The times., 1899-06-26
COSTLY KENTUCKY FHUDS
The Baker-Hcward Trouble and
Other Famous Quarrels.
The French-EversOIe Affair Snid to
HAVE Cost SIoO.OOO-Mcn Paid 81
Day to Enlist With the Factions
Sheriff Whites Deputies and
Their Records as Rad Customers.

Their Records as BAD Customers.
Manchester. KY. June 25.-The Baker
Howard feud has now reached a stage
where it is difficult to predict the out
come. 1t Is conceded that the Howards
with their allies, the Whites, are decid-
edly stronger than the Bakers, but the
Bakers and their friends are the more
numerous, and they may be able to main
tain a feudal war against their enemies.
Such Il war; however. involves the expen-
diture of much money. 1t is said on good
authority that Fulton French and Joe
Eversole spent about s150,OO0 on the
French Eversole feud, of which 100000
was paid out by French, as he had to
hire all his fighting men, while Eversole
had many close relatives who fought for
him without price. The wages paid these
lighting men," as the actual fighters are
called, was 81 day and found" 1t came
out in the testimony. BY found is meant
guns. pistols. and ammunition, with bacon
and bread. These men in squads of three
build blinds along the highways travel
ed by their opponents. and sometimes they
wait for days before any member of the
opposing faction attempts to pass. 1t fire.
quently happens that a squad will LAY
out for a week or more and never see
an enemy. and they frequently have to
move half dozen times and make new
blinds" before they get a chance to fire
shot
The blinds are made by cutting a pole
fastening it against the sides of two trees
/ and then cutting limbs well filed with
leaves and leaning them against the upper
side of the pole. These blinds" are US
ually constructed about forty to sixty
yards from the road. and new limbs with
fresh leaves have to be cut every three or
four days, for the practiced eye of the
mountaineer can tell dead leaves at great
distance, and thus the blind" could be
detected
The RaLers Poor.
The Bakers have no money with which
to pay men to engage in this sort of work
Even the lawyers who prosecuted Jim
Howard for killing old man George Baker
were not paid their fees, and they sued
for the money and got judgment, only to
| find that the Bakers. who employed them,
have no visible property subject to at
! tachment. The Howards and Whites, on
the other hand. are abundantly able TO
! their men, and to provide them with pro-
visions, besides paying their wages. To
| equip 100 men with rifles and revolvers
! OF .45 calibre would cost, with the neces-
sary ammunition not less than S., 600, and
| it would require SI00 week TO pay their
wages (for they work at man hunting on
! Sundays), to say nothing of the cost of
! keeping them supplied with bacon ana
bread. Therefore, 1t would cost to carry
/ oil x,yft cid 40
| for three months not much less than s12,
I 000. AS the Bakers are now practically
| bankrupt, and as none of their active
! friends will advance the necessary money,
| it looks as If this has come to be a one
sided fight. With Wiley and Jim Baker
| in the Barboursyille jail, old George Baker
and Tom Baker dead, Dee Baker and his
| cousins, Bob and Carlo Baker, and Chris
| Jackson, Tom Bakers brother-in-law, at
London, twenty -four miles away. there
seems little Likelihood Of the Bakers Of
| fering a very stubborn resistance just now.
The Howards and Whites have already
not less than fifty men well armed and
| equipped who. are at their command. Many
of these men have been sworn in as dep
uty sheriffs by Sheriff Bev White and a
more accomplished lot of pistol and rifle
users is seldom seen. Many of them have
been under fire in mountain fights, and
not a few of them, have been wounded in
open encounters.
Sheriff Whites Career.
Sheriff Bev White, who is the recognized
leader of the Howard faction since Will
son Howard was killed by the Bakers,
began his career as pistol user when he
was not more than fifteen years old There
was a general fight in Manchester and a
man was stabbing his stepfather in the
back, when Bev, who had a small thirty
eight calibre pistol, began blazing away
at the knife user, but hit him only once.
Before this fight was over Bevs father
and man named Stivers were killed and
another man hadly wounded. Bev es-
capped unhurt. Daugh White the circuit
clerk. who is now also acting in the ca
pacity of deputy sheriff. is one of the
most determined pistol users in Clay coun-
ty. When he and Bey Whites brother
John G. White, got into the fight with
the Hackers and Littles at the court house
door several years ago. Daugh was shot
down by bullet in the nip, fired by Jack
Hacker. Jack tried to go up the steps
as Daugh sank to the floor. but before
Hacker had reached the first landing
Daugh slightly raised himself on his ell
bow and shot and killed Hacker his body
falling on the landing
Sid Baker, the son-in-law of A. Ballard
Howard. has also smelled powder from a
hostile pistol. 1t was he who had shoot
ing bout with Charley Wooten, in which
the latter was so badly wounded that he
can never recover. Sid is one of Bev
Whites deputies George, Chad, and
Doc Hall are also deputies. They came
from Perry county, where the French
Eversole feud ragged for twelve years and
cost between thirty and forty lives. The
Halls belonged to the French faction, and
have the reputation of being dangerous
fighting men.
Bad Deputies.
Felix Davidson. another deputy is a
desperate fighter. He will fight with
either pistol or knife. On one occasion he
cut David Bolin in eleven places with a
large knife, for which he was heavily
fined. Dave Chadwell, still another of
Bev Whites deputies was in four-cor-
nered fight in which one man on either
side was killed. and it is said that Chad
| well got his man on that occasion. Dill
Holland, one OF Whites negro deputies, -
shot a woman on the streets of Man
chester through both thighs
Bev Whites latest shootirg affair was
in the yard of Mrs. Lucas, the old woman
who kept hotel. but was forced to leave
town and go to the country. 1t was last
summer She had sworn in court at
Barboursville that VIII White who was
shot and killed by Tom Baker, had. in her
presence, threatened to kill all the Bakers.
; This testimony was given at Tom Baker 5
trial, and it was only few days later
that Bev White came TO her house and
| abused her. saying she had sworn to lies
, about his brother. She denied she had told
! a falsehocd. and then Bev began shoot
ing in the air above her head. The old