 Good evening. This is Crime Classics. I am Thomas Highland with another true story of crime. Listen. That's the way Missouri sounded just after the Civil War. Wind through elm trees, wind through long grass, wind blowing up the dust and puffing it down the wagon road. And listen again. Another Missouri sound. Rope. New rope. Freshly purchased at a crossroad store and cut into six equal lengths to support six bodies of approximately equal size by neck. Six bodies. Six Missouri boys in union uniforms. Newly come home from the war. Waylaid by Cole Younger and his brothers who were on a perpetual rampage until they were stopped. So tonight my report to you on the younger brothers, why some of them grew no older. Crime Classics. A series of true crime stories from the records and newspapers of every land from every time. Your host each week, Mr. Thomas Highland, connoisseur of crime, student of violence, teller of murders. Now once again, Mr. Thomas Highland. Before the Civil War, there was a border war. The boys from Kansas took gun to hand and shot up the boys from Missouri. And the next Saturday night, vice versa. It got so they didn't wait till Saturday night. Every day was bloody day for everybody. The question now arises, why? The answer is simple. A difference of opinion about slavery and they couldn't wait till war was declared. Raid and pillage and slaughter in bloody colors smeared on in bold brushstrokes. And one day, through this never-never land of pistol and knife and torch, there walked a young man. His name was Cole Younger. He was leading a horse and buckboard. And when he came to a certain shack by the road, he was at the end of his journey. People around saw he wasn't armed, so they let him through. They saw his face and the look in his eye and they let him through. Learned to knock on a door, sonny. You're Mr. Quantrell, ain't you? I admire politeness in young men. You try and knock on... My dad is dying on a buckboard outside. You come see. I've seen dying, sonny. You come see. All right. He's dead, sonny. I'm sorry. Shout him while he's standing there just talking to him. Just saying why were they on his land? Shot him because he raised his voice to them. Kansans? Jayhawkers from Kansas. North boys. What are you needing, sonny? A bearing for your daddy? A bearing's a private thing, and it's a thing I'll do myself, Mr. Quantrell. When are you riding into Kansas to kill you some Jayhawkers? Tonight, maybe. After I bury my daddy, maybe? Soon after that. I'm coming with you. Of course you are. Not right after he buried his daddy, but soon after. Cole Younger had to take an oath before he became a member of Quantrell's Raiders. It was called the Black Oath. The black being the color Quantrell admired most. Since it suggested death and danger. The candidate was placed between four men clothed in black, wearing hideous masks representing the devil. First, these men plattered long, keen swords together. Then pointed one at the candidate's throat, one at his heart, one at his arms, one at his feet, while the oath was spoken. The purpose of war is to kill. I will fight because I want no other occupation. I will tear down, waste, and destroy my enemies. By the powers of darkness here under the black arch of heaven's avenging symbol, I pledge and consecrate my heart, my brain, my body, and my limbs to exterminate Federals, Jayhawkers, and their bettas. And if I fail in my oath, may an unmerciful devil tear up my heart and roast it over flames of sulfur. Well, by the time war came, Cole Younger was two years older. He was Quantrell's first lieutenant. This rise from the ranks because he was a smart lad, a reader of books, a blower up of ammunition trains, a burner down of farm buildings, a pillager of par excellence, a murderer meticulous in that he only shot males and mostly always from the neck up. And the exception to this last was the time in Lawrence, Kansas, in a bar on Christmas Eve. So step up to the bar. That's so billy, drunken friend Billy. You sleep so sound, Billy. And don't you too, Johnny. You sleep because you got no sleep at Shiloh. Tell them how it was at Shiloh, should I? Listen all you all. You step right up and have a drink, courtesy of me and Bill and Johnny and the Union Army. Yang. What you doing around these parks? Send us out here to get us Quantrell. What's your