Legends of the Old West - JESSE JAMES D.C. Ep. 6 | "Hellfire"

Episode Date: February 12, 2020

The Northfield raid begins badly and ends in disaster. A shootout engulfs the town as the James-Younger gang battles the citizenry in Old West urban combat. Both sides suffer losses and grievous injuries. Afterward, the town and the gang will never be the same. Join Black Barrel+ for bingeable seasons with no commercials: blackbarrel.supportingcast.fm/join For more details, visit our website www.blackbarrelmedia.com and check out our social media pages. We’re @OldWestPodcast on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Discover more value than ever at Loblaws. Like Fresh Promise. Produce is carefully selected and checked for freshness. And if it's not fresh, it's free. Yes, you heard that right. From the crispest lettuce to the juiciest apples, Loblaws is committed to fresh. So you get the best fruits and veggies.

Look for new value programs when you shop at Loblaws, in-store and online. Conditions may apply. See in-store for details. This episode is brought to you by LEGO Fortnite. LEGO Fortnite is the ultimate survival crafting game found within Fortnite. It's not just Fortnite Battle Royale with minifigures. It's an entirely new experience that combines the best of Lego Play and Fortnite. Created to give players of all ages, including kids and families, a safe digital space to play in. Download Fortnite on consoles, PC, cloud services, or Android and play Lego Fortnite for free. Rated ESRB E10+. On an afternoon in early September 1876, Adelbert Ames walked through the town of Northfield, Minnesota on the way to his family's flower mill.

The mill was situated on the Cannon River, which meandered along the eastern edge of town. And just a few yards away from the mill was Iron Bridge, which connected the east side of Northfield to the west side. Mr. Ames' errand on that day was to mail a letter for his wife. As he got closer to the mill, he noticed three men ride over the bridge to the east side of town. They stood out because they rode fine horses and wore long linen dusters. Dusters like those were rare in the north. Ames had seen those much more frequently down south. As the three men trotted past him, Ames was filled with a sense of

unease. It wasn't dread, it wasn't fear, it was just an unsettled feeling that he couldn't shake. But then they were beyond him and headed into town. Ames continued to his flour mill and mailed a letter for his wife. He probably didn't know that there were five other men in town dressed similar to those three riders. Adelbert Ames, one of the major investors in the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota, had crossed paths with Frank James, Bob Younger, and Charlie Pitts just minutes before all hell broke loose. Charlie Pitts, just minutes before all hell broke loose. From Black Barrel Media, this is Season 7 of the Legends of the Old West podcast.

I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're revisiting the life and legacy of Jesse James. This is Episode 6, Hell Shopify. Shopify is the global commerce platform that helps you sell and grow at every stage of your business, from the launch your online shop stage all the way to the did we just hit a million orders stage. Whether you're selling scented soap or offering outdoor outfits, Shopify helps you sell everywhere. They have an all-in-one e-commerce platform and in-person POS system, so wherever and whatever you're selling, Shopify's got you covered. With the internet's best

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Heading for adventure? We'll help you breeze through security. Meeting friends a world away? You can use your travel credit. Squeezing every drop out of the last day? How about a 4 p.m. late checkout? Just need a nice place to settle in? Enjoy your room upgrade. Wherever you go, we'll go together. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamx. Benefits vary by card. Terms apply. YMX. Benefits vary by card. Terms apply. On the morning of the craziest day in the history of Northfield, Joseph Haywood entered the First National Bank as he did every other day.

He unlocked the new vault doors and went inside. He checked the safe that sat against the back wall. The new time lock worked as advertised. It unlocked itself at the appointed hour, but Heywood kept the safe closed just in case. He walked back out of the vault and took his place at the cashier's desk, ready for the day's trade. Around the same time, four members of the James Younger gang rode into town. Two of them hitched their horses in front of the bank. The other two continued up the street and turned into the town square to go to a saloon. When the two men entered the bank, they probably tried their usual trick.

