NARRATOR: In all the world, they were the greatest outlaws.
They were the greatest revolver fighters.
The greatest train, stagecoach and bank robbers that ever lived.
Frank James was there, armed with his Navy Colt and Bible,
and there was "Fancy Kid" Chadwell, wearing his ten guns easy.
And Charley Pitts, the Ozarks Medicine Man. And the wild Younger brothers.
Bob Younger, the youngest Younger, and his brother, "Silent Jim", who had been
shot in the mouth by a bushwhacker. Silent Jim only spoke with his guns.
Then there was big Clell Miller, the mountain man, and of course, Jesse James.
Jesse James, riding side by side with the great Cole Younger.
And they rode like the wind.
Even before the wounds of the Civil War
had healed in Missouri, the rail roads came swarming in to steal the land.
Everywhere, men from the rail roads were driving
poor, defenseless families from their homes.
And that's when a fresh wind suddenly began to blow.
It was other Clay County farmers,
the James and Younger boys, coming to the rescue.
They tarred and feathered the rail road men and drove them from the land.
From that moment onward, they were outlaws.
But the people of Missouri would never forget what the boys had done for them.
And that's why in 1876
the Missouri State Legislature met in an extraordinary session.
These James and Younger boys are called outlaws by some.
But to many more they are heroes.
Now. I propose that a full and complete pardon and amnesty
be granted to them.
Let them go scot-free.
And let those who have pursued them cease and desist immediately.
And let these James and Younger boys return to their homes
and their families to lead fruitful lives,
so that we may have peace once again
in Missouri.
NARRATOR: But the rail roads had hired the
greatest detective of them all, Allan Pinkerton.
And here's where the true story of the Northfield raid began.
Legislators are here to make laws.
We are here to make examples. They're foolish to think that
fifteen years of criminal behavior can be legislated away.
But in the event this amnesty does come into being,
we'll already have done our duty.
They'll enjoy their amnesty in the hereafter.
PINKERTON: Time is running out for Cole Younger and Jesse James.
We're gonna infiltrate Clay County and find them in their hideout.
We're gonna kill those murdering James boys.
I can't think of one, can you?
I've searched back through the crannies of my mind and I cannot
think of one single honest man we ever robbed.
Because we rob the robbers, is why.
Just the rail roads, the banks,
all of them plug hats.
Talk about giving us amnesty. Hell!
It's up to us to give amnesty to them.
Could you hand me some of that there, Jesse?
Surely.
What's this?
Chicago, Illinois.
North Platte, Nebraska.
The Athens of America.
What are these here for?
Cole put them in here.
He said now that amnesty's coming,
his plans would be better served by putting them in here.
PIans? This here's ain't nothing but shuck.
They is raids, Jesse.
What do we want to go behind enemy lines for?
Cole says they ain't enemy lines anymore.
"Cole says." Cole?
That big rooster turned out to be nothing but a little bitty chicken.
No enemy lines. There's enemy lines and always will be, Frank.
Getting a little crooked down there, aren't you?
"Calling all true-blooded Americans. Come one, come all.
"Buckle on a wheat belt." Corn... Wheat... Holstein cattle...
Dollar sign, dollar sign, dollar sign. Got dollar signs clear across the pages.
Biggest bank west of the Mississippi. Northfield, Minnesota.
What's this?
Cole put some writing on the back of here. Four hundred and eighty miles.
"Disguise, cattle buyers."
Wear dusters.
Looks like Cole was planning this raid before the amnesty.
That's a dumb-ass plan if I ever heard one.
What's going on out there?
Even then, it took half a hundred Yankees to do it. Well, sir?
When they cut Big John's head off, they stuck it on a pole and paraded it
around town, waving it like Old Glory.
And that man, and this is no Haziyappi, that man was so mean,
that his eyes gazing down that pole
petrified three grown men that looked too close.
Yes, sir, that was a day of wonderments. That was a wonderment.
Come on, Cole, take off your shirt so's we can see your bullet holes.
Oh, hell, ain't no different than any other man's bullet holes.
Only difference is, some of them are peeking through my lucky brace.
Show it to us. All right.
Come on, Cole. Quit yapping and let's get out of here.
I've been shot in it 14 times.
BOY: Look at that!
That old Cole, chasing birds.
Where'd you get it?
I got it in Kansas City a few years ago.
Harnessmaker name of J. Dudley Dobbs made it for me.
Made it out of quarter-inch leather, sun-dried and brine-soaked.
Fourteen times in fifteen years.
Makes a fella wonder if he chose the right line of work.
Any damn fool can get himself shot full of holes.
It ain't hard getting shot, it's the getting back up.
BOY: How long you have to wear your lucky vest, Cole?
Oh, all my life, I guess, son.
Oh, that ain't bad. Helps you sit up straight.
Still, there are worse things in life than having something permanent.
Cole! You gonna wag your tongue all day? Come on.
Yeah. See you later, boys.
This is a day that's been ten years coming for me.
Ten long years.
From here on in, you men are farmers.
Your job is to plough them under like manure.
Now, get those sons of bitches.
This is war, to the knife. And the knife to the hilt.
You know, Bob, I believe I'm gonna have to whip your ass.
Oh, yeah? Yep.
