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15 - 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 fifteen, comprising chapters forty two and forty three of
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  Speaker 1: Life and Adventures of Frank and Jesse James by J. A. Dacas.
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  Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Recording by P. J. Lando,
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  Speaker 1: Chapter forty two Excursions into Mexico, Wild Adventures Beyond the Border,
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  Speaker 1: chasing Mexican cattle thieves, a serious time at Monclova, Frank
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  Speaker 1: and Jesse escape. The wild adventurous career of the boys
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  Speaker 1: has been wonderful. They loved the road, love to ride
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  Speaker 1: at will over the land, and set at defiance the
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  Speaker 1: officers of the law. Nor have they confined their excursions
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  Speaker 1: to the American side of the Rio Grande. Not unfrequently
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  Speaker 1: they ride far away over the Sierra Madres into the
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  Speaker 1: Valley of the Lakes in Koahuila and San Luis Potosi.
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  Speaker 1: They are known of many. In some of these expeditions,
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  Speaker 1: they pass through thrilling experivariances and innumerable dangers. Those border
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  Speaker 1: rovers of Mexico who have crossed the path of the
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  Speaker 1: boys once and have escaped with their lives evinced no
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  Speaker 1: disposition to renew hostilities with the Gringo devils, as they
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  Speaker 1: affectionately call the American Outlaws. In this chapter we propose
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  Speaker 1: to relate some of the hair breadth escapes of the
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  Speaker 1: daring outlaws in the land of the Ootomis. These tales
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  Speaker 1: of wild life will not fail to interest the reader.
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  Speaker 1: One time, it was in the spring of eighteen seventy seven,
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  Speaker 1: Frank and Jesse James rode down to the bank of
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  Speaker 1: the River of the North. Piedros Negras is a favorite
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  Speaker 1: crossing place both for Mexican cattle thieves and American outlaws.
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  Speaker 1: To this point came Frank and Jesse James. The river
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  Speaker 1: was high and the crossing was difficult. It was not
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  Speaker 1: the season for successful rating, and the enterprising Mexican raiders
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  Speaker 1: had turned their attention to the business of revolutionizing their
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  Speaker 1: own cosy. In this pious undertaking, they had not met
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  Speaker 1: with that degree of success which justified them in rejoicing.
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  Speaker 1: The Lazzaroni gathered at Piedras Negras were particularly ill humored,
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  Speaker 1: and the lonely Texan who came in their way could
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  Speaker 1: expect nothing better than to be plundered. Such was the
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  Speaker 1: situation of affairs when Frank and Jesse James arrived on
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  Speaker 1: the Texas side of the river. In front of the
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  Speaker 1: wretched Mexican pueblo. The surly greaser who acted as the
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  Speaker 1: charon at that point, was even more surly than usual.
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  Speaker 1: But the boys had passed that way before, and the
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  Speaker 1: ferrymen had a vivid recollection that one Estevan Sandoval, who
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  Speaker 1: had molested them on one occasion, was now no more
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  Speaker 1: in the land of the living. He complied, with the
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  Speaker 1: usual tedious alacrity of his countrymen, to set them across
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  Speaker 1: the stream. There was an unusual number of ill looking
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  Speaker 1: fellows about the place, a fact which did not escape
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  Speaker 1: the immediate attention of the boys. There were regular brigands
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  Speaker 1: from the passes of the Sierra Madres, thieves from Matamoras,
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  Speaker 1: cutthroats from Saltello, smugglers from all along the border, and
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  Speaker 1: rogues of all grades. The boys knew there was fun ahead.
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  Speaker 1: It must be said to the credit of the Jameses
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  Speaker 1: that they neither seek nor run away from a fight.
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  Speaker 1: In this case, the character of the boys was sustained.
