Part 5

William Pinkerton, a brother of the chief detective, was sent to Kansas City immediately with five of the most trusted men in the force. Upon arriving at that place the sheriff of Clay county was sent for, after which twelve citizens of known pluck and reliability were engaged to watch the Samuels homestead and report from hour to hour by a rapid means of communication, which had been established. The greatest secrecy was enjoined upon all engaged in the undertaking and every possible precaution was taken to prevent any alarm reaching the bandits.

On the afternoon of January 25th, Jesse and Frank James were both seen in the yard fronting the Samuels residence and report of this quickly reached the sheriff and Mr. Pinkerton who were in Liberty. Arrangements were made for the immediate capture of the two bandits, who it was confidently supposed would spend the night in their mother's house. Accordingly the two officers rode to Kearney late in the afternoon, where they organized a party of twelve men who were to assist them, and preparing several balls of cotton saturated with turpentine and two hand-grenades, the well armed body of men proceeded to the Samuels residence, which they reached about midnight. A reconnoissance was first made with great care for indications of possible surprise, and after completely surrounding the house four of the men, with turpentine balls, were sent forward to open the attack. A window on the west side of the residence was stealthily approached, but in the act of raising it an old colored woman, who had for many years been a house servant in the family, was awakened, and she at once gave the alarm. But the window was forced up and the two lighted balls were thrown into the room, and as the flames shot upward, threatening destruction to the house and its contents, the family were speedily aroused and efforts were made to extinguish the fire. At the moment every member of the household, consisting of Mr. and Mrs. Samuels, a son eight years of age, and the daughter, Miss Susie, and the old colored woman, had partially subdued the flames, one of the detectives, or at least one of the party leading the attack, flung a hand-grenade into the room among the affrighted occupants, and a heavy explosion was the prelude to the dreadful havoc made by that instrument of death. A scream of anguish succeeded the report and groans from within, without any evidence of the outlaws' presence, convinced the detectives and citizen's posse that they had committed a grave and horrible crime; so, without examining the premises further the party withdrew, apparently with the fear that the inexcusable deed they had just committed would be avenged speedily if they tarried in the vicinity.

When the lamp was lighted by Dr. Samuels he found his little boy in the agonies of death, having received a terrible wound in the side from the exploded shell. Mrs. Samuels' left arm had been shattered, and hung helpless by her side; but she forgot her own misfortune in the anguish she suffered at seeing the dying struggles of her little boy. What a terrible night was that memorable 25th of January to the Samuels family! Alone with their dead boy, whom they worshipped, and with a desperately wounded mother, who would certainly have bled to death but for the thoughtfulness of the old colored servant who hastily bandaged the arm and staunched the flow of the crimson life-current.

The funeral of the innocent victim did not take place until the second day after the midnight attack, and then Mrs. Samuels, who had suffered an amputation of the injured member, was too greatly prostrated to attend and witness the last service over her darling boy, but the remains were accompanied to the grave by a very large body of sympathizing people of the neighborhood.

This unfortunate and indefensible attack, for a time allayed public animosity against the James Boys and turned the sympathy of people in western Missouri somewhat in their favor. Those who had been most earnest in their desire to see Jesse and Frank James brought to punishment, began to think more lightly of their crimes, attributing them partly, at least, to the manner in which they had been hunted and persecuted. It is a notorious fact that for some time this sentiment predominated in Clay and Jackson counties, and the same feeling extended to other parts of the State, and in March following led to the introduction of an amnesty bill in the Legislature, granting immunity for past offenses committed by Jesse and Frank James, Coleman Younger, James Younger and Robert Younger. The bill was introduced by Gen. Jeff. Jones, of Callaway county, and contained a provisional clause that amnesty would be granted the parties named in the instrument for all offenses committed during the war, provided they would surrender to the lawful authorities and submit to such proceedings as might be brought against them in the several States for crimes charged against them since the war. After a stormy debate the bill was defeated, although had it passed none of the bandits named would have accepted the terms, for surrender meant either execution or life imprisonment. A rejection of the terms of surrender, by the Legislature, afforded a fresh pretext, however, to the bandits to pursue their crimes of blood and pillage, and it was not long before the country was again startled by the daring deeds of the outlaws.

ASSASSINATION OF DANIEL ASKEW.

Immediately after the defeat of the "outlaw amnesty bill," as it was called, the brigands planned the execution of new and direful schemes, one of which involved the assassination of a respectable citizen of Clay county.

