The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1910-12-23
Jesse James Kentucky Double.

There is hardly school boy in Ken
lucky who is not familiar with the his
tory Of the exploits of the James
brothers who for years terrorized
various sections of the United States
by rObbing mail trains, banks and citi-
zens. Associated with them were the
| Younger brothers-Cole, Bob and jim
Younger-whO were finally convicted
and given long terms in the peniten
| tiary at Saltwater, Minnesota.
But that Jesse James had a double
who lives, moves and has his being in
Allen county, and whose resemblance
to the Missouri bandit was SO striking
that he was once convicted and SEN
fenced to prison term for a crime.
committed by him is not so we'll
known, but it is true nevertheless.
The recent publication regarding the
effort to be made to induce the FEEDER
al Government to make of the Mann
moth Cave National Park. recalled
the story to an old timer, who recited
it in the following language:
1.-The James boys were often in
Logan county after the close of the
Civil War and hac rendezvous on Red
river, near the town of Adairville.
Travel to Mammoth Cave was then en-
tirely overland from Cave City, and so
heavy was the traffic and constant the
visitors that Mr.. Mccoy, proprietor of
the Mammoth Cave stage, made an i'm
mense fortune out of the traffic.
lone of his most trusted helpers
and lieutenants was P. w. Depp, who
for the past dozen years has been chief
engineer of the Kentucky Branch peni-
| Tertiary at Eddyville. On one occasion
Mr.. Depp turned over to his chief
81. 800 as the result of one days travel
to and from the cave. Some years
ago Mr.. Depp completed perfect fac
smile of the old stage coach which
figures in the famous robbery. 1t was
immature coach. and was placed on
eXhib. ton at the WORLDS Fair at St.
Louis.
1.-The bandits evidently learned of
| the rich pickings to be uied by rob-
bling the Mammoth Cave stage and
planned raid.
"Cn the morning of the robbery the
stage TT Cave City with only four
passe ngels. Judge Roundtree and
daughter. of Mt. Sterling. KY, and
two Southerners-on from Tennessee
; and the other a citizen of Alatana.
Considerable booty was taken from the
victims, among other valuables gold
watch belonging to Judge Roundtree
nd a diamond ring belonging to his
daughter
The robbers made good their es-
cape and for several days no arrests
were made. George Hunt, then cele-
brated local detective at BardstowD,
arrested man whose name was
Thomas Hunt and whose birthplace
has been credited to Simpson cour ty,
On charge of being Implicated in the
| robbery. Hunt was carried to Glss-
gov, as the robbery was committed
before the stage crossed the Barren
county line. and lodged in Jail. Con-
| siderable trouble was experienced in
getting the victims of the robbers to
Glasgow to testify. IS the Kentucky
law at that time made provisions for
the payment Of mileage for witnesses
from distance.
The two SOutherners had already
lost heavily by the robbery and declin-
ed to return to Kentucky at their own
expense to testify against the accused.
The Kentucky Legislature assembled
while Hunt was in Jail awaiting trial.
and the law now on the statute books
allowing mileage to witnesses is di-
rectly traceable to the ROBBERY of the
Mammoth Cave stage. At last all four
OF the witnesses appeared in court, and
Hunt was placed on trial. Three of
the witnesses positively identified the
prisoner as the man who acted as
pokesman for the robbers, but Judge
ROundtree was not so positive. He
said: If the prisoner is the man who
! acted as spokesman for the bandits
then my faith in my own recollection
is very much shaken. though he
| strongly resembles the man
Hunt refused absolutely 70 make
any move to clear himself of the
| charge beyond denying any knowledge
of the robbery.
"Ihe case was given to the jury and
| a veidi,t was soon reached giving
Hunt term in the Frankfort peniten-
tiary. Before he was transferred,
however, Bob Ford shot and killed
Jesse James in Kansas City, Mo-, and
in the vest pocket of the dead bandit
was TO ind tne watch which was taken
+, from Judge RoundIree on the morning
OF the robbery A picture nf Jesse
Jan es was printed in the Courier
Journal and the Mt. Sterling jurist,
who never believed Hunt guilty. went
to the capitol, where Governor Preston
H. Leslie issued pardon for him.
1.-The resemblance of the men Hunt
and James was so striking and perfect
that photograph of each when close
ly compared would readily be taken
for two pictures of the same man.
"a more striking illustration of
mistaken identity was perhaps never
chronicied in a court of justice. and
only for the treachery of Bob Ford.
Hunt would have worn the garb of a
convict for crime with which he had
no connection. Hartford. KY, Re-
publican.