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14 - 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 fourteen, comprising chapters thirty nine, forty and forty one
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  Speaker 1: of Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James by J. A. Dakis.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by P. J. Landau,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter thirty nine, Escape of Frank and Jesse James. The
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  Speaker 1: terrible retreat, worn out and yet no chance for rest.
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  Speaker 1: A remarkable escape, they disappear from the very midst of
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  Speaker 1: those who were hunting them. How they went away? The
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  Speaker 1: most formidable band of robbers in this country had suffered
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  Speaker 1: terribly in consequence of the Raydon Northfield, Charlie Pitts, Bill
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  Speaker 1: Chadwell and Clell Miller, the last named, a formidable law
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  Speaker 1: breaker who was raised in Clay County, had lost their lives.
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  Speaker 1: Cole Jim and Bob Younger had been captured. Jesse and
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  Speaker 1: Frank James were still free, but numerous officers of the
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  Speaker 1: law were on their trail. When the Jameses left the
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  Speaker 1: young Ungers in the Blue Earth River bottom, they were
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  Speaker 1: on foot. The Youngers and Miller had entrusted to them
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  Speaker 1: their watches and jewelry and most of their money, believing
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  Speaker 1: that there was a possibility for the Jameses to escape.
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  Speaker 1: The departure of Frank and Jesse created a diversion in
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  Speaker 1: favor of the youngers and Miller. The bands of armed
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  Speaker 1: citizens followed the Jameses for two days and nights. The
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  Speaker 1: brothers traveled westward, their footsteps constantly dogged by wary citizens.
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  Speaker 1: The hardships through which they were passing were almost incredible.
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  Speaker 1: The men were sometimes almost completely surrounded by the citizens.
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  Speaker 1: Three days after they had separated from their comrades, they
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  Speaker 1: came to a wilderness region where the timber was heavy
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  Speaker 1: and the underbrush thick. Here they proposed to rest for
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  Speaker 1: a season, but they were tracked to their hiding place
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  Speaker 1: and fired upon by a band of pursuers. Frank James
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  Speaker 1: received a wound in the hip. The brush was so
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  Speaker 1: thick that the pursuers, who were on horseback, could make
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  Speaker 1: no headway, and three of them dismounted to continue the
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  Speaker 1: chase on foot. The direction taken by the hunted men
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  Speaker 1: led to a swamp, but the season being dry, there
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  Speaker 1: was but little mud in the basin. The bushes were
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  Speaker 1: close together, and aquatic plants were high. The three men
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  Speaker 1: seemed resolved to close up with them several times the
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  Speaker 1: hunted bandits could have killed the citizens but for the
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  Speaker 1: fact that their ammunition was giving out and they desired
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  Speaker 1: to take care of what remained for the last emergency.
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  Speaker 1: It was getting late, the sun was low in the west,
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  Speaker 1: and the shadows were deepening in the forest. The three
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  Speaker 1: pursuers were determinedly following them. Once or twice, the hunted
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  Speaker 1: men were tempted to turn and try the issues with
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  Speaker 1: their foes, but they kept on. Just when daylight faded away,
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  Speaker 1: they emerged from the swamp and found themselves in a
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  Speaker 1: traveled highway. They had lost their determined foes in the
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  Speaker 1: darkness of the somber swamp behind them. They started down
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  Speaker 1: the road, which lay along the bank of a stream
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  Speaker 1: of considerable size. Wearied into a state of exhaustion, they
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  Speaker 1: hoped to find a snug place where they could rest
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  Speaker 1: and take some food, but their trials were not yet
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  Speaker 1: at an end. In the lonely depths of the forest,
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  Speaker 1: with the dark still river on one side and the
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  Speaker 1: timbered wilderness on the other, they heard the ominous sounds
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  Speaker 1: of horses hoofs. They listened. There were horsemen behind and
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  Speaker 1: before them. In another moment, sounds came from the woods,
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  Speaker 1: which indicated that they were being surrounded. The wearied freebooters
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  Speaker 1: quickly stepped into the deep shadow of a great tree
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  Speaker 1: which stood upon the bank of the stream, to await
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  Speaker 1: further developments that the horsemen were gradually closing around them.
