:^i^:-'>?^^-v 'OS*" LI* >"" L ,,>;..,.;^: fo ^ff.,^^ V-.. '• A ^^ =; <.^^\ I W*' - tured several at Patterson. — Killed Abright at Farinino-ton. — Left Price's army. — Killed four Federals. — Major Mont- gomery storms Big River Mills. — Xarrow escape from cap- ture 237 CHAPTER XXXI. Selected three men and went to Missouri to avenge the death of Rev. William Polk.— Got ammunition in Fredericktown. — Killed the German who informed on Polk. — Return to Ar- kansas 244 CHAPTER XXXH. Started with eight men on a trip to Arkansas river. — Hung a '•■Scallawag" on White river. — Went into Conway county. — Treachery of a negro on Point Remove. — "Foot-burning" atrocities. — Started back and hung a renegade 250 CHAPTER XXXIH. Gloomy prospects for the South. — Takes a trip to Missouri with four men. — Saved from capture by a woman. — Visits his mother on Big river.— Robs the store of J. V. Tjder at Big River Mills— Escapes to Arkansas ; 257 CHAPTER XXXIV. Started to Missouri with three men. — Surrounded at nio-ht near Fredericktown. — Narrow escape by a cunning device.— Re- tired to Simms' Mountain. — Swapped horses with Robert Hill, and captured some more. — Killed Free Jim and kid- napped a negro boy 264 CHAPTER XXXV. Trip to ]Missouri with four men. — Attempt to rob Taylor's store. — Fight with Lieut. Brown and his soldiers. — Killed Miller and Johnson at Flat Woods. — Return home from his last raid. — The war is pronounced to be at an end. — Reflections on the termination of the war. — jVIrs. Hildebrand's advice. — The parole at Jaeksonport 275 CHAPTER XXXVI. Imprisoned in Jaeksonport jail. — Mrs. Hildebrand returns to Missouri. — Escape from prison. — Final settlement in Ste. Genevieve county. — St. Louis detectives make their first trip. — The Governor's reward. — Wounded by Peterson. — Re- moved to his uncle's. — Fight at John Williams'. — Kills James McLaine. — Hides in a cave 28G CHAPTER XXXVII. Military operations for his capture. — Col. Bowen captures the Cave. — Proo-ress of the campaign. — Advent of Governor McCluro-.— The Militia called out.— Don Quixote affair at tlic Brick Church. — The campaign ended. — ]Mrs. Hildebrand escapes to Illinois. — "Sam " leaves Missouri. — His final pro- clamation H-()0 PREFACE. The public having been grossly imposed upon by several spurious productions purporting to be the "Life of Sam Hildebrand," we have no apology to oifer for presenting the reader with his authentic narrative. His confession was faithfully written down from his own lipS; as the foregoing certificates abundantly prove. From this copious manuscript we have prepared his autobiography for the press, with a scrupulous care to give it literally, so far as the arbitrary rules of language would permit. Sam Hildebrand and the authors of this work were raised up from boy- hood together, in the same neighborhood, and we are confident that no material facts have been sup- pressed by Hildebrand in his confession. The whole narrative is given to the reader with- out any eff'ort upon our part either to justify or con- demn his acts. Our design was to give the genuine autobiography of Sam Hildebrand; this we have done. The book, as a record of bloody deeds, dare-devil exiJoits and thrilling adventures, will have no rival in the catalogue of wonders ; for it at once unfolds, 12 PREFACE. with minute accuracy, the exploits of Hildebrand, of which one-half had never yet been told. With- out this record the world would forever remain in ignorance of the night history of his astounding audacity. We here tender our thanks to those of our friends who have kindly assisted us in this work, prominent among whom is Miss Hilda F. Sharp, of Jefferson City, Mo., who furnished us with those beautiful pen- cil sketches from which our engravings were made. JAMES W. EVANS, A. WENDELL KEITH, M. D. Big River Mills, Mo., June, 1870. INTRODUCTION, THE OEIGIlSr AND HISTOEY OF THE HILDE- BRAND FAMILY. Before proceeding with the Autobiography of Sam- uel S. Hildebrand; we would call the attention of the reader to the fact, that since notoriety has been thrust upon the subject of these memoirs, public attention has been pointed to the fact, that in German history, the Hildebrands occupj^ a very prominent position. The authors of this work, by a diligent research into ancient German literature, have been able to trace the origin and history of the Hildebrand family, with tol- erable accuracy, to the beginning of the ninth century. The name Hildebrand or Hildebrandt is as old as the German language. Hilde, in ancient German, signified a "Hero," and brand, a "blaze or flame." It is thought by some writers that the name doubtless signified a "flaming hero." 13 1 14 AUTOBTOURAPIIY OF Whether this is the oiiwe or iiol, it matters l)iit Utile, as the fact remains clearly deiined tli^t the first man of that name known to history was a hero in every sense of the word. The " Heldenbuch '^ or Book of Heroes, in its original form, dates back to tlie eighth century. It is a beautiful collectioii*of poems relative to Dietrich or Theodoric. It was written down from inemory by the Hessian monks on the outer j)agc^ of an old Latin manuscript, and was first published b3;;^Eccard in prose, but it was afterwards discovered that the songs Avere originally in rhyme. The poem treats of the expulsion of Dietrich of Yaum out of his dominions by Ermenrick, kis escape to Attila and his return after an adventurous exile of thirty years. Hildebrand (the old Dietrich) encounters hi» son, whom he left at home in his flight, in a terrible encounter without knowing who he was. We will pre- sent the reader with Das Ilildebrandslied (The song of Hildebrand), not on account of any literary merit it may possess, but because of its gre*it aintiquity and its popularity among the German people at one time, and by whom it was dramatized. SAMUEL S. IITLDEBRAND. 15 ^he §ong of #ildebrand. j I *' I must be up and riding," spoke Master Hildebrand, I ,' 'Tis long- since I have greeted the distant Berner land ; For many a pleasant summer in foreign lands we've been, But thirty years have vanished since I my -svife have seen." *' Wilt thou be up and riding?" outspoke Duke Amelung; " Beware ! since one should meet thee — a rider brave and young. Right by the Berner market — the brave Sir Alebrand ; If twelve men's strength were in thee, he'd throw thee to the sand! " "And doth he scorn the country in such a haughty mood ? I'll cleave in twain his buckler — 'twill do him little good ; I'll cleave in twain his armor with a resistless blow, Which for a long year after shall cause his mother woe." Outspoke of Bern, Sir Dietrich, "now let that counsel be, And slay him not, old hero, but take advice from me : Speak gently to the Hitter, a kind word soonest mends ; And let your path be peaceful, so shall ye both be friends ! " And as he reached the garden, right by the mart of Berne ; There came against him riding, a warrior fierce and stern. A brave young knight in armor, against Sir Hildebrand ; " AVliat seekest thou, old Bitter, in this, thy father's land?" " Thou bearest splendid armor, like one of royal kind ; So bright thy glit'ering corselet, mine eyes are stricken blind ; Thou, who at home should'st rest thee, and shun a warrior's stroke, And slumber by the fireside," the old man laughed and spoke. 14 16 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF " Should / at firesides rest me, tmd nurse me well at home ; Full many a figlit awaits me, to many a field I'll come. In many a rattling foray, shall I be kno^^^l and feared ; Believe my word, thou youngster, 'twas thus I blanched my beard." *'That beard will I tear from thee, though great may be thy pain. Until the blood-drops trickling, have sprinkled all the plain ; Thy fair green sliield and armor, must thou resign to me, Theai seek the town, contented my prisoner to be. "My armor and my fair green shield have warded many a blow; I ti;ust that God in Heaven still ^\^ll guard me from my foe." No more they spoke together, but grasped their weapons keen, And what the two most longed for, soon came to pass, I ween ! With glittering sword, the younger struck such a sudden blow, That with its- lorce the warrior. Sir HildebKind, bent low ; The youth in haste recoiling, sprang twelve gooa steps behind, "Such leaps," exclaimed the gray-beard, "were learned of womankind." " Had I learned ought of woman, it were to me a shame, Within my father's castle are many knights of fame ; Full many knights and riders about mj' father throng, And what as yet, I know not, I trust to learn ere long. Sir Hildebrand was cunning, tlie old gray Ijearded man, For when the youth uplifted, beneath liis sword he ran ; Around the Ritter's girdle his arms he tightly bound, And 014 the ground he cast him — there lies he on tlie ground ! "Who rlibs against the kittles, may spotless keep who can — How fares it now, young hero, against the old gray man? Now quickly speak and shrive thee, for I thy priest will be ; Say, art thou a yoimg Wolfing r' perliaps I'll let thee free." "Like wolves are all the Wolfing, they ran wild in the wood. But fm a Grecian warrior, a rider brave and oood : SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 17 Frau Ute is my motlier, she dwelleth near this spot, And Hildebrand, my father, nlbeit he knows us not!" *' Is Ute then thy mother, that monarch's daughter free? Seekest thou thy father, Hildebrand? then know that 7 am he !" Uplifted he his <^olden hehn, and kissed him on the mouth ; Now God he praised that botli are safe ! the old man and the youth. *'0h, father dear, those bloody wounds!" 'twas thus the young kniglit said : *' Now would I three times rather bear those blows upon my head." ^'Be still, be still, my own dear soul the wounds will soon be past ; And God in Heaven above be praised, that we have met at last !" This lasted from the noonday well to the vesper tide. Then back into the city Sir Alebrand did ride. What bears he on his helmet? a little cross of gold; Who is he that rides beside him ? his own dear father old. And with him to his castle, old Hildebrand he bore, (sore— And with his own hands served him — the mother grieved full *'Ah, son, my ever dearest son, the cause I fain would know, Why a strange prisoner, like this, should e'er be honored so?" , *'Xow, silence, dearest mother, and list to what I say 1 He almost slew me on the heath in open fight to-day ; He ne'er shall wear, good mother, a prisoner's attire , 'Tis Hildebrand, the valient, thy husband and my sire ! Oh, mother, dearest mother, do him all honor now ; " Tliou Hew v,ho to her luisband, and served him well, I trow ; Wliat hold^ tho brave old father ? a glittering ring of gold ; He drops it in the wine cup — it is her husband old! 18 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF We congratulate our readers on having survive.! \].q reading of the above poem, Avritten a thousand ^eaiT agO; about old Dietrich, the ^^ father Abraham " of ;i; I the Hildebrands ; but he must not forget that he i ■ subject to a relapse, for here are two verses not Lake.) from the "Book of Heroes/' but froni an old popular song in use to this day among the j^t^asantry in South Germany : ^ildebrand and his son ftudebrand. lllldebrand and his sou Iludebrand — Alel>rand, Rode off together with sword in hand — sword in hand • To make fierce war on Venice ; Hildebrand and his son Iludebrand — Alebrand, Never could find the Venetian land — 'netian land . With flaming swords to menace! Hildebrand and his son Hudebrand — Alebrand, Got drunk as pigs with a jolly band— jolly band, All tlie while swearing and bawling ; Hildebrand and his son Hudebrand— Alebrand, Drank till they could neither walk nor stand — walk nor stand, Home on all fours they Avent a crawling. The reader will perceive that the peasantry are dis- posed to '^poke fun'' at the great ancestor of the Hildebrand family ; this, however, we will attribute to envy, and make no effort to prove that "Hildebrand and his son Hudebrand" w^ere Good Templars, lest "we prove too much, and cause the reader to doubt their Dutch origin altogeiher. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 19 Following the^-ciicology down, we meet Math severiil of the Hildebrands celebrated in the ecclesiastical_, literary and seientific world. Of the parentage of Gregory VII. bnt little is known more than that ho was a Hildebrand, born near Eome, but of German l^arents. On becoming a Roman Pontiff in 1077, he assumed the name of Gregory. He occupied the chair of St. Peter for eight years, during which time he assumed an authority over the crowned heads of Eu- rope, never before attempted. He was a bold man, but was driven fi?om his chair in 1085. George Fredespick Hildebrand was a famous physic- ian, who was born June 5, 1764, at Hanover. He was one of the most learned men of his age ; was appointed professor of Anatomy at Brunsv»ack, but he soon took the chair of Chemistry, at Erlangen, in Bavaria. He died March 23, 1816, leaving some of the most elabor- ate and valuable works ever written. Ferdinand Theodore Hildebrand Avas born June 2, 1804, and under the tuition of Professor Schadaw, at Berlin, he beca-me very renowned as a painter. He followed his tutor to Dusseklorf in 1826, and was one of the most celebrated artists of the Academy of Paint- ing at that place. In 1830 Hildebrand visited Italy to view the productions of some of the old masters, and afterwards traveled through the IS'etherlands. Some of his best j)ictures were drawn to represent scenes in the works of Shakspeare, of which " King Lear mourn- ing over the d©<^ of Cordelia," was perhaps the most important. But among the critics, "The sons of Ed- ward'^ was considered his greatest production. 20 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF It is not our pui'j>ose to name all the illiistrions Hil- debrands who have figured in German histoiy or litera- ture J for it must be borne in mind that from the ninth century down to the sixteenth, the name Hildebrand was almost invariably applied as a given name ; it was not until that century that it appears as a sur-name. It is a fact, however, well known to historians, that the same given name is frequently retained in a family, and handed down from one generation to another perhaps for one thousand years. In the southern part of Gennany the name Hilde- brand was borne by a certain class of vassals, but in the Northern States of that country, there were families of noble birth by the same name. The record of those nobles run back with a great deal of certainty to a very remote period of German history — beyond which, the dim out-lines of tradition alone can be our guide. This tradition, whether entitled to credit or not, traces the geneology of the Hildebrands in the line of nobles up to Sir Hildebrand, the exiled hero mentioned in the Book of Heroes. According to the record of the Hildebrand family,' as given by Henry Hildebrand of Jefferson county, Missouri, to the authors of this work ; the seventh gen- eration back reaches to Peter Hildebrand of Hanover. He was born in 1655, and was the youngest son of a nobleman. His father having died while Peter was yet a boy, he was educated at a military school, and after arriving to manhood he served several years in the army. Eeturning at length, he was vexed at the cold reception he received from his elder brother, who SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 21 now inherited the estate with all the titles of nobility belonging to the family. He resolved to emigrate to the wild solitudes of America, where individual worth and courage was the stepping stone to honor and dis- tinction. His family consisted of a wife and three children j his oldest son, Jacob, was born in 1680 ; when he was ten years of age the whole family emigrated to New Amsterdam, remained three jeara and then settled in the northern part of Pennsylvania, where he died a few years afterwards. Jacob Hildebrand's second son, Jacob, was born in 1705. He was fond of adventure and joined in several exploring expeditions in one of which he was captured by a band of Miami Indians, and only escaped by plung- ing into the Ohio river and concealing himself under a drift of floating logs. His feelings of hostility against the Indians prompted him to join the expedition against them under Lieutenant Ward, who erected a fort at what is now called Pittsburg, in 1754, here he was killed in a vain attempt to hold the garrison against the French and Indians imder Contrecoeur. His third son, John Hildebrand, was born in 1733, and at the death of his father was twenty-one years of age. Like most of the frontiermen of this early period, he seemed to have an uncontrolable love of adventure. His most ardent desire was to explore the great valley of the Mississippi. At the period of which we are now speaking (1754), he joined James M. Bride and others and passed down the Ohio river in a canoe ; to his I'e- gret, however, the company only reached the mouth of lit AUTOBIOGRArilY OF the Kentucky river, cut their initials in the barks of trees, and then returned. In 1770 he removed to Mis- souri. His family consisted of his wife and two boys — Peter was born in 1758, and Jonathan in 1762. He built a flat-boat on the banks of the Ohio, and taking a bountiful supply of provisions, he embarked with his family. To avoid the Indians he kept as far from each shore as possible, and never landed but once to pass around the shoals. On reaching the Mississippi he spent more than a week in ascending that river to gain a jDroper point for crossing. He landed on the western side at Ste. Genevieve. Viewing the country there as being rather thickly settled, he moved back into the wilderness about forty miles and settled on Big Kiver at the mouth of Saline creek. He was the first settler in that countr3^ which was afterwards organized as Jefferson count}''. He opened a fine farm on Saline creek, built houses, and considered himself permanently located in that wild country. The Indians were unfriendly, and their hos- tility toward white settlers seemed to increase until 1780, when Peter Chouteau, by order of the Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana, went to see Hildebrand and warned him to leave on account of Indian dei^redations. He then removed to Ste. Genevieve. In 1783, Peter Hildebrand left Ste. Genevieve and settled on Big River in the same neighborhood where his father had resided. He had a wife and four child- ren, whose names were, Isaac, Abraham, David, and Betsy. He was a good marksman and very fond of hunting. After he had resided there about one year, SAMUEL S. IITLDEBRAND. 23 he ^vilH fsliot and killed by the Indians on the bank of Big lliver one morning while on his return from hunt- ing Avild game ; after which the family removed nearer to a settlement. In 1802, David Hildebrand settled on Big Eiver, and about the same time Jonathan Hildebrand settled him- self permanently on the same river. He lived until the commencement of the late war, and then died at the age of one hundred years. He had three sons, Avhose names are, George, Henry, and Samuel. In 1832, George Hildebrand and his family moved higher up on Big Eiver and settled in St. Francois county — his house vras the Hildebrand homestead re- ferred to in these pages — and he Avas the father of Samuel S. Hildebrand, whose Autobiography we now submit to our readers. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND, CIIAPTEE I. Introduction. — Yankee Fiction. — Reasons for making a full confession. Since the close of the late rebellion, knowing that I had taken a very active part during its progress several of my friends have solicited me to have my history written out in full. This anxiety to obtain the history of an individual so humble as myself, may be attributed to the fact, that never perhaps since the world began, have such efforts been put forth by a government for the suppression of one man alone, as have been used for my capture, both during the war and since its termination. The extensive military operations carried on by the Federal government in South-east Missouri, were in a great measure designed for my special destruction. 26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Since the close of the rebellion, while others are permitted to remain at home in peace, the war, with- out any abatement whatever, has continued against me with a vindictiveness and a lavish expenditure of money that has no parallel on this continent; but through it all, single-handed, have I come out unscathed and un- conquercd. My enemies have thrust notoriety upon me, and have excited the public mind at a distance with a desire to know who I am and what I have done. Taking ad- vantage of this popular inquiry, some enterprising individual in an eastern state has issued two or three novels purporting to be my history, but they are not even founded on fact, and miss the mark about as far as if they were designed for the Life of Queen Vic- toria. I seriously object to the use of my name in any such a manner. Any writer, of course, who is afClcted with an irresistible desire to write fiction, has a perfect right to do so, but he should select a fictitious name for the hero of his novels, that his works may stand or fall, according to their own intrinsic merit, rather than the name of an individual whose notoriety alone would insure the popularity of his books. But an attempt to palm a novel on the inquiring public as a history of my life, containing as it does a catalogue of criminal acts unknown to me in all my career, is not only a slander upon myself, but a glaring fraud upon the public. Much of our misfortune as a nation may be attributed to the pernicious influence of the intolerant, intermed- dlifig, irrepressible writers of falsehood. In a com- SAMUEL S. lifM>KHKAND. 27 munity where the spirit of fiction pervades eveiy de- partment of literature and all the social relations of life, writers become so habituated to false colorinir and deception, that plain unadorned truth has seldom been known to eminate from their perverted brains ; it would be just as impossible for them to write down a naked fact as it would for the Prince of Darkness to write a volume of psalms. The friend who has finally succeeded in tracing me to my quiet retreat in the wild solitudes of the down trodden South, is requesting me to make public the whole history of my life, without any attempt at pallia- tion, concealment or apology. This I shall now pro- ceed to do, in utter disregard to a perverted public opinion, and without the least desire or expectation of receiving justice from the minds of those who never knew justice, or sympathy from those who are desti- tute of that ingredient. The necessity that was forced upon me to act the part I did during the reign of terror in Missouri, is all that I regret. It has deprived me of a happy home and the joys of domestic peace and quietude; it has driven me from the associations of childhood, and all the scenes of early life that so sweetly cling to the memory of man ; it has caused my kind and indulgent mother to go dow^n into her grave sorrowing; it has robbed me of three affectionate brothers who were brutally murdered and left weltering in their own in- nocent blood ; it has reduced me and my family to absolute want and suffering, and has left us without a home, and I might almost say, without a country. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. CIIAPTEK I. Introduction. — Yankee Fiction. — Reasons for making a full confession. Since the close of the late rebellion, knowing that I had taken a very active part during its progress several of my friends have solicited me to have my history written out in full. This anxiety to obtain the history of an individual so humble as myself, may be attributed to the fact, that never perhaps since the world began, have such efforts been put forth by a government for the suppression of one man alone, as have been used for my capture, both during the war and since its termination. The extensive military operations carried on by the Federal government in South-east Missouri, were in a great measure designed for my special destruction. 9 26 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Since the close of the rebellion, while others are jDermitted to remain at home in peace, the war, with- out any abatement whatever, has continued against me with a vindictiveness and a lavish expenditure of money that has no parallel on this continent j but through it all, single-handed, have I come out unscathed and un- conquercd. My enemies have thrust notoriety upon me, and have excited the public mind at a distance with a desire to know who I am and what I have done. Taking ad- vantage of this popular inquiry, some enterprising individual in an eastern state has issued two or three novels purporting to be my history, but they are not even founded on fact, and miss the mark about as far as if they were designed for the Life of Queen Vic- toria. I seriously object to the use of my name in any such a manner. Any writer, of course, who is aff.lcted with an irresistible desire to write fiction, has a perfect right to do so, but he should select a fictitious name for the hero of his novels, that his works may stand or fall, according to their own intrinsic merit, rather than the name of an individual whose notoriety alone would insure the popularity of his books. But an attempt to palm a novel on the inquiring public as a history of my life, containing as it does a catalogue of criminal acts unknown to me in all my career, is not only a slander upon myself, but a glaring fraud upon the public. Much of our misfortune as a nation may be attributed to the pernicious influence of the intolerant, intermed- dling, irrepressible writers of falsehood. In a com- I SAMUEL S. llir>i>KBKAND. 27 munity where the spirit of fiction pervades every de- partment of literature and ail the social relations of lifC; writers become so habituated to false coloring and deception, that plain unadorned truth has seldom been known to eminate from their perverted brains ; it would be just as impossible for them to write down a naked fact as it would for the Prince of Darkness to write a volume of psalms. The friend who has finally succeeded in tracing me to my quiet retreat in the wild solitudes of the down trodden South, is requesting me to make public the whole history of my life, without any attempt at pallia- tion, concealment or apology. This I shall now pro- ceed to do, in utter disregard to a perverted public opinion, and without the least desire or expectation of receiving justice from the minds of those who never knew justice, or sympathy from those who are desti- tute of that ingredient. The necessity that was forced upon me to act the part I did during the reign of terror in Missouri, is all that I regret. It has deprived me of a happy home and the joys of domestic peace and quietude; it has driven me from the associations of childhood, and all the scenes of early life that so sweetly cling to the memory of man ; it has caused my kind and indulgent mother to go down into her grave sorrowing; it has robbed me of three affectionate brothers who were brutally murdered and left weltering in their own in- nocent blood ; it has reduced me and my family to absolute want and suffering, and has left us without a home, and I might almost say, without a country. 28 AUTOBIOGRAniY OF A necessity as implacable as the decrees of Fate^ was forced upon me by the Union party to espouse the opposite side; and all the horrors of a merciless war were waged unceasingly against me for many months before I attempted to raise my hand in self defense. But fight I must, and fight I did ! AYar was the object, and war it was. I never engage in but one business at a time — my business during the war was killing ene- mies. It is a very difficult matter to carry on a war for four years without some one getting hurt. If I did kill over a hundred men during the war, it was only because I was in earnest and supposed that everybody else was. My name is cast out as evil because I adopted the military tactics not in use among large armies. They were encumbered with artillery and fought where they had ample room to use it, I had no artil- lery and generally fought in the woods ; my plan Ivas the most successful, for in the regular army the rebels did not kill more than one man each during the war. SAMUEL S. HILDEBIIAND. 29 CHAPTEE II. Early History of the Hildebrand family. — Settled in St. Fran- cois county, Missouri. — Sam Hildebrand born. — Trouble- some Neighbors. — Union Sentiments. In regard to the early liistory of the Hildebrand family, I can only state what tradition has handed down from one generation to another. As I have no education, and can neither read in English nor Dutch, I am not able to give any of the outlines of history bearing upon the origin or acts of the Hildebrands in remote ages. This task I leave for others, with this remark, that tradition connects our family with the Hildebrands who figured in the German history up to the very origin of the Dutch language. The branch of the family to which I belong were driven from Bavaria into Netherlands two hundred years ago, where they remained about forty years, and then emi- grated to Pennsjdvania at the first settlement of that portion of America. They were a hardy race of people and always shunned a city life, or being cooped up in thickly settled dis- tricts ; they kept on the outskirts of aggressive civi- lization as it pressed the rcdman still back into the wild solitudes of the West, thus occupying the middle ground or twilight of refinement. Hence they con- tinually breathed the pure, fresh air of our country's mornino;, trod through the dewy vales of pioneer life^ 30 AUTOBIOGRAPHY or and drank at Freedom's shady fountains among the unclaimed hills. They were literally a race of back-\voodsmcn inured to hardship, and delighted in nothing so much as wild adventure and personal danger. They explored the hills rather than the dull pages of history, pursued the wild deer instead of tame literature, and enjoyed their own thoughts rather than the dreamy notions eminating from the feverish brain of philosophy. In 1832 my father and mother, George and Eebecca Hildebrand, settled in St. Francois county, Missouri, on a stream called Big Eiver, one of the tributaries of the Meramec which empties into the Mississippi about twenty miles below St. Louis. The bottom lands on Big River are remarkably fer- tile, and my father was so fortunate as to secure one of th<3 best bodies of land in that county. Timber grew in abundance, both on the hills and in the valleys, con- sequently it took a great deal of hard labor to open a farm ; but after a few years of close attention, father, b}" tlie assistance of his boys who were growing up, succeeded in opening a very large one. He built a large stone dwelling house two stories high, and fin- ished it off in beautiful st^^le, besides other buildings — barns, cribs and stables necessary on ever}^ well regu- lated faim. Father and mother raised a fiimily of ten children, consisting of seven bo3^s and three girls. I was the fifth one in the family, and was born at the old home- stead on Big Eiver, St. Francois county, Missouri, on the 6th day of Januarj^, 1836. SAMUEL S. -HILDtliRAND. ^^1 The facilities for acquiring an education in that neighborhood were very slim indeed, besides I never felt inclined to go to school even when I had a chance; I was too fond of hunting and fishing, or playing around the majestic bluffs that wall in one side or the other of Big Eiver, the whole length of that crooked and very romantic stream. One day's schooling was all that I ever got in my life } that day was sufficient for me, it gave me a distaste to the very sight of a school house. I only learned the names of two letters, one shaped like the gable end of a house roof, and the other shaped like an ox yoke standing on end. At recess in the afternoon the boys got to picking at me while the teacher w^as gone to dinner, and I had them every one to whip. When the old tyrant came back from dinner and commenced talking saucy, I gave him a good CTirsing and broke for home. My father very generously gave me my choice, cither to go to school or to work on the farm. I gladly accepted the latter, redoubled my energ}" and alwa^'s afterwards took par- ticular paini to please my father in all things, because he was so kind as not to compel me to attend school. A threat to send me to school was all the whipping that I ever required to insure obedience; I was more afraid of that than I wasof old "Eaw-head-and-bloody- bones," or even the old scratch himself. In 1850, my father died, but I still remained at the homestead, working for the support of my mother and the rest of the family, until I had reached the age of nineteen years, then, on the 30th day of October, 1854, 1 married Miss Margaret Hampton, the daughter 32 AUTOHlOr.RAPHV Ox of a highly CHleemed citizen of Hi. Francois county. I built a neat log hoiise^ opened a farm l<;r nnyelf, within half a mile of the old homestead, and avc ^vent to housekeeping for ourselves. From tJie time that my father first settled on l^ig Biver, we had an abundance of stock, and especially hogs. The range was ahvays good, and as the uplands and hills constituted an endless lorest of oaks, the in- exhaustible suppl}^ of acorns afforded all the food that our hogs required ; they roamed in the woods, and of course, many of them became as wild as deer j the wild ones remained among the hills and increased until they became very numerous. Whenever they were fat enough for pork, wc were in the habit of going into the woods with our guns and our dogs and killing as many of them as we could. A few years after my father had settled there, a colony of Pennsylvania Dutch had established them- selves in our neighborhood; they were very numerous and constituted about two-thirds of the population of our township. They soon set up ^^ wild hog claims," declaring that some of their hogs had also run wild.; this led to disputes and quarrels, and to some "fist and skull fighting," in which m.y brothers and myself soon won the reputation of "bullies." Finding that they had no show at this game, they next resorted to the law, and we had many little law suits before our justice of the peace. The Dutch out sivore us, and we soon found the Hildcbrand family branded by them with the very unjust and unpleasant epithet of "hog thieves;" but ive went in on the muscle and still held the woods. SAMUEL S. HrLDEBRAND. 33 As our part of the country bocarac more thickly settled and new neighbors came in, they in turn were prejudiced against iis ; and the rising generation seemed to cling to the same idea, that the Ilildebrands seemed to love pork a little too well and needed watching. Unfortunately for me, my old neighbors were union men; all my sympathies too, were decidedly for the union. I heard with alarm the mutterings of Avar in the distance, like the deep tones of thunder bej^ond the frowning hills. I had never made politics my study ; I had no education whatever, and had to rely exclu- sively on v/hat others told me. Of course I was easily imposed upon by political tricksters, jet from my heart I deplored the necessity of a resort to arms, if such a necessity did exist, and whether it did or not was more than I could divine. While my union neighbors and enemies were making the necessary preparations for leaving their families in comfortable circumstances before taking up arms in defense of their country, there were a fcAV shrewed southern men around to magnify and distort the griev- ances of the southern people. In many cases the men whom the}^ obtained had nothing in the world at stake, no useful object in view, no visible means of acquiring an honest livelihood, and were even without a horse to ride. This, however, only afforded them a pretext for practicing what they called ^^ pressing horses,'' which was done on a large scale. Neither political principles, patriotic motives, nor love of country prompted this abominable system of horse stealing. It was not confined to either party, and it was ji remarka- 34 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ble co-incident how invariably the political sentiments of a horse-pressing renegade would differ from tho neighbor who happened to have the fastest horses. SAMUEL S. HILDECRAXD. 3§ CHAPTEK III. Determination to take no part in the War. — Mr. Ringer killed by Rebels. — The cunning device of Allen Roan. — Vigilance Committee organized. — The baseness of Mobocracy. — At- tacked by the Mob. — Escape to Flat Woods. In the spring of 18G1, the war of the Great Rebellion was inaugurated^ and during the following summer was carried on in great fur}^ in many placeH, but I shall only S2)cak of those occurrences which had a particular bearing upon myself. I called on some good citizens who were not republi- cans, and whom I knew to be well posted in the cur- rent events of the day, to ask them what course it was best for me to pursue during the unnatural struggle. They advised me to stay at home and attend to my own business. This 1 determined to do, so I paid no further attention to what was going on, put in my crop of corn at tlic usual season and cultivated it dur- ing the summerv On the 9th day of August the popular excitement in 8t. Francois county was greatly increased by the kill- ing of Mr. Ringer, a union man, who was shot at his own house for no other cause than his political princi- ples. He was killed, as I afterwards learned, by Allen Roan and Tom Cooper. It should be borne in mind that Roan was a relative of mino -with whom I was on ' o() AUTORTOOR.AI'IIY O^' friendly terms. I was not implicated in the dcalli of Ringer in any manner^ shape^ or form, but suspicion rested upon me ; the "Hildebrand gang" were branded Avith the murder. '^^'ATir: I could not check Roan in the rash course he vras piirsulng; but in all sincerity, I determined to follow the advice given me b}^ a certain tmion li-iend/who told me to take no part in the cause that would in the end bring disaster upon myself. It Avas good advice ; why then did I not folio vv' it? In the presence of that Being who shall judge the quick and the dead, I shall truthfully and in a few words explain the whole matter. I had no sooner made up my mind fully what course to pursue, than I was caught in a cunningly devised trap that settled my destiny forever. One evening Allen Roan came to my field where I was plowing and proposed swapping horses with me ; the horse Avhich he said he had bought was a better one than my own, so I "consented to make the exchange 5 finding afterwards that the horse would not work in harness, I swapped him oflP the next day to Mr. Rogers. Prior to this time my neighbors had organized them- selves into what they called a Yigilance Committee, and were moving in squads night and day to put down horse stealing. Only a few of the committee were dangerous men, but Firman Mcllvaine, who was put at the head of the gang was influenced by the worst element in the com rfiimity ; it became a political ma- chine for oppression and bloodshed under the guidance of James Craig, John House, Joe McGahan, John Dun- SA^[!^■.^ S. liI!J)EHRAM), 87 woody, William Pattoii, and others, who were swearing death to every n^an implicated in any way with the southern recruits Avho were pressing horses. The horse I liad traded for from Allen Eoan and which Ilogers obtained from me, proved to be the property of Dun woody. I was apprised of the fact by a friend at night, and told also that they had threat- ened me and my brother l^\\ank with death if they could lind us, and notwithstanding our entire innocence in the matter, we were compelled to hide out. We knew that when the law is Avrested from the civil au- thorities by such men as they were, that anything like a trial would not be permitted. We secreted ourselves in the woods, hoping that matters would take a different turn in a short time ; each night I was posted in regard to their threats. I would willingly have surrendered myself to the civil authorities w^ith a guarantee of a fair trial ; but to fall into the hands of an unscrupulous mob who were acting in violation of law, particularly when law and order was broken up by the heavy tramp of war, was what we v,^e re compelled by all means to avoid. We had no alternative but to elude their search. It is a fact well Icnown, t iiiit i;i Iho upheaval of popu- lar passion lor the overmruw ox law and order under any pretext w^hatcver, a nucleus is formed, around which the most vile, the most turbulent, and the most cowardly instinctively fly. Cowardly villains invari- ably join in with every mob that comes Avithin their reach J personal enmity and spite is frequently their controling motive 3 the possible opportunity of re- dressing some supposed grievance without incurring H8 AVTQBiOGRAPnr or dang-cr to tiiemselves is their incentive for swelling the mob. A person guilty of any particular crime, to avoid suspicion, is always the most clamorous for blood when some one else stands accused of the same offense. In the Vigilance Committee were found the same materials existing in all mobs. No brave man was ever a tyrant, but no coward over failed to be one when he had the power. They still kept up the search for me and my brother with an energy worthy of a better cause. It was now October, the nights Avere cold and we suffered much for the want of blankets and even for food. AVe Avere both unaccustomed to sleeping out at night and w^ere chilled by the cold wind that whistled through the trees. After we had thus continued in the woods about three weeks, I concluded to venture in one night to see my family and to get something to eat, and some bed clothes to keep me more comfortable at night. I had heard no unusual noise in the woods that day, had seen no one pass, nor heard the tramp of horses feet in any direction. It was about eleven o'clock at night when I got Avithin sight of the house, no light was burning within; I heard no noise of any kind, and believing that all Avas right 1 crept up to the house and Avhispered "Margaret" through a crack. My Avife heard me, and recognizing my A^oice she noiselessly opened the door and let nie in. We talked only in Avhispers, and in a feAV minutes she placed my supper upon the table. Just as I Avas go- ing to eat I heard the top rail fall off my yard fence. The noise did not suit me, so I took my gun in on« '1 SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAMD. 39 hand, a loaf of corn bread in the other, and instantly stepped out into the yard by a back door. Mcllvaine and his vigilantees were also in the yard, and were approaching the house from all sides in a regular line. In an instant I detected a gap in their ranks and dashed through it. As they commenced firing I dodged behind a molasses mill that fortunately stood in the yard, it caught nine of their bullets and without doubt saved my life. After the first volley I struck for th<> woods, a distance of about two hundred yards. Though their firing did not cease, I stopped midway to shoot at their flame of fire, but a thought struck me that it would too well indicate my v/here- abouts in the open field, so I hastened on until I had gained the edge of the woods, and there I sat down to listen at what was going on at the house. I heard Firman ]McIlvaine's name called several times, and very distinctly heard his replies and knew his voice. This satisfied me beyond all doubt that the marauders were none other than the self-styled Yigilance Committee. I was fortunate in my escape, and had a deep sense of gratitude to heaven for my miraculous preservation. Though I had not made my condition much better by my visit, yet I gnawed away, at intervals, upon my loaf of corn bread, and tried to reconcile myself as much as possible to the terrible state of affairs then existing. I saw very plainly that my enemies would not permit me to remain in that vicinity; but the idea of being compelled to leave ray dear home where I was born and raised, and to strike out into the unknown world with my family without a dollar in my pocket, 40 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP without finj^thing except one horse and the clothing we had upon our backs, was anything in the world but cheering However, I had no alternative ; to take care of my dependent and suffering familj^, was the motive uppermost in my mind at all times. After the mob had apparently left, my wife came out to me in the woods. Our plans were soon formed; after dressing the children, five in number, as quietly and speedily as possible, she brought them to me at a designated point among the hills in the dark forest. She returned to the house alone, and with as little noise as possible saddled up my horse, and after packing him with what bed clothing and provisions she conveniently could, she circled around among the hills and re- joined me at a place I had named in the deep forest about five miles from our once happy home. Daylight soon made its appearance and enabled me to pick out a place of tolerable security. We remained concealed until the re-appearance of night and then proceeded on our cheerless wandering. In silence we trudged along in the woods as best we could, avoiding the mud and occasional pools of water. I carried m}" gun on my shoulder and one of the children on my hip; my wife, packing the baby in her arms, walked quietly by my side. I never was before so deeply impressed with the faith, energy and confiding spirit of AYoman. As the moon would occasionally peep forth from the drifting clouds and strike upon the pale features of my uncomplaining wife, I thought I could detect a look of cheerfulness in her countenance, and more than once I thought I heard a suppressed 8AMUEL S. IIILDEBRANI). 