Legends of the Old West - JESSE JAMES Ep. 4 | "Northfield: All Hell"

Episode Date: December 2, 2018

The story of the catastrophic Northfield Raid begins... the James-Younger gang travels to Minnesota hoping for an easy score. Instead, they get shot to pieces by the townsfolk of Northfield while attempting to rob the First National Bank. It's the turning point for the gang. In the aftermath, nothing will be the same. Join Black Barrel+ for early access and bingeable seasons: 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

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Let's go seize the night. That's the powerful backing of American Express. Visit amex.ca slash yamex. Benefits vary by car and other conditions apply. 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+. The summer of 1876 was difficult for the expanding American nation.

The financial crisis that had gripped the country since 1873 continued to cripple the economy. President Grant battled a firestorm of corruption in his administration. And in Montana Territory, along the banks of a river whose name would soon become synonymous with both victory and defeat, General George Armstrong Custer's detachment of the 7th Cavalry was wiped out by the Sioux and Cheyenne. Chiefs Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse became famous for all time, and so did Custer. In Minnesota, farmers suffered through their fourth terrible summer in a row. A biblical plague struck again, with the worst coming in July and August.

Locusts descended on the farms by the millions. They blocked out the sun and devoured everything in their path. The farmers could do nothing. They stood helplessly and watched their livelihoods dwindle away as grasshoppers annihilated corn, wheat, barley, and oats alike. One account talked of a cloud of the invaders that was 17 miles wide. But in the midst of all the turmoil, there was a celebration. It was 1876, the 100-year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the country. That summer, the party was in Philadelphia. Visitors to the World's Fair delighted at new sights and inventions. The typewriter was unveiled

and the telephone. There were Gatling guns and steam locomotives and a new machine for dentists, a drill that was powered by a foot pedal. There was also an elaborate exhibit in a corner of the main building that was a must-see for bank owners. The Yale Lock Manufacturing Company proudly displayed the latest advancement for keeping bank vaults safe and secure, the Time Lock. Bank managers could now lock the vault at the end of the day and walk away with the security of knowing it would be impossible to open until the appointed hour the following day. The First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota received its time lock in late August.

Right around the time eight men from Missouri stepped off the train in Minneapolis. The staff of the First National took turns traveling to Philadelphia throughout the summer and fall of 1876. And on September 4th, it was George Phillips' turn. The cashier was eager to see the full time lock display at the fair, even though his bank already had its purchase. But his vacation was cut short when he received an urgent telegram three days later. The bank had been robbed. There was an epic gunfight in the middle of town. Multiple people

were dead and wounded. All hell had broken loose in Northfield. As a podcast network, our first priority has always been audio and the stories we're able to share with you. But we also sell merch. And organizing that was made both possible and easy with 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. 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 converting checkout, 36% better on average compared to other leading commerce platforms, Shopify helps you turn browsers into buyers. Shopify has allowed us to share something tangible with the podcast community we've built here, selling our beanies, sweatshirts, and mugs to fans of our shows without taking up too much time from all the other work we do to bring you even more great content. And it's not just us. Shopify powers 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. Shopify is also the global force behind Allbirds, Rothy's, and Brooklinen, and millions of other entrepreneurs of every size across 175 countries. Because businesses that grow, grow with Shopify. a $1 per month trial period at shopify.com slash realm, all lowercase. Go to shopify.com slash r e a l m now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in. shopify.com slash realm. From Black Barrel Media, this is Season 3 of the Legends of the Old West podcast. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this is the fourth episode of a six-part series on Jesse James.

and this is the fourth episode of a six-part series on Jesse James. If you know anything about the legend of the James Gang, the Northfield Raid needs no introduction. It was the turning point for America's first prominent outlaw gang. Jesse, Frank, and Cole led the gang out of its comfort zone and into uncharted territory. They attacked a bank in a sleepy little town outside Minneapolis because it looked like an easy target, but they were not prepared for the fierce resistance of the townspeople. And I have one more note before we get to the story this week. I'll elaborate on it at the end

of the episode, but for now, just know that there is no one definitive account of the Northfield raid. The streets of Northfield turned into a genuine war zone during the robbery, and in the aftermath, no two people could agree on all the details. The basic events in the timeline are pretty consistent in all the accounts, but there's one minor element that's still a mystery. Because of that, I had to make a choice. I'll explain the mystery and the choice after the episode. So here we go. Jesse James Episode 4. Northfield. All Hell. After just two weeks in New Orleans, Union General Benjamin Butler was fed up.

