Born near Lee's Summit, Missouri, Thomas Coleman ("Cole") Younger
(1844-1916) rode with William Clarke Quantrill's Confederate raiders
during the Civil War, participating in many daring and bloody exploits,
including the infamous Lawrence, Kansas, massacre of 1863. Following the
war, Younger continued his celebrated career as a desperado, robbing
banks and trains with Jesse James and other members of the James-Younger
gang. A fateful attempt in 1876 on the Northfield, Minnesota, bank sent
Cole to the state prison in Stillwater, Minnesota for decades. There he
became a model resident, helping both to protect women convicts during a
fire and found the Prison Mirror, a newspaper intended to shed "a ray of
light upon the lives of those behind the bars." Paroled in 1901, Younger
successfully sought a pardon, operated a Wild West show with his old
comrade Frank James, and lectured on "What My Life Has Taught Me."
Always known for intelligence and coolness under pressure, he published
this autobiography in 1903, reflecting on the colorful and sometimes
violent experiences of "the gentleman, the soldier, the outlaw, and the
convict."