h^ I 3 T1S3 DD2Mbfl7S 1 4^ fair could hold concealed in its shining bosom so The Juhies Family. 1? fierce a tempest. And surely no prophet could have foretold so dark and appalling a career for these two boys ; cradled and nurtured as they were amid so much of hope and promise. Their early home was in Clay County in the State of Missouri. The Rev. Robert James, the father of these boys, came from '' The Old Kentucky Shore." He was a minister, of no small renown, of the Baptist denomination. He was what is known in that body as a thorough - going, uncompromising close Communist. He is spoken of by some as a sort of natural genius, who by native good sense managed to get along well without the aid of many books or much culture. While on the other hand he is described as a man of wide culture and scholar- ship. Whether he ever graduated at Georgetown College as his friends aver, is hard to tell. This at least is certain. He was a man of firm purpose and indomitable will. He knew well how to put common qualities to their best possible uses. If he had only little mental capital i;> stock he knew how to make the best of the little h had. He was a man of de- cided and pronounced o» mions. Evidently intended to be a ruler and controller of men. He was a great favorite with his own Missouri congregation, and he was a most welcome visitor to other churches. But he was most of all in demand for camp-meeting services. There, he was in his glory. He possessed that indispensable gift — necessary for effective eamp=meeting' exhortation— the gift of rugged, hwru- 20 2 he Life of Frank and Jesse James, ing, persuasive eloquence. It was enough for him to rise in any audience, however vast, to command instant attention. In those old days, when the camp meeting was a genuine reality— and not an organ- ized religious show made to pay, such as camp meet- ings are in these degenerate times— the rocks and up- land glens of Kentucky and Missouri, reverberated with his sonorous voice and the tossing pines] bore the echoes of his matchless eloquence far into the silent night. He was a veritable Boanerges, a son of Thunder. There was no marked gentleness in his manner, whatever there may have been of tenderness in his heart. He was a man of all but irresistable force as an exhorter. Many a hardened man, unused to the melting mood, was terrified into anxious thought, by the stern and terrible denunciations with which Mr. James sought to arouse the aban- doned. He would bid them ''flee from the wrath tc come," in tones of thunder. And when he essayed, as was often the case, a description of what the wrath to come was — when he portrayed the fierce- ness of the fires, the quenchlessness of the flamei: . the agony of the despairing, the torture of demons, the moaning and wailing and gnashing of teeth — it was positively awful ! He seemed to be for the time utterly beside himself. He seemed as one who, if he had not himself trod the rugged pavement of the damned, had ventured to the very brink of per- dition, and had inhaled the smoke of their torment which goeth up forever and ever. And his auditors were of ttimes smitten with alarm as though the fires Tlie James Family. . 21 of Gehenna were near at hand to devour them. These moods of wild entreaty, were for the most part, confined to the camp meeting. In the ordinary discharge of his pastoral duties he was most gentle and winning. A Aveird prophet of the hills ; his mouth full of hard sayings, and his face set like brass against the sins of his age ; he was neverthe- less the calmest and meekest of apostles in the midst of his Missouri flock. And though a whole genera- tion has passed away, since he found a grave where the tall sequios rear their lofty branches above the plain ; he is still remembered with deep and real gratitude by many to whom his kind and faithful ministrations were rendered so long ago. He looked after his farm and guarded and shepherded his re- ligious flock with simple fidelity. He may be said to have filled not unworthily the outline of Gold- smith's village pastor. " Thus to relieve one wretched was his pride, And e'en his faiHngs leaned to virtue's side; But in his duty, prompt to every call He watched and wept, he prayed and felt for all; And as a bird each fond endearment tries To tempt its new-fledged offspring to the skies He tried each art. reproved each dull delay Allured to brighter words and led the way." The mother of these boys was of a sterner kind. Miss Zerelda Cole, whom the Rev. Mr. James mar- ried, when quite young, was never overburdened with gentleness of spirit. Her temper and bearing were most imperious. Of the sweetness and amia- 22 The Life of Frank and Jesse James. bility which we always associate with womanhood, she seemed to be. for the most part, devoid. One glance at her portrait is erough to convince one of the iron sternness of her c isposition, a large, wide mouth with lips compressed in awful firmness, and eyes that seem to be homos of angry fires rather than fountains of happy smiles. The whole coun- tenance is most