Jesse James Treasures: Do They Likely Still Exist?

[Ol' Kentuck]

I was going with the History channels version of the robbery..... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/minnesotans-nearly-wipeout-the-james-younger-gang. I am open to anything you have, as I have my own doubts that they were there too. They had some help that would not have let them fail like that if you ask me, and it was out of their range. I believe their are many robberies that they say they did, that may have been somone else saying they were them or the people claimed it was them to hype up the excitement of the robbery. I am inclined to believe like you and Ol Kentuck that there were too many Jesse James back then in too many places. I have been to Minnisota and back in a car when we took Dad to the Mayo clinic. It is hard to imagine that they woud have made the trip on horseback with a wounded man, and they had to go another 60 miles south than we did.

L.C.

Well said, LC.

Ye may not rekegnize tha differnce in a cow an a steer, but ye got the right of this un.

 

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[Kace]

No, do you have one you could share?

Thanks, L.C.

No I don't...That Charley Bigelow name surfaced with Howk. Then other authors just kept repeating it. I've Never Found Any Documents regarding him. Other Bigelows in Missouri, Yes... I've found that, but not anyone by that name. I'll look again.

Kace

 

[L.C. BAKER]

Well said, LC.

Ye may not rekegnize tha differnce in a cow an a steer, but ye got the right of this un.

It is mainly a question of WHO is doing the milking I guess...

 

[Doubter in MD]

Well said, LC.

Ye may not rekegnize tha differnce in a cow an a steer, but ye got the right of this un.

Wow. Misspellings are one thing, but I think you are the first person I've ever seen that tries to write with a Southern accent. What's that about?

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

Wow. Misspellings are one thing, but I think you are the first person I've ever seen that tries to write with a Southern accent. What's that about?

KGC Code.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

What's a Junior Member...?

 

[Kace]

What's a Junior Member...?

I believe member levels here are based on the number of posts a member makes... you're a Gold Member and I'm a Bronze Member. You've been here longer and made a lot more posts than I have.

The legend is somewhere here explaining it but I'm not sure where.

Kace

 

[L.C. BAKER]

I thought the same thing Doubter..




L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

But...The question is Who is that? Before anyone says Charley Bigelow...Is there a photo or real documentation of anyone named Charles Bigelow during that time? That guy isn't missing the nub or top part of his middle finger either. Something happened.

There's a couple Bigelow graves in a Holt cemetery but his name as a son, father or brother isn't listed and they died on the same day.

I've not seen a live photo of a Charles or Charley Bigelow. I can check ancestry again and local papers.

Anyone got a live photo of someone named Charley Bigelow or Bigeloe?

Kace

I have read about Bigalows until I am going blind and to no avail. I will keep searching tomorrow .

L.C.

 

[Kace]

I have read about Bigalows until I am going blind and to no avail. I will keep searching tomorrow .

L.C.

Ha..I hear that...if he really existed, it wouldn't be that hard to find him, being associated with JWJ. But I'll look a little more too.

About Kentuck... I think instead of Ebonics...He's Soubonics. I'm starting to get it... at least better than Ebonics. I want to know what folks in Kentucky have to say about the James' and Coles.

Kace

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

Ha..I hear that...if he really existed, it wouldn't be that hard to find him, being associated with JWJ. But I'll look a little more too.

About Kentuck... I think instead of Ebonics...He's Soubonics. I'm starting to get it... at least better than Ebonics. I want to know what folks in Kentucky have to say about the James' and Coles.

Kace

My wife would tell ye its Bubonic, I plague her somethin fierce.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

I was going with the History channels version of the robbery..... https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/minnesotans-nearly-wipeout-the-james-younger-gang. I am open to anything you have, as I have my own doubts that they were there too. They had some help that would not have let them fail like that if you ask me, and it was out of their range. I believe their are many robberies that they say they did, that may have been somone else saying they were them or the people claimed it was them to hype up the excitement of the robbery. I am inclined to believe like you and Ol Kentuck that there were too many Jesse James back then in too many places. I have been to Minnisota and back in a car when we took Dad to the Mayo clinic. It is hard to imagine that they woud have made the trip on horseback with a wounded man, and they had to go another 60 miles south than we did.

L.C.

