Anderson had killed many men and he knew how to die. There was no begging, no denying, only a realization of what he could not avert; and he accepted fate with a stoicism worthy of a religious fanatic. Before receiving the fatal stroke, however, he told Shepherd that Jesse James was the one who proposed the murder and robbery of young Flannery, and that each fired a fatal shot and then divided the stolen money. When this admission escaped his lips, Shepherd sprang upon him like a tiger, drew the glittering blade of the terrible knife across his throat, and the spirit of the murderer and robber took its flight into the realms of the unknown.
On the following morning a dead body with a ghastly gash in the throat, from which the blood had poured until it dyed the grass a yard in diameter, was found and identified as that of Jim Anderson. DeHart, an old-time guerrilla, was in Sherman at the time of the murder, and was known to have a grudge against the murdered man, so suspicion attached to him so strongly that he had to leave Texas. No one ever suspected Shepherd of the murder, but his own confessions to the writer are given in this account of Anderson's execution.
Shepherd has longed for an opportunity to kill Jesse James, but the surroundings, even during a long association, were never sufficiently favorable. The opportunity was exceedingly unfavorable at Short Creek, but revenge and the promise of such an immense reward nerved him to the undertaking.
ROBBERY OF THE MAMMOTH CAVE STAGES.
The James Boys, and especially Frank, have remained in seclusion for a considerable period, and with the shooting of Jesse—whom many still believe to be dead—it was thought that the old remnants of guerrilla plunderers had entirely disappeared. It is positively known that Frank James resided in Baltimore during the winter of 1879-80, and his home was located on one of the principal resident streets. At that time he wore full whiskers which were very long, reaching to his waist. The name he bore while in Baltimore the writer has not been able to learn, for obvious reasons. He disappeared from that city in March last, and it is reported by Kansas City police officers that Frank was seen in Jackson county, Missouri, by two of his acquaintances in the latter part of July, 1880, and that his whiskers were cut short. The following account of the robbery of the Mammoth Cave stage again brings Frank James and Jim Cummings prominently into notice.
The Concord stage running between Mammoth Cave and Cave City, in Edmonson county, Kentucky, was captured by highwaymen on the afternoon of Friday, September 3d, 1880, and the passengers despoiled of everything they carried.
At this season of the year Mammoth Cave is visited by thousands of tourists and sight-seers, who are usually people of means, furnishing fat pickings for the robbers. One of the routes to the cave, and the one selected by the large majority of its visitors, is by way of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to Cave City, and thence by the Concord stages to the cave, which is about eight or ten miles distant. The stage road is through a lonely and rocky region, and about midway on the route it runs through a dense wood, which adds considerably to its dreariness. About 6 o'clock Friday evening, while the coach from the cave was coming to Cave City, it reached this wood, and while coming through the narrow road in a walk, two men, one mounted on a thin black thoroughbred horse, and the other on a fine sorrel, rode out of the dense forest, and, dashing up to the stage, covered the driver and passengers with their revolvers and called a halt. The stage was pulled up, the driver was ordered down and to the door of his vehicle, and then calmly dismounting and holding their horses by the bridle reins, the work of delivering the booty began. The rider of the black horse, a man about thirty-five years old, with a straggling red mustache and beard, was the leader and spokesman. He was rather small, not appearing to be over five feet six inches in height, and would weigh about 140 pounds. He had light blue eyes, a pleasant smile and distributed his attentions to the defenseless party of eight passengers with a sang froid and easy politeness which did much to alleviate their feelings. His accomplice was about the same age, with black whiskers and mustache rather ragged in trim, and had a pair of black eyes. He was rather slow in his movements, but the business in hand suffered nothing for that.