You been wise-assing with old Jesse and Chadwell
a bit much lately, haven't you?
Well, at least Jesse James ain't no chicken.
Yeah.
COLE: A fella wants to be careful who he calls chicken. It's a little risky.
Even if it is his brother.
Especially if he ain't never shot a man. Correct me if I'm wrong.
You ain't never shot a man, have you, Bob?
No, I ain't.
Good. That's the best time to stop: - before you start. Like old Comanche Tony.
Remember he used to ride with us? Yeah.
Now, he was a good robber and a good shooter.
Only one thing he wasn't good at.
Yeah? What weren't he good at, Cole?
MAYBELLE: Hold it, Cole.
What weren't he good at, Cole?
Damn.
Hello there, Cousin Maybelle. Boy, you look a treat.
Where you going?
I got no plans that can't be altered.
Why?
I know how you love to fix things, Cole.
And...
Yeah, well...
Well, you know the outlaws always try to help a body.
See, the first thing an outlaw's got to do is lend a helping hand.
Bob, you think that I could fix that?
I guess you better, Cole.
Yeah, that was the thing about old Comanche Tony,
he never learned to laugh. Had no sense of humor.
You know, a fella's got to look at the sunny side of things all the...
BOB: Cole.
Cole.
WOMAN: One little Indian.
Two little Indians!
One named East,
and one named West.
The Son,
and the Father,
and the Holy Ghost.
In goes frost,
and out comes fire!
Silk draws good through bullet wounds.
Chimney soot.
That superstitious palaver ain't going to do any good, Charley Pitts.
You got something better, Frank James?
From the look of him, I'd say a prayer would be better.
I got the Granny Woman working on it. She's the best yarb lady in these here hills.
If she and Ezekiel can't do it, maybe your prayer might come in handy.
WOMAN: ...in my own blood.
Live!
Yea, I say unto thee, live!
Come down here and stole the land.
Come down here and they blowed off my mother's arm.
And they killed John Younger.
And now Cole Younger.
They call this peace. Well, we're gonna share that peace with them.
MAN: Amen. I had me a vision.
I seen a Yankee city, far to the north,
with the biggest bank I ever seen. And I seen us all dressed up in
cattle dusters come riding fine Kentucky blue-bloods,
riding into this smug Yankee city,
this city of the plains, built on the spoils of war.
And we're guerrillas again, behind enemy lines.
And we make that Yankee town weep! That Yankee town weep!
I seen a place called North. A place called North.
A place called North.
A place called
Northfield.
Give me an "Amen," boys.
Amen!
Amen.
Where's Jesse?
The boys are riding again, Cole.
But we got an amnesty coming.
I told Jesse he was gonna have to settle with me if he started things up.
Don't get up, Cole.
Got to, Charley Pitts.
Got to keep getting up,
cause if you don't, some son of a bitch'll start shoveling dirt on you.
Wait for the return of some zeal. I got zeal.
I got enough zeal to ride in town and keep the peace.
They ain't in town, Cole.
Yeah? Where are they?
A place called Northfield.
Minnesota.
It come to Jesse in a vision.
That blinkey-eyed bastard.
Even his visions ain't his own.
I am gonna need some cures and provisions from you.
For sprains, bunions, ague and saddle rump.
I'll put some bugs inside there, and dried cat's blood,
and mole pee in your assifidity bag.
Charley Pitts,
you put this silver ring in your ear.
A silver ring to ward off the fear.
You got anything for me, Granny Woman?
Winter wind is gonna blow.
Child's cry across the slough.
Don't go.
NARRATOR: It was late summer in 1876 when Cole
and Jim Younger and Charley Pitts left Clay County and headed north.
Their first stop was Clell Miller's mule farm in northern Missouri.
Hey, CIell. Cole.
That damn Jesse told me you was dead when they come by here yesterday.
He say anything about where he was going?
No. Didn't say much.
Just said they was gonna buy some cattle and settle down,
now that we're getting amnesty.
Jesse's gone on a raid, CIell.
What?
Yeah. Going on a raid.
Now that we got amnesty coming? That's right.
Going on a raid up to Yankee land.
Just gonna rile up folks.
We're gonna try to stop Jesse.
I'm going with you.
You got more than your mules to think about, CIell Miller.
You're married folks.
Damn it.
I'm doing this 'cause of you. So's you can rest easy, honey.
You told me you was through riding with this gang of scum.
You'd best stay, CIell.
Hey Jim, let's take a look at something here.
I want you to be able to travel without being recognized.
You gonna put that mule tail on him, Cole?
You got anything to make this stick?
Yeah. I got some pitch in my assifidity bag.
You handsome devil.
Looks good, doesn't it? Miss Miller, ain't that handsome?
I ain't interested in handsome.
I'm only interested in decent. Doing right's better than looking right.
Do you hear that, Clell Miller?
All right. Let's go, boys.
COLE: Hey, CIell!
I snuck off.
I despaired of trying to make that woman understand that
riding on a raid is one thing, while riding to stop a raid is a whole 'nother
kind of thing entirely.
Kind of like a knightly crusade,
or a noble quest, huh?
Yeah. Besides that, I got tired of
shoveling all that mule shit.
Well, let's ride, then.