They would have walked up to the L-shaped counter and stopped at the teller window. They would have asked the teller, Alonzo Bunker, to make change for a $20 bill. While Bunker counted out the money, the men would have sized up the operation. There were three employees behind the counter instead of the usual four. Joseph Haywood, the senior bookkeeper, sat at the cashier's desk on the bandit's right. The senior bookkeeper sat at the cashier's desk on the bandit's right. The large walk-in vault was right behind him. The safe, with its new time lock, would be inside the vault.

The missing man that day was the cashier. He was in Philadelphia at the World's Fair. It was America's centennial celebration, 100 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the bank employees took turns going to Philadelphia for the party. The two strangers in linen dusters didn't stay long. They saw what they needed to see. Three employees behind an L-shaped counter between themselves and the vault. The two strangers walked back outside.

between themselves and the vault. The two strangers walked back outside. On Division Street outside the bank, the four members of the gang had already attracted attention. When they rode into town that morning, the first man who spotted them thought they looked suspicious. He ran over to a store owner and voiced his concerns about the hard-looking strangers in the linen dusters. The store owner agreed. Something wasn't right about those men.

He shadowed them down the sidewalk as they moved through town. Then he grabbed the former chief of police and alerted him to the strangers. The police chief said those men weren't strangers at all. He knew them. They'd been in town a couple days. They were cattle buyers, and he told the store owner not to worry about them. Over the next four hours, the eight members of the gang roamed the town in twos and threes. hours, the eight members of the gang roamed the town in twos and threes. They drank in a couple saloons and ate ham and eggs at a restaurant. They checked their gold pocket watches. The magic hour for robberies was 2 p.m., and it was getting close. Around that same time, Adelbert Ames, part owner of the First National Bank, watched three men in linen dusters ride over the bridge and head for the center of town.

They were Frank James, Bob Younger, and Charlie Pitts. It was their job to start the robbery. As Frank, Bob, and Charlie trotted through town, they attracted looks from more people than just Mr. Ames. J.S. Allen owned a hardware store on the town square. He glanced out his windows and studied the three men on horseback. They looked like hard men, and Allen was immediately concerned. They turned on to Division Street where the bank was located, and that raised Allen's concern. On Division Street,

directly across from the bank, Henry Wheeler lounged in a chair outside his father's drug store. He was 22 and home from the University of Michigan on a break. He watched the three men in linen dusters dismount in front of the bank. Frank, Bob, and Charlie tied their horses to the hitching rail in front of the First National. Two of them walked back up the street toward the town square. They paused near a general store on the corner. They loitered near an outdoor staircase that ran up the side of the building. Henry Wheeler watched them. They chatted comfortably and casually, giving no cause for alarm. Henry took note of their nice horses and new saddles. He assumed they must be cattlemen to afford such fancy rigs.

He assumed they must be cattlemen to afford such fancy rigs. Not long after Frank, Bob, and Charlie stationed themselves near the bank, Cole Younger and Clell Miller crossed Iron Bridge and rode into the town square. Cole was instantly worried. There were too many people wandering around. Frank, Bob, and Charlie were supposed to assess the situation and decide if the gang should go through with the robbery. Cole spotted two of the three standing near the general store. When they saw him, they darted around the corner in the direction of the bank.

Cole knew they were going to go through with the robbery. And he also knew the alarm would be raised, as sure as there's a hell. Mr. Allen stood at the windows of his hardware store and watched Cole and Clell ride into town. That made five men with hard expressions and linen dusters who had ridden toward the bank in the last few minutes. Allen hurried out of his store and ran down to the corner where the two gang members had been standing just seconds before. He watched the two new riders stop in front of the bank. The horses of the three men he'd seen earlier were tied at the hitching rail. And now Mr. Alan was sure something was going on.

He hurried down the sidewalk to get a closer look. Henry Wheeler watched the same movements from his chair across the street from the bank. As he sat outside his father's drugstore, he saw the two men who had walked up to the corner now stride back down the boardwalk to the bank. They rejoined the third man outside the door. Then two new men, wearing similar dusters, the door. Then two new men wearing similar dusters rode down the street and paused outside the bank. But these new men did not dismount. They stayed on their horses in the middle of the street as if they were waiting for something. Then their three friends walked into the bank. Frank James, Bob Younger, and Charlie Pitts entered the bank with guns drawn.

