The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1876-11-29
TWO BOLD BANDITS.
How the James Brothers Escaped from
Tn Dangerous NeighborhoOd In
sfiuneSOfa-
TSedalia MOI Bazoo.

minnesota
[Sedalia MOL Bazoo.
From gentleman direct from Minnesota,
aud who lives right in the neighborhood OF |
where the Youngers were captured. we yes !
terday obtained some interesting incidents
connected with the escape of the James
brothers. never before published. He states
that II the robbers had had a good knowl-
edge of the country, there is no doubt
but what they all would have made their
escape as easy as they ever Cad alter one OF
their transactions in Missouri. After the
gang got into thicket they pushed ahead
until they found themselves upon penin-
sula entirely surrounded 10y lakes and
marshes, from which there was no cs
cape except by narrow neck connect
ing with the main land. This neck was
guarded by the pursuers. and consequently
they were hemmed IN the trap into which
they had unwittingly walked. While in
the thicket composed nf sumach and
prickly ash where it was impossible 10 see a
man ten feet, the James boys left the
Youngers and proceeded TO strike
ont on their own hook. They
followed up small creek or branch
for considerable distance, and finally
tracing il to It's head, came out upon the
prairie in the direction of Garden City. Here
they were in a quandary. Tosproceed was
dangerous; TO turn back was dOublv 50, for
they knew they had escaped the thicket just
| in time to prevent being surrounded. There
/ was but one course to pursue, and that was
TO Garden City, and straight through the
! town while it was wild With
excitement. With defiant, easy
nonchalance they boldly passed by
the armed groups who were pre-
! pairing 10 take the field, who little dreamed
that the dreaded objects of their search-the
| famous Missouri bandit chiefs-were right
at their elbows, and listening to their con-
| verSation and plans. With indomitable
nerve and iron will Frank James concealed
the lameness occasioned by the ball
in his leg, and strobe along with
| all the elasticity of the y step of a
youth. Fortune. it is said. fayOrs the brave.
and this very boldness was their safeguard.
| The people who thronged the streets and
| sidewalks did not dream that any OF the
band dared to approach a country road
much less pass through the heart of their
| town. Consequently no attention was
paid to the two stalwart men, who
safely gained the outskirts of the village.
| Here they drew long breath of relief and
| congratu ated each other on their good for
| tune. Although the whole country was
alive aud armed parties guarded every road,
| they we're out on the broad prairie where
| they could see for miles, and not in a treach-
| erous thlcket where they could be sur
A
was TO procure horses, and once well
mounted, and armed as they were, they
| could bid defiance to the hosts who were
on their trail with the keen scent of
sleuth-hounds. Here again fortune favored
them. After stopping at farm house and
| procuring dinner, they proceeded on their
way westward. Nearly all the farmers in
that portion OF the state who were not in
| pursuit of the robbers had their stables Sc
| curely locked, and il was sometime before
| they came to anything that looked like
horse flesh. At last, just as they
were about to despair, they suddenly
| came upon pair of magnificent
| iron grays. They were beauties, and the
best horses in that part of the state, having
| taken the premium at the fair the year be
fore. They belonged to a gentleman who
| was off electioneeriDg. little thinking that
! while he was congratulating his expected
| constituents upon the capture OF the rob
bers, two of their leaders were at that mo-
/ ment appropriating his idolized horse teshi
| As may well be imagined, the bandit BROTH
ers soon secured their prize. They coolly
| entered the stable, took two empty
sacks and filled them with hay. strapped
| these on their horses in lieu of saddles, and
| in the next instant were at home-in the
! saddle. They took to the high road and pur-
| sued their course unmolested. They fire.
| quently met parties who, recognizing the
| horses, Thought of course, they were sent
4 out by the owner on the same mission as
themselves. When not in sight of these
| parties they struck into n long. swing
| ing lope, which carried them over the
| ground at an astonishing rate of speed, and
soon put them ahead of their pursuers, who
| by this time had discovered that the two
men who had sauntered so carelessly through
| the throngs of Garden City were no less per-
sonages than Frank and Jesse James Two
| hours after the Jameses had left the house
where they had taken dinner. a party
rode up in hot haste after them;
and learning that two men answer
ing their description had been there
and were on foot, they sped away on their
track confident of overtaking them. When
they came to the place where the horses
were taken, the pursuers knew the speed,
bottom and endurance of the animals,
which, united with the character of their
riders made their bright prospects OF con-
templated capture very slim. The gallant
grays bore their riders to safety, and the
reader knows the rest. And this is the un-
written leaf in the history of the Northield
robbery.