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LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES
LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES
THE NOTED WESTERN OUTLAWS. BY HON. J. A. DACUS, Ph. D. "Strange murmurs fill my tingling ears, Bristles my hair, my sinews quake, At this dread tale of reckless deeds." ILLUSTRATED. ST. LOUIS: W. S. BRYAN, Publisher , 602 North Fourth Street. San Francisco : A. L. BANCROFT & CO., 721 Market Street. Indianapolis : FRED. L. HORTON & CO., 66 East Market Street. Chicago : J. S. GOODMAN, 142 LaSalle Street. 1880. Copyrighted, 1879, by W. S. BRYAN JESSE JAMES. FROM A LATE PHOTOGRAPH. C
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CHAPTER I. THE JAMES FAMILY.
CHAPTER I. THE JAMES FAMILY.
The Rev. Robert James, the father of Frank and Jesse, was a native of Kentucky. His parents were quiet, respectable people, belonging to the middle class of society. Their desire was to raise up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Being themselves persons of intelligence and culture, far above the average of their neighbors in those days, the parents of Rev. Robert James resolved to give him as good an education as the facilities accessible to them would permit. According
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CHAPTER II. FRANK AND JESSE.
CHAPTER II. FRANK AND JESSE.
Of prophecy, many have a doubt. And yet there are prophecies from simple lips, and warnings from babes and sucklings, which if we could but interpret aright, might assist us to change the whole currents of life in a fellow being. Deeper than fear or doubting men are thrown into the great vortex of the world's thought and actions. What fortune or fate shall come to them, no one can tell. Every billow in that maelstrom seeks its own wild independence; and the shores of that tumultuous deep—which w
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CHAPTER III. IN THE GUERRILLA CAMP.
CHAPTER III. IN THE GUERRILLA CAMP.
At last the war-cloud, which had been hovering for months over our fair land, burst with a fury that was appalling. Cheeks were blanched and hearts were made tremulous in agony. Missouri was destined to realize a season of despair, such as has fallen upon few people in modern times. It was neighbor against neighbor, kinsman against kinsman, brother against brother, and vengeful hate burning up all that was merciful and good in human nature. The night of woe had descended. The appearance of the r
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CHAPTER IV. BLOODY WAR.
CHAPTER IV. BLOODY WAR.
The presence of armed men wearing the blue uniform of the Federal army in the counties of Platte, Clinton and Clay, Missouri, was commingled gall and worm-wood to the souls of that portion of the population which was devoted to the Southern cause. These constituted probably more than two-thirds of the inhabitants. The passions of the people on both sides were at a white heat. Neighbor was contending with neighbor, and friends were ready to strike down the friends who opposed, and old associates
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CHAPTER V. AT THE SACK OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS.
CHAPTER V. AT THE SACK OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS.
The years come and go, and they give birth to bright and tender dreams, as well as to passions dark as Azrael's wing, and fierce as flames of Tophet. Yes, the years give joy and peace to some, and hope buds, as in the spring days the lilacs bloom. Yet time digs deep graves in which to bury our fondest hopes, and obliterates in indistinguishable night every earthly joy. It is better so. If we could draw aside the screen which hides from our ken the things of the future, who of us would enjoy the
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CHAPTER VI. A GORY RECORD.
CHAPTER VI. A GORY RECORD.
The cruel strife of the border can never be forgotten. Those were tragic days, the very remembrance of which comes like a dream of sorrow and desolation of soul. It is well that such terrible times have passed away, for to those who were exposed to the fury of that tidal-wave of passion, which swept over the fair borderland, physical existence must have been a wheel of pain. But the mighty procession of the ages, sweeping by, will soon obliterate the traces of the storm's ravages, and only the d
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CHAPTER VII. ADVENTURES IN SEPARATE FIELDS.
CHAPTER VII. ADVENTURES IN SEPARATE FIELDS.
The days of Guerrilla warfare were drawing to a close. The retreat of Price and Shelby from Missouri left the Federals free to operate against the Guerrillas. The old bands were decimated. Death had been busy in their ranks; and for the remnants of a once formidable organization, no Confederate army could extend over them sheltering arms. The drama was about completed; the curtain was soon to drop. Jesse James went with Lieutenant George Shepherd to Texas in the autumn of 1864. During the long m
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CHAPTER VIII. THE BRANDENBURG, KY., TRAGEDY.