The James Boys concluded, for reasons known only to themselves, that Mr. Daniel Askew was a member of the posse which made the attack on the Samuels residence, and this belief was justification sufficient, in their estimation, for murdering that gentleman; but the plan of its execution was equally as dastardly as the casting of the hand-grenade blindly and savagely among the several members of Dr. Samuels' family. The circumstances of the assassination were as follows: Mr. Askew was an unpretentious farmer, living about five miles from Liberty, in a neat frame house, but with no neighbors nearer than one mile. He had returned home from Liberty, late in the afternoon of April 12th, 1875, and after eating supper took a bucket and went to the spring, which was fifty yards from the house, after water. This was about eight o'clock in the evening, but the moon was shining brightly and objects were plainly discernible. He returned from the spring with the water and sat the bucket upon a shelf on the porch, after which he proceeded to take a drink, but as he was in the act of lifting the cup to his mouth, three sharp shots rang out upon the still air and Mr. Askew plunged forward on his face dead, the three bullets having taken fatal effect upon his person, one entering the brain and the two others reaching vital spots in his body.

At the sound of the shots and the heavy fall on the porch, Mr. Askew's wife and daughter rushed out of the house just in time to see three men steal out from behind the cover of a large woodpile in front of the porch, and regain their horses and ride swiftly away. The three assassins were undoubtedly Jesse and Frank James and Clell Miller, for within an hour after the murder these three met a gentleman upon the highway and informed him of Mr. Askew's fate, and told him the murder was in consequence of the acts of Pinkerton's detectives.

This cowardly act, by which a peaceable citizen had been made to surrender up his life for the sake of a savage revenge, destroyed again every spark of sympathy for the desperadoes, and the determination for their capture was renewed. Armed posses of Clay county citizens set out in search of the assassins, but the pursuit was in vain, and after a week of earnest effort, finding no trace of the brigands, the party returned to their homes, each one recking how soon his turn might come to add to the gory record of the remorseless freebooters.

THE SAN ANTONIO STAGE ROBBERY.

After the murder of Mr. Askew, the bandits, in anticipation of renewed efforts to effect their capture, left Missouri and visited their old haunts in the south-west. They spent several days in the Indian Territory for the purpose of learning with what persistency and the character of the search being made by the authorities. Finding that all effort at their apprehension was confined to western Missouri, the outlaws rode into Texas and soon formed a plan for robbing the stage running between San Antonio and Austin. To plan was to execute, and on the 12th of May, 1875, Jesse James, Clell Miller, Jim Reed and Cole and Jim Younger selected a spot on the highway, about twenty-three miles south-west of Austin, and there ambushed themselves to await the coming of the stage.

It was late in the evening, the sun just descending behind the hills and the chirrup of twilight insects had begun to echo in the solitude of the place. Eleven passengers, three of whom were ladies, were cheerily cracking jokes and relieving the discomforts of the journey by agreeable conversation. Suddenly the driver descried five horsemen riding out into the road one hundred yards ahead of the stage and advancing leisurely. Their appearance and conduct looked suspicious, but as no robberies had been perpetrated on the highway for many years, the driver did not realize what the act portended until, as the stage bowled up, the five men, drawing their pistols, commanded a halt. The order being accompanied by such persuasive authority of course the obedience of the driver was prompt. Then the passengers wondered what it meant, but before they could propound a question four of the brigands rode up on either side of the stage and ordered the inmates to get out. The women, seeing such cruel looking men and their fiercer looking pistols, screamed and scrambled over the male passengers with utter disregard of propriety, and created much confusion. Jesse James and Cole Younger did the talking for the bandits, and in courteous language assured the ladies they had nothing to fear provided the passengers acted with discretion. Soon the eleven but recently gay travelers were arranged in single file along the road behind the stage, and as not the slightest resistance was offered Frank James and Jim Younger had no difficulty in expeditiously relieving all the passengers of their money, watches and other valuables. Among the number was John Breckenridge, president of the First National Bank at San Antonio, from whom $1,000 were obtained; Bishop Gregg, of Austin, contributed his gold watch and nearly $50 in money, while from the other passengers sums from $25 to $50 were obtained.

Having completed the personal plunder, the bandits cut open the two mail bags from which a goodly sum of money was secured, but the amount has not been estimated. The haul aggregated, perhaps, $3,000, which they placed in a sack carried for the purpose, and then, bidding the passengers adieu, the border desperadoes rode swiftly into the shadows, leaving the surprised party to resume their journey in a less amiable mood.

THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY AT MUNCIE.

Nothing was heard of the bandits for several months after the stage robbery, and their crimes were again relegated to partially forgotten incidents of the past. In December following, however, another attack by the outlaws refreshed the memory of their deeds and threw Missouri and Kansas into a fever of intense excitement.

