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10 - Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James by Joseph. A. Dacus · Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James

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  Speaker 1: Section ten, consisting of chapters twenty eight, twenty nine, and
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  Speaker 1: thirty of Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James
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  Speaker 1: by J. A. Dakis. This LibriVox recording is in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain recording by P. J. Lando. Chapter twenty eight
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  Speaker 1: proposed amnesty movement in the legislature General Jones's Amnesty Bill.
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  Speaker 1: Jesse quietly awaits the turn of events failure of the
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  Speaker 1: bill to pass in the legislature taking vengeance. There can
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  Speaker 1: be no doubt that there was a heavy undercurrent of
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  Speaker 1: popular opinion in favor of the James boys, generated by
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  Speaker 1: a conviction that they were the victims of a cruel
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  Speaker 1: and uncalled for persecution brought upon themselves by their adhesion
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  Speaker 1: to a cause which was dear to the hearts of
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  Speaker 1: many thousands of the citizens of Missouri. Their later deeds
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  Speaker 1: were forgotten, while their former acts were remembered with admiration.
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  Speaker 1: Though the evidence seemed clear which connected the James and
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  Speaker 1: youngers with innumerable daring robberies, yet many hundreds of good
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  Speaker 1: people refused to credit the reports and offered their sympathy
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  Speaker 1: to the men whom they believed to be victims of
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  Speaker 1: vile slanders and unwarrantable persecutions. The sympathy openly manifested for
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  Speaker 1: the boys came not from the reckless and vicious elements,
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  Speaker 1: but from influential persons all over the state. As late
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  Speaker 1: as eighteen seventy five, there were thousands of respectable people
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  Speaker 1: in Missouri who had no sympathy with the movement set
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  Speaker 1: on foot by the legal authorities for the apprehension of
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  Speaker 1: the Desperadoes, simply because they did not believe them to
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  Speaker 1: be robbers, and that the killing done by them was
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  Speaker 1: a justifiable punishment inflicted on ancient enemies who richly deserved
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  Speaker 1: their fate. The effect of the raid on the residence
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  Speaker 1: of Missus Samuels, the mother of Frank and Jesse James,
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  Speaker 1: was to create a diversion in favor of the boys.
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  Speaker 1: The tragedy of that event was of so horrible nature
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  Speaker 1: that public sentiments set in strongly against any further attempt
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  Speaker 1: to capture the boys by force. There was a strong
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  Speaker 1: sentiment in many quarters of the state in favor of
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  Speaker 1: trying a policy of conciliation toward the Desperadoes. The reasons
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  Speaker 1: advanced in favor of this policy were numerous, and some
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  Speaker 1: of them possessed some weight. It was alleged that the
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  Speaker 1: state had already suffered the loss of considerable sums in
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  Speaker 1: pursuing them, that it was extremely doubtful whether their capture
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  Speaker 1: could ever be effected, That in consequence, the good name
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  Speaker 1: of the state must be tarnished. That while the Jameses
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  Speaker 1: and Youngers were declared to be and treated as outlaws,
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  Speaker 1: other bad men would commit crimes and shift the responsibility
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  Speaker 1: to the outlawed men. That the course pursued toward the
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  Speaker 1: Jameses and Youngers was a species of persecution. And finally,
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  Speaker 1: it was pled that all this persistent hunting of these
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  Speaker 1: men was stimulated by the animosities of enemies dating from
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  Speaker 1: the war time, and inasmuch as the United States government
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  Speaker 1: had granted amnesty to its enemies for acts committed during
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  Speaker 1: the continuance of hostilities, that it was not right the
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  Speaker 1: State of Missouri should pursue with vindictive persecution any of
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  Speaker 1: its citizens for acts committed during the war. And their
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  Speaker 1: friends contended that the outlawry of these men grew out
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  Speaker 1: of their course in the period between eighteen sixty one
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  Speaker 1: and eighteen sixty five. These views and opinions in respect
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  Speaker 1: to the Jameses and Youngers assumed of formal shape in
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  Speaker 1: the early part of March eighteen seventy five by the
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  Speaker 1: introduction in the legislature of Missouri by the late General
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Jones, then a member of the House of Representatives
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  Speaker 1: from Callaway County, of a bill or preambles and resolution
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  Speaker 1: offering amnesty for all past offenses to Jesse W. James,
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  Speaker 1: Thomas Coleman Younger, Frank James, Robert Younger, and James Younger,
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  Speaker 1: on the cast condition that they should return to their
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  Speaker 1: homes and quietly submit to such proceedings as might be
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  Speaker 1: instituted against them for acts alleged to have been committed
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  Speaker 1: by them since the war. The preambles and resolution offered
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  Speaker 1: by General Jones received the approval of Attorney General John A.
