Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1897-07-13

north over Bridge square. believe
that the bullet that wounded him was
fired by citizen at us, the ball passing
up the street southwark. - &c.,. (
Now as to the mar we took prisoner
near Mankato. The story he told in the
presence of Captain A. Barton, OF Fari-
bault, was true. He said that my broth
ers and myself had saved his life. The
question of how to dispose Of this man
was discussed, and in view OF our des-
perate situation, it was proposed by one
of Our party that we shoot him, to which
I said:
"No, we will not kill him. It will be
easier to run away from all the men he
can put on Our track than it would be
to get rid of the memory of having kill
ed an innocent man who has never
Wronged us, and who says he has a wife
and children depending on him for their
support"
The man who made the proposition
compromised by leaving the mans fate
to Bob Younger. He walked up to
where Bob and Jim Younger were sit
ting with the man, and the following
statement of the situation was made to
Bob:
IF we turn this man loose, he will
have the whole country after US in
twelve hours, and with your broken arm
we cannot possibly get away"
To this Bob replied: II would rather
be shot dead than to have that man killed
for fear his telling might put few hun
dred men after us. There will be time
enough for shooting if he should join in
the pursuit
In the meantime the man was swear
ing by all the gods that he would never
speak of having seen anyone. cut the
cords from his wrists and told him that I
knew no oath that we might administer
to him would have the least weight, so
that to swear him would be a waste of
time. but of course we would be glad and
thankful if he would say nothing of hav-
ing seen u.s. However, whether he
would or not, he was free to return to his
home, and we saw no more of the man
until he came as a witness before the
grand jury at Faribault. That night we
all together crossed the Bite Earth river
on the railroad bridge, and the next
night we separated, Pitts remaining with
myself and brothers.
In regard to our capture at Madelia,
Sept. 81, 1876, only wish to say that the
account of it which appeared recently in
the newspapers to the effect that Sheriff
Mcdonald with $50 men of Sioux City,
Iowa, took us prisoners, is incorrect.
We were captured by about fifty citizens
of Watonwan COUNTY, led by Sheriff Gil
lespie and Captain w. w. Murphy, of
the same county. Captain B. G: Yates,
now of St. Paul, was also one of the
party. At the time of our capture Pitts
was killed and my brothers and myself
were badly wounded. Bob has since
died, and Jim and myself, for more than
twenty years, have been prisoners. I
will leave it to Sheriff Barton and the
wardens of this institution to speak of
us during the past twenty years. I have
often met Captain Yates, and also most
of the men several times that were d.
rectly concerned in Our capture. They
have been most kind in word and feeling
toward US. and since our capture we
have never felt toward them any Other
feeling but that of friendship.
The above is true statement in so far
as can speak from personal knowledge.
What occurred in the bank 1 can speak
of only as it was told to me.
COLE YOUNGER.
Saltwater, MINI, 1897.