nilsdotter, his parents were up in years when he was born, his father being 54 and his mother 38.  His parents had seen everything from their children by the time young Gust came along, and they were tired and permissive of the lad.  He was raised on the farm, doing his normal chores of taking care of the cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, and horses. It was on the farm, tilling the soil with a horse-drawn plow, that he learned to ride horses.

When he was an adult, he worked on a neighbor's farm for a couple years to raise enough money to buy his own place.  It was here that he met a gal, Eva Adamsdotter, who was a few years older than him but had taken an interest in him.  He was unpleasantly surprised when she turned up pregnant, leaving him with two options: marry the woman, or be the father of a bastard that would get him shunned from the community.  He didn't like Eva that much, but the thought of not being able to find work, be part of the community, and be an outcast was unbearable.

Gust opted to flee the situation and made his way to Stockholm where he boarded a ship bound for America, the Saxonia.  Landing in New York in 1863, he first found work on the railroad, fixing and repairing rail cars.  He made his way out West, learning English, as he adapted to American society.  Acquiring guns along the way, he learned to shoot both rifle and pistol from the ground and from horseback.  Eventually, he saw a call for Cavalry that offered steady pay from the Government, and hopefully retirement benefits as well.  He put on the uniform with pride as he became a Private in 1873.