The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1911-08-10
pRA TTLING CHILD MADE
\ COLE YOUNGER PATRIOT

| to war on society. Inc chlid ID FauAus
Fenton, Of Lees Summit, Jackson
| county, Missouri. The regenerated out
/ law, her uncle, Is the once redoubtable
I desperado, Coleman Younger.
| For love of this little child the WORD
| OUTLAW" has become to him "a coal
| OF living fire." In her name he mas
| renounced all thought Of reprisals upon
| civilization for the quarter of CEN
| fury he spent as a convict at saltwater
| prison, Minnesota. To cleanse, for her
| sake, upon the field Of patriotic glory
| the stained name of Younger, he has
| now volunteered at the age or 81 years
| to recruit a regiment OF rough riders
| for battle in Mexico, should a Crisis
| arise.
AS an earnest of his reform, of his
| ambition to serve that society upon
| which for IA years he waged lawless
| and murderous war sXounger dispatch
ed the following letter to President
| Taft: 49,,
! lean frontier. believe there Is trouble
in store, and dssEe 20 ofrer TO YOU
rough riders, such asr Roosevelt raised
| for the Spanish American war; can
| raise a regiment in 80 days,
LAS to my ability to accomplish what
I propose, refer you to Senator. War
ner, Senator Stone and Senator James
A. Reed and to Congressman wv. u
Boreland, all Of Missouri. - ~
"As to my ability to commando Is Will
refer you to my record as an emcient
soldier In the confederate army during
the civil war;"
Still Formidable.
For all his age and adventures,
Younger Is still a formidable figure of
a man, fitted to endure the dangers and
fatigues of war He is an inch above 6
| feet tall. His narrow lidded blue eyes,
! though in repose mild, could easily be
imagined as fiaring ferociously In
anger. Younger's mouth Is but q
straight line, and his broad face re-
sembles the moon-like visage ascribed
by Stevenson to Silver, the pirate chief
OF Treasure Island"
Yet, putting with a domestic air a
huge meerschaum pipe which once be-
longed to Jefferson Davis. the former
outlaw delights to prattle-if ''prattle"
can describe the rumblings of his rau-
cous voice-about his little grandniece.
1T would be fine thing for Pauline"
he said to Post-Dispatch reporter, 1T
! could go to war; turn over new leaf
and make people forget that was
Younger. the bandit" f
With a sigh he drew from his pocket
an enormous watch, in the covers Of
which were two portraits Of the child.
the fact were too much for his UNDER
standing, she can write as well as
can. She's the awfullest bookworm you
ever saw.
A Natural Singer.
II said to her teacher: well. how do
you like my little pet?" She's the
brightest thing the teacher said, and
1t keeps me jumping around to find her
something to do
II tell Pauline she's pretty fine little
girl to have a Missourian for mother
and Yankee FOR father. Her father.
you see. came from Connecticut.
She's natural singer, and sings all
day long. She never had any instruc-
ton, but IL you make a discord on the
orally she'll say: What's the matter
with you? You're playing wrong
What does she sing? You'd better
ask what she doesn't sing. Anything
she hears once she can sing-yes. Sir.
And she makes gestures and acts the
part of the song, just as If she were on
the stage.
If make money enough want her
to go to Europe and study music. May
be she'd take up opera but I want her
always to be able to sing things her old
uncle can understand.
1.-THE little girl-ha! ha!-was crying
already when left home. She said
loves me a lot better than deserve"
When Younger was pardoned eight
years ago, and left prison, he some
times yielded to sullen moods. While
librarian of the penitentiary he had,
like Oscar Wilde, written his de Pro-
funds" in which he reviewed his life
and the lessons OF virtue Ii inculcated
by the horrible example" method. But
his reform was passive. 1t was not
until after the birth of his niece that
he was gradually led to see that he
owed an active virtue to society. A
year ago he began reciting his DE
Profundis" in the form Of moral
lecture before church organizations
and chautauquas. 1t has been praised
by William Jennings Bryan.
In referring President Taft to his
services In the confederate army, Youn-
ger made no idle boast, according to
the testimony OF those against whom
he fought. When only Is years old,
'the white haired boy" Of Shelby's
brigade. he performed a feat of GAL
lantry which became widely known.
During the battle of Lone Jack, In
jackson county, Missouri, the confed-
crates exhausted their ammunition.
Younger, on horseback, rushed to the
! powder wagons. What occurred Is de-
scribed by Maj. Emory 8. Foster, who
commanded the union forces during the
battle.
Deed Of Daring.
During the progress of the fight"
wrote Foster, "my attention was called
| to young confederate riding in front
| of the confederate line, distributing
ammunition to the men from what
seemed to be q 'splint basket Ee rode
under the most CALLING fire from our
side along the entire length Of the con-
| federate lines, and when he at last dis
appeared our boys recognized his gall
lantry In ringing cheers. I was told
by some Of our men from the western
border Of the state that they recog-
nized the daring young rider as Cole
Younger"
Younger repeated the feat three times
until his commander threatened to
shoot his horse II he essayed 1t again.
The next day the young man saved
Major Fosters life when he had fallen
into the hands of the confederates, and
when a guerilla was on the point of
shooting him.
Later in the war, Younger, at the
risk Of his own life, saved that of the
late Senator Stephen d. Elkins, as he
himself related In a letter Elkins was
captured by Quantrel's raiders and ex-
peeted. he said, ito be shot without
ceremony, as was the rule with Guam
trelps men in those days"
"Quantrell himself took a look at
me-" Elkins related. Cole Younger, to
whom / had appealed, told him that