The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1880-01-13
CAM. WITHERsPooN.
How He Became q Leader Of the
Apache Indians.


the Comanches. they live more than
halt the time on horseback and are
constantly moving from one point to
another. They have long been the
sworn enemies Of the Mexican states
of Sonora and chihuahua. and the
Mexican general government has so
far been unable {" prevent their thiev.
ing and murderOus iBcursions The
fear Of the Apaches has greatly re-
tarded the development of the ex-
ceedingly rich silver mines Of both
New Mexico and Arizona. ana they
are making serious resistance 10 the
building Of railroads through these
countries
A leader of one Of these rowing
bands of
is a white man who once lived in Mis-
souri,. the story of his life Is thrill
ingly interesting. His real name is
Cam. Witherspoon and he was born
in Washington county, Some fifty or
more miles south Of St. Louis. His
father Was one of the early settlers in
tina. region. and was once engaged in
lead mining. La 1886. during the
Kansas troubles. he removed his fami-
~ to Vernon county. and he himself
ioined the Kansas invaders and was
killed In a skirmish with Jim Lanes
command. When The war came on
the Kansas Jayhawkers came down
int Vernon and burned great r,anv
dwellings and robbed everybody who
had any sympathy for the South.
Among the families
BURNED OFT or ipoI:~
was that Of Wither-poon. who hal
been killed in kansa, tour years he-
fore. Cam. was the Ol.le-, child and
only son, and was abon: eighteen
years Of age He went and joined
| the Rebel guerrilla-. ana hi mother
and sister went Ia keninckev 20 live
with some relations ill the war should
end. He was. in form, like mos. Of
the youths raised up in the country
at that time. He had been used la
hard>hips of almost every kind and
was as well developed as most Young
men at twenty-one. He could ride
any animal that had four leg-. could
endure rain, SHOW or sunshine with
Indifference and was an expert with
guns and pistols. 1t wac Of just such
material that the guerrillas of Western
Missouri were made. His father
had been killed bv the LAWMAKERS
10 Kansas, and his mothers home had
been burned by the same men. This
was enounh to give the necessary
THIRST FOR REVENGE.
and he went ont breathing blood aud
slaughter. He was with some one of
the guerrilla band, throughout the
entire war. First in Missouri, then
ia Texas. First On the Missouri
River then on the Usage. Here. there
aud s~arywhsre, in the SadaIs day
.,d night, a. ~l.eploss as tho wind.
themselves. He was with Quantrell
when he made the celebrated Law
renee raid and distinguished him
self by the number of people he killed
and the amount Of plumber he carried
of. This was near the close o: the
war, and most of the Missouri guer-
rillas had been very hard-hearted and
desperate lot Of men. No historian
will ever be able to depict the actual
horrors of the Missouri-kansas border
warfare in the wears 1864 and 60.
Savage warfare could not be more dis
perate and restandard of the oppoS-
ing forces, and to he taken prisoner
was to be shot on the spot. Not only
we're prisoners shot down ia cold blood,
but they were tortured by being scalp
ed and having their limbs cut one bv
one from their bodies. 1t was no un-
common sight, then, 10 see band of
men riding through the country with
their horses brides hung
THICK WITH sCALPs.
Cam. Witherspoon was not much
behind the worst. He was as brave As
any, as expert with his pistols as any.
and had become as hardened as any.
He served with nearly all the distin-
guished leaders. He was with Bill
Anderson at Centralia. and took an
active part in that frightfuI tragedy.
After that he returned to the south
side of the Missouri River. and was,
for some time, the companion of Arch
Clemmens. About this time these
two men performed the daring feat of
swimming the MISSOURI River on
horseback in dead Of winter. 1t was
the last of December. 1864. They
had been on a visit to the house Of
friend near Richmond, Raw county.
and just rs they were mounting their
horses to leave were surprised bv a
company Of Federals. They were
closely pursued. and went 20 the banks
of the river with the intention of
making a desperate effort to cross.
The water was running high and was
full of light floating ice. The had
often made their horses swim the
river during the summer previous.
and
IN THEY PLUNGED
and struck out for the opposite shore,
they reached in safety, and thus es-
cnped. Some time after this Glenn
mems was killed, and Witherspoou
went off to Texas. When the war |
closed he was one of that adventurous
band who followed Shelby to Mex
leo, swearing that he would never
live under the same flag with the peo- !
pie of Kansas. whom he had been
taught to hate from his early boy !
hood. Shelby and most Of his men
returned but Witherspoon joined the
Mexican army. and was under !,
Escobedo at the time Macmillan was
shot. He was made captain of !