VOICE ONE:
People in America, a program in Special English by the Voice of America.
(THEME)
Two of the most famous outlaws of the old American west were brothers. I'm
Tony Riggs. Today, Maurice Joyce and I tell about Frank and Jesse James. We
begin their story on a cold day in February, eighteensixty-six.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Liberty, Missouri. Two o'clock in the afternoon.
((SFX))
Twelve men on horses ride slowly into town. Their hats are low on their
faces. They stop in front of the Clay County Savings Bank. Two of the men get
off their horses and enter the bank. The bank manager asks if he can help
them. The two men pull out guns from under their heavy coats. They demand
money.
In less than two minutes, they return to the street. Now the gang is in a
great hurry. All twelve men begin shooting.
((SFX))
Several people are wounded. A young college student is killed.
((SFX))
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
What happened on that day was the first bank robbery, during business hours,
in peacetime, in the United States.
History books say the two men who went into the bank were Frank James and his
younger brother Jesse. But this was never proved. Frank and Jesse James told
lawmen they were home that day. Several of their friends confirmed the story.
True or not, during the next sixteen years, the James brothers did become two
of the most famous outlaws in America.