forbidding. Her form was angular and masculine. A tall, gaunt presence to inspire fear rather than to invite confidence. And yet, while she had no superfious sympathies to throw away, she gained the reputation of being kind and helpful where kindness and help were really needed. She had no sentimental tears to shed, but she had a strong hand and a willing mind to help bear the real burdens of the weak and sad. So if Goldsmith's picture will serve for the Eev. "Robert James, Sir Walter Scott's fine lines will not be inappropriate for Mrs. Zerelda James : '* O, woman, in our hours of ease, Uncertain, coy, and hard to please; And variable as the shade By the light quivering aspen made When pain and anguish ring the brow, A ministering angel thoi' ." OHAPTEE III. t/HILDHOOD AND YOUTH OF FRANK AND JESSE JAMES. DEATH OF REV. MR. JAMES — THE WIDOW'S STRUGGLES —DR. REUBEN SAMUELS — THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF THE YOUNG GUERRILLAS. Frank James was born in Scott County, Kentucky, in 184L Jesse was borij in Clay County, Missouri, in 1845. There were beside these two boys, two daughters. The elder of the girls just reached the threshhold of beautiful womanhood when, to the '^■egret of all who knew her, she passed away. The remaining daughter, Susan, went to live in Ne- braska, and there became the wife of Mr. L. Parmer. They made their permanent home in Sherman, Texas. Frank was an infant in arms when Mr. and Mrs. James removed from Kentucky to Clay County, Missouri; so that all the young life of these embryo bandits is associated with the Baptist Parsonage of New Hope Church. One would hardly have ex- pected that such a home would have been a cradle for such relentless, bloodthirsty men. But it is hard (23) S4 llie Life of Frank and Jesse James. for such relentless, bloodthirsty men. But it is hard to tell. It seems sometimes as if circumstances had, after all, very little to do in making character. They certainly seem to be less potent than is commonly believed. It is presumable that even Judas said his prayers at his mother's knee. Certain it is, that he was surrounded with the most sacred influences and advantages, and yet, in spite of all, the world ac- cords him his place as the arch-traitor of all the ages. The fairest flowers are often found on the least cultured lands. The sons of ministers of the Gospel have often proved to be the wildest and most unsteady of all young men. As the auld Scotch- wife said : '' The worst deils o' the 'parish are aye to be found at the Manse." And for this there must be som.e reason ; and that reason is generally to be found in the fact that there is too often in the min- ister's house a lack of that wholesome restraint that forms such an indispensable element in the cultur,^ of the young. It is the old story ever repeated, Eli restrained not his sons, and they dishonored their fathers name and became a bye-word and a shame in Ancient Israel. In the previous chapter the characteristics of the parents of these boys were portrayed. The father and the mother of these boys were strongly dissimi- lar in their mental and moral temperaments. Mr. James was a man who had less force of character then his wife. And moreover he was so constantly absorbed in his pastoral duties, that he left the government of the house, if it could be called Childhood and Youth. 25 government at all, to his stronger-minded spouse. He saw little of his children, and had very little influence upon them. They were very young; and in the earliest years of life, the mothers have always the mightiest control of the young folks. It was especially so in this case. The mother stamped her impress deep and legible upon her sons. In the year 1850 an important event transpired in the home of the minister of Clay. The discovery of the gold fields of California had spread its feverish excitement far and wide. Not only the whole of America, but Europe became largely interested. If the Philosopher's stone was not found, the gold was found, and that was better still. The eyes of the Old world have many a time been turned longingly toward the new, and never with a wilder enthu- siasm than in the year 1858. Men were a good deal more anxious to go to the ''Diggings" than pious people were to go to the New Jerusalem. Califor- nia was better than Jerusalem new or old. It was the true Eldorado, the bright land of gold, and young men, and men who had passed the fullness and strength of middle life, gave up home and quiet, and tolerably eas}^ circumstances, charmed by the bewildering dream, that they might suddenly become rich, and spend the rest of their lives in affluence and ease. But as Ireland's sweet minstrel the poet Moore says: / " The World is all a fleeing show. To man's illusion given." And so these golden promises in the overwhelm- 36 The J^ifi' t-f' i'l'iiiiL- it till Jt^sst JantdS. lag majority of iustances chaiined only to betray. There were many of tliese adventurers who ''struck gold/' But the greater number struck bad luck, disappointment and dispair. Till "Damn the Luck" became