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16 - 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 sixteen, comprising chapters forty four and forty five of
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  Speaker 1: 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.
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  Speaker 1: Landout Chapter forty four The Union Pacific Express Robbery, the
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  Speaker 1: Big Springs Ventures, the persons who engaged in it, large
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  Speaker 1: amount of gold coin taken pursuit of the robbers. Death
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  Speaker 1: of Collins at Buffalo, Kansas. Jim Barry trailed to Missouri,
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  Speaker 1: shot by the Sheriff of Audrain County. Quote whyde is
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  Speaker 1: our home boys freely we roam boys merrily merrily? Or
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  Speaker 1: the brown Lee brief though our life boys with peril,
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  Speaker 1: rife boys, Owood has wilderness and rapture in glee. In
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  Speaker 1: the mellow days of September eighteen seventy seven, a party
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  Speaker 1: of seven men came to the neighborhood of Ogolaala, Nebraska,
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  Speaker 1: and went into camp. There. They were stockmen, they said,
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  Speaker 1: and only wished to rest a while before entering upon
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  Speaker 1: the long wearisome march across the plains to Texas, which
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  Speaker 1: lay before them. They had brought droves of cattle from
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  Speaker 1: the pasture prairies of the Lone Star State to supply
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  Speaker 1: the markets of Chicago and other cities to the east.
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  Speaker 1: And it was their intention, according to their statements, to
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  Speaker 1: return to Texas to be in readiness for the Spring drive.
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  Speaker 1: There was in this party Jim Barry of Portland, Callaway County, Missouri,
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  Speaker 1: and old time guerrilla in the days of Anderson. Jack Davis,
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  Speaker 1: formerly of the vicinity of Fort Smith, Arkansas, a man
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  Speaker 1: of sinister reputation, Billy Heffridge, a Pennsylvanian of no good repute.
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  Speaker 1: Jim Collins, a brother of Brad, the well known Texan desperado,
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  Speaker 1: who was killed in an encounter with a sheriff who
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  Speaker 1: attempted his arrest. And Sam Bass, the some way distinguished
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  Speaker 1: outlaw whose name figures so prominently in the criminal annals
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  Speaker 1: of the period between eighteen sixty five and eighteen seventy eight.
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  Speaker 1: There were two others, the identity of one of whom
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  Speaker 1: has never been discovered. Of these, Berry Collins Davis and
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  Speaker 1: one other had sometimes ridden with Frank and Jesse James
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  Speaker 1: and exchanged the civilities of the craft with them. Who
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  Speaker 1: the seventh man of the party of campers at Ogolaala
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  Speaker 1: was the detectives have never been able to discover. The stockmen,
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  Speaker 1: as they styled themselves, remained in camp near Oglala for
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  Speaker 1: a number of days and were frequent visitors to the village.
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  Speaker 1: Jim Barry had been in business at Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and
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  Speaker 1: had made some acquaintances along the road. Among the business
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  Speaker 1: men residing at Oglala, which is the county seat of
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  Speaker 1: Keith County and a station of some importance on the
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  Speaker 1: line of the Union Pacific Railway, was mister M. F. Leech,
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  Speaker 1: a gentleman of great mental acuteness and an excellent judge
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  Speaker 1: of men. One day, some of the cattlemen came to
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  Speaker 1: Leech's store in Oglala, among them Jim Barry, and purchased
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  Speaker 1: a number of red bandanna handkerchiefs. Of course, nothing was
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  Speaker 1: thought of the circumstances at the time, but subsequently the
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  Speaker 1: red bandannas afforded a clue to the identity of the
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  Speaker 1: robbers of the train on the Union Pacific Railroad. Big
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  Speaker 1: Springs is a station on the railroad about twenty three
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  Speaker 1: miles west of Ogolaala, nearly on the line between Keith
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  Speaker 1: and Cheyenne Counties, Nebraska. At this place there is an
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  Speaker 1: excellent supply of water, which constitutes its greatest claim to importance.
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  Speaker 1: For on other accounts, Big Springs possesses little to interest
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  Speaker 1: the traveler. One evening, it was the seventeenth of September,
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  Speaker 1: the people of Brul and Oglala were thrown into a
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  Speaker 1: great ferment of excitement on the arrival of the train
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  Speaker 1: from the west, bringing as the conductor and passengers did
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  Speaker 1: a full account of the great robbery of the express
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  Speaker 1: car and all the passengers of the Big Spring station,
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  Speaker 1: which event had occurred just after nightfall that same evening.
