her aprons. Mrs. Dillam flew
into a rage, climbed the rail fence, and deliberately snatched the apron
off the other woman. Tom went after her to the home of his
father-in-law, John Bohn, to recover the apron. He quarreled with his
wife and instantly killed Bohn who tried to interfere.

As the quarrels continued and the years went by, Dillam incited his
relatives and friends and armed them as well. He finally had behind him
a band of outlaws. In 1885, about the time the Martin-Tolliver feud in
Rowan County was at its height, Mrs. Dillam's brother William had a
dispute over timber with her estranged husband's brother George. Bohn
killed Dillam but as he ran for shelter he himself was slain by two
other brothers of Dillam, Sam and Curt.

As the feeling grew others were drawn into the fray. Brothers opposed
brothers. The Dillams' sister was married to Lem Buffum, and because of
Buffum's friendship with the Bohns he was hated by the Dillams.

There was a dance one Christmas night at which two of the Dillam band
were slain by Buffum. From then on Sam Dillam dogged the steps of Lem
Buffum who finally killed his tormentor. This so enraged the Dillam band
they started a reign of terror. They were openly out to get any Buffum
sympathizer. They riddled their homes with bullets, burned barns,
waylaid the sympathizers and shot them to death without warning. Once a
friend of the Buffums', Jack Smith, when the Buffum home was besieged,
rushed in and carried out the aged mother of Lem. He bore her down to
the river and leaping into a skiff rowed the old woman safely to the
other side. On his return the Dillams shot him to death from ambush.

In such a high-handed fashion did they carry on their warfare that they
made bold to seize Jake Kimbrell, a Buffum friend, at a dance. While
some of the Dillam band held their prisoner fast other members of the
crew shot him to death.

Their utter cruelty finally caused even some of their own faction to
withdraw from the feud. Tom Dillam's brother Ab said outright that if
they wanted to go on hunting Lem Buffum and terrorizing the country
they'd have to do it without him. Lem's sister was married to Ab's son
Jesse. One day in his absence they set upon Ab's house and shot it as
full of holes as a sieve.

Women and children were no longer safe and the citizens decided
something had to be done for protection. They asked the governor for
troops. His refusal was bolstered by the alibi that first