CHAPTER VIII. THE BRANDENBURG, KY., TRAGEDY.
Frank James went down to Wakefield's house, where the noted Guerrilla chieftain, Quantrell, lay wounded unto death. Had the terrible scenes of the hard, cruel Guerrilla warfare through which he had passed, obliterated from the breast of Frank James every tender emotion? It appeared not, when he bent over the white face of the wounded chief with its traces of suffering and anguish. He shed tears like rain. He loved his leader, and did not hesitate to manifest that regard. Knowing that the hand of
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CHAPTER IX. THE LIBERTY BANK AFFAIR.
CHAPTER IX. THE LIBERTY BANK AFFAIR.
Certainly no one could say that Jesse James possessed any of the qualities which would make him He was constituted of a different element. If he ever felt the sense of dread, no one ever knew it, for certainly none ever saw it exhibited in his conduct. Yet he knew that he was hunted, knew that shrewd, bold men sought to bind him in fetters, to deprive him of liberty, or, failing in that, rob him of life. And yet this knowledge did not alarm him, and the very presence of his foes did not make him
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CHAPTER X. JESSE'S SORTIE AGAINST THE MILITIAMEN.
CHAPTER X. JESSE'S SORTIE AGAINST THE MILITIAMEN.
When the war closed, Jesse James was sorely wounded. It was only by the most persistent and sureful nursing that he could expect to recover. When he was able to travel he was furnished transportation from Lexington to go to Nebraska to join his mother, who was then a fugitive from her home. It does not appear that he lingered very long in Nebraska, since we are assured that before the brown leaves had fallen, Mrs. Samuels had returned to her old home near Kearney, Clay county, Missouri. This poi
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CHAPTER XI. IN THE HANDS OF FRIENDS.
CHAPTER XI. IN THE HANDS OF FRIENDS.
Jesse James, soon after the night attack before related, proceeded to Kentucky, where Frank was stopping with friends. He had not recovered from the effects of the terrible wounds which he had received in the breast just after the close of the war. Frank was still unable to ride abroad on account of the bullet wound in his hip received on the day of the Brandenburg tragedy. In the early part of the summer of 1867, Jesse arrived at the house of a friend in Nelson county, Kentucky, near the town o
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CHAPTER XII. THE RUSSELLVILLE BANK ROBBERY.
CHAPTER XII. THE RUSSELLVILLE BANK ROBBERY.
Russellville is a beautiful village—almost grown to a city—in a lovely region of country in Logan county, Kentucky. The people of Russellville are educated and refined. It is the seat of much wealth and boasts its colleges and academies. In general, Russellville is a quiet place, and from year in to year out its quietude is not often broken by any startling incident. But things will occur everywhere, sometime, to create a profound sensation. It happened that this quiet, prim old place should hav
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CHAPTER XIII. ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
CHAPTER XIII. ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE.
Immediately after the Russellville robbery, Jesse James appeared once more in his old haunts in Missouri. But his physical system had been greatly taxed by the tremendous strain to which it had been subjected. Twice already had he received bullet wounds through the lungs which would have killed any man less extraordinarily endowed with vitality. Scars of twenty wounds were on his person, and yet the man who had gone out from home as a boy; entered into close affiliation with a band of the most d
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CHAPTER XIV. WERE THEY DRIVEN TO OUTLAWRY?
CHAPTER XIV. WERE THEY DRIVEN TO OUTLAWRY?
Were the James boys driven to outlawry? A strange question, no doubt, many readers will think, in the light of the history of their lives. And yet it is a pertinent question, when we consider the tendency of the human mind and conscience to deteriorate under the pressure of circumstances. Environments have much to do in molding character. Perhaps there is not as wide a space between the natural characteristics of mind and heart in boys of eight as is generally supposed. But philosophizing aside.
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CHAPTER XV. THE GALLATIN BANK TRAGEDY.
CHAPTER XV. THE GALLATIN BANK TRAGEDY.
