More about Camp Manzanita, a hideout of Sontag and Evans
The following comes from newspaper articles of the Fresno Expositor, dated February 9, 1894
Evans escaped jail with the help of Ed Morrell. They were at Camp Manzanita when these events took place.

"With luck which seems almost miraculous, Evans and Morrell have again made their escape unscathed from a fight with the officers, and from all accounts it was one of the closest calls the outlaws have had since the days of Stone Corral. But they saved their lives by rapid flight, urged on by bullets fired at them by Deputy Sheriff Henry, and left behind about all their worldly possessions except their rifles and one pistol. Even their coats were abandoned in their flight, and the long heavy overcoats given them by Bigelow, the San Francisco Examiner reporter, fell into the hands of Scott's posse, and they are among the trophies, to keep company with the artificial arm of Evans, which also fell to the lot of victors, and will grace the cabinet of the Fresno Sheriff.

The encounter was no surprise, as people generally have been expecting such a thing, and have been wondering why it did not take place sooner. With the mountains so full of officers, some traveling openly and others in disguise, it was impossible that a meeting could be longer delayed.

Sheriff Scott and his posse met near Camp Badger last Monday, The day after the Slick Rock flight, and organized a systematic search, which Tuesday evening let to the logical result, the finding of the bandits. The affair occurred Tuesday evening about 5 o'clock.

THE OLD CAMP
The bandits were found in an old camp built by Evans and Sontag during their sojourn in the mountains. They chose a dense wilderness of manzanita, and large rocks, near the Camp Badger road, 150 yards down the hill from a point called 'Stonewall.' They procured old, weather-stained lumber, that was the same color as the rocks and jungles, and built them a small hut, 8 X 12 feet. It was completely concealed by the thicket and a large rock hid it on one side. The had a stove in it last winter. The lumber with which the hut was built had been carried in, plank at a time. A person approaching had to crawl along on the ground, on account of the overhanging branches.

DECORATIVE ART
Evans and Sontag, during their long winter there, put in their time decorating the walls of their hut with newspaper articles dealing with their exploits. Some of there were illustrated by John Sontag who had some ideas of decorative art. The posse perhaps made a mistake in burning the camp, as it could have been sold to some museum man for a round sum, which could have been added to the reward for the capture of Evans, and thus his own artillery might have assisted to his overthrow.

HOW THE DISCOVERY WAS MADE
In the first place, the hut was found by the perseverance of Scott's men in hunting for it; but there can be no doubt but that they had several straight tips as to its location. At least, they knew within a mile or two of its location.

The story that Mrs. Evans and George Byrd visited that camp before the escape of Evans, and supplied it with provisions, is without any foundation in fact.

Perry Byrd knew very well nearly where the cabin was, but not exactly. After the capture of Evans and Sontag and Stone Corral, one of the mountain people, who had an idea where the camp was, told Byrd, and the information proved to be about correct. This was the information which Perry Byrd is said to have offered for sale to the Tulare Sheriff's office, and which was declined.

A MYSTERIOUS VISIT
It is believed that Evans sent someone to that camp while his trial was progressing here. The mission was to get some paper or other articles there. Except this person and Evans, Morrell and Sontag, it is probable that no other human being ever saw the camp till Sheriff Scott's posse discovered it. Evans had arranged small threads and strings stretched tight across every avenue of access to the camp, so that if any one tried to approach, and toughed one of those strings, a trigger in the cabin would be sprung and would warn the occupants of danger. It is not known whether it was by this arrangement or not that the alarm was given on the occasion of Tuesday's meeting, but it probably was.

THE PURSUIT
Sheriff Scott and his men were not slow in finding what they believed to be the trail of Evans and Morrell.

Four deputy sheriffs, William Henry, P.F. Peck, L.P. Timmins and Ed Miles, of Reedley, were in one posse, and on Tuesday they found tracks in the snow which they felt satisfied were those Evans and Morrell, and they set forward to follow them to a finish. They had little trouble in keeping the tracks through the woods, and toward evening the tracks led into the dense jungle, and the officer felt confident that their men were near at hand.

