Mementoes Of Jesse James, Pony Express

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31542, 2 December 1967, Page 22

Mementoes Of Jesse James, Pony Express

In th* dty of Liberty, Missouri, stands a bank which is said to be the one robbed by Jesse James and his gang in history’s first daylight bank hold-up. The bank’s proud owner arranged for a re-enactment of the famous robbery last year on the centenary of the crime, and bears the outlaw no ill will, even though one of his ancestors was killed in the raid.

Like Ned Kelly, Jesse James has gone into history as a benevolent Robin Hood figure, though he probably dispensed little of his money among the poor. Missouri was also the home of the famed Pony Express, the flamboyant, adventurous mail service that came to an

abrupt end with the westward thrust of the telegraph. Today Missourians jealously cling to these symbols of a virile bygone era and have turned them into tourist features in the north-western section of the state. Liberty, Missouri, seemed born to play its part in the wild west pageant. It was established in 1822 and was a major depot for waggon masters taking their trains to

the California gold rush. Later General A. W. Doniphan and a troop of soldiers trekked 3600 miles from Liberty to fight in the Mexican war. It is said to have been the longest military march in history. The little bank that Jesse entered with blazing guns has been restored and now stands

exactly as it did on that fateful day. Not far away stands another historic building. It is Liberty's oldest structure, not surprisingly, a gaol. Now housed in a marble and granite building and protected by air-conditioning, it seems likely to remain Liberty’s oldest building for another 1000 years. A short distance from Liberty is the town of Kearney, where Jesse and Frank James were bom. Most of the home, containing the original furniture, still exists. Jesse’s Grave Jesse’s original grave can also be seen here in the yard, where his body lay for 20 years before his mother had it reburied in Kearney. Next stop after Kearney, on the trail of Jesse James, is St Joseph, where the outlaw , retired to live a quiet life , with his wife and family; but not for long. The infamous Ford brothers trailed him ; there and shot Jesse in the . back while he was hanging ■ up a “Home Sweet Home” plaque. The house and the ; plaque are still on view in St - Joseph. St Johepb is also the home ■ of the Pony Express Museum ■ which was founded in 1950. i The museum was built around i the remains of Pike’s stables, ■ which housed ponies used by ; the express service. The legend of the Pony Ex-

press is a remarkable piece of Americana. Through hail, rain and snow, plagued by outlaws and Indians and beset by the sheer physical exhaustion of the task before them, 400 young men and boys kept open 1066 miles of mail service from Missouri to San

Francisco. The indomitable Buffalo Bill Cody, little more than 14 at the time, was among the first to volunteer for the service.

It has been the subject of hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles, television programmes and films. Sudden End The end for the Pony Express was sudden. On October 24, 1861, the telegraph, which had slowly made its way west, became a reality and the Pony Express ended its days—only 18 months after it began. Today a statue to its memory stands in St Joseph and the Pony Express Museum exhibits bridles and saddles and other mementoes of the adventurous era. As short-lived as the express may have been and as criminal as Jessie James may have been, there is no doubt they contributed to the drama of the post-Civil War period of American history. The trail of Jesse James and the Pony Express is well worth taking for the student of the Wild West.