41 litter when cither of us got tangled up in the brash. When daylight appeared we were on Wolf creek^ a few miles south of Farmington; here we stopped in the woods to cook our breakfast and to rest a while. Dur- ing the day we proceeded on to what is called Flat Woods, eight miles from Farmington, in the southern part of St. Francois county, and about ten miles north from Fredericktown. From Mr. Griffin I obtained the use of a log cabin in a retired locality, and in a few minutes we were, duly installed in our new house. 42 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTER IV. Mcllvaine's Vigilance Mob. — Treachery of Castleman.— Frank Hildebrand hung by the Mob. — Organization of the Mob into a Militia Company. The Vigilance Committee, with Firman Mcllvaino at its head, was formed ostensibly for the mutual protec- tion against plunderers ; yet some bad men were in it. ^y their influence it became a machine of oppression, a shield for cowards, and the head-quarters for tyranny. After I left Big River my brother Frank continued to conceal himself in the woods until about the middle of November; the weather now grew so cold that he could stand it no longer ; he took the advice of Frank- lin Murphy and made his way to Potosi, and in order to silence all suspicion in regard to his loyalty, he went to Captain Castleman and offered to join the Home Guards. Castleman being intimate with Firman McH- vaine, detained Frank until he had time to send Mcll- vaine word, and then basely betrayed him into the merciless hands of the vigilant mob. In order to obtain a shadow of legal ty for his pro- ceedings, Mcllvaine took brother Frank before Frank- lin Murphy^ who at that time was justice of the peace on Big River. Frank was anxious that the justice might try the case ; but when Murphy told .them that all the authority he had would only enable him to com- mit him to jail for trial in the proper court, even if the SAMUEL B. HILDEBRAND. 43 charges were sustained, the^^ were dissatisfied at this, and in order to take the matter out of the hands of the justice and make it beyond his jurisdiction, they de- clared thp.t he had stolen a horse in Ste. Genevieve county. The mob then took Frank to Punjaub^inthat county, before Justice E. M. Cole, who told them that he was a sworn officer of the law, and that if they should pro- duce sufficient evidence against their prisoner, he could only commit him to jail. This of course did not satisfy the mob ; to take the case out of his hands, they stated that the offense he had committed was that of stealing a mule in Jefferson county. They stated also that Frank and Sam Anderson had gone in the night to the house of a Mr. Carney to steal his mare ) that Mrs. Car- ney on hearing them at the gate, went out and told them that Mr. Carney was absent and had rode the mare; that they then compelled Mrs. Carney to go with them a quarter of a mile in her night clothes to show them where Mr. Becket lived ; and finally that they went there and stole his horse. Failing however to obtain the co-oj^eration of the Justice in carrying- out their lawless designs, the mob left with their pris- oner, declaring that they were going to take him to Jefferson county for trial. The sad termination of the affair is soon told. The mob took my kind, inoffensive brother about five miles and hung him without any trial whatever, after which they threw his body in a sink-hole thirty feet in depth, and there his body laid for more than a month before it was found. A few weeks after this cold blooded 44 AUTOBIOUKAPIIY OP murder took j^lace^ Firman Mcllvaine had the audacity to boast of the deed, declaring positively that Frank had been hung by his express orders. This murder took place on the 20th day of November, 1861, about a month after I had been driven from Big Eiver. A few nights after my arrival at Flat Woods I made my way back to my old home in order to bring away some more of my property, but on arriving there 1 found that my house had been robbed and all my property either taken away or destroyed. I soon learned from a friend that the Vigilance Committee had wantonly destroyed everything that they did not want. I returned to Flat Woods in a very despondent mood. I Avas completely broken up. The union* men were making war upon me, but I was making no war upon them, for I still wished to take no part in the national struggle. I considered it "a rich man's war and a poor man's fight." But a sense of my wrongs bore heavily upon me ; I had been reduced to absolute poverty (to say nothing of the murder of my brother) by the unrelenting cruelty of Firman Mcllvaine w^ho was a rich man, drowned in luxury and surrounded by all the comforts of life that the eye could wish, or a cultivated appetite could desire. The war w^as now raging with great fury in many sections of the country ; yet I remained at home intent on making a living for my family, provided I could do so without being molested, but during all the time I was at work, I had to keep a sharp lookout for my enemies. SAMUEL S. HILUEBRAND. 47 That leprous plague spot — the Vigilance Committee — finally ripenf^cl and culminated in the formation of a company of militia on Big iviver, with James Craig for Captain and Joe McGahan for First Lieutenant. The very act for which they were so anxious to punish others, on mere suspicion, they themselves now com- mitted with a high hand. They were ordered to disarm southern sympathizers and to seize on articles contraband of war, such as arms and ammunition. This gave them great latitude; the cry of ^-disloyal" could be very easily raised against any man who happened to have a superabundance of property. ^^Arms" was construed also to include arm chairs and their arms full of everything they could get their hands on; ^^guns" included Gunn's Domestic Medi- cine; a fine claybank mare was confiscated because she looked so fiery, and a spotted mule because it had so many colors ] they took a. gun from Mr. Metts merely because he lived on the south side of Big Eiver ; they dipped heavily into the estate of Dick Boston, deceased, by killing the cattle for beef and dividing it among themselves, under the pretext that if Dick Boston had been living, ho most undoubtedly would have been a rebel. 48 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP CHAPTER y. His house at Flat Woods attacked by Eighty Soldiers. — Wounded. — Miraculous Escape. — Captain Bolin. — Arrival in Green County, Arkansas. In April; 1862^ after we had lived at Flat AVoods during six months of perfect tranquility, that same irrepressible Vigilance Committee, or some men who had composed it, learned finally that I was living at Flat Woods. Firman McTlvaine and Joe McGahan succeeded in getting eighty soldiers from Ironton to aid in my capture. I had been hauling wood; as soon as I unloaded the wagon I stepped into the house, and the first thing I knew, the eighty soldiers and the vigilantees were within gunshot and coming under %ill charge. I seized my gun and dashed through a gap in their lines that Heaven had again left open for my escape. They commenced firing upon me as soon as I was out of the house. The brash being very thick not far off, I saw that my only chance was to gain the woods, and that as soon as possible. I ran through the garden and jumped over a picket fence — this stopped the cavalry for a moment. I made through the brush; but out of the hundreds of bullets sent after me, one struck my leg below the knee and broke a bone. I held up by the bushes as well as I could, to keep them from knowing that I was wounded. While they had to stop to throw down a fence, I scrambled along about .SAMUKL S. IIILDEURAND. 49 two liundred yards further, and crouched in a ^i:;Uiiy that happened to be half tul] of leaves; I quickly buried myself completely from sight. The soldiers were all around in a short time and scoured the woods in every direction \ then they went back and burned the house and everything we had, after which they left and I saw them no more. Sixteen of Captain Bolin's men on the day before had been seen to cross the gravel road ; this, probably, w^as why the federal soldiers did not remain longer. Captain Bolin was a brave rebel officer, whose head- quarters were in Green county, Arkansas, and under whose command some of the most daring spirits who figured in the war, were led on to deeds of heroism scarcely ever equaled. Our condition was truly deplorable ; there I lay in the gully covered up with leaves, with one leg ren- dered useless, without even the consolation of being allowed to groan ; my family, too, were again without shelter; the soldiers had burned everything — clothes, bedding and provisions. As I lay in that gully, suffering with my wounds in- flicted by United States soldiers, I declared war. I determined to fight it out with them, and by the assist- ance of my faithful gun, "Kill-devil," to destroy as many of m}^ blood-thirsty enemies as I possibly could. To submit to further wrong from thc-ir hands would be an insult to the Eeing who gave me the power of re- sistance. After the .soldiers had left, my wife came in search of me, believing that I was wounded from the manner 3 50 ALTOlJIOcmAPllY ( F in which I seemed to run. I told her to go back, that I was not hurt very bad, and that when she was satis- fied that no one was watching around, to come at night and dress my leg. She went, however, in search of some friend on whom we could rely for assistance. Fortunately she came across Mr. Pigg, to whom she related the whole circumstance, and he came immedi- ately to my relief. He was a man of the right stripe ; regardless of consequences, he did everything in his power to relieve my suffering, and to supply my family with bedding and provisions. He removed us by night to a place of safety, and liberally gave us all we needed. AYhile I thus lay nursing my wound, my place of con cealmont was known only to a few men whom we could easily trust. In my hours of loneliness I had much time for re- flection. The terrible strait in which I found myself, naturally led me to the mental inquiry : "Have I the brand of Cain, that the hands of men should be turned against me? What have I done to merit'the jiersecu- tion so cruel and so. persistent?" I could not solve the questions; in the sight of a just Grod I felt that I did not merit such treatment. Sometimes I half re- solved to go into some other State on purpose to avoid the war ; but I was constantly warned by my friends who were southern men, (the only men with whom I could hold communication at present,) that it would be unsafe to think of doing so, and that my only safety lay in my flight to the southern army. The vigilance mob had nearly destroyed every vestige of sympathy or good feeling I had for the union people. They had SAMUEL S. HTLDEBRAND. i)l reported me, both to the civil and military authorities, as being a horse thief, and, withal, a very dangerous man. On thinking the matter over I lost all hope of ever being able to reinstate mj^self in their favor and being permitted to enjoy the peaceful privileges of a quiet citizen. The die was cast — for the sake of revenge, I pronounced myself a Eebel. I remained very quietly at my place of concealment while my wife doctored my wounded leg for a week before my friend had an opportunity of sending Avord to any of Captain Bolin's men to come to my relief. As soon as my case Avasmade known to them, however, a man was dispatched to see me for the purpose of learning all the 2:>articnlars in the case. He came and asked me a great many questions, but answered none. When he arose to depart he only said, ^^all right — rest easy." The next night I was placed in a light spring wagon among some boxes of drugs and medicines, and was told that my wife and family would be taken to Bloomfield by Captain Bolin in a short time, and protected until I could come after them. A guard of two men accom- panied us, and rode the whole night without speaking a word to any one. Nearly the whole route was through the woods, and although the driver was very watchful and used every precaution against making a noise, yet in the darkness of the night I was tumbled about among the boxes pretty roughly. When daylight came we halted in a desolate looking countr}^, inhabited only by wild animals of the forest. 62 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AYe had traveled down on the western side of St. Fran- cois river, and were now camped near the most western bend on that river near the southern line of Madison county ; Ave remained all day at that point, and I spent most of my time in sleeping. AVhen the sun had dipped behind the western hills we again commenced our journey. Our course seemed to bear more to the east- ward than it did the night before, and as we were then in a country not so badly infested Avith Federals, we traveled a good j)art of our time in narrow, crooked roads, but they were rough beyond all description, and I Avas extremely glad Avhen about eight o'clock in the morning Ave halted for breakfast on the Avestern bank of St. Francois rix'er, about midAvay between Bloom- field, in Stoddard county, and Crane creek, in Butler. While resting here a scouting party from General Jeff. Thompson's camp came riding up. '^ Well boys ! Avhat haA^e you in your Avagon ?" '^ Drugs and medicines for Captain Bolin's camp." On hearing this they dismounted and kept up a lively conversation around the camp fire. Among their num- ber was a joA^al felloAV AA'ho kept the rest all laughing. I thought I kncAV the voice, and as I turned o\^er to peep through a hole in the Avagon bed, he heard me and sprang to his feet. '^W^ho in thunderation haA^e you in the Avagon?" ''Some felloAv from St. Francois county, Avounded and driven off by the Federals." " The devil ! why that is my native county. I'll take a look at that fellow. Its Sam Hildebrand as I liA^e ! How do 3'0ii do, old rapscallion ?" SAMUEL a. lilLDllBRAND. 53 "Well^ weU, if I haven't run ticross Tom Hailc, tho dare-devil of the swamps!" "Old ^ drugs and medicines' Avhat are you doing liere ? trying to pass yourself oif for a great medicinal root I suppose. Do 3'ou feel tolerable better? I'm afraid you are ])oison. Say, Sam, did you bring some good horses down with you?" '^Hush Tom ! if they find out that I'm not a horso thief, they will drum me out of camp V The 2^arty soon prepared to start ; the first man who attempted to mount came near being dashed to the ground in consequence of the rattling of a tin cup some one had tied to his spur. Tom said it was a per- fect shame to treat any man in that way ; the man seemed to think so, too, judging from the glance he cast at Tom. But they mounted, dashed through a sheet of muddy water, then over a rocky point, and soon were far awa^^" amid the dim blue hills. We started on, and after ta*aveling until about mid- night, we reached the State line between Missouri and Arkansas, there we remained until morning ; on start- ing again Ave Avere in Green county, Arkansas, and sometime during the day we arrived safely at the Head- quarters of Captain Bolin, and I was wel comely re- ceived into the little community of families, who were here assembled for mutual protection — most of them Avere the families of Captain Bolin's men. I received every attention from them that my necessities required, and as my Avound seemed to be doing Avell, I felt for a time quite at home. 54 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTEE YI. Interview with Gen. Jeff. Thompson. — Receives a Major's Commission. — Interview with Captain Bolin.— Joins the "Bushwhacking Department." Captain Bolin with most of his forces were some- where in the vicinity of Bloomfield, Missouri, and as I was anxious to identify myself with the army, I got the use of a horse as soon as I was able to ride, and in company with several others proceeded across the swampy country east of the St. Francis river, for the purpose of joining General Jeff. Thompson. I reached his headquarters in safety, and stayed about camp, frequently meeting acquaintances from Missouri and occasionally getting news from home. As soon as I could gain admission to the General's headquarters I did so, and he received me very kindly. He listened very attentively to me as I proceeded to state my case to him — how my brother had been murdered, how I had barely escaped the same fate, and how I had finally been driven from the country. General Thompson reflected a few moments, then seizing a pen he rapidly wrote off a few lines and hand- ing it to me he said, ''here, I give you a Major's com- mission ; go where you please, take what men you can pick up, fight on your own hook, and report to me ever}^ six months." I took the paper and crammed it down into my pantaloon's pocket and walked out. I SA:MUKL S. illLDEEKAND. 55 could not read my commission, but I Avas determined to ask no one to read it for me, for that would be rather degrading to my new honor. I retired a little distance from camp and taking my seat on an old cypress log, I reflected how the name of ^^ Major Sam Hildebrand" would look in history. I did not feel comfortable over the new and very unex- pected position in which I had been placed. I knew nothing of military tactics -, I was not certain whether a Major held command over a General or whether he was merely a bottle washer under a Captain. I determined that if the latter was the case, that I would return to Green county and serve under Captain Bolin. As I had no money with which to buy shoulder- straps, I determined to fight without them. I was rather scarce of money just at that time; if steamboats were selling at a dollar apiece, I did not have money enough to buy a canoe paddle. I stayed in camp, however, several days taking lessons, and hearing the tales of blood and pillage from the scouts as they came in from various directions. By this time my wound felt somewhat easier, so I mounted my horse and made my way back to Green county, and arrived safely at Captain Bolin's head- quarters. The Captain was at home, and I immedi- ately presented myself before him. He said he had heard of me from one of his .-couts, and was highly gratified that one of his men had seen proper to have me conveyed to his headquarters. "I presume," said he, ^^that you have been to the 56 AirTOlJIOOHAPlIY UF headquarters of General Jeff. Thompson. Did yovL see the < Old Swamp Fox ?' " 'a did." "What did he do for you ?" Here 1 pulled my commission from my pocket, that now looked more like a piece of gunwaddina: than any- thing eliy.»iiwxw>'%w..wv^>.ij 1 ji'fi - ■•,■.1(111, irilTiii^. ll1fT^ft*■|lKiy■^^v/.^>■r•iirt■iK■K-'■^■:.^aa4^>:^■^aa^. SAMUEL S. IIILDEERAXP. G3 I again slept under the overhanging rock; and on tlie next morning (June 23d) I crossed the river on the fish dara, and went to the lower part of Mcllvaine's farm. There I found the neo;roe.s cuttino; down a field of rye. They cut awa}' for several hours, until they got it all down within one hundred yards of the fence, before Mcllvaine made his first round. On getting a little past me, he stopped to whet his scythe ; as soon as he had done so he lowered the cradle to the i>-round and for a moment stood resting on the handle. I fired, and he fell dead. Nothing but a series of w^rongs long continued could ever have induced me to take the life of that highly accomplished young man. After the outbreak of the war, while others were losing horses, a fine mare was stolen from him. The theft was not committed by me, but my personal ene- mies probably succeeded in making him believe that I had committed the act. He w^as goaded on by evil advisers to take the law into his own hands ; my brother Frank was hung without a trial, and his body thrown into a sink-hole, to moulder like that of a beast; my own life had been sought time and again 3 my wife and tender family were forced to pass through hardships and suffering seldom witnessed in the annals of historj'. The mangled features of my poor brother ; the pale face of my confiding wife j the tearful e^^es of my fond chil- dren — all would seem to turn reprovingly upon me in my midnight dreams, as if demanding retributive jua- 64 AUTOBIOGRAniY OF tice. My revenge was reluctant and long delayed, but it came at last. I remained in the woodsy near the residence of a friend for a day or two, andthen I concluded to silence Joe McGahan and John House before returning to Ar- kansas. I proceeded to the residence of the former, who had been very officious in the Vigilance mob, and posted myself in some woods in the field within one hundred yards of the house, just as daylight began to appear. I kept a vigilant watch for him all day, but he did not make his appearance until it had commenced getting dark; then he rode up and went immediatel}'' into his house. By this time it was too dark for me to shoot at such a distance. I moved to the garden fence, and in a few minutes he made his appearance in the door with a little child in his arms. The fence pre- vented me from shooting him below the child, and I could not shoot him in the breast for fear of killing it. He remained in the door onl}^ a minute or two, and then retired into the house; and while I was thinking the matter over, without noticing closely for his reap- pearance, I presently discovered him riding off. I went to a thicket in his field and slept until nearly day, when I again took my position near the house, and Avatched until night again set in, but fortunately for him he did not make his appearance. I noAV went about four miles to the residence of John House, selected a suitable place for my camp, and slept soundly until daybreak. I watched closely all day, but saw nothing of my enemy. As soon as it was dark I went back to Flat river, and on the next night I SA>M KL S. illi.l^KBKAM). 0.") mounted my horse and started back lo Green county, Arkansas, without bein^ discovered by any one except by those friends whom I called on for provisions. 66 AUTOBiOGRAPllY OF CHAPTEE YIIT. Vigilance mob drives his mother from home. — Three com- panies of troops sent to Big river. — Captain Flanche mur- ders Washington Hildebrand and Landusky. — Captain Esro- ger murders John Roan. — Capt. Adoph burns the Hildebrand homestead and murders Henrj' Hildebrand. I shall now give a brief account of the fresh enor- mities committed against the Hildebrand family. The same vindictive policy inaugurated by the Vigilance mob was still pursued by them until they succeeded, by misrepresentation, in obtaining the assistance of the State and Federal troops for the accomplishment of their designs. A Dutch companj^, stationed at North Big Eiver Bridge, under Capt. Esroger ; a Dutch company sta- tioned at Cadet, under Capt. Adolph, and a French company stationed at the Iron Mountain, under Capt. Flanche, were all sent to Big Eiver to crush out the Hildebrand family. Emboldened by their success in obtaining troops, the Vigilance mob marched boldly up to the Hilde- brand homestead and notified my mother, whom they found reading her Bible, that she must immediately leave the county, for it was their intention to burn her house and destroy all her property. My mother was a true Christian ; she was kind and affectionate to everybody; her hand was always ready SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 67 to relieve the distressed, and smooth the pillow for the afflicted ; the last sight seen upon earth by eyes swim- ming in death has often been the pitying face of my mother, as she hovered over the bed of sickness. I appeal to all her neighbors — I appeal to everybody who knew her — to say whether my mother ever had a superior in this respect. "When ordered to leave her cherished home, to leave the house built by her departed husband, to leave the quiet homestead where she had brought up a large fam- ily, and where every object was rendered dear by a thousand sweet associations that clung to her memory, she turned her mind inwardly, but found nothing there to reproach her; then to her God she silently commit- ted herself. She hastily took her Bible and one bed from the house — but nothing more. She had arrangements made to have her bed taken to the house of her brother, Harvey McKee, living on Dry Creek, in Jefferson county, distant about thirty-five miles. Then, tak- ing her family Bible in her arms, she burst into a flood of tears, walked slowly out of the little gate, and left her home forever ! I will here state that I was the only one of the Hildebrand family who espoused the Rebel cause. After the murder of my brother Frank, I had but three brothers left : William, Washington and Henry William joined the Union army and fought until the close of the war. Washington took no part in the war, neither directly nor indirectly. Never, per- haps, was there % more peaceable, quiet and law- 68 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF abiding citizen than he was ; he never spoke a word that could be construed into a sympathy for the Southern cause, and I defy any man to produce the least evidence against his loyalty, either in word or act. While the w^ar was raging, he paid no atten- tion to it whatever, but was busily engaged in lead mining in the St. Joseph Lead Mines, three miles from Big River Mills, and about six miles from the old homestead. In partnership with him was a young man by the name of Landusky, a kind, indus- trious, inoffensive man, whose loyalt}" had never once been doubted. My sister Mary was his affi- anced bride, but her death prevented the marriage. My brother Henry was a mere boy, only thirteen years of age. Of course he was too young to have any political principles; he was never accused of being a Rebel; no accusation of any kind had ever been made against him ; he was peaceable and quiet, and, like a good boy, he was living with his mother, and doing the best he could toward supporting her. True, he was very young to have the charge of such a farm, but he was a remarkable boy. Turning a deaf ear to all the rumors and excitements around him, he industriously applied himself to the accom- plishment of one object, that of taking care of his mother. On the 6th day of July, 1862, while my brother Washington and Mr. Landusky were working in a drift underground, Capt. Flanche and his company of cavalry called a halt at the mine, and ordered fhem to come up; which they did i^pmediately. 1 I SAMUEL S. lULDEBRAND, 71 No questions were asked them, and no explana- tions were given. Flanche merely ordered them to walk off a few steps toward a tree, which they did ; he then gave the word "fire ! " and the whole com- pany fired at them, literally tearing them to pieces ! I would ask the enlightened world if there ever was committed a more diabolical deed? If, in all the annals of cruelty, or in the world's wide history, a murder more cold-blooded and cruel could be found ? A citizen who happened to be present ventured to ask in astonishment why this was done ; to which Flanche merely replied, as he rode ofi", "they bees the friends of Sam Hildebrass ! " It was now Capt. Esroger's time to commit some deed of atrocity, to place himself on an equality with Capt. Flanche ; so after a moment's reflectfon, he concluded that the murder of my uncle, John Roan, would be sufficient to place his brutality be- yond all question. John Roan was a man about fifty years of age, was proverbial for his honesty, always paid his debts, and kept himself entirely aloof from either side during the war, but against his loyalty nothing had ever been produced, or even attempted. One of his sons was in the Union army, and an- other was a Rebel. Being my uncle, and the father of Allen Roan, however, was a sufficient pretext for the display of military brutality. His house was situated about three miles from IZ AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF St. Joseph 'Lead Mines and about the same distance from the Plildebrand estate. On the 10th day of July, Capt. Esroger and his company rode up to his house, and tlie old man came out onto the porch, with his white locks streaming in the wind, but never once did he dream of treachery. Esroger told him that he " vos one tam prisoner," and detailed six men to guard him and to march along slowly until they should get behind. They did so until they got about a mile from his house ; there they made him step oli six paces, and while his eyes were turned towards Heaven, and his hands were slightly raised in the attitude of prayer, the fatal word "fire" was given, and he fell to the earth a mangled corpse. 'ftiere was still another actor in this bloody trage- dy, who had to tax his ingenuity to the utmost to select a part in which to out do, if possible, the acts of atrocity committed by the others. This was Oapt. Adolph. On the 23rd day of July, Capt. Adolph and his company with an intermixture of the Vigilance mob, went to my mother's house — the Hildebrand home- stead — for the purpose of burning it up. The house was two stories high, built of nice cut stone, and well finished within, making it altogether one of the best houses in the county. The soldiers proceeded to break down the picket fence, and to pitch it into the house for kindling. They refused to let anything be taken out of the SAMUEL S. IIILHEBRAXT). 73 house, being determined to burn up the furniture, clothing, bedding, provisions, and everything else connected with it. All things being now ready, the house was set on fire within, and the flames spread rapidly from room to room, then through the upper floor, and fi- nally out through the roof. The house, with all the outer building was soon wrapped in a sheet of fire. My little brother Henry and an orphan boy about fourteen years of age, whom my mother had hired to assist Henry in cultivating the farm, were present at the conflagration and stood looking on in mute astonishment. Esroger ordered brother Henry to leave, but whether he knew it was their intention to shoot him after getting him a short distance from the house, as was their custom, it is impossible for me to say. Probably feeling an inward conscious- ness of never having committed an act to which they could take exceptions, he did not think that they would persist in making him go ; so he re- mained and silently gazed at the burning house, which was the only home he had ever known. When ordered again to leave, he seemed to be stupefied with wonder at the enormity of the scene before him. Franklin Murphy being present told him it was best to leave ; so he mounted his horse and started, but before he got two hundred yards from the house, he was shot and he dropped dead from the horse. Thus perished the poor innocent boy, who could not be induced to believe that the men were base enough to kill him, innocent and in- 4 74 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF offensive as he was. But alas ! how greatly was he mistaken in them ! They next burned the large frame barn, also the different cribs and stables on the premises; then taking the orphan boy as a prisoner they left. Some neighbors, a few daj^s afterwards found the body of my little brother and buried him. This was the crowning act of Federal barbarity toward me and the Hildebrand family, instigated by the low cunning of the infamous Vigilance mob. I make no apology to mankind for my acts of re- taliation ; I make no whining appeal to the world for sympathy. I sought revenge and I found it ; the key of hell was not suffered to rust in the lock while I was on the war path. I pity the poor miserable, sniveling creature who would tamely have submitted to it all. Such a man would be so low in the scale of hu- man conception; so far beneath the lowest grade of humanity, that the head even of an Indian would grow dizzy in looking down upon him. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. CHAPTER IX. Trip with Burlap and Cato. — Killed a Spy near Bloomfield. — Visits his Mother on Dry Creek. — Interview with his Uncle. — Sees the burning of the homestead at a distance. As yet, I had heard nothing about the atrocities committed against the remaining members of the Hildebrand family; but in order to stir up my old enemies in that quarter, I selected two good men, John Burlap and James Cato, to accompany me in another excursion to St. Francois county, Missouri. They, too, had been badly treated at the outbreak of the war, and had several grievances to redress, for which purpose I promised them my future aid. We procured Federal uniforms, and started late in the afternoon of July 13th, 1862; but on arriving at St. Francis river, we found it out of its banks from the heavy rains that had fallen the day previous. My comrades were rather reluctant about ventur- ing into the turbid stream amid the floating drift- wood; but I had ever been impressed with the truth of the old adage, that it was "bad luck to turn back." I plunged my horse into the stream and made the opposite shore without much difficulty. I was followed by Burlap and Cato, who got across safely, but were somewhat scratched by the drift- wood. We built a fire, dried our clothes, took a /6 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF '•snort" from our black bottle, and camped until morning. Nothing of interest occurred until we reached the vicinity of Bloomfield, in Stoddard county, Missouri, when we met a man in citizen's dress, whom we ac- costed in a very familiar manner, asking him if there were any Rebels in that vicinity. He stated that there was a party of Rebels in Bloomfield, and that we had better make our way back to Greenville to the command, otherwise we would be sure to fall into their hands. He stated that he had been with them all day, pretending that he wanted to enlist ; that he had learned all about their plans, and thought that about to-morrow night they would all be taken in. I inquired if they had not suspicioned him as a spy ? He answered that they had not ; that he had completely deceived them. I then asked him if he did not want to ride behind me and my companions, by turns, until we reached Green- ville ? He signified his assent by springing up be- hind me. I let him ride about two miles, but not exactly in the direction of Greenville, for I told him that I was aiming to strike a certam cross road, which seemed to satisfy his mind. He had much to tell us about his exploits as a spy, and that he had learned the names of all the Rebels in Greenville and Fredericktown. By this time we had enough. I told him I was Sam Hildebrand, knocked him off my horse, and then shot him. I felt no compunction of conscience for having ended the daj^s of such a scoundrel. A little notch ? SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAN©. 77 underneath the stock of old ^'Kill-devil" was made, to indicate the probability that he would fail to re- port. On the rest of our trip we traveled altogether in the night, and avoided the commission of any act that would be likely to create a disturbance. We arrived safely at the house of my brother-in-law, on Flat river, who lives within ten miles of the Hilde- brand homestead. Here, for the first time, I heard of the murder of my brother Washington, also that of my uncle, John Roan. Mother's house had not yet been burned, but she had been peremptorily driven from it, and had sought refuge with her brother, in Jefferson county. The country was full of soldiers, and the Vigilance mob were in their glory. Their deeds would blacken the name of John A. Murrel, the great land pirate of America, for he never robbed a lady, nor took the bread from orphan children; while they unblushingly did both. On learning these particulars, I determined to go to Dry Creek for the purpose of seeing my mother, although the soldiers were scouring the country in every direction for fifty miles for my destruction. We started at night, but having to travel a circuit- ous route, daylight overtook us when within six miles of my uncle's. We made a circuit, as was my custom, around u hillside, and then camped in such a position that we would be close to our pursuers for half an hour before they could find us. My companions took a nap while I kept watch. 78 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP They had not been asleep long before I discovered a party of men winding their way slowly in the semi-circle we had made. There were ten of them, all dressed in Federal uniform. I awakened my companions, and they took a peep at them as they were slowly tracking us, at a distance of three hun- dred yards. We could hardly refrain from making war upon them, the chances being so good for game and a little fun, but my object was to see my mother; so we let them pass on to the place where our tracks would lead them out of sight for a few minutes, then we mounted our horses and rode on to another ridge, making a circuit as before, and camping within a quarter of a mile of oar first am- bush. On coming to that place, the Federals struck oS in another direction, probably finding our tracks a little too fresh for their safety. When night came, we made our way cautiously through the woods to within a few hundred yards of my uncle's house. I dismounted, and leaving my horse with my comrades, approached the house care- fully, and climbed upon a bee-gum to peep through the window. I discovered that there were two strange men in the room, and I thought I got a glimpse of another man around in a corner; but as I leaned a little to one side to get a better view, my bee-gum tilted over, and I fell with a desperate crash on a pile of clapboards. I got up in some- what of a hurry, and, at about three bounds, cleared the picket fence, and deposited myself in the corner of the garden to await the result. SAMUEL S. IITLDEBRAND. 79 The noise, of course, aroused the inmates of the house, and thej^ were soon out with a light, but with no utensils of war except a short double-barreled shot-gun, in the hands of ray uncle. He inspected the damage done to his favorite bee-stand, and breathed out some rough threats against the villains who had attempted to steal his honey. After order- ing his family and the two strangers back into the house, he posted himself in a fence corner about thirty yards oif, for the purpose of waging war against the offenders, should they attempt to renew the attack. The night not being very dark, I was fearful that if I attempted to climb over the picket fence, the old man might pepper me with shot. So I moved myself cautiously around to the back part of the garden, and found an opening where a picket was missing. Through this aperture I succeeded in squeezing myself, and then crawled around to the rail fence where my uncle was, until I got within two panels of the old man, when I ventured to call him by name, in a very low tone. He knew my voice, and said : " Is that you, Sam ? " My answer in the affirmative brought him to where I was, and al- though the fence was between us, we took a hearty shake of the hand through a crack. He told me that the two men in the house were Union neigh- bors, who came over to tell him that the trail of a band of bushwhackers had been discovered about six miles from there, and that on to-morrow the whole country would be out in search of them. He 80 AUTOIilOCiUAPIIY OF told me to go back until his neighbors took their leave, and then to come in and see my mother, who was well, but grieving continually about her son '^Sam." I fell back to my companions, reported progress, and again took my stand in the fence corner. As soon as the two neighbors were gone, my uncle made known to my mother, and to his wife and daughters, the cause of the disturbance ; the younger members of the family having retired early in the night, were all fast asleep. As soon as my uncle thought it prudent to do so, he came out and invited us in. Although my mother had received the news of my visit with a quiet composure, yet, on my ap- proach, she arose silently and started toward me with a firm step, but in a moment she tottered and would have fallen, but I caught her in my arms ; she lay with her head on my bosom for some min- utes, weeping like a child, and I must confess that now, for the first time since I was a boy, I could not restrain my tears. My mother broke the silence by uttering, in broken sentences: "Oh, my dear son I Have you indeed come to see your mother? I thought I would go down with sorrow to my grave, as I never expected to see you again on earth!" How my manhood and m}^ iron will left me at that moment ! How gladly would I have left war and revenge to the beasts of the forest, and secreted myself in some quiet corner of the earth, that there, with my mother and my family, I might once more take delight in the sweet songs of birds, and in the SAMUEL S. IlILDEBRANI). 81 tranquil scenes of life, like those I enjoyed in ray younger days! My mother became more tranquil, and we talked over matters with a great deal of satisfaction ; and my uncle, to divert our minds from a subject too serious, occasionally poked fun at me, by accusing me of trying to steal his bee-gum, in which he was joined by my two comrades. His two daughters were flying around in the kitchen, and presently announced a supper for us all. We enjoyed our- selves finely until two o'clock in the night, at which time we were compelled to leave, in order to secure a safe retreat from the vigilant search to be made for us during the following day. On starting, we rode back on our old trail half a mile, to where we had crossed a small creek, down which we rode, keeping all the time in the water, for about three miles, to a public road leading south, which we followed about six miles ; then, on com- ing to a rocky place where our horses would make no tracks, we left the road at right angles and trav- eled in the woods about two miles ; here we made a semi-circle around a hill, and camped in a command- ing position. My comrades did picket duty while I slept nearly all day. At night we went to a friend who lived near my old residence, and from him we learned that our trail had been discovered on our way up, that the wlfole militia force, composed al- most exclusively of my old enemies, together with some Dutch regulars, were quartered at Big River Mills; that the woods were being constantly scoured; 82 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP that each ford on Big river was guarded night and day, and tiiat they considered my escape impossible. Before the approach of daylight we secreted our horses in a deep ravine, covered with brush and briars, and then hid ourselves underneath a shelving rock near the top of a high bluff, from which, at a long distance, we had a view of my mother's house — the homestead of the Hildebrand family. We re- mained here all day, during which time the house was surrounded by soldiers, how many I could not tell, but they seemed to fill the yard and the adjoin- ing inclosures. Presently I saw a dense column of smoke arise from the house, which told me too plainly that the Vandals were burning up the home of my childhood. ^ The flames presently burst forth through the roof and lapped out their long, fiery tongues at every window. The roof fell in, and all that remained of that superb house was the blackened walls of mas- sive stone. Gladly would I have thrown myself among those Vandals, and fought them while I had a drop of blood remaining; but it would have been madness, for I would have been killed too soon, and my re- venge would have been ended, while my enemies would still live to enjoy their pillage. Immediately after dark we returned to our horses and commenced our retreat to 'Arkansas; but in- stead of going south we traveled west about twenty miles, until we struck on a creek called Forche a' Renault, in Washington county; then turning south, sa?.iui;l s. iin.DKr.RAND. bJ we Iriiveled over the wild pine hills west from Po- tosi, and camped in a secure place between Cale- donia and Webster. We started on in the evening, and just before sunset made a raid on a store, getting all we wanted, including several bottles of "burst-head." We traveled mostly in the night, followed Black river down to Current river, crossed at Carter's Ferry, and made our way safely to Green county, Arkansas. 81 AUTOCIOGRAPIIY (>F CHAPTER X. Trip with two men.— Killed Stokes for informing on him. — Secreted in a cave on Big river. — Vows of vengeance. — Watched for McGahan. — Tom Haile pleads for Franklin Murphy. — Tongue-lashed and whipped out by a Woman. After remaining a few days at headquarters I commenced making preparations for another trip against my enemies on Big river. I was yet ignorant of the murder of my brother Henry, and knew nothing about the burning of my mother's house, except what I saw at the distance of a mile, a few hours before I started back to Arkansas. I was now fully determined to use the same weapons upon some of my enemies, and to retaliate by any and all means placed in my power. I told the boys my plan. Among those who were present was Thomas Haile, or "devilish Tom", as he was called, and as usual, he was spinning some of his laughable yarns ; but when I spoke the name of Franklin Murphy as probably connected with the house burning, he stopped short in his conversation, and after a moment's reflection he proposed to go with me to see some of his old friends. To this I readily consented, and after selecting anothei? man, we started on our way. We passed through Stoddard and then into Wayne county after a man by name of Stokes. He had fed me on my previous trips, in- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 85 ducing me to believe that he was a substantial Southern man ; I learned shortly afterwards that h© was laying plans for my capture, and had, more than once, put the Federals on my trail. Notwithstand- ing I had these statements from good authority, I was unwilling to take his life until I knew to my own certain knowledge that he was guilty. I did not wish to fall into the error, so common among the Federals, of killing an innocent man to gratify the personal enmity of some informer. Just after dark I went to his house alone, he greeted me in a very cordial manner and remarked : " Well, Mr. Hildebrand, I'm glad to see you — hope you are well — and are yet too smart for the Feds." "Are there any Feds in Greenville ? -' " None, sir, none at all ; I was there to-day ; the place is entirely clear of the scamps. By the way Mr. Hildebrand, are you alone ? " "Oh yes ; I am taking this trip by myself.