A strong rope was produced with which he was securely pinioned and then led away from the house a distance of about one hundred yards. Here the rope was fastened in a noose around his neck, while the other end was thrown over the limb of a tree, and several men hastily drew him up and left him suspended to choke to death. Mrs. Samuels, however, had followed stealthily, and the moment the militia had departed she rushed to the rescue of her husband, whom she hastily cut down, and by patient nursing saved his life. The enraged troops decided also to hang Jesse James, whom they found plowing in the field, but his youth saved him from any other violence than a few cuffs and the production of a rope with a suspicious noose which they threatened to ornament his neck with if he again visited the guerrilla camp. [Illustration: HANGING OF DR. SAMUELS.] Instead of producing the desired effect, this act of the militia only excited Jesse the more, and led him to deeds of graver importance. He continued to communicate almost daily with Quantrell, which so exasperated the militia that they paid a second visit to the Samuels' residence, decided upon killing both Dr. Samuels and the daring Jesse. When they reached the place, however, they found their intended victims absent, but, determined not to return without some trophy of their revengeful sortie, they took Mrs. Samuels and her daughter, Miss Susie, captive, and carried them to St. Joseph, where they were kept confined in jail for several weeks. This last act greatly inflamed Jesse's passions, and he immediately mounted his horse and again rode to Quantrell's camp, where, after detailing the particulars of this last outrage, perhaps exaggerating the facts some in order to make his appeal more effective, he begged the guerrilla commander to accept his services as a private. So hard did he plead for permission to join the ranks that marched under the shadow of the black flag, that at length the barrier which his youth imposed was overlooked and the terrible Quantrell oath was administered to him. THE FIRST SKIRMISHES.