THE LAST BATTLE

477

sat on his horse during the fight, his leg thrown carelessly over the pommel of the saddle, unable to take a hand because of an injury to his arm a few days before, but encouraging his men with such chaste and choice phrases as '' Give 'em hell, boys!'' There is nothing to show conclusively who fired the fatal shot. It is said that Quantrill believed it was Terrill, and there is some reason to believe that Terrill did fire the shot which carried away his finger.4

In the gloom of night came some of the guerrillas to see their stricken chief.   Among these was Prank James, who long

4 On this point the letter of Thos. M. Yenowine is set out here:

Mt. Eden, Ky., Oct. 17, 1888.

W. W. Scott, Sir:

Yours of the 9th to hand, and will answer your questions as far as I know. Joe Taylor and Ben Stevens reside near my office. Levi Cotton lives seven miles from here; C., A. Taylor in Davis County, Kentucky; John Langford lives somewhere in Illinois; no one knows. Ben Stevens told me no one knew who shot Quantrill. He helped to carry him to James Wakefield's house after he was wounded. On the following day they took him to Louisville, Ky., where he soon died after arriving. Terrill was from near this place and died in the City Hospital of Louisville, Ky., from an operation performed removing ball imbedded in the spine. He was a patient of mine and I had him sent there.

Any further information needed, I will cheerfully give.

Thos. M. Yenowine, P. M.

go, saying that he had pledged his word to stay, and if he did not, my property would be burned, and I would be held accountable. Besides he said he knew he had to die and did not want to be dragged around, and that Terrill had promised not to move him if he did not try to get away. Next night some more of his men came and insisted, but he refused.

Next day, Friday, Terrill came with twenty to twenty-five of his men, and putting some straw and things into a horse, farm, or spring wagon, took him away to Louisville; where I learned that he died about a month afterwards.

While he was lying wounded at our house, he told me again that his name was Quantrill and thanked us all for our kindness to him and his men. He told me of some money he wanted to leave for his mother and sister. But afterwards said he would write to me about it when he got to Louisville. He told me who had it and how much, but I never got any word from him about it.

I am sure he died at the Hospital in Louisville. Spencer County, Kentucky. James H. Wakefield.

P. S. Glasscock and Hockensmith were killed about a quarter of a mile from the same place that Quantrill was shot. They lost their lives trying to save their Captain, as his (Quantrill's) horse was wild and he could not mount, and they were trying to get Quantrill up behind one of them. He was in the act of mounting when shot. I had Hockensmith and Glasscock buried at Bloomfield, Nelson County, Kentucky.