6/24/2007:
On this date in 1897, the Jamestown Weekly Alert announced that Frank James had been captured. A young cowboy known as Lee Allen had drifted into Mandan and began working at the Mackin Ranch south of Mandan. Allen locked the nineteen-year-old rancher’s son in the cellar and then robbed the house, escaping with a stolen horse and saddle. Morton County Sheriff Charles McDonald learned that Allen had entered the employ of the OX Ranch in Montana. He traveled the two hundred miles, surprised Allen as he slept on his gun and returned him to North Dakota to stand trial. It was soon learned that Allen’s real name was Frank James and that he was a cousin of the notorious James brothers. He had recently escaped from the South Dakota state prison but was to remain a guest of North Dakota until December 9, 1899.
By Jim Davis
Jamestown Weekly Alert June 24, 1897
Mandan Pioneer June 11, 1897