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  Speaker 1: They were speedily convinced their situation was critical. What could
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  Speaker 1: be done? The dream below them was evidently deep and
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  Speaker 1: dangerous to ford. Their plans were quickly formed and consummated.
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  Speaker 1: They quietly dropped down the bank to the margin of
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  Speaker 1: the stream, which at that place flowed close by an
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  Speaker 1: abrupt bank. They were there by that tree but a
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  Speaker 1: moment ago they heard one man remark as a party
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  Speaker 1: came up to the spot where the outlaws had stood
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  Speaker 1: but a moment before. It was evident that their numbers
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  Speaker 1: must exceed twenty. Stealthily, the hunted brothers moved down the
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  Speaker 1: stream along the margin of the water and close up
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  Speaker 1: under the overhanging bank. They heard their pursuers discuss the situation.
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  Speaker 1: They are still near at hand, no doubt, the brothers
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  Speaker 1: heard one remark. Then The movements indicated that they were
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  Speaker 1: preparing for a more careful examination of the situation, where
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  Speaker 1: they were soon several men came riding down the road
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  Speaker 1: just over their heads. They had reached a place where
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  Speaker 1: the river runs under a shelving bank, and the brothers
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  Speaker 1: could go no further without taking to the water. Four
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  Speaker 1: men came down the bank above and came toward them.
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  Speaker 1: The brothers were constrained to take to the stream. The
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  Speaker 1: water was about two feet deep. They clung close to
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  Speaker 1: the bank and silently reached a place they deemed safe,
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  Speaker 1: in a cave like excavation made by the water under
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  Speaker 1: the roots of a great tree. The hunters came to
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  Speaker 1: the place where the bank and the waters met, and
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  Speaker 1: apparently satisfied, they turned and went back. The brothers heard
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  Speaker 1: the clash of horses feet on the bridge below, and
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  Speaker 1: then they knew that the crossing below was guarded. After
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  Speaker 1: a time, all became still around them. They concluded to
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  Speaker 1: swim or wade the river from the point where they were,
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  Speaker 1: and once on the opposite side, to strike through the
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  Speaker 1: country silently as possible, without any splashing. They came from
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  Speaker 1: their place of concealment and waded out into the stream
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  Speaker 1: until they were compelled to swim. The night was quite dark,
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  Speaker 1: and they passed over without being discovered. Climbing the opposite bank,
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  Speaker 1: they found themselves in an open wood. With all the
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  Speaker 1: haste which they could make, they proceeded westward. A mile
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  Speaker 1: away they came to a corn field, and in the
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  Speaker 1: field there was a thicket. Here they found a hiding place,
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  Speaker 1: and as wet as they were, they partook of a
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  Speaker 1: repast of green corn, and lying down in the grass,
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  Speaker 1: they slept soundly until the sun was up. Waiting some
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  Speaker 1: time in a sunny place until their clothing had partly dried,
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  Speaker 1: the brothers started on their weary day. All day they
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  Speaker 1: traveled without being molested. In the evening, while traveling along
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  Speaker 1: a country road, they met a man leading two horses,
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  Speaker 1: one of which was saddled. They spoke to him, and
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  Speaker 1: from his manner and the answers he made them, they
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  Speaker 1: were convinced that he had not heard anything about the
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  Speaker 1: affair at Northfield. They asked him if he would like
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  Speaker 1: to sell the horses he was leading. He answered that
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  Speaker 1: it was his business to deal in horse flesh. What
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  Speaker 1: would he take for the pair? The man named the price,
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  Speaker 1: and after some bantering, a trade was effected, and even
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  Speaker 1: the saddle on which he rode was transferred. The horse trader,
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  Speaker 1: declaring that he did not own anything which he would
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  Speaker 1: not sell. Jesse and Frank James were once more mounted.