The sudden appearance among the people of a peaceful community of a band of armed men, who whoop like savages, fire off pistols, swear fearful oaths, and issue sharp commands, is calculated to produce a feeling of terror, and, for a time at least, to paralyze the energies of men. By pursuing this kind of tactics, the band of robbers which commenced at Russellville, Kentucky, in 1868, and concluded their last exploit at Glendale, in the fall of 1879, have uniformly, with one single exception, bee
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CHAPTER XVI. ATTEMPT TO ARREST THE BOYS.
CHAPTER XVI. ATTEMPT TO ARREST THE BOYS.
After Gallatin, the situation of the boys became perilous, for although their denials and the affidavits which they were able to procure, served to convince their friends that they were not at Gallatin; still the conviction had grown and deepened that they were concerned in the robbery, and that they had aided and abetted those who committed the crime, even if they were not present in person. Immediately after the perpetration of the outrage, Jesse W. James wrote a letter on behalf of himself an
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CHAPTER XVII. OUTRAGE AT COLUMBIA, KENTUCKY.
CHAPTER XVII. OUTRAGE AT COLUMBIA, KENTUCKY.
The James Boys were good travelers, and did not confine themselves to narrow limits. One week they might be in Clay county, Missouri, and the next in Nelson, or Logan, or Jessamine county, Kentucky, and then in five days more or less they would be in New York City, and in another week they might be found in Texas far toward the Mexican border. The Boys understood the advantages of rapid movements. When they had "business" on hand, they never appeared in the vicinity of the scene of their intende
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CHAPTER XVIII. OUT OF EXILE.
CHAPTER XVIII. OUT OF EXILE.
As Frank and Jesse James, the celebrated outlaws, live separate and apart from the rest of mankind, they have no confidence in men, and will not receive the confidence of others. Frank is a self-possessed, silent man, who cares little for the society of his fellows. Jesse, on the contrary, under some circumstances, might have become a rollicking, good-humored citizen, given to "merry jests and healthy laughter." Both have schooled themselves to wariness and a caution which keeps guard over their
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CHAPTER XIX. THE CORYDON RAID.
CHAPTER XIX. THE CORYDON RAID.
Thus far no arrests had been made of the plunderers of the banks at Russellville, Kentucky; Gallatin, Missouri, and Columbia, Kentucky. Boldly the brigands had ridden, and skillfully they had executed their purpose, and, we may almost say, peacefully they rode away when their deeds were done. At first, people knew not what to think of these daring daylight raids. The best detective skill was placed at fault in ferreting out the haunts of the robbers. Russellville and Gallatin are separated by ma
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CHAPTER XX. THE CASH BOX OF THE FAIR.
CHAPTER XX. THE CASH BOX OF THE FAIR.
Fair time! Kansas City was gay with flags and streamers and banners. It was a holiday season. The streets were thronged and trains from Leavenworth and Sedalia, and St. Joseph and Moberly, and Lawrence and Clinton and regions further removed from Kansas City, brought crowds of men, women and children to see the show. It was a lovely October day. The temperature was mild, and the sun shone through an atmosphere which tinged his rays with gold. All day the great crowd surged and circled about the
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CHAPTER XXI. STE. GENEVIEVE.
CHAPTER XXI. STE. GENEVIEVE.
Ste. Genevieve! To many it calls up sweet memories, and in many hearts the name is sacred and holy. The very words sound as if full of gentleness, and love, and purity. And yet, in the very midst of the Ste. Genevieve of Missouri, acts of wickedness have been committed which from, their very nature, startled the whole people of the West. Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, is an old, old town. More than a century ago it was a beacon light of civilization, in the midst of the vast wilderness then called th
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CHAPTER XXII. A RAILWAY TRAIN ROBBED IN IOWA.
CHAPTER XXII. A RAILWAY TRAIN ROBBED IN IOWA.
"Robin Hood and his merry men," of Sherwood forest fame, have left a name indelibly written on the pages of history. In the days of our youth we have heard or read about Claude Duval and Jack Shepherd, and their wonderful exploits in old England; and we have a faint recollection of one John A. Murrell, who obtained great distinction as an outlaw in the Southern section of our own country. The Harps who infested the passes of the mountains of East Tennessee were celebrated robbers in their days.