name? Martin Wallace Martin. A sergeant from the stripes on your uniform. And my drunken friend Billy's my corporal. You've seen a lot of killin', ain't you? Didn't you hear? We were at Shiloh. Were you brave at Shiloh? Huh? Brave, like y'all now. What are you talkin' about? Talkin' of street just before you're gonna die. You ain't too tall a fella to be tall. Billy, corporal Billy, wake up. Now you come on, open your eyes, Bill. Can you see this, Bill? Johnny. Yanky, Johnny. You're a bright one, up and ready. By your shivrin', Johnny. By your shivrin', so. Merry Christmas to one and all. You're young, aren't you? Well, yeah, but what's the idea all you men bustin' in here? Vigilante's. What you won't hear? Cole Young is your brother, isn't he? Yeah. Where is he? He ain't here. Where is he? He's fightin' a war. Shootin' three men down, two of them sleepin' and ain't fightin' a war. Where is he? I told you... Take that! That rope over that rafter. Where's your brother, Johnny? Look, I... I don't know where Cole is. Texas, maybe? Louisiana, maybe? All right, man. You want me to holler. You want me to scream mercy. Well, hang me and see if I do it. All right. All right, Johnny. Yeah, you're, you're fightin' a lip when I put the noose around your neck, but that ain't hollerin' is it, John? And drawin' it tight. You ain't hollerin' either. Or you're hidin' Cole. All right, Pickett, let him down. Loosen the rope a little, John, so you can holler. Or tell me where Cole is. You're right before I tell ya. You're right. Before I tell ya. Regular brother to Cole, ain't you? Try me. I just tried you. The end of a rope? A dozen of you did that one at a time. Pickett! Wait. You're gonna kill me. I gotta say something. I gotta tell you about Cole. Why, if you were lickin' his boots, you'd be in the right relation to him. He's fightin' for what he knows in himself. For what? For what your brother is and a blood-letter and... Kicker, are you? That's good. That's very fine. Because now you'll kick high ones and low ones and the air all around. Pickett! But they didn't hang him until he was dead. They hung him till just before he was dead and then let him down. And beat him up and left him. But they didn't find out where Cole was and that spunky brother of his knew all the time where Cole was. In the hills, not two miles away. Down the road and through a pass and up a hill and two miles away. Hi, John. They came looking for you, Cole. They tried to kill you. Did a thing with a rope. Here. A thing like that and you didn't sail where I did you. I'm comin' along with you, Cole. From now on. That's good. You are listening to Crime Classics and your host, Thomas Highland. Captain Cannelly of CBS Radio's 21st Precinct called to remind us if the station house will be shut down this Friday night while the program moves. Beginning next Wednesday at a somewhat earlier hour on most of these same stations, 21st Precinct will join Crime Classics, Crime Photographer and the rest of your Wednesday stars address dramatic thrillers. Listen for the 21st Precinct a week from tonight at its new time. And now once again, Thomas Highland in the second act of Crime Classics and his report to you on the younger brothers. Why some of them grew no older. On April 9th, 1865, General Lee surrendered and the war was over. A thing happens when a war has ended. A pall hangs over the land and then suddenly there's a maelstrom of activity. Returnings, accountings of gains and of losses, dead battles fought again on saloon tables, lost legs bragged about the blinded eye, the maimed arm, the victory ball and the brain shocked from its moorings and adrift. And finally, the bright young men funneling into the area of sorrows and devastation. To sell, to cheat, to build. Which was Missouri in 1866? Six of them Yankees, Cole. And one shot scared him. All right, man, get him. That don't look like none of them are armed, Cole. Yeah. Who's speaking for these men? I'd be. Who are you? What the six of you doing riding here? I ask you the same question. What's 50 of you doing stopping us? There must be 50 of you. I'm Cole Younger. I've been over there as John Younger. That's my brother, Jim, and Bobby's... They're younger boys, huh? That's right, mister. I hear you believe the war... Yes, you believe like me. That's why you're riding in uniform. Boy, you're not a