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Hey, history lovers. I'm Mike Rosenwald with Retropod, a show about the past, rediscovered.

Jesse James. If there is anything to be learned from his death on April 3, 1882, it is this.

If you see a picture hanging crooked on a wall, and there is a bounty on your head,

leave the picture alone. Let me explain. Jesse James and his brother Frank,

you might recall, led an outlaw gang that robbed, killed, and terrorized many a victim. Their brazen

violence and disregard for the law earned them mythical status in outlaw history.

By 1882,

there was a $5,000 bounty on Jesse James' head.

James was paranoid

about being caught,

but his gang

had been nearly annihilated

and he needed help

to survive,

so he reluctantly welcomed

a young fellow

named Robert Ford into the fold.

James never completely trusted Ford,

but this was in the days before a gangster could check on a new guy's loyalties

...