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  Speaker 1: They stopped at a cabin in a lonely locality and
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  Speaker 1: asked for supper. A woman and two children were apparently
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  Speaker 1: the only inmates. They learned from her that her husband
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  Speaker 1: had been summoned to help catch a gang of horse
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  Speaker 1: thieves and had not been home for three days. Frank
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  Speaker 1: carefully concealed his wound, and the woman quickly prepared a
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  Speaker 1: good supper for them, and after settling with her, they
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  Speaker 1: mounted and rode away. The brothers rode all night, and
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  Speaker 1: as their horses were fresh and good travelers, they traversed
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  Speaker 1: many miles. They had already begun to congratulate themselves on
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  Speaker 1: their escape when one day, when they were in the
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  Speaker 1: neighborhood of a town on the western border of Iowa,
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  Speaker 1: they were fiercely attacked by seven men, all well armed,
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  Speaker 1: but fortunately for the outlaw brothers, not very well mounted.
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  Speaker 1: A running fight ensued, and Frank received a desperate wound,
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  Speaker 1: but the good fortune which had so often attended them,
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  Speaker 1: came to their aid, and in the darkness of the
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  Speaker 1: night they rode far away and in the morning reached
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  Speaker 1: a house where the services of a physician were secured,
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  Speaker 1: who dressed Frank's wounds. The physician was afterward arrested, but
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  Speaker 1: no evidence of his having knowledge of the character of
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  Speaker 1: his patient was produced, and he was discharged. The brothers
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  Speaker 1: had reached the borders of Nebraska. Jesse had a friend
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  Speaker 1: somewhere on the confines of that state, and they proceeded
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  Speaker 1: to his place by easy stages. Here they rested for
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  Speaker 1: some days while Frank's wounds were attended to by a physician.
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  Speaker 1: But the news of Northfield had reached there, and suspicions
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  Speaker 1: of their friend and his strange guests were aroused. It
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  Speaker 1: was deemed yes to take an early departure. An ambulance
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  Speaker 1: was procured, one of the horses was disposed of, and
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  Speaker 1: the boys, by easy stages, drove into Kansas. Their horse
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  Speaker 1: and ambulance was disposed of there at a station not
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  Speaker 1: a thousand miles west of Kansas City. They took the
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  Speaker 1: cars and were transported to Texas. At Waco, Frank was
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  Speaker 1: placed under the care of a physician and nursed until
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  Speaker 1: restored to health again. Thus was terminated one of the
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  Speaker 1: most remarkable escapes from capture ever recorded. None other than
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  Speaker 1: men of very superior genius could have succeeded. As it is.
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  Speaker 1: The exploit is one of marvelous adroitness, one which cannot
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  Speaker 1: fail to excite our admiration. Chapter forty, A visit to Carmen,
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  Speaker 1: Frank and Jesse go into Mexico. They rested Carmen in
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  Speaker 1: Chihuahua the Silver Conducta. They joined the Mexican party capture
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  Speaker 1: of the treasure bags of the Mexicans. After Northfield, Missouri
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  Speaker 1: was deemed an unsuitable place for operations by the James Boys,
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  Speaker 1: nor did it afford a safe place of retirement for
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  Speaker 1: persons who had engaged in such a desperate warfare against
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  Speaker 1: the established order of society. But they were accustomed to
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  Speaker 1: make long expeditions, and they were at home anywhere. The
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  Speaker 1: shelter of a rock sufficed for them in the wintry nights,
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  Speaker 1: and the branches of a tree, with their spreading leaves,
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  Speaker 1: furnished roof enough for them when the summer nights came
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  Speaker 1: far away. In that region of the great state of
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  Speaker 1: Texas known for many years as the Territory of Bexar,
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  Speaker 1: where a beautiful stream flows down from the rugged mountains
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  Speaker 1: toward the west. To unite with the Rio Pecos, Jesse
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  Speaker 1: and Frank had established a retreat, which they called rest Ranch.
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  Speaker 1: It is many miles east of Fort Quitman, and a
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  Speaker 1: long way from Saint Estevan to the west. There are
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  Speaker 1: rugged hills and low mountains covered with chapparal on most
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  Speaker 1: impenetrable to men or beast. Far away in a southern
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  Speaker 1: direction is the little frontier post called Fort Lancaster. There
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  Speaker 1: are no frequented trails near the place which they had selected.
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  Speaker 1: The Rio Grande Road from Fort Quitman to Fort Lancaster
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  Speaker 1: runs southwest of the rugged region alluded to above, and
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  Speaker 1: the usual line of travel from Fort mccviot to the
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  Speaker 1: military posts and settlements on the upper Rio Grande in
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  Speaker 1: New Mexico was a long distance from their chosen retreat.
