The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-08-06
COLE YOUNGER TELLS the STORY OF
The GREAT MORTIFIED BANK ROBBERY

ing the war, and there was no mercy
shown to any of them. After a few
days of seeing my friends and old
comrades bounded and imprisoned
saw there was nothing left for me to
do but gather together with those that
were left and do the best we could
"In passing swiftly over the scenes
of violence in which we took part,
will take up the Mortified case by
saying that we had decided to find a
good bank, make a good haul, get
away with the money, leave the coun.
try and start life anew in some for
eign land.
"We were told that General Benja.
min F. Butler had big lot of money
in the First National bank at North
field, and that A. A. Ames, son-in law
of Butler, who had been carpet bag
governor of Mississippi after the war
had lot there also. We were not
very friendly to Butler because of his
treatment of Southerners during the
war, and accordingly decided to make
raid on the Mortified bank
My brothers, Jim and Bob, Cell Mil.
Ter, Bill Caldwell and three men nam.
ed Pitts, Woods and Howard, were
those who decided to take up the ex.
petition. This was in the middle OF
| August, and we spent week in Min
neapolis picking up what information
we could about Mortified and the bank
and playing poker. Then we passed
another week in st. Paul, also looking
for information as to the amount OF
money and the precautions taken in
the bank to take care of it.
"Chadwell, Pitts, Bob and myself
procured horses at st. Peter, where
we stayed long enough to break them
and to train them for the hard riding
to which we knew they would be sub
mitted later on. 1t was at st. Peter
that l made the acquaintance of lit
tie girl who afterwards was one of the
most earnest workers for our parole
ga little tot then, she said she could
ride horse, too, and, reaching down
l lifted her up before me, and we rode
up and down. 1 asked her her name
and she said it was Horace Greeley
Perry and l replied:
Ono wonder you're such a little
tot with such great name
az won't always be little she re
piled. Pm going to be a great biz
girl and be a newspaper man like my
pa
"'Will you still be my sweetheart
then, and be my friend?' l asked her
and she declared she would, promise
| was to remind her of years later un
der circumstances of which [ die
not dream then.
MANY years afterwards with a party
of visitors to the prison came girl
perhaps sixteen, who registered in full
Horace Greeley Perry
= 81 knew there could not be two
women with such name in the world
and I reminded her of her promise, 8
promise which she did not remember
although she had been told how sht
had made friends with the bold. BAG
man who afterwards robbed the bank
at Mortified.
'Very soon afterward, at the age OF
eighteen, 1 believe, she became, as she
had dreamed in childhood, "a newspaper
man. editing the st. Peter journal
and to the hour of my pardon she was
one of the most indefatigable workers
| for us.
"A few years ago failing health com
PEELED her removal from Minnesota tt
Idaho, and Minnesota lost one of the
brightest newspaper writers and stanch
est friends that man ever knew. jim
and L had host of advocates during
the latter years of our imprisonment
but none exceeded in devotion thu
young woman VINO as little tot, haC
ridden unknowingly with the bandit
who was soon to be exiled for life
| from all his kin and friends"
preliminary work on the NorthfielG
robbery was got down to during the
last week of August, and while Pitts
and l were waiting for Bob and Chad
well, who had gone up there to look
over the ground, we secuted all Over
the country thereabouts and around
Madela in order to get ourselves ia
miliar with the lay of the land. Wher
the two boys joined us we divided into
two parties and started for NorthfelC
along different routes.
"On Monday night, September 4, the
party l was with reached LIE Sueul
Center, where we had trouble finding
places to sleep, as court was in ses
| sion. Tuesday night we put in Cor
dova, and we were in Millersburg. Al
the same time Bob and his crowt
rounded up in Cannon City, which was
south of Mortified.
"On Thursday morning, Santemhe
Z, we all came together on the Cannon
river, on the outskirts of Mortified
That afternoon 1 took look at the
bank, and in camp at dinner l TOLD
the gang that no matter what came
off we mustn't shoot anybody. While
L was making this point as strong as
| could one of the crowd asked what
we should do if they began shooting
at us. Bob at once said that if I was
so particular about not having any