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CHAPTER XXIII. THE GAINS' PLACE STAGE ROBBERY.
CHAPTER XXIII. THE GAINS' PLACE STAGE ROBBERY.
They used to say that the James Boys and the Younger Brothers might kill men who attempted to impose upon them, but they would not rob or steal. Those who rob men of life must be the greatest criminals, and the lesser crimes are included in the greater. The career they had chosen required the service which money alone can render. These men had need for money which their legitimate resources were inadequate to supply. Those who have taken many lives will not hesitate long to take a few dollars wh
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CHAPTER XXIV. GADSHILL.
CHAPTER XXIV. GADSHILL.
During the morning of January 31, at the hour of 9:30 o'clock, the St. Louis and Texas express train, with a goodly number of passengers, and the mails and valuable express freight, departed from the Plum street depot in St. Louis, bound for Texas, via the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern railroad. Mr. C. A. Alford was the conductor in charge of the train when it departed, and when the event which we are about to describe occurred. Gadshill, a name rich in historical associations, is a lone
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CHAPTER XXV. AFTER GADSHILL.
CHAPTER XXV. AFTER GADSHILL.
The bold act of brigandage at Gadshill aroused the whole country. The outlaws had become formidable. Missouri and Arkansas were alike interested, and the citizens of both states were ready to make personal sacrifices to aid in the capture of such daring brigands. But who were the robbers? A question not easy to answer with any assurance of correctness. Some said at once that it was the Jameses and the Youngers and their associates. Geo. W. Shepherd, one of Quantrell's most daring Guerrillas in M
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CHAPTER XXVI. WHICHER'S RIDE TO DEATH.
CHAPTER XXVI. WHICHER'S RIDE TO DEATH.
The James Boys were believed to have been the projectors and leaders of the Gadshill enterprise. Soon after that event they returned to Clay county. Traces of their trail through Southern Missouri were soon discovered. The description given of two of the five travellers who took breakfast at Mrs. Cook's on Current river, and lodged at Mr. Mason's house in Texas county, answered well for Frank and Jesse James. The detectives caught at every clue. The James Boys were at Gadshill beyond a doubt. An
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CHAPTER XXVII. A NIGHT RAID OF DETECTIVES.
CHAPTER XXVII. A NIGHT RAID OF DETECTIVES.
After Whicher's melancholy fate, Allan Pinkerton had motives aside from those of gain for pursuing to the death the celebrated border bandits, Frank and Jesse James. In one year, three of the most courageous and trusted men in the employ of the distinguished detective had been sent out after the Missouri outlaws, and were carried back cold in death, after conflicts with the desperadoes. Whicher and Lull and Daniels were asleep in gory beds. And yet Frank and Jesse James, and their followers and
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CHAPTER XXVIII. PROPOSED AMNESTY.
CHAPTER XXVIII. PROPOSED AMNESTY.
There can be no doubt that there was a heavy undercurrent of popular opinion in favor of the James Boys, generated by a conviction that they were the victims of cruel and uncalled-for persecution, brought upon themselves by their adhesion to a cause which was dear to the hearts of many thousands of the citizens of Missouri. Their later deeds were forgotten, while their former acts were remembered with admiration. Though the evidence seemed clear, which connected the Jameses and Youngers with inn
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CHAPTER XXIX. THE SAN ANTONIO-AUSTIN STAGE PLUNDERED.
CHAPTER XXIX. THE SAN ANTONIO-AUSTIN STAGE PLUNDERED.
It had been a lovely day. Nature had put on her richest habiliments of bloom and beauty. The sun shone with a genial warmth, and the air was soft and perfume-laden from the thousands of wild flowers exhaling the rich aroma from the wide prairies. It was an eminently respectable party who travelled from San Antonio on the stage that day. There were in the company the Right Rev. Bishop Gregg, of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Texas, and Mr. Breckenridge, president of the First National Bank o
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CHAPTER XXX. FARMER ASKEW'S FATE.
CHAPTER XXX. FARMER ASKEW'S FATE.