the common phrase on almost every dig- ger's lips. The far away lands, that catch the first breezes of the Pacific have become the sepulchre of thousands who left their qviiet homes to find an untimely grave, instead of a fortune. The tall dark mountains and the lofty sequois overshadow the unknown tombs of many a brave and valient youth, and serve as silent mourners of the unknown and luckless dead. In this year 1850, the Rev. Mr. James caught the eold-fever and determined to take his chances with the rest wiio *' Over the Mountains or tiie Moon, Dow n the Valley of the Shadow Ilode, boldly rode, In search of El Dorado." He had been preceded by a brother, whose rose cob ored descriptions of California and its wealth helped in bringing Mr. James to a decision on this point. What plans he formed in his own mind is not known. He probably thought that his absence from Missouri would not necessarily be long. He bade his Flock at New Hope Church farewell and stai-ted out on a prospecting tour. From this tour he never returned. He was stricken by some mortal disease. Away from home and kindred he died untended and Childhood and Youth. 37 unwatched, and now lies in an unknown grave, where the rays of the setting sun leave their last faint sad smiles. Frank was nine years old and Jesse barely five, when the sad tidings of the father's death reached Clay County. The tidings were sad enough for the ^vido^ ^ and the orphans, but after all it was no doubt best that the father should be spared the sad history of his sons. Better fa r that he should be cleeping; the "long sweet sleep that knows no waking" thaii live to see his sons brought to such dishonor. Mrs. James was not left wholly unprovided for. She had to struggle pretty hard for a good many years. But she had nothing weak or sentimental in her xiature and struggling suited her well. The boys spent some time in a district school. But the records do not indicate that they were very diligent or very successful in their studies. Years passed on, years of struggle and hard work. At last in 1857 Dr. -Reuben Samuels a native of Kentucky was brave and bold enough to propose for the hand of the Widow James, and it required some bravery no doubt. She was no coy blushing maiden to be wooed and won by the sweet blandishments of love. She was a widow well on in years. A woman Avho had been accustomed to sway the scepter of power at Clay Farm; and if Dr. Samuels meant business well and good. But she wanted and would have no fool- ing. Probably the Doctor had known her in the old Kentucky days, and knowing her disposition, ordered himself accordingly. The offer was accepted. 28 7 he Life of Frank and Jesse James. And they then were married. But if the Doctor could have foreseen what perils lay before him, h« might perchance have paused. The boys, Frank and Jesse, were now beginning to reveal those elements of character that, fully developed, have made th^ir names at once the curse and shame of Missouri. Of the milk of human kindness they had none. They seem to have drunk in from their earliest days only bitterness and malice, and all evil. While they were quite young they quarreled and fought like young demons. They hated with the hatred of the most remorseless cruelty. The jocund laughter of innocent youth seldom broke from their lips; but, instead, oaths and curses, and bitter threatens mingled with gross profanity. From their eyes broke no kindly beams, but there flashed the fires of ungovernable hate. They had no pleasant playmates. They wanted none. Their whole disposition was to bully and abuse and domineer; and sometimes they carried this spirit to a shameful degree. One instance will serve as an illustration : When Frank was thirteen and Jesse barely eleven, one of the boys near their farm, himself only thirteen, was unfortunate enough to give these young fiends some offence. Thr brothers waited their time for vengeance. At last it came, the boys met in a large, lonely forest. The boy Smithers, who had incurred the ill-will of the Jameses, was not equal to do battle with both the brothers, so they succeeded in administering a most merciless castigation. But this did not appease their Childhood and Youth. 29 anger. It was the spring-time, and the streams of Missouri Avere rich and full. Frank and Jesse pro- cured thongs of bark and tied and bound the hands of young Smithers and threw him a dozen times, bruised and bleeding as he was, into a deep pond. He begged and pleaded that they would desist. But he pleaded in vain. The more he suffered the more they were delighted. At last growing tired of this method of torment, the young fiends, after extorting all sorts of apologies from the half-drowned boy, finished their day's sport by tying him hand and foot to a great tree, and leaving him there to what- soever chances fate might bring. It was early morning when this inhuman scene transpired. It was not till sundown that some chance passer-by released poor Smithers, more dead than alive from his painful captivity. The poor lad was thrown into a fever from which