Right! Kind of like old times, ain't it?
I don't believe it! Cole Younger,
alive!
This time I'll deal with him personally.
What happened?
Indians. Probably Sioux.
When did it happen?
Early this morning.
COLE: BIinkey-eyed little bastard.
CHARLEY: Jesse?
Yeah. Those soldiers were pistoled close in.
No Sioux in the world would have left that long blonde hair on that soldier.
He had a prettier mop than George Armstrong Custer.
CLELL: Why would Jesse want to kill a half a dozen soldiers like that for?
COLE: Guns. You know about Jesse.
He's got a thing about guns.
He never has quite enough to satisfy him.
If we don't start hurrying, he's gonna be using them again.
CLELL: How far away is this place we're going to?
COLE: A couple hundred miles.
CLELL: Damn! My assbone's gone to sleep already.
COLE: Hey, Clell, how'd you like to ride your assbone on an iron horse?
"The fly wheel is connected to the working beam..."
Horses all right?
Riding easy.
The stock ramp's this side of town. The engineer knows to stop.
I can't wait to see old Jesse's look when he sees us.
I can't get used to being on a train that I'm not fixing to rob.
It's a bad omen using what you fought against, you know.
I see you are a man who is interested in the marvels of mechanics.
Here is something which I would never forgive myself
if I failed to show you.
Watch the champions fight it out.
There they go! Look at that. Ain't that a wonderment?
Boy, look at that.
Got a bird there, too?
See him wag his tail?
Damn. Look at that.
Where are you boys from?
Oh, here and there.
Oh, nice place.
Yeah. We hated to leave.
Now, I like a man who'll josh.
I tell you, I've seen enough sour faces
and heard enough angry words where I just came from
to last me a lifetime.
Where'd you come from? Where you been?
Well, Missouri. Just got back.
What do you figure makes them Missouri folks
so sour and angry?
Why, it's that amnesty vote they just took in the Legislature.
I never believed I would see so many elected officials
voting on the side of cut-throats.
MAN: I vote yes!
Mr. Beale from Jackson County.
I vote yes. Give them amnesty.
DRUMMER: It was at that moment that the Speaker of the House
went into an emergency session.
Afterwards, some people tried to say there'd been a shady deal made.
But if you ask me, it took great courage for the Speaker of the House
to rule that entire amnesty vote out of order.
Oh, a lot of those Missourians were upset.
But they got to realize that whoever breaks the law has got to pay.
Damned thieves.
Right.
Those outlaws don't deserve amnesty.
I ain't talking about the outlaws,
I'm talking about them bribing rail road dicks.
Well, I don't mean to get into an argument, gentlemen. I...
Gentlemen.
Looks like there ain't gonna be no amnesty.
Looks like.
What're we gonna do, Cole?
CLELL: Yeah. What are we gonna do, Cole?
CHARLEY: Ain't no need to head off Jesse now, Cole.
What're you thinking on, Cole?
The biggest bank west of the Mississippi.
CHARLEY: I don't like it here.
This place bodes ill.
Good day, Sheriff.
Passable.
You're cattle buyers?
That is correct, sir.
I could tell by your coats.
And what have you got there, Sheriff?
Prisoners.
We're taking them up to Stillwater Penitentiary.
What'd they do?
All sorts of things.
Riffraff. Tramps come looking for work.
Got some rabble-rousers here, too.
They look none too happy.
My hope is that I've helped put them on the straight and narrow.
It would appear you have, Sheriff. They have a straight and narrow look.
Examples must be made.
There's been a rash of disrespect, ever since Jesse James invented train robbery.
Hell, Jesse James didn't invent the train robberies.
Who did?
Why, I did, Sheriff.
And I've got a bigger one than Paul Bunyan.
I hope you enjoy your stay in Northfield.
Thank you, Sheriff.
CLELL: Who in the hell is Paul Bunyan?
CHARLEY: Goddamn Jesse James,
told people he invented robbing banks in broad daylight.
Hell, you invented that, too, Cole.
COLE: This world ain't fair to thinkers, Charley Pitts.
Ain't that a wonderment. That is a wonderment.
CHARLEY: "American Centennial. One hundred years of Union."
Who they trying to shuck? Seems to me they left out a whole civil war.
Union, hell.
These people are celebrating the American Centennial,
they ain't even Americans.
Bunch of foreigners.
I think I'll play first base today.
Bunch of pansies, too.
Ain't that a wonderment.
That damn train's done jumped the track.
CHARLEY: There's the bank, Cole.
I brought it just to show you all it's a pleasure to be doing business
with you here in Northfield.
I'd like to dedicate this first song to all the folks of Northfield
who've done business with us.
And to those who will do business with us in the future.
We'll have it working soon, folks. Come back later.
Just a few minor adjustments.
You said it would work. It will. It will.
It better. You're making me a laughingstock.
I'm not paying you until it works.
Oh, hello there.
Good day, sir.
You're a stranger in town.
Yeah.
WILCOX: Here on business, no doubt.
COLE: Yeah.
If there's anything we can do for you at the bank, let us know.
Much obliged. Your pressure gauge is stuck.
There's a spiral spring in there...
Hey, get away from there. Go on.
Well, your pressure gauge is stuck.