Gittin' back ter the subject of tha Northfield, Minnesota escape, here's a good accountin' of the Northfield escape for Jesse and Frank. I apolergise fer how long it is. Notice tha bit bout ol' Howk's letter askin questions bout the 'Leap'. Crafty li'l bugger ain't he? Gathering intel fer Dalton ta use in his stories I reckon.


http://www.augie.edu/sites/default/files/u78/2015DakConfPapers.pdf

Where the West Begins?
Geography, Identity and Promise
Papers of the Forty-Seventh Annual DAKOTA CONFERENCE
A National Conference on the Northern Plains

pgs. 78 - 91


Where Myth Meets the West

The James Brothers Escape Through Dakota

by Wayne Fanebust


The improbable—or maybe the inevitable--happened at the botched bank robbery in
Northfield, Minnesota, on September 7, 1876; the heretofore invincible James and Younger
gang from Missouri, was attacked, badly shot up and chased out of town. But not before two
gang members were killed by citizens on the main street of Northfield. The rest escaped,
pursued by a posse of angry men, determined to make the outlaws face justice. Near Mankato,
Frank and Jesse James split with the Younger brothers, leaving their friends to fend for
themselves. Not long after, Cole, Bob and Jim Younger, all badly wounded were taken into
custody, leaving only the James boys on the loose. From the time they set out across the
Minnesota prairie until they reached Missouri, Frank and Jesse were the subjects of one of the
greatest manhunts in American history.

On their way home they not only evaded capture by hundreds of armed men, they
became legends of the American West. Jesse and Frank James rambled over open prairie,
through woodlands, over hills and through ravines, crossing creeks and rivers, living off their
wits and luck. Their success was remarkable considering they were strangers in a strange land,
and Frank was wounded but able to walk and ride a horse. Along the way the brothers
accomplished more than simply outwitting the law; they crossed the line that separates history
from myth.

Making headlines as they progressed, and known only as the Northfield bank robbers,
Frank and Jesse James toured Dakota Territory as fugitives from justice. When it was learned
that the two men had crossed the border from Minnesota to Dakota Territory, a Yankton
newspaper reported that the Minnesota posse turned the Northfield outlaws over to Dakota
authorities, and then went home.

The telegraph spread the word throughout Dakota and the nation. Railroads were
alerted and a reward was offered. The excitement was contagious, drawing out men whose
mundane lives were suddenly overtaken by the thrill of the chase and the chance for reward
and a small niche in history.

So much has been written, much of it praiseworthy, about the outlaw exploits of the
James boys. There are books by the score and many motion pictures, all of which chart the
careers of the Missouri-born brothers following their service in the Civil War on the side of the
South. Most books provide considerable detail about the shootout in Northfield, and other
crimes, but gun-toting saturation notwithstanding, the writers say very little about the James
brothers incredible escape through Dakota.

Still their brief presence in southeastern Dakota was enough to make lasting memories
and in 1924, a reporter for the Argus-Leader took up the trail and in a series of articles, he
reprised in detail, their great escape. Touring Minnehaha and Lincoln County, the journalist
found a number of people who had first-hand knowledge of contacts with the brothers, or they
could recall what their parents or others had told them.

When the brothers crossed into Dakota Territory, they were mounted on a pair of grey
horses they stole from a Minnesota pasture, the owner just then being absent. With a Luverne
posse, augmented by another from Worthington, hot on their trail, the brothers entered
Dakota Territory near the village of Valley Springs. What may have been their first stop was at
the homestead of Andrew Nelson, four miles west of Valley Springs. The Nelsons were Swedish
immigrants, having come to Dakota in 1872. Their sod-hut homestead was near the
Worthington to Sioux Falls stage trail, close to where U. S. Highway 16 was later located.
Toward evening, the tired and hungry, well-dressed strangers stopped at the Nelson
home and asked for some water. Thirteen year old Nels Nelson joined his father and the
strangers around a smudge pot used for protection from swarms of mosquitoes. The Nelson’s
knew nothing about the bank robbery so they had no reason to be suspicious or afraid. Jesse
was offered a clean pail to drink from, but he said he preferred drinking out of a pail used by a
horse as opposed to one used by some of the men knew.

They asked about roads and fords while causally talking to the farmer and his son who
were only too pleased to be of help. Later that night, when the Nelsons were asleep, Jesse and
Frank came back to their place, and exchanged their tired grey horses for two black mares
belonging to the Nelsons. They rode off in the dark and soon discovered that one horse was
totally blind, while the other had one good eye. Two colts tagged along and were found tied to
a tree a short distance away. The worn out grays, stolen in Minnesota, were also found, having
been abandoned by the bandits.