IN CLOSE QUARTERS
The four officers pushed noiselessly into the thicket, following the tracks, and had to crawl upon their hands and knees for some distance.

At length, about 5 o'clock, they came in sight of a cabin among thick branches, and they watched closely a few moments. Evans and Morrell were heard inside the cabin. They were reading something, and it seemed to be very funny, as they laughed heartily over it. The officers decided on a fight, and arranged themselves accordingly.

CHRIS TOOK THEM AT THEIR WORD
Chris Evans, for once in his life, took the officers at their word, and obeyed orders explicitly, and without talking back. Ed Miles called to him:
'Say, Chris, if you are in there, come out.'
Scarcely was the sentence out of the

e officer's mouth till out came Chris, with his gun in his had, and Morrell at his heels, and into the brush they darted. Three shots wee fired after them, but without effect.

It was a surprise to the officers that Evans came out so quickly when they invited him to do so. Perhaps the greatest surprise to the outside world is that Evans did not come out shooting, as has been his custom heretofore on occasions somewhat similar. But the old man of the wilderness probably thought the invitation very urgent, and did not want to execute any filigree work, so he disappeared like a ghost among the manzanita, and Morrell went with him, both in their shirt sleeves.

The had evidently only arrived in camp shortly before that and had taken off their coats and vests, and had hung them up by the fire to dry, and they did not take time to grab anything but their guns and pistols, and perhaps a few cartridges.

A PERFORATED CABIN
The report which came last night was that after Evans and Morrell fled, the officers rushed upon the cabin, and after taking out some of the things as relics, set the shanty on fire. This morning a telephone message from Reedley told it differently. According to this message the officers did not approach the camp on Tuesday evening after the bandits fled, but immediately got out of the thicket and did not go back till 6 o/clock Wednesday morning, when they stealthily approached and riddled the cabin with bullets, so that, if Chris or Morrell was in it, they would have certainly been killed.

The fear was that bandits had not gone far the evening before, perhaps only to the first rock, and crouched there to fight if pursued, but seeing there was no pursuit, had returned to the cabin and were waiting for an attack. But the storm of bullets that was sent through the thin plank walls of the hut would have been very discouraging to any such scheme.

PLENTY OF DYNAMITE
The cabin was a sort of curiosity shop when the officers entered in the morning after the flight of the bandits. There was grub in abundance, including dried deer meat, flour, sugar, coffee, rice and other articles, and what seemed more like business, and that it was a genuine camp of bandits, there were found hundreds of cartridges. In fact, there was enough for a bigger battle than Evans ever fought with officers in this country. No fewer than ten boxes of these cartridges were found.

But what looked still more ominous was the discovery of another and more terrible sort of cartridges. The were made of dynamite, such as are now used in blowing express cars into splinters. But from the appearance of the dynamite it was all old. None of the cartridges had been made since the escape of Evans. No doubt it was a supply which Evans and Sontag had on hand when they were in business up there, and it was designed for some train robbery which never materialized, probably because Stone Corral did materialize.

The officers carried out of the hut such things as they wanted and the match was applied, and the old and much talked of camp of Evans and Sontag went up in smoke. Enough relics were brought away to give each officer engaged in the pursuit a souvenir by which to remember Chris Evans.

THE PURSUIT
After the last slab of the cabin had been given to the elements, the officers set forward on the trail left by the bandits. The tracks were not hard to follow, because there was plenty of snow. From all appearances Evans and Morrell had not stopped after they were chased from their den, but they lost no time in getting to Eshom Valley, where they have many friends.

The officers followed all forenoon on Wednesday. But in the afternoon a snowstorm came on and the tracks of the bandits were soon covered up, and about 2 ''clock that day all trace was lost. Sheriff Scott and Ed Miles then left for Reedley, arriving there last night with the first news of the encounter."