Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1919-12-10
TAKEN AFTER LONG LEAVE"
After Living Like Hermit, Army Do
serter Has Been Arrested.
(Greenville Piedmont, 4th.)

| tGr0enYllle 1lSunOnI, 4tu, ....
Living the life Of a hermit for
eight months, during which time he
did not speak 20 any one, Bunyon
army, was arrested at Marietta Tues
day afternoon and brought to the
city, whore he was lodged in the
county Jail 1t is expected that he
will be carried to Atlanta some time
to-day and turned over to the mill
tary authorities at Fort McPhorson.
Prichett was arrested by party Of
State and Federal officers headed by
Sheriff S. D. Willis and r. n. Austin
Of the revenue department.
The story told by Pritchett rs he
sat in the county Jail Wednesday
morning surpasses anything yet en-
countercd by Federal or State off,
GERS. For more than a year the
young man has, according to his own
story, been a fugitive from justice,
and during eight months Of that
period he lived in the wilds Of the
Blue Ridge moutainsr hiding by day
and foraging by night, getting his
subsistence largely from the fruits
and berries that grew on tho noun
tain slopes.
Pritchett was sent to the army by
the draft authorities Of Greenville
county and spent three weeks at
Camp Jackson, according to the story
he told. That was in May, 1918, and
the fortunes Of war made 1t impera-
tive that the division in training at
that time be sent to France, a do
tachment Of which Pritchett was one,
was transferred to Camp Sewer for
the purpose, Pritchett believed, Of
h ,11u ~p ,fo.-
foreign service. The men arrived in
Sewer on Saturday afternoon.
Sunday morning shortly after
reveille Pritchett hiked it for the
Blue Ridge mountains, where tho
twenty-odd years Of his life had been
spent. His belief was that the divi.
sion would leave the following day.
Ncws from home was that his moth
er was sick. Rather than leave for
France without seeing his mother
the mountaineer stated that he left
camp and hiked up the Buncombe
road, scarcely looking back until he
had reached home at Marietta.
II stayed week." Pritchett said,
"and then | was afraid to 70 back.
| had heard awful tales of men being
court-martialed and shot, so | told
them goodbye at home. but instead
Of coming back to camp, | went to-
ward the mountains.
II didn't know what to do" Prit-
chett continued, "but | felt that 1t
would never do to go back to camp.
so kept on and on towards the
mountains. There for eight months
lived in some way without sleeping
IN house until late in the winter,
when the SHOWS came and | would
creep in some old barn. But, man,
how lonesome | did get!"
Pritchett talked freely Of the
offense with which he is charged. He
says there was no special reason for
his desertion, except that he wanted
TO see his mother before leaving, and
that after reaching home and stay
ing week he was afraid to return
to camp.
But 1t was a miserable life I went
through. Nobody knows how | have
suffered as l slipped around, hiding
behind bush and rock that ] might
not be seen and reported to :he
| officers. Now that am caught, what
do you suppose they will do with
me?"
Was Preparing to Move.
When arrested Tuesday afternoon
Pritchett, with his parents, was pre-
pairing to move to Tigerville. He
stated that he had been back at home
FOR several months and had hoped
that nothing would be said OF his
past conduct.
The mountaineer stated that with
the exception Of the time spent in
hiding he has lived in the same house
at Marietta. The family was prepar-
ing to move to Tigerville, however,
and the young man was to accompa-
ny them. Pritchett wore an army
shirt at the time Of his arrest. He
gave his age as 25 years.
n q M ~ VasRA