their way back to Robeson County over the course of a month, hiding in the wilderness to avoid detection. Once they returned they restarted their raids. Meanwhile, elections were held in 1870, resulting in many Republican losses across North Carolina. In Robeson County, Howell won re-election to the office of sheriff but was unable to raise the money to post his official bond. The courts thus awarded the office to a Conservative and former member of the Home Guard, Roderick McMillan. To incentivize capture of the gang members, the now Conservative-dominated General Assembly voted during its 1870/1871 session to offer $2,000 each for the "delivery, dead or alive" of Henry, Tom and Steve Lowry; Henderson Oxendine, George Applewhite, and Boss Strong to the authorities. The Robeson County commissioners also offered several hundred additional dollars in bounties. The high amounts of money attracted many bounty hunters to Robeson, drawing interest from people as far away as New York City. In turn, the gang offered $1,000 for the body of county commissioner Angus McLean. Guerilla war On October 3, 1870, the Lowry Gang, including a dozen white members, stole large quantities of brandy from Angus Leach's still and destroyed what they could not cart away. Leach protested and was struck with the butt of a gun. A black man who attempted to help him was whipped with a trace and had his ears cut with a knife. The following day, Leach's neighbors formed a posse to track down the gang. The posse found 15 gang members at Applewhite's home between Plummer's Station and Red Banks, leading to a firefight and pursuit. Applewhite, Boss Strong, and Henderson Oxendine were wounded in the fighting, while one member of the posse, Steve Davis, was killed while confronting the gang at the edge of a field. The band retreated into Long Swamp, which was subsequently surrounded by over 150 armed men. Sheriff McMillan was wary of pursuing the outlaws into the thicket and requested that artillery be sent to flush them out, but in the meantime the gang had escaped and was reported away from the swamp. Frustrated by their lack of success, the Police Guard decided to target some of the Indians they believed were helping the gang. On October 5, a detachment of guardsmen under Captain Murdock McLean arrested Andrew Strong and Malcolm Sanderson, accusing them of spying for the band. The guardsmen took