after the death of his two sons james ford was, in a sense, obliged to stand alone and face, as best he could, any and all reflections upon his reputation. according to one tradition, some of the law-abiding citizens continued to regard him as an innocent victim of treacherous associates. it appears that among the members of the ford’s ferry crowd there were only a few whom he dared trust. henry c. shouse was one of them and he, with two others, as is shown later, played an important part in the closing act of the mysterious band.
from the time of the lawsuit between ford and simpson each lay perdu awaiting the action of the other. each realized, so runs the tradition, that the other “knew too much.” one morning, shortly after the death of ford’s second son, shouse approached simpson at ford’s ferry and tried to arouse the ferryman’s anger and lead him into a fight. simpson, suspecting a hidden motive, quietly withdrew. a few days later shouse accused simpson of treachery, claiming, among other things, that simpson had circulated a report to the effect that “some one will soon turn state’s evidence, and certain robbers, counterfeiters, and murderers will then quit business for good.” a lively fight followed; both men were badly bruised, but neither was victorious.
thus did shouse, greatly influenced by others, make and set his trap for simpson. simpson, sensing the situation, immediately prepared for any defense that
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firearms might afford him. these strained relations between the two men, each watching the other, continued for about a week. on june 30, 1833, simpson went in his boat from ford’s ferry down to cave-in-rock and, upon his return, stopped at cedar point and walked up to the home of shouse. whether simpson had gone there to kill shouse or to attempt to bring about a reconciliation is an unsettled question. he had reached a point in shouse’s yard when, without warning, some one, firing from the second story window of shouse’s log house, shot him in the back, inflicting a wound of which he died next morning.
news that simpson had been shot spread fast. shouse was, of course, immediately accused of the murder. those most familiar with the general state of affairs suspected that james mulligan and william h. j. stevenson, both of whom lived near by, were accessories. a search was made in the neighborhood, but not one of the three men could be found. the law-abiding citizens on both sides of the ohio recognized in the death of simpson the removal of a man who, either through a selfish motive or for the good of the public, contemplated revealing secrets the exposition of which would have led to the extermination of a band of men who had disturbed the community for many years. pursuing parties were sent out and messengers and letters dispatched in every direction in an effort to capture the three fleeing men and bring them back for trial and punishment.
in the meantime, the situation and its causes were taken under consideration by certain citizens not in any of the posses. most versions have it that a few days after simpson had been killed a small number of men who chanced to gather at the home of his widow, took
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up, in secret, the question of avenging simpson’s death. it is said that no definite decision was reached by them, but that each trusted the vengeance to fate itself. however, three men were appointed to ride to ford’s residence and ask him to come to simpson’s in order that he might be prepared to join the crowd which was, early the next morning, to appear before the grand jury and give testimony as to the killing.
on their way the messengers met ford near the hurricane camp ground. after hearing their mission he stated he was then riding to the ferry to learn the latest news and offer his services. the messengers, accompanied by ford, rode back to simpson’s, where they arrived about sundown. a few minutes later ford and a dozen or more men present were invited to take supper, but all declined, apparently for the reason that they were occupied discussing their plans for the next day. after night had fallen the invitation was again extended. about half the number then went into the kitchen to eat, and the rest stood in the open passage that ran between the two rooms of the log house. ford, accepting a chair, leaned it against the log wall and sat down. the men, one by one, stepped out of the passage, leaving ford comfortably seated alone in the dark. while in this position a man handed him a letter, in the meantime standing to one side and holding a lighted candle over ford’s head, seemingly for the purpose of throwing light on the paper. ford was engaged in reading the letter when someone concealed behind a rose bush in the front yard, shot him through the heart, the bullet lodging in the log wall against which he was leaning. ford fell on the floor dead. the body was immediately carried out in the yard and preparations were soon begun to send it to his home.
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placed in a rude box, on a wagon drawn by two oxen, ford’s body was taken to the ford farm and there prepared for burial, which took place a day or two later. according to tradition, the only persons present at the funeral were his wife, his daughter and her husband, two of his neighbors and about half a dozen slaves. a terrific storm suddenly came up while the little procession was marching from the house to the family graveyard, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. the slaves were in the act of lowering the coffin when a crash of thunder frightened one of them so badly that he dropped the rope with which he was helping to lower the corpse, and ran away. the head of the coffin struck the bottom of the grave and wedged the box into an angular position. attempts were made to pry it to a level, but without success. while the storm was raging the remaining slaves, with all possible haste, filled the grave. after completing the mound, these superstitious negroes ran to their cabins and from that date “saw things” that have not been seen since, but have entered into many traditions pertaining to the fords. for example: some of them saw “jim ford land in hell head foremost.”
the names of the man who held the candle and the one who fired the shot that killed ford were never revealed, then or thereafter. it is said that no investigation of the assassination was ever made, and, furthermore, that if official proceedings had been attempted, no evidence of any kind could have been procured.