The time sequence is a little hazy, but the fleeing desperadoes came upon the dramatic
rock formations along Split Rick River, that people in the area called the Palisades and Devil’s
Gulch. A Sioux City newspaper reported that the brothers crossed the Split Rock River near
Patten’s mill, a prominent feature of the Palisades. They went west toward the Big Sioux, then
turned back and re-crossed the Split Rock River, after which they followed it along the east
bank.

It is near the Split Rock River that myth overtakes fact and memory takes a wild ride.
Before, or possibly after the outlaws were at the Nelson place they had a date with destiny. At
some point in time, it was told by someone, that Jesse James jumped across a wide and deadly
chasm in the rocks near present-day Garretson, while evading pursuers. The chasm was called
Devil’s Gulch and of course, it still bears that name, even though it was proposed in the 1920’s
that the name be changed to some more sedate and less devilish.

The earliest reference to the “jump” that this writer has come across is contained in a
1924 article by W. W. Sanders, then an editor of a Garretson newspaper who wrote: “It was
across the Devil’s Gulch---as the legend has it, that Jesse James jumped.” The Garretson article
was referenced in a column in the Argus-Leader dated May 3, 1924, a part of the series of
articles on the great escape. Sanders referred to it as an “incident” in which “Frank James and
Dr. Mosher figured prominently,” concerning a “jumping off place,” at Devil’s Gulch. He backed
away a bit from the Devil’s Gulch claim when he said it “is probably true that Jesse and Frank
James had to jump across some chasm there, as there were no bridges of any kind,” and they
were being hotly pursued.

No one has ever claimed to have been an eye-witness to the legendary leap. And most
books about the James brothers mention it in passing or don’t mention it at all. But one writer,
Carl W. Breihan, gave some credence to the jump. He wrote about a gunfight erupting at the
Gulch, and that Frank was wounded in the arm. Then according to Breihan, a reporter said that
he saw Jesse jump over a “rocky gorge, a distance of about fifteen feet.” Meanwhile, Frank
walked his horse down the nearby “Devil’s Stairway.” Unfortunately, other than saying it was a
“reporter,” Breihan did not cite the source of his information.

Devil’s Gulch was also known as “Spirit Canyon.” Both names are appropriate for the
gulch and nearby Palisades are endowed by nature with exquisite scenic qualities, all of which
inspired stories and legends. There were tales of murders, suicides, unmarked graves and love
affairs that ended in tragedy. During the frontier era, the gulch was a place afflicted by the
romance of history rather than the fact of history.

It is also an unlikely place to be found on the rolling prairie, known for its oceanic waves
of tall grass rather than large rock formations. The rocks seem to have exploded out of the dirt.
The distance across the gulch is about fifteen feet, between two jagged ledges of quartzite that
straddle a small stream that empties into the Split Rock River. If one takes into account the
space between the ledges, the surrounding rocky terrain, along with the fact that Jesse was
probably riding an ordinary farm horse, the logical conclusion is that the story of the jump is
pure Wild West myth. It is harmless and entertaining, but myth nevertheless. No thoughtful
historian would conclude that a man on a horse jumped across Devil’s Gulch.

But they could have had some kind of encounter with the lawmen in that area, because
it was said in the Argus-Leader of April 19, 1924, that the posse lost their trail “three miles east
of the Palisades on the Split Rock River.”

At any rate, were in unfamiliar territory, and the written record indicates that, while
they were careful about their travel and encounters, they wanted to get to Missouri as fast as
possible. This fact shoots holes in another time-honored yarn about the “Jesse James cave,” in a
ledge of quartzite on the west side of the Split Rock River. According to this story, they stayed in
the cave for several days. In 1923, there was a man who was willing to guide people to it, and
probably did so as often as he could for as much as he could get. But no one really believed that
they hid in a cave, including the journalists who wrote about the chase.

The story about the mysterious jump has long lingered in local lore, and like other
strange stories, it acquired a life, and a history, of its own. It has certainly added luster to the
reputation of the outlaw, Jesse James, the star of the story. And the misty ambiguity as to the
origin of the story makes it all the more intriguing.