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  Speaker 1: Hackaday and of many other lawyers of acknowledged ability. General
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  Speaker 1: Jones supported the measure with great zeal and earnestness, and
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  Speaker 1: no little ability and eloquence. As this measure was one
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  Speaker 1: of great importance to the subjects of this volume, we
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  Speaker 1: deem it necessary to give the essential parts of the
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  Speaker 1: document as follows. Whereas by the fourth section of the
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  Speaker 1: eleventh article of the Constitution of Missouri, all persons in
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  Speaker 1: the military service of the United States, or who acted
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  Speaker 1: under the authority thereof in this state, are relieved from
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  Speaker 1: all civil liability and all criminal punishment for all acts
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  Speaker 1: done by them since the first day of January a d.
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  Speaker 1: Eighteen sixty one. And whereas by the twelfth section of
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  Speaker 1: the said eleventh Article of said Constitution, provision is made
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  Speaker 1: by which, under certain circumstances, may be seized, transported to indicted, tried,
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  Speaker 1: and punished in distant counties any Confederate under ban of
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  Speaker 1: despotic pleasure, thereby contravening the Constitution of the United States
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  Speaker 1: and every principle of enlightened humanity. And whereas such discrimination
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  Speaker 1: evinces a want of manly generosity and statesmanship on the
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  Speaker 1: part of the party imposing, and of courage and manhood
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  Speaker 1: on the part of the party, submitting tamely there too.
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  Speaker 1: And whereas under the outlaw repronounced against Jesse W. James Frank,
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  Speaker 1: James Coleman Younger, Robert Younger, and others, who gallantly periled
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  Speaker 1: their lives and their all in the defense of their principles,
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  Speaker 1: they are of necessity made desperate, driven as they are
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  Speaker 1: from the fields of honest industry, from their friends, their families,
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  Speaker 1: their homes, and their country. They can know no law
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  Speaker 1: but the law of self preservation, nor can have no
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  Speaker 1: respect for and feel no allegiance to a government which
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  Speaker 1: forces them to the very acts it professes to deprecate,
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  Speaker 1: and then offers a bounty for their apprehension, and arms
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  Speaker 1: foreign mercenaries with power to capture and kill them. And
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  Speaker 1: whereas believing these men too brave to be mean, too
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  Speaker 1: generous to be revengeful, and too gallant and honorable to
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  Speaker 1: betray a friend or break a promise, And believing further
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  Speaker 1: that most, if not all, the offenses with which they
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  Speaker 1: are charged, have been committed by others, and perhaps by
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  Speaker 1: those pretending to hunt them, or by their confederates, that
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  Speaker 1: their names are and have been used to divert suspicion
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  Speaker 1: from and thereby relieve the actual perpetrators. That the return
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  Speaker 1: of these men to their homes and friends would have
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  Speaker 1: the effect of greatly lessening crime in our state by
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  Speaker 1: turning public attention to the real criminals, And that common justice,
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  Speaker 1: sound policy, and true statesmanship alike demand that amnesty should
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  Speaker 1: be extended to all alike of both parties for all
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  Speaker 1: acts done or charged to have been done during the war.