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  Speaker 1: It was a great sensation at the time, an interest
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  Speaker 1: in it had not yet ceased to operate in the
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  Speaker 1: public mind. A brief account of the robbery and pursuit
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  Speaker 1: and death of several of the robbers will not be
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  Speaker 1: regarded out of place in this volume, inasmuch as some
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  Speaker 1: of the robbers had an acquaintance with the principal characters
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  Speaker 1: who were the subjects of this work. The train from
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  Speaker 1: the Pacific Slope arrived at Big Springs on the evening
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  Speaker 1: of September seventeenth, eighteen seventy seven, a little after nightfall.
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  Speaker 1: No sooner had the locomotive come to a standstill at
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  Speaker 1: the little station, than a band of seven men, all
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  Speaker 1: of whom wore red bandanna handkerchiefs on their head, which
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  Speaker 1: fell over and concealed their faces, sprang upon the train
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  Speaker 1: with drawn revolvers. Four of the men guarded the engineer
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  Speaker 1: and entered the express car Wells. Fargo and Company's safe
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  Speaker 1: contained sixty two thousand dollars in gold. This was opened,
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  Speaker 1: then the contents taken out and deposited in a sack,
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  Speaker 1: which one of the robbers carried. Another one kept guard
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  Speaker 1: over the train's crew, and two men armed with heavy
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  Speaker 1: revolvers went through the train to take the purses, watches,
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  Speaker 1: and jewelry of the passengers. One of the fellows carried
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  Speaker 1: a sack, and whenever the other handed him a watch,
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  Speaker 1: a pocket book, or some jewelry, he thrust it into
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  Speaker 1: the receptacle, which he carried along. There were many passengers,
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  Speaker 1: and they were on a long journey. Many fine watches,
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  Speaker 1: much valuable jewelry, and innumerable pocket books were collected in
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  Speaker 1: the sack in a miscellaneous heap. When the golden treasures
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  Speaker 1: of the express safe and the valuables of the passengers
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  Speaker 1: were all secured, the brigands released the train and rode
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  Speaker 1: away over the plains. The train then proceeded eastward by
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  Speaker 1: Bruel and to Ogolala. The particulars of the robbery were detailed,
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  Speaker 1: and the inhabitants of those places were aroused by the intelligence.
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  Speaker 1: It was late and nothing could be done that night.
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  Speaker 1: The next morning, the stockmen were in camp as usual,
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  Speaker 1: and mister Leech and some others of the inhabitants of
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  Speaker 1: Ogolaala were preparing to hunt the robbers. Mister m. F.
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  Speaker 1: Leach had performed some amateur detective work and had exhibited
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  Speaker 1: so much acuteness that he was regarded as one of
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  Speaker 1: the ablest catchers of lawbreakers in the West. He was
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  Speaker 1: at once secured to work up the great train robbery
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  Speaker 1: to him. Is due the larger share of the credit
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  Speaker 1: for tracking down the Big Springs bandits, and the men
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  Speaker 1: Leech had to deal with were keen, adroit and endowed
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  Speaker 1: with extraordinary effrontery. We cannot enter into detail concerning this
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  Speaker 1: remarkable pursuit of sam Bass and his companions from Ogolala.