There is at least one unusual, modern day thread to the legend. The secretary of the
Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce received a most curious letter dated March 18, 1948. The
letter, from Texan Orvus L. Howk, contained the following inquiry:
“Do you have any place called Devil’s Gulch, a deep canyon north of Sioux Falls? It is near a
little town called Garretson, I think. There is an old man here past 90 years old who says he once
jumped across a place when it appeared that canyon walls were about 15 feet apart and a sheer
drop below. He says he was in a hurry back in 1876—I wonder if such a place exists. In every
respect this old mystery man’s memory seems good.”

The old man referred to by the letter writer was Frank Dalton from Lawton, Oklahoma.
He claimed that he was really Jesse James, and that “Frank Dalton” was an alias. The white
haired elderly man, who wanted people to believe that he faked his death in 1882, was nearly
six feet tall, ‘square faced with red complexion.” There were several scars on his body that
looked like old bullet wounds and rope burns around his neck. Even at a hundred years old, he
was said to be a “fine shot.”

By 1948, the legend of Devil’s Gulch was probably well-circulated around the country,
and getting access to details about the area would not have been difficult. As such, along with
other improbabilities, the “I am the real Jesse James” claim falls flat.

But getting back to 1876 and the actual outlaw brothers, the newspaper record
indicates that they made another stop in vicinity of Valley Springs, about six miles southwest of
that town. At the Samuelson place, another homestead, they asked for directions to Sioux Falls,
then the leading town in the area. They apparently did not tarry long at the Samuelson place,
but turned west and “exchanged their jaded horses at a point ten miles due east of Sioux Falls.”
The Argus-Leader avers that on their way toward Sioux Falls, they also made a stop at Banning’s
Mill on the Big Sioux River, in Split Rock Township.

While Sioux Falls was a growing and thriving frontier town in 1876, it did not yet have a
railroad, and the telegraph would not arrive until November, but it did have a stagecoach line.
This must have been somewhat tempting to the James brothers who made living robbing
stagecoaches.

Up to this point, the brothers had survived based on luck and guile; their actual
identities were unknown and the newspapers referred to them as the “Northfield bank
robbers.” Of course most Dakota newspapers came out only once a week, and in the slow and
uncertain process of tracking the outlaw’s progress, reporters were unable to keep up with the
outlaws, let alone identify them.

But news of the pursuit created excitement that brought out all the bravos, young and
old, and their six-shooters, looking for some of the reward money, and a chance to shed the
shackles of drudgery. The man who brought down any member of the celebrated James
Younger gang would most certainly earn a place in history, or at least be toasted in a local
saloon.

On September 18, 1876, Sioux Falls was thrown into a state of excitement by the sudden
presence of lawmen from Rock and Nobles County, Minnesota. Folks were advised that the
two Northfield robbers were headed toward town, presumably going to the Black Hills. It was
believed that they would cross the Big Sioux River about ten miles north of Sioux Falls, so a line
of men were stationed on the west bank of the river for about fifteen miles.

The fleeing bandits had other plans. They passed through Sioux Falls early in the day.
Then on the south edge of town on the 18th of September, the two men were spotted mounted
on gray horses. They were the James brothers, and having rid themselves of the black and blind
horses stolen from the Nelsons, they hailed the driver of the Yankton stagecoach. When the
stage stopped, the men asked a great many questions, about roads leading west. At some
point the driver suspected the two men were the Northfield robbers, and when the stage
reached Yankton, word went out and the town was soon in an uproar. The sheriff and hastily
gathered posse prepared to gallop off to the west because it was believed the fugitives were
bound for the Missouri River.

Later it was learned that the two men the lawmen sought to capture were riding south
from Sioux Falls, but not in the direction of Yankton. About ten miles south of the town, in
Lincoln County, they confronted a settler, Peter Lommen, and pretending to be lawmen, asked
if there was a telegraph in Sioux Falls. He replied in the negative and they went on their way.
On the 20th, an anonymous card was received in Yankton from someone in Sioux Falls,
dated September 18, 1876. It read: “Two of the Northfield bank robbers have been scouting
around in this county for the last twenty-four hours. They have changed horses three times
today. They have thus far eluded their pursuers by changing their course every few miles. The
whole country is in arms. The robbers when last seen were about two miles northeast of Valley
Springs traveling northwesterly. The presumption is that they will attempt to reach the Missouri
River at some point north of Yankton.”

This note is significant because it explains the level of interest in finding the robbers
among men in Minnehaha County. And it also expresses the confusion that attended their
efforts, while it highlights the success of the James brothers in evading capture. They knew the
bandits were out there but despite their dedicated efforts, they could not get their envious
hands on them, so James brothers could just as well have been ghost riders.