The band of desperadoes, by some means known only to themselves, learned of an intended large shipment of gold-dust from Denver, via Kansas Pacific Railroad, and that it would be carried by a train arriving in Kansas City on a certain day. The place selected at which to intercept the train bearing the valuable shipment, was Muncie, a little station six miles west of Wyandotte, Kansas. There was a water tank near the place, at which the engines almost invariably stopped to take a fresh supply of water. At this point six bandits stationed themselves and awaited the train, which was not due until after nightfall. Prompt upon time the engine blew its shrill whistle, and then rolled up under the tank and stopped. In a moment the brigands left their place of concealment and boarded the train, one of them, Bill McDaniels, being deputed to cover and remain with the engineer and fireman. The robbers rushed through the cars and commanded every passenger to remain quiet under penalty of death. Two of them stood on the platforms of the cars while the other three proceeded to the express car. The bandits presented their pistols at the head of the messenger and forced him to open the safe, from which the sum of $25,000 in money was taken and gold-dust valued at $30,000. This total sum secured was so large that no attempt was made to rob any of the passengers, and after the valuable plunder was placed in a sack, Jesse James blew a keen whistle and a moment after all the free-booters abandoned the train and regained their horses.

Soon as the passengers reached Wyandotte, which was speedily, the alarm was given, which spread to Kansas City, and another large body of men was sent in pursuit of the daring highwaymen. They chased the fugitives southward into Indian Territory, but the pursuit was abandoned in the Creek Nation, where all traces were blotted out.

About one month after this great robbery a police officer arrested Bill McDaniels in Kansas City, for drunkenness, his participation in the train plundering not then being suspected. But when searched at the police station a sheep-skin bag was found on his person filled with gold-dust. In addition to this he had a large roll of money, and being known in Kansas City as a worthless fellow, suspicion was at once excited that he was a confederate of the train robbers. He was placed in the calaboose and allowed to sober up, and then taken upon a requisition to Lawrence, Kansas. On the following day after his arrest the city marshal and Con O'Hara, the detective, went into McDaniels' cell and spent two hours in a persistent endeavor to obtain a confession from him of his complicity in the robbery, or the names of those who committed the act. But he remained as silent as if he had lost the power of speech, and not a word concerning the robbery did the officers ever hear from him. Two months after his apprehension, in taking him from the jail for trial, McDaniels broke from the deputy sheriff and escaped. After a week's search he was found, but resisting arrest, he was mortally wounded by a member of a citizens' posse named Bauermann. McDaniels died, however, refusing to reveal anything in regard to his confederates. It has since been ascertained, however, that those engaged in the Muncie robbery consisted of Jesse James, Arthur McCoy, Cole and Bob Younger, Clell Miller and McDaniels, the latter only being captured.

THE HUNTINGTON BANK ROBBERY.

After the train robbery the highwaymen separated, some going to Texas and others to Kentucky. In April, 1876, Frank James, Cole Younger, Tom McDaniels, a brother of Bill, and a small black-eyed fellow called Jack Keen, alias Tom Webb, confederated together for the purpose of perpetrating another bank robbery. Keen had been raised in the eastern part of Kentucky and was well acquainted with the mountainous regions of West Virginia and his native State. It was decided to attack and plunder the bank in Huntington, a town of 2,500 people, on the Ohio river, in West Virginia.

About the 1st of September the four bandits rode into the town under the leadership of Frank James and proceeded directly to the bank, which they reached at 2 P. M. Frank James and McDaniels dismounted, leaving Younger and Keen standing guard on the outside. When Frank and McDaniels entered the bank they found only R. T. Oney, the cashier, and a citizen who was making a deposit; these the robbers covered with their pistols and compelled the cashier to open the safe and deliver up all the money in the bank, amounting to $10,000. Having secured the booty the four outlaws rode rapidly out of town, not a single person in the place having the least suspicion of what had occurred until Mr. Oney spread the news.

A posse of twenty-five citizens, headed by the sheriff, set out in pursuit of the bandits at three o'clock, one hour after the robbery was consummated, and followed the trail with the greatest persistency. The officers in other counties were notified by telegraph, and armed bodies of men were sent out from a dozen towns. One hundred miles south-west of Huntington the robbers were sighted and in an exchange of shots McDaniels was killed. This encouraged the pursuing party, who pressed the bandits so hard that they were forced to abandon their horses and take to the mountain fastnesses of Kentucky. The pursuit continued unabated for four weeks, and at length the outlaws were driven out of Kentucky and into Tennessee; here Keen was captured and taken back to Huntington, where he made a confession and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in the penitentiary. Frank James and Cole Younger eluded pursuit and returned to the Indian Territory, where they met Jesse James and his band of highwaymen, and forthwith new plans were laid for another big robbery.

THE ROCKY CUT TRAIN ROBBERY.

