How much do you know about outlaws? Well, I don't know very much
myself. Hi, my name is Rex Barton and I am on a mission to find a
few outlaws and interview them. Why would I do this? Well, I
haven't quite decided yet. I know I could create my own novel or
if I think I have it in me, I might rob a bank or stage coach
myself. I mean if they teach me any tricks and if it sounds easy
enough.
Things seem like they're gettin' worse here every day. Now that
the Civil War is over people are acting like they've lost their
minds. Nobody respects the lawmen no more. People feel like
they can take whatever they want while others is starvin' or barely has
enough money to get by. I think I'm doin' okay. I ain't
really makin' all that much money on the ranch but I always got food to
eat. I think I'm mainly goin' on this journey because I'm
bored.
I have read all the dime novels and newspaper articles I can get
my hands on. I get the impression that those people just want to
sell their novels so how are we to know what is fact and what is
fiction? I can hardly blame them. Money is hard to make
these days and if I were in their position I would probably add a
little extra spice to the stories too. It don't hurt
nothin'. The outlaws become more notorious and they like that and
the newspapers are makin' more money. It sounds like they both
win to me. I thought about goin' to the library to find more
information that's probably true 'bout these men but I don't really see
no sense in that. I mean I want my readings to be
entertaining. I'd rather find things out for myself anyway.
So I figure I'll go trackin' down some outlaws on my own. I'm
gonna go lookin' for Charles Earl Bolles, AKA "Black Bart", Henry
McCarty, AKA "Billy The Kid", and Jesse James. I gotta know why
these guys chose to rob, steal, and kill when they coulda done other
things like trade furs, search for gold, open up a saloon, or be a
lawman if they like action. Now I don't know yet how and where
I'm gonna find these guys but I'll do my best.
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In my first interview, I talked to Charles E. Bolles but you might know
him as "Black Bart". He was sophisticated and intelligent.
He's not the type of outlaw that normally comes to mind when you're
thinkin' 'bout outlaws. In my interview with him he told me about
his last robbery and what he's doin' at the moment. He let me
know why it went wrong.
Then I interviewed that young fella that goes by the name Billy The
Kid. I was suprised at just how popular he was even though he
done bad things. People didn't seem to care. He told me
'bout a story where he escaped from jail safely and how the townspeople
even helped him out. I was pretty impressed.
For the final interview I talked with Jesse James. He was a
little too political for me. He kind of got messed up by the war
and now he's just out to rob the winners. He told me 'bout how
his gang fell apart 'cause of a bad robbery. They tried to rob a
pretty big bank so I guess it was bound to happen.
Image information. Gunfight reenactment. Legends of
America.