Frank shouted at the teller to throw up his hands and stay quiet. This was a robbery. The three bandits jumped over the counter and screamed at the three employees to get down on their knees. Bob and Charlie searched them for weapons. Frank leveled his gun at Joseph Haywood and growled at him to open the safe. Haywood was now in the exact scenario he'd discussed with his friend, the president of Carleton College, just a couple days ago. At the time, Haywood said he didn't think he'd open the safe if he found himself in a robbery. Now, staring down the barrel of Frank James' gun, he stayed true to his word.

He refused. Outside the bank, three problems collided in the first few seconds of the robbery. Across the street, a woman in a hardware store saw men with guns go into the bank, and she shouted an alarm. At nearly the same moment, Mr. Allen, who was already suspicious of these five strangers, hurried down the sidewalk to the bank. He made it to the bank window and peered inside before anyone could stop him. Clell Miller jumped down from his horse and grabbed Allen by the collar.

Miller rammed his gun into Allen's face and told him not to make a sound. But the silence was already broken. Frank, Bob, and Charlie had left the bank door open. As they shouted commands to the employees, their voices drifted out into town. All of this caused 22-year-old Henry Wheeler to hop up from his chair across the street. He now understood that the five men at the bank were not cattlemen. They were robbers. Henry screamed the first full warning to the town of Northfield. When he did, Clell Miller spun around and fired the first shot of the Northfield raid.

It sailed over Henry's head, and Miller shouted at the young man to get back or he'd kill him. Henry dove into his father's drugstore. At the same time, Mr. Allen twisted out of Clell Miller's grip. Allen sprinted back up the sidewalk and raced around the corner. He stopped in the town square and bellowed that the bank was being robbed. Get your guns. As the alarm spread, Cole Younger began firing up and down the street at anyone who moved. Jesse, Jim Younger, and Bill Chadwell were stationed on their horses in the town square. Their job was to cover the escape. They were supposed to ride through the streets, fire into the air, and scream the rebel yell to scare anyone away.

But now a man, Mr. Allen, ran around the corner shouting that the bank was being robbed. Gunshots erupted from Division Street. Jesse, Jim, and Bill couldn't see what was happening in front of the bank, but they didn't need to. It was time to go. They spurred their horses and screamed like banshees as they galloped toward the bank. They fired their guns in the air to cover the escape they assumed was in progress. But it wasn't. When Jesse, Jim, and Bill charged around the corner

they found Cole and Clell Miller firing in different directions. Frank, Bob, and Charlie were still in the bank. Shop with Rakuten and you'll get it. What's it? It's the best deal. The highest cash back. The most savings on your shopping. So join Rakuten and start

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the Rakuten app. That's R-A-K-U-T-E-N. Frank James ordered senior bookkeeper Joseph Haywood to open the safe. Haywood calmly said it couldn't be opened because of the time lock. Frank shouted that that was a lie. They knew how the time lock worked. They'd read about it in the newspaper. They knew how the time lock worked. They'd read about it in the newspaper. Frank went into the vault to open the safe himself. Haywood jumped out of his chair and tried to slam the vault door shut. But Charlie Pitts grabbed him and pulled him back.

While the robbers focused on Haywood, Alonzo Bunker, the teller, tried to reach for a small gun hidden on a shelf under the desk. Bob spotted him and grabbed the gun first. Frank shouted at Bob to empty the cashier's box. Bob stuffed some bills and a few coins into a sack. It was nothing compared to what they thought they'd get. The bandits were frustrated and furious. They all yelled at once. Charlie Pitts pulled a knife and pressed it to Haywood's throat hard enough to draw blood.

He roared at the bookkeeper to open the safe. Somehow, Haywood squirmed out of Charlie's grasp, but Frank smashed him over the head with the butt of his gun. Haywood crashed to the floor. Frank fired a shot over his head that sounded like a cannon in the small space. In the chaos and gun smoke, Alonzo Bunker thought Haywood had just been executed. He sprinted toward the back door of the bank. Charlie Pitts fired at him, but missed. Bunker burst out of the door and fell into the alley behind the building. He ran across an empty lot, just as Charlie Pitts stepped out of the back door. Charlie took careful aim and fired. The bullet slammed into Bunker's right shoulder.