During the time General Jone's amnesty measure was pending in the Legislature of Missouri, Jesse and Frank James remained very quiet. They even opened up communication with Governor Charles H. Hardin and Attorney-General John A. Hockaday, through Sheriff Groome, of Clay county. From all the evidence at present available, we are forced to believe that at this time Jesse and Frank James were sincerely anxious that the measure should be adopted, and were in earnest in the desire to conclude a peace
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CHAPTER XXXI. GOLD DUST—THE MUNCIE BUSINESS.
CHAPTER XXXI. GOLD DUST—THE MUNCIE BUSINESS.
Muncie is a little wayside station on the Kansas Pacific Railroad, not many miles from Kansas City, in Wyandotte county, Kansas. The situation, surroundings and small importance of the place in other respects, were not calculated to give it a wide-spread fame; and yet Muncie has become a place of historic renown, as the scene of one of the most daring exploits of the most renowned outlaws of modern times. It happened one dreary December evening in the year 1875. On that occasion the programme wh
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CHAPTER XXXII. OTHER EXPLOITS.
CHAPTER XXXII. OTHER EXPLOITS.
The James Boys have always claimed that they were driven into outlawry by the very instrumentality which organized society has employed to subserve the ends of justice and afford protection to the rights and liberties of all—namely, the government. This claim, made by them, has been partly conceded by a large class of persons, irrespective of all political affiliations and social relations. So their wild career was commenced, and so it has proceeded through many years. That the Jameses have been
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CHAPTER XXXIII. JESSE'S WOOING AND WEDDING.
CHAPTER XXXIII. JESSE'S WOOING AND WEDDING.
Jesse James, the bold raider and dashing outlaw, in love? Preposterous! And yet why not? Those who have studied the ways of human nature with most attention, find nothing singular in the fact that Jesse might prove an ardent lover, or wonderful in the assumption that he might be beloved in turn. Love is the grand passion after all, and few persons have lived who did not at some time in the course of their lives feel the deep chords of their hearts touched, and realize the tender spell that encha
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CHAPTER XXXIV. A DREAM OF LOVE.
CHAPTER XXXIV. A DREAM OF LOVE.
Frank James was an outlaw. The smooth-faced, beardless youth who came from the school where he had pondered over the thoughts of Euripides, who had all Greece for a monument, to unite his fortune and venture his fate with Quantrell's band, had become a man, bearded and strong, daring and dangerous to his fellow-men. And the sprightly intellect that had enabled him to lead his class, and the youthful ardor which had conjured up classic forms among "the sacred relics of Almighty Rome," as his ment
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CHAPTER XXXV. FAIR ANNIE RALSTON, THE OUTLAW'S BRIDE.
CHAPTER XXXV. FAIR ANNIE RALSTON, THE OUTLAW'S BRIDE.
There are many people about the old town of Independence who cherish pleasant memories of fair Annie Ralston. There are many who knew and loved her long ago, who will not soon forget the beautiful face of the outlaw's bride. And long after those who knew her in the halcyon days of her innocent girlhood shall have passed to the quiet repose beneath the sod in "the silent cities of the dead," her story will be repeated. Many a romance has been based on incidents in lives far less dramatic than has
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CHAPTER XXXVI. A SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLAR HAUL.
CHAPTER XXXVI. A SEVENTEEN THOUSAND DOLLAR HAUL.
It had been some weeks since the people of the West had enjoyed a sensation growing out of the robbery of a train, or the plundering of a bank. Frank and Jesse James, and Cole, and Jim, and Bob Younger, with their merry companions, had been unusually quiet for quite a long season for these restless rovers and adroit plunderers. The gang was increasing in numbers, and was now really formidable. Others as daring had joined themselves to the noted outlaws—the Jameses and the Youngers. Cal Carter fr
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CHAPTER XXXVII. IN MINNESOTA.
CHAPTER XXXVII. IN MINNESOTA.
Hitherto the brigands, led by the Jameses and the Youngers, had only committed outrages in those countries with the physical features of which they were well acquainted. They had ridden through Missouri, Arkansas, Texas and Kentucky, and Iowa was not so far away from their haunts in Clay county that they could not reasonably hope to retreat to their hiding places. The list of outrages already committed by them was extravagantly long. Commencing at Russellville, Kentucky, they had ransacked bank
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CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ATTACK AT NORTHFIELD—HAYWOOD'S DEATH.