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  Speaker 1: Toward the northeast are the Salt Plains, and further away
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  Speaker 1: still the Staked Plains, the dread of all travelers in
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  Speaker 1: those regions. In this retreat, they were free from the
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  Speaker 1: intrusion of prying neighbors and the inquisitiveness of passing travelers.
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  Speaker 1: It was and is a lovely place. There few traces
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  Speaker 1: of the presence of men in that wilderness land the
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  Speaker 1: pecos flows miles away from their place through a valley
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  Speaker 1: full of natural beauties. But the region is lonely, so
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  Speaker 1: lonely there are only trails occasionally followed by a band
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  Speaker 1: of predatory leaponds, or traversed by marauding parties of comanches
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  Speaker 1: and kickapoos on raids to the Mexican border through that
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  Speaker 1: vast region. It was in such a country the daring
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  Speaker 1: bandits found repose, and, when occasion suited, to ride, untrammeled
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  Speaker 1: by fears, when the wild turmoil of this wearisome life,
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  Speaker 1: with its scenes of oppression, corruption and strife, the proud
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  Speaker 1: man's scorn and the base man's fear, and the scoffers laugh,
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  Speaker 1: and the sufferer's tear, and malice in meanness and falsehood
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  Speaker 1: and folly disposed to them to musing and dark melancholy.
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  Speaker 1: When their bosoms were full, and their thoughts were high,
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  Speaker 1: and their souls were sick with the outlaws sigh, Oh,
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  Speaker 1: then there was freedom and joy and pride afar in
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  Speaker 1: the broad plains alone to ride end such seasons of
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  Speaker 1: reflection concerning that which is and that which might have
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  Speaker 1: been come to all mankind, and it came to the
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  Speaker 1: outlawed brothers because they are members of the Great Family.
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  Speaker 1: It was doubtless, at some such time, when their spirits
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  Speaker 1: were subdued by their lonely communion with the grander mysteries
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  Speaker 1: of nature, that the James Boys pled for pardon of
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  Speaker 1: past offenses and promised future amendment and conformity to the
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  Speaker 1: laws established for the government of society. They have often
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  Speaker 1: manifested a desire to be at peace with the world,
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  Speaker 1: but such resting did not wait upon them. Issuing from
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  Speaker 1: their retreat, they dared the danger of the border, Plunging
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  Speaker 1: through the Chapparal ascended rugged mountain steeps, plunged down their
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  Speaker 1: western slopes to the sand plains which border the Rio Grande,
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  Speaker 1: passing through the poor Pueblo of San Estevan, noted as
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  Speaker 1: the Haunt of cattle raiders and bandits, alarming the people
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  Speaker 1: at early morn by their imperious behavior and skill as
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  Speaker 1: pistol shooters, exhibited by bringing down a chicken for their
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  Speaker 1: breakfast at a distance of sixty paces, they rode away
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  Speaker 1: to the Grand River, crossed over to the Mexican side,
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  Speaker 1: and passed westward until the Adobe walls of Momia rose
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  Speaker 1: before and around them. The brothers had grown weary of
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  Speaker 1: secluded living. They had now started on an expedition destined
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  Speaker 1: to create a profound sensation all along the border. They
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  Speaker 1: passed on through Santa Rosa, and through the desert lands
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  Speaker 1: and over the mountains to the westward of that place.
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  Speaker 1: These men never paused before obstacles which would appall others.
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  Speaker 1: Neither the rugged mountain passes where the Mexican guerrillas have
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  Speaker 1: their hiding places, nor the desolation and terrors of the
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  Speaker 1: dead men's journey, arrested their course. Carmen is a village
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  Speaker 1: of considerable size and importance in the northern part of
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  Speaker 1: the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. Surrounded on three sides
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  Speaker 1: by rugged hills rising into mountains, it is situated on
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  Speaker 1: a line with an important pass through the Sierra Madres.
