Sharp County record., 1878-02-08
THE KENTUCKY UNDERWOODS.
One of the Desperadoes Captured, After
Killing One of the SherifiSs Posse and Be
ing Himself Badly Wounded.

ing Himself Badly Wounded.
Special to the Chicago TimeS.I
CINCINNATI, Jan. 10.-The Under
woods of Carter County, Kentucky,
have been at it again. The family is
famous in the criminal history of Ken
lucky. Father and son have been en-
gagged in numberless affrayS, and have
been charged with enough crimes to
send them all to the gallowS. The
father is now at his home in Carter
County, wreck from wounds received
in hostile encounters, and one sen is
also there, dying slowly from the same
cause. Another son, Jesse Underwood,
fled the State year or two ago, be-
cause he was indicted for the murder Of
man named Quimboo, and who has
been pretty careful to stay away from
Kentucky, on account a reward Of
$1,000 being offered for his arrest. Last
summer, however, he came from Iowa
as he says, in the character of a peace
maker, when his father and brother
were captured and tried for some of
their miSdeeds. He says he succeed
ed, and at the same time he won the
heart of Miss Mollie McLure.
When the new year came, he
returned to claim his bride,
was duly married, and, after q
week of merry-making, started in a
twO-horse conveyance to the Ohio River,
to take a steamer and return to Iowa
with his young wife. He reached
Vanceburg late in the day on Tuesday,
and drove to the house of the jailer,
who is a relative, and asked to be al
lowed to stay there until the steamer
Telegraph came down the river. The
jailer, knowing there was reward for
him, warned him that it would not be
safe. every WE'LL" said Underwood,
''let them try to take me. There'll be
be first-class funeral if they do" He
then started down the river to the next
landing, the town Of Concord, y miles
distant The Sheriff was notified of his
destination, and at once made arrange
ments for his capture. He detailed q
force to 90 down on the Telegraph, and
himself and three others started on
horseback on the road taken by Under
wood and his party. About o'clock
at night, in a little ravine where the
road makes a sudden bend, Sheriff
Warder and his party suddenly found
themselves upon Underwood, who had
stopped to water his horses.
The moonlight was dim, but the
Sheriff was certain Of his game. He
called upon Underwood to surrender.
The desperate, who had alighted and
was standing between his horses, want
ed to know who ordered him to surren-
der. The Sheriff replied that he was
the Sheriff of the county, and demanded
the surrender of Jesse Underwood,
whom he would protect. Underwood
declared that his name was Baker, and
drawing his reyolvers, one in each hand,
was preparing to meet the four men who
were there to arrest BIN, His fatherl
in-law and Mr. Elijah Vest, who were
with him, were unarmGd, and busted
themselves in comforting his wife, who
was screaming with terror His defiant
attitude led the Sheriff's posse to adopt
summary measures. A gun was leveled
at Underwood and discharged, but by q
quick movement he struck the barrel up
so that the charge went over his head.
Then, with terrible oath, he presented
one of his revolvers to the breast of
John Ruggles, one of the Sheriff's posse,
and fired, the ball piercing his
heart and killing him instantly.
Upon this the Sheriff himself fired
a pistol, the ball striking Underwood in
the wrist and ranging upward to the ell
bow. Upon receiving this wound I'm
derwood fled, but not until he received
a charge of buckShot in his shoulder
and a ball in his left thigh. In the
melee, Mr. Mcclure, his father-in-law,
received a ball in his side, that made a
wound supposed to be mortal. Under
wood made his way to school-house
near by, and crept underit. The Sheriff
and his men brought the dead body of
Ruggles into the scho0l-h0use, and then
Underwood crept out and started away.
He was so severely injured, however,
that he supposed himself mortalIy hurt,
and stopped at the house of Louis Rug
giles, where he frankly told that he had
killed a man. Ruggles took him in, dis
armed him, and sent for the Sheriff,
who soon after came and took the des-
perate prisoner to Concord, where his
terrified bride was permitted to care for
him. Young Ruggles, who was killed,
was the only support of his widowed
mother, and lived at Vanceburgh.