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  Speaker 1: Therefore be it resolved by the House of Representatives the Senate,
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  Speaker 1: concurring therein, that the Governor of the State be, and
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  Speaker 1: he is hereby requested, to issue his proclamation notifying the
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  Speaker 1: said Jesse W. James Frank, James Coleman Younger, Robert Younger,
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  Speaker 1: and James Younger, and others, that full and complete amnesty
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  Speaker 1: and pardon will be granted them for all acts charged
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  Speaker 1: or committed by them during the Late Civil War, and
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  Speaker 1: inviting them peaceably to returned to their respective homes in
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  Speaker 1: this State, and there quietly to remain, submitting themselves to
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  Speaker 1: such proceedings as may be instituted against them by the
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  Speaker 1: courts for all offenses charged to have been committed since
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  Speaker 1: said war, promising and guaranteeing to them and each of them,
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  Speaker 1: full protection and a fair trial therein, and that full
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  Speaker 1: protection shall be given them from the time of their
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  Speaker 1: entrance into the State, and his notice thereof under said
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  Speaker 1: proclamation and invitation. The above bill was introduced about the
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  Speaker 1: first of March eighteen seventy five, and was referred to
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  Speaker 1: the Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence of which its author was
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  Speaker 1: a leading member. The bill was fully discussed in committee,
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  Speaker 1: and finally, through the influence of its author, a majority
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  Speaker 1: of the committee agreed to make a favorable report on
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  Speaker 1: the measure to the House of Representatives. Some time towards
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  Speaker 1: the close of the session of the twenty eighth General Assembly,
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  Speaker 1: the bill came up for its third reading in the House.
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  Speaker 1: General Jones made an earnest speech in advocacy of the measure.
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  Speaker 1: A member aroused a strong opposition to the measure from
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  Speaker 1: the very side of the House from which General Jones
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  Speaker 1: had hoped to obtain assistance in carrying it through. The
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  Speaker 1: members simply read a portion of a message transmitted by
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  Speaker 1: Governor Silas Woodson to the twenty seventh General Assembly denouncing
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  Speaker 1: these same outlaws, and the Democratic Legislature of Missouri refused
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  Speaker 1: to pass the bill. Thus the stigma of outlawry remained
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  Speaker 1: upon them, and their hands were turned against every man.
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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty nine. San Antonio Austin stage plundered, bandits on
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  Speaker 1: the prairies. Strange horsemen at eventide. The stage halted, the
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  Speaker 1: passengers plundered. It had been a lovely day. Nature had
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  Speaker 1: put on her richest habiliments of bloom and beauty. The
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  Speaker 1: sun shone with a genial warmth. In the air was
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  Speaker 1: soft and perfume laden from the thousands of wildflowers, exhaling
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  Speaker 1: the rich aroma from the wide prairies. It was an
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  Speaker 1: eminently respectable party who traveled from San Antonio on the
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  Speaker 1: stage that day. There were in the company the right
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  Speaker 1: Reverend Bishop Gregg of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Texas
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  Speaker 1: and Mister Breckinridge, president of the First National Bank of
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  Speaker 1: San Antonio, three ladies, and six other gentlemen merchants of
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  Speaker 1: San Antonio. In all, eleven travelers, well provided with the
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  Speaker 1: means to get through the world without fear of famishing.
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  Speaker 1: The stage was the regular four horse United States mail
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  Speaker 1: coach running in the line between San Antonio and Austin, Texas.
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  Speaker 1: The respectable party of eleven travelers had as pleasant a
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  Speaker 1: time as the crowded conditions of the stage and the
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  Speaker 1: monotonous nature of the scenery could be expected to afford them.
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  Speaker 1: Of course, the bright sunlight made the scenaeanery appear at
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  Speaker 1: least cheerful. The stage was bowling along the well beaten highway,
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  Speaker 1: drawn by four fresh horses which had been hitched to
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  Speaker 1: it about a half an hour before sundown. They had
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  Speaker 1: gone from the stand perhaps as much as four miles,
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  Speaker 1: and it was getting quite dusky, daylight fading away in
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  Speaker 1: the west. The stage had reached a point about twenty
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  Speaker 1: five miles west from Austin. In the gathering gloom, the
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  Speaker 1: driver beheld what appeared to be six rancheros wearing sombreros,
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  Speaker 1: approaching the road just before him. Such incidents were not
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  Speaker 1: infrequent on that part of the route, and the appearance
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  Speaker 1: of the six men did not at first create any
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  Speaker 1: feeling of disquiet in the mind of the Yehoo. But
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  Speaker 1: as the party drew nearer and he discovered that they
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  Speaker 1: were mounted on splendid American horses and not mustangs, he
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  Speaker 1: thought it very singular, to say the least of it.