ford was suspected to be the leader, adviser, and protector of the so-called ford’s ferry band, but whether or not he was actually all these was never positively proved. had his wife lived a little longer, she in all probability, would have carried out his suggestion
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to erect a monument over his grave. if so, the inscription would have followed, more or less, the lines prepared by him as his son william’s epitaph. there would have been some truth in words to the effect that james ford had not only rendered much assistance to widows and orphans, but also to the poor and destitute, and that his “firmness caused his enemies to tremble.” as to how he was “appresst while living” it is impossible to determine now. that he was “much slandered since dead” is true, judging from some of the tales told about him even to this day.
one of these improbable stories is that ford punished a slave by placing the man’s head in a vise and while it was thus fastened cut off the negro’s ears and pulled out his teeth.
another is to the effect that after the ford’s ferry men had murdered and robbed a flatboatman they learned from papers in his pocket that his name was simmons. they buried their victim on the hill near the ferry. soon thereafter it was noticed that many persimmon sprouts began to shoot up out of the grave and the ground near by. although grubbed out a number of times they reappeared each succeeding spring. ford, seeing that the matter was viewed as an evil omen and working on the superstition of some of his men, ordered the remains taken up and ceremoniously lowered into the river below cave-in-rock, “where,” as one man expressed it, “simmons couldn’t sprout any more.” but the sprouts continued to sprout on the hill overlooking ford’s ferry and today “the old ‘simmons thicket” helps perpetuate this old tale.37
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there is an absurd but widespread tradition that james ford had acquired, through his “frolics at the ferry,” a vast fortune consisting of “dozens of farms, hundreds of slaves, and barrels of money” and that in his will he not only named every man connected with the robber band, but gave each a slave or mule. this story, like many of the others, is absolutely without foundation. his will, recorded august 5, 1833, indicates that he was not a man of more than ordinary wealth. it was written in his own hand. it contains many errors in composition and spelling and, like many other early documents, is sparsely punctuated. it is nevertheless evidence that his practical education was far above most of his contemporaries, though his scholastic
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training was slight. his penmanship was good, as can be seen by his signature here reproduced.38
jas. ford
tradition has it that ford had been buried only a few days when the report reached ford’s ferry that shouse, mulligan, and stevenson, who were accused of having killed simpson, had been overtaken. the three had started for texas, but were arrested in arkansas. shortly after the guards and their charges started on their return the captives tried to escape. each prisoner was then placed astride a horse and his feet tied under the animal. in due time they were landed in the jail at equality, illinois, then the county seat of gallatin county.39
the court records show that the gallatin county grand jury at its september term, 1833, indicted shouse for the murder of simpson, with mulligan and stevenson named as accessories to the crime. the original indictment is still preserved. the greater part of the document is a repetition of old and verbose legal phraseology, reciting what is summed up in the following extracts:
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“that ... not having the fear of god before their eyes, but being moved and seduced by the instigations of the devil on the thirtieth day of june ... with force and arms ... in and upon one vincent b. simpson, in (violation of) the peace of god and of the people of the said state, feloniously, wilfully, and of their malice aforethought, did make an assault, and that the said henry c. shouse, with a certain gun called a rifle, of the value of ten dollars, then and there charged with gun powder and a leaden bullet ... did shoot off and discharging said rifle gun, so loaded ... did wound the said vincent in and upon the left side of the back bone near the shoulder blade, inflicting a mortal wound in and through the body ... of which said mortal wound said vincent did languish and languishing did live until the first day of july ... and of said mortal wound did die.... and that the said james mulligan and the said william h. j. stevenson, then and there, feloniously, wilfully, and of their malice aforethought, were present, aiding, helping, abetting, comforting, assisting, and maintaining the said henry c. shouse, the felony murder aforesaid to do and commit.”
a careful perusal of the court records and documents leads to the discovery of these facts: the case was called for trial a few days after the indictment had been found. fifteen witnesses had been summoned; all were ready to give testimony for the state, but none for the defense. after considerable discussion by the attorneys, a change of venue to pope county was granted, and the case was docketed for trial at golconda in november. beginning november 21, 1833, and continuing six days, shouse’s attorneys, fowler and gatewood, made every effort to secure a postponement, claiming technical errors
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committed by the court. failing in this, they presented the fact that mulligan had died in jail and stevenson had escaped, and on that ground succeeded in deferring the trial until the may term following. there is nothing to indicate the circumstances of the death of the one, nor the escape and disappearance of the other.
on may 21, 1834, the case was again presented and the attorneys argued for further delay, but failed. shouse stood trial, and after a two days’ hearing the jury was instructed to consider the evidence. there is nothing in the written records showing for what motive shouse killed simpson. in fact, the records contain little other than stereotyped legal phrases relative to postponing the case. they throw practically no light on the evidence heard. no summaries of the testimony have been found. shouse denied his guilt. the name of ford does not appear in any of the documents. tradition says that shouse not only did not betray ford, but shielded him whenever an opportunity presented itself.
