Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-12-05

first, and seeing nothing of interest
/ threw it down on the bed anC
picked up the Times, and the frs
thing l saw in big headlines, almost
foot long on the first page, was the
story about Dick Liddle's surrender
Just then, Mrs. James came in from
the kitchen and said breakfast was
ready. My only thought then wa,
to hide the paper from Jess. Be
! side me was a chair with a shawl or
in, and as quick as flash lifted /
and showed the paper under. Jesse
cOuldnt t have seen me, but he 90
up, walked over to the chair, pickeC
up the shawl, threw it on the bed
and taking the paper went out into
, the kitchen. felt that the Jig wa.
! up, but j followed and sat down a
! the table opposite Jess. / moved
close to my right hand. 1 proposed
to die game if jess began to shoot.
Mrs. James poured out the coffee
and then sat down at one end of thu
table. Charlie was at the other enc
and the two children sat one or
each side of their mother. Jesse
} spread the paper on the table IL
front of him and sort of folded his
hands on it and began to look over
the headlines. My heart went ur
in my throat, and l couldn't have
J eaten bite then to save my life
All at once Jess said " Hello, here
The surrender of Dick Liddle," and
he looked across at me with glare
| n hio hnE Lo
fore.
" Young man, thought you told
me that you didn't know that Dick
had surrendered," he said.
told him l didn't know it.
"Well," he said, Its very strange.
He surrendered three weeks ago and
you was right there in the neighbor-
hood. 1t looks fishy.'
He continued to glare at me, and
got up and went into the front
room again. In a minute / heard
Jess push his chair back and walk
to the door. l expected the shoot
ing to begin right there, and if it
had, Jess would have got me for /
was nervous. But he came in smil-
ing, and said pleasantly: "Well,
Bob, its all right, anyway"
Instantly his purpose flashed upon
my mind. | knew 1 had not fooled
him. He was too sharp for that.
He knew at that moment as well as
did that was there to betrayhim.
But he was not going to kill me in
the presence of his wife and chill
dren, and so he was smiling and
pleasant to throw me off my guard,
intending when we were on the road
to rob the bank that night to finish
me. He walked over to the bed
and deliberately unbuckled his belt,
with four reVolvers in it and threw
1t on the bed. 1t was the first time
in my life l had seen him without
that belt on, and / knew in an in
stant that he threw it off to further
quiet any suspicious l might have
that he had tumbled on my scheme.
He seemed to want to busy him
self with something to make an i'm
preston on my mind that he had
forgotten the incident of a moment
before at the breakfast table. and he
picked up a dust brush from the Ia.
BILE, and said: "That picture is
awfully dusty"
There wasn't speck of dust that
l could see on the picture, but he
stood chair beneath it and then
got upon it and began to dust the
picture on the wall.
Up to that moment the thought of
killing him had never entered my
mind, but as he stood there, unarmed
with his back to me, it came to me
suddenly, Now or never Is your
chance. you don't get him now,
he'll get you tonight"
Without further thought or a mo.
ment's delay / pulled my revolver
and leveled it as / sat. He heard
the hammer click as I cooked it with
my thumb in throwing it down on
line with his head. He recognized
the sign and started to turn around
as / pulled the trigger. The ball
struck him just behind the ear and
he fell like log, dead. l didn't go
near his body. 1 knew when saw
that "A caliber bullet strike that it
was all up with Jess.
Charlie ran into the room and
right behind was Mrs. James, who
began to mourn and upbraid me. /.
called passerby who was going to-
wards town and told him to notify
the police that we had killed Jesse
James. In little while the officials
came and we surrendered
That is the story told to us by Bob
Ford and corroborated by Charlie
and Others" said Mr.. Farr. 81
have never had reason to doubt its
truthfulness."
In 1885, II. T. Crittendon, Jr., son
of Governor Crittendon, and now
Clerk of Jackson county, formed a
partnership with w. b. Phister and
opened real estate Office in Kansas
City. They advertised for an office
boy and the next morning 10 boys
answered the advertisement. Mr..
Crittendon had each boy to sign his
name and address on a sheet of pa
per and this he has preserved care
fully. He showed it to u reporter
of the Star yesterday. The next
name to the bottom was that of
Jesse E. James, written in a round
boyish hand.
MY idea in having the boys sign
the paper" said Mr.. Crittendon,
"was to see who was the best wri-
ter. When Jesse signed his name I
looked at him in surprise. He was
a neatly dressed, bright.faced boy of
about IL, with black hair and eyes.
I asked him if his father was dead,
and he said he was. I asked him If