-' "Glad to assist you, sir; you must stay with me to-night ; Pll hide you to-morrow in a safe place ; can go on to-morrow night if you like ; would like for you to stay longer.'' I thanked him for his proffered assistance, but told him that as I had troubled him so often, I would go to a neighbor's about a mile off and stay until the next night. I went back a short distance to where my men were and waited about an hour. My two men after putting on the Federal uniform, rode around the place and approached the house from another direction ; they rode up in a great 86 AUTOEIOGRAPIIY OF hurry and called Mr. Stokes out. Tom Haile in a very confidential tone commenced : "Well sir! we are on the hot track of Sam Hilde- brand ! he is here again ; he robbed a man down on the Greenville road, five miles below here, about sunset ; he came in this direction, and we concluded to ride down to your house thinking that you might have seen or heard something of him." " I reckon I have, by George ! Sam Hildebrand was here not more than an hour ago, and I tried to detain him ; he was alone and said he was going to stay until to-morrow night at a certain house ; I know the place ; hold on a minute ! I'll get my gun and coat and will go with you — we've got him this time, sure ! " "All right," said Tom, "come along ; we are always glad to meet a man of your stripe." He marched along with the boys until they came to where I was waiting for them ; Stokes had for- gotten to ask many questions, but on coming up to me in the dim moonlight he asked, " how many men have you ? " one of my men answered " twelve. " He at once began laying plans for my capture, and related what he had done on previous occasions " to capture Sam Hildebrand, but that Sam was too sharp for him." When I thought that he had said enough I stopped him with the remark — " I am Sam Hildebrand myself!" and emptied old " Kill-devil" into his bosom. We then proceeded on, traveling altogether in the night, until about day -break ; one morning we got SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 8/ near the ruins of the old Hildebrand homestead, and called at the house of a friend. Knowing that we were in an enemy's country and liable to be trailed, we could not sleep, nor could we travel in the day- time, considering the fact that if our enemies got after us we would have to run about one hundr d and fift}^ miles to get out of their lines, and that the government had no less than four thousand men in active employment all the time for the especial pur- pose of capturing me. We secreted our horses in a thicket under a bluff and entered a cave near by, which was afterwards called by my name. Our friend remained in the cave a few minutes with us, and it was from him I learned the particulars of the atrocities committed by the Federal troops, in the murder of my poor innocent brother Henry. I shall not attempt to describe my feelings, when the truth flashed across my mind that all my broth- ers had been slain in cold blood — Frank, first, and now the other two — leaving me not a brother upon earth except my brother William, who was in the Federal army, but whose well known loyalty was not sufficient to shield his neutral brothers from an indiscriminate butchery. For several hours I re- mained quietly in the cave, studying the matter over ; but finally my mind was made up. I deter- mined to sell my life as dearly as possible, and from that moment wage a war of fire and blood against my persecutors, while one should last, or until I was numbered with the dead. \ I hastily gathered my arms ; only one word 88 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF escaped my lips: "Kevenge!" sounded and re- echoed from the deepest recesses of the cavern, and with one wild rush I made for the mouth of the cave ; but my two men happening to be there, sprang to their feet and choked up the passage ; but near it was another outlet — I dashed through it, and down the steep declivity I hastily made my way, and mounted my horse. But Haile was close after me, and before I could pass around a fallen tree he had my horse by the bridle. ''Hold on, Sam! Don't be a fool. If you are going to throw your life away, you cannot expect to kill a dozen ; if you take your own time you may kill a thousand! If I go back without you, what could I tell your wife and children ? Come, Sam, you must not forget your duty to them. See how they have clung to you! 'Light now, and go with me to the cave." I have but a faint recollection of going back to our retreat; but when I awoke it was nearly sunset, and Tom soon had me laughing in spite of myself. When night came we moved our position about •Qye miles, to the residence of William Patton, as he w^as a man whom I particularly wanted ; but we we were unsuccessful ; he was at home when we first went there, but by some means he succeeded in eluding our grasp. We left there, and before day- light we had secreted our horses in a thicket on Turkey Kun, a small creek emptying into Big river above Addison Murphy's, and had stationed our- selves near the residence of Joe McGahan, on the i^AMUKL S. inLDKFJRAND. 81) different roads leading to his house. About eight o'clock in the morning I concluded that it was fruit- less to watch for him any longer; so I proposed to repair to Franklin Murphy's residence, which was not more than a mile from where we were ; but Tom suggested that we must now return to our horses and consult as to our future movements. We found our horses all right; but when I ex- pressed a desire to stir up Franklin Murphy for being present at the burning of my mother's house, and several other little incidents that led me to think strangely of his conduct, Tom Haile replied : "I do not believe that he sanctioned, in any man- ner, the outrages of which you speak; he could not rescue your brother Frank from the hands of a mob who seemed to have the sanction of public opinion; he could not prevent an army of soldiers, acting under the command of another man, from burning the house, nor from killing your brother Henry. Once for all, let me tell you that it will never do for you to attempt to harm that man. He is a member of a certain Order, that dates back for thousands of years ; the members are bound together by an ob- ligation to watch over each other's interests, and to shield each other, as much as possible, from any impending danger." Tom was so sincere, and looked so serious — which was not common with him — that I told him I never would harm one of them, if I knew it, unless it was in self-defense. We now thought it best to make onr wav back to 90 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Arkansas. We passed through Fnrmington and Fredericktown on the following night, and then camped in the woods until evening. Wo started before night> in order to capture some fiesh horses. Dressed in Federal uniforms, we were riding along the road in Madison county, when on passing a farm, 1 saw a fine looking horse in a lot near the house. I halted my men, dismounted and went up to the horse to catch him, but he was a little shy, and kept his head as far from me as possible. While I was thus trying to get a halter on the spirited animal, a woman stepped onto the porch and bawled but: " See here ! What are you trying to do ? " "I'm trying to catch this horse." " Let him alone, you good-for-nothing ! Don't you look pretty, you miserable scamp, trying to steal my only horse ? " '' Yes, madam, but I'm afraid you are a rebel." "I am a rebel, sir, and I'm proud of it! I have two sons in the rebel army, and if I had six more they should all be in it. You white-livered, insig- nificant scum of creation! you had better let him alone. Why, you are worse than Sam Hildebrand! He wouldn't take the last horse from a poor widow woman ! " By this time I had caught the horse, but as soon as the woman made that last remark, I pulled the halter off", begged her pardon and left. On getting to headquarters, Tom never let me rest about that adventure. SAMCtL S. IlILDEliRAND. 91 CHAPTER XL Another trip to Missouri. — Fight near Fredericktown. — Horse shot from under him. — Killed four Soldiers. — Went into their camp at Fredericktown and stole four horses, — Flight toward the South. — Robbed "Old Crusty." — Return to Arkansas. While I was recruiting at our headquarters in Green county, Arkansas, Oapt. Bolin and most of his men returned to rest themselves for a while. Of course our time passed off agreeably, for we all had so much to say, and so much to listen to, that the mind was actively engaged all the time, render- ing it impossible for time to drag heavily. Having thoroughly rested myself, on the 25th day of August I selected three men, and we started on a trip to St. Francois county, Missouri. Nothing unusual occurred until we arrived in Madison county. On getting within about eight miles of Fredericktown, daylight overtook us, and we stop- ped at an old friend's house for breakfast, who had always treated us kindly, for I had stopped with him several times on my previous trips. He stated to us that there were no troops in Fredericktown. Upon receiving this information, from a source, as we sup- posed, so reliable, we felt quite free, and resolved to make our journey on that day to my old home on Big river. So, after getting our breakfast and feed- ing our horses, we made our way quietly to our 92 ArxoBiooRAriiY of * usual place of crossing the gravel road leading from the Pilot Knob to Fredericktown, when we were suddenly fired on from the brush by about fifty sold- iers. Fortunately for us, we had not kept the usually travelled path that crossed the road at the place where the soldiers were stationed in ambush ; consequently we were about two hundred yards from them, and none of us were hurt, though my horse was shot from under me ; the ball that pierced his chest, passing through my pantaloons, slightly burning my knee. At the word from me my three men whirled into the brush, and w^e retreated back in the direction from w^hich we came, m^^ men on horses and myself on foot. I was still lame from the effects of the wound received at Flat Woods, but we made good time, and eifected our escape. On getting about a mile, I ordered my men to hitch their horses in a thicket, and we w^ould hold the place if they under- took to follow us. After waiting for some time and not hearing from them, we concluded to make our way cautiously back to where we had been fired upon, and try to get a shot. We crept slowly up, and saw six or seven men near the place, but we could not get close enough from the side we were on ; so we made our way in the direction of Pilot Knob about a mile, crossed the gravel road behind a hill, and came up on the opposite side. We got in sight of them just in time to see a party ride up, leading our three horses; at this, I concluded to try one of them at long range, seeing SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 93 distinctly from our position that we could get no closer without exposing ourselves too much. I pulled off old "Kill-devil" at one of them who wore shoulder-straps ; at the crack of the gun the gentle- man got a very hard fall, which, I am fearful, killed him. At this they concluded to follow us into our native woods, for which they paid very dearly. They made a dash on us, which caused us to scatter in different directions, to divide their party up into several squads. Each one of us took a course through the woods in the roughest places we could find, which rendered it very difficult for them to fol- low. I stopped at every place, such as fallen timber, steep banks and high rocks, to get a pop at them, and would be off again in a different direc- tion. Sometimes I was in front, sometimes at one side, and frequently in the rear. I was pleased to see them have so much pluck, for it afforded old ''Kill-devil" an opportunity to howl from every knob and dense thicket in the wild woods until about one o'clock in the evening, when they gave up the chase and quit the unequal fight. On meeting my men, at dark, on the top of a cer- tain high hill designated by me in the morning, I had four new notches on the stock of old "Kill- devil," indicating by that rough record that four more of my enemies had gone to that land where the righteous would cease from troubling them or making them afraid. Two of my men had killed a man apiece, and the other had made what we call in fishing " a water haul." I suppose, however, that 94 AUTOEIOGRAPllY OF he betook himself into some secure corner to medi- tate on the uncertainty of all human affairs until the danger was over. The Federals, on the next day, started in search of us with three or four hundred men ; but their num- bers being so great, we did not make war upon them that day. At night it rained very hard, and whilst it was raining we went into Fredericktown ; finding all things quiet about camp, we managed to steal a horse apiece from them, but did not get the saddles and bridles, as Ave were in a hurry. We got about thirty miles on our way back to Arkansas before morning — each of my men riding bare-backed, with only a halter for a bridle. I stopped, however, at the old gentleman's where we had got breakfast, for the purpose of having a small settlement with him, as he had deceived us in regard to the soldiers at Fredericktown, and, as we believed, had reported us, for we noticed that his son, a lad about fifteen years old, had rode off while we were eating our breakfast on that morning. I stopped, but the old man was not at home, so I took an old saddle and bridle from him, and went on to Arkansas, leaving the Federals to hunt for us, which we were told they kept up about ten days. Before reaching Arkansas, however, for the pur- pose of laying in our winter's supplies, we diverged about twenty miles from our usual course to pay our respects to an old Union man living at the cross- roads, who had caused the expulsion of two families from the neighborhood by reporting on them. SAMUEL S. lULDECBAND. 95 He still had the remnants of what had once been a full country store. No Federal soldiers happened to be near the premises at the time, so we rode up to his house about sunset,- and while I left one man at his door to prevent any one from leaving the house; we went with the old crusty fellow to the store. He was not disposed to be accommodating, but we bought everything that we could put upon our horses and upon a mule that we borrowed of him, and, after telling him to charge it to Uncle Sam, with the Big river mob for security, we left, and beiore morning were out of the reach of danger. On reaching camp, we relieved the needy, not for- getting the two families that '^ Old Crusty " had driven from his neighborhood. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP CHAPTER XII. Trip with three men. — Captured a Spy and shot him.— ^Shot Scaggs. — At night charged a Federal camp of one hundred men. — Killed nine men.— Had one man wounded. — Came near shooting James Craig. — Robbed Bean's store and re- turned to Arkansas. My family still remained in Cook settlement, in St. Francois county, Mo., and as they were in the enemy's country, I did not think it prudent to pay them a visit, knowing that it would only bring ruin upon them if the fact of my visit should ever be- come known to the Unionists in that county. But I determined by some means or othgr to effect their escape to Arkansas as soon as it would be prudent to make the attempt. Capt. Bolin and his men had promised me their co-operation if called upon for that purpose ; but I was well aware that our whole force would be insufficient for the accomplishment of the object, if attempted by force of arms, for two or three thousand men could be brought against me in less than twenty-four hours. To keep myself well posted in regard to the strength of the enemy along the route, I selected three of Quantril's men, and in the latter part of September, started on another raid into Missouri. On arriving at the St. Francis river we found it swim- i niing, but made no halt on that account, having by SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 97 this time become iimred to all kinds of hardships and dangers. On the second day after we started we left the main road and diverged several miles to our right, for the purpose of traveling in day time. On get- ting within sight of a house we discovered some one run into the yard, and immediately afterwards we saw a little boy running toward a barn. The move- ment being a little suspicious, we dashed foward and were soon on each side of the barn. We discovered a man through a crack, and demanded his surrender; he came to the door and threw up his hands. On taking him back into the barn, we discovered his bundle to contain a complete Federal uniform, and when we noticed that the citizen's dress which he had on was much too small for him, we at once pro- nounced him a Federal spy. We found a letter in his pocket, written by a man by the name of Scaggs, to th'e authorities at Fredericktown, containing the names of his rebel neighbors, whom he was desir- ous of having burned out. One of the men in the list I happened to know, and by that means I knew that Scaggs lived about seven miles from there. We took the spy half a mile and shot him, then, chang- ing our course, we started on the hunt for Scaggs, whose residence, however, we did not find until after dark. Dressed in Federal uniform, we rode up to the gate sftid called him out. On arresting him we took him to the house of a friend, who told us that Scaggs had already made two widows in that neighborhood by reporting their husbands. We took 5 - i>8 AUTOBIOGRAPHY- OF J him with us until dciylight appeared, hung him to a limb in the woods, and made our way toward Castor creek, in Madison county. The next night, on crossing Castor creek, we dis- covered a camp of Federals; judging them to be about twenty or thirty strong, we concluded to charge them for a few minutes ; but on getting into their camp we found that there were three or four times as many as we expected; so we charged on through as quick as possible, still two of our horses were killed and one of my men was slightly wounded in the fleshy part of his thigh. After getting through their camp, we captured the four pickets who were placed in a lane on the opposite side. As we came from the wrong direction, they mistook us for their own meu; until we had taken them in. My two men who had lost their horses, now mounted those taken from the pickets. As soon as the pickets told us that they Avere Leeper's men, we shot them and hurried on. On our return, at another time, we were told by the citizens that we killed five and wounded several more in our charge through their camp ; making nine men killed, including the pickets. My wounded man could not be kept in Missouri with any degree of safety, and according to the, usage of the petty tyrants who commanded thelitth squads of Federals, it would have been death to any man under whose roof the wounded man mighl have taken refuge; the man, without any questions' asked, would have been shot, his house and proji SAMUhL S. IIILDEBKA^N]). liij erty burned, and liis wife and children turned out into the world, houseless, forlorn and destitute. To avoid the infliction of such a calamity upon any of our friends, my wounded man was under the neces- sity of making his way alone back into Arkansas. My other two men and myself traveled the re- mainder of the night in the direction of my old home in St. Francois county. I learned that a prolonged effort was made on the following day to trail us up to our camp in the woods ; but a rain having fallen about daylight, our tracks were entirely destroyed. On the following night we made our way to the house of a friend, near the ruins of my once happy home. Here I remained, resting myself and scout- ing over the country on foot, two whole days and nights, trying to shoot some of the miscreants who had^belonged to the old mob, but they kept them- selves so closely huddled that I had no chance at them. On the second da}^; liowever, while lying near the road, James Craig, captain of the mob — which by this time had assumed the name of Militia — with two men whom I did not recognize, came along, rid- ing very fast. I got a bead on Craig, but my gun did not fire ; and I will say here, that this was the only time during the war that old " Kill-devil" de- ceived me. On returning to my friend near my old home, he stated to me that our horses, which we had con- cealed in a nook in one of the bluffs of Big river, had been discovered by some boys who were hunt- 100 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ing, and that they had gone to report to the militia. Upon receiving this intelligence, we started at once to our horses, found them all right, and, not being satisfied with the results of our trip, we concluded to obtain some supplies from our good Union friends before leaving. We got' on Flat river about the middle of the afternoon, and rode up to a store kept by the sons of John Bean, one of whom be- longed to the Vigilance mob — but he was not there. The boys had sense enough to make no demon- stration, so, without damaging anything whatever, I took such things as we needed, in part payment for my property which the mob had destroyed. The boys looked a little displeased ; they consid- ered us bad customers, and did not even take the trouble to book the articles against us. The militia, having received the report of the boys, mustered their whole force and, on the follow- ing day, struck our trail and overtook us between Pilot Knob and Fredericktown ; they followed us about ten miles, but only got sight of us occasion- ally on the tops of hills we had to pass over. Night came, and we neither saw nor heard them any more. We traveled all night and about daylight we rode up to the house of a man named Slater, in the south- ern part of Wayne county, Missouri, for whom we had been watching for some time. He had made himself very busy ever since the beginning of the war by reporting Southern men. He succeeded in having several of them imprisoned, and their fami- lies impoverished. Wo found him at home; his SAMUEL S. niLDEBRAND. 101 manhood wilted like a cabbage leaf; we took him about a mile from home and shot him. We then pursued our way home to Green county, Arkansas, and divided our spoils amongst the desti- tute families driven there by the ruthless hands ol Northern sympathizers. 102 AUTOBlOGKAPllY OF CHAPTER Xlll. The Militia mob robs the Hildebrand estate. — Irip unth ten men. — Attacks a Govertinient traiji with an escort of twenty men. — Killed tioo and -put the others to flight. Directly after the termination of my last trip, cer- tain events transpired in St. Francois county of which it is necessary that the reader should be in- formed. I have already stated that the infamous Vigilance mob finally came to a head by the organ- ization of its worst material into a militia company with James Craig for captain and Joe McGahan for first lieutenant. As Craig could neither read nor write, and did not know his alphabet from a spotted mule, the lieutenant was actually the head and front of the marauders. Their design in assuming the form and style ot a militia company was merely for the purpose of legalizing their acts of plunder. They did not pretend to take the field against the Rebels, or to strike a single blow in defense of the State or anything else. While drawing their pay from the government, they spent their time hunting hogs, sheep, and cattle belonging to other people. Having killed all my brothers but one (and he was in the Union army where they could not reach him), they proceeded to divide the property of the Hildebrand estate among themselves. Mother, though decidedly a Union woman originally, they SA]\IIIKJ. S. IIJJJ I JJRAM). 103 liad loni^ Bince driven oil' to Jefferson county, with nothing but her bed and Bible. The liomestead had been burned, yet there was an abundance of stock belonging to the estate, and a large field of standing corn. 'J'hey collected the stock and gathered the corn, and then proceeded to divide it among themselves. In this division they disagreed very much; a ques- tion arose whether an officer was entitled to any more than a private, and a few of them went home declaring that they would not have anything if they could not get their share. At the very time this valorous militia company had stacked their muskets against the fence and were chasing mother's sheep and pigs around through the dog fennel, I was capturing a govern- m.ent train and getting my supplies in an honorable manner. About tlie first of November^, 1862, having learned that the Federals were in the habit of hauling their army supplies to Bloomfield from Cape Girardeau on the Mississippi river, Capt. Bolin and myself de- termined to Iny in our supplies from the same source. We took ten men and started with about ten days' rations. Arriving on a stream called White Water, which, with Ca-tor creek, forms the Eastern fork of St. Francis river, we concealed ourselves in an un- frequented part of the woods. It was necessary that we shoukl be thoroughly posted in regard to the ex- 104 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF pected time of the arrival of the train, and the prob- able strength of the escort. I undertook this delicate mission disguised as a country farmer, in search of a stray mule. Without my gun I made my way on foot to the vicinity of a mill and there concealed myself near a road to await the arrival of some one going to mill. Presently a man came along with a cart and oxen, but I let him pasS; fearing that my questions might arouse his sus- picions. I remained there nearly an hour for some boy to pass ; at length I saw one at a distance coming slow- ly along, riding on his sack and whistling little frag- ments of " John Brown." I stepped into the road before he got near me and walked along until I met him. I asked about my mule, but of course he knew nothing about him. I told him that I had concluded to hunt no further, but that I was anxious to return to Bloomfield if I could only meet with a convey- ance for I was tired of walking so much. He told me that the government wagons would pass there on the following day and perhaps I could get a ride. I told him that I would be afraid to do that for the Rebels might capture me ; he said that there was no danger of that, for twenty soldiers always went with the wagons. I returned to my comrades with all the informa- tion we wanted, and we soon settled all our prelim- inary arrangements for the attack. After dark we took the road along which we knew they were to pass; we selected a place called the Round Pond, SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 105 and secreted ourselves in a clump of heavy timber through which the soldiers could not see, in order that they might imagine the woods full of Rebels, Night passed and the morning hours wore away, when at length we saw two government wagons coming, and in the sunlight sure enough, twenty bayonets were gleaming. We suddenly broke from the woods with a great shout, and dashed in among them with all the noise we could make. We fired a few shots, killing two and causing the remainder to break for the woods in every direction. The sole object of our trip being to get supplies of clothing, ammunition, etc., we felt no disposition to hunt them down, but let them con- tinue their flight without any pursuers. We unhitched the horses and packed them with such things as we needed ; after which we burned the w^agons and every thing else we could not take with us. On starting back we went through Mingo Swamp and made our way safely to St. Francis river, which we found out of its banks. With a great deal of difficulty we succeeded in swimming the river with our train, but with the loss of one roan named Banks, who unfortunately was drowned. Becoming en- tangled in a drift of grape vines and brush, he drowned before we could render him any assistance. 106 AIJTOBIOGRXPIIY OF CHAPTER XIV. Federal cruelties.'— A defense of "Bushwhacking" — Trijj wit/t Capt. Bolin and nine men. — Fight at West Prairie. — Started with two men to St. Francois county. — Killed a Federal soldier. — Killed Ad. Cunningham. — Copt. Walker kills Copt, Bar7ies and Hildebrand kills Capt. Walker. On arriving at headquarters we busied ourselves for several weeks in building houses to render our- selves as comfortable as possible during the coming winter. Our headquarters were on Crawley's Ridge, between the St. Francis river and Cash creek, in Green county, Arkansas. It was a place well adap- ted to our purpose, affording as it did a safe retreat from a large army encumbered with artillery. Many of Capt. Bolin's men had their families with them, and our little community soon presented a eon&iderable degree of neatness and comfort. I lace, but our scouts were constantly bringing us ntmors of fresh barbarities committed by the differ^ ent Federal bands who were infesting the country in S'ooitheast Missouri, making it their especial aim to arrest, burn out, shoot and destroy all those peaceable citizens who from the beginning had taken no part in the war. They were especially marked out for destruction, who had been known to shelter '' Sam Hildebrand, SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. lOT tlie BushwJjacker," as they were pleased to call me* If aii}^ man should happen to see me passing along the road, and then should fail to report the same at headquarters, regardless of the distance, he was taken out from his house and shot, without even the shadow of a trial to ascertain whether he was guilty or not. An old man, with his head silvered over by the frosts of seventy winters, who had served his country in many a hard fought battle before his tor- mentors were born, and who now hoped to go down the declivity of life in peace and security, found himself suddenly condemned and shot for disloy- alty, because he generously took a stranger into his' house for the night, who afterwards proved to be "the notorious Sam Hildebrand." These same miscreants, however, would call at any house they pleased, and; by threats, compel even women, in the absence of their husbands, to cook the last morsel of food in the house, scraped together by poor feeble women to keep their chil- dren from starving to death. Pid I ever do that ? No, never ! Did I ever pun- is^h a raan for feeding a Federal ? Did I ever shoot ^m'dnior^Dt reporting to me the fact of having •seen a Fedejal pass along the road ? If that was really my mode of proceeding, I would deserve the stigma cast upon my iaa.me. My enemies say .tha^t J am a " Bushwhacker." Very well, what is a " Bushwljiacker ? " He is a man who shoots his enemies. What is a regular army ,but a conglomerate mass of Bush^Jiackers '^ But 108 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF we frequently coijceal ourselves in the woods, and take every advantage ! So do the regular armies. But a Bushwhacker will slip up and shoot a man in the night! Certainly, and a regular army will slip up and shoot a thousand. But a Bushwhacker lives by plundering his ene- mies! So did Sherman in Georgia, and a host of others, with this difference : That I never charged my government with a single ration, while they did so at all times. Besides, I never made war upon women and children, neither did I ever burn a house ; while the great marching, house-burning, no hattle heroj turned his attention to nothing else. In fact, the "Independent Bushwhacking Depart- ment " is an essential aid in warfare, particularly in a war like ours proved to be. There are a class of cowardly sneaks, a gang of petty oppressors — like the Big river mob — who can be reached in no other way. A large regular army might pass through where they were a dozen times without ever finding one of them. As I stated before, barbarities were committed by a certain band of Federals, that warranted our in- terference. Capt. Bolin, myself and nine other men mounted our horses and started on another trip, about the first day of December, 1862. We crossed the St. Francis, and traveled several nights, until we reached West Prairie, in Scott county, Missouri, where we came upon a squad of SAMUEL S. HTLDEBRAND. 109 Federals, thirty in number, like an old-fashioned earthquake. Imagining themselves perfectly safe, they had placed out no pickets ; so we ran suddenly on them, and before they had time to do any fighting they were so badly demoralized they knew not how to fight. We killed four, wounded several more, and charged on through their camp, as w^as our custom; in half an hour we returned to renew the attack, but found nobody to fight. In our first charge, we caused several of their horses to break loose, which we afterwards got. We had one man wounded, having been shot through the thigh with a Minnie ball. Capt. Bolin and six men took the wounded man back with them to Ar- kansas, while Henry Resinger, George Lasiter and myself started on a trip to St. Francois county. One morning, just at daylight, we found ourselves on the gravel road leading from Pilot Knob to Fredericktown, and about seven miles from the latter place. We concealed ourselves in a thicket and watched the road until evening before we saw an enemy. A squad of eight Federals came sud- denly in sight, riding very fast. I hailed them, to cause a momentary halt, and we fired. One fell to the ground, but the others hastened on until they were all out of sight. While we were examining our game (the dead man), we discovered three more in the distance, who seemed to have got behind the party, and were riding rapidly to overtake them 110 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF at this we divided, taldng our stations in two differ- eni places for the purpose of taking them in. On coming nearer v/e discovered that they were not dressed in Federal uniform. We took them prison- ers and ascertained that they were Southern sym- pathizers from near Fredericktown, who had been imprisoned at the Knob for several weeks, but hav- ing been released they were on their way home. While we were thus parleying with them, asking questions relative to the forces at the diiFerent mili- tary posts in the country, the party we had fired into now returned with a much larger force, and suddenly we found ourselves nearly surrounded by a broken and scattered line on three sides of us, at a distance of only one hundred yards. The odds were rather against us; being about sixty men against three. I called quickly to my men to follov/ me, and we dashed for the uncompleted part of their circle. On seeing this movement they dashed rap^ idly toward that part and closed the line ; but when I started toward that point it was the least of my intentions to get out at that place ; I wheeled sudr denly around and went out in the rear^ contrary to their expectations, followed by my men, shooting as we ran, until we had gained some distance in the woods ; having the advantage of the darkness that was now closing in upon us, and being on foot, we escaped from the cavalry, who were tangled up in the brush, and were making the woods resound with their noise. We luckily escaped unhurt, although there were SAMUEL S. ilFLDEBRAND. Ill at least fifty shots fired at us. I received two bullet holes through the rim of my hat, and one through the sleeve of my coat, and one of my men got a notch in his whiskers. We were not certain of hav- ing hurt any of the Federals as we passed out of their lines. We kept together and returned to our horses ; after a short consultation we mounted and rode back to get a few more shots at them, at long range ; but when we got to the battlefield we found no one there. Tov/ard Fredericktown w« then, made our way, until we got in sight of the place, but saw nothiug of the soldiers. During the night we visited several friends, and several who were not friends, but did no harm to any one, there being only two men at that time in the vicinity whom we wanted to hang, and they were not at home. On the next day we tore down the telegraph wire on the road to Pilot Knob, and stationed ourselves about a mile from town for the purpose of bush- whacking the Federals when they, should come to fix it up; but they were getting cunning, and sent out some Southern sympathizers for that purpose, and we did not hurt them. But I made a contract witli one of them for ammunition, and in the evening, when we had again torn the wire down, he came out to fix it up, and brought me a good supply of powder and lead. From him we learned that a general movement against us was to be made by the troops, both at Fredericktown and the Knob, on the following day. I knew that the whole country between there 112 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF and Arkansas was in the hands of the Federals. I knew also that they had learned my trick of invari- ably making a back movement toward Arkansas, immediately after creating an excitement. As they seemed not likely to hunt the same coun- try over twice, I concluded to go north of the road and wait a few days until the southern woods were con:ipletely scoured, and thus rendered safe for our return. While waiting for this to be done, I thought it a good opportunity to hunt up a man by the name of Cunningham, who had been living in the vicinity of Bloomfield. During the early part of the war he professed to be a strong Southern man, and had been of some service to our cause as a spy ; but during the second year of the rebellion he changed his plans and became to us a very dangerous enemy, and was very zealous in reporting both citizens and soldiers to the Federal authorities. Our intention on this trip was to arrest and take him to Col. Jeffries' camp, ten miles south of Bloom- field, that he might be dealt with by the Colonel as he might see proper. On gaining the vicinity of Farmington, where Cunningham now lived, we learned that he was carrying on his oppressive measures with a high hand, and was very abusive to those whom he had in his power. It is said that he even robbed his own brother, Burril Cunningham, and suffered him to be abused unmercifully by the squad of men under his com- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 113 mand. On reaching the Valle Forge we struck his trail and followed on toward Farmington ; but some Federals got upon our trail, and would have over- taken us before we reached town, if a friend had not deceived them in regard to the course we had taken. We found Cunningham at his own house, and when we approached the door I demanded his sur- render ; he attempted to draw a revolver, and I shot him through the heart. Having accomplished our object, we now returned to Bloomfield and reported to Col. Jeffries. We re- mained there about three weeks. On the 5th day of January, 1863, Capt. Reuben Barnes requested me and my two men to assist him in capturing a man by the name of Capt. Walker, who had a command in the Federal army, and was now supposed to be at his home, about six miles from there. On approaching the house. Walker ran out, hold- ing his pistols in his hands. As we were near enough, wo ordered him to surrender, at which he turned around and faced us. On getting a little nearer, he suddenly shot Capt. Barnes, and started to run. Our chase was soon ended, for I shot him dead. We took Capt. Barnes back to Bloomfield, where he died the same day. We then returned to Green county, Arkansas, and went into winter quarters. 114 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTER XV. started alone. — Rode off a hhff and killed his horse. — Fell in with twenty-five Rehelsunder Lieutenant Chllds. — Went with them. — Attacked 07ie hundred ayid fifty Federals at Bollinger*s Mill. — Henry Resinger killed. — Williatn Cato. — We7it back to Frede- ricktovm. — Killed a man. — Rohhed Abrighfs store. On the 23cl day of January, 1863, 1 started alone on a trip to Missouri, for the purpose of making some arrangements for the escape of my family to Arkansas. I got along very well until the second night; then as I was riding over a brushy ridge I was suddenly hailed by "Who comes there?" I halted and in an instant became aware of my close proximity to a Federal camp. I instantly wheeled my horse in the w^oods to the right, dashed furiously down a sleep hill side for a short distance, and then in the darkness plunged over a precipice eight or ten feet high. My horse fell among some rocks and was killed, but I was precipitated a few feet further into a deep liole of water in some creek. I was a little confused in my ideas for a while, but I had sense enough to crawl up out of the deep wa- ter ; as I stood there v/ith my dripping clothes I heard some of the soldiers coming down the hill to- ward me; so I crossed the creek and took up the hill on the other side. I was now completely out of their clutches and could easilv have made my es- 8AMUEL a. liiLDEBilANL. i 15 cape ; but I had Jeft my gun in the deep hole, and the thought of leaving "Kill-devil" in that predica- ment was more than I could bear. In a few minutes the soldiers left and went back up the hill. I now slipped back cautiously and got into the water to recover my gun. The water was deep and cold ; however, I waded in nearly up to my chin and felt around with my feet for the gun. I got my foot under it finally and raised it up ; but I had no sooner got it into my hands than I saw five or six soldiers returning with a light. As they were making their way down through a crevice in the bluff, some ten steps above the rock from which I had been precipitated, I had just time to wade down the creek, which was now only a few inches deep in places, and secrete myself behind a cluster of wil- lows that hung over the edge of the steep bank about twenty yards below. The Federals remained ten or fifteen minutes^ walking around my dead horse, and around the hole of water. They threw the glare of their lantern in every direction, and though I was completely hid from their observation, I must acknowledge that as I stood there in the water, shivering with cold, hold- ing my dripping gun, I felt more like anything else in the world than a major. Finally they struck the trail that I had made up the hill with my dripping clothes and each one of them went in pursuit. Taking this opportunity I slowly left my retreat and waded down the creek for a long distance. I climbed up the hill on the same side on which the 116 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Federals were camped ; I made a wide circuit aroun them and came into the road, some four or five miles ahead. I walked rapidly ,to keep myself warm, and just before the break of day I arrived at the house of a friend, wet, hungry, and on foot. I was soon supplied with everything I wanted ; my gun was well attended to, and when morning came " Kill- devil" looked rather brighter than usual. I started on in the direction of Fredericktown and fell in with twenty-five Eebel boys, commanded by Lieut. Childs, who asked me to take command of his men and give the Federals a " whack" at Bollinger's Mill, on Castor creek. That locality for some time had been a place of rendezvous for Southern recruits ; that fact being well-known, the Federals concluded to station some men there. They were known to be about one hund- red and fifty strong, but I consented on condition that his men all take an oath never to surrender un- der any circumstances. After the oath was admin- istered we marched to the place above mentioned, arriving there about eleven o'clock at night, on the 4th of February. We succeeded in capturing their pickets, made a charge on their camp, fought them for about five minutes (or until they got ready to fight) ; killed twenty-two of their number as we were informed afterwards, and at the word we marched out on double-quick time. We took four prisoners with us and got some important informa- tion from them, but finding that they were not Mc Keal's men we released them all. SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. - 117 We lost one man killed, Henry Kesinger, and three badly wounded, who recovered. We carried the wounded with us in our retreat, and at daylight we all started for Mingo Swamp. The Federals followed us, and as our march was retarded by our wounded ; they made their way around and charged us, striking our columns at right angles, they divided our line-cutting off seven of my men, whom they took prisoners. In this little skirmish I lost one man, and killed three of the Federals, at which they left our trail and permitted us to make our way to St. Francis river, which we were compelled to swim. We got one horse drowned, but got over safely without any other accident, struck camp and com- menced getting our breakfast, dinner and supper, all the same meal. Presently some one from the opposite shore called for us to bring him a horse. From his voice we knew him to be William Cato, one of the seven who had been taken as a prisoner. One of my men swam over to him with a horse, and when he had arrived safely in camp, he informed us that six of the prisoners were shot, and that he had made his escape by dodging them in the brush. He was barefooted, and had torn nearly all his clothing off. We afterwards learned that the oflScer in command at Bollinger's Mill was Capt. Leeper from Ironton, Missouri. Not being satisfied with my trip, I did not remain but one week in camp, before I selected two men 118 AUTOBIOGRAPIIY OF and started back to Missouri to make another effort towards getting my family to Arkansas. On getting to Fredericktown we found the place full of sold- iers. In that town there lived a Dutchman, whose meddlesome disposition led him to be very zealous in the cause of putting soldiers on the track of pri- vate citizens. It seems that he never left town, and that it would be impossible to kill him unless it were done in public. After night I layed off my coat, and gathering up a saw buck, which I found at a wood pile, I walked straight across a street or two, until I reached the door, thinking thereby not to attract any particular attention ; but on being told that he was not at home, I carried myself out of town as soon as cir- cumstances would permit, got with my two men and started on toward Farmington. When morning be- gan to approach we left the road several miles and secreted ourselves on a certain hill, for a friend on whom we had called during the night told us that the military authorities were aware of ray presence in the neighborhood; and that they had se- cured the services of two or three good woodsmen to aid in tracking me up. About one o'clock in the afternoon we discovered a man tracking us slowly aruond our steej) hill, look- ing cautiously ahead, holding his gun in a position to raise and fire in an instant. The ground was hard and our horses were not easily trailed, but our pur- suer kept moving along very slowly. We were at a loss to know whether he was really a brave man or \ SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 119 a natural fool. Not coming to any definite conclu- sion however, I concluded to make my w^y down the hill a little to gratify his curiosity by letting him find me. I wounded him severely on purpose to let him see me, but he yelled so loud that I had to kill him with my knife, for I wanted " peace" about that time. We heard some horsemen coming, so we hastened away from there and secreted ourselves in a thicket on Wolf creek; near the residence of John Griffin. Here I learned that my wife had procured a little wagon and a small yoke of oxen, with which to move to Arkansas ; that she started with the family on the 16th day of February, and by this time was in the vicinity of Bloomfield. At night we went out on the plank road leading from Farmington to Ste. Genevieve and fired into a camp of Federals ; we could not get near enough to do them any harm, but wished to draw them out to hunt for us ; but in this we failed and had to abandon the project. From there we went to the junction of the Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain roads, and robbed a store belonging to a Dutchman by the name of Abright. We patronized him very liberally and started back to Arkansas with all the goods w^e could pack. At this stage of the war the Federals held pos- session of all the principal places in Southeast Mis- souri. Bloomfield was also held by them, and there was no doubt in my mind but whnt my family was now in their hands. 