Bunker staggered, but kept running. right shoulder. Bunker staggered, but kept running. On the street in front of the bank, a gun battle raged, and it grew hotter by the second. Hardware store owner J.S. Allen hurried into his store to get weapons. A farmer ran in, and Allen tossed him a shotgun. Ansel Manning owned a hardware store right next to Allen's store. He grabbed a rifle out of his front window and hurried down to the corner, where he found the farmer with the shotgun. They peered around the corner at the chaos unfolding on Division Street. Manning had a clear shot at a horse that was tied to the hitching post outside the bank.

He fired, and Bob Younger's horse fell dead in the street. In front of the bank, it was a firestorm. Glass windows shattered. Wooden door frames splintered. Jesse, Jim, Bill, Clell, and Cole spun their horses in all directions and fired at everyone. But despite the hot situation, they weren't aiming to kill. They were just trying to scare everyone to go back inside. That began to change a moment later. After Clell Miller had fired the first shot at Henry Wheeler, Henry had taken cover in his father's drug store. There was usually

a rifle in the store, but now Henry couldn't find it. And then he remembered it was at home, on this day of all days. He quickly moved to plan B. He knew there was an old.50 caliber rifle in the hotel down the street. He raced out the back door of the drugstore. He sprinted to the hotel. He found the old breech-loading relic from the Civil War and prayed it would still fire. He grabbed four cartridges and percussion caps and ran up to the third floor. He turned into a room with a window that looked down on Division Street. He pushed a slug into the chamber, loaded a cap, and racked back the hammer. He leaned out the window and took aim at Jim Younger. He squeezed the trigger and sent the bullet screaming toward Jim, but it missed. Henry was breathing hard and his hands were shaking

from adrenaline. He reloaded, and now he leaned the gun on the windowsill to steady it. He aimed at Klee Miller and fired. The shot hit Klee in the left shoulder like a sledgehammer. Miller fell off his horse and hit the ground hard. He struggled back up to his knees but the bullet had demolished the artery under his shoulder blade. Blood gushed out of the fatal wound. He collapsed to the dirt as his heart gave out. Henry Wheeler, a 22-year-old medical student, had just killed the first member of the James Younger gang in the Northfield Ring. Cole Younger jumped down from his horse and ran to Clell Miller.

He rolled his friend over and saw he was dead. Then he felt a stab of pain in his hip. He looked at his side and saw he'd been shot. Down the street, Mr. Manning, one of the two hardware store owners, reloaded his rifle. He had just scored a hit on Cole Younger. Now he took aim at Bill Chadwell. He pulled the trigger and saw the outlaw wince in pain. Bill fell off his horse and smacked into the dusty street. Manning's bullet struck him right above the heart. Cole dragged himself back into the saddle. In probably no more

than five seconds, Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell had been shot and killed. Cole yelled at the outlaws in the bank. He could not imagine what was taking so long, and they were getting cut to pieces out here. In the bank, the robbers heard the panic in Cole Younger's voice. They knew it was time to go. They were enraged at Joseph Haywood's refusal to open the safe. And despite their years of experience as bandits, they were probably a little panicked. They had never been in a situation like this. Before Frank, Bob, and Charlie jumped over the counter

and hurried toward the front door, one of them shot Joseph Haywood in the head. The bullet hit him in the temple and showered the cashier's desk with blood. The three bandits emerged from the bank and ran straight into a war zone. The gang was under attack from all angles. Henry Wheeler fired down at them from the third floor of a hotel. Mr. Manning and a farmer fired at them from the corner near the general store.

More men were rushing to the scene to join the fight, and those who didn't have guns threw rocks at the outlaws. Bob Younger's horse was dead in front of the bank. Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell lay motionless in the dirt. Jesse, Jim, and Cole galloped up and down the street, firing in every direction. Then Jim shouted and spun in his saddle. He'd been hit in the shoulder, but he stayed on his horse. Frank shouted next. He was shot in the leg. As Bob ran out of the building, he broke to the left and rushed down the sidewalk toward Manning. Manning hid behind an outdoor staircase as he fired at the outlaws. Bob ducked behind a large wooden box that sat on the sidewalk.

