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On one occasion sodiers surrounded a cornfield in which Baker was hiding. As they were closing in on him from all sides he made a bold dash, six shooter in hand, yelling and shooting. He actually succeeded in escaping without a scratch, leaving three dead men in his path.
By this time most of the white citizens of the South had developed an intense hatred for the Federal troops and to many of them Baker became a hero as the only survivor of a "lost cause." Many thought of him as a strong rebel, who had determined not to submit to the Yankee soldiers who patrolled the South. So terrible did he become that troops were ordered from various parts of the country to assist in his capture.
On Christmas Day 1867 Baker met some of his old cronies at Bright Star and to celebrate they brought several gallons of whiskey. The drunken orgy ended in a night attack on the home of Howell Smith who lived nearby. In the raid several Negroes were killed, Smith was mortally wouneded, and his two daughters were inhumanly beaten. Baker himself was badly wounded by an accidental shot from one of his men, and his groans and yells caused a panic among his men, who fled from the scene.
Again Federal troops were called out to pursue Baker, but they were unable to apprehend the swamp fox in his lair. When the excitement died down, Baker left the vicinity and did not return until the autumn of 1868. Before his return he was quite active in Sevier and Little River counties. Governor Powell Clayton had this to say about Baker's activities at this time:
- On September 3, 1868, Baker's operations having been brought to my attention, and especially his recent murder of one J. Smith, I issued a reward of $1,000 for his arrest and delivery to the proper officer; whereupon he posted upon the trees and public places in the vicinity of his operations a reward of $5,000 for my delivery to him dead or alive. After the killing of Baker his body was brought to Little Rock, and after full identification the reward was paid (3).
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- 3. Clayton, Aftermath of the Civil War in Arkansas, 115.
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