simple man from what I heard, Younger. You know why we're uniformed? We're riding to Indians. John. Remember, Cole Younger and his brothers hanged six soldiers. You might ask how come Bob and Jim Younger were with Cole and John all of a sudden? Well, they were. After the war, there was a reunion, and the four of them decided to cast lots together, as the saying goes, to join forces, to butter their bread all on one side. Anyhow, for the next ten years, the brothers Younger robbed and killed and burned. John Younger was shot down by a detective in St. Clair and was buried near there. Then, on the 7th of April, 1876, in a shack on the skirts of Northfield, Minnesota. It's them, Cole. All right, Bob, open the door for them. Come on in, boys. Hi, Jesse. Hello, Cole. You met my brother Frank, haven't you? Sure, everybody knows everybody. James, boys, Jesse, and Frank. Cole. Uh-huh. You told your boys how we're gonna do that bank. Don't you worry about it. I ain't worried about nothing, Cole. I just asked you a question. Don't worry, Jesse. They'll do what they gotta do. They'd better. Everything ready? Sure. Town people haven't let political meeting like you said they would be. Yes, I know. Then we don't have to wait for nothing. For nothing at all. Cole. Uh-huh. A lot of money in that bank. That's good. Me and Frank talking about return for a little while. Going to Mexico. Hey, Sniff. What are you smelling, Cole? Too empty. Just said too empty, that's all. You and me, Jess, Bob and Frank, rest of your weight. Stick up, Mr. who just slide everything you got through the window. Back of the window, Jesse, he's not cheating. Not the silver, Mr. Silver's too heavy to carry. Come on, come on. How you and Frank doing, Bob? Good, good. Let's get out of here. Come on, Bob, Frank. Okay, boys! I just don't gallop till we turn the corner. All of us galloping might disturb that meat in it. What's matter, Cole? Too empty. Like I said. Let the shiver about, Cole, as a meeting. Plan, kind of empty. That's what these streets are... Look there, boys! Run! Run! The bank robbery at Northfield was the turning point. The instant that the townspeople, instead of being at a meeting, had formed a posse and ambushed the outlaws, the bringers of terror became fugitives. The younger brothers had never turned tail and run before, nor had the James boys. But some loop in time, some coordinates of chance, conspired that they retreated at exactly the same moment. At darkness they lost their pursuers, but they kept riding. It was not until almost midnight that they found a hiding place. Ah, Jean, Bob. Hurt. Lucky we got away, ain't we, Cole? We haven't done it yet. Jim hurt bad. Ain't riding no more. Dying? Baby. Cole. Yeah? Jess is fuming. I walked over in the clear a minute ago. Him and his brother was teasing with Jim. Take us a walk, huh? Hi, Jess. He's looking at your brother here. Marvelous. Oh? How is he staying alive? I'd bother a new son. Well, I'll tell you, Cole. Yeah. Yeah, it is. Jessy. You're talking at me, Bob Younger. Tell my brother, Cole, what you've been saying about Jim. I've been saying, Cole, your brother, Jim, be better off dead. Better for a lot of people. Like who? All of us. So we can get on our horses and start riding. How long you think it's going to take that posse to catch up with us? The truth is, Jessy, I haven't thought about that. Well, not just you think about it. Jim can't ride, Jess. That's what I've been saying. What do you think we ought to do with him? Leave him. Oh? Or shoot him. I'd shoot him. Jess. Uh-huh. You're a doll, Jessy. You think so, huh? I'll tell you what else I've been thinking. Tell me, Cole. Tell me real fast so you can get it out. Thinking hard would be we drew on each other. Be pretty with me. Want to try? Be pretty with me. Stop, stop it! You two local killing each other? That's what happened. You know it. What do you think, Jessy? I think maybe your brother, Bob, is right. But you want to try. Here I am. You get going, Jessy. You're going to stick around for a posse? Maybe. Just you get going. Not because you're saying it. Because I think it's a thing to do. Come on, Frank. Jim, can you hand me a brother? You know, smiling makes me know you can. Now, don't you talk? Coolness to your head. Don't you worry. Nobody's going to leave you. We're going to take care of you, Jim. Get a