The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-06-14
THE YOUNGER
BROTHERS. RAIDS

nesota Is About to Set Free-The
Ground on Which Petitions for
Clemency. to These Notorious
Criminals Have Been Made and
Listened to.
St. Paul dispatch of recent date
says: The exploits of the Younger
brothers and Frank and Jessie James
and their daring raids upon towns
| and railroad trains which ex-
tended over a period of twenty
years, are recalled because the
| legislature of Minnesota has de-
| cided to give Bob and Cole
| Younger their freedom. 1t is nearly
| twenty-siN years since that memorab BILE
raid upon the Bank of Northtieldj
| Mimi. when the united forces of the
James and Younger gangs We're en-
gagged in battle for six days and the
| outlays We're almost wiped out.
There We're six Younger brothers, one
of whom died in boyhood. They were
| the SONS Of Col. Henry w. Younger,
a Southern man who moved to Cass
| county, Mo-, in 1890. The five boys
| who lived to attain their majority
ert. Ewing and John Younger Dur
ing the war they. like the two James
brothers, were irregular, or guerilla
troops. who stole as often from one
side as the othe. After the war they
| became bandits.
The first robbery Of the kind with
| which the Youngers We're later iden-
tiiied was that of the Continental
| Bank of Liberty, Mo, on Feb. IA, 1866.
| when $4,000 was secured. The Young
ers took 70 part in this exploit. The
| robbers followed the same tao
| ties which We're employed at
| terward time and again and which
| always succeeded until the North
| field robbery. The party. we'll
mounted and heavily armed, rode
| into town. firing and yelling
! in the streets and terrorized the
citizens. while two of the gang dis
| mounted and with cooked revolvers
| forced the cashier to hand over the
| banks funds.
The Younger boys We're first known
| to be with the James brothers in the
| bank robbery at Columbia, Ky. The
| cashier. refusing to give up the money.
was killed. The scene of the next
| raid was in Iowa. At Corydon. Ia.
| they succeeded in robing a bank Of
$4,000. On May ~, 1878, the st. Cen
cvive Bank was robbed of $4,000.
IN 1873 they began to rob railway
| trains. The Chicago. Rock Island and
| Pacific suffered first east of Council
| Bluffs. Next the cash box of the Kan
sas City Fair Association was robbed
of its days receipts. This was follow
ed by the holding up OF the Malvern
| and Hot Springs stages in January,
| 1874 Then the band attempted an
| other train robbery at Gad's Hill. on
| the Iron Mountain Railway.
The YoUngers and the Jameses then
separated for while, as heavy re-
| wards We're offered for their arrest.
| Many attempts We're made to capture
| them. In one of them Jchn Younger
was killed. At times the detectives
| were hunters. and then again they
would be hunted.
| In December 1915, two parties were
| organized for robbery. One, consist
ing of Jessie James. Bob Younger and
James Younger, stopped Il train at
! Muncic, Mo. and robbed the express
| safe of 900. Another party. consist
| ing of Cole Younger, Frank James and
| the Nj ilers, robbed q bank at Corinth.
"
three YounGers, Charles Pitts and
| Clell Miller robbed a Missouri Pacific
train at Ottervile, Mo, securing ST.
| 500
In 1876 they decided to rob the bank
at Northfield, Mimi, on Sept. Z, The
band consisted of Bob Cole and James
Younger Bill Caldwell. Clem Miller,
| Frank and Jessie James and Charley
Pitts. They rode directly to the bank.
where Frank and Jessie James tnd
Cole Younger dismounted and entered.
Once inside they ordered j. l.. Hay
wood, the cashier, to open the safe
or die. He refused and was shot.
While this was going on there was
a wild scene in front of the bank. A.
| w. Wheeler who occupied second
story room opposite, got a rifle and
shot Charles Pitts and Bill Chadwell.
Then other citizens began firing. The
robbers fled and We're pursued for six
| days by hundreds of men. Finally,
the bandits separated. Cole. Bob and
Jim Younger and Clell Miller kept to-
gether, The James boys escaped af-
ter being repeatedly wounded and suf-
fering untold hadships.
! On Sep. II the four others We're sur
| rounded in the swamps of the Waton-
wan River nearly famished and eX-
hausted, Miller was killed and the
three Youngers We're all wounded he
| fore they surrendered The Youngers
| We're arraigned in court early in Octo-
ber at Fairbault, where being advised
| that they could not be sentenced to
death if they pleaded guilty they did
! SO, and We're sentenced to penal SER
vitude at saltwater for their natural
lives. Jim Younger died in confne-
ment.
For a number of year past the
| friends of the imprisoned men have
sought their pardon. Petitions signed
| by every member of the Legislature
of Missouri and by men of national
reputation have been presented tE
| the Governor and State Legislature.
| Two years ago the State Senate passed
a bill granting them a parole, and il
| would have passed in the House had
not the friends of the dead cashier
protested against the clemency. There
appears to be "A sentiment in Mime
| sofa favoring the pardon of the men.
| 1t was never established that any of
| the Younger brothers was RESPONSE
BILE for the death of any of the Vie
tins of the Northheld raid. They are
old men now and ever since their in