120 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF While passing through Stoddard county, the Fed- erals overtook us, and run us so closely that we were compelled to throw off a part of our loads ; on arriving at St. Francis river we found it guarded. Our only chance was to whip the Federals, and we determined to try it. We retreated into a dense cane brake and then commenced upon them. We killed three of their men on the second round and then they fled. We got home safely and were again prepared " to clothe the naked and feed the hungry." SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRANl). 121 CHAPTER XVI. Started to Bloomfield loltJi three, men. — FigJit at St. Francis 7'iver. — Starts on alone. — Meets his wife and fatnily. — They had been ordered o^ from Bloomfield. — Capture and release of Mrs. Hildehrand. — Fight in Stoddard county. — Arrival in Arkansas. For the purpose of getting my family to Arkan- sas, it was necessary that I should make a trip to Bloomfield, although that place was now held by a large Federal force under McNeal. I started with three good men, crossed the St. Francis river at a shoal, but we had not proceeded more than ten miles when we ran into a company of McNeal's men, who instantly fired upon us, slightly wounding one of my men in the fleshy part of his arm. We thought it best for four men to retreat from the fire of nearly one hundred, which we did, in double-quick time. They pursued us very closely, but were at too great a distance for them to shoot us. Wishing to get a few shots at them, we concluded to cross the river and give them a fight from the other side; so we plunged our horses in the deep water at the nearest point, were swimming, and.had nearly gained the opposite shore, when the Federals ran onto the bank we had just left and fired a volley 6 122 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF at US with their muskets; but their shots were all too high. We reached the bank where the willows were very thick, jumped off our horses and returned the fire. From our place of concealment we could easily see that three of their number were killed. They kept up a random fire at the willow thicket, in which they wounded three of our horses and caused them to run up into the woods, terribly af- frighted. By this time they had ceased firing and had taken refuge behind trees, and were watching for our movements ; in this position they stood two rounds from our rifles, in which four of them fell, having been shot through the head. Before we could get another shot we discovered a i3ortion of the men making their way up the river, and I understood at once that their intention was to en- gage our attention at that place, while a part of the command would make their w^ay around and take us in ; so w^e retreated in good order to a place of safety, and remained all night. The next morning were crossed the river in compa- ny with'several others ; and found that the Federals during the night after the fight had gone to Bloom- field. They procured a wagon and team from an old man living near for the purpose of hauling off their dead. The old man stated to us that there were seven killed and two wounded. I now decided to change my tactics, and try my luck alone and on foot. I thought that by stealthy movements I could find my family and get them off SAMUEL S. HlLDEBllAND. 123 to Arkansas much better than with a small com- pany of men. In a few days I met my family about twenty miles south from Bloomfield on their way to Arkansas in an old wagon pulled by a small yoke of oxen, which my wife was driving. I learned from her that some of Capt, Bolin's men had removed her from Fiat Woods to Bloomfield, in Stoddard county^ Missouri, but that McNeal, on taking possession of the town had ordered her to leave, adding that the wife and family of that "desperado, Sam Hildebrand," could not remain within one hundred miles of his head- quarters. With the wagon and oxen furnished her by a friend to our cause, she took the children and some provisions and started out upon the road, and when I met them she was making her way as best she could, but was just preparing to camp for the night in the lone v/oods. She cautioned me very particu- larly about the Federals, and said that she had seen two or three squads that day. On the following morn- ing we resumed our journey, and about ten o'clock I met six Union soldiers, who came suddenly upon me at a short turn in the road, but, being dressed in Federal uniform^ they did not suspicion me as being a Rebel. They asked me to what command I be- longed, an(3 I answered them to Capt. Rice's, sta- tioned at that time in Fredericktown ; at this they seemed satisfied^ and passed on, swearing vengeance against any Rebels that might fall in their way. As soon as they were out of sight, I told my wife to 124 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF drive on, while I traveled through the brush awhile. I had scarcely got out of the road when I discovered a whole regiment of Federal soldiers, not more than half a mile off, who w^ere coming directly toward US. I soon gained an eminence in the woods, from which I could observe their maneuvers. They stop- ped at the wagon, and after parleying with my wife for several minutes, they turned her team around and took my family along. At this juncture it is needless to say that I be- came enraged, and knowing an old rebel citizen about two miles off, I resolved at once to go to him, thinking that perhaps I might hear from some of our boys, for I was sure that if there were any in the neighborhood the old man would know it. I w^as overjoyed when he told me that James Oato and Wash Nabors were taking a nap in the barn, while he was standing on the lookout. I repaired to the barn at once, told them the fate of my family, and that I wanted their assistance that we might amuse ourselves in bushwhacking them. After getting something to eat, and some provi- sions to take along with us, we started through the dense forest, and got in sight of them about sun- down. Before darkness set in we killed a man apiece, and then lurked around the camp all night. About every two hours, Cato, Nabors and myself would meet at a certain hill, designated before dark, and report progress. I made a great many random shots, but I think that during the night I killed as many as fifteen men. My comrades thought that they SAiMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 125 both together killed as many more. I learned after- wards that the number we killed during the night was just thirty ; none were wounded that I ever could hear of. Morning began to approach, and we fell back to a high hill, until they began to move toward Bloom- field. Throughout the day they kept their skirmish lines so strong that we could do nothing ; however^ we got several shots, at long range, at their scouts, but during the entire day I was not certain of kill- ing more than two men. We kept in the woods, as near the troops as we could, until we had followed them into the very suburbs of Bloomfield ; then we started back along the road about dark, intending to pick up stragglers. Judge of my surprise and joy when, on going back, I came across my wife and children sitting by the roadside, where the Federals had leit them about noon, but without the oxen and wagon, and without any provisions, bedding or change of clothing. The capture of my wife had proved rather fatal to them, and her detention among them had pro- duced nothing but disaster and death. It reminded me of a passage of Scripture that I once heard my mother read from the Book of Sam- uel, giving an account of the Philistines having captured the ark of the covenant; they took it from one place to another, but a plague was produced wherever it was detained, until many thousands were dead. Finally, to get it out of their hands, they hitched up a yoke of cattle to a cart, and with- 126 xVUTOEIOGRAI'HY OP out any driver started it out of the country. The Federals, however, varied somewhat from the Philis- tines, for, instead of giving her a cart and oxen, and loading her down with presents of gold, they took her wagon and oxen and everything else she had, and left her by the roadside in an unknown wilder- ness. On seeing me my family was greatly relieved in mind, yet thej^ were in a starving condition, and we had nothing to divide with them. Believing that the "ark" might have been left there for the pur- pose of trapping me, I took my position about two hundred yards from my family, and remained while my two comrades were gone after something for them to eat. After their return I made a fire for my wife in the woods, and gave her directions in regard to the course she must travel in the morning, in order to reach the house of our old friend. After bidding them adieu, I was forced to leave them in their forlorn condition. We hastened on to our old friend and requested him to meet my family as early as possible, and convey them to his house. He did so ; and in the evening of the same day, having procured the use of a team, we started on for Arkansas. Col. McNeal sent out a party from Bloom field; under Capt. Hicks, who followed us to the St. Fran- cis river, but we had got across, and they did not venture very close to the bank, having learned a lesson from me on my upward trip a short time be- fore. SAMUEL S. HTLDEBRAND. 127 We arrived safely at Capt. Bolin's camp, and my family was soon safely housed and supplied with the necessaries of life, in the charming little com- munity where a score of pleasant families resided. 128 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP CHAPTER XVII. Pat in a crop. — Took another trip to 'Missouri loith six men. — Sur- rounded in a tobacco ham. — Killed two men in escaping. — Killed Wam,mack for informing on hhn. — Captures some Federals and released them on conditions. — Went to Big River Mills. — Robbed Highley^s and Bea7i's stores. Having succeeded in getting my family to Green county, Arkansas, I settled on apiece of land whose owner had left for parts unknown, intending to hold the same until the owner should return. During the month of April, 1863, I was an ^'honest farmer," and by the 10th day of May I finished planting a field of corn, while at the same time my wife put in a large garden. At this occupation I enjoyed myself very well for a while; I got some chickens^ a few pigs, and a milch cow, so that my family could get along with- out materially interfering with my main object in life — that of killing my enemies. The boys were now anxious to make another trip to Missouri ; so I took six men and started for Cas- tor creek, in Madison county, after some notorious scamps who had been giving us trouble on previous trips, by putting the Federals on our trail, besides the constant annoyance they gave Southern citi- zens in that country, by reporting them to the Fed- erals. SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 129 We passed west of Bloomfield through the South- ern part of Madison county, arriving in the neigh- borhood about daylight on the morning of the fourth ne Federals in Hamburg, but got glorious- ly whipped. — Retreated to Coon Island. — Return to St. Francis river. — Killed Oiler at Flat Woods. — Robbed Bean's store at Trondale. About the middle of August, 1863, at the solici- tation of two brave boys who had kindly assisted me on several trips to St. Francois county, and ex- pected my assistance in return, I started to a small place called Hamburg, with fifteen men under my [IIKL S. IllLDLKKAND. 155 men were badl}^ wounded, bwt none of them killed. I began to think that I had met with more than our match, for as we retreated they followed us in a solid phalanx. Our horses were put to the utmost of their speed, our wounded were left behind, the chase after us was gloriously exciting ; we probably gained a little after we had gone about two miles, but they did not by any means give up the chase, for we were not allowed to enjoy anything that had the least resemblance lo peace and tranquility, un- til we had gained Little river and swam across to Coon Island. We lost nearly everything we had ex- cept our horses and they were badly injured; some of my men lost their guns, and others lost every bit of fight that they formerly had in them. The Fed- erals made^no attempt to cross the river, but left us to brood over the sad result of our rash and incon- siderate adventure. The whole matter looked to me a great deal like a defeat, and I must confess that I viewed it rathe^g in that light ; but if it had been the Army of the Potomac they would have called it "a strategic movement — merely a change of base." We lost one man killed and four wounded, prison- ers whom we supposed would be shot. In justice to General Steele, however, I can proudly say that in this case he did us more than justice by retaining our men as prisoners of war and treating them well. Their wounds were healed, and in three months they were exchanged and returned to our Green County Confederacy. On leaving Coon Island we struck the St. Francis 156 AUTOBIOaRAPHY OF river at Twelve Mile creek, and remained there several days recruiting our horses. Not wishing^ to be idle, I concluded that while my men and horses were resting, I would take a trip on foot to Flat Woods and pay my respects to George F. Oiler, who was so intent on bushwhacking me that he spent most of his time in the woods watching for my ap- pearance on my accustomed routes. Aside from his many boisterous threats against me he was in the habit of marking out "Old Sam," as he called me, on trees and shooting at the figure at various distances. His vindictive spirit was not manifested against me alone, but even against the children of Southern sympathizers. At one time he went to St. Francis river where some Southern boys were in the habit of bathing, and at the high rock from which they were fond of plunging, he drove some cedar stakes and sharpened the upper ends which were just under the water. Fortunately when the boys next went there to bathe the water had fallen a few inches, and the ends of the stakes exposed so that the boys dis- covered them before making the fatal leap. Oiler of course did all this for the patriotic motive of sub- jugating the South; but the result was that the little boys were saved and the country lost. On arriving in the neighborhood I learned from a very kind German lady whom I happened to meet and who mistook me for a Federal, that the hunt for me was still going on. I learned also that Oiler's zeal for the good of the SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 157 Union cause w£fs not in the least abated by his many failures to hit my figure which he had cut on a large oak near his house, nor by his failure to kill the innocent children whom he was afraid would be jRebels at some future time. At night I went and inspected his premises, and before daylight I took my position; but the day passed off and he did not make his appearance. When night came I repaired to the house of a friend, 'obtained two days' rations, returned to my ambush, and slept until the first peep of day. I was again doomed to disappointment ; but on the third day, late in the evening, as I lay brooding over the many failures I had made to inflict justice upon those who were seeking my blood, Mr. Oiler made his appear- ance. He walked slowly up to the premises with his gun on his shoulders. On getting to a pig pen he got over the fence and commenced marking a pig. I shot him through and hastily left the place; on gaining the top of a small hill a few hundred yards off, I heard the pig squealing, for Mr. Oiler had fallen across it, and it was not able to extricate itself from the trap. On getting back to my men I selected five of them to go with me, and permitted the rest to return to Arkansas. As soon as it was dark I started with my five men for Irondale, on the St. Louis and Iron Mountain railroad. Just after dark on one evening in the early part 158 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF of September, we entered the town. We saw no sold- iers in the streets, and no one else, except Dr. Pos- ton, a citizen of the place. We compelled him to knock at the door of Bean's store and ask for admit- tance ; when this was done we entered without any trouble, took all the goods we could conveniently pack, and returned to Arkansas by the way of Black river. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 159 CHAPTER XXL Started with six men for Springfield, Missouri. — Deceived hy a Federal Spy. — Was captured through mistake hy Rebels. — Sur- prised on Panther creek. — Returned home on foot. I was under obligations to assist some of my boys in a trip to the neighborhood from which they had been driven, in return for their services on several of my trips. About the middle of September, after having only rested about a week, I started with six men from near Springfield, Missouri, to make a raid in the vi- cinity of that city. Not being acquainted with the country over which we designed traveling, I had but little to say in regard to the programme of our intended raid. After our plans were arranged, we started, taking with us "neither purse nor scrip/' for we intended to rely altogether on our good for- tune fo^' our supplies. EroTn Green county. Ark., we traveled through Kai^dolph and entered Missouri in Ripley county, Jlere we were detained, for one of my men had the paisfortune to lose his horse. Having reached a part of the country known as the Irish Wilderness, we concluded to rest a day and hurjt, In the evening before we struck camp, a young man, dressed in citizen's clothes, who claimed to be going to the Rebel army, joined us, and ^sked per-. 160 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF mission to stop with us until morning. He professed to be going to Arkansas, and we readily consented to entertain him as best we could. After the confusion incident to striking camp, making fires, attending to our horses, etc., was over, our new companion began a series of interrogatories relative to the part of country through which we had operated, since the beginning of the war. After having posted him thoroughly in regard to the field of our operations, we related to him many thrilling incidents and daring adventures connected with our history ; to all of which he listened with intense in- terest, and at the amusing parts of our story he laughed most heartily. After we grew tired of re- lating our many dangerous feats and bloody deeds, he began his narrative of hair breadth escapes and heroic adventures. The field of his operations hav- ing been Kentucky, we were very pleasantly enter- tained by receiving the full accounts of several in- cidents of which we had heard some rumors. We had scarcely marked the transition from twi- light to Egyptian darkness, so much were we pleased with our new companion's pleasant stories, when one of my men remarked that " the last hour of the day was melting away into the eventful past." Our programme for the day following had been made by our new comrade, and heartily approved by us all, that we would take an old fashioned deer hunt, among the wild hills surrounding us. Our quiet slumbers were scarcely disturbed even by the intermission of rolling oyer, until " Old Sol " SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND, 161 was looking us fair in the lace, as if to read the guilt of our hearts. Upon awakening, one word loudly spoken, was sufficient to bring the whole squad to a half recum- bent position; and as we went through the antiqua- ted performance of rubbing our eyes, the attention of each one seemed to be turned to the spot where our new comrade had deposited himself for a sleep a few hoiars before. He was gone ! The fragment of an old log, that had served him as a pillow, was all that was left of him or his bed. But this was not all; — one of our best horses was gone! We cared but little for the horse, so far as his real value was concerned, for we had some experience in " raising horses," and knew that we could get another on very easy terms, but we did not like the idea of having been gulled by a young adventurous loyalist, in the face of the fact, too, that we consid- ered ourselves '' shark proof.'' Neither were we certain that our misfortunes would end here, for our " sharper" had succeeded in getting our plans for the entire trip. During the preparation of our morning meal, the subject of our misfortune was freely discussed, with many conjectures in regard to who our deceiver was, and the probable result of his acquired infor- mation. A- majority of the men were in favor of continuing our journey, while only one man joined me in op- posing any further movement in the direction of Springfield. 162 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF However, as it was not my own trip, I did not feel at liberty to say much about it ; not wishing to ap- pear obstinate, I contented myself with making them a " humbug" speech, for I must confess that the recollection of our unfortunate adventure at that place, seemed as though it would haunt me to the grave. All my arguments, however, did no good, they would not be convinced against their own will ; so I submitted cheerfully to the good old democratic rule of going with the majority. During the day, myself and two others, rode over to the edge of the settlements to get a horse for our pedestrian '^ bushwhacker," and succeeded in find- ing one ; but the owner was a noted Rebel ; our only way to sustain ourselves in the act was to pass our- selves off for Union soldiers, this we did with a very ^ood grace and got the horse without any resistance. In fact, he made but little objection, for he knew that the "Union savers" were terrible when irritated. After going back two or three miles toward our camp in the Wilderness, I saw some deer on the side of an adjoining hill, and fearing that the boys in camp had failed to kill meat for our supper, selected a nice buck and shot him dead on the spot. After having dressed the meat preparatory to car- rying it into camp, we concluded to build a fire and broil some of it for our dinner. While we were thus busily engaged; all squatted around the fire, we were suddenly saluted by a remarkably boisterous mandate of "surrender !" at Avhich we sprang to our feet with our revolvers in our hands to find our- SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 163 selves confronted by five of Capt. Bolin's men, who iiad left Green county, Arkansas, a few days before us, and were on a visit to see some friends in the neighborhood, from one of whom we had taken the horse. We had anything else rather than a fight, for we quickly recognized each other, and a general congratulation was the only military demonstration between us. The five " bushwhackers " were concealed near the house of the old Kebel from whom we had taken the horse, and who had really regarded us as Fed- erals. As soon as we had left his house, he reported us to Capt. Bolin's men, who took our trail and tracked us to the wild solitudes of the Irish Wilder- ness. We at once decided on changing our quar- ters. I sent my two comrades to the camp and had the boys to move over to the edge of the settle- ments. The old Rebel, from wholn we had taken the horse, was our best friend; we gave it back to him, and got another in that neighborhood on the following night. The reader, without making any very extravagant draw upon his imagination, can conclude that we had a jolly time when we all got together. Our adventure with the sharper, my attempt to steal the old Rebel's horse, and our unconditional surrender in the Wilderness while broiling the veni- son, were the subjects discussed. From the b"bys, we learned something more of our adventurous Yankee detective. He had been in that neighbor- hood a week or two, repeating the same story that 164 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF he had told us. He evidently thought that the bushwhackers were rather thick in that neighbor- hood, and concluded to leave it as quick as possible. On the following morning, our whole party, with myself, took up our inarch for Springfield, and in the evening of the same day we reached the vicin- ity of Thomasville, in Oregon count.y. We were warned against traveling in the day time, unless we were hunting for a fight ; w^e assured our friends that a fight was the least of our desire at the present time, the object of our trip being solely for the pur- pose of enabling some of our boys to avenge certain wrongs received at the hands of Union men in Greene county, Missouri. After making a tolerable heavy draw on some of our Rebel friends for provisions and horse-feed, we again resumed our journey, and the following morn- ing Ibund us in the woods, quartered for the day, near a small town in Howell county, called Lost Camp, where we remained all day. A substantial old friend living near by, brought us two or three bottles of " burst-head," which pro- duced the effect of making some of the boys be- lieve that they had fought a great battle, and that the United States Government had taken refuge in a deep cavern, the mouth of which they had stop- ped with a large fiat rock, on tap of which the boys were dancing. The only question with them seemed to be what they would do with their twenty millions of prisoners. When sable night again clad the wicked world in SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAl^D. 165 half mourning, we resumed our journey, and on ap- proach of day, we Avere in the beautiful little town of Vera Cruz, in Douglas county ; on the next night we reached Panther creek, in Webster county. One of our men w4io professed to be acquainted in that neighborhood, went to a pretended Rebel friend to get supplies, but the old fellow flatly refused to give him anything. I was a little amused at the disap- pointment of the boys, and at the dilemma in which they were placed. I could not help thinking how different I would have acted on a raid of my own. About ten o'clock in the forenoon we were sur- prised by a party of Federal soldiers, numbering perhaps about sixty men. Before we were aware of their presence they charged upon us at a most furious rate, yelling and shooting at us most fear- fully. A mere glance at the party was sufficient to convince me that an attempt at resistance would be worse than folly. I sprang to my feet, yelled out to the boys to run ; but having no time to mount our horses, we had to depend upon our own fleet- ness for our escape. In our retreat through the dense forest, we had the advantage over our ene- mies ; I and four others managed to keep together for about a mile ; not seeing any pursuers, we took our position on a high hill, and remained there un- til late in the evening. While keeping a vigilant watch over the surrounding country, we discovered one of our men emerging cautiously from a dense thicket in the valley at the foot of the hill. He seemed terribly frightened. I made my way 166 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF down the hill to within a hundred yards of him, and then called him by name ; but it was some time be- fore he recognized me. Fortunately for us, this man was acquainted with the country through which we would have to pass in making our way back to Ar- kansas. The tops of the highest hills were yet bask- ing in the sun's last lingering rays, when we started on our perilous journey of two hundred miles on foot, without any blankets, provisions, or anything else, except our pistols and one gun, for I had made my escape with old " Kill-devil " in my hand. The next morning about daylight, we ran into a gang of sheep, succeeded in catching one, and made our way down into a deep ravine, where we could not be discovered. There we built a fire and fared sumptuously. We continued on during the night, and the next day I killed a deer. On the following night we reached our friend near Vera Cruz, and here we met another one of our boys, but he was no better posted in regard to the fate of our company than myself. I will not weary the patience of my reader by de- tailing the many privations incident to our trip ; suf- fice it to say that we did get back to Arkansas ; and that fortunately for me I never received an invita- tion to take another trip to Springfield under the command of an unexperienced leather-head. About a week after arriving in camp; another one of the boys came in, looking somewhat subjugated. I afterwards learned that two of our men were killed when we were routed, and that the others SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 167 were taken prisoners, none of whom ever returned during the war. I have cautioned the boys never again to imagine themselves dancing on the flat rock covering the prison door of the defunct Yankee nation, lest they might unexpectedly. find some of them yet running at large. 168 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTER XXII. started with four men. — Surrounded in a thicket near Frederick- town. — Escaped with the loss of three horses. — Stole horses fro^n the Federals at night. — Killed two Federal soldiers. — Suffered from hunger. — Killed Fowler. — Got a horse from G. W. Mur- phy. — Went to Mingo Swamp. — Killed Coots for betraying him. — Killed a soldier and lost two men. I selected four good men and started on another trip to St. Francois county, Missouri, on the 10th of November. We traveled altogether in the night ; arriving in the vicinity of Frederick town about mid- night, we stopped at the house of a well-known friend, who expressed a great" deal of surprise at see- ing us there, stating that the cry of " Hildebrand," had been raised in the community about ten days previous, and that the Federals, with the assistance of citizens, had been scouting the woods between that place and Farmington ever since. He was no little amused when we told him that the report was utterly false, and that we were on a scout out westward at the time. The report of my having been in that part of the country ten days previous, I was satisfied would work favorably to the success of our present enter- prise, for it was not probable that they would make another search so soon after having made one so thoroughly. SAMUEL S. HILDEBKAND 169 From there we went to a dense thicket near the residence of Mr. North, and being very tired and sleepy, we lay down, and slept very soundly until the morning sun was looking down upon our quiet retreat. Our old friend had supplied us with two days' rations and some shelled corn for our horses, so we had a complete outfit for a good rest. Whilst lying lazily around our horses, planning the future of our trip, we were suddenly startled by the sound of a gun near by, which was evidently discharged at one of us. A moment, however, was sufficient to satisfy me in regard to the nature of the case; we had been spied out, our horses tracked up, and our thicket surrounded. At a bound I lit in my saddle and was soon out of the thicket in an oppo- site direction from where the gun was fired. On reaching the open ground, I discovered the Federals coming around the woods, not having yet completed their circle. They fired on me, bat the distance was too great, and I remained unhurt. My men had not taken time to mount their horses, but as they followed me on foot, one of them received a bruise on his back from a spent ball. In a few minutes our complete escape was efibcted, with no damage but the loss of four good horses. The Federals fol- lowed us closely for about a mile, when we got far enough ahead to give them the dodge by turning at right angles into the St. Francis river bottom. We made our way back to within a mile of Frederick- town, where we remained the rest of the day. When night came we went in quest of our pursuers; we 8 170 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF found them camped in a lane about six miles north- west from Fredericktown. Our object now was to get horses. We made our way on foot toward them, but found that the end of the lane was guarded; we went around to the other end and found it guarded also, while the horses were in the middle, tied to one of the fences. We then went around through the field, laying down the outside fence very carefully, and approached the lane fence on the opposite side from where the horses were tied. The night was very dark, but we could distinctly see a sentinel slowly walking his beat of about fifty yards, ourselves being at the end of the beat. When his back was turned, I layed the fence down easily ; we sprang to a horse a piece, cut the halters, mounted, and were ofi'at full speed before he turned on the other end of his beat. Our hasty flight of course raised an alarm in the camp, but we saw no more of the Federals that night. Being again mounted, we resolved to give them employment for a few days in hunting us, and for that purpose we took up our quarters in a place least expected, by going within a mile of Frederick- town onto a certain eminence, after having made a circuit around the side of a hill. On the following day we slept by turns ; I killed a pig with my knife near the house of a farmer, and cooked it in a deep ravine where the fire could not be observed; during the previous night we had stolen a sufficiency of feed for our horses. I con- cluded to go into Fredericktown to get a supply of SAMUEL S. IIILDEBKAND. 171 ammunition, which I did about ten o'clock in the night, by meeting with an old friend there who bountifully supplied us with all we needed. We moved seven or eight miles in the direction of Pilot Knob, supplying ourselves with horse-feed and provisions on the move. When morning again made its appearance, I left my men in charge of the horses, and after instruct- ing them where to meet me again in case of trouble, I went to the gravel road for the purpose of killing a Federal or two. I concealed myself near the road, and about 10 o'clock in the day, two came along and I let old '^Kill-devil" off at one of them. They wheeled suddenly around and started back in the direction of Pilot Knob ; the one I shot was badly wounded and bled freely. Only an hour afterwards a squad of perhaps ten came from the direction of Fredericktown. It was a quandary in my mind whether it was best to take a pop at them or not, a feeling of revenge settled the matter. I fired, and one fell; at this they put their horses to full speed. Soon after they were out of sight, another came along in a very great hurry as if he was endeavor- ing to overtake the others ; on coming up to the dead man he made a momentary halt, of which I took advantage and shot him through. I now con- cluded that I had done enough for the day, or enough, at least, to raise an excitement, so I went back to my men and we moved about twelve miles in the direction of Farmington, and near the St. Francis river on a high bluff, which afforded us pe- 172 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ciiliar advantages in the event of a fight, where we were compelled to remain several days. My comrade, who had received a bruise on the spine, had by this time become so disabled by that slight injury, that he could not ride. The little amusement that I had taken on the gravel road was now creating quite a stir in military circles, and their search for us was carried on with a zeal worthy of a better cause. Having called out the forces at Pilot Knob, Fred- ericktown and Farmington, with a large majority of the citizens, the search was made thoroughly and in earnest. Squads frequently passed in sight of us, and within easy gun-shot, but none of them as- cended the high bluff we occupied. On the evening of the third day our provisions and horse-feed gave out, and each night I went out in search of more. Obtaining provender for our horses was a very easy matter, but getting provisions for ourselves was not only very difficult but extremely dangerous. I knew but few men in the neighborhood, and on approach- ing their houses I invariably found our well-known signal of danger— a towel hung on a nail outside of the door. We could easily have killed a hog or a sheep, but we could not run the risk of making a fire to cook it. After our provisions gave entirely out, we were twenty-four hours without any food. During the second night I found some bacon in somebody's smoke-house, I knew not whether he was a friend or foe, and cared still less, but I took two hams to camp, which we ate raw. SAMUEL S. niLDEBRAND. 173 On the sixth night our comrade was able to ride, and we moved about tii'teen miles, stopping south of Frederickiown. Here a friend supplied us with the necessaries of life, and even brought food to our camp ready cooked for our use. Our wounded companion; who was too much dis- abled to take any part in a raid, now obtained leave to return to Arkansas alone, while I and my other men started on a trip to St. Francois county. While living at Flat Woods, I became acquainted with a man named John Fowler. He professed to be a strong Southern man, and having perfect con- fidence in his veracity, I entrusted him with many things in regard to my plans, that I withheld from the rest of my neighbors ; but about the time that I was run off from there by the Federals, my friend Fowler joined the Union army. On receiving this intelligence, I felt much morti- fied, and concluded at once that he had betrayed me, notwithstanding he sent me word on several oc- casions that I need not fear him. His duplicity, however, was so apparent that I determined to kill him on sight; this I had some hope of doing, as he seemed to enjoy some liberties, and often came into the neighborhood, but generally in company with oiher soldiers. On every visit he came to my house and conversed pleasantly with my wife, but I regarded him rather as a spy. As we were traveling along on the present oc- casion, I run suddenly on him about five miles southwest from Fredericktown. We met in a nar- 174: AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF row path, and before lie hardly had time to recog- nize me, I shot and killed him instantly. I will here state that I had cause to regret this act afterwards, for I ascertained that he had de- serted the Federals, and was on his way South to join the " bushwhacking department " of the South- ern army. After passing Fredericktown in the night, we learned that several companies of Federals, Home Guards and Militia, were hunting for me in every direction. In fact, we came near being discovered by several squads during the night. We hastened on into St. Francois county; Tom Haile and myself being in front, we took Farmington without firing a gun long before my other men came up. As we rode in the streets were full of people, but we only had time to take a second look when the place seemed to be entirely deserted. Not a man, woman or child could be found, at which Tom laughed heartily, and remarked that he thought cellar rent ought to be very high in that place. When my other men came up Tom told them that we had found a beautiful town not claimed by anybody, ''just lajang around loose," and that he was very sorry we could not take it along with us until we found an owner. We did not haunt the town very long with our unholy presence, but after going into a grocery, where we had to help ourselves, we took a hearty drink of some good old liquor that had been left by the generation that once lived there ; then mounting our horses we left the lonesome SAMUEL S. lIILDEBRiND. 175 place. Tom remarked that as we had no wounded man to leave there to garrison the town we had bet- ter leave for the " settlements." We went on to Big river to look after our old enemies ; but their consciousness of having committed such a cata- logue of crimes against me made them the hardest men in the world to find. In our business of killing enemies, we met with good success everywhere but on Big river. Up to the time of the present writing, a majority of those miscreants, with hands dripping with the blood of my brothers, are yet permitted to live. For several days and nights we watched around the houses of my old enemies, but to no purpose ; it was impossi- ble to fxud them. One of my men made his way around through the neighborhood to ascertain their whereabouts, and reported that they were all from home except Franklin Murphy ; but Tom Haile was determined that I should not kill him. He exacted a promise from me long ago that I never would mo- lest him or any of his property. Haile was a man who wielded an influence over every one with whom he came in contact. He was ever in a perfect good humor ; the clouds of adversity never seemed to throw a shadow on his brow; his heart was all sun- shine, and his feet ever trod in the vales of mirth and gladness. I plainly saw that so far as killing my old enemies was concerned my present trip was a failure. Dur- ing all the incidents of my previous trips to Mis- souri, I never for once lost sight of that one leading 176 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF object of my mind. The killing of Federals, in which I had taken such an active part, only afforded me pleasure by the reflection that they were a part and parcel of the same stripe, and in sympathy with the Big river vigilance mob. I was now much in need of a good horse, and af- ter talking the matter over with my men, Tom Haile and myself concluded to demand a good horse, bridle and saddle, from G. W. Murphy, a man whose nature it was to be quiet and inoffensive, and who had attended strictly to his own business during all the struggle. He was abundantly able to assist us in the matter, and we considered that he ought to contribute that much toward the Southern cause. We were raised close together from boyhood, and I had nothing against him ; but as he was well able to spare me a horse, I made the demand. He complied with the request after emerging (as I believe) from a barrel of feathers. His novel appearance caused Tom Haile, who was always fond of a joke, to tell him that he must not let Jim Craig see him in that con- dition, or he might capture him for a spotted mule, which Murphy, in his good humored way, passed off very well. We also took a horse from Orville Mc- Ilvaine, who lived on the place known as the Baker farm. I had some anxiety to see him in order to make him break his well-known rule of never part- ing with a greenback after it got into his safe ; but his retiring nature prompted him to conceal himself in the garret until we departed. We now rejoined EAMl'KL S. HILDEliRAlsU). 