CHAPTER XXXVIII. THE ATTACK AT NORTHFIELD—HAYWOOD'S DEATH.
Sometime before noon on the 7th of September, four well mounted and well armed men approached Northfield from the north. They did not at once enter the town, but remained on that side of the bridge in the suburbs for the advance of the other division of the band, which came via Dundas, a small station on the line of the railway about four miles south of Northfield. The brigands from Dundas were Cole and James Younger, Bill Chadwell and Clell Miller. On the north side were Frank and Jesse James,
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CHAPTER XXXIX. ESCAPE OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES.
CHAPTER XXXIX. ESCAPE OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES.
The most formidable band of robbers in this country had suffered terribly in consequence of the raid on Northfield. Charlie Pitts, Bill Chadwell and Clell Miller—the last-named a formidable lawbreaker, who was raised in Clay county—had lost their lives. Cole, Jim and Bob Younger had been captured. Jesse and Frank James were still free, but numerous officers of the law were on their trail. When the Jameses left the Youngers in the Blue Earth river bottom, they were on foot. The Youngers and Mille
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CHAPTER XL. A VISIT TO CARMEN.
CHAPTER XL. A VISIT TO CARMEN.
After Northfield, Missouri was deemed an unsuitable field for operations by the James Boys. Nor did it afford a safe place of retirement for persons who had engaged in such a desperate warfare against the established order of society. But they were accustomed to make long expeditions, and they were at home anywhere. The shelter of a rock sufficed for them in the wintry nights, and the branches of a tree, with their spreading leaves, furnished roof enough for them when the summer nights came. Far
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CHAPTER XLI. THE ROBBERS AND THEIR FRIENDS.
CHAPTER XLI. THE ROBBERS AND THEIR FRIENDS.
Why have the James Boys so many friends? Is it because there are so many people disposed to lawlessness? Are the friends of the Jameses, like themselves, all outlaws? If they are not, why do they yet sympathize with them? How can any honest man succor and shelter them? Can it be possible that any one can be so impervious to testimony as to believe these men to be anything but outlaws? These are the questions asked by those who believe that the Boys ought to have been caught long ago, and lay a l
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CHAPTER XLII. EXCURSIONS INTO MEXICO.
CHAPTER XLII. EXCURSIONS INTO MEXICO.
The wild, adventurous career of the boys has been wonderful. They loved the road, loved to ride at will over the land, and set at defiance the officers of the law. Nor have they confined their excursions to the American side of the Rio Grande. Not unfrequently they ride far away over the Sierra Madres into the valley of the lakes; in Coahuila and San Luis Potosi, they are known of many. In some of these expeditions they pass through thrilling experiences and innumerable dangers. Those border rov
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CHAPTER XLIII. DEATH TO BORDER BRIGANDS.
CHAPTER XLIII. DEATH TO BORDER BRIGANDS.
The ranche of the James Boys furnished a temptation to the Mexican border brigands, which they were in no wise able to resist, even if they had possessed the least particle of that moral sense which enables men to withstand temptation. The Jameses were successful rancheros; they lived out on the confines of the white settlements in Texas. Their fat herds spread over the valleys and ranged over many hills. This wealth of cattle excited the cupidity of the Mexican border banditti. They envied the
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CHAPTER XLIV. A GOLDEN HARVEST REAPED BY OUTLAWS.
CHAPTER XLIV. A GOLDEN HARVEST REAPED BY OUTLAWS.
In the mellow days of September, 1877, a party of seven men came to the neighborhood of Ogallala, Nebraska, and went into camp there. They were "stockmen," they said, and only wished to rest awhile before entering upon the long, wearisome march across the plains to Texas, which lay before them. They had brought droves of cattle from the pasture-prairies of the "Lone Star" state to supply the markets of Chicago and other cities to the east, and it was their intention, according to their statement
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CHAPTER XLV. A VISIT TO FRANK JAMES' HOME.
CHAPTER XLV. A VISIT TO FRANK JAMES' HOME.