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  Speaker 1: They proposed to pass on without stopping. In this benevolent intention,
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  Speaker 1: they were not destined to succeed. Riding through the square
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  Speaker 1: or plaza, as the Mexicans call it, they passed on
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  Speaker 1: toward the country of woods beyond. They had not got
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  Speaker 1: out of the straggling village when a mob of half drunken,
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  Speaker 1: howling Mexicans mounted on horses came after them, cursing and
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  Speaker 1: firing off their pistols as they came. It would have
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  Speaker 1: been well for some of them if they had never
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  Speaker 1: beheld the face of a gringo. Doubtless, the leaders expected
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  Speaker 1: to see the boys use their spurs liberally and make
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  Speaker 1: time out of town. In this they were disappointed. The
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  Speaker 1: American outlaws were not accustomed to flee before such outfits.
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  Speaker 1: Instead of galloping away, they deliberately halted, and the inevitable
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  Speaker 1: pistols were drawn, and the fun began. The Jameses do
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  Speaker 1: not have occasion to kill unless they desire to do so,
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  Speaker 1: and they can easily disable an enemy without taking his
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  Speaker 1: life in less time than is required to state the incident,
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  Speaker 1: four of the foremost of the rabble were on the
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  Speaker 1: ground with broken right arms. The remainder of the crowd
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  Speaker 1: turned and rode with all speed through the plaza. Actuated
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  Speaker 1: by some wild impulse which sometimes seems to possess them.
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  Speaker 1: The Jameses turned and rode back again to the square
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  Speaker 1: it came near, proving a fatal ride to Frank. Some
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  Speaker 1: of the Mexicans had taken refuge in an adobe house
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  Speaker 1: on one side of the plaza, and seeing the daring
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  Speaker 1: American outlaws sitting on their horses in the very midst
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  Speaker 1: of the place in an attitude of defiance of all
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  Speaker 1: the brave men of Piedra's nes peas, they mustered courage
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  Speaker 1: to open fire upon the boys. A perfect shower of
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  Speaker 1: bullets was discharged, and one of them cut the brim
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  Speaker 1: of the hat worn by Frank James, narrowly missing the
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  Speaker 1: side of his head. Then the boys felt that they
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  Speaker 1: were in for a good deal of fun, and all
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  Speaker 1: scruple as to killing vanished. They shot to kill, and
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  Speaker 1: death was the doom of any greaser who came within
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  Speaker 1: their deadly range. Two were killed outright, and then the
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  Speaker 1: ill natured mob that had sought to avenge the death
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  Speaker 1: of Estevan Sandoval fled from the village in terror, leaving
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  Speaker 1: the brothers in undisputed possession of the place. It was
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  Speaker 1: not their purpose to remain, and they rode on in
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  Speaker 1: a short time that evening. When they were crossing a
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  Speaker 1: stream swollen by the recent spring rains. A party of
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  Speaker 1: brigands in ambush on the opposite bank opened fire upon them,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesse received a slight wound in the left shoulder.
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  Speaker 1: The boys charged the thicket which had afforded the robber's shelter,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole ten broken flot not, however, before one
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  Speaker 1: of their number was made to atone for the hurt
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  Speaker 1: which Jesse had received. This journey into San Luis Potosi
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  Speaker 1: was one fraught with many perils, and only the fate
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  Speaker 1: which seems to protect them, enabled them to return into Texas.
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  Speaker 1: They met with a singular adventure on this trip. They
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  Speaker 1: had reached Monclova, a large town in Kohila. Here they
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  Speaker 1: found an acquaintance, an old comrade of the guerrilla times.
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  Speaker 1: He had taken up his residence in Mexico, had married
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  Speaker 1: a handsome Mexican girl, and had settled down to a
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  Speaker 1: quiet life in a strange land. Of course, he was
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  Speaker 1: glad to see the boys, whom he had not met
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  Speaker 1: since they parted in Kentucky, but he was captured and
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  Speaker 1: sent to prison. His home was placed at their disposal,
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  Speaker 1: and his Mexican wife received them with that cordial hospitality
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  Speaker 1: which is a characteristic of her country women. Here, they
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  Speaker 1: proposed to remain a day or two and rest in
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  Speaker 1: accordance with the customs of the country. The Mexican eye.
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  Speaker 1: American gave his old comrades a reception on the following afternoon,
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  Speaker 1: or rather evening after their arrival. A reception in Mexico
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  Speaker 1: means a ball or fandango. Many of the leading citizens
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  Speaker 1: of Monclova attended the reception, for the friend of the
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  Speaker 1: Jameses was esteemed a very worthy citizen and respectable gentleman.