doctor to you. Somehow they eluded the posse from Northfield and Jim got stronger. There were four of them, Cole Younger and his brothers Jim and Bob, and a man named Charlie Pitts. Across Minnesota they rode and into Iowa. And now there were posse everywhere, some numbering a thousand men. And they couldn't catch the younger brothers. Rewards and promises by bankers and sheriffs and governors. And they couldn't catch the youngers. The brothers, as far as anyone could tell, were headed into Missouri. But no one could catch them. And once... I think I got one of them, Cole. Me too. I think there was only two. You cover me, I'll go make sure. Thought I'd got you before, Sonny. Not my part. Guess me and my brother both got him. You hurt bad? Crazy to try to ambush us, only two of you, son. Reward? What are they offering for us? Thousands, I don't know. And you and your partner wanted to kill the younger brothers? Everybody. They all out after the younger brothers, huh? Everybody. You hurt? Hurt. You didn't deserve better, kid. Two, I'm cold. Like you said, kids. Kids. How old are you, brother Bob? Yeah. It's a long way. Bob, get out! Just keep shooting! And at last they were surrounded. Charlie Pitts was killed almost at once. But the younger brothers held off a hundred men for hours. Finally... Right out! Shot the pizza! And they truly were shot to pieces. Cole had been shot 11 times, with one rifle ball under his right eye. Jim had eight bucks shot and one right shot. And one rifle ball in the body. Plus the shattered jaw bone he'd received at Northfield. And Bob's arm was practically macerated. So they were captured. Seven years of plunder, hate and murder. Done now. The younger brothers leashed. Finally... They were tried and sentenced to life imprisonment in the penitentiary at Stillwater, Minnesota. Several newspapers tried to get Cole younger story. There was a copy of the letter which he wrote to one of them. Dear sir, without intending the least disrespect, permit me to say, positively I will have nothing to do with writing a history of any kind. As for anything since the war, a true statement would fall flat. I look upon my life since the war is a blank and will never say anything to make it appear otherwise. The world may believe what it pleases. I have nothing to say unless it would be a request using the language of a fellow. Speak of me as I am. Nothing extenuate. Nor set down art in malice. I was a soldier and fought to hurt, but I never molested an uncombatant. Truly yours, Coleman Younger. Bob Younger died in prison in 1889. Jim and Cole were released after 25 years. In 1902, Jim committed suicide in a hotel room in St. Paul over an unrequited love. Cole lived until 1916, a quiet life. He sat on a front porch in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and whittled and rocked, and talked to hardly anyone at all. But he thought a lot. In just a moment, Thomas Highland will tell you about next week's crime classic. The Younger Brothers tonight's crime classic was adapted from the original court reports and newspaper accounts by Morton Fine and David Friedkin. The music was composed by Bernard Herman and conducted by Lud Glaskin, and the program is produced and directed by Elliot Lewis. Thomas Highland is portrayed on radio by Lou Merrill. In tonight's story, Jack Edwards was heard as Cole, Sam Edwards as Bob, and Jimmy Eagles as John Younger. Featured in the cast were Barney Phillips, Clayton Post, Bill Bissell, and Walter Tetley. Bob LeMond speaking. Here again is Thomas Highland. Next week, South Con Can, India, in the spring of 1856. We will concern ourselves with two brothers. Their names were Conak and Supen, and they despised each other. It's listed in my files as How Supen Got the Hook Outside Bombay. Thank you. Good night. Two more familiar CBS radio headliners have moved. This Friday night on most of these stations, where you've been accustomed to hearing stage-struck, the star's address now brings you the new Friday night full-hour Arthur Godfrey digest show, bringing you Arthur and all the little Godfrey's back to nighttime radio with a bang. As for stage-struck, this fine full-hour visit with Broadway shows and Broadway folks will be presented Sundays at the star's address from now on. Thursday nights, Marlene Dietrich stars in Time for Love on the CBS Radio Network.