During the autumn of the year 1878, a young gentleman of the highest respectability, a citizen of the State of Georgia, being on a tour through Texas, expressed to his friends a desire to make the personal acquaintance of the celebrated outlaws, Frank and Jesse James. His friends endeavored to dissuade him from making the attempt to see them at their own retreat. They represented to him that such an undertaking would be fraught with no little personal danger. The Boys have been hounded and hunte
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CHAPTER XLVI. EPISTLES OF JESSE JAMES.
CHAPTER XLVI. EPISTLES OF JESSE JAMES.
Jesse James is not an educated man in the scholastic sense of that term. In this respect he differs widely from his brother Frank, who has a fair knowledge of the Latin and Greek languages, and is said to be able to converse fluently in the Spanish and German tongues. Frank was a college student when the war was commenced, and Jesse a school boy in a country place. He had made some progress, had learned to "read, write and cipher," and was wrestling with "the knotty intricacies" of English Gramm
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CHAPTER XLVII. GLENDALE.
CHAPTER XLVII. GLENDALE.
The eastern part of Jackson county, the western part of Lafayette, and down southward through Cass county, constitute the very center of the field of operation chosen by the old Guerrilla leaders—Quantrell, Todd, Anderson, Younger, Pool, Clements, and the Jameses—during the war. The Sni hills and the timber-crowned undulations bordering the Big Blue, afforded them excellent hiding places when sorely pressed, and from their fastnesses in the hills they could easily make forays into the very subur
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CHAPTER XLVIII. HUNTING CLUES.
CHAPTER XLVIII. HUNTING CLUES.
After the affair at Glendale, the marshal of Kansas City, Major James Liggett, a cool-tempered, clear-headed man, took charge of the case and directed all movements intended to result in the discovery of the robbers. It was soon ascertained beyond a doubt that Jesse James had been in Kansas City only a few days before the robbery. Then the inquiry proceeded as to who else had probably been participants. It came to the knowledge of the marshal that Jim Cummings, Ed. Miller, and a hard character n
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CHAPTER XLIX. GEORGE W. SHEPHERD.
CHAPTER XLIX. GEORGE W. SHEPHERD.
The name of George W. Shepherd, which attained prominence during the old Guerrilla times, when he was one of Quantrell's most trusted lieutenants, had passed out of the public mind, in a measure, until the events following the Glendale train robbery once more brought it prominently before the country. At the time of the affair at Glendale, Shepherd was following a peaceful avocation in Kansas City. It was known to the marshal of that place, and other officers of the law, that the relations subsi
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CHAPTER L. PURSUIT OF THE GLENDALE ROBBERS.
CHAPTER L. PURSUIT OF THE GLENDALE ROBBERS.
During the days succeeding the robbery, the marshal had learned sufficient to satisfy him that the robbers had gone into retreat in Clay county; and becoming aware of the fact that Shepherd was working in Kansas City, the officer sought him out and engaged him as a detective to assist him in the pursuit. Shepherd consented, and it was arranged that he should, in some way, place himself in communication with the gang. The unfriendly relations existing between Shepherd and the Jameses presented a
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CHAPTER LI. ALLEN PARMER.
CHAPTER LI. ALLEN PARMER.
Allen Parmer is a Missourian. His boyhood days were passed principally in Jackson county. When the late war broke over the country, Allen Parmer was a youth, little fitted to enter the ranks with fighting men. Yet he became a member of Quantrell's band. He first came into prominence among his comrades in August, 1863, at the capture and sack of Lawrence, Kansas. That day Parmer was a member of the squad led by Bill Anderson, who murdered without compunction and destroyed without feeling. He esca
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CHAPTER LII. JESSE JAMES STILL A FREE ROVER.
CHAPTER LII. JESSE JAMES STILL A FREE ROVER.
It required no ordinary sagacity to escape the environments which his daring deeds had created for him, after the robbery at Glendale. Had Jesse James been other than a man of extraordinary capacity in great emergencies, his career would have been brought to an inglorious close before the clock of Time would have indicated the commencement of the New Year, 1880. But the destiny which seems to guide him once more manifested itself, and Jesse James, the bandit, rode through difficulties and danger
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