the robbery of the chicago and alton train at glendale, missouri, as already described, has been surrounded with considerable mystery, concerning the identity of all those engaged in the outrage.
the large rewards offered for the apprehension of the robber-band,—amounting to $75,000—caused a very active search, which resulted, at last, in the capture of daniel (better known as tucker) bassham, under circumstances already related on page ninety-nine. the writer visited bassham at the county jail in kansas city, in october, 1880, for the purpose of interviewing him, with the hope of obtaining some interesting facts concerning the robbery, but though he had made a written confession, he refused to talk on the subject, saying that he had already told too much for his own good.
on the 6th day of november, bassham was brought into court for trial, having entered a plea of "not guilty," despite his confession, but this plea was soon changed to that of "guilty," and he then threw himself upon the mercy of the court. the following summary of his confession appeared in the kansas city journal of november 7th:
"on monday night preceding the robbery," said bassham in his confession, "two neighbors of mine came to me and said they had put up a job to rob a train, and wanted me to go in with them. i told them i didn't want nothin'[pg 146] to do with robbin' no train, and wouldn't have nothin' to do with it nohow; but they kept on persuadin' and finally went away, sayin' they would come back in the morning and that i must go with them. they said a very rich train was coming down on the c. & a., and that we could make a big haul, perhaps $100,000. wa'al, that kind o' half persuaded me, but still i didn't like to go. they finally told me that jesse james was arrangin' the thing and that it was sure to be a success.
"wa'al, then they left. my wife kept pesterin' me to know what was goin' on an' what they wanted, but i didn't like ter let on. i kept thinking about it all night. of course i'd heerd often of jesse james and kinder had confidence in him, then i was pretty poor, there wasn't much crops on my place and winter comin' on, and i tell you it looked pretty nice to get a little money just then, no matter whar it kum from. 'sides i thought to myself, ef i don't go it'll be done jest the same anyhow, they'll be down on me and ten to one i'll be more likely to git arrested if i ain't thar as if i am.
"wa'al, i kep' kinder thinkin' it over an' in the morning they came to the house early and eat breakfast, and then went out and loafed around the timber and in the cornfield all day so nobody wouldn't see 'em. in the evenin' they all cum in and we eat supper and then they giv' me a pistol, an' we all got on our horses an' rode off together. we soon met another man on the road, an' when we got to seaver's school-house, 'bout a mile and a half away from my house, they giv a kind of a whistle for a signal, and two men came out of the timber an' rode up. i was introduced to one of them as jesse james. this was the first time i had ever seen jesse james in my life."
"and who was the other?" demanded the prosecutor.
"the other was ed. miller, of clay county."
bassham said that jesse james then gave him a shot-gun and furnished each man with a mask, and that they all then rode on in silence toward glendale. no instructions were given to any one man. when they arrived at glendale[pg 147] they noticed the light in the store, and bassham was ordered by jesse james to go in, capture the inmates and bring them over to the station. on looking in the windows he found the usual crowd of loiterers had left the store and lounged over to the depot to wait for the train to come in. he then went on over to the depot and found the crowd in the waiting-room guarded by one of the men. jesse james then told him to walk up and down the platform, as the train approached, and fire off his shot-gun in the air as fast as he could. the telegraph operator was forced, at the point of the pistol, to lower the green light and thus signal the train to stop. jesse james then asked him if there were any loose ties there that they could lay across the track, and he said he didn't know of any. the men then went and got logs and laid them across the track to obstruct the train if it should take the alarm and not stop for the green light. meanwhile the train approached; bassham walked up and down the platform firing off his gun; jesse james and one of the men jumped into the express car, and miller jumped on the engine in the manner already described and with which all are familiar. the train was not stopped more than five or six minutes.
as soon as it was over, jesse james fired off his pistol, which was the signal for all to leave, and they jumped on their horses and rode rapidly for about half a mile, till they came to a deserted log-cabin. here they alighted and entered. somebody produced a small pocket-lantern and somebody else struck a match. jesse james threw the booty down on a rude table in the middle of the compartment, divided it out, and shoved each man a pile as they stood round the table. bassham's share was between $800 and $900. jesse then said: "now, each one of you fellows go home and stay there. go to work in the morning, and keep your mouths shut, and nobody will ever be the wiser. this country will be full of men in the morning hunting for me and you."
