The Lawton Constitution from Lawton, Oklahoma • 7

i THE LAWTON (OKLA) CONSTITUTION Wednesday Evening May 19 1948 4 I I Dopey 1 i rr It wi 3 I A CENTURY HUMOR Colorful Jesse portrait of himself extreme left (Constitution Staff Photo) he hours confined to a bed due to (Constitution Staff Photo) 'A h' 4 in ft 'V was 1 tl fage seven 1882 Magazine Tells Of James Gang Exploits Pt I ap and I i' box was handed out with its con tents of $10000 and the three des peradoes rode off unmolested A number of train foi lowed all of which the gang were concerned in They put a climax to the audacious career in this section of the country by the rob bery of an Iron Mountain Railroad train at Hill They took possession of the station switched the train on a side track and at their leisure Clell Miller Jesse and rank James Jim and Cole Younger stripped the passengers of their surplus wealth and robbed the express car of $11500 i So many robberies following so fast upon numerous others aroused the authorities and especially the railroad and express companies to do something to protect their large interests Detective Agency was employed to track down and bring these daring out laws to justice During all these attempts to cap ture the desperadoes train rob beries continued One of the most daring of these took place on the 8th of December 1874 at Muncie a station about six miles west of Kansas City The track was torn up and passage was blocked by iwu raus oeing set on end and crossed against each other like the supports of a rail fence ive masked men seized the rail road station gagged the station keeper and then went out some distance and signalled the outgoing train from Kansas City which car ries wem rargo Co's Express 1 wagons being in waiting they were quietly driven to the neighborhood of the home and in a few moments had surrounded the house supposed to contain Jesse and rank James In order to light up the inside of the house to the view of those in the darkness a prepared torch consisting of a cast iron shell about three inches in diameter filled with oil and supplied with a fuse was i hurled through the window Into the kitchen By its explosion Mrs Dr Samuels the mother of the dar i ing bandits of the border had her right hand shattered from the wrist and her pet boy as she called him Archie a bright faced ten year old was almost instantly killed Her husband was knocked down senseless and an negro who had been a servant in the family for twenty seven years was injured So hot and determined was the pursuit of the gang after the train robbery at Muncie which resulted in death that the robbers separated the James boys going to the Pan Handle of Texas where their brother in law Allen Palmer owned a fine ranch rank however soon went to Ken tucky where he was joined by Cole Younger Mc Daniels and a man known as Keen alias Webb alias Hinds and the Huntington Virginia rob bery was then planned and carried into execution 1 The robbery occurred in Septem ber 1876 and it has always been thought that rank James and McDaniels entered the bank leav ing their companions as a guard outside The cashier was com pelled to deliver up what money he had about $6000 and with this booty the' four men rode rapidly 5 out of town but in less than two hours a posse of over one hundred (Continued on Page 8P 1 7 8 ETR ft ZT "I erect iL 1 I ljoc jui i ir rs riif rinrinn ert nr rank James right and their mother The storic piefurs go wth Hm'whXr he 9 ihnn run Account Is Chronicled In Old Paper In an effort to refresh the memory of read ers on the numerous escapades credited to the James gang The Constitution reprints the follow ing story taken verbatim from the September 1882 issue of Police shortly after Jesse James was purported ly killed An artist's conception of how Robert i TL 'y 'y si pnuiuie I he picture was copied from an 1882 issue of the Police Gazette Now it turns out that it was Charley Biqelow who was killed DIRTY COWARD! ord shot Jesse James while the was hanging a picture morning the inhabitants of the quiet little Kentucky town were startled by the inroad of a band of mounted men armed with revolvers and bowie knives who dashed along the streets shouting and yelling like so many Comanche Indians Riding Up in front of the bank two lines of men were placed across the street to guard against anyone interfering with those delegated to rob the bank rank and Jesse James both dis mounted and ran into the bank raftk pointed his A pistol at the cashier's head and commanded him to offer no resistance on penalty Of instant death Jess plundered the safe of many thousands of dollars and remounted his horse and the whole party galloped away The suddenness with which the whole job had been done