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  Speaker 1: He was an old stager on the plains and not
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  Speaker 1: inclined to be panicky, but he muttered, I'll swear them's
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  Speaker 1: queer fellers. Anyhow, he did not have time to think
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  Speaker 1: very much about them, for in another moment, two of
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  Speaker 1: the horsemen rode alongside the stage with revolvers cocked and
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  Speaker 1: commanded with a great oath halt of course, there was
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  Speaker 1: no alternative, for two more of the robbers had galloped
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  Speaker 1: in front of the foremost span of horses and checked
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  Speaker 1: the further progress of the stage team. The other two
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  Speaker 1: robbers had taken up a position on both sides of
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  Speaker 1: the stage, one at each post, and were pointing pistols
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  Speaker 1: at the passengers and with horrible oaths, telling them to
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  Speaker 1: tumble out at once or die. The astonished passengers, not
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  Speaker 1: even the reverend Bishop, were just then ready to adopt
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  Speaker 1: the latter alternative, and very gracefully descended from the stage.
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  Speaker 1: The passengers were formed into a group which included the
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  Speaker 1: driver and two of the bandits, with drawn revolvers, stood
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  Speaker 1: guard over them. The two horsemen in front dismounted and
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  Speaker 1: detached the lead span of horses, and with the other
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  Speaker 1: two commenced their search for booty. The trunks of the
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  Speaker 1: passengers were broken open, and every valuable thing which could
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  Speaker 1: be easily carried away was appropriated. The United States mail
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  Speaker 1: bags were then cut and the letters torn open. In
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  Speaker 1: this part of the stage load. They were quite successful,
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  Speaker 1: securing a large amount of bills in registered packages. One
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  Speaker 1: of the mail bags was appropriated as a receptacle for
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  Speaker 1: the plunder. Having gone through the baggage and mail matter,
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  Speaker 1: the bandits turned their attention to the passengers. There was
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  Speaker 1: an animated dialogue carried on for some time in the
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  Speaker 1: following style. Well, gentlemen and ladies, allow us to trouble
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  Speaker 1: you for the money and jewelry which you may have
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  Speaker 1: about you. Do you mean to rob us? Asked the bishop.
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  Speaker 1: Oh no, don't use such ugly language. We just want
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  Speaker 1: to relieve you of a burden. That's all, old sock,
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  Speaker 1: you don't call that robbery, asked the bishop. Come now,
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  Speaker 1: old coon, dry up, or you will not have an
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  Speaker 1: opportunity to ask more nonsensical questions. Hand out your money.
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  Speaker 1: The bishop reluctantly complied, Now that watch of yours. They
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  Speaker 1: further commanded, what will you not allow me to keep
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  Speaker 1: my watch? It is a gift and dearly prized. You
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  Speaker 1: would not rob a humble minister of Christ for his
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  Speaker 1: time piece, would you, queried the bishop. So ho you
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  Speaker 1: are a parson, then, judging from the cut of your
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  Speaker 1: buckskins or a priest, it makes no difference. Well, Christ
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  Speaker 1: didn't have any watch, and he didn't ride in stages either.
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  Speaker 1: He walked about to do his father's will, and wasn't
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  Speaker 1: a raid in fine clothes, and didn't fare sumptuously every day?
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  Speaker 1: What use has a preacher for a watch? Go and
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  Speaker 1: travel like the master? Out with that watch? No more words,
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  Speaker 1: not one mind you. We are not Christians, we are Philistines.
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  Speaker 1: The bishop was constrained to give up his watch, a
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  Speaker 1: valuable and much prized one. Anything more out with. The
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  Speaker 1: bishop protested that he had nothing more of value about
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  Speaker 1: his person. They, however, made a personal examination before they
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  Speaker 1: were satisfied, one of them remarking, you can't depend on
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  Speaker 1: many of these long faced canters anyhow. Then the robbers
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  Speaker 1: searched mister Breckinridge, and from him they obtained a plethoric
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  Speaker 1: pocket book containing one thousand dollars and an elegant gold
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  Speaker 1: watch and a very valuable diamond pin. So they went
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  Speaker 1: from one to another of the passengers until the eight
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  Speaker 1: gentlemen of the respectable party of travelers had been politely plundered.