he did not recover for many weeks, Thus before the elder of these boys had well got into his teens, the cruel murderous spirit was manifest. A favorite pastime with these boys was to tor- ture dumb animals. Cutting off the ears and tails of dogs and cats, and the wings of birds, was a cherished practice, and the pitiful cries of the dumb suffering things was a sort of music they delighted in. Everything that gave pain gave them pleasure. A little fellow living near the farm, a namesake of the elder boy, had a little pet dog, a rat-and-tan. called Fan. For some reason or other, this lad had 'nanaged to offend the young tyrants, and so to get so The Life of Frank and Jesse James, even with him they watched for the little dog Fan-, and at last securing it they cut off its tail, clipped its ears?, then hung it by a cord to the branch of a tree, while they dug a deep hole; after which, despite its almost human looks of piteous plead- ings, they buried the dog alive I and afterward boasted of the fun I Such was the budding promise of the boyhood of Frank and Jesse James. While they were quite young, their step-father, Dr. Samuels, presented each of them with a small double-barrel shot-gun and all the paraphernalia of a thoroughly equipped sportsman. This was quite an era in their history, and now they began a ceaseless and unwearied gun practice. They were soon very efficient and successful sportsmen, and neither bird, nor rabbit, nor squirrel escaped their guns. Guns soon gave way to pistols. The boys had heard of the wild adventurers of the Borders; of their won- derful skill in the use of those deadly weapons; and so by careful saving they were soon able to gratify their ambition and became each of them possessed of a pistol. They practiced in dead-earnest from early daylight, and very soon they became masters of the art of pistol shooting; and their awful success in their many bloody frays i'n after years was largel}^ owing to their persevering practice in their young days. So thoroughly efficient had they become, so precise and accurate their aim, that they would measure a distance of fifteen paces from a tree standing in an open space, and commence walking around it, firing, what to an on-looker Cliildliood mid VuHtk. 31 would appear to be only raudoin shots. But every shot would tell, and by and bye the tree would be completely riddled round with a ring of pistol shots. They went from achievement to achievement, with perseverance worthy of a much nobler cause. Not satisfied with being good shots as they stood or walked, they began to practice on horse-back; and before very long they were able, riding at full gallop around a circle with a tree in the centre, at a distance of seventy-five paces to completely girdle the tree with revolver bullets, never missing a single shot. This strange wild apprenticeship thor- oughly fitted these ill-starred youths for the dark destiny that awaited them, and made them most dangerous foes to all who crossed their path or thwarted their dread purposes* CHAPTEE lY. QUANTRELL'S CAMP. THE WAND OF CIRCUMSTANCES — QUANTRELL'S EARLY DAYS — THE BLOOD-THIRSTY JAY-HAWKERS— MUR- DER AND PLUNDER — DAYS AND .NIGHTS OP TERROR— FIGHTING THE WOLVES BY THE FESTERING DEAD — WHAT MADE QUAN- TRELL THE INTREPID GUERRILLA CHIEF. Charles William Quantrell was without a doubt the greatest of all the cheif tains of those wild lawless bands who afflicted the borders of Kansas and Mis- souri for so many years. No King was ever more absolute with his subjects, than Quantrell v/as Avith his guerrilla followers. As to his personal authority and influence there are not two opinions. His word was law. His will was obeyed without a question. Whenever the Black Flag of Quantrell was reared, it meant death and doom without parley or com- promise. As to Quantrell himself opinions were strangely divided. He has been described by some as "a highway robber crossed upon a tiger;" while others have spoken of him as ^'as a gallant defender of his native South." It is the fortune, or misfor- QuantrelV s Camp. 32 tune of men of more than common power to awake conflicting' estimates of their cliaracter. The same man, wlio is in the eyes of his friends and followers, a heaven-born champion of the right; is to his foes an unscrupulous usurper and fanatic. QuantrelFs was a strange career. Was he an Avenging Nemesis of the Right? Or a monster of murder's foul brood? It is not too much to say that circumstances; — or rather it should be said one bale- ful set of circumstances — helped to make liim what he became. His career as a leader of banditti was unthought of, undreamed of; and all the training of his young days seemed to point in the direction of a peaceful life. But the wand of circumstance, or fate, call it which you will, swept over him, and in one awful night, the peaceful unoffending youth became a living vengeance, an incarnate terror! Quantrell was born in Hayerstown, Maryland, on the 20th July 183G. He was very early bereft of a fath- er's care, but from his young days onward he was a gentle