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  Speaker 1: A full narrative would fill a volume. To show the
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  Speaker 1: character of the men with whom he had to deal,
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  Speaker 1: we will relate an anecdote of a meeting he had
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  Speaker 1: with Jim Barry, one of the gang, the morning after
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  Speaker 1: the robbery. As before stated, the stockmen, who were no
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  Speaker 1: other than the brigands, had returned to their camp at
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  Speaker 1: Oglala and were there as if nothing had happened. The
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  Speaker 1: morning after the robbery, Leech was preparing to go after
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  Speaker 1: the robbers. He encountered Jim Barry, who addressed him in
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  Speaker 1: a familiar manner. Well, are you going out after those fellows? Yes,
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  Speaker 1: said Leech, That's what I'm going to do. I wonder
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  Speaker 1: what they would give me to go along. I might
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  Speaker 1: be of service to them. Well, I can say, said Leech,
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  Speaker 1: that you would certainly receive a liberal compensation for any
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  Speaker 1: service you may be able to render. The two men
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  Speaker 1: talked together for some time, but Barry did not go
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  Speaker 1: on the hunt for the train robbers. Mister Leech proceeded
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  Speaker 1: out the road to Sydney in Cheyenne County, not forgetting
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  Speaker 1: on his way to stop off at Big Springs to find,
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  Speaker 1: if possible, some clue to the robber's course. After leaving
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  Speaker 1: that place, he found part of a red bandanna hanker chief,
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  Speaker 1: which he secured and went on to Sydney in a
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  Speaker 1: special train which had been provided for his use. A
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  Speaker 1: careful examination of the situation in that place was barren
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  Speaker 1: of results, and mister Leech returned to Oglalla. The stockmen
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  Speaker 1: had remained in camp two days after the robbery, and
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  Speaker 1: then they had marched away, whither no one knew. Leech
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  Speaker 1: had brought with him the piece of red bandanna from
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  Speaker 1: Big Springs. He was sure the goods had come from
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  Speaker 1: his store in OGLAWA while looking about the deserted camp
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  Speaker 1: of the stockmen, Leech discovered the other piece of the bandanna,
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  Speaker 1: which he had brought from Big Springs. The ragged edges
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  Speaker 1: of the two pieces fitted exactly. The inevitable inference was
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  Speaker 1: that the stockmen were the robbers. The direction taken by
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  Speaker 1: them was not known, but Leech soon discovered their trail,
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  Speaker 1: then commenced one of the most remarkable pursuits ever known.
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  Speaker 1: Leech ascertained that the robbers would probably cross the Kansas
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  Speaker 1: Pacific Railway road at Buffalo Station, Gove County, Kansas. He
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  Speaker 1: was ever on their track, and on many occasions he
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  Speaker 1: escaped with his life in a marvelous manner. Once he
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  Speaker 1: saw them, count the spoils of the robbery and divide
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  Speaker 1: the money, watches, and jewelry among themselves. Then he sent
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  Speaker 1: a ranchman a long distance a hundred miles or more
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  Speaker 1: with a dispatch to the commandant at Fort Hayes to
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  Speaker 1: have a guard of soldiers at Buffalo. The bandits divided
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  Speaker 1: into couples and pursued their course. At Buffalo, some of
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  Speaker 1: the robbers and the soldiers had a conflict, and Billy
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  Speaker 1: Heffridge and Jim Collins were killed. Sam Bass, Jack Davis,
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  Speaker 1: and two others escaped. Jim Barry made toward Missouri. It
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  Speaker 1: was ascertained that he would probably return to Callaway County,
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  Speaker 1: and detectives were at once hurried into that county and
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  Speaker 1: quietly waited around Fulton and Portland for the appearance of
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  Speaker 1: the game. One day, Jim Barry made his appearance at
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  Speaker 1: Mexico in Audraane County, Missouri. It was known that he
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  Speaker 1: had been in the Black Hills, and when he went
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  Speaker 1: to the bank in Mexico with a large amount of
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  Speaker 1: gold coin principally twenty dollar pieces to exchange it for currency.
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  Speaker 1: The circumstance seems to have aroused no suspicion at the time.
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  Speaker 1: Barry then went on a big bender. While in Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: he had ordered a suit of clothes from a tailor there.
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  Speaker 1: In a few days information was received by Sheriff Glascock
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  Speaker 1: that Jim Barry was known to have been engaged in
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  Speaker 1: the Big Springs robbery. Concerning this nothing was said at
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  Speaker 1: the time, but the Sheriff made all necessary preparations and
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  Speaker 1: patiently abided his time to make an attempt to capture
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  Speaker 1: Jim Barry. One day, an old comrade of Barry made
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  Speaker 1: his appearance in Mexico, bearing an order on the tailor
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  Speaker 1: to deliver to the bearer the new suit of clothes
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  Speaker 1: which had been ordered by Barry. This fact was at
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  Speaker 1: once communicated to Sheriff Glascock by the tailor. The friend
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  Speaker 1: of Barry was seized. The persuaded, in a manner frequently
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  Speaker 1: employed by officers of the law, to reveal the whereabouts
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  Speaker 1: of his friend. The friend of Barry was a man
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  Speaker 1: named Bows Casey. Sheriff Glascock and John Carter were in
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  Speaker 1: company with Casey when seized. The Sheriff then called to
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  Speaker 1: his aid John Coons, Robert Steele, and a young man
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  Speaker 1: named Moore. They then set out compelling Casey to act
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  Speaker 1: as a guide. It was on Saturday night, October fourteenth,
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  Speaker 1: eighteen seventy seven, when the party rode quietly away from
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  Speaker 1: Mexico on their way to Calloway County to find the
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  Speaker 1: lurking place of Jim Barry, the best man in Calloway.
