the career of jesse and frank james has been as checkered as the sunlight that streams through a latticed window, and their crimes are a commentary upon the development of intellectual america. no one can afford to ignore the lesson which the lives of these outlaws teach, and therefore a correct history of their desperate deeds becomes necessary as a part of the country's annals, in juxtaposition with the commendable heroism of our brightest characters. so many improbable and romantic incidents have been credited to these noted brothers by sensational writers; so many dashing escapades and hair-breadth escapes attributed to them, which they never even dreamed of, that thinking people, especially in the east, have begun, almost, to regard the james boys as a myth, and their deeds as creations of sensational dreamers.
it has been my purpose for more than three years to prepare a true history of these noted outlaws, and during that time material has been collecting which is now given to the public entirely free from fulsome description or elaborated sensation. in the main essentials the james boys themselves will confirm the truthfulness of this narrative, which has been written with a special regard for candor and indisputable facts only.
during several years of the most exciting period in the career of these noted bandits, i was engaged as reporter for the kansas city press, and not only became acquainted with many of their relatives and friends who reside in that section, from whom were obtained numerous facts and [pg 2]incidents never before published; but my duties as a journalist gave me many excellent opportunities to learn the real truth in regard to many of their most daring adventures, to one of which (the robbing of the cash-box at the kansas city fair) i was an eye-witness. as time unfolds the mysteries which have gathered around the names of these desperate outlaws, it will be seen that this is the most faithful history of their exploits that has ever been presented to the public.
j. w. b.
st. louis, december 15, 1880.
