St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-11-12
How the Famous Bandit Res
cued a Telegraph OPP
orator.
Single Handed He Cowed a
Crowd Of Tough Mis-
SOurianS
After Putting a Bullet
Through the Toughest
Of Them.
A New Story About This
Greatest Of Dime Novel
Heroes.

telegraph operator i'll Princeton, Mo-,
many years ago, when things in that
region were powerful unsettled like, :"
as the Arkansas speople say. The OPP
orator. who had never been west of
Chicago, was delighted with an assign
ment in the new free country, which
he had so long admired at distance,
but he soon found that certain ele-
ment of the population was little too
free, especially with revolyers. The
rest of the story is best told in his own
words:
One evening reported at my usual
hour of O'Clock and found the usual
relay of hangers-on smoking, chewing
and discussing the latest ''scraD,"
which sent Long jim" Pike to Join the
silent majority and ST. Joe Bill to an
improvised hospital in the back room of
the Golden Sun saloon, with his carcass
full of knife wounds. The weather,
however. was evidently not encourag-
ing for discussions that required an eff
fort, and this one grew lifeleSS and I'M
interesting, till one by one my COM
DanlonS dropped out and l was left
alone.
senger train was due from the moth,
and about an hour before train time
there entered the one waiting room of
the depot a man of medium height,
dressed in the rough fashion of the
country, and wearing SLOUGH hat that
well shaded his face and LETT one 10
guess at the character of the Wearer.
Ticket to Cameron" was all he said as
he stepped to the window, and receiving
his piece of cardboard. retired to dark
corner, where he sat down.
| might have paid little more atten-
ton to his appearance had he not been
shortly followed, first by party of six
or seven rather hard-lOOking customers.
who were evidently under the influence
of Missouri lightning" and moment
later by three or four ladies with
escorts. One Of the gang of roughS com
menced using language that was more
expressive than elegant. and | had ITO
other resource but to go over and re
m0hstrate with HIM. Somehow, as
stepped across the room, the feeling
came over me that | was to have
trouble, and little tremor of fear
passed up and down the seam of my
waiStcoat.
However, [ kept bravely on, and in a
gentle and gentlemanly way reminded
him of the fact that there were ladies
present. and it was necessary for him to
modify MSS language. His friends sided
with me and ate mpted TO keep him
quiet, but without avail and they finally
arose and went out on the platform, eX-
pecting, of course, that he would fol-
low. With drunken perverseness, how
ever. he remained. anu his talk growing
more and more vulgar l forgot my fear,
became mad, and walking over to the
tough seized him by the collar, and be-
fore he had time to offer any resistance
had thrown him out of the door and on
the platform, where L left him i'll the
hands of his friends.
A half minute later | saw what made
my hair stand on end. In the door
stood the man 1 had thrown out, pistol
in hand, and ready to shoot. We're you
is to stare death in the face and realize
that within the next second a bullet
will go blowing through your body, and
but the tick Of a watch separates you
from eternity? In a moment | thought
of every incident in my life, and closed
my eyes to receive the leaden mesSen-
ger that would send me, feGrfully I'M
prepared. into the great unknown. AL
most instantly two shots rang out,
sounding like the reports of cannon
in that small room. | felt a
sharp twinge in my right knee, and
then all the animal in my nature was
aroused, and | thirst ID for blood. We
always kept revolver in the money
drawer. and, with quick lunge through
the ticket window, | reached it, and
turned to kill, if possible, the man who
had fired at me. | was too late. He lay
Oil the floor, clutching at his breast,
from which the blood was flowing in a
crimson stream. His revolver lay be-
side him. Over in the corner sat the
man with the SLOUGH hat. revolver i'll
hand, but not moving muscle OF Civ
ing sign.
The friends of the apparently dying
man rushed in, and seeing me standing
with a revolver in my hand reached for
theirs to avenge their companion. AT
the first movement a quick, sharp voice
rang out from under the SLOUGH hat in
the corner in no undecided tones.
1.-The man that pulls Is dead man ~
and the words were emphasized by the
click OF the two guns that covered the
party. No one pulled" but they looked
sullenly at the man who had dared
Single-handed to call them down.
There was an awful pause of a few
seconds; then the rough nearest to the
stranger, after close scrutiny. sprang
back with the exclamation, "Jesse
James, by ~" 1t was enough. That
name carried with it power to subdue
fiercer, more bloodthirsty and Drawer
men than those in front of me.
Carefully they picked u the wounded
man, and as they carried him out again
that voice was heard, and this time ii
said: 1.-The man that harms that Lad
will answer to me-"
The train soon arrived, and he de
parted with it. My wound was slight
and the badly wounded man eventually
recovered. A few days later train
was robbed on the same railroad, only
hours ride from Princeton, at the
little hamlet of Winston. Two men
lost their lives because they resisted,
and yet somehow find very tender
spot in my heart when think Of Jesse
.IamaS