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  Speaker 1: Among the guests was a young lieutenant of the Mexican
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  Speaker 1: Army and an American long resident in the country, who
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  Speaker 1: came from the vicinity of Matawala. These two men scrutinized
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  Speaker 1: the faces of the boys in a very peculiar manner,
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  Speaker 1: and a careful observer could have seen the flushes of
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  Speaker 1: anger which, ever and anon overspread their countenances. Jesse had
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  Speaker 1: noticed their behavior and called the attention of his brother
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  Speaker 1: to the strangeness of their conduct. He was sure that
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  Speaker 1: he had seen the American before somewhere, at some time,
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  Speaker 1: just when and where he could not remember. Frank was
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  Speaker 1: enjoying himself in the society of affair Senorita and seen
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  Speaker 1: to attach little importance to his brother's suggestions. But Jesse
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  Speaker 1: watched them closely and became thoroughly convinced that he had
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  Speaker 1: met both men before, and he knew that the meeting
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  Speaker 1: had been that of enemies. The lieutenant and his companion
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  Speaker 1: did not remain long, but took their departure. There was
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  Speaker 1: at that time encamped in the environs of Monclova a
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  Speaker 1: brigade of the Mexican Army, and the regiment to which
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  Speaker 1: the lieutenant belonged had barracks near the plaza. On leaving
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  Speaker 1: the ball room, the two men went directly to the
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  Speaker 1: headquarters of the regiment and found there the colonel and
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  Speaker 1: lieutenant Colonel. The young officer at once laid before them
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  Speaker 1: the knowledge which he possessed concerning the character of the
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  Speaker 1: men who had been entertained in Monclova that night. Both
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  Speaker 1: men had a score to settle with the Jameses. The
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  Speaker 1: account of the American dating back to eighteen sixty five,
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  Speaker 1: that of the young officer only a little more than
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  Speaker 1: a year, at which time, unfortunately, in one of the
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  Speaker 1: border broils frequent about them time between Mexicans and Texans.
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  Speaker 1: The boys had killed a brother of the officer. The
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  Speaker 1: superior officers looked with favor on the scheme to arrest
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  Speaker 1: the boys. The more readily, too, did they agree to
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  Speaker 1: the plan of capture when informed that the American authorities
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  Speaker 1: were offering a reward of fifty thousand dollars for the
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  Speaker 1: apprehension of these men. It was a bonanza which the
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  Speaker 1: impecunious colonels hoped to gain silently as possible. A company
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  Speaker 1: of eighty men was mustered and marched to the house
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  Speaker 1: and immediately surrounded it. The merrymakers were just in the
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  Speaker 1: midst of an evening of enjoyment. Indeed, there was a
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  Speaker 1: sound of revelry by night, and the fair senoritas and
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  Speaker 1: chivalrous youths of Monclova were animated by high hopes and
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  Speaker 1: dreams of future bliss. Suddenly there was an interruption. The
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  Speaker 1: doors were thrown open, and an officer accompanied by a guard,
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  Speaker 1: strode into the room. The violinists dropped his bow, the
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  Speaker 1: dancers stood still, the faces of women blanched and men
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  Speaker 1: quailed before this apparition of war and bloodshed. The officer
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  Speaker 1: stepped briskly to the part of the room where the
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  Speaker 1: Jameses were standing, and, addressing them in broken English, commanded
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  Speaker 1: them to surrender in the name and by the authority
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  Speaker 1: of the government of Mexico. Frank and Jesse looked at
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  Speaker 1: him with a disdainful, dangerous smile. Would they surrender without
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  Speaker 1: his being under the painful necessity of using force? Inquired
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  Speaker 1: the officer. Never the answer was firmly delivered. The officer
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  Speaker 1: turned toward the guards and gave a signal of command
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  Speaker 1: for them to move up. Stop. It was Jesse's voice
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  Speaker 1: of command. The officer waved the guards to halt. We
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  Speaker 1: have a proposition to submit. Will you hear it? If
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  Speaker 1: it means surrender, yes, replied the officer. It is this,
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  Speaker 1: pursued Jesse, not appearing to notice the purport of the
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  Speaker 1: officer's reply. Allow these ladies here to retire, and we
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  Speaker 1: will discuss the question with you. I shall be compelled
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  Speaker 1: to take you by force, said the officer. Let the
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  Speaker 1: ladies retire, I say, exclaimed Jesse James, in a tone
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  Speaker 1: that betrayed his impatience. The boys were not surprised without arms.