and obedient son to his widowed mother. About sixteen years of age he went to reside at Cleveland, Ohio, in order that he might enjoy the advantages of a liberal education. Here he stayed for some years, little dreaming of the future that awaited him. He had a brother much older than himself living in Kansas City. Tliis elder brother urged Charles William to leave Ohio and settle down in Kansas, this was agreed upon, but before settling down to the business of life, it was resolved that the}^ 34 The. Life of Frank and Jesse James should take a journey together to California. This was in the year 1850. They planned to go by wag- ons;, they had with them one negro, to cook and y3itch their tent and serve them generally. There were at this time blood-thirsty bands of men, known as Lane's Jay -hawkers, who under the name of Abolitionists desiring freedom in Kansas, v/ent up and d^wn murdering and plundenng in the most atrociou.. and cold-blooded way. The brothers Quantrell were en route for Calif orria "The bright land of Gold" as the gold seekers fondly called it. One night they had pitched their tent on the banks of the Cottonwood River. It was one of those early summer evenings when nature seems to wear her richest robes of beauty, the setting sun shot parting beams of golden glory on river, ai^d hill and vale. The evening meal was over, and the brothers were sitting on the river bank talking quietly of other days, and canvassing future pros- pects. Sambo was busy fixing the tent for the night. All was peace and quiet, when suddenly a Dand of thirty of these Kansas Jay-hawkersbroke in on the unsuspecting encampment. The sharj) crack of the pistols was the first sound that broke the silence. The work was quick and effective. The elder brother was shot dead on the river-bank. Charles William was riddled with bullets and left tor dead. Plunder followed murder. Vv'atchee, rmgs everything that was valuable was taken from the dead, and as they thought dying man. Tl»e negro was ordered to gather Up all the supplies. QuantrelVs Camp. 3d The tent was placed upon its waggon, negro and wagons and horses were then driven off and Quant- rell heard of them no more. Wounded and bleeding the younger Quantrell la}^ unconscious till the morning. The bleeding ceased but an awful fever set in. And in this fever he raged and raved. By the second night he became somewhat conscious, and as he heard the flapping of buzzard's wings, and not far awa.y the ominous howling of hungry wolves; he crawled to where his dead brother lay, and all that awful night, and all next day kept sacred vigil by the dead and f ougkt aw^ay the birds of prey and the angry wolves. Faint and sore, and weak from loss of blood; he rolled himself down to the river's brink to quench his thirst. But he did not wish to die. He was resolved to live! To live to be avenged! On the morning of the third day after the Jay- hawkers' raid an old Shawnee Indian, Golightly Spieback chanced tp pass by. and his kind old heart warmed to the suffering lad. He staunched his wounds, he dug a grave and helped to bury the murdered brother. There was no coffin or shroud, nor priest nor passing bell. When the rude funeral w^as ended the grand old Shawnee invited the cheif mourner of that sad scene to a place in his wagon, and promised to drive him by easy stages to his Indian home. Charles William Quantrell accepted Spieback's kindness. But before he left that spot " by horror haunted, " he fell upon his knees by the grave-side of him, who had been more like a fathe? 36 'ike Life of Frank and Jesse James, than a brother through all the years of his orphan- age, and swore eternal vengance against all the Jay hawking tribe ! Call that scene by the Cottonwood River the wand of circumstance, or of fate, or the Avand of '' murder most foul; " waving over the head of young Quant- rell, it marked out his destiny and made him bitter, relentless, witheut mercy whenever the name of a Jayhawker was breathed. Years passed by and the warfare of the Border grew more and more furious. Quantrell gathered round him such men as Todd and Scott, Anderson and Blant, Yager and Hulse and Gregg, the Younger Brothers — and the heroes of these pages, Frank and Jesse James. He became cliief of the chiefs. The master spirit of the guerrilla's ot Missouri. Many a young Missourian flushed with a wild ambition, longed for the honor of a place in Quantrell's camp, and craved for themselves no greater joy than the free wild life of those who followed QuantrelFa Black Banner of Death. li'4^,f| I jiLl^ MM OHAPTEE V. FRANK JAMES FOLLOWS QUANTRELL. THE SAMUELS' STRONG FOR THE SOUTH — MRS. SAMUELS HATES THE BOYS IN BLUE — BRUTAL OUTRAGE AT THE SAMUELS' HOMESTEAD — DR. SAMUELS LEFT FOR DEAD — MRS. SAMUELS TO THE RESCUE — JESSE TORMENTED — THE FEDERALS MAKE A SECOND RAID — MRS. SAMUELS AND SUSIE IN JAIL — JESSE BECOMES A GUERRILLA. The wild exploits of Quantrell's lawless band fell like a charm on the spirit of young Frank James. Probably the stories he heard were greatly exagger- ated. But the free reckless