THE CAPTURE OF RUBE SMITH AND JAMES M’CLUNG AT AMORY, MISS.--
M’CLUNG’S CONFESSION--A PLAN TO ROB THE TRAIN FALLS
THROUGH--A SAFE ROBBERY NIPPED IN THE BUD.
When the Buckatunna robbery of September 25, 1889, occurred, the fact
that three men participated in that deed proved that a third man had
joined Rube Burrow since his last robbery at Duck Hill, on December
15, 1888, and the identity of the third man puzzled the detectives
of the Express Company for some weeks. An accurate description,
however, of all three of the men had been obtained, and Detective
Thomas Jackson, after a visit into Lamar County a few weeks after the
robbery, became convinced that it was Rube Smith. On the eighth day
of October, succeeding the Buckatunna robbery, Rube Smith appeared
in Lamar County, exhibited a good deal of money, and was known to be
in hiding in the vicinity of his father’s home. Here he remained for
some weeks, narrowly escaping capture at the hands of Detective Thomas
Jackson several times, while the latter was daily securing additional
evidence of his complicity in the Buckatunna affair. Finally, in the
latter part of November, 1889, Jim McClung, an old acquaintance of Rube
Smith’s, left Itawamba County, Miss., to visit his relatives in Lamar
County, and while _en route_ thither fell in with Rube Smith near the
house of that worthy’s father. Rube exhibited quite a sum of money to
McClung, and invited him to accompany him to the Indian Territory,
which McClung agreed to do. This was the hiding place to which Smith
had gone soon after the Johnson robbery.
The two men left for the Indian Territory. Their destination was
Kavanaugh, and Smith unfolded to McClung, while _en route_, the whole
story of the Buckatunna train robbery and the part he played in it. He
described every detail and circumstance of the robbery, and McClung,
having a very retentive memory, was afterwards enabled to testify
about it so minutely that the jury in the Federal Court, before which
Smith had a mistrial in May, 1890, concluded that Jim McClung had
participated in that robbery. Such, however, was not the fact.
The section of the Indian Territory to which Smith and McClung went
was wild and sparsely settled, but no sooner had Smith appeared there
than he learned that the officers were after him for a violation of
the Federal law forbidding the importation and sale of intoxicating
liquors in the Indian Territory, while he was there in the early
spring. Smith therefore left within twenty-four hours after his
arrival, and returned to Lamar County, abandoning a project of robbing
the disbursing officer of an Indian agency near Kavanaugh, which he had
unfolded to McClung.
McClung soon tired of life in the Indian Territory, and, returning to
Alabama, found Smith in Lamar County. Here, on the 13th of December,
Rube Smith conceived the idea of robbing the Southern Express car at
Bigbee trestle, two miles north of Amory, Miss. The next night, soon
after dark, he set out with McClung from the home of Rube Smith’s
father for that purpose. How the plan fell through is best told by the
confession of Jim McClung, after the capture of Smith and himself in
the sitting-room of the depot at Amory, Miss.
At one o’clock A. M. Detective Thomas Jackson, assisted by local
officers Clay and Aikin, of Amory, made the capture. McClung made
but slight resistance, but Smith grappled with Jackson, despite the
fact that he was covered by the revolvers of both Clay and Jackson,
while Officer Aikin had McClung in charge, and a hand to hand struggle
ensued, in which Smith succeeded in dragging his captors into the
doorway of the station house, where he was finally overpowered and the
handcuffs placed upon him. The prisoners were taken to the Aberdeen,
Miss., jail, and on the 18th of December McClung made the following
confession to the express officials, which confirmed the information
already in their possession as to Smith’s complicity in the Buckatunna
robbery.
M’CLUNG’S CONFESSION.
My name is James McClung. I am twenty-two years of age. I have known
Rube Smith for five or six years, but have not seen much of him until
within the past few weeks. I returned from the Indian Nation three
weeks ago next Tuesday. I went to Henry Smith’s, in Itawamba County,
Miss., thirteen miles from Tupelo, and there found Rube Smith and Rube
Burrow. Rube Smith was sitting on his horse at the gate when I arrived,
about two hours after sun-up. About an hour after I arrived Rube Smith
told me that Rube Burrow was there. Smith invited me to go down to the
woods where Rube Burrow was. I went down a hollow on the west side, and
then went to the south side of the house, in an old field, where Rube
Burrow was lying on his coat. Burrow asked Smith what he had decided
upon, now that I had come. Burrow said he wanted to go into Alabama,
and to this we all agreed. Rube Smith and I went to Tupelo that night.
We ate two meals in Henry Smith’s house. Rube Smith carried Rube Burrow
his dinner and supper in the woods. Burrow promised to meet us at old
man Jim Smith’s, in Alabama, about five miles from Crews Station. Rube
Smith and I got off at Quincy, Miss., and walked over to Jim Smith’s.
We were afraid to get off at Crews. Burrow did not join us until last
Monday morning. Burrow made his appearance at the spring at Jim Smith’s
on Monday morning, the 7th of December. I went down to the spring. They
were talking of robbing a train at Bigbee trestle, two miles north of
Amory, Miss. We all decided on robbing the train on the K. C. M. & B.
