Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1908-03-07
CLIFFORD 1. BUSH
 TELLS OF ESCAPE
T. Havis Nixon, Pine Bluff Attorney, Visited Man Sup posed to Be Dead at His Home at Clarks La- Tells of His Miraculous Escape From Clio on the Night of the Assassinati on-Hid Under Lumber Pile Was in Pine Bluff

garding his interview with Bush he said: "Yes, have just returned from trip to Clarks, La. saw and talked with MT. Bush yesterday. He is alive and well. He is living with his family near Clarks. He talked with me freely, told me all about the Clio troubles and said, if given pro tection, he will return here when the cases of s. B. Mccartney, J. J. Prince. and W. C. Cotton, who are under in dictment for the murder of Godfrey and McEwen, are called at Rison. Bush was not wounded at all. He hid under lumber pile after the shoot ing until late at night and then made his escape I do not care to discuss the matter further v
 It was learned further that Bush, after fleeing for his life from his would-be assassins, crawled through "a train of freight cars, hid under lumber. pile and after piling up enough sawdust to hide him from view, re mained there until after o'clock that night. Then he stole away into the woods and hurried from Clio in the darkness. He walked to Pine Bluff. reaching here the following night. be- ing very careful not to be detected
 He waited for night to come the fol- lowing day and then he went to the residence of Mrs. Scroggin's on West Third avenue in this city, where T. II. R. Godfrey and his wife lived God freys body had been brought there from Clio. He knocked on the door and lady, whom he did not know, answered the call He asked for Tom Godfrey. He was told that Godfrey had been murdered and that Clifford l.. Bush (himself) and W. k. McF,wen had also been killed The news so badly frightened him, he said. that he fled IL was the first information he had received of his friends. Godfrey's, until passenger train pulled into Pine Bluff, He took the train and
 went to California. he says, and after reaching his destination he wrote his wife postal. signing no name. The postal was the first news she had re ceiyed of his being alive, she being thoroughly convinced that her hus band was dead She knew the hand writing, there being no signature.
 Later a letter came and Bush told his
 wife the story of his escape He told
 her to keep the matter quiet, fearing harm would come to him. He remain ed out West until last Saturday when he returned to his home at Clarks
 AcHordjug to Bush, he wore his oyercoat at the time of the shooting.
 II was almost riddled with bullets. hui
 none of them entered Bush's body. The coat was thrown off by him as he ] fled and was found later in the lum
 Der yards by persons who searched for 1 Bush's body. Bush is unable to eN- plain how he escaped being shot. My
 
 "as I ran and that is how the bullets i hit the coat and missed me
 i Cotton, Mccartney and Prince, who are under indictment for the murder of McEwen and Godfrey, are also ua der separate indictment for the mu", der of Bush. This latter indictment
 will probably be quashed. It is sta
 ted that Bush's testimony will free Cotton of any charge. Bush made a
 statement to Attorney Nixon, telling
 what he saw before he fled from the
 scene of the double tragedy. but MT. Nixon deems it best at this time to
 keep the details from the public.
 The Graphic published the story o4 Bush's reappearance exclusively sev-
 eral days ago, but it was denied by an afternoon paper. The Graphic secured it's information from reliable source
 and, as usual, gave the news to the
 public before all other papers, You
 can rest assured that when you see 1t ill the Graphic, it is so.