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  Speaker 1: Carmen is therefore a halting place for caravans of traders,
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  Speaker 1: and through its plaza passes treasure conductas from the mines
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  Speaker 1: of Chihuahua. The bold riders from the north of the
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  Speaker 1: Rio Grande had an object in going to Carmen, which
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  Speaker 1: was made plain in due time. Arrived at Carmen, Jesse
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  Speaker 1: and Frank, who had been joined by three other members
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  Speaker 1: of the band at Santa Rosa, among them Jack Bishop,
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  Speaker 1: put up at the leading posado of the place. They
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  Speaker 1: were a well behaved company, and as they paid liberally
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  Speaker 1: for all they desired, the people regarded them as a
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  Speaker 1: valuable accession to the population. The boys had a delicate
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  Speaker 1: way of demonstrating their capacity to shoot by killing a
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  Speaker 1: fowl or pig or dog by shooting it with a
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  Speaker 1: revolver from a great distance, taking care always to make
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  Speaker 1: the exhibition as public as possible, so it happened on
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  Speaker 1: this occasion. The guerrillas and other rough characters about Carmen
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  Speaker 1: had a very respectful manner towards such persons. The Mexican
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  Speaker 1: whose pig had been shot received four times its value
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  Speaker 1: and conceived thereafter a very ardent affection for the American
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  Speaker 1: gentlemen of the north. It was in the late springtime,
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  Speaker 1: and the road through Carmen was traveled by many traders
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  Speaker 1: and miners bound north through New Mexico to the markets
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  Speaker 1: of this country. The adventurers from rest Ranch noted everything.
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  Speaker 1: There were little parties traveling together with considerable money on
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  Speaker 1: their way to purchase supplies in the United States, but
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  Speaker 1: it was not for such small profits that they proposed
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  Speaker 1: to practice their profession. One day, six pack mules, each
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  Speaker 1: loaded with a hundred fifty pounds of silver, and each
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  Speaker 1: with a mule tier to control him, moved out of
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  Speaker 1: the city of Chihuahua. With these rode twelve men as
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  Speaker 1: a guard. They kept on until Carmen was reached. Without
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  Speaker 1: anything unusual happening at this place, they halted for a
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  Speaker 1: day's rest. The outlaws went among the guards, sought out
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  Speaker 1: the persons to whose charge the treasures had been committed,
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  Speaker 1: and ascertained the direction of their future movements. Nay further,
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  Speaker 1: they simulated fears of the lurking Indians and plundering guerrillas
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  Speaker 1: along the road before them. They claimed to be anxious
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  Speaker 1: to get into the United States, but had heard so
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  Speaker 1: many stories of the dangers of the road that it
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  Speaker 1: had deterred them from undertaking the journey. They professed to
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  Speaker 1: be American gentlemen who had been looking over the minds
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  Speaker 1: of Chihuahua. Their manners were affable and their story plausible.
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  Speaker 1: When they made overtures to the chief of the Conducta
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  Speaker 1: to be allowed to journey with the treasure party for
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  Speaker 1: mutual protection across the dangerous border. Their desire were acceeded to,
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  Speaker 1: and when the cavalcade moved slowly away from Carmen the
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  Speaker 1: next day, the unsuspecting merchants and treasure bearers were accompanied
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  Speaker 1: by five men of the most desperate character. For the
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  Speaker 1: first three days of the march, the Americans were watched
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  Speaker 1: with some degree of vigilance, and the Mexicans maintained a
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  Speaker 1: strict guard over the treasure pouches. But the deportment of
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  Speaker 1: the outlaws was such that they soon succeeded in allaying
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  Speaker 1: any suspicion which might have attached to them. Carmen was
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  Speaker 1: a long way from the border, and the bandits did
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  Speaker 1: not care to strike the blow which they had resolved
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  Speaker 1: upon when too far away from their retreat, and that
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  Speaker 1: too on unfamiliar ground. So they journeyed on with their
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  Speaker 1: intended victims on the most amicable terms. A suitable opportunity
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  Speaker 1: to seize the treasure was now all they wanted, for
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  Speaker 1: the Mexicans had grown somewhat careless in consequence of their
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  Speaker 1: confidence in the numbers of their party. One day, they
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  Speaker 1: halted by a crystal stream which flowed down from a
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  Speaker 1: gorge in the mountains, and where a spring of pure
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  Speaker 1: cold water gushed from the rocky bank. It was noontime,
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  Speaker 1: and the weary travelers took the burdens from their beasts
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  Speaker 1: and allowed them to graze in the fresh tall grass
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  Speaker 1: in the valley. It was a lovely day, and the