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  Speaker 1: It was a long ride. Daylight had not dawned on
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  Speaker 1: the landscape Sunday morning when the officers arrived within a
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  Speaker 1: half mile of Casey's house. They did not go to
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  Speaker 1: the house to alarm those slumbering there. The officers took
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  Speaker 1: Casey into the woods and bound him to a tree,
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  Speaker 1: leaving Robert Steele to go yard him. They then secreted
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  Speaker 1: themselves in thickets to await results. As the men in
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  Speaker 1: the posse were assigned to their respective stations, the sheriff
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  Speaker 1: gave the following command, boys, if you see him, halt him.
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  Speaker 1: If he shows fight, shoot him. If he runs, shoot
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  Speaker 1: him in the leg. Catch him at all hazards. Half
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  Speaker 1: an hour after giving this order, Sheriff Glascock heard the
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  Speaker 1: neigh of a horse about a half a mile away.
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  Speaker 1: As he judged the Sheriff and Moore then crept cautiously
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  Speaker 1: about three hundred yards down the course of a branch,
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  Speaker 1: they came to a fence and crossed over it. They
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  Speaker 1: discovered the tracks of a horse freshly made. They were
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  Speaker 1: in a thicket at this time and listening intently. In
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  Speaker 1: a few moments, they heard the snort of a horse,
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  Speaker 1: apparently not more than fifty yards away. The sheriff then
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  Speaker 1: crawled through the thicket about twenty yards toward a spot
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  Speaker 1: from whence the sound had proceeded. He was on his
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  Speaker 1: knees and cautiously peering through the autumn tinted leaves of
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  Speaker 1: the tangled thicket. He saw the back of a horse
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  Speaker 1: about forty yards away, laying aside his hat. Sheriff Glascock
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  Speaker 1: crept twenty yards nearer. He then rose to his feet
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  Speaker 1: and saw Jim Barry unhitching the horse, which had been
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  Speaker 1: tied to a tree. Barry started to lead the horse
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  Speaker 1: in a direction nearly toward Glascock. The sheriff cocked both
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  Speaker 1: barrels of the breech loading gun which he carried, ran
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  Speaker 1: about twenty yards and within twenty feet of Barry, and
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  Speaker 1: commanded him to halt. Barry, taken by surprise, started on
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  Speaker 1: a run. The sheriff then fired the charge of buckshot
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  Speaker 1: passed over the head of the train robber, but in
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  Speaker 1: an instant he fired again, and this time seven buckshot
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  Speaker 1: took effect in Berry's left leg below the knee, and
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  Speaker 1: he fell to the ground. Glasscock sprang forward. Barry was
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  Speaker 1: endeavoring to draw a pistol as he lay writhing on
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  Speaker 1: the ground. It was too late. The sheriff was upon
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  Speaker 1: him and seizing the pistol, he wrested it from the
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  Speaker 1: grasp of Barry. Finding himself overpowered. The wounded man, in
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  Speaker 1: his helplessness, besought the sheriff to shoot him, as he
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  Speaker 1: did not want to live any longer. The officer told
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  Speaker 1: him that he did not want to kill him, but
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  Speaker 1: that he wanted him to have justice. By this time
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  Speaker 1: Moore arrived on the scene. Barry was wounded and defenseless
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  Speaker 1: in the hands of the officers of the law. Sheriff
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  Speaker 1: Glascock then summoned the other members of the posse to
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  Speaker 1: the scene of the conflict. When they had arrived, Barry
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  Speaker 1: was searched in a belt worn on his person. They
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  Speaker 1: found five five hundred dollars packages of money, and in
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  Speaker 1: his pocket book was found three hundred four dollars In all,
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  Speaker 1: two thousand, eight hundred four dollars were secured. Barry also
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  Speaker 1: had a gold watch and chain, a dress coat, three overcoats,
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  Speaker 1: and a comforter. He had slept there in the thicket
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  Speaker 1: the night before. Afterward, Barry was removed to Casey's house,
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  Speaker 1: mos and a messenger was sent to Williamsburg for a surgeon.
