Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-08-04
BANDIT F. JAMES
is BERRY PICKER
Outlaw of the Borderland Liv-
ing Simple Life Near Ia
coma, Washington.

/
want to think of-would to God
could forget 1t. Years before l quit
the old life | was as tired of it as the
other people,"
The speaker was Frank James,
modern Robin Hood, brother of Jes-
Sc James, the outlaw, and at present
berry picker at Edgewood, Wash,
The place was G. w. Glazebrook's
grocery store in Tacoma; the time,
this week.
I'VE got into it, and it was our
lives against money" said James.
Suffer- We have been hungry
with our pockets full OF money. We
have been hunted like the wolves of
the prairie.
81 could not write the history of my
life in five years. l have only
short time to live, anyhow, and
money is no more to me than dust
under my feet l am going to live
quiet life
The first l knew that Frank James
was in this part of the country" said
Mr.. GlaZebrook, the grocer, was
when [ received a crate of ber-
ries with F. E. James written on
the end. l asked Mr.. Hildgren, the
rancher about it, and he said he
would take me out to see James any
time | wanted to 60"
I'VE found James sitting in the door
of his cabin, dressed like a logger.
AS we came close he stood up. L am
very glad to see you, sir he said as
Mr.. Hildgren introduced US. After a
while Mr.. Hildgren left. l told him
was from Kentucky and he seemed
TO know how to take me then. This
was two weeks ago Sunday. Last
Friday he came into Tacoma and
spent five days with me-
81 asked him how he got started in
his past work. He said it was the abuse
he had received at the hands of the
men who had killed his father-alI
through suspicion they were harbor-
ing southern soldiers. He said he
and Jesse got 81 of them and that
God Almighty got the other.
After six detectives, as James calls
them, had thrown bomb into their
house, killing his younger brother and
wounding his mother, the James boys
dressed as cowboys and overlook the
men. They asked them what they
would do if they met the James boys.
I'VE would stick them on the end
of our guns the men replied
"'You are talking to Jesse James
right now and that is my brother,
Frank, standing there said Jesse.
They pleaded for their lives but the
James boys told them they had
shown no mercy to their brother or
their mother
Frank James smiled when telling
OF the detectives. They thought all
they had to do was to come over here,
pat us on the shoulders and tell us
10 come back he said They never
got back
"Of all their work. Frank James
considers the Northfield robbery the
biggest. Two banks were lifted and
more than $4,000 in cash taken The
two Cobb brothers and a man named
Mitchell lost their lives. Jim Young
er was seriously injured and Frank
James lost the most of his hand.
Jesse James was killed by Bob
Ford in September of 1882 while hang
ing up a picture of himself and Frank
in their house. Frank surrendered in
October, 1882, and after two years was
released on parole.
Several years later, disguised as
a cowboy, he met Bob Ford in Kan
sas City dance hall. He offered to
treat the crowd and stepped up to the
bar. Ten dollars was laid down on the
counter. Ford returned $3.50. Frank
James told him who he was. What fol-
lowed is a matter of history.
James told me that when he was
in Tacoma two years ago some men
asked him to take charge of blowing
the safes of the National bank of
Commerce and the Fidelity Trust COM
pany's bank. i told them said James
that | did not want to have anything
TO do with the work. That l had new
er been in it for money, and that
had given all that up years ago
James always speaks of his adven-
lures as being on the trail He says
that instead of using masks they had
dark stain. After the job was over
they removed the stain quickly and
changed clothes. often joining in the
pursuit of the bandits.
They never robbed or abused
women, children or the poor" James
says. while many a piece of stray
jewelry or money has been found fast
ened TO the doorknob of some house.
They confined their attentions mainly
10 train and bank robberies after the
war was over.
Frank James will be 20 years next
March. he says. He has a wife, four
children. and a 16 year old daughter
living at Blaine. During the winter
he works as donkey engineer in the
logging camDS near TapOma In S,,p,
mer he pick berries.
He is slim, has a gray mustache. is !
six feet tall, and Is cool and collect |
ed. slow spoken and apparently easy |
going. He seems to have very little |
of the Missouri dialect. He is cour- |
teOus but reserved and while friendly |
does not force himself forward"
hirchir