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  Speaker 1: They never lay aside a pair of pistols. They are
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  Speaker 1: ever at their sides and always ready for use. The
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  Speaker 1: officer parleyed, he did not desire to begin in a
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  Speaker 1: fray in the midst of a company of ladies. His
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  Speaker 1: instincts as a gentleman revolted against subjecting them to alarm
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  Speaker 1: and danger. The house was surrounded. He had ample force
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  Speaker 1: to enforce the orders of his superiors, so he said,
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  Speaker 1: let the ladies all retire. The order was given at
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  Speaker 1: the door to the guards to allow the ladies to
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  Speaker 1: pass through. The ball room was soon free from their presence.
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  Speaker 1: The men huddled in one corner and finally were permitted
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  Speaker 1: to retire into another room. Now, said the officer, lay
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  Speaker 1: down your pistols. I have an ample force to enforce
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  Speaker 1: these orders. The house is surrounded. You cannot get away.
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  Speaker 1: The answer he received was a derisive peal of laughter.
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  Speaker 1: At the same moment, a pistol flashed before the eyes
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  Speaker 1: of the officer. As he raised his sword to signal
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  Speaker 1: his guard. He saw it, but for an instant there
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  Speaker 1: was an explosion, and the officer fell dead to the floor.
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  Speaker 1: The guard, amazed, rushed forward to succor their fallen leader.
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  Speaker 1: They were thrown off their guard. One two, three deafening reports,
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  Speaker 1: and three soldiers lay still weltering in their gore. Celerity
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  Speaker 1: of execution is safety, was ever the motto of the Jameses.
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  Speaker 1: The guards who had followed their officer into the house
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  Speaker 1: fled when they saw their comrades fall. The boys rushed
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  Speaker 1: out of the house. The soldiers in the street met
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  Speaker 1: them with a volley of balls, but they were too
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  Speaker 1: much agitated to shoot well. The boys escaped with two
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  Speaker 1: or three trifling scratches. They opened fire on the line
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  Speaker 1: of guards around the house. Seized with consternation, the soldiers
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  Speaker 1: fled from their deadly revolvers. The whole town was excited.
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  Speaker 1: The streets began to team with surging throngs of men,
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  Speaker 1: women and children. The alarm drums were beat in the barracks.
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  Speaker 1: The soldiers hastily formed in line and marched to the
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  Speaker 1: scene of the disturbance. Never had Monklova been so shaken.
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  Speaker 1: Before it was too late, the cause of all the
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  Speaker 1: hubbub had reached. Their horses hastily saddled them mounted, and
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  Speaker 1: were then thundering far away through the dark streets. They
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  Speaker 1: did not travel the highways after daylight the next morning,
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  Speaker 1: but they found a refuge in the mountains, and when
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  Speaker 1: the excitement had subsided, they went their way. Chapter forty three,
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  Speaker 1: Death to the Border Brigands. Frank and Jesse pay their
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  Speaker 1: respects to Pelacios's band. The raiders of the Border punished
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  Speaker 1: by the American outlaws a pleasant meeting with troops. The
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  Speaker 1: ranch of the James Boys furnished a temptation to the
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  Speaker 1: Mexican border brigands, which they were in no wise able
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  Speaker 1: to resist, even if they had possessed the least particle
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  Speaker 1: of that moral sense which enables men to withstand temptation.
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  Speaker 1: The Jameses were successful rancheros. They lived out on the
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  Speaker 1: confines of the white settlements in Texas. Their fat herds
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  Speaker 1: spread over the valleys and ranged over many hills. This
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  Speaker 1: wealth of cattle excited the cupidity of the Mexican border banditi.
