FRANK AND JESSE.
"There will be storms
In causeless, strange abuse, and the strong breath
Of busy mouths will blow upon our course."
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 we call human society--are strewn along with the
dull wrecks of what were once glorious schemes--the bright day
dreams--once borne buoyantly upon the topmost waves. These, and
myriads of other schemes and hopes, are at last remanded to lie
under the dark waters of the Sea of Fate, hidden so completely that
no thought of man shall ever again recall them to memory.
It is perhaps best so. It would be equivalent to the expulsion
of all the joys of life to have opened before us the book of the
future, wherein is recorded the deeds which must be performed, and
the sorrows which shall fall, dark and impenetrable--extinguishing
every scintillation of joyous hope.
It was best for Robert James, the minister, that he was called home
before the shadows fell, before the prophet's voice gave warning
of the things which should come to pass. It was well he was spared
the revelation, so that when the summons came, in peace he drew
around him the drapery of his couch, and while the brilliant sun
of an undimmed faith shone full upon him, he laid aside the load
of life, and went into the presence of the Deity, satisfied with a
career which had more of love toward mankind than displeasure at
the conduct of the world.
When their father was laid away in a far-off grave, Frank was
but a "wee boy," and Jesse still an infant. From him they had
received few lessons to guide them through the thorny ways of
life. Their widowed mother became their counsellor and teacher.
From her they had inherited their most pronounced traits of
character--strong-willed, courageous, self-assertive, and
unrelenting toward those who had given cause of offense.
Those who knew them during the days of their childhood and youth,
differ widely in opinion concerning the character of the promise
they gave of their future course in life. Some say they were "nice,
well behaved boys," others that "they were about like other boys,"
and yet another class say that they were "bad boys, very bad boys
from the beginning." There is no doubt that they were sometimes "a
little wild," as their best friends admit. We have accounts of some
of their childish actions which indicate that even in early life
they manifested a decided inclination to be malicious, not to say
heartless and cruel.
The step-father of the boys seems to be a man of amiable
disposition, and his government over the children was far from
being after the order of the traditional step-father. The
consequence was Frank and Jesse advanced to the years of maturity
without any of those healthful, restraining influences which
moralists assure us are essential to the proper development of
the higher qualities of manhood. Be that as it may, we have
been assured by persons of the highest respectability, who were
acquainted with them long before the commencement of the war
between the States, that "they were their own masters" at a very
early age, save only when their strong-willed mother asserted
her prerogative to dominate over them, which, by the way, she
seldom did. Among the boys of the neighborhood they were not
without friends. But among them, they were leaders. Aside from a
willingness on the part of other boys to accept such leadership,
the Jameses were exceedingly disagreeable, and generally attempted
to enforce a due recognition of their superiority. Such were the
great outlaws as boys.
It is related of them, that when Frank was thirteen, and Jesse
eleven years of age respectively, they met a boy with whom at some
previous time they had engaged in a childish wrangle. The lad who
had incurred their ill-will was thirteen years old, well developed,
and possessed of courage and determination. But he was not able
to engage successfully in a contest with the brothers. It was in
the spring time. The streams were full and deep. The boys met in a
large forest. The Jameses attacked their neighbor, and succeeded
in administering to him a severe beating. Not content with this,
they procured thongs of tough bark, bound their victim securely and
threw him into a deep pool in a neighboring stream. Several times
was this ducking process repeated, to the great terror of the boy,
and the infinite satisfaction of his tormentors. After satiating
their vengeance in this way, until thoroughly wearied, the young
tyrants drew him out and tied him securely to a tree in the midst
of the gloomy forest. It was in the morning when they left him
there, and he was not released until nearly dusk, when a neighbor,
who was out in pursuit of squirrels, heard his cries and went to
his assistance. The boy had suffered so much, that he was thrown
into a fever, from which he did not recover in many weeks. These
tyrant boys were the predecessors of the guerrillas and the outlaws.
It was an early ambition of Frank and Jesse to have and use
fire-arms. Dr. Samuels presented each of them with a small
double-barrel shot-gun, and the accompanying accoutrements of the
sportsman. The day the gift was received was a proud and happy
one to the boys. They soon learned to use them, and in a brief time
they were expert shots, and many feathered songsters ceased to sing
forever before their unerring aim. Rabbits, squirrels and other
small game were their prey.
[Illustration: In the Woods with their new Shot-Guns.]
But shot-guns lost their novelty after awhile, and they yearned for
pistols. They had read or heard of the skill of the adventurers
away out on the borders, and they dreamed of rivaling them some
day. At last by dint of self-denial and persistent saving, Frank
and Jesse were made glad by an opportunity which was offered to
procure pistols, on the occasion of a visit to St. Joseph, which
they were permitted to make in company with Dr. and Mrs. Samuels.
We may safely conclude that the pistols were not of the pattern
which the outlaws of the present day most esteem. But they had
pistols, and the neighbors in the vicinity of the Samuels'
residence very speedily became painfully aware of the fact, by
the perpetual reports of their weapons while they were out "at
practice," which was nearly every hour of daylight. This constant
practice gave them proficiency in the use of such weapons, and long
before they had arrived at manhood's estate they were masters of
the art of pistol shooting.
They became noted throughout the neighborhood for their skill. So
accurate had become 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 glancing shots as they walked, and
so continuing until they had completely girdled the tree. Later
in life they acquired such skill that they would ride at a full
gallop around a circle, with a tree in its center, at a distance
of seventy-five paces, firing as they rode, and entirely girdle
the tree with revolver bullets, never losing a single shot. Thus
Frank and Jesse had become masters of an art which rendered them
dangerous foes when the days of turmoil came.
[Illustration: Girdling a Tree.]
So the years passed away, and the lads had already grown to be tall
and shapely, when the tocsin of civil war rang throughout the land.
They were not then old enough to enter at once upon the duties
incumbent upon soldiers. But they were growing apace, and the days
of strife and bloodshed were not destined to pass away ere they
grew strong enough to ride with the strongest, and bold enough to
face danger with the most daring.
We may well suppose that all their dreams at that momentous period
were of war, bloodshed, and all the concomitant horrors of warfare.
The shadow of Destiny had fallen athwart their pathway when the
first gun was fired--the pandemonium of passion, still dormant in
their breasts, was ready to be kindled in all its baleful fury.