Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1883-10-25
lring the ''unpleasantness," and

AuituG ZIG uuPtcusStbficSSs anu
lid effective work. He afterward |
vas in charge Of one Of the watches
IT the agency, and died in 1875. |
Next is the sepulcher Of Joseph w. |
a young man whose name,
exploits, and unhappy ending are IA
niliar to nearly all newspaper read
,rs, and that class who dote on the
sensational histories of the career of
The James gang Of frecbooters and
outlaws. Joe Wicher was only %
years of age, but had earned an en-
viable reputation for shrewdness and
as detective. He entered
the agency about the time of the
Gad's Hill robbery of the Adams
Express, and did some good work on
.he case. After the robbery of the
Cory don Bank in Iowa, Robert Pink
erton traced the perpetrators across
The river to Blue Springs, and, for
lhe first time, the James boys were
heard Of as highway men by the de-
tectives. 1t is supposed that the
James and Younger brothers had
the robbery, and Witcher
was sent to ascertain If
THE JAMES BOYS
had been in the vicinity of their home,
at Kearney, No., at the time of the
robbery. He started for Missouri,
and was not long IN learning the des-
perate character of the men he had
been sent to watch and capture, if
possible. He remained some days at
Liberty, Mo-, and determined to seek
employment on the James farm as a
laborer. 1t has been stated as a fact
that Witcher's detection was caused
by hls having soft hands, but this is
not true. He had been a sailor, and
before leaving for the James house
he hardened his hands with rosin.
The Ford brothers relate the clrcum-
stances of his death, as they were
told them by Jesse and Frank James
themselves. Before leaving, Witcher
wrote letter to his chief saying that
he was on the eve of departure for
the stronghold Of the robbers, and it
was evident from the tenor of the
letter that he felt a strong present.
ment of his death. He said that he
might never return, and wished all
his friends good-by. and told what
disposition was to be made of the
money he had saved, and where it
was. He entered the James house a
little after dark, and was received by
Mrs. Samuels, mother of the outlaws.
Mrs. Samuels inquired his business,
upon which he told her he was look
ing for job. She said, "Come this
way" and, as he turned, Jesse and
Ciel Miller seized him by the arms,
while Frank James caught him around
the legs near the ankles. They threw
him and searched him thoroughly, but
found nothing but pistol. They ac-
cused him of being detective, which
he of course denied, aud then insist
ed that he was horse-thief. They
bound him to horse and started to-
ward Independence, NO., telling the
ferryman who carried them across the
river that they were Deputy Sheriffs,
having horse-thief in charge. On
the Independence pike, in Jackson
county, No., about five miles from
Independence, they sustained their
reputation for bravery by ruthlessly
numbering q man bound hand and
foot. Witcher's body was recovered
and brought here, and is one of the
silent row.
'There," said Mr. Pinkerton, ''lie
the remains of Julius Wunstorf. He
was German Jew, little. delicate
fellow, very bright, and a capable
man among professionals. Julius
was an excellent shadow and knew
most Of the crooks who operated in
this vicinity. One Of his best pieces
Of work was the breaking up Of the
Penitentiary ring at Joliet. When
Buckmaster went out as Warden. and
Dornblaser came in, there was a great
many escapes from Joliet through the
negligence of the guards. There was
a great deal of dissatisfaction among
the employees at the Penitentiary a,
the change of Wardens. and cor.
rupt ring was organized. Wunstori
was selected to get to the bottom oi
the prison officials, and it was agreed
that he should be sent to the peniten'
tiary as convict. His commitment
papers were regularly made out; ant
late one evening took him down ant
handed him over. He was sent i'm a.
a burglar sentenced to three years
from Kane county.
He was then detailed for work in th,
cell-liouse, where the trickery wa
supposed to have its center. Hi
hair was cut, of course, and the reg
ulation Penitentiary suit put on him
so that the detective was as compiet
a looking convict as ever worked 70
the State. Wunstorf remained as a
inmate Of the Penitentiary, doing th
work assigned him, and was believe
by the guards to be as hard cas-
and as incorrigible q william as eve
lpnt up a job. After seven montl,
of prison life he was released, hay
in<y sreaaodad in hraak;uu mr.. th