That's got nothing to do with it.
Now, don't touch anything. It's dangerous.
Don't you want to shut it off?
Don't touch anything.
What will he think of next?
Mr. Wilcox will stop at nothing to get money in his bank.
I read it was the biggest bank west of the Mississippi.
Must be doing pretty well.
If you think that being on the verge of closing down is doing very well.
Are you the president of this here bank?
I happen to be the bookkeeper.
What'd you say your name was?
King.
Well, Mr. King, ever since the Panic of '73, getting the public to trust in banks
has been the problem. People see that banks close,
then they see depression and inflation.
These people are hoarders, because they don't trust in banks.
There. You see that man over there? That's the landlord.
Richest man in Minnesota. Does he trust in banks?
Carries it right around with him. Mr. Wilcox has stopped at nothing
to get depositors for his bank. And do you know why?
So that he can get the money, so that he can
enter into every wildcat scheme in this area.
First, he brings in a new vault, with a time clock.
A time clock! Then he starts giving away gifts, throwing lavish parties.
That didn't do any good. And now this. Calliope.
That's the latest scheme.
I just don't like to see people taken advantage of.
Wouldn't surprise me a bit to see him skip town.
Widows' money! Poor people! Poor farmers!
This man will stoop to anything to get money in his bank.
And I have to stand there and watch it all...
It's an interesting scheme, Mr. King.
But where do you take your profits?
Your bank wouldn't have a farm we might use, would it, Mr. Wilcox?
You mean a recent foreclosure?
Done and done, Mr. King.
I like the cut of your jib. You drive a shrewd bargain, but why not?
Everybody's doing it. From Jay Gould and Jim Fisk
right on up to President U.S. Grant himself.
After all, it's a game of wits. Survival of the fittest.
But... But do you think they'll fall for it?
Give it a try. What can you lose?
I can lose a bag of gold.
That's why I'm sending along Mr. Bunker here, as protection.
Just in case your friends prove to be untrustworthy.
You understand, of course. Oh, I understand, Mr. Wilcox.
Well, partner,
we better get moving if we're gonna put that money in your bank.
Right, partner.
Cole Younger. In Minnesota. Turn this train around.
We're going to Minnesota.
So they're heading north, trying to get away, now that amnesty is cut off.
This time luck won't be on his side.
This time there won't be a next time.
No, sir.
Don't need any help from anybody.
No, sir.
I can manage myself.
NARRATOR: On September 5, 1876,
after traveling more than 400 miles,
Jesse James had come to Minnesota.
In the Panic of '73, we lost everything.
In '74, the locusts come swarming in.
Then the damn politicians come swarming in and then the rail roads.
The next year, influenza took my Harvey.
Last thing he said to me was,
"Lottie, don't sell the children."
Children's all I got left. And I ain't gonna
sell them, not even for the mortgage.
It took us years to get the children.
Would you like to see them?
I was just packing them when you boys rode up. They're in the trunk.
FRANK: No, that's all right.
They come from all over the world.
My Harvey called him Samuel.
People come from all over here to Hanska Slough to see the children.
That darn landlord give you till noon today to be on your merry way
if you don't pay the mortgage.
Yankee bastard.
And all because you owe him how much?
Eighty dollars. But I ain't selling the children.
Darn right you ain't gonna sell the children.
Frank, you give her a hundred dollars.
No, young man, I ain't come to that, I ain't taking your money.
Well, ma'am, maybe you'd let us adopt little Sammy Boy.
He'll have a good home. And you'll be able to stay here.
God bless you.
I ain't taking a cent more than eighty.
I know you boys are trying to do me a good deed.
I want to tell you something. Watch yourselves.
Crooks and robbers are everywhere.
I want to repay you. Where do I write you?
Let's go, boys.
BOB: Thieving landlord bastard!
That sure was nice of you, Jesse.
One of the first things an outlaw's got to learn is to
lend a helping hand.
I heard Cole say that.
He must've learned it from Jesse.
My brother Jesse's near to a saint.
Only robs the robbers, huh?
JESSE: Landlord!
Landlord, you're driving women and children from their homes.
I don't want to do that.
I'm just doing what has to be done.
If I allow one person not to pay, well...
Landlord,
I'm selling this doll to you.
I'll pay.
How much do you want for it?
I want everything you've got.
He was going for his gun, Jesse.
I'm Jesse James. My brother Frank, Bob Younger, Chadwell.
There's a lesson for you, Bob.
No one should be able to identify a guerrilla in enemy country.
Besides, he's a Yankee.
Best pick up that doll.
Else they'll think the old woman bushwhacked him for the rent.
Hell, she's a Yankee, too, Bob.
There's another lesson for you.
Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet Mr. King, cattle buyer from Missouri.
Mr. Allen, Mr. Manning, Henry Wheeler.
Henry's gonna be a doctor.
You mean you've never seen baseball before?
That is correct, sir.
It's all everybody's doing, nowadays. It's our national sport.
That's true. It is our national sport.
Our national sport, gentlemen, is shooting, and always will be.
You don't have to carry a rifle around here, Mr. King.
You're in Minnesota now, not your outlaw state.
Well, that is irony, sir. For only yesterday,
I was waylaid by rogues just outside of town.