His men had been harassed constantly. The men of New Orleans were bad, but the women were worse. They cursed and insulted the Union troops and spat on them wherever they went. It was May of 1862, and Admiral David Farragut had captured New Orleans for the Union just a couple weeks earlier. Now, General Butler and his troops were in command of the city, and they were having a tough time. The troops could rough up the male antagonists, but they weren't sure how to handle the women. Butler cracked down as much as he could, and in short order, the people of New Orleans began calling him the Beast. Now, as Beast, Ben Butler, and Admiral Farragut walked down a street

in the French Quarter, a woman leaned over a balcony and dumped her chamber pot on Farragut's head. That was the last straw for Butler. On May 15th, he issued General Order No. 28 that said any woman who insulted or offended his troops in any way would be considered a prostitute and treated accordingly. The people of New Orleans howled in anger, but the abuse of the Union soldiers stopped. By the end of the war, Butler and his unit participated in the Siege of Petersburg, where he commanded a courageous brigadier general named Adelbert Ames, a man who had flown up the ranks during the Civil War. Ames was from Maine and began his career as a second lieutenant in the U.S. artillery. In the first battle of the war, Bull Run, he was seriously wounded but refused to leave his guns.

By the end of the war, he was a brigadier General and 30 years later, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Bull Run. After the war, Butler and Ames went into politics. Butler went to Congress and Ames became the Provisional Governor of Mississippi. He later became the military commander of the district that included Mississippi and Arkansas. And in 1870, Ames married Butler's daughter, Blanche. As Ames navigated the world of national politics, he also invested in businesses with his father and brother.

They built successful flour mills, and in 1873, John Ames asked his brother Adelbert to invest in a new venture, the First National Bank of Northfield, Minnesota. Adelbert moved his wife and three young children to Northfield, and it was there, three years later, on an early September day, that three hard-looking men rode past him as he walked to the family's mill. They immediately caught his eye. They rode fine horses and sat in their saddles with easy confidence. They wore long linen dusters, which Ames had seen much more often in the South than up here in Minnesota.

And then they were past him, trotting into town as he headed to the mill to mail a letter. But their image stuck with him and filled him with a sense of something. Not fear necessarily, but unease. Trepidation maybe. He didn't know it yet, but in about five minutes, an uneasy feeling wouldn't even come close to describing the situation. Two weeks earlier, Clay County, Missouri. The James Younger gang tried to figure out its next move after the arrest of Hobbs Carey.

Carey had been caught after the Rocky Cut train robbery and had given a full confession to the police, including the names of his fellow bandits. And it was all printed in the newspapers. Now he sat in jail in Boonville, Missouri, while posse scoured the state looking for the rest of the outlaws. In his cell, Carey received letters from his former pals. Each one threatened to kill him the minute he got out of jail and was marked with a cross of blood at the top. The gang wanted revenge, but they weren't fools.

Jesse proposed a trip to Minnesota. They needed to get out of Missouri for a while, and Minnesota might provide some easy scores. Plus, St. Paul was the new residence of Samuel Hardwick, one of the two men in Clay County who were directly involved in the attack on the James Farm. Jesse had already killed the other man, Daniel Askew. If they went to Minnesota, they could rob a northern bank, which might pull some of the heat out of Missouri, and they could kill Hardwick. It was a two-for-one deal. Bob Younger and Jesse were close friends,

so Bob was on board with the Minnesota plan immediately. Cole Younger was not. He argued against it, but in the end, he went along anyway. In late August 1876, eight men boarded a train in Missouri and made the long trip north to Minnesota. They were Frank and Jesse, Bob, Jim, and Cole Younger, Clell Miller, Charlie Pitts, and Bill Chadwell. They packed light, just weapons and money, not even a change of clothes. Anything else they needed could be bought in Minnesota. When they arrived in Minneapolis, they split up. Five stayed in town while the other three went over to St. Paul. They checked into hotels under fake names and moved