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  Speaker 1: scenery about them was very charming. The mule teers and guards,
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  Speaker 1: all save two, who stood sentinel over the treasure pouches,
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  Speaker 1: had thrown themselves on the verdant bank and were lazily
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  Speaker 1: conversing about the beauty of the situation, the length of
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  Speaker 1: time yet required in which to complete the journey before them,
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  Speaker 1: and like topics of small interest to our readers. There
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  Speaker 1: were in the company a seignor Molinis and another Mexican gentleman,
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  Speaker 1: both merchants of Chihuahua. The American desperadoes stood upon the
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  Speaker 1: bank under the shade of a tree, and little apart
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  Speaker 1: from the group of guards, who were in fact largely
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  Speaker 1: owners of the treasure, they watched the mule teers formed,
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  Speaker 1: and a little group not far away. The guns which
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  Speaker 1: the Mexicans carried had been stacked, or rather leaned against
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  Speaker 1: a tree mister Molinis and his friend sat smoking on
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  Speaker 1: a moss grown rock by the bank of the stream.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: It was a picturesque scene, and the surroundings heightened the
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: effect of the picture. The two guards on duty carried
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: their guns carelessly on their shoulders. Suddenly, Jesse James called out,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: let's go boys. There was a sharp report of pistols.
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: The two armed guards sank, quivering to the earth. The
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: outlaws rushed to the tree where the guards had left
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: their guns and placed themselves with presented revolvers. Between the
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: guardians of the treasure and their weapons. The two Mexican
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: merchants were ordered to throw up their hands, and, with
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: the forcible argument of leveled dragoon pistols presented as an alternative,
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: they yielded, and one of the gang went and disarmed them.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: The mule Tears were paralyzed with fear and remained sprawled
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: upon the grass carpet. The place has been well named
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: La Temido, the place of Fear. It had been but
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: a minute since the first act in the drama was presented,
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: and in that time the whole tragic play had been completed.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: What a revolution in the circumstances of the actors had
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: taken place, two were dead and sixteen survivors were prisoners,
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: and at the mercy of five of the most desperate
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: men who ever played the part of freebooters on this continent,
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: they took the horses of the merchants and guards, broke
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: their guns, forced the mule teers to place the treasure
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: pouches upon the best and fleetest of the horses, shot
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: the mules and other horses not required, and threatened the
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: frightened men who were in their power with death, and
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: finally left them a long way from any human habitation,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: without horses and without food, and proceeded to the Rio Grande,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: at an unfrequented part of its course, many miles above
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Fort Quitman, where they had provided a boat before theyveentured
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: on their expedition, ferried the captured treasure, and swam their
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: horses across, and in less than twenty four hours after
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: their surprise and capture of the treasures of the caravan,
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: they had disappeared in the rugged region which lies between
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: the Rio Grande and the Pecos in the territory of Bexar, Texas.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: They had so completely hidden their trail that all attempts
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: to follow them were futile. In a few days after
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: this successful foray into Mexico, Jesse and Frank were at
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: their ranch, enjoying much needed repose. How the members of
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: the wealthy party with which they traveled from Carmen managed
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: to get once more into the haunts of civilized men.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: We have received no information. The great heap of silver
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: which they had taken was brought by the outlaws into
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: their retreat in the mountains, and there divided among the
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: five daring brigands Chapter forty one The robbers and their friends.
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: The various classes of people who exhibit friendship for the
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: us Jameses. Some are bad men who gather about them
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: because they are brave social peculiarities. Quote. Wherefore in the
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: hour of need shall a people house them? Wherefore did
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: our brothers bleed when great wrongs did rouse them? Is
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: this the sod so blessed by God that slaves swear
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: by its clay men? Or are we still the men
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: of will we ask you that to day men? End? Quote?
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Why have the James boys so many friends? Is it
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: because there are so many people disposed to lawlessness? Are
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: the friends of the Jameses like themselves? All outlaws? If
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: they are not, why do they yet sympathize with them?