177 the other hoys and started back by the way of Mingo Swamp. Before we reached that place we were warned by our friends that the Federals were thick in that locality. About midnight we arrived at the house of William Coots (well-known as old Bill Coots,) who had heretofore invariably repre- sented himself as a Rebel of unusual bitterness. In answer to our inquiries, he told us that there were no Federals in the neighborhood, neither had there been any for more than a month. He also told us that the men we wished to find were then at home. I felt very much gratified on hearing statements so favorable to the success of our enterprise, and re- quested him to supply us with a few day\s rations and provender for our horses, while we camped at a certain point not more than half a mile distant. He readily consented, and gave us a very I3res3- ing invitation to come and take breakfast with him about sun up. To this we agreed, and at the time designated, we all left our camp and repaired to the house of our generous host, who received us with a great deal of what might be termed "Arkansas courtesy." It may be readily supposed that the scanty fattening process we had gone through while on the vSt. Francis bluff had produced a streak of lean running the whole length of our mortal bodies; and that the odor from the kitchen, of coffee, ham and es^^^ with other ingredients intermixed with spice?, made us for a time forget all other things on these mundane shores. Wiien breakfast was an- nounced and we were about to seat ourselves at the 1T.S AUTOBIOOiSArilY OF table, old Coots remarked : " Here, gentlemen, you can lay your arms on the bed/' but it was not our custom to take off our arms at any time, so we seated ourselves at the table with them on. We were perhaps about half done eating when a ragged looking Federal stepped up to the door, and in an exulting tone said: "Well, Coots! you got them, did you ?" and bawled out " surrender," at which I sprang from the table, drew my revolver and shot Coots, seized ni}^ gnn which I had left near the door, and cleared the door by about fifteen feet ; I shot a Federal with my revolver which I still held in my right hand, and in a few bounds gained the woods unhurt, save a slight wound on the back of my head. My men attempted to follow without their guns, two ot them were killed in their attempt to escape, while the remaining one (Tom Haile,) soon got with me, and we made our way to our horses. Fortunate- ly the Federals had not found them. We tarried awhile for our comrades, but as they did not come up we were fearful that the}^ were slain. Mounting our horses and leading theirs, we made our way to a canebrake about a mile off, and sent a citizen back to ascertain the real state of affairs. After taking an old bridle in his hand, he made his way over, inquiring of each person he met for a grey mare and a black colt. On passing the house of old Bill Coots he was halted, at which he did not seem to be the least alarmed, but expressed the utmost surprise when the v/hole tra":edv was related to him. The worst SAMUEL &. HILDEBRAND. 181 part of the whole affair was that two of my men were killed and were lying at the time in front of the house. On receiving this news we started home to get a force sufficient to clean out the Federals, but on arriving in Green county, Arkansas, nearly all of our men were out on scouting excursions, principally toward the West. IS'I ALTOUlOlUiAPIlY OF CHAPTER XXIII. Took ten men. — Went to Mingo Swamp. — Went to Castor creek. — Medicine traffic. — Attacked two companies of Federals under Capt. Oawhorn and Capt. Rhoder. — Fought them seven nights. — Dick Cowan. — Went with Capt. Reed's men. — Attacked Capt. Leeper's company. — Killed fourteen and. wounded eight. — Cap- tured forty -four guns, sixty pistols, forty horses a7id four hun- dred dollars. On the 15th day of December, 1863, I started back to Mingo Swamp with ten men, and met with no obstacles on our route after swimming the St. Francis river. AVhen we got into the neighborhood of tlie unfortunate tragedy of our previous trip, we ascertained from reliable sources that the Federals left for Bloomfield on the day following the skirmish at old Bill Coots', and that the men v/e had been looking after so long had gone into the regular army. We visited the house of our newly made widow, Mrs. Coots, for the purpose of seeing the graves of my two brave boys. She confessed that Coots had layed plans for my capture; that the Federals were camped only one mile off at the time, and that after I had consented to come to his house for breakfast, he went to the Federal camp and notified them of the fact, and made arrangements to take me in. Finding no one in that vicinity to fight, we made SAMUEL 8. IIILDEBKANO. 188 our way over onto Castor creek to a well known friend, who had, since the beginning of the war, acted as an agent for us in receiving and forwarding supplies and medicines. Hearing of no Federals in that portion of the country, and there being no per- sons in that quarter against whom we had enmity sutficient to induce us to invest any of our capital in bark or grape vines, we obtained the medicine sent to that place from Farmington, St. Francois county, Missouri, and started back for Mingo Swamp. On our way the monotony of our journey was sud- denly relieved by seeing a Federal coming toward up, apparently riding very cautiously. We only got a glimpse of him as the road took him down into a small ravine out of our sight. We were very cer- tain that he had not discovered us, so we got out of the road until he came up ; when we halted him he seemed very much frightened, but surrendered quietly. He told us that he had been to Cairo, Illinois, to see his family, and was on his way back to his com- mand at Fredericktown. Upon the whole he gave such a good account of himself that we only dis- armed him and took his greenbacks, which, hQW- ever, only amounted to twelve dollars. On the following night we heard of three more Rebel boys in the country and sent for thena. After they agreed to try a trip with us, we left the drugs with a friend and went back onto Castor creek to watch for the Federals who were in the habit of passing there on their roa^ between Fre^^ri^t^own 184 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OK and Cape Girardeau. We had been there but one night and day when we heard of two companies of Federals near by commanded by Captains Cawhorn and Khoder. As soon as it was dark we proceeded to spy out their exact locality and take a look at the surroundings. We found from their position and numbers that it would be entirely unsafe to charge through their camp as was our custom, and con- cluded to bushwhack them. During the night we | killed twelve and wounded several more, as we v/ere informed afterwards. When day again made its ap- pearance we went about two miles into a dense thicket with our horses. We put out spies watching and waiting impatiently for them to move. Instead of marching, however, they were charging around the most public places in the vicinity, tiireatening Southern sympathizers with annihilation, but we got no chance to bushwhack them. During the day a squad of them went to the resi- dence of Dick Cowan, one of my men, burned his house and other buildings, and attempted an out- rage on one of his sisters who happened to be there. For several days the people in the neighborhood were compelled to suffer the most glaring insults and wrongs. Each night we renewed the attack, and billed one occasionally at all hours of the night. They stood our mode of warfare six days and nights, but early on the morning of the seventh day they started on their way to Cape Girardeau. During their march we stationed ourselves at convenient Dl^ces and ^s they came along poured a deadly fire SAMUEL S. HILI)EBRA!«B. 185 into their ranks and then retreated into the woods. We thought by this means to induce them to follow us, but it only seemed to hurry up their march. This we repeated three times before they reached Cape Girardeau. By this time we were anxious to see our families and started back to Arkansas. Taking our drugs that had been left with a friend, we soon met twenty- eight of Oapt. Reed's men who insisted on our tak- ing a trip with them to Wayne county, and perhaps as far north as Iron county. To this I consented, detailing two of my men to take the drugs to Ar- kansas, we started on our way, marching in day time. We passed about twenty miles south of Bloomfield and on to Greenville, in Wayne county, arriving there about sunset, but did not find any Federal troops in the place to protect its loyalty. Soon after arriving in town we heard of a company of Federals on Lost creek under Capt. Leeper, and taking our informant for a guide we marched at once to give them a fight. Reaching there about sunrise the next morning we charged their camp, running their pickets in at full speed, fought them only a few minutes, when those who had not got into the brush surrendered. In the fight we lost four men killed and six wounded, the latter, however, all recovered. Of the enemy we killed fifteen, wounded eight, and took ten pris- oners beside the wounded. Our booty consisted of forty-four gans, sixty pistols, forty horses, four hun- 186 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF dred dollars in greenljacks, and other articles of value to us and to our families. The subject of what disposition we would make of the prisoners came up, and in cases of the kind we were purely democratic, so we took the vote whether we would kill them or set them loose. In consideration of the wrongs my family had re- ceived at their hands, and of their well-known cruelty, I made a speech in favor of killing them and voted accordingly. When the whole vote was counted I found myself in the minority by just two votes; but true to my word I released them, unarmed and on foot. In the evening before we had attacked them they had killed an old man by the name of Tom McKee and burned his house with other buildings. This fresh outrage was not known to us until they were gone, or we undoubtedly would have shot. them. On being informed of this fact, however, we sent a scout after them, but they had left the main road and secreted themselves in the thick woods. The wounded, however, were at our disposal, but we did not, during the whole war get mean enough to imi- tate our enemies by killing wounded prisoners, but placed them at the house of a widow woman who promised to take care of them until the Federals at Pilot Knob could have them removed. We procured a wagon and loaded it with our booty ; took our six wounded men and started back to Green county, Arkansas, where we arrived without any difficulty, and found all things right at headquarters. SA31UEL S. HILDEBKANL). 187 CHAPTER XXIY. Took fifteen men. — Captured three Federals. — Hung one. — Caiitured a. squad of Federals. — Reception of "U7icleBlll." — Hung all the p)risoners. — Captured five more, and hung one. After spending the winter very agreeably, on the 10th day of March, 1861, 1 concluded to make a raid to the vicinity of Jackson, Cape Girardeau county, Missouri, with fifteen men, several of whom were from that county, and knew the people and country well. It was to remunerate these men for the invaluable services they had rendered me on several of my trips that I consented to go with them. We passed through Butler county into Stoddard, leaving Bloomfield to the south a few miles, crossed the southeast corner of Bollinger and into Cape Girardeau. Having traveled very slowly, and altogether in the night, we had created no disturbance on our way, nor interfered with any one, for it was our custom to make no demonstrations until we were ready to return. In the latter part of the night we arrived in the vicinity of Jackson, selected a good place and camped for the day, during which time some of the boys visited their friends. One of my men who was an entire stranger in that part of the country, went 188 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF into the town to get whisky, and to see what was goii3g on. On returning late in the evening he told me that there were three Federals in town who seemed to be well acquainted with the people, and that they were behaving very well. He wanted to take some of the boys and go back after them, to which 1 con- sented. They started oiF in eager haste, but soon returned with the three prisoners, having met them in the road some distance from town. Not knowing them I retained them as prisoners un- til the boys came in who knew them. Being governed by their statement?, I released two of the Federals and kept the other as a prisoner, and took him with us when we started that night for White Water, but we did not take him far^ before we tied . him to a limb. On White Water we remained inactive several days, receiving the kindest treatment from our Southern friends, which enabled some of my men to visit their friends and relatives. About sunset one evening a citizen came to us and stated that about an hour before nine Federals had passed the road, and the probabilities were that they would stop for the night at the first house. The night was nr>w growing very dark, and we were soon under lull pur.-uit oi ihem. On nearing tb.e house, liowever, we rode very slow.y, and tied our horses in the thicket at some distance, and ap- proached the premises very cautiously. It was a double hewed log house, with an open hall between SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 189 them, with a small cooking apartment forming an ell to the main building, but separated from it by a narrow hall also. After forming my men in a line around the house I crept to the windows and peeped into both roomS; only one of which, however, was lighted, and in it I could see no one except a very old lady, who might have been a grandmother, and some little children who were grouped around the old lady, and who seemed to be holding a very earnest conversation with her in a very low tone. I went around to the kitchen window, and upon looking in to my great joy I saw the Federals eating their supper. The position I occupied was a very easy one, and their conversation was so peculiarly interesting that I could not refrain from listening. They were using very vulgar and indecent language to the lady, who, with all the kindness and amiability charac- teristic of her sex, was waiting upon the ruffians, while the old gentleman was seated on a box in a corner of the room exposed to the most outrageous insults, accompanied with threats of the most heineous character; but in silent fear the old man bore their criminal epithets and bitter curses with- our returning a word. By this time I had heard all that my weak hu- manity could bear. I retreated from my position, passed around the circle, and collected my men at the entrance to the kitchen into the open hall, this being their only place of egress, and placed an equal number of my men on each side. I now 190 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF stepped into the door and demanded a surrender, at which my men became impatient and rushed for the door, but I prevented them from entering. Each of the Federals pushed back his chair, at which I told them that I would shoot any man who should attempt to arise from the table with his arms, admit- ting my men at the same time. At this the Fede- rals placed their revolvers on the table and retired according to my command to the fartherest end of the room and formed in a line. By this time our little disturbance had aroused the old grandmother and the little children in the other house, who came to the scene, the children screaming in a terrible manner, and clinging to the old lady's dress for protection. On reaching the kitchen, however, the scene was quite different from what they had expected. They halted a moment at the door in dreadful suspense, then suddenly the oldest girl, who was about eight years of age, sprang suddenly into the room, exclaiming "Well, grandma ! if here ain't Uncle Bill ! " then seizing one of my men by the hand she sobbed aloud, "Oh Uncle Bill ! don't let the soldiers kill pa ! " at which the whole | household greeted "Uncle Bill." The old gentle- man last of all approached my man who had been recognized and greeted with so many smiles and such marked distinction, giving his hand slowly while the tears trickled down his weather-beaten cheek, and only said : " Bill, I'm glad to see you/' my comrade receiving his hand and retaining it for perhaps half a minute, said nothing, but turned and SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 191 introduced me as Major Hildebrand to his relative, and to the household. As I stepped forward to re- ceive the salutation of the old gentleman of whom I had heard so much, and knew so little, I heard one of the prisoners remark, '^ a hell of a Major," and upon casting my eyes around I found them ready to burst into a derisive laughter, which I must confess took me a little back. At this I ordered one of the rooms forming the main building lighted, and stationing my men prop- erly, I marched my prisoners out of the kitchen through the little hall into the room of the main building, put a guard over them and pickets around the house, I returned to the kitchen with my man now known as " Uncle Bill," to have a talk with the old gentleman while his wife was hastily preparing a nice little supper for us all. The old man again took me by the hand, thanking me for my coinci- dental visit, stated that the Federals had made several trips into the neighborhood after him, but having been told of their threats, he had always heretofore succeeded in eluding their search. He also stated that the only charge they had against him was for feeding buskwhackers, and that when the soldiers came up to his house on the present oc- casion, just after dark, they were in the hall before he saw them, and he had no possible way of escape except through them. Considering his escape so very uncertain, he re- solved to submit to his fate, and that when we made our timely appearance he was a prisoner, sentenced 192 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF to be executed as soon as they were done supper. He wound up his statement by saying : "Well; Major Hildebrand, I must confess I am very agreeably dis- appointed in your general appearance; I have long been anxious to see you, and am surprised that you never called on me before, but if you had done so I should never have taken you for Sam Hildebrand. I was led to believe, by hearing of your exploits, that you certainly was a rough looking customer, a perfect "raw-head and bloody-bones;" and that Belzebub himself would have been daunted by your ferocious appearance." Supper being announced eight men were left to guard the prisoners while the others were eating, until all had partaken of the sumptuous repast. We were now ready for business, "we marched our prisoners out to the fence in front of the house, tied their hands securely behind them, placed them on their own horses and tied their feet together under- neath. Then mounting we started south, leading the horses on which the prisoners rode. Having traveled very fast we reached a part of the country as day began to approach in which we felt perfect- ly safe. Leaving the road we went into a deep ravine about fifteen miles northeast from Bloomfieid, covered with thick undergrowth and sheltered by heavy timber. Here we hung our prisoners. They were really brave fellows, and submitted to their fate without a murmur, and during our march that night they showed not the least sign of being con- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 193 quered, but said they were McNeal's men, and that when they went into the army it was for the pur- pose of killing Rebels, and that some of the worst Rebels they had killed were men who were staying at home, and the most of them professing to be "loyal." After disposing of our prisoners, we secreted our horses in a dense thicket, and ten of us took our stations on a road leading from Benton, Scott coun- ty, Missouri, to watch for Federals. We remained here nearly all day without seeing any, and were thinking about giving it up as a bad job and return- ing to our camps ; but when the sun was about an hour high, in the evening, we discovered five Fede- rals wending their way slowly toward Bloomfield. My men were divided into two parties, and were stationed about one hundred yards apart. We al- lowed them to get nearly opposite the second squad of which I was one, then we stepped suddenly into the road before them and demanded a surrender, to which they submitted, but seemed very much alarmed. On calling up my men who had been stationed farther down the road, and who stood at this time behind the prisoners. They seemed some- what relieved as they recognized one of them as being an old acquaintance, who extended his hand cordially to all of them but one, remarking to him that he would not shake hands with him "until he met him in h — 11." They now dismounted and surrendered up their arms and their horses. I then marched them out oi 9 194 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF the road to a safe distance into the woods and in- quired of my man who had recognized them, con- cerning their character. He reported that all of them were his acquaintances of long standing; that four of them were very clever fellows, these I re- leased immediately; but the fifth one we hung after investigating his case. When night came we mounted our horses, and taking our booty with us, started back to Arkansas. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 195 CHAPTER XXV. Pat in a crop. — Started to Missouri with nine men. — Killed a sol- dier near Dallas. — Went to St. Francois county. — Watched for Walls and Baker. — Watched near Big River Mills for McGahan — Came near shooting Mr. Sharp. — Robbed Burges, Hughes and Kelley of their horses. — Robbed Abrighfs store. — Captured some Federals on White Water. As we all belonged to the "Independent Bush- whacking Department of the Confederate -States of America," and were entirely dependent on our own exertions for a livelihood, it was necessary now that we should put in our crops. For nearly two months Crowley's Ridge on which we lived, and the adjacent country, looked as if it contained an industrious little community of "honest farmers." The axe was heard in every direction ; the smoke from burning brush was curling up from a thousand fires, and at night the little boys and girls were making bright fires until midnight, under the im- pression hinted at by their fathers that it was "such fun." All day long the women were out in full force with their hoes and their rakes, unmindful of the music of crying babies heard at nearly every cabin. Mothers are nearly always deaf while plant- ing out onions ; it is a little season of orphanage through which most children in the country have to 196 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF pass once a year. We have all passed through that bitter day with red eyes, and it is no wonder that the sight of an onion in after life is so apt to bring tears in our eyes. I put in a good crop of corn, and my wife made an excellent garden with no help but the children. I am very much tempted to brag a little on my excel- lent wife, but if I were to assert that I had the best wife in the world, each one of my male readers who are married would want me to except his own ; this would render the exceptions so numerous that my wife would come in nearly last, so I will say nothing about it, and keep my own opinion to myself. Aft.er plowing my crop over once I made prepara- tion for another trip to Missouri, but we had all got into such a good humor while busily engaged in farming, that we were nearly two days recounting our grievances before we were mad enough to think of snatching our enemies into eternity. Taking nine men, one of whom had served under Quantrel, we started on the 25th day of May, 1864, for another raid into Missouri. Crossing the St. Francis river at the southwest corner of Stoddard county, we went into Scott county and watched three days and nights to catch some men we were after, but failing in this we went in the direction of Dallas, the county seat of Bollinger. My men wanted to return, as nothing of an excit- ing interest had transpired so far ; but at my earnest solicitation they agreed to go with me one more day. The next morning we were traveling in day SAMUEL S, HILDEBRAND. 197 time, and had not proceeded more than four or five miles when we discovered a party of Federals, seven in number, who had discovered us and were under full speed toward the town of Dallas, which was at that time garrisoned by about one hundred Dutch soldiers. We dashed on after them; the race was a very exciting one. When we had gone about six miles we began to gain on them, and when we got within a mile of the garrison one of their horses fell, giving the rider a thump on the ground that knocked him senseless until we were upon him. We disarmed him, and as his horse had not left, we made him mount and go with us about two miles in the woods. The Dutchman seemed very much alarmed, and gave us enough broken English for a good sized volume; but as soon as we arrived in a thick tim- bered hollow between the hills, we quietly sent his spirit back to the Khine where it never should have left. In a few hours we called at the house of a friend, fed our horses and got some refreshments for ourselves. To the Flat Woods, in St. Francois county, we then made our way, and remained there about twenty-four hours, after which we went to the ex- treme northern part of the county, and concealed ourselves among the Pike Run hills. Those hills are perhaps the most rugged part of the whole State, and are covered with a dense thicket of under- brush, making it a wild, uninhabited wilderness. Tiieseiiillanol bein^iar from Bigrivcr, liivy aiiorded 198 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF me a secure place for my temporary headquarters while searching around for my enemies. Early in the morning I engaged the services of a well known friend, who feigned business in several parts of the neighborhood, who returned at night and reported that only two of my persecutors were at home, whose name were James Walls and John Baker. On the following morning when the light of day again pierced through the gloom of our retreat I went and stationed myself near the house where they both resided. I did not watch long before Walls came out onto the porch. But I had failed to get a position suffi- ciently near for me to kill him at the house ; I was watching for them to come to the wood pile, which would only have been about one hundred yards. I could always hit a spot as large as a man's hand at that distance with old "Kill-devil." About ten o'clock two men rode up to the house, alighted and went in ; they came out again in half an hour followed by both AValls and Baker, who started of in an opposite direction from where I lay. I then changed my position to the opposite side of the house, thinking they probably would return soon. I remained quietly until the sun had dipped be- hind the western hills, then I returned to camp where I again found my friend who had acted as a spy for me. He told me that he had seen Baker and Walls going in the direction of De Soto with two SAMUEL S. IlILDEBRAND. 199 other men, one of whom stated to him that "Sam Hildebrand was thought to be in the country, from the fact that strange and very rough looking men had been seen at several public places, and that they were thought to be Hildebrand's men." The reader will here understand that these un- warrantable scares were very frequentin this vicin- ity; one poor rugged stranger making his appear- ance in the neighborhood was sufficient at any time to raise the cry of "Hildebrand," at which all who had wronged me would squat like young quails. Knowing that any further efforts to kill either Walls or Baker would be fruitless, I concluded to run the risk of watching the town of Big River Mills, which was at that time a place of rendezvous for the Militia, where they generally collected be- fore starting out against me, I accordingly took my station on a bluff overlook- ing the main road leading from the settlement of my old enemies to that place, being about a quarter of a mile below the town and fifty yards from the road. At daylight I was on the bluff and ready for business. During the day people passed the road at intervals of from fifteen minutes to half an hour; but none of them were the men I wanted to kill. From the position I occupied I could easily recog- nize the features of any one with whom I was for- merly acquainted. In the evening,about an hour by sun, I discovered a man riding slowly and alone toward the town, wl.om I recognized as Joe McGahan. A thrill of 20D AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF intense satisfaction pervaded my whole system, which it would be folly in me to attempt to describe. The English language from its high standard of dig- nity to its inexhaustible mine of scathing invective would be inadequate to describe the supreme con- tempt I felt for that man. When I reflected that one of the men who had dipped his hands in the blood of my brothers was now within the range of my gun, my feelings of joy, mingled with a hope of success was indescribable. Nearer and nearer he came, unconscious that retributive justice was hang ng over his head ; and as he approached the de- sired point I raised my trusty rifle to my face, placed my finger on the trigger, and was nearly in the act of pulling when the man turned his face a little to- ward me, when I discovered the sad and almost fatal mistake, that instead of being McGahan it was a man by the name of Sharp. He was a Union man living near by, but was a worthy man and highly esteemed by all who knew him. I almost involun- tarily hailed him in order to explain and apologize, but was checked instantly by the return of reason- As he passed slowly out of sight my eyes were rivited on him until a point of the bluff" around which he had passed broke the spell. I was deeply ab- sorbed in thought, and the question naturally arose in my mind, why I should have been so often thwarted in my attempts to meet out justice to one who was a scourge to the land that gave him birth, And who had not even the m>^gnanimity of the rat- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 201 tlesnake whose alarm is heard before the blow is struck. I arrived finally to the conclusion that his Satanic Majesty, who still ruled the infernal regions with- out a rival, was jealous of his protege upon earth where he still needed his services, and that he wished to delay the period when he would be compelled to doff his crown to a superior. I did not remain long in ambush after I had come so near committing a terrible error; but hastened through the woods, back to my retreat among the Pike Run hills, and found my men awaiting my re- turn with anxious impatience. As soon as it was dark we started south, and after midnight reached the pinery, southwest from Farmington, and slept there until late in the morning. Our horses were much fagged, we saw that it was best to swap them off before proceeding on our journey. During the day we stationed ourselves near the plank road between Farmington and Pilot Knob, to watch for an opportunity of exchanging horses. A large company of Federals passed by, but they w^ere too numerous for our purpose. Toward evening we saw three men approaching who were mounted upon fine looking horses. The names of the men were Burges, Hughes and Kelley. We lost no time in capturing the party, and to prevent them from re- porting us too soon, we made them go with us seve- ral miles over the rugged hills and deep ravines. Not understanding this movement, they seemed 202 AUTOBIOGRAPHY 01' much alarmed, thinking probably that we designed "barking" them. Old man Burges begged manfully for his life, and shed an occasional tear; but I told him that as they were not Federal soldiers, and that as I had no per- sonal animosity against them, it would be barbarous in the extreme for us to harm them. We took their horses, gave them our own and then released them. They left seemingly very well pleased with the ar* rangement, and as we had rather out-jockeyed them, we certainly had no right to complain. We kept near the road leading to Pilot Knob un- til near sunset, when we came to Abright's store. Abright was a good Union Dutchman, and was not in the habit of crediting bushwhackers, so we rob- bed his store of all we wanted and then taking the woods we changed our course. Night soon overtook us, and we traveled eastward until we got into the neighborhood where Mr. Bess resided, on White Water. It was now late in the morning, and we took our position on the top of a high hill where we had a fine view of the surround- ing country, and especially of the main road along which the Federals were in the habit of passing from Cape Girardeau to Fredericktown. In the evening, while most of us were sleeping, my pickets discovered a small squad of soldiers about half a mile off, making their way westward. On being awakened I directed my men to follow me, went down to the road which was skirted by very thick undergrowth, where we secreted our- SA31UEL S. IIILDKUHAND. 203 selves in two parties about fifty yards apart, giving orders not to fire on the Federals unless they showed fight or attempted to run. When they got near the second squad we stepped out into the road and de- manded them to surrender. Our appearance was so sudden that they had no time to draw their weapons. Several of them wheeled their horses for a run, but on discovering themselves faced on that side also they threw up their hands in token of a willingness to surrender. I made them dismount and stack their arms against a tree ; after which we marched them into the woods to where our horses were and proceeded to question them. Tlien I told them who 1 was, at which they seemed rather pleased, and remarked that they had often heard of me, and although they had no desire to fall into my hands as prisoners of war, yet they always wished to see me. I asked them if they had not heard of me as being a bushwhacker and withal a very bad man, and that I was in the habit of killing all my prisoners. '*0h, yes !" said their leader, "we have heard that you did not regard the life of a personal enemy as of any value, but we have seen several men whom you had released who told us that you w^as quite a different man from the fabulous blood-thirsty Hilde- brand we have heard so much about in timid circles.'' Upon producing papers which salisfied us that they were neither McNeal's orLeeper's men, but be- longed to the command of Col. Beverage of Cape 204 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP Girardeau, we released them unarmed and afoot. We went on toward Bollinger's Mill, but when in that vicinity on the next morning about sunrise, we met two Federals in the road, who instantly wheeled their horses and dashed through the woods at full* speed. Being burdened with the horses and the arms we had taken from our prisoners on the day previous, all of us could not engage in the pursuit. Captain Snap, myself and two men started after them at full speed, and cau£:ht them in less than half a raile» They stopped and threw up their hands before we were within two hundred yards of them. I was al- most tempted to shoot them for being cowards. After taking them back to our boys, we went on the top of an adjacent hill and camped for the day. We ascertained from the prisoners that they were new recruits, which was corroborated by some let- ters from their friends which they happened to have in their pockets. Knowing that they had not been in the army long enough to have committed many depredations, we decided to release them; but as we were already burdened with horses we took them along with us to assist with our stock until we had passed Mingo Swamp, and then released them. A few days after- wards we arrived safely in Green county, Arkansas. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 2f)5 CHAPTER XXYL Started to St. Francois county, Missouri. — Hung Vagus and Zini- mer. — Hung George Hart. — Concealed in Pike Run Hills. — Started back. — Hung Mr. Metis' negro, and another one. — Took two deserters hack and huyig them. After remaining a few days with my family, I yielded to the solicitation of CaptainBowman to take a trip to St. Francois county, Missouri, for the purpose of cap- turing a young man by the name of George Hart, who, on a scout with some militia, had killed Captain Bow- man's brother in order to get a very fine horse that he rode. Our company, consisting of nine men, started on the 20th day of June, 1864 ; we traveled altogether in the night, and on the morning of the 26th we camped for the day on "Wolf creek, about six miles from Farming- ton. During the day one of my men clad himself in citizen's clothes, which we always carried along for such emergencies, and went into Farmington to see the sights and to get a bottle of good old "tangle-foot." When night came our man had not made his appear- ance; we immediately arrested a couple of Butchmer for the purpose of eliciting information from them con- cerning the military force in town, thinking that prob- ably my man had been taken in by the soldiers as a spy. The men we arrested were Henry Yogus and John Zimmer, who stated that there were no forces in town 206 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF at tliat time, and that there had been no soldiers there for nearly a month. They affirmed that they had been there that day, and that if we did not believe them they would go with us to town and prove the matter. At this juncture my man came in and reported a company of soldiers in the town who had been there for some time. It was now evident to our minds that the Dutch- men were aiming to trap us. I will here state that during the whole war the Dutch went further, tried harder and risked more for my capture than any other people. A very short consultation was sufficient to seal the fate of our two prisoners on the present occas- ion ; we hung them and went on our way rejoicing. Passing a short distance east of Farmington, we stopped at the house of Ross Jelkyl, who was at that time Pro- vost Marshal, and took such things as we needed. Some of my men were anxious to kill him, but he had befriended me on one occasion, and I would not permit them to do so. From there we went to the residence of Charles Hart, where we found his son George, whom we were after. "We stationed men at the back door and demanded ad- mittance at the front; the old man in a short time opened the door, and in obedience to our orders struck a light. On demanding George Hart he made his ap- pearance, looking very much condemned. On asking him about the horse he had taken when he murdered young Bowman, ho stated that he had traded him off, and that he was out of the country. We then told him that he must go with us, to which he made no objec- tion, but was very anxious to know what we wished to SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 207 do with him; we told him to wait and see. Before we had taken him far, he became satisfied that he would be killed, and made us some offers for his life, which Captain Bowman silenced in a few words by asking him if he thought he was able to pay for the life of young Bowman whom he had murdered in cold blood. We traveled about eight miles with our prisoner, during which time he made a complete confession. Daylight began to appear; we were now about a mile from Big River Mills, and not Avishing to be encum- bered by a prisoner, we took some hickory bark and hung him to a dogwood sapling. One of his feet touched the ground, so we placed it in the fork of a bush, which completed the process of hanging. The main object of our trip having been accomplished, our next move was to get supplies of summer clothing for our families, which we decided on taking from an old meddlesome Union German in Jeiferson county by the name of Lepp, who had a store on a small creek called Swashen. We accordingly proceeded to the place and found the old man in his store; he was close- fisted and not in the habit of crediting, but we succeeded in getting all we wanted at y^vy low figures, and after promising him our patronage in the future we started back, Knowing that our operations about Farmington would create a great excitement, that the forces at Pilot Knob, Farmington, Potosi, Fredericktown and the Iron Mountain with the irrepressible Big Biver Militia, would all be put on our trail, we decided to travel by night and to get oiit pf th^ eoiintry as soon 208 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP as possible. But we were overruled by a power higher than our own, and our plans were in some measure thwarted. On our wa}^ to rob Lepp^s store, one of my men tjomplained of feeling unwell, and by the time we had tode t^n miles on our return he became too sick to sit ^poh his horse. AVe retreated to a cave in the Pike Run hills where we could conceal ourselves, our horses and our goods while administering to the wants of our ; sick comrade. Our situation here was indeed a very critical one, and had it not been for the kindness of a true Southern friend, who supplied us at night with provisions and horse feed, we undoubtedly would have suffered ; he risked his own life to save us, and in addi- tion to his other acts of kindness he procured the ser- vices of a physician, who checked the disease in a few days. It is needless to state that during all this time the (Country was literally flooded with Federal soldiers who hunted for me on their same old plan, of riding ^long the roac^, threatening women and children, and killing chickens. After remaining at the Pike Bun hills seven or eight 4avs, our comrade was sufficiently recovered to mount his hof'sa, As he was yet quite weak we thought it best to travel during daylight at the commencement of our trip. "We rode slowly through the woods, and 0,voided the soldiers by keeping out of the public roads, ^nd by shunniDg all places where liquor could be ob- tained. On reaching the vicinity of my brothers-in- ]aw, on Plat riv^r^ we met old Isaac, a negro belonging SAMUEL S. UILDEBRAKD. 209 to Mr. Metts, carrying a bridle around his shoulder. As we were dressed in Federal uniform he mistook us for Union soldiers, and in answer to our inquiries, made a lengthy rej^ort against the Southern men in that neighborhood, clearly implicating the Simms family as well as the Shannons and Sweeneys. He said he would have reported sooner, but that he was afraid they would suspicion him and get Sam Hildebrand to put him out of the way. The report he made to us, if told to a squad of Fed- erals, was sufficient to have consigned those Southern men to an ignominious death without any further evi- dence. The charge was this: that in his opinion "if Sam Hildebrand was to call at their houses and ask for something to eat, that they would feed him until he was as plump as a stuffed turkey." Some of my boys wanted to shoot him to prevent him from making that awful revelation to the Federal authorities j but I ob- jected, because the sound of a gun might lead to our discovery. We quietly lashed him to a horse which we were leading, took him among the hills toward Westover's mill and hung him. On searching his pockets for a knife I found a pocket book containing sixty-four dollars. Some of the boys proposed that as they seemed to have monej'^ we should take in a few negroes until our pockets were replenished. On the next day we came suddenly across one in the woods; as we were traveling slowly it was necessary that we should get through the country without being reported. Having no spare rope, we hung the negro with hickory 210 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF bark; but on searching his pockets we found nothing^, but a cob pipe. Nothing else worthy of note occurred until we reach- ed the vicinity of Greenville. While camped for the day on a high elevation^ we discovered tAvo men com"] ing up the hill toward us. Under the supposition that . they were tracking us, we were about to shoot them, | but discovered presently that they were not armed. . They came leisurely up the hill, walking as if they ',: were very tired, and got Avithin fifteen steps of our ; camp before they discovered it. Their first impulse i was to run, but wc ordered them to surrender, and they abandoiied all idea of being able to make their escape. They proved to be deserters from the Federal armj^ at Ironton, who were making their way to their homes at Nevv Madrid. One of my men knew them well, and to him they are indebted to this day for their lives. We kept them with us until night and then per- mitted thom to continue their journey. We were no little amused at the many horrible tales of pillage and blood-shed that they said Avere reported daily at the l^ederal camps about m^- depredations. The strangest part of it was that many of those enor- mities were committed on the same day and in locali- ties very remote from each other. When night came the rest of the company proceeded on to Arkansas ; but Captain Bowman, Traster and myself concluded to go into Shannon county after a couple of deserters who, in the early part of the war, had belonged to Captain Bolin's command. While with us^ however, they were of no service, bein;^ too cow- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 211 ardly to fight and too lazy to steal ; but since their desertion they were constantly reporting every squad of rebels who visited that section of country, and were in the habit of annoying Southern citizens in that neighborhood. On reaching the neighborhood where they lived we learned that they had gone to Ironton, and the sup- position was that they had gone th^re for the purpose of joining the Union army. But on the next day they returned; we quietly arrested them^ got them out of the country without creating any alarm and marched them back to Green county, Arkansas, where we hung them in the presence of the command. 