He and Manning traded shots at close range. Jagged wood chips flew through the air as the two men dueled. In the hotel across the street, Henry Wheeler had a better angle on Bob from his third floor window. He shifted his old Civil War rifle and fired. Henry's bullet crushed Bob's right elbow. Bob's gun hand was now useless, but he wasn't out of the fight. He switched his gun to his left hand and kept firing at Manning.

Manning knew he couldn't win this way. He retreated into the general store. He ran down the aisle toward a side door at the back of the building. The door opened onto the street behind Bob Younger. If Manning could get there quickly, he could shoot Bob before Bob even knew what hit him. But Manning didn't get the chance. Back at the bank, Frank James and Charlie Pitts were on their horses. Bob was now the only one on foot. He hurried toward his friends, and one of the outlaws pulled him onto a horse. At the far end of Division

Street, several men stumbled out of a basement saloon and found themselves on the edge of a firefight. Most men ran away when they heard the gunfire, but a Swedish immigrant staggered toward it. By that point, it was kill or be killed for Cole Younger. As the drunken man weaved in Cole's direction, Cole shot him in the head. Behind Cole, their surviving outlaws were finally on horseback. They spurred the animals and escaped Northfield. As the dust settled on Division Street, townspeople cautiously left their shelters to investigate. Ansel Manning, the hardware store owner who wounded Cole Younger

and killed Bill Chadwell, stepped out of the back door of the general store. He surveyed the carnage. Two dead outlaws lay sprawled in the street next to a dead horse. Shards of glass and splinters of wood littered the sidewalks. The buildings were pockmarked with bullet holes. The acrid stench of gun smoke filled the air. And at the other end of the street,

the Swedish immigrant lay in the intersection. The man survived the wound, but only for a few days. The bullet had not penetrated his skull. It cut his scalp and traveled around the side of his head. But the trauma caused his brain to swell and he fell into a coma. He passed away four days after the raid. His death brought the body count to four. Senior bookkeeper Joseph Haywood was the first to die,

and the Swede was the last. In between, outlaws Clell Miller and Bill Chadwell had been killed by the citizens of Northfield. Bank teller Alonzo Bunker survived the gunshot wound to the shoulder. His wife Nettie had been teaching school at the time of the attack, and she nearly passed out in the middle of class when she heard the news. But she had the joy of relief when she learned later that her husband would be okay. learned later that her husband would be okay. Joseph Haywood's wife, Lizzie, was not so fortunate. She was at home with a friend working on a dress when she heard about the raid.

She collapsed on her front lawn. The president of Carleton College drove her husband's body home in a carriage a short time later. When she learned Joseph stood strong in the face of danger and refused to open the safe, she said, I would not have had him do otherwise. The six members of the James Younger gang who survived the raid rode south at the fastest pace they could manage. They were in bad shape. Only Jesse and Charlie Pitts were unhurt. Frank had a mild leg wound.

Jim Younger had taken a slug to the shoulder. Cole Younger had been shot in the hip. And Bob Younger was the worst of the bunch. His shattered right elbow was excruciating.

The Northfield raid lasted somewhere between seven and ten minutes, and it had been hellfire like the boys had never experienced. But it was nothing compared to what was to come. The next two weeks would be absolute torture. Next time on Legends of the Old West, the James Younger gang embarks on a harrowing journey to escape Minnesota. They're the most wanted men in America,

and it seems like every officer in the region is on their trail. Some of the boys will make it, and some won't. That's next week on Jesse James, Director's Cut. Original music by Rob Valliere. Vocal editing by Molly Bach.

Music editing and sound design by Dave Harrison. I'm your writer and host, Chris Wimmer. If you enjoyed the show, please leave us a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you're listening. Please visit our website, blackbarrelmedia.com, for more details and join us on social media. We're Black Barrel Media on Facebook and Instagram and B Barrel Media on Twitter. on Facebook and Instagram and bbarrelmedia on Twitter. And if you want to contribute to the production of our shows

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