What? Outside Northfield?
That is correct, sir.
Ruffians tried to rob me of my gold.
And that is why I'm carrying this rifle.
Is that so?
I've heard there's a gang of thieves around here.
A number of people have had their life savings
stolen right out from under them.
I haven't heard a word about that. Have you heard anything about that, Manning?
No! Robbers around Northfield?
This man is saying there are robbers in the area.
I tried to contact your sheriff.
He's taking a bunch of tramps up to Stillwater Penitentiary.
At any rate, I'm putting my gold in the bank.
Safest place in town.
Well, may be safe against bank robbery,
it's not safe against bankruptcy.
You don't know what you're talking about, Manning.
No? You got no goldin your bank, Wilcox. Money's got no security there.
Mr. Manning, I think you're in for a little surprise.
I got it, I got it.
MAN: Throw it in, man! Throw it in!
MAN: Safe!
I got it, I got it! I got it!
I got it. I got it. I got it. I got it.
I got it! I got it!
Out. He's out.
Come on, get back here and fight!
ALLEN: Out!
Throw the ball away. Get rid of that.
Don't let him get the ball!
We'll lose the game! Stupid!
We win. We win.
Crybaby!
Bunch of sore losers!
Go on home!
You come back to Northfield, we'll really show you a thing or two!
Look at them run.
That's a nice shot.
I guess we showed those Saint Paul boys.
I'd sure like to see some more of that.
So would I.
Faster, damn it. Nothing can go wrong this time.
Their fate is sealed. They're doomed.
Doomed.
All right.
Now, Henry,
I want you to nestle her up
into your shoulder like she was the sweetheart of your dreams.
Now, tickle her trigger
and say, "President U.S. Grant's mother."
HENRY: President U.S. Grant's
mother.
She's pulling to the right, Henry.
Now,
remember,
relax your eyes
before you pull it.
Mr. Wilcox, will you come and open the bank?
I've got the gold shipment here.
ALLEN: What gold shipment is that?
What's going on here, Wilcox?
I'm glad you got through, Bunker.
There's been a rash of robberies around here of late.
Let's get that money into the vault where it will be safe.
You mean all of that is gold?
Dog drag a mule! I don't believe it!
Just don't anybody touch that.
It's going in the vault of the First National Bank.
And we're seeing to it.
As a special gesture to the people of Northfield,
the bank will be open today, Sunday, to receive your deposits.
With due respect to the Lord, sir, I'm putting mine in today.
Very wise, sir.
So am I. Me, too.
Well, your housing's loose. I think I can fix that.
I can make a little wooden shim. Hey, hey get...
I can stick it right in there. Don't touch anything.
I'm an expert. I know what I'm doing.
All right, sir.
Well, guard, is that the final deposit?
Hey, you don't mind my asking, do you? How come you got that earring on your ear?
Allen, you got a way of embarrassing more strangers that come to Northfield...
I'm just asking because it looked funny to see a man with an earring in his ear.
Especially a bank guard.
A silver ring to ward off fear.
What? What'd he say?
He says he wears it to ward off fear.
What the hell language is he talking? I can't understand a word he says.
That wards off fear, huh?
That might be a selling point.
Say, I'd be interested in about a gross of those.
How do they go? In pairs, or you always just wear one like that?
Listen, there could be a market for a thing like that.
Are you selling those?
Don't mind him. That's just Crazy Gustavson.
His boy went marching off to war and never come back again.
It's been ten years now,
and Crazy thinks that every stranger in town might be his boy, Willie.
No, it ain't Willie, Gustavson.
No Willie. No.
Willie?
Just ignore him. He doesn't understand a word we're saying.
He's harmless. He's crazy.
Ja, crazy.
The stare of a crazy man's bad luck.
Make him stop it.
Oh, here, wait. Look.
Get out of here! Scram! You crazy squarehead!
You see that? You throw a stone at him and he goes away.
One thing we like to do around here is make strangers feel at home.
You just let us know if he bothers you any more.
All right, folks. You can come in now.
Better learn to keep a few stones in your pocket while Crazy's around.
What did that man say about stones?
Nothing. They don't know nothing. Just having their fun with a crazy man.
Hey, don't touch that. It's steam. What are you...
Creep! Get out of here. Go on. Git! Go on! Git!
Folks. Folks, I'm sorry. We're closing for lunch.
ALL: No! No! Please!
We'll be back in an hour. That's right.
We'll take all your deposits in an hour. Just be patient, please be patient.
Okay, folks. See you later. Thank you. Thank you, guards. Thank you.
Closing for lunch, now.
You must let us in.
All of this gold coming in so suddenly?
Don't you think we ought to count it, Bunker?
Don't worry about it, Heywood. Mr. Wilcox and I will take care of that.
But I... After we've taken all the deposits.
Now, you have a nice lunch, Heywood. All right?
COLE: Now, she's been pulling to the right on you, son.
But with this new attachment, she ought to pull to the left.
Now, you got yourself a real one-eyed scribe.
All right, come on over here and I'll show you again.
Remember, get your feet set,
haul her up to your shoulder,
bunker your head down,
and you got yourself a proper
man-stopper.
Here she is, Frank. City of the plains.
Yankee Gomorrah, built on the spoils of war.
