Here's Jim's description :

. One day Marster Bob comes to me and says, 'Jim , how you like to jine de army?' You see, de war and started. I says to him, 'What does I have to do?' And he says, 'Tend hosses and ride 'em.' I was young den and thought it would be lots of fun, so I says I'd go, So de first thing I knows, I's in de army away off east from here, somewhar dis side of St. Louis and in Tennessee and Arkansas and other places. I goes in de army 'stead of Dr. Garroll . After I gits in de army, it wasn' so much fun, 'cause tendin' hosses and ridin' wasn' all I does. No, sar, I has to do shootin' and git shooted at! One time we stops de train, takes Yankee money and lots of other things off dat train. Dat was way up de other side of Tennessee. You's heard of de battle of Independence? Dat's whar dey fights for three days and nights. I's not tendin' hosses dat time. Dey gives me a rifle and sends me up front fightin', when we wasn' runnin'. We does a heap of runnin' and dat suits die nigger. I could do dat better'n advance. When de order comes to 'treat. I's all ready. I gits shot in de shoulder in dat fight and lots of our soldiers gits killed and we loses our supply, jus' leaves it and runs. 'Nother time we fights two days and nights and de Yankees was bad dat time, too, and we had to run through de river. I sho' thought I's gwine git drowned den. Dat's de time we tries to git in St. Louis, but de Yankee mans stop us. I's free after de war and goes back to Texas, to Gonsala County, and gits a job doin' cowboy work for Marster Ross herdin' cattle.

After the war he claims to have worked for Jessie James :

Aftah Marster Ross gits shut of de critters, he says to us, "We will res' fo' coupla days, have a good time, den we stahts back." Ise says to me, "Not dis nigger." Ise sneaks away an' was a settin' on de bench f'ont ob a place w'en 'long comes a w'ite man. He's tall, had dahk hair an' was a fine lookin' man. He says to me, "Are you a cow han'? Ise tells him, "Ise is," an' tol' him how Ise wo'ked fo' Marster Bob .He says "Ise wants a han' on my fahm in Missou'i." Ise tells him, "Ise wants de job powe'ful bad." He says, "Come wid me." Dat man tells me his name was James an' he takes me to his fahm whar Ise 'ten' to cattle an' hosses fo' th'ee yeahs. He pays me well. He gives me mo' money dan Ise earns. Ise larned aftahwards his name was Jesse James an' dat he was de outlaw. Aftah th'ee yeahs Ise leaves, not 'cause Ise larned he outlaws, but 'cause Ise lonesome fo' Texas. Dats how Ise comes to Fort Worth an' here's whar Ise stayed ever since. Ise gits job wo'kin' fo' de cattle mans.