Albuquerque morning journal., 1915-03-24
FORMER BANDIT
SLOWLY DYING At
MISSOURI HOME
Cole Younger Famous Outlaw
Of Reconstruction Days, Has
but Short Time to Live;
GrieveS for Frank James,

SPECIAL coHREsPonoEHce TO MORNING IouRnAll
Lees summit Mo, March 23.-Cole
Younger, last OF the group of bandits
who made Missouri famous or rather
Infamous, shortly after the civil war.
slowly Is dying at his home here.
Deep feeling over the death last
month Of Frank James, fellow ban
dit of Younger in the reconstruction
days, is believed to be Fastening the
DAY when Cole Younger no longer can
tell Of the civil war raids and the bank
robberies which he saw, and more
than one of which he led
Bent in years and facing death cole
Younger says he does not believe he
could have lived his life differently.
lie believes he did what any other
person would have done.
Respected for Uprightness.
After serving twenty-five years In
the Minnesota state prison, he came
TO Missouri twelve years ago and
these have been happy and honored
years for him. lie joined the Chris
tian church two years ago on an an
niversary of the date on which he
helped massacre hundreds in Law
renee, Kan. lie is respected for his
uprightness and almost tenderness of
character In his advanced years.
Gives Up Worlds Fair Trip.
1t had been his hope that he might
attend the San Francisco worlds fair
but that has been declared impossible
because of his failing health.
His voice bit tremulous, but with
piercing eyes, the former bandit sat
recently in his easy chair and stroied
the wavy hair of 2-year-old grand
nephew.
Heralded from ocean to ocean as
the most desperate of men. the for
mer bandit stopped occasionally to
coo softly a song which soon closed
the baby eyes in slumber
Youngers chief exploits were the
robbery of a Mortified, Mimi, bank
September 6, 1876, and the civil war
raid on Lawrence, Kan.
There is nothing i'm my life so
thrilling as my part in the raid on
Lawrence, Kan, during the civil war.
There is nothing that ever happened
that was so misrepresented in litera-
ture and in history" he said
Murder of Father ArOuscs YOungers.
ITO understand it one must LOOK
back into the early history Of the war, !
when federal sympathizers had south |
erners in Missouri at their mercy.
My father was opposed to. the war i
and had friends on both sides, but was !
shot down in cold blood and robbed by (
a gang of federal freebooters as he |
was driving home from Kansas City. !
That day changed my whole life. The |
knowledge that my father had been /
L ~
with lust for vengeance.
Il was 10 the day we started from
Blackwater, Mo-, about 500 strong
the Quantrell band, l mean. 1t was
August 26, 1868. | was lieutenant in /
one company OF the command.
Describes Bloody Lawrence Raid.
when we reached a hill in sight I
of Lawrence, we learned from an old /
hog feeder that there We're 800 regu-
lar federal troops in Lawrence and |
800 militiamen.
"'They outnumbcr us two to one,
said Quantrell, but we can whip /
them
Soon we came upon them. There !
were no guards and we tore open the |
flaps of their tents and killed them /
as fast as our guns could work. We |
lost only four dead and three wound |
ed. Then we rode away and fought /
for twenty-four hours with pursuers !
who had been organized. They fol /
lowed us until We were among |
friends in Missouri
That is the gist of Cole Younger's !
story of one of the bloodiest episodes /
Of the border warfare between Mis- /
souri, and southerners and Kansas /
northerrers during the civil war. 1t /
was the start of his career rs an out /
law
Remaining Years Busy Ones.
The remaining years of the war |
were busy ones for Cole Younger and
his three brothers, Mobs several |
times were formed to lynch the |
Younger boys, but each time good !
craftsmanship of the brothers drove /
away the wOuld-be lynchers.
In the early '70s the escapades of |
the James boys in robbing banks and |
trains attracted nationwide attention !
and the Younger brothers got credit |
for being in many of these, when |
really they We're hundreds of miles |
away.
They kept accusing us until they |
drove us into it," said cole younger. !
we became civil outlaws when four !
Chicago detectives attempted to ar !
rest me and my brothers. jim, John /
and Bob. We heard the detectives i
We're coming and we rode out to meet |
them. a little shooting and they /
turned their horses the other way |
and hurried back to Chicago as tast
as the train could carry them.
Amnesty Bill Voted Down.
The hunt for the Younger broth |
ers went on and Cole younger, TO !
elude the hunters, went to Florida to !
live under an assumed name. While |
staying at the st. James hotel IN |
Jacksonville, Fla, he won the plaud- /
Its of the entire community for quell- |
ing negro riot.
His friends in Missouri attempted |
TO get the legislature to pass an
amnesty bill, so he could come back
and not have to face possible arrest |
Tor escapades during the war, but
This failed.
One day, while sitting in hotel,
ne overheard a conversation that !
General Ben" Butler of the Union |
army had taken back from the south |