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  Speaker 1: They envied the outlawed boys their goodly possessions, and they
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  Speaker 1: were nerved to undertake to appropriate the herds, even if
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  Speaker 1: the lives of their owners should be taken, in order
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  Speaker 1: to compass their wishes. There was a robber chief of
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  Speaker 1: Nueva Leon, who had once been a faithful lieutenant of Cortinas.
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  Speaker 1: The robber governor of the state of Tamaulipas. This fellow,
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  Speaker 1: whose name was Juan Fernando Palacios, had achieved a local
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  Speaker 1: reputation about Piedras Negras, Eagle Pass, Mayer, and other localities
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  Speaker 1: on the upper Rio Grande as a daring freebooter and
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  Speaker 1: a bloody minded murderer. He had gathered about him a
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  Speaker 1: band of men of like disposition, with himself principally fugitives
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  Speaker 1: from justice from the neighboring states. This gang of desperadoes
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  Speaker 1: numbered more than thirty men, and Palacios resolved to lead
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  Speaker 1: them over among the ranches of the Texans. There was
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  Speaker 1: much booty to be gained by a successful raid. It
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  Speaker 1: was at a season of the year when many herds
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  Speaker 1: were being pastured in the valley of the Pecos, and
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  Speaker 1: with thirty men and more, he fondly hoped that he
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  Speaker 1: could come upon and discomfit all the quote unquote cowboys
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  Speaker 1: in that region and drive away the well conditioned herds
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  Speaker 1: at his leisure. It was in the autumn of eighteen
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  Speaker 1: seventy seven. The dry season had withered the grass on
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  Speaker 1: the hill slopes and the upland plains, but down in
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  Speaker 1: the valleys the grass was green and the wild flowers
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  Speaker 1: bloomed in all the freshness of the springtime. Pealacios and
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  Speaker 1: his brigands made careful preparations before they set out. There
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  Speaker 1: had been a season of quiet on the border. Several
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  Speaker 1: months had passed since the last raid was made. The
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  Speaker 1: Mexican brigand hoped to take the quote unquote cowboys unawares,
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  Speaker 1: surprise them, kill them, and drive away their herds. This
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  Speaker 1: was his hope. Mexican brigands are good night travelers. Indeed,
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  Speaker 1: their most important movements are made in the night. During
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  Speaker 1: the daytime, if possible, they take shelter in the chapparal
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  Speaker 1: and remain quiet until the shades of night fall over
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  Speaker 1: valley and plain, and then under the starlight they ride,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes accomplishing long journeys in a thinly inhabited country without
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  Speaker 1: giving the least information of their presence. So secretly do
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  Speaker 1: they move. It was a lovely evening in October. There
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  Speaker 1: was no moon, but the stars shone brightly from the
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  Speaker 1: cloudless sky. El Paso was unusually quiet that evening. There
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  Speaker 1: was not a fandango in progress in the place. The
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  Speaker 1: sound of the violin was not heard within its borders.
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  Speaker 1: The sen Ritas sang no vesper hymns. Pelacios and his
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: robber band had gone across the river into Texas, and
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  Speaker 1: not many young men remained in El Paso. All night,
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  Speaker 1: beneath the silent stars, the mongrel band of the Bandit
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  Speaker 1: Chief rode on toward the settlements of the hated as
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  Speaker 1: well as dreaded Texans. Before dawn they found shelter in
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  Speaker 1: a patch of chaparral in the valley of an affluent
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  Speaker 1: of the Rio Pecos. No one had seen them. Thirty
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  Speaker 1: miles or more they had ridden in the direction of
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  Speaker 1: the fat herds of the Texans. The day passed away,
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: and once more the curtain of night fell, and the
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  Speaker 1: Mexican raiders rode in its shadow. By dawn they had
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  Speaker 1: reached the vicinity of a well stocked ranch. A convenient
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: shelter was sought and found near a little stream. The
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  Speaker 1: raiders were many miles from al Paso now, and the
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  Speaker 1: valleys and the hill slopes and the lower plains were
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  Speaker 1: dotted with great herds of cattle. But the rancheros had
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  Speaker 1: not yet discovered the presence of the enemy, and rested
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  Speaker 1: in fancied security. Pelacios and his band hovered near the herds.