Railroad on Friday night, the 16th of December. The plan was that Smith
and I should board the train at Sulligent and come to Amory. Burrow
was to walk and join us Thursday at Bigbee trestle. Smith and I got
off at Amory at 3 A. M. Thursday. We went into the woods and slept
about one-fourth of a mile from Amory. We went to the trestle about
9 A. M. Thursday. We found Burrow on the south side of the trestle
in the hollow. Smith told Burrow he had taken in the situation, and
did not think it would do to board the engine at Amory, because there
was a night watchman there, and it could not be done. Burrow said all
right--he did not care for a night watchman, but was willing to leave
it to Smith. It was then agreed to abandon the robbery of the train.
We agreed to go down to Winfield, Ala., and rob Jonathan Jones, a
merchant there. Smith proposed that he and I would go over to Hester’s
grocery, about three-quarters of a mile from Amory, and get some beer.
Burrow said he would remain until we got back. We were absent about
one hour, and when we came back, found Burrow there waiting for us.
All three of us then went to Amory. We stopped at Tubb’s spring, one
quarter of a mile out of Amory, and stayed there awhile. We went then
to Mrs. McDaniel’s, getting there about one hour before sunset. Rube
Burrow did not go in. We found no one in the house, but got some bread
and meat. Smith brought some out to Burrow. It was then nearly dark.
Rube Burrow proposed that he would go into the woods on the north side
of the track and sleep. Smith and I went to Mrs. McDaniel’s and stayed
all night. Next morning (Friday, the 13th) we met Rube Burrow in the
woods. We waited until Mrs. McDaniel went into the field, and then went
to the house and cooked some breakfast for Burrow, because he would not
go into the house, nor would he allow us to bring anything out while
Mrs. McDaniel was there. We remained about there until ten o’clock
A. M., then Smith and I went to John Marsh’s and got dinner. We gave
Burrow enough for dinner and breakfast.
We all got together at Amory Junction, about one mile out of Amory,
late in the evening. Burrow said there was no danger of any one knowing
him, and he was not afraid to come into Amory. So we all started in
about one hour before sunset. We came up the track until we got near
the depot. Burrow went over towards the round-house, among the side
tracks, where we went over later and joined him. We all went to a
well near Armstrong’s saloon and got some water. Rube Smith said he
wanted to buy a Winchester rifle. Burrow said, “Go ahead and get a
rifle; but be careful about fooling around, inquiring for guns.” Burrow
said to Smith that he wanted half a pint of whisky. Smith went into a
saloon and got it. Burrow said to Smith, “I will meet you and McClung
at the round-house.” Burrow had hidden the rifle between the Junction
and Amory. Rube Smith and I went into several stores inquiring for
Winchester rifles, but could find none. We went into Snow’s saloon, and
Rube Smith bought one gallon of whisky in a jug, also one-half pint. We
joined Burrow at the back of the round-house. Rube Burrow then ordered
us to meet him at Jim Smith’s, about three and one-half miles from
Crews Station. He said he would go ahead on foot, and would be there
between breakfast and dinner on Sunday, the 15th inst. We went to the
depot to take the train. Burrow told Smith and myself to be careful and
not get arrested. We were told to be sure and meet him, and were to rob
Jonathan Jones on Sunday night. Smith said he had stayed at Winfield,
Ala., where Jones did business, and he knew he had a good deal of
money. He told how he generally came out from supper and stayed at the
store all night, and said we could “hold him up” as he went into the
store and make him open his safe.
McClung gave a faithful account of the Buckatunna train robbery, as
detailed to him by Rube Smith, while they were on their way from
Alabama to the Indian Territory.
Time afterwards proved that McClung spoke the truth, as before told
in his confession at Aberdeen, except as to one particular--he was
mistaken as to the identity of Rube Burrow. Rube Smith had brought
with him from the Indian Territory a boon companion, whom McClung
had not met, and who somewhat resembled Burrow, but who did not care
to reveal his identity to McClung. As the latter had never seen Rube
Burrow, Smith easily passed his comrade off as the famous train robber.
It was afterwards proved beyond a doubt that Rube Burrow, on the day
of the capture of Smith and McClung, drove his ox-cart into the pines
near Flomaton, Ala., and camped there on that eventful night. McClung,
however, was perfectly honest in the belief that the pal to whom Smith
introduced him was no other than his cousin Rube. The man’s name is
well known to the express officials, but as he never committed, but
merely contemplated, a train robbery, he was allowed to go back into
the Indian Territory, and is now listed as a suspect only.
Rube Smith had conceived the idea of playing the role of leader in a
train robbery, but when the appointed hour came he lost confidence in
his ability for so bold an adventure, and abandoned the project for
a less daring deed. While awaiting the train, however, to take him to
the scene of his contemplated crime, he was arrested as described. He
was taken to Waynesboro, the county seat of Wayne County, Miss., and on
April 1, 1890, was convicted and sentenced to ten years, the extent of
the penalty, in the state-prison, for robbing the Southern Express car
at Buckatunna, Miss.
[Illustration: RUBE SMITH.]