life, the daring and the danger, the romance of the da3% and the stories by the camp-fire at night, the companionship of defiant spirits who could be merry in the midst of peril, and laugh in tlie very face of death; all these things, seen with the eager eyes of romantic youth, served to complete the enchantment. And Frank, tired of the monotony of the farm and the uneventful life he led, resolved to cast in his lot with these wild 38 The Life of Frank and Jesse James, bandits of western Missouri. No dream of wealth or honor hired him on. It was just the spirit of wild adventure that possessed him. And so in the twilight gloaming of an evening in the early spring of 1862, Frank, well armed, saddled his horse and bade farewell forever to the peaceful pursuits of life, to become a robber and a murderer ! It should not be overlooked, however, that these guerrillas were not regarded universally as of the robber brood, exclusively. They were not only tol- erated in many of their awful raids, but actually encouraged by many strong partizans, as avengers of brutal and unprovoked wrongs. Robin Hood of old renown — the lawless master of Sherwood forest — was not regarded as such a dreadful moral delinquent, when he nobbed fat, wealthy Monks and Abbots, and ramsacked Abbey and Cloister to feed the starving poor. And when these wild followers of Quantrell brought swift vengeance home to a group of Federal militia-men, or a band of Kansas Jayhawkers, they were openly applauded. The Samuels family were very strongly Southern in their sympathies. Both the Doctor and his wife had brought from their native Kentucky uncompro- mising attachment to Southern institutions. Their hearts were thoroughly in the movement for seces- sion. And as we have already seen, Mrs. Samuels was thorough in all things ; and in this matter she took a firm and definite stand. She could not be called a politician. - But she could act like one. She hated the Northern cause. She hated the sight of Frank James Folloivs Qiiantrell, 8S the Boys in Blue. And not being disposed ever to hide her light under a bushel, it soon l)ecame pretty \tidelY known, that if she could aid in the discom- forture of the Federal soldiers, slie would not scru- ple much as to the means to attain such an end. Indeed there is no doubt that she was often secretly at work. Quantrell could count upon her help, and never once found her information to be misleading. She would find out — by what means it would be hard to tell — the movement and plans of the Federal troops, and then Jesse in the darkness of the night, would mount his swiftest horse and ride through the gloomy wilderness of western Missouri and never halt till he had delivered all his important tidings to the guerrilla chief. Her house had often been the scene of secret midnight conferences. The Federal militia men suspected that the Samuels were their secret foes, and after a long period of non- interference they came down upon the Kearney farm and committed one of those brutal outrages which very nearly cost Dr. Samuels his life. It was in the month of June, 1862, a very short time after Frank's departure, a company of Mis- souri militia presented themselves at the farm near Kearney, in Clay County. They were resolved to make an example of the whole family. They first of all met Dr. Samuels, whom they addressed in language that could leave no doubt in his mind that they meant to carry affairs to the bitter end. It was in vain he pleaded that he was leading a pea^.e- ful farmer's life/ ^nd didn't desire to be mixed up \n 40 Tlie Life of Frajik and Jesse James. the strife of, the time. They told him — what he knew much better than they did — that he and his whole family were in secret alliance with Quantrell and his followers. Frank was at the camp, Susie was away from home, Jesse was ploughing In the fields. Mrs. Samuels was nowhere to be seen. But she saw all that was going on. all the same. They had not come unprepared for their work. They produced a strong, stout rope with which they securely pinioned the unresisting Dr. Samuels. Amid jeers and ril^ald jests they hurried him into a wood within sight of his home. After further insult, they fastened a rope into a noose round his neck, then throwing the other end of the rope over the limb of a tree, they drew him up hastily and with farewell curses left him to choke to death. They then went in quest of Jesse whom they intended to treat in a similar manner. Meantime Mrs. Samuels who had been an unseen witness of the hanging of her hus- band, came to the rescue, and with almost super- human strength, climbed the tree and managed to cut him down, then carried" him, more dead than alive, back to the house. And by long and patient nursing managed to save his life. Meantime these gallant warriors went in search of Jesse. Here was a boy of barely sixteen years of age, on whom the men who bore the name of soldiers, were about to wreck their vengeance. They charged him with being a medium of communica- tion with Quantrell. They put a rope round his neck and told him that his hour had come. If they thought Frank James FoUoics Quantrell. 