The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1882-09-19

All the rest of the men would drink Il
get their courage up before going into
town. until they were half drunk
Jesse James was as treacherous as be
could be. He would laugh and talk
with a man when he could cut hi:
heart out, and was only waiting for q
chance to kill him when he was not on
the watch"
How do the people of Missouri re-
gard your"
They seem well disposed toward
us, with the exception Of a few
rOughs. Those who knew the most OF
Jesse James liked him the least. He
made good impression at first. He
was polite. and could talk well ON al.
most any question.
"Were not the men of his gang
afraid of each Other!"
They were always on the watch
and feared each other. This is the
reason they made so many escapes
They were afraid to leave each other,
too. IF a man should talk Of leaving,
he wo lid be killed instantly"
In further conversation, Bob said
they were in receipt Of letters threat
ening their lives; some signed by
Frank James. Two letters came in
one day, one from Nashville and one
from Texas, both signed Frank
James" As Charley grimly remarked:
Frank James is not i'm the habit of
sending notices; he generally carries
them himself" The reward OfSl0 600
they received inside of two months.
The Alton railroad very promptly paid
its portion They were especially
kindly treated by the railroad people,
whose business had been badly dam
aged by Jesse James. One farmer,
who had had land for sale, had moi
been able to sell any of il because of
the fear of the James brothers, which
checked immi grafton, and he was so
relieved bv the death of Jesse James
that he announced his intention of
presenting the Ford brothers with 800
acres.
In the account they gave of.he kill
ing of Jesse James. which is a
familiar story. they said he subscribed
for five daily papers to keep himself
posted. One of his peculiarities was
that he would not allow any one who
was with him to send a letter of unit.
he had read it himself. Thus the
brothers could not get word to the
officers who were cooperating with
them. Their plan in joining him
was to capture him and get the So
900 reward, but to capture him when
he was armed was impossible, as he
was too quick and alert, and he never
let his weapons be out of arms. reach
except.the one time when he was
killed. The day he was killed the
Kansas City Times published the fact
that Bob Ford Was with him for the
purpose of killing him Had he lived
a few hours longer and read the paper,
the Fond boys would have been done
for. All their plans OF capture were
fruitless as he always locked himself
In his room at night with every door
and window secured, not only against
violence, but chloroform. He was al
ways watching for surprises. No or
dinarv trap could catch such fox.
The Ford brothers will remain on
the stage four weeks longer. when Bob
must return 70 stand his trial for
killing Woodssn Hite, one of the
gang. If that turns out ali right they
will continue on the stage.
The Ford brothers were engaged in
none of the crimes of the James gang
They joined it after the reward was
offered. They acknowledged they
had met with some prejudice, but
wherever the facts were explained.
and it was shown that the only way to
save the lives of other men was to
capture or kill James, and that when
they were once i'm with James they
could only save their own lives by
taking his, this prejudice was remov-
ed. In point Of security they pre-
ferred Missouri, for there they knew
their friends and their enemies.