The record-union., 1897-12-01
BOB EVANS MAN HUNTER.
HAIRBREADTH ESCAPE OF A
DARING OFFICER.
The Haunts of Desperadoes Locat-
ed in the Ozark
Mountains.

states Deputy MarShalS III tHe oAe'iA
Mountains calls attention to the re-
marllable feats of Bob Evans-rlaa
hunter. Bob Evans, or old BOD, as nc
is called, has brought more crlilliiais
out of the Ozarks than any other hlaI
hunter. His body is covered with SCARS
received in this criminal-infested as
trict, and he is the only one or MS
calling who has managed to grow gray
in the service-all of the others nave
been killed off or have resigned after d
brief existence His account OF some
of the thrilling events in his lie is as
follows:
Man hunting is common enough IN
Southern Missouri and Northern Arkan-
sas. When a man in that country COM
mits a crime he makes Decline Tor
the rough lands around the OZarks.
Few people live there except moon
sinners, horse thieves, and general all
around desperadoes. We who make
profession of going in for these criml-
nails are called man hunters. Some
times we work for the State reward,
sometimes for railroad companies. and
sometimes for the United States Gov
ernment secret service department. /
commenced as a Deputy Sheriff when
was 2S years old, and | have been at
it for thirty years. / do not remem-
ber how many men 1 have hunted and
captured and brought out of the woods
but they would make a small army if
they We're all in bunch.
STRANGE CODE OF ETIQUETTE.
AT first l had great deal of trouble
with the moonshiners. They mistook
me fo- revenue officer, and used to
blaze away at me on general principles,
but after a while, when they found l
was not after them, they let me alone.
There is a strange code of etiquette
in that region. Many times 1 have run
against men who l knew were bad, but
for whom / had no warrant. / was not
after them; they knew it, and gave me
no trouble, neither would they give me
any information or assistance. 1t was
simply a game of life and death be-
tween the man l wanted and myself
If l Sot the drop on him first he was
my nan and went out a prisoner. But
if he ever turned the tables on me, no
body ever interfered; we just fought it
out then and there. l work alone now
although | did have a partner, Bill
Cummings. He was as brave a man as
ever lived, but inclined to be reckless
We worked together for eight years
and broke up many hard gang along
the Missouri and Arkansas line. But
they got Bill at last
In August of 'SS we went after two
men who had killed a train messenger
on the Missouri Pacific We traced them
into the Ozarks, and after two weeks
hunting got the drop on them, made
them prisoners. and We're leading them
out, when we suddenly ran into the rest
of the gang-five of them. There was
fight right away, and they got the pris-
onefs away from US and We had to foot
II over the rocks for our lives. They
finally surrounded US and we had to
roll few powders around us to make
a fighting pit. They had seven VIM
chesters To our two, and they took up
positions where they could crack at us
without exposing themselves very
much. From O'Clock until we kept
blazing away at each other. Then Bill
got little reckless. We had winged
three Of the gang, two of them for
keeps, and Bill was for making a
charge and having it out / tried to
keep him quiet until dark, but he said
1t vas getting monotonous He raised
up ano just in time to get a ball that
cut ms Jugular vein, and he died with
out my being able to help it, 1 got
both OF these face scars and this scalp
crease during the next thirty minutes.
/ guess they would have got me, too.
II IL h2d not been for a kind of special
providence that got me out.
a WELCOME CLOUDBURST.
"unnoticed by any of us a Missouri
CVplNnfa "a mo
a regular cloudburst. Our little rife
pit was in creek. and in less than
twenty minutes a Rocky Mountain rcr-
rent came pouring down upon us. car
rying trees, logs. and everything before
il. 1t grew dark all of a sudden. Tree
trunks, limbs, rock, and gravel were
whirled along like feathers. | was
soon up to my waist in water. l drew
Bill's body up on a couple Of sycamore
logs which had locked together. and
with them fioated down the stream
until / was Well out of that section.
The train robbers thought 1 was
drowned in the food, but l was worse.
/ was heartbroken. The hurricane was
soon over. and nine miles below our
battle ground I dragged poor Bill up
TO dry land and put him in grave
Il suppose my most thrilling axpe-
rience was in capturing not a criminal.
but a man hunter. who had gone in
sane. Sam Boyle was his name. lie
was one OF my Oldest friends. He aad
done most of his work in Oklahoma
and Indian Territory. and was rack-
oned one of the most powerful men
in the Southwest He had a rich ranch
in Southern Kansas, and was doine
very we'll until he was taken down
with a fever that impaired his mind.
He lived all alone on his place, and
was regarded as harmless until one
day he commenced to shoot at every
man who happened along the road.
He had a crazy notion that the whole
State of Kansas had been employed 10
hunt him down, and opened fire upon
everybody passing the place Several
attempts We're made to parley with
him, but he answered only with bul-
let's from his Winchester. Somebody
had to get him and the unpleasant
task fell to me. He and I had been
very friendly. and the Sheriff thought
! might be able 10 pacify him until he
could be made prisoner. OF course
We could not kill him. II was my
first experience with a madman. and I
never want another. The experience
turned my hair the color it is now.
MEETING THE MANIAC.
Il rode up TO the gate one afternoon,
just before the breaking OF a heavy
storm that had been gathering ali day.
saw sam enter the stable and / made
straight for it, dismounting before ne
saw me. a colt in the field vvhinniod