The Jimmy James Lawson Gang

Jimmy James Lawson got off to a bad start when he began stealing to help support his family. His father had come home from the Civil War in 1865, 'shell-shocked' and unable to adequately provide for his family. Falling into disfavor in his community, Libertyville, Missouri, for his thievery, Jimmy ran away, followed by his younger brother, Willis, whom he couldn’t turn back.Camped out their first night on the run, the two awoke to find themselves captive to Black Eagle, a young Cheyenne who had been banished from his tribe. Jimmy and Willis found friendship with Black Eagle, who helped them survive on the wild prairie, something they couldn’t do on their own. Elijah joined them, an older boy recently freed from slavery, whom they met in jail. They had all been arrested for vagrancy in the town of Jackson for not having two dollars each and were sentenced to one day in jail.Together, the four traveled on after outsmarting Sheriff Wilson by taking their horses and others he had illegally confiscated, once he let them out of jail. On their way to Oregon, where they hoped to start a horse ranch of their own, they faced hostile Indians, horse thieves, and robbers, along with more crooked lawmen. The four were aided by an old hermit in the gold fields of California, however, who had once wanted to start a horse ranch of his own. He saw his dream being fulfilled in these young men.It was Jake and his cowboys who were driving a herd of cattle from California to Oregon, who told them the best place for a horse ranch was in the high desert on the eastern side of Oregon. This was confirmed by Farmer Brown, who also told them about the Appaloosa horses the Nez Perce bred, 'the finest horses known to man,' as he put it. Searching for the Nez Perce, however, the four found themselves captured by Nez Perce warriors who accused them of being the ones who had stolen a herd of their horses. Despite their pleas of innocence, Chief Joseph decided the four would be given a head start to run for their lives. The young warriors would chase after them, if they were caught, it was a fight to the death and proof that they were the thieves. The Nez Perce prized their Appaloosa horses more than the lives of horse thieves.