A LARGE NUMBER OF LADIES,
who desired to look upon the desperate fellows, but who evinced no more curiosity than their male comrades.
The run to Faribault was accomplished at about 4 o'clock. During the ride a most open discussion of the situation of the affair took place, and there was no concealment of the disappointment felt of any of the bandits being taken alive, and the desire was freely expressed that the three
BLOODY BANDITS
should not be permitted to take advantage of the clemency which the laws of Minnesota afford to a self-convicted murderer.
The news that a special train was en route had been kept so quiet, that on arriving at Faribault, no persons were at the depot except the officers of the road and Mr. Case, with several omnibuses. It had been arranged that only a select few should visit the jail with the detectives, and but eight persons, including the writer were admitted, the remainder of the party separating and seeking a lunch before they interviewed the outlaws.
During the entire day there had been a constant stream of visitors from the adjacent country, who came in all sorts of conveyances, the citizens of Faribault giving way to them and awaiting a quieter time to call on their distinguished guests.
The jail was surrounded by men and women when the chosen delegation arrived, but by an arrangement with Sheriff Barton, the crowd was restrained, and the St. Louis gentlemen, Mayor Maxfield, Chief King, Captain Macy, Dr. Murphy, Messrs. Lincoln and Merriam, and representatives of the St. Paul dailies were admitted.
On entering, Bob Younger was found sitting near the corner of the cage, quietly smoking a cigar with a newspaper on his lap. Cole was [pg 66] lying on a pallet at the end of the twenty foot jail outside the cage, with a cigar in his mouth and a daily paper before him. The lazy bandit was being fanned by a boy, and seemed wonderfully comfortable. The third man was lying on a cot just inside the bars, and was evidently suffering severely from the wound in his mouth.
Cole Younger was found communicative as usual. Chief King, showed him pictures of the two James boys, taken eight years since, and he immediately knew them, but said nobody would recognize them from those pictures now. On looking at his own picture he acknowledged it as one of the best he ever had taken, but when he looked at that of Charley Pitts, he said he knew no man of that name. Chief King said: “But you know this man as Wells,” when Cole responded, “There are Wellses in every part of the country.”