The Dakota Herald, a Yankton newspaper summed it up appropriately: “During the past
week, everyone who had a little leisure time, have been out scouring the country for the
Northfield bank robbers, two of whom were reported to have been seen in several points in
Southern Dakota, but have up to this writing eluded the many officers and citizens in pursuit of
them.” Among the citizens in pursuit were lawyer Melvin Grigsby, hotel man Harry Corson, and
the always adventuresome, John D. Cameron, all important men from Sioux Falls.

A common element in all the accounts was confusion. It was reported, and later
retracted, that the desperadoes shot a Norwegian on the Dakota side of the Big Sioux River,
near the Rock River, because he couldn’t speak English. In two separate reports, two riders
answering the description of the fugitives were seen north of Swan Lake, in Turner County.
Then another man spread the news that the robbers were seen somewhere east of the Yankton
Sioux Agency, with 20 Indians in pursuit. They were joined by a group of white men and when
they caught up with the riders, it was discovered that they were mere “half-breeds” and not the
James brothers.

But in fact, the James brothers never got close to Yankton but rather stayed near the Big
Sioux River. And on the afternoon of September 18th, the town of Canton in Lincoln County,
was “thrown into a wild state of excitement” by the arrival of eight men from Worthington and
Luverne, Minnesota, who had pursued the Northfield robbers to the Big Sioux River. At a point
where the Split Rock River intersects with the Big Sioux, they lost their track. In Canton, after a
brief strategy discussion, three Minnesota men and one from Canton set out to alert settlers to
the south along the Big Sioux River, hoping to intercept the outlaws.

Their second stop in Lincoln County was at the log house of Ole Rongstad, about five
miles northeast of Canton, in section 20 of Dayton Township. It was on the evening of the 18th,
following their encounter with the stagecoach near Sioux Falls, that they asked the Rongstads
for food and shelter. They said they were hunters, and the Rongstads, with no knowledge of
the robbery or the robbers, were more than willing to feet and shelter them. The James
brothers gave Mrs. Rongstad a dollar to leave breakfast on the table in the morning, and then
climbed up the stairs to the garret to get some sleep. Later, one of the strangers came back
down stairs and asked for some tools to open the window that had been nailed shut. As he
climbed back up the steps, Mrs. Rongstad noticed he was carrying a gun.

At daybreak the brothers left the Rongstads’ on foot, carrying their saddles. It was
raining as they walked into the Albert Larson place, where farmhands Peter Wahl and Andrew
Shulson were preparing for the day’s work. One of outlaws yelled, “get your horses boys and
catch some horse thieves.” It was a trick to get them to saddle horses and it worked. The two
farm boys faced to the barn with Frank and Jesse walking toward them; Frank seemed a little
lame. After the horses were saddle, Jesse drew a gun and informed the boys that they
intended to take the horses. Mounted up they took off with the boys looking rather
flabbergasted.

Soon after Rongstad showed up; it seems that he was suspicious of his guests who left
his house without taking their horses. Peter Wahl and Rongstad rode off in pursuit of the
brothers even though they were unarmed. They caught up with the James boys, and as the
outlaws were crossing the Big Sioux River into Iowa, one of them fired a shot that struck
Rongstad’s horse in the neck, causing him to go back to Canton. Meanwhile, Wahl continued to
follow the robbers, but lost them in the hills, on the Iowa side of the river, near the town of
Fairview, Dakota Territory.

When Rongstad reached Canton, he sounded the alarm, calling the bold and brave to
action. Within a short time the hardware store had sold most of its guns and ammunition to
men eager to join the manhunt. The men were looking for two suspects, each about six feet
tall, 30 years old, light complexion, wearing long coats that concealed their guns. Well armed,
about 25 men rode out of Canton into the wooded hills, against a cold, gray sky, but they could
not find their quarry, for all tracks were washed away by the rain. Luck indeed, favored the
foolish.

Not everyone, however, gave up the chase. Men from Sioux Falls and Minnesota were
still in the hunt and a party from Finlay in Turner County was out and about. To the south,
groups from Yankton and Sioux City were poised and ready to intercept the outlaws, confident
of success. They had guns but were not armed with the knowledge of the whereabouts of the
outlaws, nor were they able to outthink the Missourians.