it will be observed that in the confession, as [pg 148]reported, only the names of jesse james and ed. miller appear, when it is now positively known that the gang comprised not less than six persons. the confession implicated two of the most respectable farmers in jackson county, kit rose and dick tally, one a brother-in-law and the other a cousin of the younger brothers, both of whom were arrested, but soon afterward released, as not a scintilla of evidence could be discovered corroborating bassham's disjointed statements. the other party, who bassham swears was connected with the robbery (and in this he certainly guessed rightly), was jim cummings, who shot george shepherd in the affair at short creek.
in november last (1880), bassham was brought into court with a plea of "not guilty," notwithstanding his confession, but he had so completely convicted himself that the plea was withdrawn, and he threw himself upon the mercy of the court. he was then sentenced to the penitentiary for a period of ten years. since his confinement at jefferson city, there has been a considerable change of opinion respecting his guilt, and there is no doubt but that now a large majority of persons believe bassham innocent of any complicity with the train robbery, and that his so-called confession was the result of influences which the writer does not wish to assume the responsibility of naming.
[pg 149]
the james boys heard from again.
the train robbery at winston, mo., july 15, 1881.
fifty thousand dollars reward offered for the arrest of the guiltyparties.
the border outlaws, those whose crimes began with the hot and infectious breath of war and left a bloody trail around jackson, clay and harrison counties, missouri, still survive to wreak a desperate vengeance, and live by tributes levied upon corporations and individuals. many of the old band, it is true, have been palsied by death, dying, belted and armed, by a fate anticipated, but like the excision of a cancer, the germs have remained from which a new growth has constantly developed to harass the state and disorder society.
the james boys, aside from their reckless courage, are possessed of extraordinary capabilities, cunning resource, domineering resolution, woods-craft and dash. as if by a thorough consideration of the beneficial result to be secured thereby, they first terrorized the people of western missouri, and then heroized themselves in the eyes of those whose political sympathies were in consonance with their own. thus upon the one side the people were afraid to attempt any punishment of the outlaws or give [pg 150]information of their rendezvous; while upon the other they were protected and encouraged without concealment. it is for these reasons that the james boys and their confreres have eluded every pursuit and been able to give free license to their impious passions.
there are peculiar features, however, connected with every outrage perpetrated by the james gang which readily manifest them in the deed. among these several distinguishing features are: their appearance in the vicinity where the robbery occurs some days before its accomplishment; the thorough maturity of their plans; the wearing of long linen dusters; unhesitating disposition to commit murder; a splendid mount; the invariable sack carried in which to deposit the plunder; the line of retreat always southward when the robbery has been committed north of clay county, and vice versa; masks of red handkerchiefs, and the ease with which pursuit is eluded. in addition to these unmistakable peculiarities, another fact is particularly noticeable, viz: within twenty-four hours after the james boys commit a robbery, mrs. samuels, their mother, never fails to make her appearance in kansas city, the purpose of these visits being undoubtedly to discover what means are employed looking to the apprehension of the gang, and gather up any and all such information as might prove serviceable in aiding the escape of her sons.
considering well all these points of evidence, any shrewd analyzer of human nature can readily [pg 151]determine whether or not either of the james boys was connected with any robbery reported.
on the night of july 15th, 1881, an outward going passenger train from kansas city over the chicago, rock island & pacific railroad was robbed at winston station, daviess county, missouri, under the following circumstances: the train left kansas city at 6:30 p. m., in charge of william westfall, the conductor; wolcott, the engineer, and charlie murray, express messenger. the train consisted of six coaches and a sleeper, all of which were well filled with passengers. reaching cameron, a stop was made for supper, and when the train started off two men were observed to jump on, each of whom wore a large red bandana handkerchief around his neck, partly concealing his features. nothing indicative of the robbers' intentions, however, transpired until the train reached winston, at 9:30 p. m., at which station four men took passage, each having his face covered with a handkerchief identical with those worn by the two that got on at cameron, and all wearing long, linen dusters. getting under headway again, the train had proceeded nearly one mile from winston when suddenly, as conductor westfall appeared in the second car to collect tickets, the passengers were startled by the largest of the robbers rising from his seat and shouting out in a loud voice, "all aboard!" which was the signal for action. the large man, heavily masked with a red handkerchief, as were all the others, seven in number, thrust out a large pistol, and saying to westfall, "you are the man i[pg 152] want," fired. the ball struck westfall in the arm, producing only a flesh wound, but as the wounded man turned to run out of the car two more shots were fired by the same robber without effect. this bad shooting seemed to exasperate another one of the outlaws, who gave an exhibition of his skill by[pg 153] shooting westfall in the brain, killing him instantly, the body falling off the platform onto the ground.
