Manning, Barnett and myself were finally joined by the conductor and members of the train crew, and we succeeded in carrying West back to the train. He appeared to be unable to walk, so we had to carry him. We laid him down in the express car, examined him for wounds and found that he had not been shot, but he had severed some small blood vessels on his wrist while struggling to get through the fence and had smeared his face and clothing with blood from these wounds. He shammed being drunk, but he was not at all under the influence of liquor.
Thinking that the wounded man could be found later, and not wishing to delay the train any longer, we boarded the train and were soon in Sedalia. I was personally acquainted with Eli Stubblefield, and being pretty sure he was the man I had wounded, when we arrived in Sedalia I sent Manning and Detective John Jackson, of the Sedalia police department, out to watch his brother's house, where he made his home, in the hopes that they could intercept and arrest him. Frank Barnett and myself secured an engine at Sedalia and returned to the scene of the attempted hold-up. Picking up the trail of the wounded man, from his tracks and the blood in the snow, we followed it out to the main road and on towards Sedalia. We came to a house occupied by a negro family, which stood near the road. There the negroes told us that just after they had heard the shooting a tall slender man, about middle aged, had stopped in front of their house, coming from the north, and was going south, and yelled to the occupants, stating that he had been hurt and would give them ten dollars if they would hitch up and drive him to Sedalia. They told him that they could not get a horse at that time of night. He departed for Sedalia holding his right arm, and leaving a trail of blood along his tracks. Satisfying ourselves that Stubblefield was sure to show up at Sedalia, Barnett and myself abandoned the hunt, returned to our engine and were again soon in Sedalia. We were right in believing Stubblefield would soon show up in Sedalia, for about two or three hours later the wounded man, who sure enough proved to be Eli Stubblefield, turned up in Sedalia and near his home, where he was captured by Manning and the Sedalia police officer, who were waiting for him, according to my instructions. He was taken to the county jail, where West had been incarcerated, and physicians called to dress his wound. It was then learned that I had shot him in the right arm, the ball entering and breaking the bones at the elbow. The wound soon healed, but Stubblefield never had the use of the arm again, it always hanging limp at his side.
Early the next morning West was released on a bond signed by a couple of prominent and wealthy Sedalia business men, but later in the day, on learning all the facts in the case, the bondsmen surrendered him to the sheriff and he was again locked up, where he remained until his trial.
Adams, the informant, stated to me the following morning, that at the last moment the other four who had promised to join in the robbery, had weakened, using his expression, and therefore Stubblefield and West were the only two he had to take out, and that after the firing had commenced he did not wait for them, but hastily drove his rig back to Sedalia.
In due time both Stubblefield and West were tried and convicted of the attempted holdup, and sent to the penitentiary, if my recollection serves me right, for ten years each. They have served their time out, and, I believe, are at large at the present time.
We found two six-shooters in the possession of West, and also two revolvers in the possession of Stubblefield. Stubblefield was well known as a freight train conductor, and was in the service of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railroad Company, popularly known as the "Katy." West had always been an engineer and had been in charge of a freight engine on the Missouri Pacific for a number of years. The others who had promised to participate in the train robbery were all ex-employees of some railroad with the exception of one, who was a butcher. I withhold the names of the other four, as they did not appear on the ground nor participate in the robbery, and were not arrested or tried in connection with the crime.
I will state here for the benefit of the reader that Adams, the informant, had been in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad Company for a number of years as a locomotive engineer, had a good record with the company and stood well in the community where he resided, as a sober, reliable and intelligent man, and a good citizen. While oiling around his engine one day at a station the throttle began leaking, thereby admitting steam to the cylinders, which caused the engine to move suddenly while his arm was extended through the spokes of the drive-wheels. The sudden movement of the engine tore his arm from the shoulder and thus terminated his career as a locomotive engineer. The railroad company settled with Adams for the loss of his arm without a suit, paying him quite a sum of money. It was with this money that he began business in Sedalia as a money lender. West and Stubblefield were among his clients, each owing him quite a sum. It was while talking with them about their indebtedness to him that West and Stubblefield first approached the subject of robbing the train to Adams. "We will have plenty of money to pay you all that we owe you in a few days," said one of them to Adams, and then they asked him to join them in pulling off the job, which he agreed to do for the reason before stated.