Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Jesse James, Part 2
Jesse James
Reading Comprehension for September 5
Soon the James boys had built themselves a reputation as robbers. When people realized who was robbing the bank, they didn't resist. The brothers sometimes even gave money to other bank customers if they looked like they needed it.
While Jesse and Frank James might have been hated and feared by the Unionist element of Missouri, they were loved just as much by the Southern part of the population. If they heard of a farmer in trouble with the banks, they would often send money to help out. If the family member of a raider was in need, the James brothers would do what they could to meet that need.
Before the middle of the 1870's came around, robbing banks was becoming more difficult and less profitable. Towns were keeping forces of men on hand ready to tackle thieves. New locks on vaults made it difficult to access the money. Even state governments put up rewards for the capture of bank robbers.
The James gang changed tactics. They tried robbing stagecoaches but had indifferent results. Then Frank James thought they ought to see if trains were more profitable. They were fair game because they were mostly owned by Yankee interests.
Frank found that the early train going through Adair, Iowa, on July 21, 1873 would be carrying $100,000 in gold for banks. They planned the job out carefully. When they stopped the train, they were aggravated to find only about $2,000 of Federal Reserve notes. They had stopped the wrong train. The gold train went through before dawn.