Reminds me of the time we rode into Lawrence, Kansas
during the war with old Charley Quantrell, flying the black flag.
Lord, we done ourselves proud. Greatest guerrilla raid of all time.
Must have killed a thousand jayhawkers that day.
Later on, they tried to say we killed some women and children,
to try to make us look bad.
I didn't see no damn women and children.
You, Frank?
I didn't see any.
None that was white, anyway.
What's that there?
It's called a calliope.
Cole?
What the hell you doing here?
You boys hear about my vision?
What kind of vision?
I had a vision about robbing the biggest bank west of the Mississippi.
I ain't heard that one, Cole.
That's 'cause it ain't happened.
Yet.
Howdy, there, Jesse.
You boys look like you could use a bath.
Hey, now, boy!
You know, I think we're Northfield's most prominent citizens
now we got that bank filled up.
CLELL: That's true. And we're the guards.
BOB: My, oh, my.
The whole country's gonna talk about this forever and ever.
FRANK: I'm gonna write it up and send the story into the paper.
COLE: Oh, this is good in here. Oh, this is warm. Nice. Good.
Them rocks get that water all that hot?
Old Frank getting wet!
Look at him.
Come on, Jesse.
Come on.
Tomorrow, we're gonna make this smug, Yankee town weep.
We're gonna blow it to kingdom come.
No, we ain't either, Jesse.
Only a fool smokes up a town when it ain't necessary.
We're gonna walk into that bank,
make a withdrawal from my partner, Mr. Wilcox,
and walk out without a shot or a shout.
It's not like this here's a business transaction, Cole.
This is a guerrilla raid. We ain't in it for the money.
Well, you're wrong, Cousin Jesse.
We're in it 'cause of pride, 'cause it's right, to show the world.
You know what this here's all about?
It's about amnesty, and amnesty's about our freedom.
Amnesty? I thought you said the amnesty got voted down.
That's right. They bought it away from us, we're gonna buy it back.
That means raising the ante, and that means one thing:
robbing one more bank so we won't have to rob no more banks.
Gotta work on that one for a while, Cole. Don't bother, Charley.
Been working on it last couple of days, and that's the way it comes out every time.
Well, no matter. We'll be around a campfire tonight,
planning and telling stories like old times.
Hell, Jesse, we're gonna celebrate. We're gonna celebrate before the raid,
we're gonna celebrate after the raid, and we're gonna celebrate the raid.
And tonight, I'm gonna treat you boys to something special.
There's a little place of light love called Mankaty Kates.
That ain't the way to do it. We ain't going. Yeah, no need for girls.
Girls, all kinds of girls.
Come on, boys. Come on.
I'm ready.
On my way. On my way.
Get your ass back here, Chadwell.
Oh, boy. Home sweet home.
The place I wanna be.
No more deposits today.
I guess the whole town's put their money in.
HEYWOOD: Stones!
Stones!
Stones.
You! You... You tricked the whole town into putting their money into the bank.
I knew this had to be some lousy scheme.
Heywood, you keep your mouth shut about this, you hear?
Bunker, you were in on this.
Heywood, if the bank closes, we're out of a job.
Heywood, I did it for you...
You keep your mouth shut! ...and the people's money...
Don't say another word... Heywood, listen to reason!
MAN: Rustoff, let the whores go now.
Hello, CIell.
I shouldn't have done that.
She's pretty, but I'm married folks. It ain't right.
Yeah.
You feel that way, Clell, maybe you should've thought of that before.
Well, I did. Before, during and after.
Damn near spoiled the whole thing.
Rather gone frog gigging.
Jesse was right.
On a guerrilla raid you gotta live clean.
Jesse always had a kind of a sickness borne within his soul,
he always kind of had something against womenkind,
particularly young ones. I don't know why.
Yeah, it is a funny thing,
you know, how Jesse never did seem to have too much to do with the ladies.
Ain't you forgetting Zerelda Mimms?
Oh, yeah. Yeah, Zerelda.
Yeah.
That's right, Bob, that's right.
Yeah. Even a blind chicken will pick up some corn.
Damn. Look at that Jim. He's a good dancer.
You know, Jim used to be a hell of a storyteller.
Ain't that a wonderment.
What is a wonderment?
A wonderment?
A wonderment's a thing of wonder.
Something to behold. Something rare and good.
Could be a beautiful picture or a pretty song or...
Or a feeling.
Sounds a mite precious.
It is.
You know there's a revolution going on right now with machines?
Machines? Machines.
Run by steam and oil and electric.
Here last March, a fella named A.G. Bell
registered in the United States Patent Office
a contraption where a man's voice can be heard over a mile away.
That is a wonderment, Kate.
Hey, honey, what's the matter?
No more, okay? I'm tired.
MAN: Rustoff, let the whores go now.
Hey, Cole, come here. I got something for you.
I know, but I... Come on. I got something for you.
What?
I got you something.
It'll give you real zeal.
I'm dying of rupture.
Damn, I hope that gives me some zeal, because that is terrible.
Cole, you was supposed to rub it on!
What's the matter?
I'm trying to decide whether to kill you or not.
Do you feel anything?
No, I don't feel anything.
Here she comes, Cole!
