The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-05
SAM HlLDEBRAND, AVENGER
a MISSOURI BUsHH HAcKEh WITH
NINETY sOTCHES OS MS GUM

the Cenfedsrncy. aud Made Frequent
Trips to HI. Old Missouri Home TO Kali
Some Enemy-His Bold Dnshes and Nerve.
ST.. LOUIS, Nov. 3.-An elderly man from
81 Francois county, In southeast Missouri, being
told while In the city last week that Frank James
The noted ex.bandit Is now respected citizen
of ST. Louis. remarked tina, In his opinion frank
and Jcsse James and the Younger boys would
have settled down to respectable citizenship i'm
unedately after tho Civil War II they had not been
bounded into oulAwry.
They were no worse than thousands Of others
Who Tough, during the war on tho Missouri Dor
er said he, yet the others were permitted TO re-
turn homo and take up legitimate business pur-
suits Jus, as though they had never stood UP TO
bhoo, and DO shot at The Jameses and tho
Youngers were rebel soldiers, and SO was l. They
could shoot straighter than | could. and they
had more ncryc-courage Ia the word so their bull
lets did more execution than mine, and they got
posted as outlaws while !. being only a common
plug soldier. allowed to 70 home and put In my
crops. They had 10 take 10 the woods and hustle
Tor their lvinr--rob trains and banks-unh
finally Jesse got kcclcd over and Frank surren.
dercd and came of clear.
4 know something about the difficulty OF a man
settlIng down after tho Civil War when he made
a record for killing folks, which take TO be the
object Of fighting. Wo had a man down in our
county who suffered like the Jnmescs but he never
turned into q bandit. guess you all have heard
Of Sam IIildebrand. lie was mustered out
much the ssn.c way as jesse James was, and scve-
raj years before: fellow stabbed him in the back
10 get the reward offered for him. dead or Give
that was the only way to get Sam. Lots Of other
fellows tried TO catch him alive, and they didn't
have time to DO sorry for IT, They were added
10 Sans private cemetery, which I reckon Is
Just about as populous as that Of any bad man
who ever lived: and It's no joke. either. for Sam
Hildebrand In known TO have killed nearly a
hundred men during tho Civil War. and most Of
ihrm wore his personal enemies. Still they
were all on tho other side Of the war fence and
don't soc how you can call II murder any more
than tho killing Of men at Gettysburg was MUIR
'lcr. Mind. now, I'm not trying to Justify all
that Sam Hildebrand did: but those were ticklish
lines, and down In my country II was every man
Tor himself, and II you didn't look on, for your
tcf reckon you didn't have much show to do
~ old ago
There was Just abou, az much no, Gghtrg
in southeast Missouri and the top part Of Arkon.
sas during the war as anywhere else. though it
hasn't got into the histories much to speak Of
Our lighting down there was different from what
II was up In the north part Of the State and on tho
Kansas border We've got a broken country,
not very well fitted for rough rider business so
hero wasn't so much guerrilla warfare among
rs as there was further north and west where
heres plenty Of prairie land ard level forest,
Down with us II was bushwhacking. You now
The difference between the bushwacker and the
guerrilla Well. the guerrilla is mounted and he
travels from twenty TO two hundred or more In
gang. he rides into town before breakfast
hell-to-split and asionishes the natives 80 tina,
hey forget they've been hungry: he simply
shoots up the village whole LOT. takes wha,
he wants from the stores, banks and dwellings,
ind likewise the pockets Of the leading citizens,
and then he rides out again hell.to-split over tho
prairie And when he rides out there q no leading
citizens left alive except those who slid down
wells and stayed with the old oaken bucket, or
MD in chimneys during the visit That's the
guerrilla style
The bushwhackcr he's different whacked a
little bit myself along in the early COS II hadn't
done 80 wouldn't have been here in ST Loo to-
day enjoying liberty and the pursuit Of happi.
nesS I lived in ST. francois county, and I
would have been hung up To hickory trco on
me Of those mineral ridges like as not II hadn't
taken to the bushes and looked OIL, for No 1.
The bushwhacker as q rule doesn't ride horse
back; IFS safer walking, for he can lose himself
easier on foot than riding. He travels alone
~ with squad Of from three TO thirty or there
hboufs and he makes II seem like 3 600 men when
he comes TO the encmys camp and begins pick.
ing EN- OIL from the bushes; and they can't find
him. oh. know IL sounds like 1, was mean TO
light that way. but II you had been in the ,hici;
Of 1t you'd have Justified yourself same az g
Sam Hildebrand. I reckon, was by all odds
The most remarkable OF the Missouri bushwhack-
rrs He raised the biggest commo,ion Of EN- all,
and the United States and the State Of Missouri
had more trouble trying to get rid Of him than
over any oihor man. during war times In my
part OF the State, where Sam was born and raised
ana where he operated mostly. his name has been
household word ever since '65. and for twenty
wears after the all you had 10 do to make a
hoy behave himself was to tell him that Sam
Hildebrand would get him II he didn't watch out
Sam-or rather Sans memory--was the goblin
of that section until long after he was dead and
gone for good The boys, even TO this day. play
game they call Sam Hdebrand, which con.
sisss OF getting wooden guns, or sometimes al old
pistol or musket and going TO the woods TO pre-.
lend to shoot at one another from ambush: TWEEN.
~ years ago 'playin' Sam Helterbran'' as tho
namo u pronounced with U.s. was by all odds tho
most popular game In southeast Missouri This
reservation Of boys doesn't know so much about
MIN, but wo old fellows still talk about his ex-
ploits occasionally and often wonder how il
IS that 30 little has been written about him In tho
papers Of late years; reckon IL was because he
didnt graduate into train robber,
oh yes. knew Sam; knew him long before
tho wal. was clerking In the little store at big
River Mills, a village on Big River. near where
lfildebrand was born. ! used TO notice oailng
around the store well-but swarthy young fel.
low. With black whiskers and ono of those old
fashioned long barrelled rifles which you still see
among the Ozark Mountain folks, who chew long
green tobscco and shoot squlrrels This young
fellow was as quiet and peaceable man as you
could wish; used to think he was too lazy to do
anything more than hunt squirrels and plough
corn when hunting wasn't good; didn't look Ike
he had energy enough 70 do anything else. That's
where was badly mistaken, for that young fellow
was Sam HIldebrand and he developed enough
energy In few years IN supply regiment, he
was whole windmill OF energy. and when ho once
rot wound up II took him more than four years
70 run down That old rife he carried when he
used to como and sit around the store got famous
before the war was over Sam named II XIII.
Devil because he said, he had killed ~ many
lewis with IT, And he had habit OF cutting a
little notch in stock old