The Red Cloud chief., 1888-08-17
THE A ANGELS.
DesperadOes VI hO Eulcd Southern Arkan-
AS TOr Many Years.

DesperatlOes no Ruled Southern Arkan.
sas for Many Years.
Only a few years back. before the rail-
roads penetrated the swamps of Southern
Arkansas to disturb them. says a letter to
the St. Louis Ctobc- Democrat, desperadoes
from all points sought refuge in the depths
of these, the most gloomy and inaccessible
swamps of this country, and it was only Q
few years & that the most notorious Of
this band Of exile criminals first came here,
and whose deeds of desperate daring were
chrOnicied the world over in the papers of
the land. This was Tom Mitchell, who
started life as a farmer boy, and who, by
one bad deed to another, soon found him.
self ostracised from the hGunts of man.
His first trouble was when q mere boy of
seventeen. when, in q drunken brawl, he
attempted to kill 4 companion. He was ar
rested and tried. but, through some legal
technically, escaped the punishment of the
law.
AT that time. as it is now, the law of the
State was to cOnfiscate all small arms found
on prisoners. This was lone in Mitchelrs
case, a pistol which he priced highly being
taken from him by the sheriff. This seemed
to arouse all the latent ficrceness in the
young man, and he determined to recover
his revolver at the cost of his life if neces-
sary. Going to his home he armed himself
heavily and returned to the jail. He called
the sheriff out.
"Shcriff. I've come for my gun. and I'll
Just give you five minutes to get it hyer."
The officer, seeing that trouble would en-
ne if he did not comply, returned the
weapon. Matters, however, did not rest
here. The friends and relatives of the man
whom Mitchell had attempted to kill felt
bitter toward him, and used every means to
draw him into quarrels, which Mitchell was
not slow to accept, and the consequence
YVES that at last he was waylaid by three of
his enemies about dusk at q lonely part of Q
country road. Mitchell, all unconscious of
his danger, rode into the ambuscadc laid
for him. A shot whistled past him. With
q bound he reached a large cypress tree.
Another crack of a rife and his left arm fell
powerless to his side. Mitchell caught q
glimpse Of n of tho attacking party, at
whom he fired three shots rapidly. The
last shot killed his man.
Another of the men exposed himself, and
two shots laid him low. Then seeing tho
other man, a stranger to him, he called cut:
"Say, pardner, If you will quit l will"
"In be hanged II I d." was the reply.
With that he fired at Mitchell, who,
stepping from his place of concealnenA
raised his rife and shot his antagonist
through the heart. Now it was the boy Of
seventeen became q desperate man. Know
ing that he could no longer live at home, no
determined to retreat into the swamps.
Posse after posse was dispatched after him,
but they found it impossible to capture him.
Mitchell was shortly joined by two men
who had been equally unsuccessful in re-
straining their ungovernable tempers.
These were Campbell and Cummins. They
banded themselves together. and, retreat
ing into the depths OF the swamps surround
ing the st. Francis river, swore that no man
should ever 1--we between the st. Francis
and the Mississippi rivers, and for . num-
Der OF years they kept their oath, styling
themselves the "swamp angels"
About a hundred yards from tho depot
at this place is their old fording- place, and
pom a large white gum tree q cross was
cut by an axe to designate the crossing.
The most hardy woodmen still refuse to pen
citrate into the depths Of these forests Of
cypress, and the dark swampy ground is
seldom trod by human feet. 1t is still tho
home Of the bear and tho panther, tho wild
turkey and deer.
Some years have passed since the "swamp
angels" were nonarchs OF the gloomy
waste. Mitchell was at last captured, and
died in prison. Campbell, who was cousid-
cred the most gentlemanly Of the trio, is
farming not many miles from the marked
tree, and Cummins is a laborer. Both of
the survivors arc now leading ~peaceable
life, but rarely come to the settlements. aud
few who meet them would think they were
once the famous "swamp angels" who were
the terror of the settlers Of Southern Ar
ksns8s.