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  Speaker 1: All day, men were sent out to ascertain the number
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  Speaker 1: of herdsmen attending the different droves. All this time, the
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  Speaker 1: horses of the raiders were carefully concealed in a thicket
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  Speaker 1: by the bank of the stream. When the evening came on,
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  Speaker 1: Pelacios was well informed of the locality of all the
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  Speaker 1: herds in his immediate neighborhood, dividing his men into two bands,
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  Speaker 1: over one of which he appointed a notorious murderer from
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  Speaker 1: Meyer named Jesus Almonte, and assumed command of the other
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  Speaker 1: in person. The time appointed for the stampede of the
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: herds was ten o'clock at night. At that hour the
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  Speaker 1: western herdsmen are almost always sound asleep. Pelacios was certain
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  Speaker 1: that his presence on the American side of the Rio
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  Speaker 1: Grande was not known. He had met no one, and
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  Speaker 1: his scouts had reported everything quiet among the herdsmenmen. Ten
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  Speaker 1: o'clock came the Mexican robbers, well armed and splendidly mounted,
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  Speaker 1: quietly left their covert. Almonte and his band proceeded two
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  Speaker 1: and a half or three miles up the stream, where
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  Speaker 1: a large herd of cattle were corralled. Pelacios went down
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  Speaker 1: the creek to stampede another herd of seven or eight
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  Speaker 1: hundred head. The process of stampeding is thoroughly understood by
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  Speaker 1: the Mexicans. The herdsmen were aroused by the approaching horsemen,
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  Speaker 1: but it was too late. The Mexicans were among them,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: and Almontes gang killed two of the cowboys at the
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: upper herd, and Pelacios crowd killed one at the lower herd.
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: The stampede was complete. The herds were turned toward the
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Rio Grande and driven rapidly away. All the remainder of
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: that night and all the next day, the robbers pressed
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: forward toward their place of concealment and shelter beyond the
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: Rio Grande. As yet no pursuers had appeared, but Pelacios
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: knew well that they were not safe on this side
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: of the river. He knew that the avengers were on
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: his track, and he cared not to see the face
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: of a Texan at that time. Coming at night time
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: to the river some distance below El Paso, he crossed
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: over with all his booty and speedily made himself comfortable
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: among his sympathizing countrymen and country women. It chanced about
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: that time that Frank and Jesse James rode down toward
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: the Rio Grande to make observations and enjoy life just
• 20:30
  Speaker 1: beyond the borders of civilization. Being somewhat in the outlaw
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: business themselves, they cared very little for the borders of civilization,
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: or for that matter, for the interior. While riding, they
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: met one of the sorely disconsolate herdsmen, who told the
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: story which we have related with many embellishments, for instance,
• 20:49
  Speaker 1: that a band had come out of the South country,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: killed all the herdsmen in the valley, driven off all
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: the herds, and that he only was left alive to
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: tell of their fate. To this doleful tale, Frank and
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: Jesse James gave good heed, for one of the missing
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: herds had been on their property. The two brothers consulted
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: together as to what could be done under the circumstances.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: They had been into Mexico on many occasions before, and
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: although the frightened herdsmen had magnified the numbers of the
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: raiders so that they appeared a mighty host, Frank and
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: Jesse James were not the men to submit tamely to
• 21:26
  Speaker 1: downright robbery. The brothers resolved to pursue the raiders, and
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: so they rode on and on until they came to
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: the Rio Grande. It was in the early morning. The
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: October sun had not yet appeared above the horizon, but
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: all the eastern sky was refulgent with the coming glories
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: of a lovely day. Frank and Jesse James had ridden far,
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: but their horses were not jaded and asked for themselves.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: Physical endurance is their normal characteristic. They were ready for
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: any desperate adventure such as they were then engaged in.