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  Speaker 1: After taking breakfast at Casey's, Sheriff Glascock and John Carter
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  Speaker 1: proceeded to Barry's house to search for the balance of
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  Speaker 1: the money. Arriving there, they asked Missus Barry concerning the
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  Speaker 1: whereabouts of her husband. She did not know, had not
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  Speaker 1: seen him for several days, and she thought he had
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  Speaker 1: left the country. The sheriff then showed her Barry's watch
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  Speaker 1: and chain. On seeing it, one of the little children exclaimed, oh,
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  Speaker 1: I thought that was Papa's poor child. Perhaps it was
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  Speaker 1: too young to fully comprehend the tragic meaning of those tokens.
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  Speaker 1: To Missus Barry, the whole story of the tragedy in
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  Speaker 1: the thicket that Sunday morning was repeated. In response, she said,
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  Speaker 1: I never thought he would be taken alive. He has
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  Speaker 1: said a great many times that he would never be
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  Speaker 1: taken alive. Then ensued a scene deeply affecting the robber
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  Speaker 1: had those at home who loved him. The wife and
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  Speaker 1: mother began to weep bitterly, and the wailings of her
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  Speaker 1: little litle boy and five little girls made a scene
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  Speaker 1: calculated to touch the deep cords of emotion in the
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  Speaker 1: breasts of the stern men, who, in the performance of
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  Speaker 1: lawful duty, had been compelled to inflict all this misery
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  Speaker 1: on the family of the robber. They searched the house,
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  Speaker 1: but they found no hordes of money. Then Glascock and
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  Speaker 1: Carter returned to Casey's. A conveyance was procured, and the
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  Speaker 1: officer and his posse, with their wounded prisoner, set out
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  Speaker 1: for Mexico, where they arrived late in the evening. Barry
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  Speaker 1: was placed in a room in the Ringo House and
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  Speaker 1: received the attention of doctor Russell of Mexico. Barry's wounds
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  Speaker 1: were painful, and he did not rally from their effects.
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  Speaker 1: On Monday, gangrene supervened, and a little before one o'clock Tuesday,
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  Speaker 1: October sixteenth, eighteen seventy seven, Jim Barry, one of the
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  Speaker 1: robbers of the train at Big Springs, quietly passed over
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  Speaker 1: the dark river and the records of his stormy career
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  Speaker 1: were closed forever. Sam Bass escaped from Buffalo Station and finally,
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  Speaker 1: after many thrilling adventures, reached his haunts in Texas a
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  Speaker 1: little more than one year afterward, he met his fate
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  Speaker 1: in a manner equally as tragic as the event which
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  Speaker 1: closed the career of Jim Barry. Of the seven men
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  Speaker 1: who plundered the train and its passengers at Big Springs,
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  Speaker 1: Billy Heffridge, Jim Collins, Jim Barry, Sam Bass, and one
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  Speaker 1: other have met violent deaths. The robber who went by
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  Speaker 1: the name of Jack Davis has disappeared. The seventh man,
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  Speaker 1: the only one whose name was never ascertained by the detectives,
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  Speaker 1: succeeded in getting away Who he was and from whence
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  Speaker 1: he came and whither he went are until this day
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  Speaker 1: unanswered questions. Much speculation in regard to the identity of
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  Speaker 1: the seventh man, whom we shall call the Unknown, has
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  Speaker 1: been indulged in, and the question has been asked, was
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  Speaker 1: it Jesse James, or was it Jack Bishop, Dave Poole,
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  Speaker 1: John Jerreh or Jim Cummings. We have no means of
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  Speaker 1: answering such interrogatories. Whoever the unknown is or was, he
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  Speaker 1: has probably not a single comrade of the occasion alive,
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  Speaker 1: and is therefore in little danger of being betrayed. There
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  Speaker 1: are people who believe that Jesse James was with the
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  Speaker 1: Big Springs Bandits. Upon what particular grounds such belief is based,
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  Speaker 1: we have been unable to ascertain. He may or may
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  Speaker 1: not have been present. Our readers may well be left
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  Speaker 1: to draw their own inferences, but certain it is a
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  Speaker 1: mystery which perhaps may forever remain. Such surrounds the personality
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  Speaker 1: of one of the daring raiders, who accomplished one of
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  Speaker 1: the greatest robberies which has yet taken place on any
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: American railroad. Chapter forty five, A Visit to the Home
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: of Frank James, A Georgian's experience with the Great Outlaws.