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  Speaker 1: Then the turn of the ladies came. Hand out your
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  Speaker 1: pocket book, said the leader to the first lady approached. Yes, sir,
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  Speaker 1: here it is, replied the frightened lady, handing him her money.
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  Speaker 1: The robber took it opened it and examined the contents
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  Speaker 1: by the light of the stage lantern. Then he came
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  Speaker 1: back to the lady and asked if that was all
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  Speaker 1: the money she had. She replied that it was. He
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  Speaker 1: then inquired where she was going. She told him Houston here, madam,
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  Speaker 1: take your money. We regret the trouble we have given you.
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  Speaker 1: So they went to the other two ladies, and from
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  Speaker 1: one they got a watch, some jewelry, and about one
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  Speaker 1: hundred dollars in cash. From another they received some valuable
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  Speaker 1: jewelry and a considerable sum of money. Their work was
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  Speaker 1: now completed. During the two hours they held the passengers
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  Speaker 1: under guard, they sometimes made jesting remarks and at other
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  Speaker 1: times threatening ones. The least want of alacrity in obeying
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  Speaker 1: their orders was sure to subject the passengers to the
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  Speaker 1: dirests threats. The robbers took with them the lead span
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  Speaker 1: of horses. When they rode away. The whole amount of
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  Speaker 1: cash taken from the passengers exceeded three thousand dollars, besides
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  Speaker 1: several gold, watches and considerable jewelry of value. The amount
• 16:48
  Speaker 1: taken from the mail bags was several hundred dollars. Who
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: were the robbers this question was inferentially answered. Some time afterward,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: when in a conflict with a Texas official, Jim Reid,
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  Speaker 1: a member of the gang, was mortally wounded and confessed
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  Speaker 1: that he was one of the party and that his
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: associates were men from Missouri noted as Brave Boys, who
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: were so noted on the seventh day of April eighteen
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  Speaker 1: seventy four, at which time the stage robbery took place,
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  Speaker 1: but Frank and Jesse, James and the younger brothers. It
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  Speaker 1: is now the settled conviction of all who were acquainted
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  Speaker 1: with the facts that the James Boys were there and
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  Speaker 1: bossed the job. Chapter thirty Farmer Askew's fate the House
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: of Ascue. The farmer incurs the hatred of the James Boys, vengeance, threatened,
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  Speaker 1: assassinated while standing on his porch. Jesse and Frank believed
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: to be the guilty parties. During the time General Jones's
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: amnesty measure was pending in the legislature of Missouri, Jesse
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: and Frank James remained very quiet. They even opened up
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: communication with Governor Charles H. Har Garden and Attorney General
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: John A. Hackaday through Sheriff Groom of Clay County from
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  Speaker 1: all the evidence at present available, we were forced to
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: believe that at this time Jesse and Frank James were
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: sincerely anxious that the measure should be adopted, and were
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: in earnest in the desire to conclude a peace with
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: society with which they had been at war for ten
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  Speaker 1: long years. For a time their vengeance slumbered. It was
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: known to them that certain neighbors of theirs in Clay
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: County had taken an active interest in the efforts which
• 18:33
  Speaker 1: had been put forth to accomplish their arrest, and everyone
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: expected that a bloody retaliation would follow. Their conduct had
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: made for them many enemies in the community of which
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: their father had been an honored member. Some of these
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: were open and outspoken in denunciation of their course, while
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: others were restrained in expressions of hostility by their knowledge
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: of the desperate and vengeful character of the man. But
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: the Jameses knew when to restrain themselves, and carefully abstained
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  Speaker 1: from any act that might lose to them. The effect
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: of the slight revulsion and public opinion in their favor
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: caused by the tragic results of the night raid, but
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: they had marked their men. Vengeance was only delayed, possibly
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: if General Jones's amnesty measure had succeeded, they would have
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: withheld the hand of destruction, and their intended victims, instead
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: of moldering in gory graves, might to day be alive.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: It is impossible to even conjecture what might have been
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: the effect on the future life of the daring desperado
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: Jesse James. He might have turned away from the evil
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: way which he had traveled so long, and atoned by
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: an upright life for all the past. But it was
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  Speaker 1: not to be. For to them quote the dye now
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: cast their station known fond expectation, passed the thorns which