coupled with the terror their entry into the town had inspired delayed any im mediate pursuit By the time the people had recovered their wits and resolved on following the robbers they were well on their way to a place of safety In December 1869 they robbed the bank at Gallatin Mo Not only did they rob the bank but deliber ately shot and killed Captain Sheetz the cashier after they had collected all the money In the bank rank and Jesse James and Cole Younger were the only ones con cerned in the robbery rank guarded the avenue of approach while Cole Younger and Jesse James entered the bank and forced the tribute Tren followed the robberies of the banks at Corydon Iowa and at Columbia Kv in the latter of which Mr Martin the cashier was I brutually murdered while defend ing the vault In the following I May a band rode into St Gene vieve Mo and after intimidating i me citizens and bank officers i escaped with all the funds the bank vault contained By this time the novelty of rob bing banks appears to have pretty wen worn orr among tnese des peradoes Until 1874 the outlaws were not heard of except rumored accounts of their presence in Mexico and on the Rio Grand frontier i About that time there began a number of daring stage and train robberies which were attributed to a gang under the leadership of the James boys In January a stage journeying from' Malvern to the Hot Springs was stopped and the passengers robbed In the fall of this year 'Kansas City was for the first time visited by the outlaws in an official capac ity The County Agricultural air was in progress ahd it was on Thursday the big day that three fnen not only might have been but were seen to ride up to the gate of the grounds They were well mounted and wore linen dusters and the usual wide brimmed slouched hat commonly affected by Missourians On reaching the gate one dismounted handing his bridle reins to ms comrades He proached the ticket office looking through the window said to the cashier: What if I was to a sav I Jesse James and told you to hand out that tin box of money what would you say see you in 1 was the contemptuous reply just who I am Jesse James and you had better hand it out pretty quick or And the rest of the sentence 'I a slow healing fractured hip suf fered in a fall that friend of the six shooter is never beyond his grasp He knows how to em I ploy it with deadly accuracy too Jesse James at the age of 106 is no showman He have to be Like the Barrymores of screen fame Jesse commands attention Wherever he Is the spotlight fo cuses on his silvery hair his point ed jaws his crystal eyes his ro tund chest his authoritative de meanor Like expect of a centen arian Jesse life is rich In memory a book of memories with many a chapter sealed in blood But he loves to talk of Missouri a land he cherishes as a native and he'll expose his knowledge of the commonwealth landmark by landmark After five minutes In his pre sence you'll realize that be ing treated first hand to a glimpse of a generation long since preserv ed in the musty books of history rank Dalton has a crystal clear mind pointed In his decisions he falters not due to to the infirmities of old age His memories of his now notor ious escapades of the are tempered by the haunting thoughts of nearly 70 years of deceit when he lived under one alias or another a hunted man 'pHIS man forgets that his very 4 name has assumed near hero ic proportions in the minds of Jesse James left told his companion Lee Howk riqht that apprehensive i "a1" nul moments of despondency of IfHfflM bn ssrltls ic krsec rPfllilv fhflf Tifl a vmmm KJ Sill UJJ 1IU1IIVU the strqng contract (Constitution Staff Photo) ItilIer on the fugitive I fSZSSS 4s rik I rt Volumes will be filled with the legends of Jesse James now that 1 he is in our own Lawton Okla where he rode oft times seeking refuge in the shad ows of the Sentinel of the South west Mt Scott As a Lawton newspaperman Don feels proud that fate has honored him to view photograph and con verse with this man who is Jesse James' or it was fate naught else that prompted Jesse to come to our city in the shadow of the aged Wichi tas to make this revelation And it was fate that gave Doc and you his readers an opportunity to hear first hand some of the memories of one of young most cunning and agile minds a man who is guilty of perpetrating one of this nation's most pretentious ruses Sincerely Doc believes that only one greater story could be told That would be if he was reporting that Adolf Hitler was alive and in cur midst or you see Doc sincerely be lieves that rank Dalton a man he has seen and chatted with is none other than the Rnhin Wnna of the United States the legendary Jesse The name of Jesse James is now as