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  Speaker 1: The home life of Frank quote in southern climes, where
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  Speaker 1: our gleams the sun, gilding each rivulet and tree and
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  Speaker 1: flower with crimson radiance, and gaily flings on all around
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  Speaker 1: of light, A golden shower, where lavish nature mingles in
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  Speaker 1: the breeze, refreshing odors with her spicy hand. The rare
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  Speaker 1: nepenthes wave their flexile form the floral wonder of that
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  Speaker 1: fragrant land. During the autumn of the year eighteen seventy eight,
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  Speaker 1: a young gentleman of the highest respectability, a citizen of
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  Speaker 1: the state of Georgia, being on a tour through Texas,
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  Speaker 1: expressed to his friends a desire to make the personal
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: acquaintance of the celebrated outlaws Frank and Jesse James. His
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  Speaker 1: friends endeavored to dissuade him from making the attempt to
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: see them at their own retreat. They represented to him
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: that such an undertaking would be fraught with no little
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: personal danger. The boys have been hounded and hunted over
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: so large a territory tory through so many years, that
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: they have become extremely cautious and very suspicious of all strangers.
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: But the young Georgian was courageous and determined. There was
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: a tinge of romance in his composition, and the career
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: of the boys, to his mind, was the most romantic
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: in all history. He felt that he would venture farther
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: to see them than to behold the face of any
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: living man. The advice of his friends fell unheeded. Upon
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: his ear. He resolved to seek their retreat at whatever
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: hazard he had learned to admire their cool, bravery, indomitable energy,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: and shrewd ability to evade the snares laid for them
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: by the officers of the law. The Jameses outlaws, as
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: they are, do not want for friends. They have devoted
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: admirers and staunch friends, even in the ranks of respectable circles,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: friends who would suffer death rather than betray them. Such
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: a friend was a Texas relative of the young Georgian.
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: Finding that his kinsman was resolved upon a visit that
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: he would, in all probability be able to discover the
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: retreat of the outlaws, and believing that he might possibly
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: meet with a misfortune by venturing to penetrate to their place,
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: the Texan gave his relative a letter addressed to a
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: certain name which is not that of James, described the
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: route to be taken, and gave a minute description of
• 21:24
  Speaker 1: the personnel of the renowned desperadoes, and with many admonitions
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: and cautions. After having solemnly pledged his kinsmen to reveal
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: nothing concerning the exact whereabouts of their home, the Texan
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: bid his Georgia kinsman godspeed, and they parted. Many days
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: he rode over the plains, and crossed many a limpid stream,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: and pushed his way through many a tangled wold before
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: he approached the retreat of the outlaws. He found it, however,
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: but in what county or division of the state, he
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: declines to say. In a letter written to the author
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: subsequent to that visit, he gave a most interesting account
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: of his reception and sojourn with the outlawed brothers on
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: their own ranch. We have obtained his permission to use
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: that portion of the letter relating to the Jameses, which
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: we herewith present to our readers. It was a lovely afternoon.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: The grass was brown and sere. A few late autumn
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: flowers relieved the otherwise monotonous landscape. The country through which
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: I was passing was high, undulating prairie, here and there
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: from the tops of the long swells in the surface.