around the cities in small groups. But other than the fake names, they made no attempt to disguise themselves, and they began to leave a trail of interested observers in their wake. Up here in Minnesota, they might as well have been from a different planet. They looked, acted, and talked different from everyone else. They tucked their pants into knee-high boots. They wore long spurs and linen dusters. Their southern draws were unmistakable, and they didn't take their hats off when they entered a dining room. This was the James Gang in Minnesota. They had a good time drinking and gambling, but they also got right to work. They scouted potential robberies in Red Wing, St. Peter,

Medelia, and maybe even Mankato. They bought brand new horses and saddles that were admired everywhere they went. They bought.44 caliber slugs for their guns, which surprised one local gunsmith. Very few of his customers used such a large weapon. At some point during these travels, Jesse may have scouted the murder of Samuel Hardwick. Jesse knew Hardwick's exact address in St. Paul because the newspapers had printed it after the man moved to Minnesota. But for whatever reason, Jesse never completed this part of his mission. The first phase had been completed though. They bought their horses and their gear, and they settled on their target,

the First National Bank of Northfield. Northfield was a town of 2,000 people on the Cannon River, 39 miles south of St. Paul. It had only one bank, the First National, which meant all the town's money would be in one place. Supposedly, it also had $75,000 worth of investments from former Union generals Adalbert Ames and Benjamin Butler. And luckily for the outlaws, they stumbled across a newspaper article that informed the public of the new security measures at the bank. Two new heavy doors had been added to the vault, as well as a new safe, with a time lock. Yep, the gang knew all about

the time lock purchase, and with all those new precautions, they figured there must be plenty of valuables inside. Jesse and Clell Miller spent two days investigating Northfield. At one point, they stopped a man and asked about the people who lived there. Were they peaceful, law-abiding citizens? Why, yes, of course they are, the man responded. And that settled it. The town would be easy pickings.

On Wednesday, September 6th, the gang split up and spent the night in two nearby towns. They were going to storm the bank the following day, but that night, the plan almost fell apart before it got started. Jim Younger got cold feet. He didn't want to go through with the robbery. He wanted to sell his horse and catch a train to California. Cole, Clell, and Charlie Pitts had a long talk with him that night, and he eventually relented. He would stay with the gang and go through with the robbery. At 10 a.m. the next morning, all eight men rode into Northfield. Thursday, September 7th, Northfield, Minnesota.

The first person who sensed danger was Walter Lewis. That morning, he saw four men ride out of the woods south of town. They wore hard expressions and linen dusters. They trotted up Division Street. Two of them hitched their horses in front of the bank. The other two continued up the street and turned into the town square where they stopped at a saloon. Walter Lewis hurried up to a store owner and said something didn't seem right about those men. The owner shadowed them down the sidewalk and agreed they looked suspicious.

He grabbed the former police chief and alerted him to the strangers. The former chief said he knew all about the men. They'd been in town a couple days. They were cattle buyers, and he told the store owner not to worry. The two strangers who stopped at the bank went inside briefly. They were greeted by three men instead of the usual four. The bank's cashier, George Phillips, left a couple days ago to go visit the World's Fair in Philadelphia. That left Alonzo Bunker, the teller, 27 years old. Frank Wilcox, assistant bookkeeper, 27 years old but would turn 28 the next day. And Joseph Haywood, senior bookkeeper. Haywood was 39 years old. He was a shy man from New Hampshire with a heavy beard. He was a talented accountant who was the treasurer for the town of

Northfield, the Young School of Carleton College, and the First National Bank. He hoped to pass the day quietly and then take his wife and young daughter to see at least part of the big show that evening. An Australian magician was in town, and his show would begin by sending two hot air balloons into the sky at 6.45pm. Heywood was sure his wife and daughter would like to see that, and then maybe they'd stick around for the show afterward. Heywood had checked the safe at the beginning of the day. It sat against the back wall of the vault, and the new time lock had worked as advertised. It unlocked itself at the appointed hour, but Haywood kept the safe closed, just in case. The two strangers who entered the bank didn't stay inside long.