41 by these means to intimidate him they were gravely mistaken, for Jesse turned upon them a look of stolid and scornful indifference. His youth and manifest courage had some influence with his tor- m enters, so after further abuse and after pricking him freely, they gave utterance to the most awful threats with their swords, garnished with sundry oaths, as to what they would do if he ever dared to ride to Quantrell's camp again with any message good, bad, or indifferent. Supposing that they had made a full end of Dr. Samuels, and being pretty well satisfied with their day's diversions, they de- parted leaving Jesse to follow his plow. Not long after, hearing that Dr. Samuels was still alive and that Jesse was still taking his midnight rides, a second raid was effected, and it was deter- mined that this time both Dr. Samuels and Jesse must die. But the birds had flown ! Neither the Doctor, nor Jesse could be found. Mrs. Samuels and her daughter Susie were at home. But they refused point blank to give any infbrmation. The soldiers threatened, but did not alarm the women. And especially from Mrs. Samuels, who was a magnif- icent hater, the soldiers got as good as they gave. Greatly enraged at being baulked of their chief prey, they arrested Mrs. and Miss Samuels and took them to the jail at St. Josephs. Here they were kept for weeks in a place reeking with filth and ver- min. And they were subjected to all sorts of course brutal jests and obscene conversation from tlieir vulgar-minded guards. But Mrs. SamueFs indom- 42 The Life of Frank and Jesse James, itable spirit did not forsake her. And what they uttered in insult, she answered back in scorn. Tliis last outrage filled Jesse's cup of determina- tion to the brim. All his ambition w as, to march to the music of guerrilla warfare. It is said that he had already begged to be admitted to QuandrelFs wild confederacy, but had been refused on account of his youth. Now he was resolved. The attempted murder of his step-father, the imprisonment of his mother and sister in a miserable, loathsome dungeon was more than enough, to say nothing of the threats and insult that had been offered to himself. So without delay Jesse saddled his horse and turning his back upon a home that had grown intolerable, and now had become unsafe, he followed the wake of his brother Frank. He was barely sixteen, with a smooth, handsome face, deep blue eyes and a com- plexion as soft and delicate as a girl's. There seemed to be in him no material out of which to make a bandit and a murderer. Biit the die was cast. The fashion of his life was set. The brothers were to- gether now, following the same bannei% marching in the same bloody path. Destined to be for many a long year twin wraiths of slaughter. CHAPTER VI. THE TERRIBLE (lUERRILLA OATH. QUANTRELL'S sagacity — SYSTEM AND ORDER IN THE CAMP — THE DREADFUL OATH. If the sagacity and energy, the strong common sense and indomitable perseverence of Quantrell had been devoted to some worthy object in life, they would have secured for him an honorable place in society. He was a man of great foresight, and very soon discovered that if there was an absence of sys- tem and order and discipline amongst his followers; his band, instead of being compact like the Phalanx of Ancient Greece, would very soon become a rope of sand. The secret of success is having leaders who can lead, and followers who will follow. For lack of this many causes, good and bad, have been de- feated. Quantrell could lead, and he would be fol- lowed. Wild and lawless as were these terrible robber-bands, they were loyal and obedient to the law that ruled the camp. The terrible black ban- ner, made and presented by Annie Fickle, and borne by Jim Little through so many daring escapades, was the in hoc signo of their dread warfare. But (43) j#$ TJie Life of Frank and Jesse James. terrible as was the sign and dark as were its folds, it was but a feeble sign compared with the terrific character of the oath by which each candidate for guerrilla warfare bound himself. If oaths could bind, surely this oath of Quantrell's was binding. It was a pledge and declaration of purposes so dire and dreadful, that one's blood chills at the reading of it; and the men who voluntarily made it amid awful surroundings needed to be men of determined de- pravity It was never administered except when the light of day had faded and the black pall of night had fallen on Nature's fair scenes, then this oath was to be made, and made in the presence of witnesses who were armed to the teeth; and in order that it may be clearly understood what manner of men these guerrillas undertook to be, the grimoath, of which Quantrell was the author, is inserted here. The can- didate for lawless perils and distinctions, having expressed his ambition to join the ranks of the dreaded Quantrell, was made to swear this oath be- neath the darkened heavens and in the solemn silence of the night : "In the name of God and Devil, the one to punish