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: The course of streams far away to the right and
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: the left were well defined by dark lines of trees
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: from which the foliage had not yet been cast. The
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: journey had become lonely and irksome. I had lost interest
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: in the landscape. The faded grass and the golden hued
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: flowers no longer possessed charms from me. The limpid brooks
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: and darting minnows in their clear waters even failed to
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: awaken them slightest interest. The truth is I was worn
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: out by the excessive fatigue of the long journey. I
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: had just crossed a small stream skirted by some wind
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: twisted trees, and was ascending a long slope. Looking toward
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: the crest of the ridge, I saw two horsemen, splendidly mounted,
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: riding rapidly directly toward me. They wore low crowned, broad
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: brimmed felt hats looped up at the side. I could
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: see at a glance that they were heavily armed. A
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: repeating rifle was swung behind the shoulder of each, and
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: a holster was attached at the saddle bow. When the
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: horsemen had approached within seventy five yards of me, they
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: suddenly halted, and each drew a heavy pistol and simultaneously
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: presented them at me, calling out at the same time
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: for me to raise my hands. I confess that I
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: felt a little shaky about that time. I readily complied
• 23:53
  Speaker 1: with their command and held up both hands as high
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: over my head as possible. The horrible thought occurred to
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: me that I was to be shot and left out
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: there to make a feast for the voracious vultures and
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: ferocious wolves. A cold shudder thrilled through my veins. I
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: had dropped the reins, and my horse stopped still. It
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: was a dreadful moment. There were the two men, grim
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: in features and steady of hand, with their horrible, yawning
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: repeaters pointed at my heart. I felt sure that they
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: were murderous highwaymen. Strange that I never once thought of
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: the renowned outlaws. I know not how long I looked
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: at those dreadful pistols. It seemed half an age. I
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: was aroused by the voice of one of the men,
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: calling out, why don't you come on? I did go
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: on once. I let my hands droop slightly as I
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: advanced up the slope. Up with your hands, I say,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: exclaimed one of them. You may readily suppose that I
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: threw up my hands without further admonition. When I had
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: arrived within fifteen paces of the spot where the men
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: were sitting on their horse, the thought that these were
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: no other than the men whom I was seeking flashed
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: through my brain. What are you doing here? Asked the
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: larger one of the two. I must have stammered a
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: little and appeared awkward and frightened as I made answer
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: that I had a great desire to meet mister Blank
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: and his brother, naming the person to whom the letter
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: was addressed, and I have a message for mister Blank
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: here with me. Now, one of them, it was Frank,
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: turned to me sharply and asked me what I knew
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: about mister Blank. I told him that I had never
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: met the gentleman, but that I had a great desire
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: to do so. He then asked me when I was
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: last in Saint Louis. I replied that I had not
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: been to Saint Louis for a period of more than
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: five years. What are you doing here, he asked, looking
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: about the country, I replied, you like it, do you?
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: He inquired very well? I said, you go to Chicago?
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: Do you never was there in my life? I answered,
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: do you know Allan Pinkerton? I don't. I said, what
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: state do you hail from? Georgia? A very good state,
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: he soliloquised, From whom did you say you had a
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: message for mister Blank from Colonel Blank? Of Blank? I answered,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: you know where you can find Blank? I do not
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: give me the message. I'll see that he gets it,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: are you, mister Blank? No matter, he answered, I'll see
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: that he gets the communication. But I've come all the
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: way here to see him myself. I do not want
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: to go back without seeing him, I remarked, what do
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: you want to see him for? Well, I stammered, I
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: have heard a great deal about him and his brother,
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: and I just wanted to visit them at home. You
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: know who he is, then, certainly he is Jesse James
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: and Blank, an outlaw, he interrupted me, Mind how you act,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: young man. The tones of his voice were dry and harsh,
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: and the pistol, which had been allowed to droop, was
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: once more raised and pointed at my breast. You may
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: be sure I was thoroughly alarmed, and it required some
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: effort to speak distinctly. At last, I managed to say,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: in a tolerably low tone, I wish you would read
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: this letter which I have brought. The pistol was lowered,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: and he reached out his hand to take the letter
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: from the breast pocket of my coat. Meanwhile, Frank kept
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: me under cover of a pistol. Jesse secured the letter
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: and commenced to read it. I watched his features closely.
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: A change came over his countenance. The cold, stern look relaxed,
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: and his face put on a sunny smile as he
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: read on. When he had finished, he turned to Frank
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: and said, I guess this is all right. Then he
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: turned to me and said, so you're a kinsman of
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: Colonel Blank. I am, I replied. He continued, he's a
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: good friend of ours, and I reckon, you're all right.
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: You wanted to see the James boys you see before you?
• 27:57
  Speaker 1: What is left of them? I guess us you had
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: better give us your pistols to keep for you until
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: you are ready to leave again, For you know we
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: are the only armed men allowed around our place. This
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: is a very odd world anyhow, we do not trust anyone.