They probably pulled their usual trick, asking for change for a $20 bill. While the teller counted out the money, the robbers would scope the layout of the bank. When they left, they trotted up Division Street to the town square and the iron bridge that ran across the Cannon River to the west side of town. At the bridge, they briefly met up with more men dressed like themselves. They exchanged a few words and then separated again. Over the next four hours, the eight men roamed the town in twos and threes. They had drinks in a couple saloons

and a few of them had ham and eggs at a restaurant. They checked their gold pocket watches as they waited for 2 p.m., their magic hour for robberies. A little after 2 o'clock that afternoon, Albert Ames walked to his family's flour mill on the river to mail a letter to his wife. He strolled past the iron bridge

and noted the three men in linen dusters who were trotting across it on fine horses. He didn't like the look of them, but he didn't raise an alarm. The men continued through the town square, passing a couple hardware stores, a dry goods store, and a general store as they headed for Division Street. J.S. Allen, who owned one of the hardware businesses, glanced out of his store as the three men in linen dusters rode past his windows. They looked like hard men, and he was immediately concerned. The three men turned on to Division Street.

They stopped half a block later, in front of the First National Bank. Directly across Division Street from the bank, Henry Wheeler lounged in a chair outside his father's drugstore. He was 22 and home from the University of Michigan on a break. He watched the three men

dismount in front of the bank. Frank James, Bob Younger, and Charlie Pitts tied their horses to the hitching rail in front of the bank. Two of them ambled back up the street toward the town square. They paused near the general store and loitered near an outdoor staircase that ran up the side of the building. As Wheeler watched, the two men seemed to chat comfortably and casually. Wheeler had no way of knowing, but these two men were waiting for two of their friends to follow them across the bridge. After a couple minutes, the men by the staircase spotted their companions. Cole Younger was alarmed as he and Clell Miller crossed the Iron Bridge to the town square. There were lots of people milling about. Frank, Bob, and Charlie were supposed to

determine if the gang would actually go through with the robbery. They were the ones who were going to go into the bank, and if there were too many people in the area, they were supposed to abort. But as Cole and Miller crossed the square, they saw their friends dart around the corner to the bank. They're going in, Miller said to Cole. If they do, the alarm will be given as sure as there's a hell, Cole responded. J.S. Allen, the hardware store owner, watched these two new men ride through the square dressed like the three men he'd seen earlier.

Now he knew something was going on. He was certain that the three men he'd seen earlier. Now he knew something was going on. He was certain that the bank was about to be robbed. Henry Wheeler watched the two men on the corner walk back down the sidewalk and rejoin the third man. He thought they must be cattlemen with those nice horses and new saddles. Most people in town just drove buggies or farm wagons. The three men who had hitched their horses in front of the bank now went inside. The two new men also stopped at the bank, but they stayed on their horses, as if they were waiting for something. A woman inside the hardware store next to Wheeler's Drugstore stared at the men in front of the bank. As they moved, she saw guns in their hands.

She turned to the store owner and said, they're robbing the bank. Then she fled toward the back door. J.S. Allen, who'd kept an eye on the men in the dusters, now scooted down to the corner by the general store. He peered around the outdoor staircase and watched the men on horseback hover in the street outside the bank. He couldn't take it anymore. The curiosity was killing him. He hurried down the sidewalk. He had to know what was going on in the bank. Alonzo Bunker, the teller at the First National, heard the door open as he worked at his desk. He heard bootsteps on the floor and jangling spurs. He looked up from his ledger and straight into the barrels of three revolvers.

Frank James shouted at Bunker to throw up his hands and stay quiet. They intended to rob the bank. The three robbers jumped over the counter and screamed at the employees to get down on their knees. Frank Wilcox and Alonzo Bunker sank to the ground. Joseph Haywood was sitting in a chair, so he just stayed where he was. Bob Younger and Charlie Pitts searched them for weapons while Frank yelled at them to tell him who the cashier was. Haywood tried to explain the

