Re: Removal Of Remains...Texas Health and Safety Code
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In reply to:
Re: Removal Of Remains...Texas Health and Safety Code
Gary Shaffer 3/11/04
Dear Gary Shaffer:
Regarding many of the actual events in the lives of the James brothers, no written descriptions were made of these events at the time they occurred. The only record we have of many of these events are "stories" originating with participants in the events, which stories have been passed down from one generation to the next. Some of these stories eventually were written down, finally, often 2 or 3 generations after the events actually happened. Also, sometimes a little information about some incident can be found in letters. What I am trying to say here is, on many controversial issues regarding the lives of the James brothers, more than likely we are going to have to be satisfied with having no more than a vague idea of what actually happened. For example, we might be fairly certain that Charley Bigelow was murdered in Jesse James' stead, but most of the particulars of this subterfuge will necessarily remain a blur, because no one directly involved in the subterfuge ever wrote an account of it ( as far as we know ). Participants in Bigelow's murder may have eventually told certain stories about their involvement in it, but the details of stories change as the stories are told and retold by others as they are passed down through the generations. Much of the evidence we have about the lives of the James brothers is, therefore, at bottom, and in reality, merely circumstantial. Many of the so-called "facts" about them can be challenged, disputed, or interpreted in other ways.
So, what it really amounts to, in the end, is how much evidence can be amassed for any particular "INTERPRETATION." It is not that we finally reach THE TRUTH. The so-called "TRUTH," in most cases, cannot actually be known, because the principals involved never sat down and wrote accounts of exactly what they did, and when. Rather, we are forced to merely settle on the INTERPRETATION for which we can amass the MOST SUPPORTING EVIDENCE, EVERYTHING CONSIDERED ( and, I do mean EVERYTHING considered ).
As a result of what I have pointed out above, the actual life of Jesse James might be VERY DIFFERENT from the way it has been depicted by most writers on the subject. We will never know the TRUTH, per se, about Jesse James. The most we will ever be able to do is get a progressively more accurate knowledge of some of the main events in his life.
As more and more new evidence is brought to light, our understanding of Jesse James and related matters is likely to change radically.
Sincerely, and Lots of Love - -
Philip K. Kromer