212 AUTOBIO GRAPH Y OP CHAPTER XXYII. Started with nine men to St. Francois county. — Stojp^ped in the Pike Run Hills, — Robbed the store of Christopher Lepp. — Hung Mr. Kinder^s negro. — Attacked by Federals. — Killed two and lost a man. — Shot fioo soldiers on a furlough. — The strange camp, I had not been at home long before I formed the ac- quaintance of a man by the name of Gibson, who had come to our little Green County Confederacy for the purpose of joining the "bushwhacking department.'* Gibson was a man possessing some superior advan- tages over most of Capt. Bolin's men ; he had an ac- complished education, and was endowed with a pecu- liar faculty of making all the men like him. He was the ])e^t niMrksman in our whole company, with one ohigie exce])tio!i ; and laat exception, I must modestly assert for the sake of truth, was myself. On the'16th day of July, I selected Gibson and eight other men for another trip into St. Francois county. Having made so many failures in that quarter, I had soml^ forebodings that I would again meet with disap- pointments; but 1 had long since resolved to let my old enemies have no peace Avhile I labored under no greater disadvantages than I did. It is true that they were backed by a great nation of untold wealth, whose enemies actually in the field numbered more than one iniiiioii uiid a hinl uf arjnea men, and wiiubtj line of SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 213 garrisoned territory extended one hundred and fifty miles south of their nest on Big river; yet while I thought that I was backed by the South with her armies of three hundred thousand men^ I asked no bet- ter amusement than that of striking at my enemies under the ponderous wing of Federal protection. Unlike my enemies, I had no commissary depart- ment, no steam presses running night and day striking oif greenbacks, no outlet to other nations by commer- cial treaties, no people at my back willing to be sad- dled with a debt of three or four thousand millions of dollars merely to carry into effect a Utopian idea. My long marches had to be made in the night and with the utmost caution and secrecy. The woods were my home, the moon my orb of light, and the hooting owls my spectators. My enemies long since had learned to fear my name; the fear of retributive justice was sufficient to make them cower; their militia organization only assumed a tangible shape when I was absent ; for on my approach tkey secreted themselves so securel}^ that nothing short of the prolonged sound of Gabriel's trump could ever be able to bring them forth. ^ We passed quietly through Butler county, along the western line of Madison, then through St. Francois and across Big river to those native hills and hunting grounds of my boyhood, known as the Pike Eun hills. The reader must bear in mind that these hills pos- sess peculiar advantages over any other part of the country between St. Louis and the Arkansas line. They look like the fragments of a broken up 214 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF world piled together in dread confusion, and termin- ating finally in an abrupt bluff on the margin of Big river, Avhere nature has left a cavern half way up the perpendicular rock, now known as " The Hildebrand Cave/' the mouth to which cannot be seen either from the top or bottom. Among these rugged hills, covered over by the dense forest and wild grape vines, are many yawning cav- erns known to some hunters, while there are doubtless many others never yet seen by the eye of man. \Ye took up our abode in one of these caverns during the inclemency of the weather, and as the ground was too soft to venture out on horseback, for fear of leaving a trail, I went around through the Big river neighbor- hood on foot, for the purpose of finding some of my enemies. The only one I saw was James Craig; I dis- covered him one day in the act of leaving home on foot, so I made a circuit through the woods and stationed myself in advance with the intention of ar- resting him. I wished to take him to my cavern that my comrades also might see him hung; but he never came along, and thus I missed my game entirely. By this time my .men were tired of inaction, so we started on our march, and on going about fifteen miles we came to a place called the Tunnel, on the Iron Mountain railroad. From the store of Christopher Lepp, we supplied ourselves with all the articles that we could conven- iently carry, took our back track to the crossing of Big river, near the ruins of the Hildebrand homestead, and made our way toward Castor creek, for the purpose SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 215 of squelching a negro belonging to Mr. Kinder. This neocro had become notorious for his meddlesome na- ture, and his propensity for reporting white men. On the night of our arrival there, we succeeded in finding him, and to satisfy ourselves thoroughly in regard to his meanness, Ave passed ourselves off for Federals, and questioned him concerning his old master. He very freely and exultingly proceeded to relate the many reasons he had for believing that he was disloyal. We asked him whether or not he was willing for us to kill the old man. He told us that he would kill him him- self if we would see him out in it; that the soldiers had told him two or three months ago that if he would kill him that he should have the farm, but that as yet he had not succeeded in getting a good opportunity. At this we were satisfied that he would make good food for the buzzards, so we hung him up for that pur- posCy and started on our way. We were now traveling in day time and pursuing our way very leisurely, when about four o'clock in the evening, we were trailed up and ran into by a company of Federals, who had probably been trailing us all day. They ran on to us in good earnest, and seemed very anxious for the honor of capturing or killing me. The manner of their attack is worthy of note. On getting within sight of us they held back until we were passing over the backbone of a ridge, then they made a rush, and on getting to the top of the hill were within one hundred yards of us. Their elevation caused them to over shoot all of us except one poor fellow, one of our new recruits, who was shot through the head, W$ 216 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF dashed into the brush and went over that rough coun- try about a mile at full speed; then giving up our horses to the other men with directions where to meet us, Gibson, myself and two others, started back on foot to '^ bushwhack " them. On getting within two hundred yards of where our dead man lay, we saw them exult- ing over their victory. I directed my men to make their way around and take their positions along the road where they could get a shot, while I took it upon myself to run them back. I crawled up within one hundred yards of the party, got a bead on one of them, and when | fired he fell from his horse within a few feet of where our dead man lay. This was all that was necessary to put them on their back track, and they were oflf at full speed ; as they passed my men they all I fired in turn, Gribson brought one to the ground, but I think the other boys missed their aim, although they insisted to the last that they wounded a man apiece. We secured the horses belonging to the two men we killed, and started on our journey, and on the follow- ing morning took up quarters within eight miles of Bloomfield, During the day, myself and Bill Ilucker, walked down to a plum thicket near the road, and while we were there eating plums, we discovered two Dutchmen dressed in citizens' clothes passing by. We called to them to come and get some plums, which they readily ; consented to do. As we were dressed in Federal uni- ; form they seemed at once to take us for Union sol- diers. We asked them to what command they be- longed to ; who they were, and why they were not irdij tl SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 217 the service. They said they belonged to Leeper's com- mand, and were on a furlough to see their uncle living at Mine LaMotte, that they had on borrowed clothes and no arms in order to fool the Eebels, should they meet any. We found out a great deal about " Bolin's and Hildebrand's band of murderers and ropers," as they called us. We shot them both, and returned to camp. At night we started on, and in a few days ar- rived safely at our usual place of crossing the St. Francis. We arrived on the bank of the river just after dark, and were startled by the appearance of a camp on the other side at the mouth of a little creek. We could easily perceive the reflection from several camp fires among the trees, and more than once we caught the sound of human voices. Could it be possible that this was a camp of Fede- rals ? If so, why did they not place out their pickets ? The more we studied about the matter the further were we from coming to any conclusion. We rode back into the timbered bottom and con- tinued our way down the country at some distance from the river, until we were about a mile below the strange looking camp, and there crossed the river by swimming it. After continuing up the river a short distance we rode on to a high brushy point and dismounted. Then taking it on foot I proceeded to spy out the mysterious camp above us. I continued to approach cautiously, watching closely for the pickets, but I saw nothing of them. Finally I stood in the midst of perhaps a dozen 10 218 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF little brush shanties, and yet saw not a single human being. I was more puzzled than ever. I peeped into one of the brush arbors and a lady's voice cried out : ^^ Who is that ?'^ The alarm spread, and I heard the voices of women in every direction. Presently I heard the voice of my wife, and on go- ing to her I soon learned the particulars of the calam- ity that had befallen our community in our absence. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 219 CHAPTER XXYIIL Capt. John, with a company of Federals, hums the Headquarters in Green county, Arkansas. — He is "bushwhacked,^^ routed and killed. — Raid into Washiyigton county with fourteen rnen. — At- tacked by tioenty Federals. — Killed a Union man for piloting Capt. John. A few days before my a,rrival in Arkansas, our lit- tle community of women and children at headquarters, were suddenly aroused from their slumbers one morn- ing by the firing of a gun, and found themselves sur- rounded by a whole company of Federals under the command of Capt. John from Ironton, Missouri. All the men were absent on different scouting exj^e- ditions, except eight men, who happened to be in camp that morning; they seized their guns and endeavored to make their escape, but seven of them were shot down, and the other made his escape unhurt. The Fed- erals immediately commenced burning the houses, af- ter taking all the provisions and clothing they could find. The women in great consternation, gathered their children, and in their night clothes huddled together in the centre of the square ; there in their helpless con- dition to watch the devouring flames that was fast winding around them and reducing their homes to ashes. Before the houses were all in flames however, Capt. 220 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF Jolin ordered his men to supply the women with what clothing they could snatch from the flames. After their hasty toilet was concluded their terror subsided, and with perfect composure they watched the progress of the flames Avithout betraying any emo- tion ; they were determined that the Federals should be deprived of the satisfaction of believing that they || had triumphed over their spirit of eternal enmity to the Federal cause. Some of our boys who had been out on a hunt now returned toward the camp, and before they were aware the Federals fired upon them and killed two of their number. As the scouts were in the habit of coming in i from various directions, it was impossible to give them ! warning before they were completely in the Federal trap. A few hours after the traged}'- commenced, the Fed- erals had all left, and the women in squads of five or six, went in different directions and camped a few miles off to meet the scouts as they returned. My wife and her party had camped near the St. Francis river, and were living on fish when I returned. The Federals were still in the neighborhood, burning j the farm houses, mills and shops. ij On the same night that I learned these particulars, ' • I sent all my men out in different directions to ferret out the enemy and to meet at a designated place before daylight. With much difficulty we succeeded in find- ing several squads of the Federals, from which we in- ferred, that finding our men mostly absent, they had , SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 221 divided into many little bands to finish their work of devastating the country as soon as possible. We met at the time and place designated, and con- cluded that our only chance was to " bushwhack " the Federals, and thus drive them out of the country as soon as possible. Two men were detailed to take a trip up Black river, to notify Capt. Bolin, and as many men as they could find, of what was going on, that they might intercept the Federals and " bushwhack " them after I should succeed in routing them from the country. In less than an hour our company was increased to fifteen men. We hastened on foot toward the lower end of the settlement, and on getting within half a mile of a farm house, we saw about thirty Federals en- gaged in burning the buildings. We heard the dis- charge of a gun, and on looking in that direction, we saw a Federal reel in his saddle and then fall to the earth. Two soldiers on horseback immediately dashed toward the point where the shot proceeded from, and in an instant we saw a boy about thirteen years of age, crawl out of a. gully and start toward the point of the hill where we were with the soldiers after him. The boy had so much the start of them that we saw he could easily reach us before the Federals could overtake him. We lay concealed in the thick brush and let the boy pass without seeing us; the soldiers were soon in our midst; we rose up and made them surrender without creating any alarm. We tied them securely and awaited the approach of others who might be sent out in search of these two. 222 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF The boy was greatly overjoyed when he found out who we were. In about half an hour ten Federals came riding up toward us. Our prisoners had been re- moved back half a mile and hu»g to prevent an alarm. We saluted the Federals with a sudden discharge from our rifleS; and six of them dropped from their horses ; the others suddenly wheeled and made their escaj^e. The other soldiers hastened on to an adjoining ridge and kept up a harmless fire against us for two or three hours 'j they did this to divert our attention as it ap- pears, for before we were fully aware of the fact a fresh force of Federals, numbering perhaps forty men^ com- menced'a deadly fire upon us in our rear, and soon drove us from our position. Our retreat was rather disorderly, and before we had succeeded in crossing a ravine and gaining the opposite ridge, four of my men were killed and two others slightly wounded. We con- tinued our retreat for five miles, and then placed our- selves in position to rake the Federals without much danger to ourselves. Here we remained for several hours, and were loth to leave the place, but it finally became apparent to us that the intention of the Fed- erals was to burn out the neighborhood, and then to hasten back before we could collect our men together. We wound our way through the woods toward our old headquarters. Late in the evening we heard firing in front, and in an instant we started in that di- rection, but were soon met by eight of our men who had just returned from a scout, without knowing what was going on. As they were on the retreat we did not feci justifiable in trying to make a stand against such SAMUEL S. IliLDEBEAND. 223 superior numbers, so we diverged to the right aud let Ithe Federals pass without attracting their attention. On the night following we succeeded in finding the Federal, camp, and during the whole night continued to " bushwhack " them at intervals, until we had killed eight or ten of their pickets. The next morning they seemed to have taken up their march for Missouri, but during the whole day we annoyed them all we could, by posting ourselves in positions where we had the ad- vantage, and thereby picked off several of them. Late in the evening they made an attemi^t to follow us into the woods, but we attacked the party on every side j the slaughter was terrible, and we finally put them to rout after killing Capt. John himself, and quite a num- ber of his men. We discovered among the Federals, several citizens, whom we aTterwards learned had gone from Missouri for the purpose of giving all the assistance in their power toward ferreting out our headquarters. Wearied by constant fighting, I and my men now returned to the neighborhood of our old camp, leaving a fresh supply of Capt. Bolin's men to continue "bush- whacking '^ the Federals until they should return to their hive in Ironton. After we had completely routed Capt. .John's in- cendiaries and driven them from the country, our con- dition was indeed deplorable. AYithout shelter for our families save a few huts that the Federals did not consider Avorth burning, into each of which tAvo or three families were huddled, Avithout bedding or a change of cfothing, and but little 224 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP food, we were indeed in adverse circumstances. Sev- eral of our men were compelled to remain at head- quarters several months to repair damages. Our fam- ilies, in their crowded condition, became unhealthy, and several of the children died. While we were ar- ranging matters for the comfort and convenience of our families, we obtained our supplies from the border i| counties of Missouri by making short raids ; our bed- ding and provisions, however, we obtained in a great measure, from our friends; but we occasionally branched out further to rob the stores and houses of Union men. Another great difficulty under which we labored was the entire absence of surgical aid for our wounded, for the want of which many of our men who recovered were so deformed that they were forever afterward rendered unfit for active duty. The whole available force of our community now only amounted to eighty available men, and by the I time that we had rebuilt twenty houses and a tempo- rary mill, our numbers were still further reduced by desertion, for many of them now left and went into Texas. While these repairs were going on we held a council, in which it was decided that half our men might take the field against our enemies in Missouri, and make them pay for the damage that we had sus- tained. In doing this, however, we had no intention of applying the torch to the dwellings of our Union enemies; we were never mean enough for that ; we made no war upon women and children; that kind of SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 225 warfare was exclusively used by our enemies of boasted civilization, refinement and magnanimity. I started to Washington county, Missouri, with four teen men to obtain supplies of clothing and ammuni- tion. With a great deal of caution we made our way up Black river through Butler and Eeynolds counties, and entered Washington county on her extreme south- ern line, traveling only at night, and concealing our- selves each day among the rugged hills of Black river. We visited a store and packed several horses which w^e had taken in the neighborhood, with shoes, domes- tics and calicoes ; and here we found some concealed ammunition, which we appropriated. On starting back we traveled slowly ; not having heard of any Federals in the neighborhood, we imagined ourselves safe, and designed traveling in the day time. As we were so familiar wath all the roads and by-paths in this section of country, we generally felt safe while on our re- turn to Arkansas, but on this occasion we were doomed to disappointment. We had gone but a short distance into Eeynolds county, when we were suddenly attacked by a party of Federals, numbering perha^DS twenty or twenty-five -, they had trailed us from the store we had robbed, and now they came upon us with a perfect fury. Being heavily packed and encumbered with the horses we were leading, we could not run ; at their fire one of my men was killed, at which I took ad- vantage of their empty guns, wheeled my men into the brijsh, dismounted, and in an instant returned their fire, at which three of their number fell ; I dashed for- 226 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ward with about half my men and succeeded in gaining their rear. My party in front and my men in the rear now made a simultaneous charge upon them with our revolvers, killing two more and Avounding several, in which two of my men were wounded, but not mortally. In the fight all the other Federals charged over us and got away, with the exception of eight prisoners, three of whom were wounded. The result of the lit- tle fight was, five dead Federals, thirteen horses, eigh- teen guns and ten revolvers; having lost one man killed and two wounded, but not sufficiently to keep them from traveling. After I had inspected the damages, I turned my at- tention to the prisoners, who were dismounted, dis- armed and sitting by the roadside, under guard. On approaching them two of them arose, called me by name and asked permission to shake hands with me. After a short conversation I found that they were two of the men I had captured on Lost creek, in Wayne county, during the month of May, 1863, whom I re- leased after negotiating with them for the escape of two of Capt. Bolin's men in prison at Ironton. On recognizing them I again gave them my hand in reas- surance that I appreciated the services they had ren- dered us in proving true to their word, and could not help telling them that I was glad to see them. After the ceremony incident to the renewal of our acquaint- ance was over, I began making preparations for con- tinuing our journey after having first buried the dead. I told our two Union friends that they were again released, toG:ether Avith their three wounded comrades, SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 227 but that I would take the other three along with mc ; they, however, plead manfully for the release of their three friends, but I told them that I was compelled to have their assistance in getting along with our stock, until we reached Greenville, at which place, for their sake, I would release them, and true to my word, I did so. We made our w^ay to Green county with as much haste as prudence would jDermit; being too much bur- dened to ^^ bushwhack" any of those citizens who had accompanied Capt. John into our little confederacy, we concluded to let them rest for the present; but hav- ing accidently met one in the road, I shot him through the head and rode on. We found all things cheerful about headquarters, an*soon divided our goods among the needy families. 228 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTEE XXIX. Took a raid hito Missouri with fow men. — Killed a Federal. — Killed tivo of Capt. Milks^ men. — Started to DeSoto. — Routed by the Federals. — Adventure with a German^ — Killed three Fed- erals on Black river. In the latter part of August, 1864, I selected four men and started after some of my old enemies on Big river. At this period they had all disappeared except three or four who still ventured to call their old residences their homes, but they stayed nftst of their time around the Federal camps anxiously waiting for the time to come when the Federal authorities Avould succeed, either in killing or capturing me, when a new era of peace and quiet would again bless them in the pursuit of theft and murder. Those of the old mob who had left their homes and were now dwelling, as they supposed, in utter obscuri- ty, were not lost sight of by me, for I kept myself posted in regard to all their movements. The especial object of this trip was to penetrate the enemies coun- try as far as De Soto, Jefferson county, Missouri, and surprise a couple of the old mob who now lived in that vicinity, and before the authorities were aware of our unholy presence, to have our little mission of ven- geance completed. On passing Bloomfield it might truthfully be said that we were within the Federal SAMUEL S. HILDRBRAND. 229 lines. A heavy military force was stationed at Pilot Knob at the beginning of the war, and smaller forces were stationed at the county seats of the various counties in Southeast Missouri; they were inactive so far as the national war was concerned, but amused themselves by marauding through the country, and oc- casionally killing some unarmed citizens, or indulging in the characteristics of Ben. Butler, On gaining the vicinity of Frederiektown, we ob- tained important information from our ^-iends in that quarter relative to the distribution of the Federal forces, which aided us materially in shaping our course. From this place we went east of Mine La Motte, and took up our quarters for the day in an unfrequented part of the country, about three miles south of the Cross Roads, in St. Francois county, where we re- mained unmolested until in the evening, when we dis- covered a man in Federal uniform tracking our horses slowly across an adjoining ridge. We felt very sorry for him in his lonely condition; I went down the hill a little distance toward him, and when he came within a hundred yards of me, and commenced making his circuit toward our camp I turned old "Kill-devil" loose upon him ; but owing to his stooping posture as he was looking for tracks I shot him too low and broke him down in the back. He set up a hideous yelling, which was very annoying to us just at this time; so I hastened to his relief, and soon dispatched him with my revolver. Being a little fearful that we had at- tracted the attention of the people in the neighbor- hood, and that perhaps a Union force was on our track, 230 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF of which the lone Federal might huve been one of the number, we concluded to move. Directing our way through the most thickly wooded parts of the country during the balance of the day, we reached Wolf creek about midnight at the plank road leading from Farm- ington to Ste. G-enevieve. Feeling much fatigued, and having lost much sleep, we decided on camping until the following night, hav- ing with us a sufficiency of provisions and horse feed. We slept soipdl}^ until daylight, and then did picket duty by turns until late in the evening, w^hen I dis- covered two Federal soldiers in the valley below us, going toward Farmington. I at once took my position with one of my men, and as they came up talking very merrily, we surprised them by presenting our pistols in a few feet of their faces and demanding a surrender, at which they seemed somewhat alarmed but made no resistance. After dismounting and disarming them we took them to our quiet nook in the woods, and upon inquiry we found that they belonged to a company at Ste. Gene- vieve under Capt. Milks. We felt very much rejoiced at getting two of this company who had formerly been stationed at Farm- ington, and after harrassing and robbing the peaceable citizens in that communit}^ for several months they were removed to Ste. Genevieve. On one of their scouts through the country they ar- rested Charles Burks, county judge of Ste. Genevieve for compelling the Provost Marshal to deliver up some horses belonging to the judge whom the marshal had SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 231 unjustly seized. The old man was taken a few miles after his arrest by Milks' men and shot without any questions being asked, and without even a charge of disloyalty ever having been brought against him. On another occasion they arrested Irvin M. Haile, one of the most peaceable men in St. Francois county, under a charge made by some sneaking informer, that on one occasion he had fed me and my men. This was the whole of the accusation brought against him. He was allowed no trial, no defense ; but two inhuman mon- sters took him a few miles, shot him through the head, then taking his horse they left his body in the woods^ where it was afterwards found. The recollection of these and some other acts of atrocity committed by that company sealed the fate of my two prisoners ; in the name of justice and human- ity I shot them both through the head with my re^ volver, and ordered my men to east them in a deep hole of water in Wolf creek, with stones tied to theix^ feet. As soon as it was dark we went to the house of a friend to get some feed for ourselves and horses, but on arriving there we saw a party of perhaps twenty persons who were just mounting their horses in front of the gate, and in a few minutes they rode oif and were lost to us in the dim starlight. We approached the house cautiously, but found no one there except the kind lady who told us that the cause of the excite- ment was that ^^Sam Hildebrand was supposed to be in country;" that some soldiers from Fredericktown had come up and stated positively that my trail bad been fol- 232 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP lowed in that direction, and that the citizens were or- dered out to assist in the search. After getting something to eat and feed for our horses we started on, and by daylight the next morn- ing we were safely housed in a cave among the Pike Bun hills, in the northern part of St. Francois county. Here we remained but one day ; as soon as darkness approached we proceeded on into Jeffei'son county un- til ten o'clock, when we stopped at the house of a friend who gave us our suppers and treated us so well that the night was half spent before we started on. Our friend warned us very pressingly against going any further in the direction of De Soto, but we deter- mined not to retreat until real danger was apparent. Butunfortunatelj^ we had consumed too much time, and did not reach the part of the country where we de- signed taking up quarters for the day, and while mak- ing a forced march between daylight and sunrise on an old unfrequented road near the top of a ridge where we designed taking up quarters, we suddenly ran into §, ^on^p^ny of Federal soldiers who were coming to- ward us,. 'They charged lis on sight and in good earnest, firing «, volley at us, but we miraculously jsscaped unhurt, but several of us carried off some respectable holes in our Kjlothlng, Their charge was really furious, and caused iTjis to scatter in every direction, and after a hasty ^n4 precipitate retreat of perhaps a mile and a half, I verji- ^i|^e(|. to ^top and take a look at my surroundings ; the 1 last fifteen nfini^tQS of my life passed off in such a /^vhiz'' that I hardly kiiisw where I was, and I was SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 233 very certain that I did not know where my men were ; but I felt very well over the fact that there were no Federal soldiers in sight. I was not long in planning my course ; a place had been designated by me in the Pike Eun hills for us to meet in an emergency of this kind, and I once struck out for the spot, traveling very cautiously and keeping in the thickest timbered country all the time. Arriving at the place late in the evening, I found one of my men who had gained the spot a short time before me. Here we remained waiting in anx- ious suspense until after dark, and had almost come to the conclusion that the other men had been cap- tured or killed when they came uj). They had got to- gether soon after the stampede, and not being very well acquainted with the country they had been lost, and when night overtook them they pressed a pilot into their service whom they discovered passing al^ng the road, and compelled him to accompany them to the place. The pilot I knew very well, and after de- ceiving him in regard to the course we designed tak- ing, we released him under the promise that he would not report us. As we were now destined to be hunted down like the wild beasts of the forest, we resolved to get out of the country as quick as possible and over some country not traveled by us heretofore. We started in a west- wardly direction, and after traveling a few miles stop- ped at the house of a friend for our suppers- Crossing the Iron Mountain railroad south of Black- well's Station, we gained tha vicinity of the Old Mines, 234 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF in Washington county, before it was yet light, where we took up quarters for the day. One of my men being acquainted in the neighborhood, we had no trouble in getting our necessary provisions and horse feed. While w^e made our brief sojourn in this locality an incident worth relating occurred, which Avas very amus- ing to us, and may not be uninteresting to the reader. About ten o'clock in the forenoon, while it w^as my turn to stand on picket I sauntered through the thick brush down to the main road, distant about two hun- dred yards, and suddenly ran on to a German who was sitting near the road side, sheltered from the sun by some brush. I discovered him before he saw me. He held in his hand an old double-barreled shot gun. As he had on an old suit of Federal uniform, my tirst im- pulse was to draw my revolver, which I did in an in- stant. As soon as the Gferman saw me he sprang to his feet, let his old gun fall to the ground and threw up his hands. Seeing that I was dressed in Federal uni- form, he immediately cried out that he was " all right,^' and began in a hurried, broken gibberish to give an account of himself; that he was from De Soto, and was going to a saw mill west of Potosi; that he was a dis- charged Union soldier; that Sam Ilildebrand was in the country about De Soto, and that he was afraid to stay there on that account. At this I advanced toward him and extended my hand, saying as I did so th*^t I was really a little frightened, that I thought he was Sam Hildebrand himself w^hen I first saw him; that I would not hurt him if he was a Union man, but that I came very near shooting him under the mistaken idea SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 235 that he was Hildebrand. He Laughed heartily at the coincident and was quite merry over the happy turn that the affair had taken. I told him that I had some men stationed back in the Avoods on one of Hildebrand's old trails, and that he could go with me and form one of my party for the day, to which he gladly consented, manifesting a great deal of gratitude. As we made our way cautiously to the camp through the thick brush I told him that he was running a great risk in traveling through that portion of country, for it was one of Hildebrand's main passways. On coming up to the boys in camp he did not wait for an introduction, but stepped in ahead of me and shook hands with them all in the greatest glee, telling as he did so a great many things he knew about "Sam Hildebrand.'' The boys seemed to understand the matter perfectly well without any explanations from me, and humored the joke very well by asking the most absurd ques- tions about m}^ barbarity; but none of the questions were too hard, for he answered them all, making it ap- pear that I was a blood-thirsty barbarian, without an equal in the world's history. It was not until sometime during the afternoon that we undeceived him in regard to the true nature of things J it was sometime before he could comprehend the sudden change, or be made to believe that he was really in my hands. But as he gradually became con- vinced of the fact he began a series of lies that would have shamed "Baron Munchausen" himself. We 236 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF stopiDed him short, however, and told him that if he would not report ns for one month we would let him go, at which he sprang at me, seizing my hand with both of his, he pledged himself and swore by all that was holy and righteous that he never would report us while he lived. He shook hands with us all and started, looking back every ten feet until he was out of sight, then he seemed to double his speed until he was out of hearing. While the sun was yet an hour high we started on our way, keeping in the woods until dark, then pass- ing west of Potosi, by traveling all night, we reached a point near the town of Centreville, in Keynolds county, where we obtained feed for ourselves and horses. In traveling down Black river late one evening we ran into a sq[uad of Federals, six in number, whom we charged in a furious manner, firing on them with our revolvers. They did not return our fire, but ran most gloriously. We killed one and captured two more; those we captured stated that they belonged to Leeper's command j this being the case of course we shot them. We took their horses and arms, made another night's journey, and arrived safely in Green county, Arkansas. There 1 found a dispatch for me from Gen. Sterling Price, requesting me to take charge of the advance guard of his army, as he was "going up to possess Missouri," to which I most gladly consented on conditions that I would be released as soon as we should reach the vicinity of my old home on Big river. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 237 CHAPTER XXX. Comtnanded the advance guard in Price^s 7^aid. — The Federals hum Doniphan. — Routed thein comipletely. — Captured some at Patte?'- son. — Killed Ahright at Fai^mington. — Left Price's artny. — Killed four Federals. — Maj. Montgomery storms Big River Mills. — Narrow escape from capture. It is not my purpose to give a history of Price's raid into Missouri further than to narrate a few facts connected with my own operations. In September, 1864, by request, I took charge of the advance guard after all arrangements were made for the grand campaign. The dispatch that came to me, having stated that General Price designed tak- ing Missouri and holding it, I felt that a great honor was conferred upon me^ and was pleased beyond measure with the prospect of being once more enabled to triumph over my enemies and to peacably establish myself at the home of my childhood, among the blissful scenes of my earlier years. While these day-dreams were passing through my excited imagination, I repaired to the designated point and found that my command consisted of a party of ragged Missourians, about forty in number, some of whom I knew. Keeping pace with the main body of the army, we traveled not more than fifteen miles each day. Nothing of importance occurred until we reached the town of Doniphan in Ripley county, Missouri ; when, on approaching the place. 238 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF * we discovered large volumes of smoke arising from the town. We put spurs to our horses and hastened into the place as soon as possible ; finding that the Federals in evacuating the place, had set fire to every house but one, and that belonged to a Federal officer, we concluded that it had better burn also. We arrived in time to save the mill which seemed to have burned very slowly. It appears that McNeal's and Leeper's men were on their way to burn up our Green County Confederacj^ but ascer- taining that Price was on his march for Missouri, they set fire to the town and decamped. We pur- sued and overtook them before they got to Green- ville, had a little skirmish, lost two men killed and four wounded, captured sixteen Federals and shot them, rushed on to the town of Patterson, captured eleven negroes and seven white men in Federal uni- form and shot them. While the main army ad- vanced slowly I scouted in front of it with my com- mand; but Federals and Union men were very scarce ; I still held the advance however, passing through Greenville, Bloomfield, Fredericktown and Farmington; all of which were evacuated before our arrival, and through which I passed with my force without molesting any one with one exception. On reaching Farmington no resistance was off'ered ; the people were somewhat alarmed, but all surren- dered quietly except a German, named Abright, who ran when we approached, refused to halt, and was shot of course. Finally) reaching the Iron Mountain Kailroad at SAMUEL S. IlILDEBRAND. 239 Mineral Point, we tore up the road, burned several bridges, and tore down the telegraph ; but finding no one to kill, I left the command, according to pre- vious agreement, and hastened to the neighborhood of my personal enemies. Finding none of them there to kill I employed myself in recruiting for the Southern army, and succeeded in the short space of six days in getting a full company, who were sworn in, and under Capt. Holmes went into the Southern service. While laboring for the cause of the South I was at the residence of Maj. Dick Berryman at the stone house in Bogy's Lead Mines, near Big river, with a portion of Capt. Holmes' men, when four Federals who had escaped from the fort at Ironton during the siege, came along the road ; with but lit- tle difficulty we effected their capture, shot them and threw their bodies into a mineral hole. The main army did not remain long in our section of country; Gen. Price indeed was a great military chieftain, but his present campaign through Mis- souri seemed to lack design ; from the time he en- tered the State until he left it, he garrisoned no posts in the rear. Pilot Knob, the terminus of the railroad from St. Louis and the depot for supplies for all Southeast Missouri was taken, and then abandoned on the next day; he made his way to Missouri river and then up that stream in the direc- tion of Kansas for several hundred miles without molestation whatever, leaving St. Louis, the great commercial key of the West, almost "spoiling to be taken." The great Missouri chieftain left St. Louis 240 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP to his right, while the he^avy force at that place were quietly taking possession of the abandoned posts in his rear, If he had joined the "Indepen- dent Bushwhacking Department of the Confederate States of America" with all his men, in less than thirty days there would not have been a Federal soldier west of the Mississippi. While Maj. Berry- man and a few other officers stayed in St. Francois county recruiting, the main army gained the Missouri river and was quietly making a blind march in the direction of Idaho. The Federal forces took possession of the Iron Mountain railroad, and on one pleasant afternoon in October, our new recruits armed with their shot guns and squirrel rifles were run into by Maj. Mont- gomery of the Sixth Missouri Cavalry and complete- ly routed, in which their loss was seven killed and all the balance missing. Montgomery also killed several citizens, whose names were Fite, Vandover, and Judge Haile, the father of Irvine M. Haile, who was previously murdered by Milks' men. On the day before Maj. Montgomery routed the new recruits at Big River Mills, I went with some men to Cadet on the railroad and took from the store of Mr. Kellerman a wagon load of goods which I delivered up to Maj. Berry man, who distributed them among his men. Maj. Montgomery, with two companies of the Sixth Missouri Cavalry, struck our trail and followed us nearly into camp ; but when he ran into the pickets they obeyed the orders I had previously given, and ran in a different direction I SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 241 from the camp, thereby leading the Federals away from our squad of raw recruits, and giving them time to escape. I was not at Big Eiver Mills when Montgomery stormed the place, but was at St. Jo- seph Lead Mines, when he passed. I was sitting on my horse talking to a lady, when the first thing that I saw of them they were within a few yards of me ; I assumed an air of unconcern and continued the conversation ; on discovering that they were eyeing me very closely, J turned my horse and rode within a few feet of the column in the direction they were going, talking back to the lady until I was too far off to continue the conversation. I then found myself near a lieutenant whom I addressed as captain, ask- ing him in a very awkward manlier if he was going to Big River Mills to drive the Rebels off, which he answered in the affirmative. I told him that I would like to help if I had a gun, but he told me very curtly that he wanted no men who were not drilled. My horse seemed to be a little lame and I gradually fell back, talking all the time to the man opposite me until the last one had passed. I kicked and ''cussed" my horse to try to keep up but I could not do it. On getting about one hundred yards behind I availed myself of an opportunity at a turn in the road and took to the woods ; the lameness of my horse was very much improved, but I could not beat them into the town; however, I knew that the pick- ets would lead them off some other way. They did so, but were overtaken and killed at the ford above the mill pond. 11 242 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF The new recruits were within hearing of the guns and "broke for tall timber." The short sojourn of the Confederate forces in Missouri was indeed a severe blow to the course I had marked out for myself. In my excited imagination I had raised the veil and looked down the vista of time, beheld the Southern arms triumphant, our country again re- stored to peace and prosperity, and my little family and my aged mother leaning upon my arm for sup- port at the old homestead, surrouuded by all the endearments of our once happy days. But I was awakened from my dream by the unhappy termina- tion of Price's raid; it impressed my mind very forcibl}^ with the fact that the people of Missouri were tired of the war and would sacrifice but little more at the shrine of their political convictions. In fact a large majority of them were compelled by circumstances beyond their control to remain at home and take their chances. The atrocities com- mitted in their midst by men professing Union sen- timents finally failed to elicit from them a casual remark. When the war began, the American people were untutored in regard to the cruelties of war; in fact, I am inclined to the opinion that there was not a nation upon earth which had formed the most re- mote conception of the cruelties of the American people, with all their boasted moral and religious training. Even the words of political bias expressed in times of peace, many years before the war com- menced, while yet almost the whole nation was of SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 243 the same opinion, were treasured up and resurrec- ted against certain citizens, for which their lives were taken. From a contemplation of this unwelcome subject I turned my mind, and through my native woods 1 traveled alone to my home in Arkansas, with my fond hopes crushed, and my spirits below zero. 244 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTEE XXXI. Selected three men and went to Missouri to avenge the death of Rev. William Polk. — Got am,munition in Fredericktown. — Killed the German who informed on Polk. — Returned to Arkansas. After recruiting our horses and making all neces- sary arrangements for the comfort and convenience of my family in my absence, I selected three men and started to Madison county, Missouri, for the ex- press purpose of killing the German who reported on preacher Polk, and by whose instigation his mur- der, by the Union soldiers, had been brought about. That venerable Baptist minister, William Polk, was about seventy years of age, and had Been preaching for about forty years. As a christian of unquestionable piety no man ever stood higher ; as a citizen his conduct was irreproachable, and as to his loyalty and patriotism it never before was brought into question. From his lips no word had ever dropped that could be construed into an ex- pression of sympathy for the Southern rebellion. In the latter part of October, 1864, three Federal soldiers rode up to his house to rob him first and then kill him. They demanded his money which he gave up, amounting to twenty dollars ; he told them that he had no more, at which they replied that twenty dol- lars was not enough to save his life. SAMUEL S. niLDEBRAND. 