after the jury had retired, one william sharp appeared on the scene and begged to be heard. shouse’s attorneys prepared a written avowal of what sharp’s statement would contain and presented it to the judge with an argument that in view of the new evidence by a material witness the case be retried, regardless of the verdict of the present jury. this was overruled. this document is the only one from which can be gathered any suggestion as to the character of evidence probably employed by the defense. its plea was that “shouse expects to prove by said witness (sharp) that the deceased simpson told him about a week before his death that he had some short time before collared the defendant shouse and dared him to cut, that he intended
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then in a few days to take his pistol and go over to shouse’s house and settle him.” this was a plea of self-defense. but, as already stated, this motion was overruled. the jury, after due deliberation, found shouse “guilty as charged.”
according to most traditions, simpson had more knowledge of the criminal conduct of the ford’s ferry outlaws than it was safe for one man to have. it was rumored that a large reward was about to be offered for evidence leading to the conviction of any member of the band, and simpson’s confederates feared he would be tempted to betray them. shouse, it seems, was selected—or volunteered—to see that “dead men tell no tales.”
no man of his time was more familiar with the details of the shouse murder trial than william courtney watts. he furnished the following statement to a representative of the louisville courier-journal which published it march 27, 1895:
“shouse was one of the ring-leaders of the notorious ford gang and it is generally believed that ford deputized him to kill simpson. it was observed that after shouse was sentenced to be hanged, his attorney, judge wyley p. fowler, spent a large part of his time in the cell of shouse. it finally leaked out that shouse was dictating to judge fowler a history of the robber band to which he had belonged and that his statements implicated some of the wealthiest and most prominent citizens in livingston county. at that juncture judge fowler received a number of anonymous letters in which writers threatened his life in the event of his ever making public the communications made to him by shouse. by the advice of friends judge fowler spent the succeeding winter in frankfort. upon his
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return mr. j. w. cade, the circuit clerk, asked judge fowler if the shouse history had been destroyed. he replied: ‘no good could come of its publication. it would cast a shade upon the reputation of some of livingston county’s most esteemed citizens.’ nothing further was ever heard of the manuscript and it is believed that judge fowler destroyed it.”
it is said judge fowler’s notes were based on the dictations the doomed shouse intended for the public, and on such reports as were being openly discussed among the people. judge fowler, however, having been ford’s attorney for a number of years and having represented shouse in his last trial, recognized that any statement he made would be considered as based on confidential information received by him as an attorney, and that, in consequence, he would be unjustly condemned.
what shouse’s history and confession contained was the subject of much speculation for a generation or two. there is an impression among some people living in the lower ohio river valley that judge fowler’s alleged manuscript on the history of the robber band still exists. inquiry recently made among his descendants resulted in learning that many years before his death in 1880, he, in the presence of an intimate friend, destroyed all his data on the subject. judge fowler never permitted any one to see his notes and seldom discussed the matter. it is said that on one occasion when he was asked whether or not the ford’s ferry band was a branch of the clan led by john a. murrell, he left the impression that it had at one time made some preparations to work in conjunction with the great western land pirate and his band of negro stealers.
more or less has been written by historians and novelists
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about john a. murrell, but no writer connects him with cave-in-rock or ford’s ferry. the history of virgil a. stewart, a book on the life of murrell, compiled by h. r. howard and published in 1836, gives an incomplete list of murrell’s associates. among the four hundred and fifty names there recorded there is none familiar to persons now living near cave-in-rock. tradition says that shouse made a few trips between the cave and marked tree, arkansas, to meet murrell or some of his representatives for the purpose of delivering and receiving messages pertaining to negro stealing and the disposition of counterfeit money. but whether or not the ford’s ferry band was ever part of the john a. murrell clan will remain, in all probability, one of the ford’s ferry mysteries.40
on june 7, 1834, judge thomas c. brown sent a writ to joshua howard, sheriff of pope county: “whereas ... judgment hath been given in our said court that the said henry c. shouse shall be hanged by the neck until he is dead and that execution of said judgment be made and done on monday the ninth day of june a.d., 1834, between the hours of twelve of the clock at noon and four of the clock in the evening of the same day, at some convenient place in the vicinity, not more than one-half mile from the town of golconda in said county, in the usual manner of inflicting punishment
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in such cases....” and on june 9 shouse paid the extreme penalty.
tradition has it that on the day of the hanging thousands of people came to golconda from gallatin and pope counties, illinois, and from livingston county, kentucky, and other sections, to see the first legal hanging in the county and to witness the death struggle of a ford’s ferry and cave-in-rock outlaw. even to this day, a large crowd in that section of the country is measured as being “as big as the one when shouse was hanged.” the execution took place in the creek bottom immediately north of the town limits, at a spot where the slopes of the hills converge to form a natural amphitheatre. about two o’clock in the afternoon shouse was placed on an ox-cart and driven to the scaffold that had been built by erecting two heavy timbers with a cross beam over them. between these two upright posts the cart was placed, and into it the condemned man’s coffin was then shoved, thus serving the purpose of a platform and trap. shouse’s hands were tied behind his back; he was blindfolded and made to stand erect upon his coffin. the suspended rope was looped around his neck; the oxen pulled the cart forward and shouse fell.
thus terminated the career of one of the members of the mysterious ford’s ferry band, and with it passed away forever bloodshed and robbery at cave-in-rock.