Their trail was lost and according to most newspaper accounts, once they crossed the
river into Iowa, they probably did not re-enter Dakota. The horses belonging to the Nelson’s
were discovered; the blind one was found on a sandbar in the Big Sioux River, about twelve
miles southwest of its home, and the other turned up about eight miles northwest of Canton.
The horses stolen from Wahl and Shulson turned up near East Orange, Iowa, where it was
presumed that the outlaws exchanged them for fresh mounts.

It is likely that they continued their journey in Iowa, for it was reported and repeated in
some books, that they encountered a Dr. Sidney Mosher, east of Sioux City. He was on his way
to see a lady with a goiter. The James brothers held him hostage for several hours thinking he
was a detective. After they were satisfied Mosher was a doctor, they let him go, taking only his
clothes and his horse.

About the same time someone claimed the ubiquitous outlaws were spotted about 20 miles north of
Sioux City, riding in an open buggy. Then on September 23, 1876, the engineer of the Dakota
Southern Railroad saw two men seven miles west of Sioux City, going north in the direction of
Elk Point. Believing them to be the two missing Northfield robbers, he reported the sighting.

That they might have turned and went north seems out of the question, but in their
excitement, men sometime see what they want to see. At any rate, this was the last reported
sighting of the James brothers in Dakota Territory, and for Dakotans, the chase was over. Not
everyone was pleased, however. Someone was quoted in the Swan Lake Era: “since the
Northfield robbers have excited Dakota soil, excitement has died away and dullness reigns
supreme once more.”

The Northfield bank robbery, combined with their escape through Dakota, made the
James brothers celebrities not only in Dakota Territory, but throughout the land. The public—
spurred on by the press—made certain that the James brother’s presence was not far away.

Jesse James made headlines when he was killed by Bob Ford in St. Joseph, Missouri, on April 2,
1882. This was followed numerous stories about Jesse faking his death to avoid detection and
arrest. Frank became the toast of Missouri after he was acquitted of all charges against him.
Jesse was immortalized and Frank was redeemed and lionized, afforded opportunities available
only to the honored and celebrated. They had provided so many vicarious pleasures that
people couldn’t bear to part with them, so they were elevated to the pantheon of American
mythology, along side of such luminaries as Wild Bill Hickok, George Armstrong Custer and
Buffalo Bill Cody.

The books began to appear shortly after the death of Jesse. The first in 1882, by Frank
Triplett, who must have had most of written and needed only the death of Jesse to make it
complete. Of course, most of it is inaccurate, but no one was asking any serious questions and
the book sold well.

But the public wanted more and enterprising show men created Jesse James Wild West
shows, featuring plots that highlighted their criminal exploits, but had little or nothing to do
with fact. The various companies toured America on rail, usually performing in big tents or
theaters, to huge crowds of fans. Ticket prices usually ranged between 25 and 50 cents. That
melodramas played well into the 20th century, is an indication of the popularity of the revered
outlaw and his fellow travelers.

The James brothers experienced what was arguably their greatest and most dangerous
adventure in Dakota Territory, so it would make sense to have performance in Sioux Falls. And
in March of 1907, “The James Boys,” a drama about the daring exploits of the outlaws was
presented at the New Theater. The show featured adventures from the raids of Quantrill to the
death of Jesse James and the surrender of Frank James. The newspaper article reminded
people, however, that “no doubt there will be exaggerations.”

Of course another word for exaggeration is legend, and great legends formed around
those few, fast days in the autumn of 1876, when ordinary men—mingling with the gods—
chased two specters through timber and over rolling prairie, always just out of reach.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

I reckon J. Frank Dalton did some research and investergation himself for his schemes. 'Course back in the 30's there weren't no internet ta sweep, had ta do it tha hard way by snail mail. Left some tracks he did. Ye can read the letters in tha PDF I linked here. Ain't hard ta see what Dalton an his pal Howk was up to.



HOW JESSE JAMES NEARLY ROBBED NORTHFIELD...IN 1948

http://collections.mnhs.org/mnhistorymagazine/articles/62/v62i08p298-303.pdf


The Minnesota Historical Society houses a signifcant cache of documents on the failed Northfield bank raid. The bulk consists of official records generated by the manhunt for, capture of, and eventual imprisonment of members of the James-Younger gang. Among these records are the Stillwater State Prison’s case files for discharged inmates. Readers familiar with the raid will recall that, while the James brothers escaped and two robbers were killed on the spot, all three Younger brothers– Thomas Coleman (Cole), James (Jim), and Robert (Bob)–were captured two weeks after the robbery (and Charlie Pitts was killed) in the Hanska slough, roughly a mile south of present-day La Salle, Minnesota. Bob died in prison, but Cole and Jim eventually were paroled. The prison warden received much correspondence after the brothers’ release. Even after their deaths, the Youngers continued to be of enduring interest, and the prison staff maintained a file of letters of inquiry well into the 1970s.