245 They took him out of the yard, when a Federal soldier by the name of Robert Manning shot him through the head. Believing that the German informer was the most guilty one in this transaction, I was willing to at- tempt his capture even at this inclement season of the year. Camping out in the woods was disagreeable; stopping at the houses of our friends at night was extremely dangerous ; and if a snow should happen to fall, thereby exposing our trail to the Federals we would be under the necessity of running a horse race for nearly two hundred miles. On reaching the St. Francis we found it consider- ably swollen from recent rains higher up the river. I proceeded at once to swim it, and arrived safely at the opposite bank, but my three men having en- tered the river too near together their horses crowded each other, which caused them to beat down with the current until one of my men named Swan washed into a drift and came near being drowned before I could pull off my coat and boots and swim to his rescue. I got to him in time to pull him out on to a drift, but his horse washed under it and we saw him no more. After we had all got over we built a fire, dried our clothes and camped for the night. Swan did not feel well the next morning, so he concluded to make an effort to get back to head- quarters, while we proceeded on with our journey, 246 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF traveling only twenty or twenty-five miles per day, stopping with our friends on the way. On reaching Madison county we began to look out for Federal squads, as there were two or three hun- dred troops quartered in Fredericktown. My am- munition was getting very scarce and I felt as though I would be compelled to stop and see my old friends in town. We secreted ourselvep and horses about a mile from the place, and as daylight was near at hand we had to lay over for the day ; on the following night I made my way cautiously, and crawled into an alley near the residence of my friend, when a dog espied me and tried to make me retreat; I tried to negotiate with him, offering him as I thought everything that was fair, but all to no purpose. About ten o'clock, all things being favor- able, I went around to the opposite side of town and started in through an open street, walking leisurely, but keeping near the buildings. When I had got fairly into town I came suddenly on a Federal picket at the corner of a block, who accosted me by in- quiring : " Where are you going, Bill ? " I answered in a whisper "after some whisky :" "all right" said he, "bring a fellow a snort." By this time I was out of whispering distance, and soon came to a large saloon on the corner, passed around to the other side which was closed up, and amused myself seve- ral minutes in looking in at the window. I saw quite a number of the Federals, some playing cards, some amusing themselves in various ways, and all of them seemed to be enjoying themselves very SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 247 well. I made my way to the house of my friend, climbed over the plank fence, and gave a peculiar wrap at the back door which was well understood. I got a lunch, some good brandy, plenty of ammuni- tion, rations to last two days, and some very impor- tant information. I went out through the alleys as a matter of choice, the smaller dogs being posted in the alleys and the larger ones in the streets. As' the night was half spent we went into the neighbor- hood of Mr. O'Banyon and camped in the woods un- til the next evening, when we made our way over to the German's who was accused of layiug the plot for the murder of Elder Polk. Dressed in Federal uniform, we rode up to his house as the sun was going down, were taken for Federal soldiers and received with a great deal of cordiality. We had talked to him .but a short time when the subject of "Preacher Poik" was intro- duced. The German in a boastful manner gave us the history of his transactions in the matter, fully confirming his complicity in the murder. We marched him off into the woods near the farm of Mr. North, where I talked all the Dutch language to him that I knew, and after giving him distinctly to understand that "hog killing time" had come, I shot him. As soon as it was dark we rode back to the sub- urbs of Fredericktown for the purpose of silencing a Union citizen of that place who had made himself rather officious in reporting citizens for disloyalty. 248 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP and for accusing certain ones of having fed "Sam Hildebrand." I left one of my men with the horses, and taking the other, I went into town and knocked at the door, our call was answered by a lady who innocently told us that the man for whom we inquired had gone to St. Louis, at which we politely bid her good night and left the town. We hurried on to Castor creek to the house of a friend whose hospitalities we enjoyed for several days, while we were endeavoring by every means in our power to take in a certain man who lived in that neighborhood; but the excite- ment we had raised by squelching the German ren- dered our intended victim very shy. Finally we went to his house just after dark one night and called for him, but his wife declared that he was not at home. We made a diligent search through every room, but not finding him we started for Cape Gir- ardeau county for the purpose of obtaining some supplies for the winter. We succeeded in getting all that we could conveniently pack, and started for Arkansas. We saw but one squad of Federals on our homeward trip ; we were passing through Stod- dard county, east of Bloomfield, when a party of about ten came up behind us, but they fired upon us before they got near enough to do any harm, and by taking to the woods we made our escape. They might easily have compelled us to throw away our goods to facilitate our flight, if they had felt disposed to continue the pursuit. As it was they never got in sight of us any more, and although our SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 249 horses were much jaded we made very good time until dark and then proceeded on more slowly. We swam the St. Francis without much trouble and landed home safely. I found my wife and children well, but Mr. Swan, whom I had rescued from the turbid waters of the St. Francis had sickened and died during our ab- sence, and had been buried a few hours before [our arrival. 250 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTER XXXII. started with eight men on a trip to Arkansas river. — Hung a "Scallawag'" on White river — Went into Conway county. — Treachery of a negro on Point Remove. — "Foot burning'' atro- cities. — Started hack and hung a renegade. During the early part of the winter of 1864, sev- eral persons from the vicinity of Lewisburg, Arkan- sas, came to our Headquarters and reported trouble with the negroes and scallawags in that part of the State. Lewisburg is a small town on the north side of the Arkansas river, about fifty miles above Little Rock ; the country around this place is very fertile, and be- fore the war, was inhabited by a wealthy class of farmers of the highest cast of honor and intelli- gence, the most of whom owned a large number of slaves. It seems that as soon as the ordinance emancipating the slaves was enforced in that part of the country, several scallawags from the free States, slipped in among the negroes, whose especial duty seemed to be to incite the negroes to deeds of ♦villainy. About Lewisburg they seemed to have been very successful in their mission as insurrectionists, and the continued reports from that quarter convinced us that a short campaign among them during the winter might be beneficial. In January, 1865, I SAMUEL S. lIlLDEliKAND. 251 started with eight men, we x)assed through Law- rence and Independence counties, and on reaching the beautiful country bordering on White river, which had been in a high state of cultivation before the war, but now sadly neglected, we approached near the town of Batesville, when we learned that two or three of the very animals we were hunting for were in that " neck of the woods." I left six of my men with our horses in a dense thicket, and three of us started out separately to visit the negro cabins. I had not proceeded far before I entered a dirty cabin of "colored people," whom I greeted very warmly. The household consisted of an old man and woman, each about sixty years of age, and about six others who were grown. The old man treated me with great politeness, and would persist in call- ing me " Massa," notwithstanding my repeated ob- jections. I talked to them some time on the subject of their freedom; the old man gave me distinctly to understand that he considered their condition much worsted by the change; but the youngsters seemed to be in a high glee over their future pros- pects. I succeeded in gaining their confidence by professing intense loyalty to their cause, and ascer- tained beyond all doubt that a " Bosting man " had been through the neighborhood to obtain their names and their pledges to support him for Con- gress as soon as the war should close, with the solemn promise from him that he would have all the 252 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP land and the property of the whites confiscated and given to them. One of the boys showed me a paper which he said was a certificate that he was to be the owner of the Anthony House in Little Eock. On inquiring where I could find my " Bosting brother," they told me that he was " down about Lewisburg raising money from the Rebels to build school houses for the colored people." After intimating that I was an ofiicer of the Freed- man's Bureau, I was about to depart, when a tall, lank specimen of a genuine Eastern philanthropist made his appearance at the door. After being as- sured that I was " all right," he remarked that he had been in the neighborhood several days, and had made out a report of all the property which would be confiscated as soon as he returned to Washing- ton. He proceeded to draw it out from the lining of his hat and handed it to me to read, I fumbled about in my pockets for some time, and then re- marked that I had lost my spectacles ; he then took the paper and read it with a great deal of pomposi- ty, commenting occasionally on the names as he read them ofi*. I sanctioned the report heartily, and told him that it was bound to win. He then remarked to the negroes that any assistance they could render him in the way of money matters, would be thankfully received, as he was working for their good alone. They contributed all the money they had, which I think amounted to about six dollars. I arose to de- SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 253 part, stating that I had promised to take dinner with some colored friends about a mile from there,* and insisted that my "brother missionary" accompany me, to which he readily consented. During our walk he laid before me many of his plots and plans, which fully convinced me that he designated to excite the minds of the negroes with the hope of ultimately expelling all the white peo- ple from the State, except their immediate friends from the North. We finally arrived at the place, but it proved to be a Eebel camp instead of a negro cabin. On com- ing up to the boys my missionary seemed to be bad- ly alarmed, but made no show of resistance. We hung the, scallawag to a limb, where he remained until we got our dinner, then we took him down and threw him into a hole of water, with a large stone tied to his feet. We crossed Whijbe river at a ferry several miles below Batesville, immediately after which we came suddenly upon a company of twenty armed men dressed in citizen's clothes. As we were not posted in regard to the state of affairs in that part of the State, we were utterly at a loss to know to which side they belonged in this war. We were first seen by a tall, awkward looking specimen of humanity, who stepped out in front of us and questioned us about who we were and where we were going. He held in his hand a double-barreled gun large enough to have killed all eight of us at one fire. Without answering his questions, as we wished to 254 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF take items before committing ourselves, I asked "where is your Captain?" He replied that he was going to serve as captain himself, and immediately made a remark that led us to understand that they were merely a party starting out on a " bear hunt." At night we stopped at the Round Fond, and as- certained that there was but little Union sentiment in that part of the State, and that we would meet with no trouble from the Federals until we got into the counties bordering on Arkansas river. We avoided a military camp at Clinton, not knowing to a certainty whether they were Rebels or not. We had no source of information upon which we could explicitly rely. On arriving in Conway coun- ty we stayed all night with an old gentleman on Point Remove ; but being fearful that our horses might be stolen, we concluded to sleep under a shed between the stable and the smokehouse. About one o'clock in the night we saw two ne- groes approaching the smoke house very cautiously ; after some little time they succeeded in removing a log, when one of them crawled in. We made an at- tempt to arrest the one on the outside, but he got away, followed by two shots, which, however, missed him. A great consternation was produced in the house, and out the old man came with a light. On taking our prisoner out he made a clean breast of it ; he confessed that he belonged to a band of eight negroes, who were camped on the bank of Ar- kansas river, between Foint Remove and Gilmore's Landing; that they were led by a white man, and SAMUiL S. HILDEBRAND. 255 were in the habit of robbing white people, and mak- ing them tell where their money was concealed by burning their feet. On the next morning he consented to pilot us to the place where they were camped ; but instead of taking us directly to the place, he took us a mile around through the cane, and finally brought us back to within two hundred yards of where we had been before, and then pointed to their camp. Here it was, sure enough, but the birds had flown. For this trick the body of a dead negro was soon discovered floating down the muddy river. I was much mortified in thus failing to squelch the foot-burning scallawag who was leading the negroes on to such acts of cruelty; but he succeeded in get- ting away and is no doubt by this time in Congress. After remaining in the woods a few miles from Lewisburg for several days without being able to do any good toward ferreting out the "foot-burnerS;" we started back through YanBuren and Izard counties without molesting any one until we got near a little town called Mount Olive, where we captured a man whom we accidentally met in the road. Several of my men knew him, and stated that he had been run off" from Bloomfield, Missouri, for professing loyalty during the second year of the war, and thus betray- ing the confidence his neighbors had hitherto placed in him. He was also accused of having had a man shot near Bloomfield, by reporting on him; this accusation he virtually acknowledged after we had captured him. 256 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF We took him a few hundred yards from the road, hung him to a limb, and proceeded on through Law- rence county to our old headquarters. SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 257 CHAPTER XXXIII. Gloomy prospects for the South. — Takes a trip to Missouri with four men. — Saved from capture by a woman. — Visits his m,other on Big river. — Rohs the store of J. V. Tyler at Big River Mills. — Escapes to Arkansas. I had a long conversation with Capt. Bolin, who had just returned from an expedition on the head waters of Current river, concerning the probable termination of the war. He was a man of considerable intelligence, and I always noticed on his return from a raid his pockets were stuffed full of Yankee newspapers. I found him sitting on a log deeply absorbed in examining his miscellaneous pile of news. ''Well, Captain! what's the news from the North? Are they ready to give it up yet ? " ^' Give it up, indeed! Sam, the war is very near to a close." "I thought so! I knew they could not hold out much longer ; I suppose we have killed nearly half of them; I hope they will grin and bear it until we get another swipe at them! " "I rather think they will! but Sam, it is the South which is going under; her fate is already sealed." " What makes you think so ?" ^'I think so because the great armies of the Con- 258 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF federary are crippled and almost annihilated ; their whole country is overrun and impoverished by im- mense Northern armies ; I fear that our great chief- tains will be compelled to yield, and when they go under, our little fighting here must also stop." " Ah, Captain, you get that from your Yankee papers ; I can't believe anything that they contain.' I must acknowledge however, that I was some- what staggered by Capl. Bolin's candid remarks. I immediately selected four men, being determined to make another trip to see whether the Federals had literally swallowed up the whole country or not. We made our way up Black river, thinking that we would be very likely to make the trip on that route without ever seeing a Federal. One evening, on the first day of March, 1865, after remaining in a thicket nearly all da}^, we concluded to approach the house of a friend with whom we had stopped on a previous trip. A terrible rain storm was coming up, and we thought we could leave our horses where they were and repair to the house for shelter until the rain should cease. Our friend was from home ; he had gone toward Springfield to look after his son whom he feared had been murdered by some of the roving bands of Federals. We learned Trom the good woman that none of the enemy had passed that road for a long time ; so feeling perfectly safe we repaired to the barn intending to get a little sleep, but took the precaution to crawl up into the loft and over the hay into a low place near the wall. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND, 259 Directly after dark we were awakened by the noise of a large empty wagon that was driven up to the barn, just under our window; on peeping out the truth flashed across our minds in an instant that not less than fifty Federal soldiers were in the barn yard all around us ; but on watching their maneuvers a few minutes, we became satisfied that they knew nothing of our presence. The barn floor below us was soon full of them, and in a few minutes eight or ten of them crawled up through the window on to the hay and rolled up in their blankets, between us and the window. Our escape seemed impossible; we could not slip out at the window without stepping on the soldiers; we might indeed lay still and escape detection for a while, but we knew full well that as soon as it was light enough they would load their wagon with the hay and be sure to discover us. For once I was at my wit's end. In this predicament we lay for two long hours, when all at once we heard the alarm of fire ; our good woman was calling lustily for help. In the corner of the yard about fifty feet from the house there stood a little cabin that had once been her dwelling house but which was- now used as a kind of receptacle for old boxes and barrels. This house was in flames, and we learned after- wards that she set it on fire herself to draw the sold- iers from the barn so that we might eflfect our escape. In this she succeeded admirably ; every one broke for the fire and prevented it from catching 260 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF the main bnilding, while we made our escape with- out any trouble whatever. We took a long breath of relief, mounted our horses and made one good night's trayeL Passing near the town of Buford then west of Fredericktown, we arrived in the vicinity of Flat Woods and remained concealed in a thick forest during the day. In the evening, two of my men who were dressed in Federal uniform, wandered off from the camp and were discovered by a citizen named John Myers, who mistook them for Union soldiers and immediately commenced telling them how, thus far, he had succeeded in deceiving the Rebels. He handed them a sheet of paper on which he had written out a full report of his success in ferreting out the friends of Sam Hildebrand in that neighborhood. He stated that he was in the habit of reporting to the Rebels -also, and to prove the matter he drew from his pocket a half worn paper purporting to be an account of the Federal movements in that section of country. He mani- fested a great desire for my capture, and when they told him that I had actually been captured and was a prisoner at their camp near by, he waved his hat and shouted like an Indian. They brought him into camp to satisfy his curiosity ; but on discovering that I was not tied he started to retreat, but was stopped by my men. As soon as night began to ap- proach we shot him and proceeded on toward Big river, but stopped in the pinery northwest from Farmington, where we remained two days. On leaving there we t@ok supper with a friend near Big SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 261 Eiver Mills and proceeded down the river to the old Hildebrand homestead. During Price's raid into that section of country I left word for my enemies that they should build my mother another house at the old homestead in lieu of the one they had burned, otherwise, I would burn the last one of them out. Some of my friends how- ever, seeing that they were slow about commencing it, and wishing perhaps to screen them, met together and in a very short time built her a cabin, which answered her purpose very well for a temporary abode. Into this cabin she removed, and there I found her on the night of March 6th, 1865. I left my men and horses in a secure place near by, and quiet- ly approached the premises where once had been the happy home of my childhood. It was late in the night when I called at the door, but my mother had not yet retired; knowing my voice she laid her spec- tacles upon her open bible where she had been reading, and softly opei^ed the door. Her motherly arms entwined around my neck, the same arms that had so often lulled me to sleep in my innocent childhood, that had so often clasped me to her bosom and made me feel secure from all the dangers and storms of Jife. My heart beat strangely as all those dear scenes and all the events of my life in one short minute crowded through my memory. I could not help contrasting her own condition at that hap- py period with the cheerless present. As she took 'her seat I could not help noticing the calm serenity of her countenance ; a quiet resignation seemed to 262 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF I pervade her nature. Considering the terrible loss ' that her kind heart had sustained in the cruel death of her three boys, and in the utter uprooting of all her cherished hopes in this world, I was at a loss to j account for it, and was about to express my wonder when she seemed to divine my thoughts before my i question was formed, and with a slight motion of her hand toward the bible, she said in a faltering ■ tone: "My dear boy! you are more unhappy than : I am ! " The remark was so true, that I wished I had the power to obliterate the past, and to commence life again as a little frolicsome boy around my mother's chair. I remained with her most of the time during the next day. It was her impression that the war was near its close ; that the triumph of the Union cause was almost complete, and she insisted strongly that when the Southern soldiers should lay down their armS; that I with the rest would yield obedience to the government and claim its protection. I was so softened by this interview with my moth- er, that I almost forgot my enemies ; and I made up my mind to return to Arkansas without killing any one if I could do so with safety to myself. But it was necessary that I and my men should take some goods with us, for our families, at this time, were rather needy; and believing that friends as well as foes should bear a part of the burden of our suffering families, inasmuch as all our energies had been directed to the accomplishment of an ob- ject which they so strenuously contended was right SAMUEL S. HILDEBBAND. 263 we concluded to make a small raid into the town of Big Kiver Mills that my friends might still know we were on the war path. We started late in the eve- ning and kept along the main road, arriving in town between sundown and dark. We went to the store of J. Y. Tyler, and helped ourselves to such articles as we actually needed. After mounting our horses we did not remain long to see the balance of our friends, but hurried on all that night to get as far beyond the gravel road at night as possible. We lay up to rest ourselves during the day; but about two o'clock in the evening, we discovered a considerable force of Federals on our track; they came to the place where our trail commenced wind- ing around the hill, and there they began to move very cautiously. I plainly saw from their movements that they had learned my trick of making a circuit before camp- ing; this being the case I determined to escape by the same knowledge. We started very cautiously down the hill in an opposite direction, rode about three miles, made another circuit and went on in a great hurry. Every few miles we made a similar curve, but continued on, and by the time they had crept cautiously up to the last place we were far beyond their reach. We had no further trouble with the Federals, and reached Arkansas with all our goods. 264 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP CHAPTER XXXIV. started to Missouri with three men. — Surrounded at night near Fredericktown. — Narrow escape hy a cunning device. — Retired to Simms* Mountain. — Swapped horses with Robert Hill and cap- tured some more. — Killed Free Jim and kidnapped a negro hoy. About the first of April, 1865, 1 started to Mis- souri with four men, one of whom was Tom Haile. We passed west of Bloomfield, and made an attempt to take in a German living in the edge of Wayne county, whose name I never could pronounce. He had rendered himself rather obnoxious to us by his officiousness in carrying news to the Federal au- thorities. On going up to his house about sunrise, thinking to find him asleep, we made no attempt at conceal- ment, but marched directly up toward the front of his house ; when we got within a hundred and fifty yards of the house he ran out and struck across a little field ; we fired our guns at him, shooting one at a time; every time we fired he squalled like a panther, which tickled Tom Haile so well he could not shoot, but laughed about as loud as the Dutch- man yelled. We made no attempt to pursue him, as we cared very little about him any way. We marched on toward Fredericktown, reaching that place one morning about daybreak, and secreted SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 265 ourselves for the day; during which time Haile went into Fredericktown. After tying up an old coat in a dirty cotton hand- kerchief, and swinging it on a stick which he carried on his shoulder, he walked into town, passing him- self off for a lame Irishman who wanted a job for a few days ; he found some soldiers there, but did not learn their number. While in town he met several acquaintances who kindly passed him without recognition. It appears, however, that in the morning as we were passing Mr. Blake's farm we were discovered by some one and reported to the soldiers. A company ^as ordered out to guard a gap where we were in the habit of passing, and we distinctly heard their horses' feet on the gravel road as they passed our retreat where we lay concealed in the thick forest awaiting the approach of night. Immediately after dark we started, but on cross- ing the gravel road two shots were fired at us from a short distance; we dashed through the thick brush, but my horse soon got tangled in a grape- vine, and the boys all left me, vainly endeavoring to get him along. The firing became very rapid. In riding through the thick tangled brush I made too much noise, and the first thing I knew I was completely surrounded, though their lines as yet were at some distance. Having no time to lose I quickly dismounted, dropped the bridle rein over a snag, and ran back about one hundred yards; I stepped behind a bush 12 'Z66 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF and remained very quiet, knowing if I fired^ they would see the flash of my pistol. They were closing up in regular order toward the point where my horse stood. I waited until they were within ten steps of me, then facing toward the horse which now gave a snort, I gave a few steps, then in a low but commanding tone, I cried out: "Advance with more caution ! they can hear you a mile ! " By this time I was in their line, and under the pretense of correcting some irregularity in their movements, I stepped behind them and got away without creating the least suspicion. Being next discovered by the guard who were holding the horses, I told them that we had the bushwhackers all surrounded, and that to make a sure thing we must have more men. Mounting the best looking horse I could find by the dim light of the moon, I started toward Fred- ericktown in a great hurry; but when out of dan- ger I changed my course fof Simms' mountain in St. Francois county, the place designated for our meet- ing in case of trouble. The Federals probably captured my horse, but that was no loss to me, for I had obtained a much better one. I rode all night and a part of the next day by my- self before I reached our place of rendezvous. My men were not there, and as the day wore away I be- gan to fear that some misfortune had befallen them ; but they made their appearance after dark, and re- ported that the Federals had given them a severe SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 267 chase; immediately after which they met a squad of Federals who chased them the other way. Simms' Mountain is a very high elevation of land scarcely ever visited except by hunters at certain seasons of the year. It looms up above the other hills, affording a fine view of the whole surrounding country. While we lay here Tom Haile took a trip to Iron Mountain to learn the news at the military camp, and to get some provisions. After getting near the place he left his horse and his arms in the woods, stopped at an old coal pit to smut his face and his hands, and then went into town disguised as a col- lier, of whom there were many in the neighbor- hood. While purchasing some provisions at a store he learned that "five hundred soldiers had Sam Hildebrand surrounded in a thicket from which it was impossible for him to escape." This was good news, for it would enable us to make a raid on Big river in broad daylight with per- fect impunity. We passed down Flat river during the latter part of the night, crossed Big river at the Haile Ford and rode into town just as the sun was rising. Finding no goods there that suited us we continued along the main road until we got to the residence of our good Union friend, Robert Hill. We wished to make him a friendly visit and swap off some of our horses, for Tom Haile dissuaded me from doing him any personal injury. I took two of his best horses and left two in their place; we charged him some boot, but had to take 268 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF it in clothing and such articles from the house as we could make use of. On leaving there we turned south and passed along the most public road four or five miles until w^e came to Nesbit Orton's. "VVe took a fancy to a couple of mares that some neighbors had there, one belonging to Tom Highley and the other to Tom Crunkleton. The mare, however, which we took from the latter did not like Eebels, for on get- ting a few miles I concluded that she w^ould make a splendid war horse ; but she threw all my men, one at a time, and when I was about to try my luck she gave a snort, broke away from us and made her es- cape. Tom Haile had remained behind to visit some of his friends on Big river, and did not overtake us un- til we got to Cook settlement. I and my other men continued to travel along the road until we reached the shanty belonging to an old free negro by the name of Jim. He had made himself the dread of Southern sympathizers in his neighborhood by frequently visiting the different military posts with various charges against them, such as feeding bushwhackers, etc. To satisfy myself in regard to his complicity in the matter, we rode up to his cabin, each one being dressed in Federal uniform. On calling him out I gave him a hearty shake of the hand, and inquired if he had learned anything more about that man Madkins he was telling me about at the Knob ; at this the old negro imagined SAMUEL S. LILDEBllAND. 269 that he recognized me as Col. , and asked me what I had done with my shoulder-straps ; to which I replied that I wanted to find out a few things for myself, and enjoined secrecy on him in regard to my disguised appearance. He made charges against several of the best men in the neighborhood, which was calculated to con- sign them to summary punishment according to Federal usage. After making his statements, he asked me if I was still willing to take his son for a waiting boy; I told him that I was, and that I designed taking him along with me this time, having brought a horse for that purpose. He called the boy out and told him to mount the horse, which he at first refused to do ; but after I had got the old negro to mount another horse for the purpose of going with us a few miles, the boy consented and seemed very well recon- ciled. After going about two miles I shot old Jim, but took the boy on with us. We stopped near the residence of Francis Clark, in Cook settlement; to get our dinners ; and while there some Federals came along, but seeing us they turned ofi" the road and went around without mo- lesting us. We proceeded on without any further trouble, but traveled altogether in the night. On reaching the St. Francis we found it still out of its banks; we, however, succeeded in swimming it by resting our horses on an island about half way. From there we arrived safely at home, and for the 270 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF first time in my life I owned a negro. I was to all intents and purposes a genuine slaveholder. Immediately after I left Big river on my last raid, Kobert Hill became satisfied that; as I took hS horses, he could no longer pass himself off for a Rebel and a Union man at the same time. He was a member both of the " Knights of the Golden Circle " and the " Union League." A few days after I '' sioapped horses " with him, he went before the provost marshal, at Potosi, and represented that in consequence of his Union sentiments he could not live at home on Big river without a band of soldiers for his protection. Failing, however, in his purpose, he went to Iron- ton and made a similar statement to the provost marshal at that place. Certain Union men, how- ever, who knew all the facts in the case, represented the whole matter as arising from personal enmity against Dr. A. W. Keith and others. Thwarted again in his designs, he was left a few days to muse over his misfortunes ; but a bright idea finally came to his relief: He would expose the "Knights of the Golden Circle," and consign his brother members to an indiscriminate butchery ! The war was nearly at an end ; the Union cause was about to triumph ; and one string was enough to play on during the balance of the struggle. He would startle the world by his disclosures; the earth should be dumbfounded, and mankind should stand aghast at the magnitude of his revelations ! He sought and obtained a private interview with SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 271 the provost marshal. At this time the sun was serenely smiling upon the earth; spring had just made her advent, and was strewing garlands of flowers along the meadows and sunny hillsides, as if nothing was about to happen ; and men through- out the world, unmindful of what was about to take place, were plodding on in their daily pursuits. All things being now ready, he told the marshal that he was a member of the Union League. This announcement was a satisfactory proof of his loy- alty, for this Northern KuKlux League was insti- tuted to save the National Union secretly. He then stated that, for the good of his country, he had also joined the Knights of the Golden Circle; that the Circle met at the house of Joseph Herrod, on Big river, and that many of the leading men in that neighborhood were members. The patriotic motives of Robert Hill will be very apparent to the reader, when I state that at the out- break of the rebellion, when he joined the Golden Circle, he was a slaveholder, and utterly pro-slavery in sentiment. How pure, then, must have been his motives when, for the good of his country, even at that early day, he bound himself with oaths like adamant for the purpose of finally exposing the Circle, as soon as it should have run its race and become defunct ! If the Southern Confederacy had won, his patriot- ism would have prompted him to expose the Union League ; and when the last expiring beacon of Fed- eral hope was about to be extinguished, he probably 272 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF would have called for troops to crush the members of the Union League to which he belonged ! The representations he made to the provost mar- shal had the desired effect ; a telegram was sent to Col. Beverage, at Cape Girardeau, who sent Lieu- tenant Brown, with forty men, to Big River Mills. The statement made by Hill, however, needed confirmation. It was desirable to prove the charges by some one whose word, on account of the color of his skin, could never for a moment be doubted. A negro man by the name of Buck Boston lived in the neighborhood ; his skin was black enough for him to be considered perpetually under oath, so they repaired immediately to his domicil, for the purpose of implicating certain persons as belonging to the Golden Circle. Brown and his men put a rope around his neck, and tried to frighten him into a belief that he would be hung unless he confirmed Hill's statements. But Buck was a brave man, and answered "no" to each one of Hill's accusations against his neighbors. Finally they told him that he was now about to be hung, and appealed to him to know if he did not love his wife and children, and urged him just to say "yes," and live: but the old man replied: "Well, Massa, I does know some little things ; but I's gwine to take it all to t'other world with me ! " Neither persuasions, threats, the glittering of bay- onets, nor the prospect of death, could make him divulge anything. The color of his skin, however, saved his life, and SAMUEL S. IIILDEBKAND. 273 his tormentors had nothing to do but to return to camp. During the night following he gave warn- ing to those whom he knew to be in danger. On the next day, May 16, 1865, Lieut. Brown took four men, rode up to the house of Mr. Joseph Her- rod, and found him at home. They ordered him to get his horse and go with them to Farmington. He did so, but on getting half a mile from the house, they took him twenty or thirty steps from the road and shot him through the back of the head. There they left him, where he was found the next day. Thus perished a young man who, for kindness of heart, strict integrity, and moral honesty had no superiors, and but few equals. Before proceeding any further with the slaughter, Lieut. Brown went and consulted with Franklin Murphy, who told him that the whole matter was the result of a neighborhood difficulty, which did not warrant Federal interference in any manner what- ever. Brown and his men, during their stay on Big river, were engaged in a wholesale robberj^ and plunder of the citizens, taking their property with- out even a promise to pay. Their depredations were even more intolerable than the same number of hostile Indians would have been ; but after Brown had been better informed as to the true na- ture of affairs he became half civilized, and on tak- ing property he gave government vouchers. These debts against the government, however, were finally rejected, the people having been reported as dis- 274 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF loj^al. Even the widow Baker lost over one liun* dred dollars by some one reporting her as a Southern sympathizer. After feasting off of the neighborhood for about two months, Brown and his infamous band of van- dals took their departure. The conspiracy, founded on the marvelous revelation of a broken oath, and emanating fram the fertile bi*ain of base malignity, suddenly collapsed. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND* 275 CHAPTEK XXXy. Trip to Missouri with four 7nen. — Attempt to roh Taylo7'^s store. — ■ Fight with Lieut. Broion and his soldiers. — Killed Miller and Johnson at Flat Woods — Return home from his last raid. — The loar is pro7ioimced to be at an end. — Reflections o?i the terynina- tion of the vmr. — Mrs. Hildebrand^s advice. — The ^mrole at Jacksonport. When the war first broke out in Missouri, and after the persecutions against the Hildebrand fam- ily had become so intolerable that I was compelled to flee the country, I owed a small debt to D. W. Taylor, a merchant living at Valley's Mines, in Jef- ferson county. After the mob had destroyed my property and driven me into the Southern army for protection, it was impossible for me to pay the debt during the struggle. In all communities there are "land sharks" who are willing to befriend an intended victim to a cer- tain extent, but who are ready at the first approach of an unforseen disaster to gobble up his lands. In this instance, Taylor attached my interest in the Hildebrand homestead, and while the country was in the ebullition of civil war, had it sold at public vendue; bidding it in himself for a mere nominal sum. For this little piece of ingenuity I now determined to award him with a clear title to another small 276 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF tract of land, four feet by six, to have and to hold, as his own individual possession, until Gabriel should blow his horn. With this intention, on the 2Sth day of April, 1865, I started with four men for another raid into Mis- souri. We made our way quietly and cautiously through the southern counties of Missouri, all of which were now held by Federal soldiers,^ for the protection of the citizens — the protectio7i^h.oweyer, being the same kind that the vulture gave the lamb. Reaching Big river late in the night; we repaired to the Pike Run hills and slept until morning. Knowing that we would be more apt to catch Tay- lor in daytime, we started in the morning and rode over to Taylor's store, which was distant only about six miles. He was not at home, and having no time to lose, we went into his store and commenced se- lecting such good^ as we wanted, when we were suddenly run on to by some Federal soldiers, under Lieut. Brown, from Perry county, but. who was at that time stationed at Big River Mills, with forty men, one-half of whom he had with him on the present occasion. They came up within two hundred yards of the store, and commenced firing and yelling at a terri- ble rate. We ran out to our horses, which were tied to the brush not more than forty yards off, but on the opposite side from the soldiers. One of my men was killed by an accidental shot, and another one who happened to be a new recruit left his horse and ran off through the woods, leaving me with an SAMUEL S. HILDEBKAND. 