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: I have but one, and here it is, I said,
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: presenting it to him while I held the muzzle. He
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: took the pistol and thrust it into a side pocket, and,
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: turning full toward me, he said, with a smile on
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: his face and a merry twinkle in his bright blue eyes,
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: So you wanted to see the notorious outlaws? Yes, well
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: did you expect we wore horns and had split feet
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: and spouted fire and brimstone. Eh, but you see, you
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: are mistaken. There are a hundred, yes, a thousand, worse
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: men along the borders here than the James boys. But
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: they have not been lied about as we have been.
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: They have not been hunted all over the states as
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: we have been. They have not been so grossly misrepresented
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: and abused. And we must bear not only our sins,
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: but the sins of many others. It is a pretty
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: hard fate, young man. The hard, unpitying expression came upon
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: his features once more, but it was only for a moment,
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: and the cloud passed away, and his countenance was illuminated
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: by a smile that was genial and pleasant. And whoever
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: could have gazed into the face of Jesse James at
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: that moment would not have concluded that he was a
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: desperado and an outlaw. I suppose, said Frank, that you
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: will gladly accept an outlaw's invitation to his humble retreat,
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: most gladly, I said. They turned their horses heads, and Jesse,
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: taking a position on one side and Frank on the other,
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: we rode on to the crest of the ridge. There
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: is where we camp, said Frank, as he pointed away
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: to the northwest camp. Indeed, it seemed more like the
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: residence of a well to do planter in Georgia. The
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: situation which they had selected was beautiful as any I
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: had yet seen in the west before us. A broad
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: green valley lay spread out in the sunlight, bounded by
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: a line of high hills toward the northeast and widening
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: toward the southwest. A noble grove of timber skirted the
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: margin of the stream, which appeared to be of considerable size,
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: and meandered through the valley. Beyond the stream and the grove,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: situated on a gentle slope, in the midst of gardens
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: and cultivated fields and vigorous young trees, rose a pleasant
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: house of two stories in elevation, with a garden in front.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: Some distance away were the barns, stables, and other outbuildings.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: A lovely home, I exclaimed. Frank smiled at my evident delight,
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: and remarked that he found it very comfortable after the
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: exposure and hardships through which he had passed. So we
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: rode on down the slope into the grove, and across
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: a beautiful broad pebble bottom stream, and up the slope
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: of the front of the mansion, talking by the way
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: of many things in the past and expressing views and
• 30:56
  Speaker 1: opinions concerning the future. The James boys are far from
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: being loquacious. They seem to maintain a perpetual guard over
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: their words. Sometimes this reserve is momentarily cast aside, and
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: the brothers will converse with considerable freedom. But the fits
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: of relaxation do not last long. They speedily relapse into
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: their accustomed reticent state, and then they answer questions only
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: in monosyllables. It was not long before I discovered that
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: I was at the home of Frank James, and that
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: Jesse and his family were only visitors. My peculiar reception
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: was due to the fact that a person supposed to
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: be a detective had been making inquiries concerning the boys
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: at San Antonio some weeks before my arrival. Arriving at
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: the yard gate, we dismounted and I was invited into
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: the house. At the door, we were met by a
• 31:49
  Speaker 1: neatly dressed and handsome lady, whose deep blue eyes and
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: regular features produced a favorable impression at once, to whom
• 31:57
  Speaker 1: I was introduced It was missus Frank James. She received
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: me with much dignity, yet with a genial cordiality which
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: assured me that I was a welcome visitor. Her manner
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: toward her husband was trusting and affectionate. We welcome you,
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: said Frank, as a relative of one of our best friends.
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: We hope you will prove as manly as he Annie.
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: This is mister Blank, a near relative of Colonel Blank,
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: who was so kind to you when you arrived at
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: Blank on your way out here. I am very, very
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: glad to meet you. We all feel extremely grateful to
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: Colonel Blank for his kindness toward us, and we are
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: only too glad to serve any of his friends. She said.
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: Such was the welcome which I received at the home
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: of Frank James. I felt myself quite at ease very soon,
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: and the four days and nights which I spent under
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: their hospitable roof gave no occasion for me to think
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: hard of the outlaws. Indeed, I could not bring myself
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: to think of them in that light. Missus James is
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: a lady who is soon, by education and disposition, to
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: grace any circle. And where is this model home, you ask, Well,
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: it is in Texas. Just what part of Texas? I
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: must leave you to find out. I know that I
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: never met with better treatment in any home, anywhere. End
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: of Section sixteen.