Two of these letters are particularly salient, as they were penned by none other than J. Frank Dalton of Gladewater, Texas. In the first, dated January 24, 1938, Dalton inquired about Cole: “What I wish to know particuarly [sic] is his marks, height, weight, &c, when admitted, and more especially, bullet wounds and scars (if any) and how many” [Dalton’s emphasis]. In short, Dalton wanted to learn as many facts as possible, including whether it was true that Cole was issued a gun to guard other inmates during a prison fire. Dalton then took aim at half-truths, much as he had with Crittenden three years earlier: “My reasons for asking these questions are that there are so many conflicting storys [sic] being printed that I would like to know the Truth so as to be able to refute these stories when, in my opinion, it seems advisable to do so, as they have a tendency, especialy [sic] with young boys, to glorify and make heroes out of outlaws.” The letter concluded by reporting that a Jesse James impostor had surfaced in Texas in 1936 but that Dalton–aided by a copy of the coroner’s inquest on Jesse and by H. H. Crittenden–prevented the man from exhibiting himself. Dalton did not elaborate on what assistance Crittenden provided.

Three days after receiving this letter, Warden Leo F. Utecht offered a curt reply, noting that it was not customary to provide information about prisoners to anyone but law-enforcement officers. He did add, however, that Bob Younger had died in prison, Jim committed suicide in St. Paul, and Cole died in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. He also wrote that he had never heard of guns being issued to any of the Youngers “and doubt very much its veracity.”

Dalton wrote again to Utecht nearly nine months later, wanting more facts: the date of the Youngers’ admission to prison, Bob’s date and cause of death, Cole’s and Jim’s parole and pardon dates, Jim’s date of death. As in his first letter, he felt compelled to give a reason for his inquiries: “I am, as far as is known, the last living one of the men who fought with Quantrell [sic], and I want to leave a truthful record of our activities during and after the Civil War.”

Utecht answered nearly all of Dalton’s questions a month later, omitting Bob’s cause of death (tuberculosis) and not clarifying that only Cole, and not Jim, received a pardon.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Well, I just read that Charley Bigelow was a Pinkerton Agent posing as JJ, & was killed as JJ... dunno.

 

[Ol' Kentuck]

John James is tha feller who came up with the imaginary Charley Bigelow when he came out as "Jesse" in 1926. Ye won't find any mention o'tha name till John came up with it outta thin air. Dalton jest hijacked the tale an added on to it six months later, after John died in a Arkansas mental hospital in December, 1947. Only Dalton changed the story from Jesse killin Bigelow ta Bob Ford killin Bigelow. Ain't nobody been able ta prove there ever was a Charley Bigelow.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

My wife would tell ye its Bubonic, I plague her somethin fierce.

Well, Thank the Lord it is not contagious! I am also very interested in what Mr. Kentuck might have to add or take away, as long as it not out of my stack!

L.C.

 

[L.C. BAKER]

John James is tha feller who came up with the imaginary Charley Bigelow when he came out as "Jesse" in 1926. Ye won't find any mention o'tha name till John came up with it outta thin air. Dalton jest hijacked the tale an added on to it six months later, after John died in a Arkansas mental hospital in December, 1947. Only Dalton changed the story from Jesse killin Bigelow ta Bob Ford killin Bigelow. Ain't nobody been able ta prove there ever was a Charley Bigelow.

I believe he would be easier to find if he was well known. However, I can name a few other men who have real graves without a real person buried in the graves who were used by the K.G.C. and the O.A.K. to help mark a treasure trail. My point being, they had a way of using who or whatever they needed to get the job done. So if you are going to use a body double, it would be very smart to use a fake name for the corpse.

L.C.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

"Google" Charley Bigelow, Pinkerton Agent, with Jesse James...

 

[Rebel - KGC]

Think that Dalton thought that Bigelow was killed as Jesse James... INTERESTING!

 

[Rebel - KGC]

SO! Did DALTON bury Treasures as Jesse James...?