The native Virginian. [volume] (Orange Court House, Va.) 1867-187?, 1869-03-19
CULLEN BAKER.
EEenster of Crime--The TcrsJr of the 6outh
west.


A H1enster of Crime--The Tcrs5r of the south
west.
Many persons i'm North Mississippi
and Hest Tennessee are familiar with
| the name and deeds of William Cullen
haker the notorious desperate and un-
scr,, eglous murderer, of Eastern Texas
who was killed OH the 10th of January
in Lafavette county, Arkansas, by bis
father-in-Iaw, as detailed few days age
IN the Avalanche, Baker was certainly
one of the worst characters Of this age,
and brief sketch of his career Is wor-
thy OF record AS a part of the history OF
the great Southwest His life. taken as
a whole, demonstrates with peculiar
| sarce the weakness OF s.frail humanity,
an the tenaeity with which events
shape mans destisy.
CrlIen Baker, the almost beardless lad
who. bv his daring demeanor and insa-
tiahia .birst Cor human blood, has been
Tor nonths error to the citizens as
we'll as to the M litary authorities was
tha son of an emf. ent divine OF Texas,
and his Character fro'm boyhood to the
fatal hour when grim, .tsaged war stalk
ed into our land, had been uheAcep-
| tioual.
Few young men ever started iile WIN
brighter prospects, and certa..oiy not
one ever enjoyed in a more emine 1t ue-
gree tile confidence and esteem OF MS
| friends and neighbors. When the sbrii-
| trumpet sounded to arms the braves OF
| the South, Cullen Baker torsook the
par8uits Of his civil life and promptly
shouldered his musket in the ranks, side
| by side with the yonog men who had
! grown up to manhood With him. The
| volcano that had been smothercd in his
| breast soon sent forth its lava, and be-
fore the roll of his company had been
| called for twelve-month, Cullen Ba-
| ker had been marked as the "terrible
rilleman." The unmistakable -attrl-
butes of a desperate soon developed
| themselves in his character, and many
| .tbue Jacket devils, ''as he WAS wont to
| denominate the soldiers of e Federal
army, were forced to kiss the dust be-
fore his unerring aim.
When that branch of the Confederate
army to which he was attached ground-
ed arms and surrendered TO the power
of the Federal Government, Cullen
Baker declined to accept the terms or
abide the conditions, and mounting his
fiery horse--one OF the swittest since the
days ef Claude Duvall's bonnie Black
Bcss-he rode away to the wiids of East
Texas, prooiaiming bimself the last sur
vivor of the lost cause, who would never
surrender until the Confederacy was
fully established aud its authority re-
cognized by all the powers OF She earth.
True to his rash vow, he soon achieved
considerable nOtoriety in Harrison,
Marion, and Davis counties, in Texas,
| tor his intense animosity against every
thing savoring of "Yaukeelsin." Dur
ing the year he committed several mur-
ders, his victims Invariably being either
negroes, Federal soldiers, or noisy
tsUnion men,"
In the fall of 1865, reward of $1,000
WAS offered by the Federal military aa-
| thofities of Texas for his head. Scout
| ing parties were sent out in all sections
of che country to try to catch him. He
warned the citizens that if any of them
dared to intimate to those who sought
to capture him anything in reference to
| his movements, he wsuld visit upon
! them the most terrible punishment. SO
well they knew the man that no citizen
could be found with sufficient know
ledge of the stopping places OF Cullen
| Baker to enable him to tell, with any
degree of accuracy, where Cullen Baker
could be found.
/ So terrible did he become that the
| military authorities raised the reward
| offered for his head from one Thousand
to ten thousand dollars. While riding
| along the road on one OCCASION, he OBJ
served the proclamation Offering ten
thousand dollars tor his head sticking
ON tree. He read it, and, dism l,mt-
ing from his horse, and cody seating
himself by the tree upon which he found
it, lie issued counter proclamation,
under his own hand, and offered ten
thousand dollars for the head ofany one
OF the military satraps who were mani.
testing so much anxiety about his own.
| He put his own proclamation on the
tree below the other aud rode away.
A few days subsequent to this time,
the desire for adventure and dangerin-
duced him to pay personal visit, incog.
| TO the com manuer of the post at Jeiler-
son, Texas. Riding up to a hitching-
post near the post e0mmandant's office.
| he dismounted, and, leaving his horse,
very leisurely walked in. salHted the
Major, took Il seat and 'opened Il con-
| versarion" with that I'M aortant person.
age.
| II suppose your military authofitIps
| have off red big reward for the head
| OF this man Cullen Baker, said our
| hero.
EYES," responded the Major, "and il
he is not remarkably sharp we will soon
get him. | have been specially selected
by the General to work up this little
fob, and l think l will be apt TO bring
him in."
''They say he is bad one" said Z ul-
len.
"Oh, well, that is more talk than any,
thing else. guess he is not SO terrible
as you rebels make him out. He can't
scare anybody that belongs to our ar
my, ! am sure we havn't got a man
who could not take him without cooking
gun, if he could just get up with
him"
eHave you ever seen him?" careless
", but seemingly, asked Baker.
| mo" said the hero Of the epanlets,
shut don't care for that; III be apt to
make his acquaintance If can just get
near enough to him.
Baker, rising from his chair IN tine
most complaisant manner imagabie,
| sail HWall Mai,r. YOU want BaEersS