277 army of only two men, besides myself, to repel the attack of twenty regulars. The Federals, however, after their first fire, took refuge behind some old houses about one hundred and fifty yards off, and from there showed us a very harmless and cowardly fight. After I gained my horse, I used him for a fortification and shot several rounds at them; occa- sionally I could see one's head bob around a corner, but they were out of range, and my shots fell harm- less to the ground. My other two men now left me alone, and for several minutes I remained, trying to get a dead shot at one of the Federals ; but having no chance to do so, without charging them by myself, I mounted my horse and retreated, leaving my dead man upon the ground, whom they charged and shot several times after I left. I went on to an adjoining hill, but failing to find my men, I rattled my cow bell, which I had with me for emergencies of this kind, and in half an hour my three men were with me. Having made a complete failure, it is not unreas- onable to suppose that we felt very much chagrined at our ill luck, and knowing that if we started south then, we would be annoyed by Federals on our trail, we repaired again to the Pike Kun hills for safety, where we could easily have whii^ped all the forces within the three surrounding counties. My com- rade who was on foot went about four miles to the house of an old acquaintance and obtained ahorse, by promising to return him again in six weeks ; 27S AI]T0BI0GRAPI1Y OF which promise, I will here state, he afterwards faith^ fully performed. It was now about the middle of May, and we were anxious to be on our way back ; so we started one night and went as far as Flat Woods. Before Mcllvaine and the soldiers had driven me from there, I became acquainted with two men, George Miller and Joseph Johnson, who professed great friendship for me ; but some time after my expulsion from that neighborhood, they visited my house and used abusive language to my wife, making threats what they intended to do Avith me. Johnson had the impudence to remark that he intended to kill me and bring my head to her swinging to the horn of his saddle. These were not vain threats, for they watched for me for a long time ; but after they learned a little more about me, they were very shy, and up to the present time I had never got my eyes upon either of them. Late in the evening, on the next day after our arrival in the neighborhood, as I was passing a house I saw a lady dressing some butter, and wish- ing for a good drink of buttermilk, I alighted a mo- ment and went in the house. As I was dressed in Federal uniform, the good woman asked me if I was hunting for Sam Hildebrand ; on telling her Jhat I was, she went on to give me the particulars of ouj: affray at Taylor's store, ascribing to the Fed- ,eral arms the most brilliant victory, by stating that ^"Jiieut. Brown, with only twenty nien, ran upon SAMUEL S. HILBEBRAND. 279 Hildebrand's Bushwhackers and completely routed them, killing fourteen and wounding several more ; a great many soldiers are now after him, and have him surrounded in a place where he can never get back here to bother us again ! " I asked her if she would please give Sam Hildebrand a drink of buttermilk ? She looked at me a moment and then replied: "Yes, sir; you can have all in the churn if you want it." Not long after leaving there^ I found Mr. Miller in his field, and shot him. After night I found Mr. Johnson at home, took him out of the house, and cut off his head with my bowie knife. The reader will perceive that the threats of John- son would have been completely reversed if I had carried his head to his wife swinging to the horn of my saddle ; but instead of imitating his designs any further; I leisurely pursued my way home to our headquarters in Green county, Arkansas. On the next day after my arrival at home, Capt* Bolin called on me and stated that he wished us all to meet him at headquarters that evening at three o'clock. At the time appointed I was there, and so were about forty more of the boys, most of whom had just returned from their various scouts. The Captain seemed a little agitated, and for sev- eral minutes after we were all assembled he did not say a word. Presently he began, and these are about his words: "Gentlemen: It is my wish that we remain 280 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP quietly at headquarters a few days until my other scouting parties return. "I wish to say to you now that, in my opinion^ this war has virtually closed. General Lee, the great head and front of all our hopes, as you are alread}^ aware, was compelled to succumb to supe- rior numbers, and surrender on the 12th day of April. General Johnston surrendered on the 18th of the same month. The hopes held out by General Kirby Smith in his general order issued at Shreve- port can never be realized. "The Southern Confederacy is at an end; our course must be governed by circumstances over which we have no control. "The course we have pursued during the struggle is only justified by the fact that a great war existed. While the eyes of the world have been riveted on great actors and on events of an astounding mag- nitude, the minor details of the struggle have been overlooked. That condition of affairs now no longer exists; the war has ceased, and our operations must cease also. "Finally, it is my request that each and every one of you submit manfully to the same terms that have been forced upon our great chieftains; that is: Lay down your arms, surrender on parole, and re- turn to the pursuits of peace." This little speech fell like a wet blanket on most of the men, and I must confess that I was one of that number; but we held Oapt. Bolin in such high SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 281 esteem that not a murmur of dissent was suffered to drop from the lips of any of his men. On the next day, however, the matter was fully discussed in every camp. Nine-tenths of the men fully indorsed the statements made by our noble captain, and I could not but acknowledge that his reasoning seemed plausible ; yet I was annoyed be- yond all measure by the reflection that the war had suddenly ceased before I was done fighting. I cared not so much about the general result. I knew but little, and cared still less, about the great political problem that the war was supposed to have solved, nor to the technical question discussed' by old fossil statesmen, whether the States formed the Union or the Union formed the States, whether the South had inherent rights or whether inherent rights had the South, whether the General Govern- ment was a restricted agent of the people, or whether the people were the restricted agents of the General Government. These questions probably originated with the antediluvians, and the}^ ought to have been left to a committee of twelve Egyptian mummies, with the " man in the moon " for chairman. The practical question with me was, whether all the scoundrels in the nation were yet killed off or not. As far as my knowledge extended, the war had only gobbled up about one-tenth of them. Most of those men who had composed the Vigil- ance mob on Big Kiver were yet alive. They were in the centre of military camps, crawling around 282 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF the leet of Federal officers, and whining for protec- tion against my vengeance. To reach them it would be necessary to overthrow the Federal power ; just that far my heart was in the National war. My mind was troubled by the reflection that as soon as the war should be ended, all those cowardly miscreants would crawl out from their hiding places, boast of their loyalty, make a grand rush for office, swing their hats, and cry out : " Well, didn't loe whip them?" I made up my mind that, for my part, I would take as many of the boys as were determined never to surrender, escape to Texas if possible, fight under Gen. Kirby Smith until he should surrender, and then make our way into Mexico — there to annoy the Federal Government all I could until I could get another '* whack" at my old enemies. I thought, however, that I would consult my wife for once, and see what she thought about it. She looked serious for a minute, and then burst out into a laugh. "I once heard about some little boys," said she, "who were left at home by their parents, who had gone to church. One of them discovered a rat which had taken refuge under a pile of lumber in the yard; but the boys tore away the lumber, split- ting about half the boards. The rat then ran under the ash-hopper, and when that was torn down it took refuge under the barn floor. One of the boys ran to the house for matches, in order to burn out SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 283 the rat; but his little sister, the youngest one in the crowd, cried out: 'If you burn the rat we will have no barn ! ' The boys saw the force of her reasoning, and made peace with the rat. So I would advise you to make no further efforts toward destroying the Federal barn for such a purpose." I must confess that this little speech from my wife, given in such good humor, contained a little more good sense than anything I had heard for a long time. It sounded a little like a Union speech, and seemed strange on that account ; but, although I had not at first the least idea of ever swerving from my purpose, yet I now determined to follow her ad- vice, for I concluded that as she had waded through the hardships of war with a devotion to me that has but few parallels in the history of mankind, I ought to respect her comfort as well as my own. On the next day I told Capt. Bolin that I con- sented to his arrangement. He started on to Jack- sonport to give in the list of his men, and I started a few days afterwards to the same place, and re- ceived my parole on the 26th day of May, 1865, the very day on which General Kirby Smith surrendered at Shreveport. The war now being over, I tried to banish the sub^ ject from my mind as much as possible, and soon went to work on the place I still occupied, for no owner had yet returned to claim it. Most of our men were afraid to return to their homes in Mis- souri while a remembrance of our depredations 284 ALITOBIOGKAPHY OF were still fresh in the minds of the people, and went to farming in different parts of Green county. With what I captured during the war I did not have more than half as much property as I had lost by the hands of the Vigilance mob in Missouri. One might suppose that, from the name my ene- mies gave me, I might have grown rich by my dep- redations during the war; but such was not the fact; plunder was only a secondary consideration with me ; I resorted to it merely to sustain myself while I pursued my main leading object— that of killing my enemies. We sustained ourselves during the whole war off of our enemies. If objections are made to that kind of warfare, I can point to the example of Sher- man, in Georgia, and to a host of other Federal commanders, both great and small, even down to that pigmy lump of insignificance — the Big Eiver Militia. But, unlike those illustrious examples, we did not charge our government with anything we captured ; neither was I a burden to the Confeder- acy to the amount of one dollar ; neither did I ever stoop so low as to become an incendiary, and burn out my enemies. I left that for the Indians to do, and for those who saw proper to imitate*them. So, at the close of the war, and in fact during its whole continuance, I was poor, and my family were in straitened circumstances; but I went to work and raised a good crop of corn and everything else that we needed. In the spring of 1866 I rented an- other place in a better locality, and farmed on a SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 285 larger scale. This 1 also did on the year following, and at the close of 1867 I had succeeded in render- ing myself and family as comfortable as could be expected. The negro boy I had taken from Free Jim, in St. Francois county, still remained with me ; he was free, I suppose, but he seemed to prefer good living and light work to " free starvation." 286 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CHAPTEK XXXVI. Imp7'isoned hi Jackso7iport jail. — Mrs. Hildeh^and returns to Mis- 1 soiiri. — Escape from pynson. — Final settlement in Ste. Genevieve county. — St. Louis detectives make their first trip. — The Gove7'- nor's reward. — Wounded hy Peterson. — Removed to his uncle's. — Fight at John Williams'. — Kills James McLaine. — Hides in a cave. Early in the spring of 1868 I put in a good crop of corn, and devoted much of my time to gardening; my prospect looked flattering indeed; and I fancied that I was getting along as well as any of my neigh- bors, and better than most of them. My negro man worked cheerfully, and I put in much of my time in "overseeing." I claim that I was the last slave- holder in the United States. A circumstance now took place that destroyed my future prospect, and cast a shadow over the happiness of my family. It is a circumstance that I deeply deplore, and one, too, that I could easily have avoided, at the expense, perhaps, of losing one friend. Early in the month of April one of my old war associates, with whom I had passed many a hardship, came to my house and stated that he had received bad'news from home ; that his sister had been de- serted by her husband without any cause, and that the fellow had taken up with a negro woman, and was living with her not more than ten miles oflf. SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 287 He requested that I should aid him in taking the couple out and giving them a good flogging. The matter was talked over, and one of us might have made the remark that they deserved to be tied together. This conversation was heard by the wife of my friend ; two or three days after which the guilty pair were taken from a mill pond; drowned, and still tied together. After the first excitement was over, nothing more was heard about the matter for nearly six weeks. My friend's wife told all about the conversation, and suspicion rested upon us. Finally Major Surge, with three men, arrested us, and took us before the authorities ; the preliminary examination was had, and we were both lodged in the jail at Jacksonport. We were secured by handcufi's and by ball and chain. In this condition it soon became apparent to us that our escape was impossible. Negroes fre- quently passed our prison, and told us that we would be hung by a mob. We were loaded with chains, and so strongly guarded that I began to doubt the ability of our friends to release us, even if they should attempt it; in fact I began very strongly to doubt the proba- bility of their ever coming at all. In June, my brother William, who had served during the war in the Union army, came down to Arkansas, where my family was, for the purpose of taking them back to Big river, in Missouri ; for the probabilities were that mj wife would soon be left a widow. She sold the crop as it stood on the 288 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ground for what she could get, and hired a teamster to haul the family to Big river. She made the trip in safety; arriving at the old homestead, she lived with my mother and brother William. My prison life every day became more intolerable. I had been in jail for four months, and had almost abandoned all hopes of being released. On the last day of August, as I lay brooding over my helpless condition, some one, about dark, whis- pered in through the grates, telling me to be of good cheer, for that on the following night his friends were going to make an attempt to release me. Fortunately for us, as our friends lay in wait on the next night, a boat landed at the wharf, which attracted the attention of all those who were yet up; and we were let out without any disturbance whatever. I was so overjoj^ed at the idea of being free once more, that I leaped off the platform in the dark and sprained my ankle. I was in a bad fix for traveling, but we were soon out of danger. I rode until daylight; then we all scattered, and each one took his own course. I hobbled on in this way, living on nothing but May-apples until I made about thirty-five miles, to the house of an old friend, where I remained until I recruited up, and then I started to where my family was, in Missouri. I found them at my mother's residence, on Big river; but after remain- ing a few weeks, finding that my presence was any- thing but pleasing to my old enemies, I removed to SAM f^ S. IIILBEBRAND. 289 Illinois and settled on the Mississippi, about forty miles below St. Louis. Here I went to chopping cordwood for a livelihood, not intending to molest any one, as the war was over, and fully determined to withhold my hand from the commission of any act that would indicate anything else than that I was a peaceable and law-abiding citizen. In January, 1869, I moved across the river on to the Missouri side, at a place called Rush Tower, and continued cutting wood until the first of April, at which time I rented a small farm of Samuel B. Her- rod, on the Three Eivers, in Ste. Genevieve county, near the county line of St. Francois, and about four miles from Big. River Mills. To this place I moved my family. My oldest boy was twelve years old, and on him devolved most of the labor on the farm. My arrival seemed to create a panic among those who had robbed me, killed my brothers, and perse- cuted my family. They still had a fear of retribu- tive justice, and though I had no such designs, they secretly went to v/ork to effect my destruction. Joe McGahan, as I am informed, took several trips to influence the Governor of Missouri to crush me out of existence. Gov. McClurg instructed Col. Myers, Police Commissioner of St. Louis, to send out men for my arrest. In May, 1869, he sent Mc- Queen and Col. Bo wen, who were met at Irondale by Joe McGahan, to pilot them to the scene of operations. On going about ten miles, however, daylight overtook them, and McGahan, after inform- ing them that to be seen there in daylight would be* 13 290 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF death to him, went on home and never returned. At the approach of night the detectives were obliged to proceed without a guide, on foot, and in a strange neighborhood. After wandering around all night, wading Big river at a deep ford, they were obliged to pass another day in the woods. As they could not find my house without some further infor- mation, one of them; disguised as a rude country- man in search of employment, got all the informa- tion he wanted. It appears that those two detectives watched around my house for eight days and nights. Their provisions then gave out, and not being able to get any from my enemies, they started back to Irondale at ten o'clock at night, and from there took the cars for St. Louis. While this was going on I was working at the mouth of Isle Bois on the Missis- sippi. It appears that some time during the war Gover- nor Fletcher had offered a reward of three hundred dollars for my capture. Some persons wrote to Governor McClurg to as- certain whether the reward was still valid; on being answered in the affirmative, they determined, even for that paltry sum, to attempt my assassin- ation. James McLaine, as he afterwards boasted, prowled around my house for one whole month for that purpose. On the night of June 6th, 1869, I ventured up to my house at a late hour to see my family, and re- piained with them all night. In the morning I stepped out into the yard, when I heard the report SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 291 of a gun from a cluster of hazel brush about eighty yards off. I went into the house for my gun, and discovered that I had been shot through the fleshy part of ray thigh. On going out I could discover no one, the person having left as soon as he fired; so 1 went into Mr. Pratt's stable, a short distance off. Presently Mc- Laine passed by with his gun ; after going up to my house, he came back and passed along the road not far from the stable. Believing him to be the assas- sin, I would have shot him, but was prevented by Mr. Pratt. I was hauled to the house of William M. Highley, who went after a physician to have my wound dressed. The wound proved to be a very serious one, and disabled me for a long time in such a man- ner that I was unable to walk. I was next hauled to Samuel Gossom's, and then to the residence of my uncle, John Williams. As this became the scene of a furious battle a few days afterwards, I shall be a little minute in my description. My uncle's fam- ily consisted of himself. Aunt Mary and a grand- daughter about six years of age. His house is among the hills in the western part of St. Francois county, five miles from Big River Mills, and one mile due south from the stone house formerly occu- pied by Dick Berryman. My uncle's premises con- sisted of one log house, one story high, and contain- ing but one room. In the yard west of the house stood an old dilapidated cabin with the chimney torn down, near which stood the smoke-house and a 292 iiUTOBIO GRAPH Y OF cluster of young cherry trees. Opposite the south . end of the house, at a distance of about eighty yards, was the spring house. I suffered much trom my wound ; and as my well known crippled condition emboldened parties after- wards to attempt my arrest, under the assumption that I was just about dead, I attribute all my suf- ferings and privations during the three months that followed to that attempted assassination. For many months afterwards I believed that it was James McLaine who did the deed, but I will here state that the man who shot me, as I am informed, was Cyrus A. Peterson^ from Fredericktown, and that Walter E. Evans was along with him. Neither of those two men did I ever harm ; Peter- son I did not know, and Evans I had met a fev/ weeks before, and shook hands with him. The Evans family resided on Big river, and we were raised up within a few miles of each other. The widow and her daughter remained at home in per- fect safety during the whole war, although the family was known to be Union (with one or two exceptions), and two of her boys, Ellis G. and William C. Evans, were known to be two of the most uncompromising Unionists in the State. I heard Dick Berryman once tell his men, after calling them all up in a line, that he would not suffer them to interfere with the widow Evans, or with any property that she pos- sessed. This order I sanctioned, and governed my- self accordingly. The three hundred dollar reward of Gov. Fletcher SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 293 was the price of blood — an inducement held out for assassination! Men can be found, who, for a cer- tain reward, will shoot any man down whom a Gov- ernor may designate. Thank God, I have never come to that yet! I have killed many men, but it has always been either in self-defense, or for the purpose of redressing some terrible wrong. While I still lay at my uncle's, con- fined to my bed, Sheriff Breckinridge and a party of about six men concluded that they would secure the reward offered by the Governor without any personal danger, as it was thought by some that I had died of my wounds. During the night he went with his party to Mr. Highley's, and got near the house by keeping be- hind a gate-post. Mr. Highley was called out, and when he assured them that I was not there they made a valiant charge upon the house, and entered it just as Mrs. Highley was endeavoring to put on her dress. The gallant Breckinridge thrust his gun against her dress and threw it to the other side of the room, denoting thereby that cowardice and ruf- fianism are blended together. From here they went on the balance of the night in search of " Sam Hil- debrand" — and they found Mm, 1 They reached Uncle William's about daylight. Finding him at the crib they made a breastwork of him, by making the old man walk in front, while they marched on behind with their guns presented. I fastened the front door and refused to open it. The back door, however, was only latched, and a 294 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF child could have opened it. I pulled a little rag out of a crack near the jamb, and as they attempted to pass I fired four shots at them before they fired at all ; one tumbled up behind the ash-hopper, and the others dashed back around the corner to the front side of the house. They fired several shots through the door, which struck the wall at the back of the house a few inches over the bed where the little girl lay. She raised a terrible yell ; Aunt Mary ran to her, supposing that she had been shot. '' Come away with her," said I, " and both of you stand in yon corner ; break her a piece of pie to stop her crying, so that I can hear what is going on." I got two more shots through the crack near the chimney, one of which was at Noah Williams; he got in the chimney corner, and was hunting for a crack, but I found it first, and sent a shot after him that raked across his breast, and tore his clothes in such a manner that he left in disgust. They kept firing through the door ; the beds were literally riddled ; aunt got a shot on her chin ; a whole volley was now fired through the door ; one little shot struck her on the head, and five holes were shot through her dress. They now marched the old man in front of them to the door; he stood with his right hand against the door-facing, and cried out : " Sam, open the door or they will kill me ! " "Hold on. Uncle," I replied, "and step out of the way." Just then I opened the door, and crossing my SAMUEL S. HJLDEBRAND. 295 arms I fired to the right and left with my pistols. Uncle's hand being in the way, I could only shoot Breckinridge through the groin, and another man through the shoulder. Andy Bean broke to run, and jumped the fence by a walnut tree just as a shot passed through his fiery red whiskers, grazing his face sufficiently to saturate them, and to make him believe that they were one huge stream of blood. The whole party now broke, and on leaping the fence fired off their guns, some of their shots piercing the door, one passed through my uncle's wrist, some struck the house, and some missed creation. The man wounded in the shoulder was taken to the spring to have water poured on his wound, Breckinridge to Frank Simms to have his life writ- ten, and Andy Bean to Irondale to have the arteries of his whiskers taken up. Aunt Mary now brought me a bucket of water and left, after telling me that there were provisions enough in the house to last a week. Telegraphic dispatches were sent to St. Louis, Potosi and Farmington for more men. James Mc- Laine and Dennis O'Leary came from Farmington, and Captain Todd Hunter with eight or ten men came from Potosi and Irondale, and, from a hill two hundred yards off, kept up an occasional fire at the house during the balance of the day. The party behind the spring house were compelled to remain there on account of my shots; they, however, kept up a random fire, to show to their anxious compan- 296 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP ions that they were not yet dead. They once held a hat around the corner of the spring house, and instantly got a hole shot through it. While the firing still continued, I tried my hand at cooking my dinner. After eating a hearty meal and resting myself a little, I went on duty again. About sunset McLaine climbed upon the old cabin near the house, but as there were three walls between us, the cracks did not range right for me to shoot him. After he had kindled a fire on the roof he came down and stood near the door on the far side of the cabin. I got a glimpse of his body, and by a lucky chance I shot him dead. This created such an excitement that, as they crowded around his body, which they carried a short distance, 1 opened the back door, and unperceived by any of them, crawled out through the weeds and through the fence. Here I had to leave my gun, as I could not carry it, for I could not walk a step on account of my wounded leg. I crawled through the woods about two mileS; for darkness now favored my escape, and arriving at the- house of a friend, I obtained a horse and rode to my sister's (Mrs. Adams), living near the old homestead of the Hilde- brand family. It was necessary that I should keep in a cool place on account of my wound, so 1 went into my cave in the Big river blufl", half a mile north from the residence of G. W. Murphy, and near the Pike Run hills, where I remained some time, my provis- ions being brought to me every day by my sister. fi ii ',riiiiiiiiiiiy SAMUEL S. BILDKBRAND. ^9d My wife and children still remained on the Herrod place, where they were watched so closely that they could not come to my assistance. 300 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OP CHAPTER XXXVII. Military operations for his capture. — Col. Bowen captures the Cave. — Progress of the campaign. — Advent of Governor Mc- Clurg. — The militia called out. — Don (Quixote affair at the Brick Church. — The campaigji ended. — Mrs. Hildehrand escapes to Illi- nois. — "Sani'^ leaves Missouri. — His final proclatnation. My narrative would not be complete without a history of the military operations carried on by au- thority of the State government for my capture or destruction; yet I must depend almost exclusively upon what my friends told me from time to time as those events were transpiring. A few days after the fight at AVilliaras', a detective with a dirty face and hair uncombed, riding an old mule, with a pack saddle and blind bridle, went to Big River Mills, and inquired of Dr. Keith and Samuel B. Herrod where "Sam Hildebrand" was, as he was an old ^Svar chum'' whom he wanted to assist. His ragged coat and old hat condemned him at once as a detective, for we were in the habit of dressing well during the war, as our credit was al- wa^'s good Vv^hile we were well armed. He failed to elicit any information from them ; in fact at this time I was nursing my wounds in the cave, and the dismal scene of m}^ suffering was only visited by that angel of mercy, a kind sister. It appears that the Police Commissioner of St. SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 301 Louis sent Col. Bowen, McQueen, Schuster and Wadkins on a second expedition against me. They were joined at Irondale by Hughes, King, Fatchet and Zoleman ; and on Big river by Joe McGahan and Dennis O'Leary. Col. Bowen, with his men, went to the house of my sister on the 21st day of June, just before day- light; and questioned her about where I was. My sister of course refused to answer any of their ques- tions, but on threatening to hang two of her young- est boys, one of them divulged all that he knew. On the evening of the 22d the party arrested William Harris, my brother-in-law, also Mr. Cash and Mr. Dunham, and hung them up by the neck until they extorted from them the fact that I lived in a cave in a certain bluff which they described. This bluff rises perpendicularly nearly three hun- dred feet above the waters of Big river, which runs at its base. A skirt of high timber on the margin of the river in a great measure hides the bold front of this towering mass of rock from view. The cave can be seen neither from the top nor bottom, for it is about two hundred feet from the bottom, and is hid by a projecting rock in front. From the cave in one direction along the seam in the rock there is a narrow and very difficult cause- way running several hundred yards where it can be approaclied from above and below. This narrow turnpike can easily be defended by one man against live hundred. I regret that I was not in my castle when Col. Bowen and his posse were prowling 302 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF around in front of the cave on the morning of the 23d, I would have had more fun than I did at Wil- liams' house, where they had so much the advantage of me. I retired from the cave during the night, and was absent when the party came to see my castle. They remained near the cave all day, but did not think it prudent to peep in to see whether I was at home or not. On the following night they built a large fire on the projection in front of the cavern, and kept it supplied with wood which they threw from the top of the bluff. On the next morning they learned from Mr. Nasli, whom they hung by the neck awhile, that I was not in the cave. On receiving this welcome information the party scaled the bluff and took the whole place by storm. The next move to capture me was through a confes- sion made by a son of Mr. Nash, that he was to meet me at a certain point at night with a quart of whisky. Col. Bowen determined to capture me and the ''''quart,'^'' so he and his party reconnoitered the place for several hours, but I kept two hundreds yards from them. They were welcome to the whisky, for I con- sidered it my treat; and after taking a hearty drink from the branch 1 went away perfectly satisfied. After the capture of my cave, Col. Bowen made his headquarters at G. W. Murphy's. There of course Jie lived well ; the boys were all happy, drawing jgood wages and incurring no danger, for I solemnly SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 305 promised my friends that I would not kill a single one of them unless they should indeed discover me. The first time I saw Col. Bo wen after his removal to Murphy's was three or four days after he had cap- tured the bluiF. I was aiming to cross the road two or three hundred yards east of Murphy's house, when on getting in a small glade fifteen steps from the road I heard horses' feet coming from the direc- tion of Big River Mills. I stood behind a cedar bush with a cocked pistol in each hand. Col. Bowen rode by me with two of his men, but none of them turned their heads, and I moved around the bush as they passed. ' I did not wish to hurt them ; I had a high regard for the Colonel, and respected him for his magnan- imity in not burning my cave after he had captured it, for I must say that he was the first man who ever drove me out of a place without setting it on fire. A few days after this I concluded to hobble over to where my family was, for the purpose of paying them a short visit; but on passing through a wheat field I was discovered by a certain man who re- ported me. Col. Bowen took a squad of men to watch around my house at night. Before arriving there it was dark and raining ; and as I heard the tramp of their horses I stepped out of the road un- til they had passed. I followed them on until they got near the house and commenced placing out their pickets. After the campaign had continued several weeks, it became apparent that the forces already in the 306 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF field were insufficient for my capture ; the disloyalty of the people of St. Francois county had been greatly magnified. Certain evil men in the neighborhood desired nothing so much as a pretext for martial law ; some of them had rioted in murder and pillage during the war, and they knew that in all civil com- motions the dregs arise to the top. Governor McClurg is a good man ; I can say that much for him, but in the goodness of his nature he is slow in detecting the evil designs of some of his party friends who live in the under current of cunning rascality. To show the tardiness and disloyalty of the civil authorities in St. Francois county, Sheriff Murphy was ordered, just as the farmers had whetted their scythes and were prepar- ing to enter their harvest fields, to call out the militia throughout the county to aid in scouring the woods. To the mortification of the plotters, he re- sponded and the people turned out. Then the report was started that I was concealed in a deep mineral shaft among the Pike Run Hills. Murphy and his party scrambled over that terrible country until every snake was crushed by their feet. This severe ordeal continued for two or three weeks until fortunately the Governor made his ad- vent on Big river; and was welcomely received by all parties. To my regret I was out of the ring ; however, I was anxious to see Governor McClurg, fori had never yet seen a Governor; and having been informed bv mv friends that he would make a SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 307 speech in Farmington on the following day, I i)osted myself in the corner of a fence at the end of a lane on the Green place about five miles from Farming- ton and watched for him to come along, knowing that he would pass on that road. ^ I did not intend to molest him, or even to speak an unkind word; but I was anxious that he might be alone so that I could step out, shake him by the hand, give him a drink out of my bottle, and have a social chat. When he passed me he was riding by the side of a Methodist preacher from Caledonia, named Wil- liams ; he was followed by a train of about forty men, the saints being in front and the sinners in the rear. Not liking the rear-guard very well, I did not join in the procession, but retired further back in the woods. Under the impression that the Governor would deliver a speech at the court house that night, I con- cluded that I would go and hear what he had to say about me. After dark I made my way to town and secreted myself opposite the court house door among some goods boxes near Fleming's store. I saw no indications, however, of a public meet- ing; I made amotion to adjourn, which was sec- onded by a large woolly dog that found me occupy- ing his sleeping apartment. I ascertained afterwards that McClurg did make a speech during the day, and that it was anything but flattering to me. To avoid the necessity of a resort to martial law, the citizens were very clamorous in 308 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF their protestations of holy horror at the very name of Hildebrand. They passed a long string of reso- lutions; the first declaring that "Sam Hilderbrand ought to be arrested;" the second that "it would be proper to arrest Sam Hilderbrand;" the third "that to arrest Sam Hilderbrand would be a good idea;" the other sixteen resolutions not differing materially from the first three, I need not repeat. The resolutions being read to me a few days after- wards, I fully sanctioned them, and cruised around several days myself, in search of deperadoes. Governor McClurg appointed six deputy sheriffs for St. Francois county; their number was after- wards increased to ten, each one of whom were al- lowed a posse of ten men, by which arrangement one hundred men would be in active service. In order to create the impression that he was per- forming some prodigious deeds of valor, Col. Bowen pretended to have fought a terrible battle single handed with "Sam Hildebrand and his men" at the Brick Church on Big river. I have heard the battle at the Brick Church fre- quently mentioned, and I have a word to say in re- gard to that matter. I was not there myself, neither was any of my friends at the time the firing took place. The whole tragedy was concocted by the cunning of Col. Bowen himself, in order to cut a figure and stamp himself a hero. I could easily have killed him at any time previ- ous to this, but as he had done me no harm, and was SAMUEL S. HILDEBRAND. 309 not likely to do any, I took the advice of my friends and let him peaceably pursue his brilliant cam- paigns for the sake of eclipsing the renown of Don Quixote. It seems that two of his men had stationed them- selves in the brush near the Brick Church by the road leading from his headquarters at G. W. Mur- phy's to Big River Mills. On a certain evening be- tween sunset and dark, when Sheriff Murphy and himself were riding by the church on their way from Big River Mills, those two men in ambush fired off their guns. The valiant Colonel drew out his pistol and commenced firing; but to prevent the sheriff from taking a pop at the two men, he cried out to him to dash on to Big River Mills for more men, which he did and soon returned. The Colonel remained on the ground and was master of the field, but his horse was slightly wounded by a shot nearly perpendicular, which might have been made by himself. The horse, how- ever, not understanding the matter thoroughly, threw his master high in the air; but luckily the Colonel came down head formost, and striking on a rock he received no injury except a ringing in his head like the rattling of a cow-bell. He dispatched one of his men to Irondale to tele- graph to the authorities at St. Louis the astounding intelligence that at the Brick Church, Col. Bowen had encountered the irrepressible "Sam Hildebrand" and his band of out-laws ; that his horse had been shot from under him, but that single-handed he had 310 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF driven the enemy from the field, and only received a slight wound. This Don Quixote campaign against me terminated in a spree, and the Colonel returned to St. Louis. Previous to this, however^ by Col. Bowen's orders, my wife and children were removed, first to Iron- dale and then to Farmington ; they remained at the latter place under the supervision of the sheriff for a month. They were kindly treated, but my wife was anxious to escape from the ceaseless annoyance of Bowen's military operations. On a certain night a friend of mine from Illinois, named Crittenden, proceeded into Farmington with a light wagon, and before the break of day my wife and family were in Ste. Genevieve county, on their way to Illinois. They stopped for breakfast at a house by the roadside^ and by a strange coincidence it proved to be the house of the late James Mc- Laine. The widow, not knowing the party, made them very welcome; and in apologizing for her straitened circumstances, observed: "I am now left a destitute widow, and all these poor little children of mine are left orphans, by the hand of Sam Hilde- brand." Mrs. McLaine's father, George Shumate was pres- ent, and while the good woman was preparing breakfast, he addressed himself to Crittenden, and gave a terrible account of my desperate deeds. After breakfast the party arose to continue their journey; the widow would have nothing for her SAMUEL S. IIILDEBRAND. 311 trouble. My wife, taking Mrs. McLaine kindly by the hand, said : " Mrs. McLaine, I am sorry for you — truly sorry for you and your dear little children ; sorry for the many hardships you have had to encounter. I know how to sympathize with you, for I am a widow myself." "You a widow?" "Yes, Mrs. McLaine; I am worse than a widow — I am the wife of Sam Hildebrand!" The good woman stood amazed and said nothing; but the look that Mr. Shumate gave Crittenden was truly comical : he drew up his neck, threw his head a little back, and exclaimed : " Well — my— God ! and you are not Sam Hilde- brand — are you?" "Oh, no sir! I am not; but his wife here is my cousin." They continued on to Illinois, and as soon as all military operations against me in Missouri had sub- sided, I left the State; and since that time I have been wandering through the Southern States as a peaceable citizen. The Governor's reward against me, of course, is still unrepealed ; and I hope that it will be chiseled into one of the pillars of the Stgts Capitol, that it may be handed down to posteiiXy m the same cate- gory with two rewards offered during the last gene- ration — one for a feasible northwest passage, and the other for the invention of perpetual motion. Let the legend pass down the corridors of time to 312 AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF the latest generation, that the strange flickering light sometimes seen at night in the dreary low- lands of the South is none other than "Jack with ais lantern" trying to get the reward by finding Sam Hildebrand. If the strange hallucination should ever enter the mind of a man that I could be captured, let him immediately send for a physician, have his head emptied and filled*^ up with clabber to give him a better set of brains. All fighting between "Uncle Sam" and myself has ceased long ago. He came out of the war un- conquered — and so did I. It will be a long time, however, before he gets entirely over the effects of our fight. I am hale, and have the free use of my limbs; but his southern arm is paralyzed, he is terribly in debt, can only see out of one eye, and his constitution is broken; he has the KuKlux nightmare, the Salt Lake cancer; the African leprosy, the Fenian rickets, the bond- holder's cramp, and the Congressional blind stag- gers. The war left me out of debt; with a good horse, and forty dollars in cash. As several proclamations have been issued against me, without ever eliciting one in return, I shall now swing my hat and proclaim : ''Peace and^co-clM,--!! to all men ; a general am- nesty toward the United States, and to-U*»el«,HSam' —so long as the said Uncle Sam shall behave him- self." ■ 2S 93 n:^^ no •f-^,/V *.,i ^^y, ^ ^ ^X"^ VV ->/;- ^ .^^°'- k cr %^ ^p ^> V "b^ ^ ^ Qa -\c^ ^'U.\ •^ ^o ,^--,^ '^"iA. ^j^s- ?i>;*»,n^*^<^^^,,._. I#^%/. ( ■ — —^ — — — N '^r^ - HECKMAN |±| .^>. -* BINDERY INC. ^ BINDERY ^ APR 93 •'A ^% ^ LIfi