well known as that of our most distinguished soldiers and states men The deeds of the James Brothers and their desperate com panions have become part of the history of the country They have been the theme of columns in the newspaper press they have been the subject of debate in great legis lative assemblies and the gover nor of one of the sovereign states has become an active and con spicious figure the closing scenes of the wild ahd romantic career of the chief of the band As faithful chroniclers of the times we give a brief sketch of this remarkable character It is not our purpose to point a moral or adorn a tale Me leave to others a task of analysing the causes of the possibility in this age and this country of the outlawry and brigandage of which he was tlie central figure of moralizing on the crimes of the dead robber or weaving the dazzling threads of romance through the dark woof of his bold and desperate life rank James was born in Ken tucky in '1843 Jesse "in Clay County Missouri in 1849 Their father was the Rev Robert James a prominent and eloquent Baptist minister A pleasant and courte ous gentleman possessed of more education than was common with the ministers of his church in the frontier days of 1843 in that State when the James family moved from Kentucky to Clay County He was one of the first trustees of the William Jewell College located at JJberty and though a resident of uni vicinity only from 1843 to 1849 he has left a kindly remembrance of himself amonv the old utu In the latter named year he went to California and there died in 1851 Mrs James after remaining a widow for five years married Dr Reuben Samuel and now lives with her husband at Kearney on the Hannibal and St Joseph Rail road about thirty miles from Kansas City The mother of the James Boys is a remarkable woman and her life has been a strange and eventful one When the first news of the beginning of the conflict between the States reached Missouri rank Jafties then eighteen years old joined Quantrell's band of guer 'rillas in which he soon became noted for his daring and murderousferocity Jesse only 14 years old sought service at the same time but was rejected as too young Returh Ing home he became serviceable as A spy for the guerrillas in Clay and adjoining counties It was not long however before Jesse joined his brother Thus the lad of fifteen began a career of murder and crime a career of daring and desperate deeds that has no parallel in history rank had already at tained eminence in gang of murderers and cut throats and Jesse emulating his example soon eclipsed him and became the leader in all expeditions' where nerve daring bravery and a reck less disregard for his own or lives was required In command' they found congenial spirits in Cole and Jim Younger Jarrette Clell Miller George and others who became their robberies after the war Toward the close of the 'war Missouri became too hot for the I guerrillas and they scattered many of them going to Texas At the 1 final overthrow of the rebellion I inese recaiess spirits found it diffi cult to return to the peaceful walks of life Discontented and revenge ful they moodily met and planned schemes of vengeance which re sulted in acts of outlawry that soon made their names a terror in the South and West Bank robberies on a new plan became common Instead of secretly entering the bank at night and working with dark lantern and cold chisel in the good old irnv more modern method of getting a confiding board of directors to dis count worthless notes or the latest favorite scheme of getting elected cashier and cleaning out the safethe new departure was for a body of masked men to dash boldly In to a town ride to the bank in broad daylight and at the point of the pistol demand the money from the affrighted bank officials 4 Thus the Clay County Savings Bank at Liberty Mo was robbed 9f $70000 on ebruary 14 1866 the bank 'of Mitchell Co at Lex ington Mo of $2000 on October 30 1866 Judge bank at Savannah Mo on March 2d 1867 and a desperate attempt upon the bank of Hughes Co at Rich mond Mo a short time after Whether the James Brothers were concerned in these robberies will probably never be known It is certain that the Younger brothers Jim White Edmunson Bill Chiles Ol Shepherd Bud Mc Daniei Sam Pope Tom Liddle and other pais of the James Boys took part in some or ail of them The Boys were strongly suspected but they as strongly denied having anything to do with any of these raids and the proof was not brought forward The robbery of the Russell (Ky 1 Bank on the 20th of March 1868 appears to be the first of the 1 aeries in which the James" Rov were positively known to have been was finished by leveling a huge engaged Pn a bright