the bloody record of the james boys had been almost forgotten, for they had not been seen in clay county for many months and no specially reckless deeds had been committed to bring back a remembrance of them; when, suddenly, the town of russellville, kentucky, was thrown into a greater excitement than it had ever before experienced. the james boys had paid the place a visit and left a souvenir of their desperate valor. on the 30th of march, 1868, jesse james, accompanied by four comrades, george shepherd, oll. shepherd, cole younger and jim white, dashed into the town like a hurricane, yelling and firing their pistols until every one was frightened from the streets. they then rode to the bank where four of them dismounted and entered, with drawn revolvers, so intimidating the[pg 40] cashier that he opened the safe to jesse james, while cole younger gathered the money that was lying upon the counter. the amount appropriated by the bandits was $14,000, which they threw into a sack and then leisurely departed. everything connected with the robbery showed thorough system and a management which could be attributed to none other than the fierce missouri free-booters.
when the excitement and surprise had somewhat subsided the sheriff summoned twenty deputies and started in pursuit. the chase continued through kentucky and western tennessee. telegrams were sent in every direction with the hope of intercepting the robbers, who, finding themselves close pressed, scattered, as was their custom, and all, save george shepherd, eluded pursuit and gained the marshes and dense coverts of arkansas, where it was impossible to trail them. shepherd was captured two weeks after the robbery in a small drug store in tennessee and taken back to logan county, where he was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of three years.
oliver shepherd, a brother of george, who was also connected with the bank robbery, was afterward found in jackson county, missouri, and a requisition being first obtained, a dozen men attempted his arrest. but oll., as he was called, was made of that sterner composition which would not brook a curtailment of his liberty, and he threw defiance at[pg 41] the officers of the law. then began a battle of extermination. the officers had armed themselves with carbines because they knew that to come in range of the old guerrilla's pistols would be death to many of them. the hero of a hundred desperate conflicts felt that his time had come, so, bracing himself against a large tree, he stood and received the fire of his slayers at a range of nearly two hundred and fifty yards. his pistols were useless, although he fired every shot, fourteen rounds, at the officers, who, from behind trees, shot seven terrible slugs into his body before he fell; even then, like spartacus, he struck out towards his foes in the last throes of death.