Seven months elapsed after the Muncie robbery before the desperate brigands, under the leadership of Jesse James, made another attempt to increase their ill-gotten gains. But in the meantime the band of highwaymen was increasing and organizing for another bold stroke. Many outlaws who had found safety in the Indian Nation were anxious to attach themselves to the James and Younger brothers, but very few were received. The noted bandits were excellent judges of human nature, and they were exceedingly careful not to repose confidence in any one who did not possess indisputable evidence of cunning and bravery; men who, in the event of capture, would not betray their comrades at any sacrifice. In July, 1876, arrangements were completed for rifling another treasure-laden train and the Missouri Pacific Railroad was chosen as the line for their operations. The reorganized party of highwaymen, consisting of Jesse and Frank James, Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, Clell Miller, Hobbs Kerry, Charlie Pitts and Bill Chadwell, nine in number, left their rendezvous in the Indian Territory and, riding separately, reached Otterville, Missouri, by a preconcerted understanding, on the 7th of July.

The capture and confession of Hobbs Kerry enables the giving of a minute narrative of all the circumstances connected with the robbery about to be related.

About one mile east of Otterville, a small station in Pittis county, is a place called Rocky Cut, which is a deep stone cleft, from which the train emerges only to strike the bridge across Otter creek. On the south side of the cut is a heavy wood, and in this the robbers concealed themselves to await the train which was not due there until nearly midnight. A watchman was stationed at the bridge, whom Charlie Pitts and Bob Younger arrested and, after taking his signal lantern and placing it in the track at the bridge approach, they securely tied the helpless fellow and then joined the main party. Hobbs Kerry and Bill Chadwell were detailed to watch the horses and keep them prepared for sudden flight.

As the train came dashing through the cut the engineer saw the danger signal and at once concluded something was wrong with the bridge, and he lost no time in having the brakes set and the engine reversed. The train came to a stop directly in the cut, and as it slowed up seven of the dare-devils leaped upon the cars and with one at each door, the robbers had no trouble in so intimidating the passengers as to prevent attack. Jesse James, the boldest of the bold, was the first to enter the express car, followed by Cole Younger. At the mouth of two heavy navy pistols the messenger was forced to open the safe, which contained fifteen thousand dollars in bank notes. This money was hastily thrown into a sack, and the shrill whistle was given by Jesse, which was the signal for the bandits to leave the train and mount. No effort was made to rob or harm any of the passengers, the single purpose of the bandits, agreed upon before the attack, was to secure only the valuables of the express.

When the train reached Tipton, report of the robbery was telegraphed to every station along the line, and also to St. Louis and Kansas City, and from these points all over the country.

Hobbs Kerry's statement is, that after the perpetration of the crime, the bandits rode southward together very rapidly until nearly daylight, when they entered a deep wood and there divided the money, after which the band rode off in pairs, except the James Boys and Cole Younger, who kept together. Kerry soon separated from Chadwell, who was his companion, and went to Fort Scott, and from there to Parsons, Kansas, thence to Joplin and then to Granby, where he remained for nearly a week, spending a great deal of money in gambling dens, and in his drunken moments let drop such remarks as led to the suspicion that he was a member of the gang that robbed the train. He next made a trip into Indian Territory, but after a short stay in that country he returned to Granby; there he was arrested in the latter part of August. The authorities had no difficulty in obtaining from Kerry the full particulars of the robbery and the names of his confederates. Detectives from all parts of the country, stimulated by the large rewards offered by the express company and Governor Hardin, set out in search of the bandits. Every State was penetrated, every suspicious character put under surveillance, and all the ingenuity that could be devised by experienced hunters of criminals was exercised.

The James and Younger boys and Clell Miller, finding the pursuit at an end, returned from the Nation, whither they had first fled, and by stealthy night marches succeeded in reaching Jackson county, where they retired to the robbers' cave and were there safe from pursuit.

THE FATAL ATTACK ON A MINNESOTA BANK.

The efforts of the detectives to capture the outlaws seemed to be chiefly confined to the south-western States, and learning this the bandits, after remaining within the seclusion of their undiscoverable haunts for a few weeks, grew tired of the inactivity such life imposed, and as Bill Chadwell was well acquainted in Minnesota, it was decided to send Bob Younger out to find him, and through him to perfect a plan for raiding one of the banks in that State. The means of communication between the bandits was such that Chadwell was soon found and brought into conference with the other members.

The purpose of going into Minnesota could not have been merely because of a supposition that a mere ample booty might be secured in that State, for there were many richer banks much nearer.

One of the prime motives of the outlaws was undoubtedly to make a stroke in the far north which would confuse the officers in pursuit of them, and thereby draw the attention of the detectives away from the favorite haunts. Aside from this, no sufficient reason for the strange determination of the brigands is assignable.