CHARLEY: I've got the world's greatest whore-lugging man right here now, folks.
Now, give him room. Give him room. Get your money out.
Take your bets right here. How much you got?
Ten?
MAN: Let's start with one!
Stay on your feet, Cole!
Two! Three!
Lug them whores, Cole.
CLELL: Six. Seven. Stay on your feet and we got the money.
Look at them whores go.
Ten!
KATE: One at a time, girls. One at a time.
It looks like rain. We better get these sheets in.
See you later, Kate.
I doubt it.
Looks like you're taking your business elsewhere.
That ain't business, Kate.
I'll take a king now.
Hold it a minute, boys.
No. Hold it.
We're just making a withdrawal.
Mr. King. Mr. King. What's going on here?
This isn't part of our deal. Tell these men...
Mr. King, tell these men to put their guns down.
Tell them we're partners, Mr. King.
Look, don't you see... You don't understand. I...
Tell him to open it.
Open it.
These men mean business, you fool!
You can't call me a fool, Mr. Wilcox! You're all a bunch of crooks.
This is your scheme, this is your business deal.
Now that everybody's put their money in the vault,
you want to stage a false holdup.
Heywood, open it. Open it or you're fired.
Fired? I quit. Besides, the time lock is set.
Tell him to open it. Open it now.
COLE: Hold it.
I trusted you, Mr. King.
Don't hit me anymore, please. Hit him.
Willie?
He's just a crazy old man. Get out of here!
Nice try, fella.
Hell, the damn thing ain't even locked.
Get in there, Chadwell. Get in there. Get your ass in there, Chadwell.
Go on, you old fool.
Get out of the rain.
No, damn it, the time lock is set!
Open that damn door! Get out of here, all of you.
This is one scheme that isn't gonna work.
Chadwell. I'm gonna get you out.
What are you doing, Jesse?
Chadwell!
Jesse James!
Chadwell! I'll get you out, bud!
Oh, Christ, no.
It works. The damn thing works!
It looks like Crazy Gustavson is working it. It works!
We busted flush. It's locked.
Bank robbery! Bank robbery! Bank robbery!
President U.S. Grant's mother.
I'll get you out, Chadwell.
Goddamn it! Jesse!
We're flying! Come on!
They are trying to steal our money. Come here, men, get these guns.
Here, load up.
Let's get 'em while we can.
Damn it, you didn't have to break my window!
I got one.
I think we're out of guns!
Come in here and rob our bank, will you?
Lead in your belly, you...
Teach you to rob our banks!
MAN: Bunker, get out of there.
Jesse James. He's robbing the bank.
Get him out of there.
He's robbing the bank!
Get out of here! Jesse James!
They're coming back. They're coming back.
Bunker said something about it being Jesse James. Can you believe that?
Oh, Jesse James and Cole Younger don't ride this far north.
They're robbing the bank!
Look at that.
ALLEN: Oh, that poor old guy.
He was perfectly harmless.
How could they do a thing like that?
I've got one of them trapped in there.
They killed Heywood in cold blood.
He died a hero. He died a hero.
We'll build a monument to him. He saved our money.
Well, come on.
He saved all your money.
I told you it was the safest place in town.
Can't you get that vault open, Wilcox?
Well it has a time lock. It'll open when it's ready.
It should be in a few minutes.
I hear ticking.
Now, you people get outside. Go on. Go on. I'll handle this.
Damn it, Wilcox, you open that safe. He is in there with our money.
I hear a click.
By God, we'll teach him to come up here.
Shut up.
Jesse?
WILCOX: Now, get him out of there.
Quick.
Now, hurry up.
Let's get this vault closed before anyone else tries to get our money.
ALLEN: Get horses. A posse. Let's get them.
MANNING: Let's send a telegram. Warn every town in Minnesota.
Here's another one.
Is he hurt or dead or what?
Get him up. He's got to notify every town between Madelia and Mankato.
Should we tell them who it was? I still can't hardly believe that myself.
Cole Younger.
Say cheese.
Customers coming, girls.
I want every man in that house out here right now.
Let's hold 'em.
You. What are you doing here?
We're cattle buyers.
That story's getting old, fella.
I got two of them,
trying to make a run for it.
Yeah. It looks like they're running from something.
Got something to hide, huh?
He's one of them.
I'm almost sure of it.
Might as well get rid of all the scum around here, while we're at it.
MAN: Right. Move.
Come on. Come on. Come on.
Jesse, what've you done?
You can't leave horses to die like that. I done them a kindness.
Your kindness could be heard for miles, you damn fool.
Don't talk to me about being heard.
That contraption you fixed is what got us into this mess.
Yeah, Cole. That was the dumbest thing I've ever seen.
Hold your fire.
I think we got them. They're coming out.
When you see Cole Younger, shoot.
What's he saying?
He says we wounded two of them, but...
Well, he says they're the Shieldville posse looking for Jesse James.
Damn it!
I thought it was them. Yep.
Shieldville?
Well, they weren't much of a match for us, were they?
Cobwebs, poultice of polecat weed what we need now, Bob.
That'll stop the bleeding.
Now lie still. Smarting's a sign of healing.
Cole?
Yeah, Bob?
Cole, there's a chilly wind.