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: former days had sown to crops of late repentance, grown
• 20:04
  Speaker 1: through which they toiled at last. While every care is
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: a driving harm that helped to bear them down, which
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: faded smiles no more could charm, but every tear a
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: winter storm, and every look of frown. They were outlaws,
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: still hunted as enemies of their kind, They turned viciously
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  Speaker 1: to avenge what they, no doubt earnestly believed their wrongs.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: Among those who had expressed in strong terms his disapproval
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: of the conduct of the James boys was mister Daniel H. Askew,
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  Speaker 1: a well to do farmer and somewhat prominent citizen of
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: Clay County, whose farm and residence was near the home
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: of the Jameses. The outspoken opinion of mister Askew had
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: given great offense to the Jameses and their friends, and
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: when the night raid was made in January, they at
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: once suspected that Ascue had been partly instrumental in bringing
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: it about. This belief was strengthened by some of the
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: Scouts in the interest of the Jameses, finding a couple
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: of blankets and evidences of the late presence of men
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: among mister Askew's haystacks, to still further confirm them in
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the belief that Askew assisted the detectives in the attack
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: on the Samuel's house. A young man known as Jack Ladd,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: who had been in Askew's employ as a farmer, departed
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: from the country on the night of the assault. It
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: is but justice to the memory of mister Askew to
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: state in this place that he frequently and earnestly disclaimed
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: having any knowledge whatever of the movements of the detectives
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: in the employ of mister Pinkerton. But his denials had
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: no weight with the vengeful James's. They and their friends
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: continued to believe that the attacking party were sheltered and
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: led by farmer Daniel h Ascue, and they resolved to
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: execute dire vengeance upon him. On the night of April twelfth,
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: eighteen seventy five, mister Askew went with a bucket to
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: a spring some distance from his residence, and returned to
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: the house with the bucket filled with water. He had
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: sat the bucket on a bench and was standing on
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: his back porch, not having yet entered the house after
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: returning from the spring. Just in the rear of the house,
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: and within ten paces of the edge of the porch
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: on which mister Ascue was standing, there was a heap
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: of firewood, reaching perhaps to the height of five or
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: six feet. Behind this wood heap, the assassins found a
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: convenient hiding place. Whoever they may have been. They had
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: ridden to the rear of a field, hitched their horses,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: and walked through the field to their place of concealment. Suddenly,
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: the report of a pistol, followed instantaneously by the report
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: of two shots rang out on the night air and
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: mister Ascue fell upon the floor of the porch and
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: immediately expired. Some members of the family, in a great
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: state of alarm, rushed out to his assistance, but found
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: him already dead. Three shots evidently fired from heavy revolvers,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: had taken effect in the head of the poor farmer,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: and one had crashed through his brain. The murderers had
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: run back across the field, mounted their horses, and departed
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: before the grief stricken and astonished family could make any
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: movements toward discovering their identity. That night, at a late hour,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: some men on horseback rode by the house of mister
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: Henry Sears and summoned him to the door. He saw
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: three men in the road. One of them called to
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: him and said, we have killed Dan Ascue tonight, and
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: if anyone wants to know who did it, say detectives.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: Having thus delivered their terrible message, the men rode away
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: in the dark, and the friends and neighbors gathered to
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: the Ascue farmhouse to console his bereaved and stricken family,
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: and the coroner came next day due inquisition to make
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: into the causes which led to Daniel h. Askew's death,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: But from that day to this. No one knows to
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: a certainty who took the farmer's life. The general belief
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: at the time was that he had fallen a victim
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: to the vengeance of the James Boys. The years that
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: have elapsed have only served to strengthen that belief and
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: deepen the convictions of those who believed that Askew died
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: at the hands of the vengeful outlaws. Who can tell
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: only Him who knoweth all things, and the assassins, if
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: still alive, hold the dreadful secret end of Section ten