cashier wasn't there. He was in Philadelphia, but Frank wouldn't hear it. He leveled the gun at Haywood and growled at him to open the safe. Haywood didn't move. The outlaws left the bank door open and their shouts drifted out onto the sidewalk. Cole Younger and Clell Miller were the men on horseback outside. They became concerned about all the yelling. Cole hopped down from his horse and pretended to tighten the cinch on his saddle while he nervously scanned the area. JS Allen rushed down the sidewalk from the General Store and had enough time to glance in the front window of the bank before Clell Miller grabbed him by the collar and spun

him around. Miller rammed his gun into Allen's face and told him not to make a sound. Across the street, Henry Wheeler stood up from his chair. He took a couple steps toward the bank. He now recognized what was happening. He saw Miller threaten Allen, but then Allen twisted out Wheeler's grip and sprinted back up the sidewalk. Wheeler shouted the first alarm to the town. Wheeler swung around and fired a shot over the young man's head.

He yelled at Wheeler to get back or he'd kill him. Wheeler dove into his father's store. Allen raced around the corner of the general store and into the town square. He bellowed that the bank was being robbed. Get your guns. Cole jumped into his saddle and began firing up and down the street at anyone who moved. At the sounds of the gunshots, Jesse, Jim Younger, and Bill Chadwell leapt into action. They were stationed on their horses in the town square to cover the escape. They were supposed to ride through the streets, firing into the air and giving the rebel yell to scare everyone away.

They did exactly that. They spurred their horses and screamed like banshees as they galloped toward the bank on Division Street. Allen ran into his hardware store and began handing guns to anyone who wanted one. Fat cats like Adelbert Ames and Benjamin Butler may have invested in the bank, but the townspeople were its depositors. If it got robbed, they would lose everything, and they were not going to let that happen. A farmer named Elias Stacy grabbed a shotgun from Allen and raced down to the corner. He leaned around the general store. He stuck the

shotgun around the side of the outdoor staircase just as Clell Miller was scrambling up onto his horse. Stacy squeezed the trigger and blasted Miller, but the gun was loaded with birdshot, not buckshot. The force knocked Miller off his horse and the pellets stung his face, but they didn't kill him. Cole whipped around and saw Miller in the dirt with blood trickling down his face. Miller climbed back into the saddle. Ansel Manning owned the hardware store right next to Allen's. He saw Jesse, Jim, and Bill ride past his store firing their weapons, but he thought it was some kind of promotional event for the magic show that night. Then he heard people shouting that the bank had been robbed. He grabbed a Remington rifle out of his front window and ran down to the corner. He joined Stacy near the staircase. When he peered around the side, he saw riderless horses standing outside the bank.

He drew a bead on one and fired. Bob Younger's horse dropped dead in the street. Manning hopped back around the corner to reload his rifle, but it jammed. He rushed back to his store to fix it. Division Street was now an all-out battle. Jesse, Jim, Bill, Clell, and Cole spun their horses in all directions and fired at everyone. But at this point, they were still just trying to scare people, not kill them. They shattered glass windows and splintered door frames, but didn't hit anyone. They shouted and cursed at everyone to get back inside.

But the opposite happened. A dentist who worked on the second floor of the general store building stepped out onto the outdoor staircase. A woman in his office said the shooting was an advertisement for an Indian show that night, but when he looked down at the men in the street, they cursed and fired a shot at him, so he wasn't sure about the woman's assessment. Fire bells and church bells rang out the alarm all over town. Two blocks away at Carlton College, the dean of the women's college heard all the noise but didn't know what to make of it.

Then two women rushed into her office. They had run from Division Street and were out of breath. One of them finally sputtered, keep the girls off the street, and then fainted. The dean got to work. She rounded up the girls and herded them up to the third floor of the dormitory. They grabbed all the fire axes in the building and huddled together, ready to defend themselves.

As the scene on Division Street dissolved into urban combat, the robbery went from bad to worse. Frank ordered Haywood to open the safe. Haywood said coolly, it couldn't be opened. It was on a time lock. Frank shouted that that was a lie.. It was on a time lock. Frank shouted that that was a lie. They knew all about the time lock. Miller had the newspaper article in his pocket right now.

