The haul was a very rich one and the attempt having been successful the passengers were not molested, and the train was permitted to depart after a detention of no more than ten minutes.
The commission of this crime again aroused the officers, and as Glendale is in Jackson county, Major James Leggitt, the county marshal, took immediate steps to discover and arrest the perpetrators. Being a shrewd and fearless man, he went to work intelligently and unceasingly. He soon discovered who composed the party that committed the robbery, notwithstanding the fact that they were heavily masked.
Tucker Bassham, one of the robbers, who was raised in Jackson county, was suspected directly after the deed was accomplished. He left the county for a time, but returned and buried his share of the booty, which was one thousand one hundred dollars. Soon he began to exhibit an unusual amount of money, and a spy was placed upon him until enough information was obtained to conclusively establish his connection with the robbery. But Marshal Leggitt deferred the arrest with the hope that he might learn of some communication between Bassham and other members of the gang, and accomplish their arrest. In June last (1880) deputy marshals W. G. Keshler and M. M. Langhorn, arrested Bassham and lodged him in the jail at Kansas City. Shortly afterward Major Leggitt obtained a full confession from his prisoner, which was reduced to writing and made in the form of an affidavit.
SHOOTING OF JESSE JAMES BY GEO. SHEPHERD.
The pursuit of the Glendale robbers did not cease after a week's efforts, as previously, but Maj. Leggitt was determined to accomplish his purpose. He resolved upon an expedient which evidences his cunning and strategy: Living in Kansas City, at the time of the robbery, was George Shepherd, one of the most courageous men that ever faced danger. He was one of Quantrell's lieutenants and fought in all the terrible and unmerciful encounters of that chief of the black banner. He was at Lawrence, and rode beside the James Boys in that dreadful cyclone of remorseless murder. He had run the gauntlet of a hundred rifles and fought against odds which it appeared impossible to escape. After the close of the war Jesse James accepted Geo. Shepherd as a leader and followed him into Texas, and would still be following his counsels had not circumstances separated them.
Maj. Leggitt evolved a scheme out of his hours of study looking towards the capture of Jesse James. He sent for Shepherd, who was working for Jesse Noland, a leading dry goods merchant of Kansas City, and to the ex-guerrilla he proposed his scheme. It was this: Shepherd, being known to have formerly been a comrade of Jesse James, it was to be reported that undoubted information had reached the authorities establishing Shepherd's connection with the Glendale robbery. A report of this was to be printed upon a slip of paper having printed matter upon the reverse side, so as to appear like a newspaper clipping. Shepherd was to take this printed slip, find Jesse James and propose to join him, saying that he was being hounded by detectives, and, although innocent, he felt that his only safety was in uniting his fortunes with Jesse and his fearless band. This being accomplished, Shepherd was to find an opportunity for killing Jesse James, and the reward for him, dead or alive, was to be divided. In addition to this, Shepherd was to be provided with a horse and to receive $50 per month during the time of his service.
The conditions and terms were satisfactory to Shepherd, and in the latter part of October, about two weeks after the Glendale robbery, he started out in quest of Jesse James.
The plan of Shepherd's operations and the manner in which he accomplished his hazardous undertaking is herewith detailed just as he related the story to the writer, and other corroborative testimony establishes its truth: