The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1913-10-09

meath him more than twenty miles
from home.
From that point the wounded
man made his way by night into the
cane bottoms of the Reelioot lake
country, where he hid and lived as
best he could for nearly year. Mean
time his injured arm. lacking sur
gical attention, had grown perfectly
stiff at the elbow, a bony knot taking
the place of the joint.
1T was about eleven months later
that Davis returned to the Evans
plantation and stole Miss Sallie Ev-
ans away by night Efforts to trace
the pair proved fruitless. Three
years later there was fight between.
q sheriff's posse and TWo-Fingered
Davis at a retreat which the latter
had built in the swamp near the
present site of Barfield, Ark. In this
fight three of the sheriff's men were
killed and Davis badly wounded He
managed, nevertheless, to make his
escape with his common-law wife,
and no more was heard of him for
about seven years more.
The occasion of his temperance
was the desperate illness of his wife.
She had contracted swamp fever, and
Davis, braving detection. ventured out
into the settlements near Grenada,
Miss, in search of medical aid for
her
II was then practicing medicine
about ten miles from Grenada. One
evening I was startled by the ap-
pearance of Withholding fellow,
who demanded that | follow him to
a. sick woman. l went with him, and
was led through miles and miles Of
swamp to a rude log cabin perched
on the larger of two mounds. Here
I found my patient, young woman
who had become dreadfully weak
and en1aciated with swamp fever.
Il saw at first glance that her
recovery was impossible. but gave
her such medicines as i could to
ease her from the torturing fever
which racked her. When l took up
my saddle bags to leave, my guide
drew his pistol and threateningly
commanded me to put them down
and remain until the woman either
recovered or died. | obeyed with
more haste than dignity.
She died near the morning of the
second day. l helped the man bury
her, and gave him some remedies for
the three-months-old babe she had
left. He piloted me several miles
from the mounds, winding tortuous-
" through the swamp in order,
think, to confuse my recollection OF
directions, and finally pointed out a
course at an angle of about 80 de-
grees northward from the sun.
keep that direction, he said
and you'll come out within half a
mile of where you entered the swamp
day before yesterday
Il found his prediction true, and
hastened to my home. That after
noon l visited the sheriff and IN
formed him of what l suspected, for
the whole country had heard of TWO
FINGERED Davis, and his descrlptlon
was we'll known to every man, Wo'
man and child in that section.
There can be no doubt that DAVIS
had figured on this very thing TAX
ing place. He was however, handl'
CAPPED by the presence of the infant
To carry the child into the swamp IN
an attempt to escape by flight meant
its certain death. He had COW at
the mounds, and if he remained the
babv would have at least an even
chance for it's life-and it was pos
sible that his identity might not De
SUSPECTED or that the sheriff's posse
if they attempted to track him down.
might be unable to locate his retreal'
At all events, he elected to remain
at the mounds and take his chances
Accordingly, he spent the neA'
dav barricading the doors and WIN
dows of his cabin and laying in pro-
visions and water against possible
siege. We came in sight OF the
mounds about 3 o'clock on the after
noon of the second day and we're
received by a fussillade from the
cabin. A deputy sheriff fell mortally
wounded at the first fire.
Three others were wounded
more or less seriously, before Davis
was killed. We waited until after
dark, fearing that he might be mere
ly playing possum,' but when we
crept up to the cabin at last we
1;fa1ncc the