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 Miller had entrusted to them
their watches and jewelry and most of their money, believing that
there was a possibility for the Jameses to escape. The departure of
Frank and Jesse created a diversion in favor of the Youngers and
Miller. The bands of armed citizens followed the Jameses. For two
days and nights the brothers travelled westward, their footsteps
constantly dogged by wary citizens. The hardships through which
they were passing were almost incredible. The men were sometimes
almost completely surrounded by the citizens.
Three days after they had separated from their comrades, they
came to a wilderness region, where the timber was heavy and the
underbrush thick. Here they proposed to rest for a season. But
they were tracked to their hiding place, and fired upon by a band
of pursuers. Frank James received a wound in the hip. The brush
was so thick that the pursuers, who were on horseback, could make
no headway, and three of them dismounted to continue the chase on
foot. The direction taken by the hunted men led to a swamp, but the
season being dry, there was but little mud in the basin. The bushes
were close together, and aquatic plants were high. The three men
seemed resolved to close up with them. Several times the hunted
bandits could have killed the citizens, but for the fact that their
ammunition was giving out, and they desired to take care of what
remained for the last emergency. It was getting late; the sun was
low in the west, and the shadows were deepening in the forest. The
three pursuers were determinedly following them. Once or twice the
hunted men were tempted to turn and try the issues with their foes.
But they kept on. Just when daylight faded away, they emerged from
the swamp, and found themselves in a travelled highway. They had
lost their determined foes in the darkness of the sombre swamp
behind them. They started down the road, which lay along the
bank of a stream of considerable size. Wearied into a state of
exhaustion, they hoped to find a snug place where they could rest
and take some food. But their trials were not yet at an end. In
the lonely depths of the forest, with the dark, still river on one
side, and the timbered wilderness on the other, they heard the
ominous sounds of horses' hoofs. They listened. There were horsemen
behind and before them. In another moment, sounds came from the
woods, which indicated that they were being surrounded.
The wearied freebooters quickly stepped into the deep shadow of
a great tree which stood upon the bank of the stream, to await
further developments. That the horsemen were gradually closing
around them they were speedily convinced. Their situation was
critical. What could be done? The stream below them was evidently
deep and dangerous to ford. Their plans were quickly formed and
consummated. They quietly dropped down the bank to the margin of
the stream, which at that place flowed close by an abrupt bank.
"They were there by that tree but a moment ago," they heard one man
remark, as a party came up to the spot where the outlaws had stood
but a moment before. It was evident that their numbers must exceed
twenty. Stealthily the hunted brothers moved down the stream along
the margin of the water, and close up under the overhanging bank.
They heard their pursuers discuss the situation. "They are still
near at hand, no doubt," the brothers heard one remark. Then the
movements indicated that they were preparing for a more careful
examination of the situation where they were. Soon several men came
riding down the road just over their heads. They had reached a
place where the river runs under a shelving bank and the brothers
could go no further without taking to the water. Four men came down
the bank above, and came toward them. The brothers were constrained
to take to the stream. The water was about two feet deep. They
clung close to the bank, and silently reached a place they deemed
safe, in a cave-like excavation made by the water under the roots
of a great tree. The hunters came to the place where the bank and
the waters met, and, apparently satisfied, they turned and went
back. The brothers heard the clash of horses' feet on a bridge
below, and then they knew that the crossing below was guarded.
After a time all became still around them. They concluded to swim
or wade the river from the point where they were, and, once on the
opposite side, to strike through the country. Silently as possible,
without any splashing, they came from their place of concealment
and waded out into the stream until they were compelled to swim.
The night was quite dark, and they passed over without being
discovered. Climbing the opposite bank, they found themselves in an
open wood. With all the haste which they could make, they proceeded
westward. A mile away they came to a cornfield, and in the field
there was a thicket. Here they found a hiding-place, and, as wet as
they were, they partook of a repast of green corn, and lying down
on the grass, they slept soundly until the sun was up. Waiting
some time in a sunny place until their clothing had partly dried,
the brothers started on their weary way. All day they travelled
without being molested. In the evening, while travelling along a
country road, they met a man leading two horses, one of which was
saddled. They spoke to him, and from his manner and the answers he
made them, they were convinced that he had not heard anything about
the affair at Northfield. They asked him if he would like to sell
the horses he was leading. He answered that it was his business to
deal in horse-flesh. What would he take for the pair? The man named
the price, and, after some bantering, a trade was effected, and
even the saddle on which he rode was transferred, the horse-trader
declaring that he did not own anything which he would not sell.
Jesse and Frank James were once more mounted. They stopped at
a cabin in a lonely locality and asked for supper. A woman and
two children were apparently the only inmates. They learned from
her that her husband had been summoned to help catch a gang
of horse-thieves, and had not been home for three days. Frank
carefully concealed his wound, and the woman quickly prepared a
good supper for them, and, after settling with her, they mounted
and rode away.
The brothers rode all night, and as their horses were fresh and
good travellers, they traversed many miles. They had already begun
to congratulate themselves on their escape, when one day when
they were in the neighborhood of a town on the western border of
Iowa, they were fiercely attacked by seven men, all well armed,
but, fortunately for the outlaw brothers, not very well mounted.
A running fight ensued, and Frank received a desperate wound. But
the good fortune which had so often attended them came to their
aid, and in the darkness of the night they rode far away, and in
the morning reached a house where the services of a physician were
secured, who dressed Frank's wounds. The physician was afterward
arrested, but no evidence of his having knowledge of the character
of his patient was produced, and he was discharged.
The brothers had reached the borders of Nebraska. Jesse had
a "friend" somewhere on the confines of that state, and they
proceeded to his place by easy stages. Here they rested for some
days while Frank's wounds were attended to by a physician. But
the news of Northfield had reached there, and suspicions of their
friend and his strange guests were aroused. It was deemed best to
take an early departure. An ambulance was procured. One of the
horses was disposed of, and the boys by easy stages drove into
Kansas. Their horse and ambulance was disposed of there. At a
station not a thousand miles west of Kansas City they took the
cars, and were transported to Texas. At Waco, Frank was placed
under the care of a physician, and nursed until restored to health
again.
Thus was terminated one of the most remarkable escapes from
capture ever recorded. None other than men of very superior genius
could have succeeded. As it is, the exploit is one of marvelous
adroitness, one which cannot fail to excite our admiration.