And the safe wouldn't be locked during business hours anyway. Frank decided to open it himself. He stepped into the vault, and Haywood jumped out of his chair and tried to slam the door shut. But Charlie Pitts pulled him back. While the robbers focused on Haywood jumped out of his chair and tried to slam the door shut, but Charlie Pitts pulled him back. While the robbers focused on Haywood, Alonzo Bunker reached for a small gun hidden on a shelf under the desk. Bob spotted him and grabbed the gun first.

At that point, Frank yelled at Bob to get whatever he could from the cashier's box. Bob pulled some bills and a few coins out of a small box and stuffed them into a grain sack, but he thought there had to be more than that. He yanked open a drawer, but it held only stationery. He jammed it shut. If he had opened the drawer next to it, he would have found $2,000. Now the robbers were furious and were all screaming 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. Bunker and Wilcox looked on in horror, but Haywood somehow squirmed out of Charlie's grasp. He tried to escape, but Frank slammed the butt of a gun into his skull.

Haywood crashed to the floor. Frank fired a shot over his head. Haywood crashed to the floor. Frank fired a shot over his head that sounded like a cannon in the small space. Gunsmoke blew out of the barrel and clouded the room. Bunker thought Haywood had just been killed. He bolted for the back door of the bank. The door was open, but blinds hung in the way. Charlie fired at Bunker as he ran, but he only hit the blinds. Bunker smashed into the blinds as he fell into the alley behind the building. He sprinted south across an

empty lot toward Fifth Street. Charlie stepped out of the back door of the bank and took careful aim. He fired, and the bullet tore through Bunker's right shoulder. Bunker staggered, but kept running. the bullet tore through Bunker's right shoulder. Bunker staggered, but kept running. On Division Street, Henry Wheeler had jumped into his father's drugstore after the first shot had been fired. He reached for the rifle he usually kept in the store, but then realized he'd left it at home today. He raced out the back door into the alley behind the building.

He ran north to the Dampier House Hotel. He remembered he had seen an old.50 caliber Smith carbine in the hotel. The breech loader was a relic from the Civil War, and he prayed it would still fire. He found four cartridges and percussion caps, and bounded up the stairs to the third floor. He turned into a room with an open window that looked down on Division Street. He rammed a heavy slug into the chamber, loaded a percussion cap, and racked back the hammer. He leaned out the window and took aim at Jim Younger, but he was breathing hard and his hands were shaking. He tried to focus and then squeezed the trigger. The rifle answered with a crack and sent the bullet screaming toward Jim.

But it missed. It kicked up dust in the street. He reloaded, and this time he leaned the gun on the windowsill to steady it. He sighted down the barrel at Clell Miller and fired. The shot hit Miller in the left shoulder like a sledgehammer. Miller fell off his horse for the second time in this fiasco, and it would be the last time. He struggled back up to his knees, but the bullet had demolished the artery under

his shoulder blade, and he collapsed in the dirt as his heart gave out. Henry Wheeler, the 22-year-old medical student, had just killed the first man in the Northfield raid. Cole Younger jumped down from his horse and ran to Miller. He rolled his friend over and saw he was dead. Then he felt a searing pain in his hip. He looked at his side and saw he was bleeding. Hardware store owner Ansel Manning had cleared the jam of his Remington and had just scored a hit on Cole.

Cole grabbed Miller's guns and hurried back onto his horse. He could not imagine what was taking so long in the bank and he screamed for the men to come outside. On the corner by the staircase, Manning ejected the spent shell. This time, it didn't jam. He loaded a new one and took aim again. Adelbert Ames was now with him on the corner. Ames had heard the gunfire and reports of the robbery and had seen Manning crouched behind the stairs. He rushed up to the man, but he was unarmed and could do nothing but watch over his shoulder.

