seven months elapsed after the muncie robbery before the desperate brigands, under the leadership of jesse james, made another attempt to increase[pg 88] 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[pg 89] 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.