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: How can any honest men succor and shelter them. Can
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: it be possible that any one can be so impervious
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: to testimony as to believe these men to be anything
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: but outlaws? These are the questions asked by those who
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: believe that the Boys ought to have been caught long ago,
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: and lay a large part of the blame for their
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: escape from arrest so long on the people of the
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: states where their most notable deeds have been committed. Some
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: persons point to the results obtained in Minnesota after Northfield
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: as an evidence that a large part of the population
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: in Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Kentucky, where their most successful
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: raids have been made, must necessarily be in sympathy with them,
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: if indeed they are not in direct collusion with the
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: Great Outlaws. Such a charge is evidently made by persons
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: who have not examined into the circumstances of the case
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: and the conditions which have favored them in escaping apprehension
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: by the officers of the law. It will be remembered
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: that the James Boys have committed successful robberies in both
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: Iowa and Kansas. And it will not be claimed by
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: the most prejudiced mind that the people of Iowa and Kansas,
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: resident in the neighborhood where these exploits were committed, were
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: more in sympathy with the marauders than they were the
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: people of Northfield and Vicinity. And yet the Jameses escaped
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: capture without in any way assuming a defense of the
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: people of the states named above, on account of their
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: failure to capture the outlaws, for they need no service
• 25:21
  Speaker 1: of the kind from us, We may be permitted in
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: this place to state a few facts which may enable
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: cavillers to form a more rational judgment in this matter.
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: That the Jameses have friends scattered through many states. We
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: readily admit that all those who have a friendly feeling
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: toward them are not in the lower classes of roughs.
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: Is undeniable that some who move in respectable circles of society,
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: and who are above reproach so far as their individual
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: actions are concerned, are yet disposed to apologize for them,
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: is unfortunately true. But such friends as these have nothing
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: to do with the other obstructing the execution of the law.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: The Jameses have numerous friends in Missouri, Kentucky, Arkansas, Texas,
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: New Mexico, and Colorado, and under like conditions they would
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: have equally as large a list of friends in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: and Wyoming. Their active, helpful friends are to be found
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: among that class which the law is ever pursuing but
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: never subduing. They are called thugs in New York and
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: all the other large cities, and on the border everywhere.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: The same elements in human nature which create the thugs, pariahs,
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: and ruffs of urbane populations produce the desperadoes and road
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: agents of the wilderness regions. Now, the fact is that
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Jameses have ranged over the entire country, from the Ohio
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: River to the shores of the Gulf, from the borders
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: of Iowa to the Sierra Madres, and from the Blue
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: Ridge to the Rocky Mountains. Their reputation as daring men
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: and skillful leaders has made them known in all that
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: class of people who are without the pale of society,
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: as that term is applied, And there are members of
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: that class in every community who at once seek an
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: alliance with such distinguished leaders of their class, the outlaws.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: The result is that these people embrace every opportunity to
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: serve such men as Frank and Jesse James. Why has
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: not Pinkerton, with all his ability and resources as a
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: catcher of law breakers, caught these men. The answer is
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: simple enough. They know the country thoroughly. They have not
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: one but many places to which they can retreat, and
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: when hard pressed or sorely wounded, they go to their retreats,
• 27:43
  Speaker 1: where they are nursed and cared for until they choose
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: to go away again. There may be, and doubtless are
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: a few persons who have known the boys from early childhood,
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: knew their father before them, and afterward remembered the deeds
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: performed by them in a cause which they regarded as right,
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: who were loath to believe that the boys are brigands
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: and robbers. And then it is certain that some of
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: their friends are persons who are free to admit that
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: the boys have degenerated into lawless marauders, but excuse them
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: on the ground that they were driven to it by
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: the terribly bad treatment which they received at the hands
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: of those who were enemies of the Southern cause in
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: the struggle of long ago. It is barely possible that
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: a limited number of people whose whole mind and strength
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: were devoted to the success of the South during the
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: Great Conflict, yet look back with deep regret at the
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: melancholy failure of their efforts, and have apotheosized every man
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: who engaged on that side and fought for the cause
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: which had become sacred in their eyes. A very few
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: persons who belonged to that class, representatives of which are
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: to be found everywhere, who can neither forgive nor forget,
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: who only remember that Frank and Jesse James were fighters