spring navy revolver at the cashier The Wrong Chair Ripped In Hunt or Diamond SPRINGIELD Mo Ten years ago the late Law lost dianmond stickpin in his own home here He and his wife Mrs annie Law ripped a living room chair to pieces But they found no trace of 1 the stickpin During spring house cleaning this year Mrs Law sent several pieces of living room furniture to 1 an upholsterer fnnnri Hrslaaain Tm I I BURIED THE BUCKET ww wr wiiiuMHiuH luc i iuvyk riqnr information more than 10 years ago long before Joe Hunter of Lawton had dug up i Dfirfnnf rllio trt th5 nf knelcJ nr I i 1 Luncw ucuwie me DucKer in the picture i rvCiiit 1 jt i wfiit ri irnvca nimcoir rroz iinH wwww iuvii i I it 1 1 UU On the train coming to a stop one of the men jumped on board the locomotive disconnected it from the engine and putting a revolver at the head told him to run on The locomotive was run forward until it reached the point of obstruction when of course it stopped In the meantime two men had jumped into the express car while the other two stood outside and levelled their revolvers at tjie heads of any passengers that might be thrust out of the window The express messenger was made a prisoner his' iron safe was un locked and the money and valu ables it contained 'about $10000 in cash and a large amount of valu able jewelry taken out The two men who had done this jumped out of the express car and while their companions guarded them from pursuit mounted their horses which were hitched near the track Out of the Muncie robbery grew the sad tragedy enacted at the home of Mrs Samuels in Clay County on the night of January 27 1875 which added one more to fancied causes why the James boys should continue their career of brigandage The proffered reward of Pacific and Express officials for the arrest of the perpetrators of the Muncie outrage'1 again brought men into the fiel3 and one cold evening in January a special train having on board a posse eight heavily armed mentzinVMzl MASIS 1 MVAA ana SIXGUN CODE The famous Missourian posed above with ns VP Tl I iui uuiiun me soiaier at fortune is willing to match his skill with the pistol with some the best marksmen in the xountry and without fenr embarrassment (Constitution Staff Photo) otter 4 Air THE most skeptical man in the Great Southwest when he was first exposed to the fabulous story of Jesse Janies was old Doc him self Doc first received a tip off that Lawton might be host city to an unusual oldtimer one Saturday in April when a wire from a Texas newspaper related that a man re presenting himself to be rank Dalton was enroute to Lawton in I an ambulance for the purpose of "travelling again over the old trail Reporters from The Constitution soon located this gentleman in true newspaper fashion But it was a wide eyed and doubtful Doc who In tile near midnight hour of one April night heard the amazing story that the as he be came affectionately known was pretender to the legendary throne of Jesse James king of America's Kj'" "1 11 never believe it until I see said Doc Hite Thomas of the New Testament Your writer had not long to wait Treading on a feathery foot and in an awe inspired atmosphere Doc laid his doubtful eyes on Jesse just hours later Onco you see rank Dalton all doubt Is dispelled His eyes are a frigid blue steely In one glance and pools of affection in the next He Is barrel chested His body Is hlilln oforval VSaIaa If A io UUV Ul authority His very bearing is dv i namic Wherever he isa picture of Mo 'i ther James and her two boys AUttim $3 uy tin? wide oi rank Dalton His Lawton re treat no exception It lakes not mi experienced eye to discern the similarity be tween the man known as rank Dalton and the Jesse James in that family photograph Even more pronounced (he ItHr lllonnn iL iv i nr 4H f'y derly gentleman and Mother James herself uh0 ha(f reached 8 maturity when tlia picture was I iaken jj Although a law abiding citizen for many decades Jesse James' A'X truest the one that stood saiSs by his side in crisis after crisis in Inrnfic une rAnnrsJ the blood curdling episodes of his one of his twinkling moments of merriment Note that he still has his original teeth trUaty I mTnTTrsvf Xj a A Jn izi Mffl MHB 4z WsK a fifi 4 A A IwWaM a I wnmr aA 'wSmSM a 'wmirmi iff ITJc' nni a SmsaKgXMKSg ''rr DLIMIT HIM mi W7 jt: wwfflaw a i 7rA Is A EH BMunn Ba A sltfr i 44 9 ITS M'WAWk' Jirnri 7 'Wrf a i A Aft Af A a Mt A' 7a 7 7'1 pr AzJrt a 'l 7 4 WWluBi1 iiTRMii iMfflMM liMWll 1 A' A 7: i im KHvc I 1 SA 1 HaE BM ui rr in hg uuitriM a4t 'JgSKsfl A imWr IE? 1 A mgr 4 aSMSvOBsa WW A 1 1 'WWMBKai Imr aa a BA BM KJeSi RB9IHR A 71 i Ww: WHwBI eSip mb lit SS va A'A 7 a1 a P9ttk 7 I JT jA 'L 1 a a a a rA A A MB WjB Aa i BBI EEEbmbmHE9 PAA.