Manning was holding his own, though. His heart was pounding and he was sweating like crazy, but he took aim at another one of the outlaws and squeezed the trigger. Then he and Ames ducked behind the wall of the general store while he reloaded. But just before they did, Manning thought he saw the outlaw wince in pain. In front of the bank, Bill Chadwell reeled in the saddle. He fell off his horse and smacked into the dusty street. He pushed himself up onto his hands and then folded into a heap. Manning's bullet had struck him right above the heart. Cole Younger once again wondered what in the world was taking so long in the bank. He shouted at his friends, imploring them to come out

or the men in the street would be shot to pieces. Bank teller Alonzo Bunker dashed out of the vacant lot and into Fifth Street, the street that crossed Division south of the bank. He nearly collided with Nellie Ames, the wife of John Ames, who had founded the bank with the help of his brother Adelbert. Nellie was driving a small one-horse carriage, and she heard popping sounds coming from Division Street, but she couldn't tell if they were fireworks or gunshots. Then Bunker ran past her with blood streaming down his back. He shouted that he'd been shot, and he just kept running. Another man yelled at her to get out of the street or she'd be shot. But before she could act, some men on

horseback charged into the intersection in front of her. They fired pistols in different directions. Nellie's eyes locked on the biggest man. He was large and muscular. And then at the same moment, several men clambered up a stairwell to her left. They had been in a basement saloon, and now they stumbled out into the sunlight, in a blistering firefight. The last man up the stairs was a Swedish immigrant who understood very little English and was completely drunk. He weaved toward the horseman.

Cole Younger, the large, muscular man, wheeled his horse around and yelled at Nellie to get out of the street, but she was transfixed. By this point, Cole's blood was up. Two of his men had been killed, and his hip felt like he'd been stabbed with a white-hot poker. He was being shot at from everywhere, and he was done with the scare tactics. The Swedes stumbled toward him, and Cole shot him in the head. The Swede toppled over and lay motionless in the street. Nellie could do nothing but stare. Then two men rushed into the street and dragged herless in the street. Nellie could do nothing but stare. Then two men rushed into the street and dragged her out of the carriage. They carried her into a nearby store. After a few moments, she regained her composure and remembered that her husband was supposed to

be at the bank that afternoon. She burst out of the store and ran through the same empty lot that Bunker had used to escape the bank. She ran behind the bank and all the stores that faced Division Street, and ended up in the town square north of the bank. She saw Manning and her brother-in-law Adelbert clustered on the corner near the general store. She rushed toward the men, and then rushed past them. She turned the corner, running for the bank. They grabbed her and pulled her back. She turned the corner, running for the bank.

They grabbed her and pulled her back. The battle still raged on Division Street, and she would have to wait to find out her husband's fate. Inside the bank, the robbers heard the panic in Cole Younger's voice when he shouted for them to come out, and they knew it was time to go. Bob and Charlie vaulted over the counter and hurried toward the front door. Frank was beyond furious at Joseph Haywood for refusing to open the safe. Jesse had said in one of his famous letters that if a man was damned fool enough to refuse to open the safe when he was covered with a pistol, he deserved to die. Frank made good on that threat. Before he jumped over the counter, Frank made good on that threat.

Before he jumped over the counter, he shot Joseph Haywood in the head. The bullet hit Haywood in the left temple and splashed his blood across the desk of the cashier, George Phillips. Frank Wilcox, Haywood's assistant, stood frozen in place. He was terrified beyond movement. Then Frank James hopped over the counter and ran for the front door. When Frank was gone, Wilcox broke his trance and raced out the back door, leaving the body of Joseph Haywood alone in the bank. Bob, Charlie, and Frank had not been able to appreciate the chaos on Division Street while they were inside dealing with the stubborn bank employees. When they ran outside, they discovered they were fully under attack. Bullets whistled past them

from all angles. Jesse, Jim, and Cole galloped up and down the street, firing in every direction. The assault seemed to come from everywhere at once. Then Jim took a slug in the shoulder that sent him spinning, but he stayed on his horse. And now, in addition to the gunfire, rocks were whizzing past their heads. The former police chief, who had said not to worry about the men in the dusters, was unarmed when the fight began, so he and two other men hurled rocks at the robbers. As Bob Younger ran outside, he broke to the left and ran down the sidewalk toward Manning and Ames. Manning used the outdoor staircase for cover as he fired at the outlaws.

Bob got close and then ducked behind a large wooden box that sat on the sidewalk. He and Manning bobbed and weaved as they fired at each other from their bases. 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 to take aim at Bob and fired his third of four rounds. On the sidewalk, Bob jumped as Wheeler's bullet crashed into his right elbow. His gun hand was now useless. With his left hand, he grabbed the pistol out of his right and kept firing at Manning. Manning knew he couldn't win this way. He retreated back to the general store. He ran inside and hurried through the store.

