ATTEMPT TO ARREST THE BOYS.
"The past, we may never forget,
The present, swift its moments fly,
The future, we must trust it yet,
And trusting will not sigh."
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 and his brother Frank,
offering to surrender to the officers of the law and submit to a
trial, on condition that the Governor should guarantee them against
the chances of mob violence and lynch law in Daviess county.
After examining all the papers in the case, and the facts submitted
to him, Governor McClurg declared that he did not believe the
boys had anything to do with the robbery, and was fully convinced
that they could not have been personally concerned in it. This
had the effect of quieting the suspicions of many persons, but
there were others who still cherished the opinion that they were
the instigators of the robbery, and had aided the perpetrators in
concealing themselves, and had doubtless shared with them the booty
which they had secured. In subsequent years this opinion grew into
a conviction, and now many believe that it was Frank James' pistol
which proved fatal to Captain Sheets.
Be this as it may, the people of Daviess county were aroused, and
many of the citizens of Clay county also, indeed all Northwest
Missouri was excited. This led to a systematic and persistent
attempt to arrest Frank and Jesse James, the generally recognized
leaders of the lawless elements of the State.
Among those who firmly believed in the guilt of the James boys, was
Captain John Thomason, of Clay county, Missouri, a citizen well
known and highly esteemed by the people of the county. Captain
Thomason had served during the war on the Confederate side, and was
known as a man of unimpeachable courage. The war over, he returned
to his home, and settled down to peaceful pursuits, with an earnest
zeal to repair the losses sustained during the war. He had been
sheriff of Clay county at one time, and was an outspoken friend of
submission to law. He disapproved of the conduct of the James boys,
and believed that they ought to be arrested and tried for their
misdeeds.
So believing, he had the courage to act. Soon after the Gallatin
robbery, Captain Thomason placed himself at the head of a posse of
resolute men, and started out to execute his purpose--the arrest of
the Jameses. These men have never yet been caught unprepared--they
cannot be surprised. They were aware of Thomason's purposes,
they knew the feelings which he entertained for them, and they
were ready to meet him. That meeting took place near the Samuels
residence in Clay county. Thomason demanded their surrender. They
laughed at the idea. Then firing commenced. The affray lasted but a
few minutes. Several shots were fired, and by one of them Captain
Thomason's horse was killed. The other members of the party did
not care to press upon men so daring, and Frank and Jesse rode
away scathless, and Captain Thomason had to regret the loss of a
valuable horse.
But this little episode did not deter the Captain from freely
expressing his opinion about the boys and those concerned with
them. He had no admiration for the womanly qualities of their
mother, and expressed himself in language much more forcible than
elegant in regard to her.
Some of his harsh sayings about her came to the hearing of Mrs.
Samuels. She was much incensed against him on this account, and
concluded to see him about it. It was ten miles from her residence
to Captain Thomason's house; but she mounted a horse and rode the
distance. She entered the house. The family was dining, and not the
slightest attention was paid to her. She went up to where Captain
Thomason was seated, and said:
"Captain Thomason, I understand that you have called me a----!"
"Yes, I did," replied the sturdy farmer, "and I want you to
understand that if ever I, or any of mine, are injured by you or
yours, in the least thing, I swear before heaven and earth that
there shall not be a stone left of your house."
"Indeed!" was all the reply she made.
"If any killing is to be done," pursued the Captain, "it will be
well for you to kill all my family, and leave none to avenge the
injury."
Mrs. Samuels saw that Captain Thomason was in earnest, and that no
compromise or apology could be extorted, and she took her departure.
The efforts of Captain Thomason were not all that were made for
arresting the James boys about the time of the Gallatin tragedy.
The Daviess county officials hunted them. Detectives from Chicago
and St. Louis tracked them and sought an opportunity to entrap
them. But these shrewd men were not so to be caught. All attempts
to capture them proved abortive.