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: Only for a moment did they pause. When they emerged
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: from the river, their firearms were carefully examined, and then
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: they urged their horses onward. El Paso was silent. The
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: inhabitants had not yet awakened from their slumbers. Pelacios and
• 22:16
  Speaker 1: his band, with their stolen herds, had passed on through
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: the village in the direction of the mountains. Their trail
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: through the sand was still fresh. The James boys rode
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: on three miles away. They came to the camp, deeming
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: themselves safe. The Mexican raiders had taken no precautions to
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: guard against surprise. The herds had been corralled and the
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: bandits wearied by their long marches, slumbered heavily cautiously approaching
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: the Mexican camp. The two brothers, with that quick perception
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: for which they are distinguished, saw at a glance the
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: situation of the camp and the position of the sleeping robbers.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: The dreamers were suddenly aroused by the reports of the avengers.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Pistols Jesse and Frank James were in their midst and
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: dealing death to the miscreants ere they could grasp their weapons.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: Some who dreamed were sent to their account before the
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: fantasy had cleared from their brains. With a death dealing
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: pistol in each hand, they fired with incredible rapidity, and
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: at each discharge an unfortunate wretch fell to rise no more.
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: Terror stricken, the robbers fled in every direction. Some were
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: arrested in their flight by the unerring aim of the
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: outlawed brothers, and some more fortunate escaped to the mountains,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: with life only everything being left behind. In order that
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: they might save it. The corral was broken up. The
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: boys are skillful herdsmen, and soon the great tramping drove
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: was turning toward the Rio Grande. Ten dead robbers stark
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: and still among the cactus patches testified to the prowess
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: of the American desperadoes. They passed back through the village,
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: not a man was visible. They had heard of the
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: fate of their robber friends. Terror Stricken, they had abandoned
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: their homes and fled into the chapparal beyond the hills,
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: which at this point approached the river. The boys were
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: hungry after their morning's engagement and halting at the little
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: Adobe Posado. They ordered breakfast, taking care that it was
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: prepared under their personal supervision in order that no treachery
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: on the part of their unwilling entertainers should succeed. The
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: feat which they had accomplished was one of the most
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: daring ever recorded in the annals of border strife. Then,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: the nonchalant way in which they had ordered the trembling
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: inhabitants to minister to their physical comfort furnished further proof
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: of the admirable nerve of these remarkable men. After refreshing themselves,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: the boys, at their leisure recrossed the Rio Grande with
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: nearly the whole number of cattle which the bandits had
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: driven away. Desperadoes as they were. Palacios and Almonte were
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: indisposed to surrender the rich prize which they had secured,
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: as they thought without a an effort. The two chiefs
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: had stopped in the village the night previous to the
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: arrival of the Jameses, and were not in the camp
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: at the time of the attack of the boys. In
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: El Paso. They lay hidden in a heap of hay,
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: while Frank and Jesse regaled themselves with the best the
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: market afforded. The Mexicans were convinced that a large force
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: of Gringo diablos were at hand, and they feared for
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: their lives. They waited for the appearance of the squadrons
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: of rangers in vain. Gradually it began to dawn upon
• 25:31
  Speaker 1: their dull comprehension that the whole force of the Gringoes
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: numbered just two men. Pealacios, Almonte and a few of
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: their followers rallied. Some hours after the boys were on
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: their march over the rolling plains of Texas. They were
• 25:46
  Speaker 1: furious and boasted of what great things they intended to accomplish.
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: Some time toward noon, they cautiously approached the river, reconnoitered,
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: and finally ventured to cross over. There was no enemy
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: in sight, and the twenty five brigands of the Border
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: became valiant and set out on the trail of the boys,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: who were marching on with their recaptured herds. Encumbered as
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: they were by a vast drove of cattle, their progress
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: was slow. Toward evening, the Mexican bandits came in sight,
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: but they did not venture to attack. Hovering on the
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: rear and galloping along the flanks of the moving herd,
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: the Mexicans made a thorough reconnaissance of the force of Americans.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: There were just two men and no more. Emboldened by
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: this knowledge, they approached with a view of stampeding the herd.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Five well mounted men were sent to engage the boys,
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: while the others advanced on the left flank of the herd.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: But they did not know the character of the men
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: they sought to kill. Out there on the plains. Secured
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: to the saddles which they bestrode, each carried a long
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: range sixteen shot Winchester rifle. The bandits came within range
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: if they ever prayed, the time for prayers had arrived.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: They were approaching unwittingly. It may be the margin of
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: the river of death. The black angel hovered over them.