Bob, you're looking better.
Time to be moving on.
Sure.
Let's get going.
Stay right there, Bob.
We're gonna lay low until you're ready to go.
We ain't listening to you, Cole.
This raid was your idea. It was a damn fool scheme.
You got us into this mess and I'm getting us out.
We stay here, and they're gonna get us by the smoke.
He's right, Cole.
Besides, wood fries and sings like that, it's a sure sign a bad rain's gonna fall.
Oh, that's just superstition. That don't mean anything.
It's the truth. It don't have to mean anything.
You're more in need of religion
and less in need of superstitious babble.
You gotta abide by the signs.
Shut up, Charley Pitts, I'll not be witness to a man who brags when he gets lucky.
Boys, we're almost home.
Easy, Jesse.
Frank, I got me a vision.
Same scoundrels that took his doll, Sammy, and broke open his head,
shot us all up for no good reason.
Appears we can't get no hospitality in this region.
Swarming with killers.
Well, they ain't coming in here. You boys make yourselves comfortable.
After what you done for me.
This lady's like a second mama to me.
He tells me there was a fight. What was it about?
Oh, just a fight over some money, ma'am.
Ain't that always the way?
Thank you, Mother.
Thank you, ma'am.
Charley Pitts?
We sure showed them Yankees. Right in broad daylight.
You see the looks on their faces when they heard the name Jesse James?
Men fainted dead away when they heard "Jesse James."
We lost CIell Miller and Chadwell, Mr. James.
We got more than that out of them, hoss.
Besides, you got to expect to lose a few, you go on a guerrilla raid.
The purpose is to show them Yankees the war's still going on.
This raid will be talked about forever and ever.
By them or us?
Time to be moving.
This lady here's got some horses and a wagon.
Ought to get us over the state line.
Bob can't go, Jesse.
Bob can't go, then we gotta leave him behind.
Mother here will take care of him. This here's the safest place for him.
Safe for him, safe for us.
Cole, buddy, we run out on Chadwell back there in the bank,
and we run out on CIell Miller back there, too.
Now, Bob's your brother. My brother, Frank, he'd understand.
Sometimes one's gotta be left behind so the rest can move right along.
Let the dead bury the dead.
Why, Jesse's just saying what the Lord said, Cole.
Bob ain't dead, Jesse ain't the Lord and we ain't going.
Yet.
I been studying this here map.
According to the map, we're in a place called Hanska Slough,
right near Winona and Saint Peter Railroad.
Hole up until Bob feels better,
put him on a train, and go on home.
ALLEN: They must have got away. I say we head for home.
MAN: Just a little longer. Just got to look a little longer.
Just ain't got things I need, Cole.
Fever root, rattle snake root.
I'm gonna get a doctor.
Charley Pitts?
He lives quite a ways,
but he come to my Harvey when we was in need, and tended to him.
He's a good man. I know we can trust him.
You watch the children.
She's going for a doctor.
Well, it's about time.
Bob needs something more than that heathen medicine man.
Why don't you boys come in and sit?
We're sitting just fine right here.
You get some sleep. We'll keep an eye out.
You know, Frank, it ain't right for a lady to drive around these roads alone.
Specially with all these scoundrels and night coming on and all.
The boys can watch out for themselves.
We gotta look out for little Mother, here.
You know, I sure wish we'd got those boys.
Yeah. Tell you what, though,
sure gonna have some stories to tell this winter.
Say, what's that?
What was that?
Just a doll.
Sounded like the winter's wind to me.
WOMAN: Child's cry across the slough.
Better cover up them bloodstains.
You know, Frank, we gotta get ourselves a new gang when we get home.
We can get Jim Cummins,
some of them boys over at Fred Meffert's Saloon over there in Liberty.
Yeah.
And what's that good-looking young kid's name? Bob Ford?
Yeah. Bob Ford.
We can get him.
Yeah. I think he'd fit in just right.
Now we're going to get Cole Younger and Jesse James.
Remember, men, my reputation is at stake. Now, get out there.
MAN: Henry Wheeler.
WOMAN: Ja, you saved our money, Wilcox. You saved it.
MAN: We showed you, didn't we?
MAN 2: Rotten scum!
This sure will teach you to come to Northfield!
Jesse's gone to get help, ain't he, Charley Pitts?
Look at that one. He's ugly.
MAN: Thieves! Thieves! All of you, thieves.
Look at that man!
NARRATOR: Northfield was the boys' last ride.
Charley Pitts was dead. Jesse and Frank got away.
And six years later Jesse James was shot in the back
by a young man named Bob Ford.
Cole Younger had been shot 11 more times at Northfield.
That made 26 times in all.
WOMAN: He's getting up.
That's Cole Younger, leader of the gang.
WOMAN: What is he doing?
I can't believe it. Look at that.
I can't believe it.
MAN: Go on, you can do it.
MAN 2: His name is Cole Younger.
Attaboy, Cole! He did it! Look at that!
Ain't that a wonderment.
NARRATOR: The people of Minnesota cheered him
all the way to the gates of Stillwater Penitentiary,
where they locked him up for 25 years.
And Cole Younger lived right on up to 1916.
He saw a whole new era come into being.
But at Northfield, his outlaw days had ended.