and the other to reward, and by the powers of light and darkness, good and evil, here, under the black arch of heaven's avenging sym- bol, I pledge and consecrate my heart, my brain, my body, and my limbs, and swear by all the powers of hell and heaven to de- vote my life to obedience to my superiors; that no danger or peril shall deter me from executing their orders; that I will exert every possible means in my power for the extermination of Federals, Jay hawkers, and their abettors; that in fighting those whose ser- The Terrible Guerrilla Oath, 45 pent trail has winnowed the fair fields and possessions of our allies and sympathizers, I will show no mercy, but strike, with an nvei\;?ing arm, so long as breath remains. •* I further pledge my Jieart, my brain, my body, and my limbs, nover to betray a comrade; tlia.t [will submit to all the tortures cunning mankind can inflict, and suffer the most horrible death, rathcn- than reveal a single secret of this organization, or a single word of this, my oath. "I further pledge my lii^art, my brain, my body, and my limbs, never to forsake a comrade when there is hope, even at the risk of great peril, of saving him from falling into the hands of our enemies; that I will sustain Quantrell's guerrillas with my might and defend them with my blood, and, if need be, die with them ; in every extremity I will never withhold my aid, nor abandon the cause with which I now^ cast my fortunes, my honor and my life. Before violating a single clause or implied pledge of this obliga- tion, I will pray to an avenging God and an unmerciful devil to tear out my heart and roast it over the flames of sulphur : that mj head may be split open and my brains scattered over the earth ; that my body may be ripped up and my bowels torn out and fed to carrion birds ; that each of my limbs ma}' be broken with stones, and then cut off. by inches, that they may feed the foul- est birds of the air; and lastly, may my soul be given unto tor- ment, that it may be submerged in melted metal and be stifled by the fumes of hell, and may this punishment be meted out to me through all eternity, in the name of God and devil. Amen." At the conclusion of the oath, tlie candidate was turned successively to the east, west, north and south, while four men, clothed in red and black suits, and wearing hideous masks, representing the devil, drew their long, keen swords and presented them at the newly-made guerrilla, one pointing at his heart, another at the head, another at the abdomen and the other shifting his weapon from the arms and feet. Bound by such an oath and installed by such a 46 The Life of Frank and Jesse James. strange, weird ceremony, rank and Jesse James set forth on a career that turned out as dark and dreadful as the oath was terrific. CHAPTER YII. OPENING FIRE. RICHFIELD AND PLATTSBURG — FIENDS IN WESTERN MISSOURI — RAID ON RICHFIELD — FRANK JAMES A SCOUT— MOONLIGHT INTERVIEW WITH MRS. SAMUELS — PLATTSBURG CAPTURED— THE SPOILS OF WAR. To some extent at least it must be conceded that Frank and Jesse James were the product of their times. The fierce passions roused by the dreadful conflict between North and South, were sowing seeds of bitterness and strife amongst those who had been for many long years firm, fast friends. Sides were taken by the elders, and the young people soon followed the example, and these two brothers trained and nurtured by one whose strongest s^anpathies, as we- have seen were for the Southern cause, a woman of strong controlling power, who left the impress of her character on all with whom she came in contact, influenced largely the future of her sons. In these days it was all but impossible to occupy a neutral position. You must either be for the sunny (47) 48 The Life of Frank and Jesse James. South, or for the ''Blood-thirsty over-reaching North," as Mrs. Samuels would have mildly expressed herself. Throughout the wliolc of the Counties of Platte, Clinton and Clay, tlie feeling was most intense. At last two-thirds of th(^ people favored the Southern cause, and hated witli a per- fect hatred the sight of a Federal soldier in his uni- form of hlue. This feud spread fai'and wide. Old- time friends became implacable foes. Men who had ever^^thing in common, save tliis one question, were at daggers draAvn. Father against son, brother against brother, friend against friend. Even the women entered into the controversy with most characteristic zeal, and instead of discussing domes- tic affairs, or wasting their breath on the frivolities that are supposed to form the staple of the talk of their sex, they became fierce politicians and talked long and loud, and like Desdemona wished that Heaven had made them men that the}' might go and tight. Of social intercourse there was none except amongst fierce partisans. Business was harrasscl, church life was stagnant and well nigh dead. The whole framework of society was shaken to its foun- d actions. Frank and Jesse James, in many things most dis- similar, were one at least in lM)ldness a))d intrepioth with QuantrelTs ba,ii