The St. Johns herald., 1889-01-17
CONQUERED BY SNAKES.
A Gang of Outlaws Hemmed In
 by an Army of Serpents.

lions of the South in the hands of deSper- ately wicked men. Particularly was this true of parts of Missouri, MississipPi, Ar kansas, Louisiana and Texas. While the Confederate troops had disbanded, and be- fore the Federal could occupy tho country, the guerrilla and bushwhacl1er were there. l had district assigned to me along the St. Francis river, Arkansas, and the kotal strength of my command was twenty-eight men.
 In my territory, says a writer in the New York Sun, as l soon ascFEtained, were some of the worst despcradoes in the West. All had belonged to guerrilla bands, and all had refused to come in and surrender at the close of tho war. The meanest, if not the worst, man in my district was Captain Dade. He was ia command of dozen outlaws. sent the desperate word to come in and surren- der He sent me word to go to thunder. 1 notified him in writing that If he did not come in by certain date should declare him an outlaw in the district, and proceed to hunt him down and kill him. He replied by word of mouth that if I did not surren- der to him ol or before the same date he would proceed to exterminate my com mand. gave him ten days, having not the slightest hope that he would come in. On the morning of the eleventh day had a cak from a native, about twenty-five years old, who announced himself as ''Dan," and who said he had called on little business Inctter I supposed it to be about permit, or to make complaint, but after bit he ob- served:
 ,.sCaptain, them ten days ar up, an' I reckon Bill Dade hain't shown hisself."
 'No, he hasn't come in"
 .'An' he won't, nuther''
 1T don't expect he will"
 lsWal, ar you gwine ter let him an his gang keep up thar whoppin' an shottin' an izillin'ln
 stNo. Bill Dade and his gang are now out lawed by proclamation. am going to hunt them down aud wipe them out"
 Right of, Captainl"
 "As soon as l can arrange for it." .
 "YoQ kin arrange right now, Captain. That's what I'm yere fur. How much q head if wipe out the Dade gang"
 ."How many are there?"
 (Just five, an every one of lem has con- mitted murder an wuss Q dozen times over"
 "Ican't offer a reward for their heads. I have outlawed them, and the military au- thorities have the right to shoot them on sight"
 At that moment word was brought me that Dade's gang had come within two miles of hcadquarteps and murdered two of the command who were stationed at freed mans rendezvous to preserve order. Half an hour later the man called Dan departed on his man hunt, and he had my agreement ill Writing that neither the law nor the mili- tary should trouble him for shooting down any of the gang.
 This daring manhunter stepped into his canoe and padded up the river about five miles Then he entered a bayou to the right and carefully made his way to a bit of high ground about two miles from the river All the low lands were then up- der overflow for ten miles back, md he knew of but cue spot where the outlaws could rendezvous. This was larger island, about half mile away, and bearing log house and some farm improvements. At this time the place could be approached only by water, and Dade was pot blufing when he defied me 1t is doubtful if any offer of reward could have induced a Federal sol dier to follow Dan. The overflow had driven the reptiles to take refuge in tho bushes and trees, and as his canoe moved in and out the hiss of the cotton-mouth and the warp- ling 6f the rattler came to his ears almost continuously. Half a dozen times in the
 
 go of the branches and fell into the water with loud splash and swan for the canoe peraaps hoping to be carried to the high ground, and at such times the man had to lay down his paddle and beat them off with a pole. There was danger with every rod of the journey, and the semi-darkness and the utter stiffness would have taken the courage from an average man.
 Dan did not land upon the island, but made the circuit of it in his canoe. and satisfied himself that no sentinel was es- tablished here, as he suspected might be the case. If one had been posted there he had been forced to abandon his position by the thousands of reptiles which had been driven in for shelter. Any craft seeking the other island must pass here, and any craft lnak ing for the river from the other island must use this channel. Satisfied that he had left no danger behind him, and that his way of retreat was open if he were forced to fall back, Dan cautiously proceeded on his way. It was not yet mid-afternoon. It was hot summers day, and there was absolute silence in the great swamp. The outlaws, returned from their raid, would expect pursuit, and, therefore, be watchful. Dan was known to all of them, and the ln- stant he was discovered he would be shot down. He knew every foot of the island, and as he neared 1t he had his plans all laid. Making wide sweep by forcing his canoe where it seemed hardly possible for a serpent to go, he landed on the north side of the piece of land, half mile from the hut As soon as he had hidden the craft he made his way toward the clearing, moving with all the caution of an Indian on the war path. He said he saw more snakes that day than he supposed the whole country held. He touched them time and again, and a score ot times he came within an ace of being bitten.
 When Dan reached the edge of the clear ing at point where he was close upon the cabin, he was surprised to find every thing quiet. There was smoldering fire at the door, and plenty of evidence that the men were near. If they had set watch it was down at the landing. After waiting for half an hour Den made two important dis