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: The sun of time was being surely extinguished. Detaching their
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: deadly rifles from the fastenings, each singled out. His men
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: took deliberate aim, touched the trigger, and instantaneously two Mexican
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: robbers fell to the earth, pierced through their hearts. Their
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: comrades marked their fall and knew the cause. They turned
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: to flee. It was too late. Even as they turned,
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: two more of them fell, pierced through and through by
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: the unerring bullets from the steadily aimed rifles of the
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: American outlaws. The other one of the five fled and
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: succeeded in making his escape. The boys fully comprehended the
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: designs of the Mexicans, and Jesse suggested that he would
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: ride to the summit of the swell to the left
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: to see what those devils are about. Riding rapidly up
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: the slope, his horse was soon reined up on the
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: crest of the ridge. There he discovered on the slope
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: below him a party of some fifteen armed men. Bringing
• 28:05
  Speaker 1: his rifle to bear a Mexican saddle was emptied in
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: an instant The raiders replied, but their guns could not
• 28:12
  Speaker 1: send a ball, so far. They were not less than
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: four hundred yards away. Jesse continued to empty saddles until
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: four men were down. The Mexicans turned and fled, and
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: Jesse gave them a parting salute, which brought down a horse.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: When he rejoined his brother, he remarked sententiously, well, I've
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: prepared a feast for the vultures over yonder. How many
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: are down, asked the other, Oh, only four men and
• 28:38
  Speaker 1: one horse, he answered, with a grim sort of smile.
• 28:42
  Speaker 1: The dangerous time for them was the shadowy hours. They
• 28:45
  Speaker 1: knew that all the brigands of that region would take
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: their trail. They were a hundred miles from any certain sucker.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: The Mexican raiders were not to be despised in a
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: night affray. They expected attack, and it is one of
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: the pequas culiarities of the boys that they never sleep
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: when there is danger around them. The severe losses which
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: they had sustained only rendered the pursuers more wary, but
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: they still hovered around. The boys expected an attack that night.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: The sun was sinking low in the west, and the
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: brothers were earnestly consulting as to the best means of
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: guarding against the consequences of a night attack, see, said Frank.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: Away there on that ridge whose top the sun is gilding.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: Are those moving objects men on horseback? Or heard of buffalo?
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: What do you think? The brothers halted since their removal
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: to Texas. They never ride abroad without carrying with them
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: a field glass each. They now raised their glasses and
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: looked long and earnestly at the dark objects moving between
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: them and the horizon. They're mounted men, said Jesse, Texans, Mexicans,
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: leapons or comanches. Which do you say? Asked Frank Jesse again,
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: the mounted men were nearly two miles away, a long
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: distance to determine the character of men or designate their nationality.
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Long and carefully did he scrutinize the movements of the
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: horsemen soldiers Federal soldiers by Jehovah. He exclaimed, Well, I've
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: seen the time that I would not like to see
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: such a company. But I'm confound and glad they've come
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: around this evening. I'll get a napp to night. Anyway.
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: It was agreed that Jesse should ride forward and inform
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: the officer in command of the presence of Pelacios's band
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: of raiders. He spurred his horse forward over the high
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: rolling swells of prairie toward the horsemen who were also advancing.
• 30:42
  Speaker 1: The Mexicans saw this movement and saw the horsemen. They
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: at once surmised that a detachment of Mackenzie's command was
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: out looking for them, and turning about, they rode hastily
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: back the way they came. The boys were left in peace.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: The detachment of cavalry swept onward in pursuit of the
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: fleeing raiders, and the herd, fatigued by long driving, were
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: indisposed to scatter. The return to the pastures from whence
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: they had been driven was leisurely made. The boys returned
• 31:13
  Speaker 1: safely to their abode, and Jesse was welcomed by one
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: who worships him as the world's noblest hero. End of
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Section fifteen.