The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-22
THE HOME OF THE JAMES BOYS
OLD MISSOURI FARM NOW SHOW PLACE AND ADMIs
SION FEE rs CHARGED.
Chicago Inter-Ocean,

Chicago Inter-ocean.
| Just about nine miles from Ex-
celsior Springs. on the road to Kear-
| ney--if that amount of hills. foris.
| rocky precipitous places and muddy
| bottoms can be classed as no longer
distance than just as the crow files
a wooden Sign, gaudy yellow and
scrawling. backed with faded black
proclaims:
This Way to The James Farm.
Admission 25 cents
The road then leads through a pas
ture and over a hill to q low, "ramb-
ling house, new at one end and old
at the other. At the gate another
sign nailed high upon q weathered tree
announces that this Is the James
farm, and that strangers who enter
the picket gate are expected to paw
25 cents for the privilege and what
goes with 1t. Two doors face the
visitor. and at one stands q white
| haired, white-waisted woman. stern
faced AMI wrinkied. who requests that
You curiosity seekers come right in
this way" Mrs. zerelda Samuels.
mother of the James boys now eight
four years DID, and with nothing but
| a life of hardshps to look back upon.
is selling what remains OF her sons
notoriety at rs cents q telling. as q
means of livelihood.
| Perhaps the visitor has had thoughts
of romance as he guided his horse
over the rocky roads. Perhaps as he
Preached a particularly wild place he
a. he. r. ar.lr
and Jesse James made such places
their rendezvous. And by the time
he has reached the farm perhaps quite
a little glamoufg has found a place In
his mind for the place where the
alleged desperadoes lived. But it
quickly fades.
A few other persons may be there
ahead of the visitor, and they will be
found seated in a circle in the little
room graced with name of 'parlor."
Another chair is brought and offered
the visitor. Then the sterotyped re-
cital from the mother begins as she
sits In a small rocker where she can
point out the various pictures after
she has received the quarter OF dol
| lar.
| First the pictures are shown-the
| pictures of Jesse when Jesse was FIVE
years old, another when he was a
man and another Just before his
| deaLn. ana aILer jesse coHieS rEAHh-
His boyhood pictures. framed in the
style of years ago. are pointed out.
AMI then the picture of his present
home, on a farm in Oklahoma.
After the pictures of the boys
there's no mention 5pf their misdeeds.
except in tone Of derision for any
one who has ever dared accuse them
of anything worse than guerrilla war
fare-a part of a hand grenade. used
now as a door fastener, is pointed out.
THAT what the Pinkertons threw"
the old woman says land that's what
tore my arm off and, killed my little
Archie. 1t was late one night when
we heard a crash. We ran to the rear
part of the house to see what 1t was.
and when we got into the room my
husband saw the grenade smoking in
the middle of the door. He kicked 1t
| into the fireplace and moment later
1t exploded. 1t tore my little boy to
pieces and took my arm off. But they
didn't geS the boys. those detec-
| tives."
A quarter of an hour OF elaboration
follows and then the old woman rises
This way, please" she says, and
| leads the way to the older part of the
house. There she shows the room
where the hand grenade was exploded
and removes q board SO that the visi-
tors may see the fireplace. Out into
| the air again anu tuoh SOHoS eAo
| grave" OF Jesse James.
| Years ago the body Was removed to
Kearney, where 1t Is now buried.
"Pick some of the flowers" the old
woman orders, as she sits on a bench
beneath a large tree. 'Lawsy, I'm glad
Frank amt here today. He'd say,
Nav. for goo\ess sake, put somepin
on yer head and here I've been in the
sun for ten minutes without thing
on But go right on, I was just won
| derin' about Frank a bit-you know,
he Just hates folks from Chicago. He
makes me charge them double when
thew come here. One time some folks
from Chicago come here and I was
busy out in the yard about something
or other. I aklt quite able to think
what it was right now-but anyway, !
was busy and says to Frank, says:
Frank James, where on earth are your
manners? Can't you go in and enter
tain them folks for while?' And so
| he went in, an. seein' they were from
Chicago. he just said to them as he
passed over the register for them to
| Sign, Well, the first thing we take Is
your names and then. after that. we
| take your pocket book. Well. one man
from Chicago went right straight up
! into the air. He thought he was be-
| ing robbed sure But all Frank meant
was that he wanted 25 cents. That's
| Just his way OF putting IT. you huoW.
YES" and she points TO the place
that was once a grave. that's where
my dear boy slept for twenty-five
years He's sleeping over In Kearney
now. Lord rest his soul but / keep
this place UP just for myself"
| And then, after the grave has been
visited, comes the story OF the war and
| Of the hardships of 1t.
| And that's about all there is--for the
ordinary visitor. But once in a long
while Mrs Samuels consents to tell her
| who'll story.
"I've told you all OF 1t except about
nv husbands" she will say. my frst
| one, you know, was a Baptist minister,
| and he came out here and built this
house when we were first married.
| Then, one day he started for Califor-
! MIA.
1T was right out there he stood
and she pointed TO the gate--"and the
pack animals were all loaded up. Lit
| tie Jesse ran out Of the house and he