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: in that struggle, and hence all subsequent bad conduct cannot
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: exclude them from a place in their affections. This is
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: in accordance with the laws of human nature. All men
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: are not cosmopolitan in their views, and hence, when disasters
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: fell upon a cause which was believed to be right
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: and sacred, the little world in which these persons lived
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: and moved and had their being suffered a moral convulsion
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: from which it has not yet recovered, and in their
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: minds can never recover. With the social conditions and mental
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: state which enshrouded people like those described above and rendered
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: them insensible to the requirements of social order, we have
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: nothing to do. Such people are found in all climes now,
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: and such people have lived in all ages since the
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: human family commenced the struggle for existence. But the Friends
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: of the Jameses are, for the most part persons who,
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: like themselves, have rebelled against the established order of society.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: They are scattered all over the country, and among that
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: class from the Rio Grande to the Ohio, the boys
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: have personal acquaintances and active allies. Even beyond the lofty
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: range of the rocky mountains, they have confederates in spirit,
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: if not in action. These children of an ill starred
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: destiny roam over a vast extent of country, and wherever
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: they go they are likely to find someone who, from
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: some cause or other, open their houses to them and
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: willingly offer them succor and shelter. Some of these men
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: doubtless share with the renowned freebooters the spoils gained in
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: their daring profession. The Friends of the Jameses, even those
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: who are active allies and participators in their lawless deeds,
• 30:44
  Speaker 1: are many of them respected in the communities where they belong.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Among their neighbors, they are known as liberal minded men
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: of unquestionable good character. Some of them have families who
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: are respected and honored by their associates. Some of them,
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: when at home, are regular in their attendants at church
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: and liberal in their donations for the support of the ministry.
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: Some affect to patronize the educational interests, while there are
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: others who are promoters of improvements in horticulture, agriculture, and
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: all other movements intended to benefit the communities of which
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: they are members. Who would surmise that these staid and
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: respected members of society are leagued with outlaws. Generally, their
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: evil deeds are committed far away from their places of residence.
• 31:34
  Speaker 1: They are not often mixed up in any affair near by,
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: and when they join the band for the purpose of
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: committing depredations, they always give out that they are about
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: to make a journey in a way directly contrary to
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: that in which they intend to travel. But the most
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: valuable of the members of the band of Friends of
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: the Jameses are those who never go abroad to depredate.
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: They are of infinite service to the boys all their
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: relations with their neighbors and the members of the society
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: with which they are brought in contact. These allies of
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: the brigands are scrupulously exact and strictly upright. The consequence
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: is no suspicion attaches to their character, and with them
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: the outlaws are safe. Not only do these friends not
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: go abroad to plunder, but when their confederates who do
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: the work, commit a deed of outlawry in their vicinity,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: they first conceal the robbers and then turn out as
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: leaders of the hunters of the outlaws. They are sometimes
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: loudest in their execration of the plunderers, and strongest in
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: their expressions of hatred toward all lawless men. Being good
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: citizens of honorable repute, no one suspects them and their friends.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: The robbers rest until the storm has swept by, and
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: then quietly they ride away. Many of these men are
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: well to do, have good farms, live in comfortable houses,
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: and have many fine horses in fat cattle. Of course,
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: these valuable allies have a liberal allowance of the brigand
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: spoils set apart for their use and behoof. It must
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: be borne in mind that these men are residents of
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: regions of comparatively recent settlement, where the antecedents of newly
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: arrived citizens are not strictly inquired into by those who
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: only arrived yesterday themselves. So long therefore, as the citizen
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: deports himself as a clever man, so long will his
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: neighbors implicitly trust him. Such is the character of the
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: men which Jesse James's fertile brain has called into service,
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: the character of the organization which all the devices of
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: the shrewdest detectives, all the bravest executors of the law
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: have failed, in ten long years of effort to disintegrate
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: or destroy. The very fact that such an organization does exist,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: and that Jesse James furnished the brains which summoned it
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: into existence, and has maintained it for so long a time,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: stamps him as an extraordinary man, one who, under other circumstances,
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: might have become a leader of men and passed into
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: history along with George Cadoodle Pauley and other actors on
• 34:17
  Speaker 1: the world's wide stage. End of section fourteen.