There was a side door near the back that opened on to Division Street. If Bob stayed where he was, Manning could pop out of the door and get the drop on him from behind. By now, Frank and Charlie were on their horses, and Bob was the only one on foot. He hurried back to the bank, his right arm hanging limp at his side. One of the outlaws pulled Bob up onto a horse behind him. Finally, the six surviving outlaws could escape this hellfire. They pointed their horses south and galloped down Division Street. In the general store, Manning started to pry open the side door, but then he heard something strange. Nothing. Well, not nothing exactly, but no gunfire. It had stopped. He cautiously opened the door and peeked outside.

He stepped out onto Division Street in time to see the outlaws gallop out of town. Manning walked out into the street. 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 two dead outlaws lay sprawled in the dust next to a dead horse. Down the street, the Swedish immigrant lay in the intersection, and only Frank Wilcox knew at this point that there was a body in the bank. The Northfield raid was done. It lasted somewhere between seven and ten minutes.

Alonzo Bunker's wife, Nettie, was a schoolteacher. She was in the middle of class with her children when a woman hurried into the classroom. The woman was sobbing. She whispered something in Nettie's ear and then Nettie cried out, my husband. She slumped in her chair, but later she learned that her husband, who had been shot in the shoulder by Charlie Pitts, had survived his wound and 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 learned that the bank had been attacked. 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 he had stood strong in the faces of the robbers and refused to open the safe, she said, I would not have had him do otherwise. The drunken Swede who had been shot by Cole Younger at the intersection of Division and Fifth survived. For a while. Cole's aim was off, and the bullet sliced through the Swede's scalp on the right side of his head without actually piercing his skull. The man lay motionless on the ground for several minutes, but then he was able to get up under his own power. He went to the Cannon River and washed his wound. A doctor bandaged his head and he appeared fine for a few hours. But the next day, his brain swelled due to the trauma. The following day, he fell into a coma. He died on September 11th, four days after the raid.

His passing brought the death toll to four. Two citizens and two robbers. The other six bandits escaped. The three younger brothers were injured. Frank had been hit in the leg, and it appeared that only Jesse and Charlie made it out of town unharmed. But if the action in Northfield felt like a horror show to the outlaws, it was nothing compared to what was to come.

Getting into Minnesota had been easy. Getting out would be excruciating. The manhunt that crossed hundreds of miles and left more dead and wounded in its wake is next time on the Legends of the Old West podcast. Now, if you remember back to the beginning of the episode, I said I wanted to explain a choice and a mystery. So here it is. The mystery is that it's been 142 years since the robbery,

and we still don't know for sure which three outlaws went into the bank. The two witnesses who survived, Frank Wilcox and Alonzo Bunker, both named Charlie Pitts and Bob Younger. Wilcox said he thought the third man was Frank James. Bunker only said the third man was one of the James brothers, and neither employee gave a physical description of the robber. So the debate has raged all this time. Who was the third man? The man who shot Joseph Haywood? No two sources agree. Many people say the third man was Jesse because he was commonly referred to as the most hot-headed and violent member of the gang. was Jesse because he was commonly referred to as the most hot-headed and violent member of the gang.

An execution would be more in line with his temperament. The Youngers gave numerous interviews in the years following the raid, but they refused to acknowledge that Frank and Jesse were even in Northfield that day, let alone that one or both of them had gone into the bank. Assistant bookkeeper Frank Wilcox was the only person who actually named three men, even though he wasn't positive about Frank James. For the sake of simplicity, I chose to use Wilcox's version of events. So I just wanted to mention all that. If you've done a lot of reading about Northfield, you already knew all that stuff. But if you haven't, and you plan to,

I wanted you to be aware of the reality of the situation. So alright, that's it. Let's wrap it up. If you enjoyed the show, please give it a rating and a review on iTunes, or wherever you're listening. You can check out our website at blackbarrelmedia.com and follow us on social media. Our Facebook page is Legends of the Old West Podcast, and our handles on Twitter and Instagram are at Old West Podcast. Thanks again. We'll see you next week.

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