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NO LAW WEST OF FORT SMITH - THE OUTLAWS |
The outlaws who faced him made Parker's court famous.
It was in session for 21 years, from 1875 through the summer of 1896.
However, it's most notorious desperadoes gained their fame during the
last decade, mostly because they rode as gangs. Their careers were usually
short, usually less than a year from the first murder to the end of a
rope. |
THE RUFUS BUCK GANG
The gang members were five Native
Americans (Rufus Buck was full-blooded Euchee Indian, Sam Sampson and
Maoma July were full-blooded Creeks, Lewis Davis and Lucky Davis were
of mixed African American and Creek blood). The gang started
its deadly road to fame in July 1895 and for two weeks the Buck Gang crime
spree was unequaled by all the other outlaw gangs combined. Although each
gang member had been in and out of trouble with the law for years, two
weeks accounted for the most deprived record of rapes and murders in the
history of the Indian Territories. Left to right in the picture
at the right are Maoma July, Sam Sampson, Rufus Buck, Luckey Davis and
Lewis Davis. Notice the shackles on the men's legs.
On August 9, 1895 they were discovered by a posse of irate citizens of the
Indian Territory and U.S. Deputy Marshals. Unaware of the posse, they
sat under a groove of trees on top of a small hill dividing up the loot
from two robberies earlier in the day. The posse surrounded the
outlaws and opened fire. The gang dove for cover and for hours held the
posse at bay. Finally, out of ammunition, the gang surrendered and all
five were taken alive and unhurt. They were tried in Fort Smith
in September 1895 and all five found guilty of rape. Judge Parker sentenced
the men to die on the gallows and on July 1, 1896 all five dropped together
through the gallows trapdoor and met their final judge. |
Rufus Buck gang after their capture. They would die on the gallows together for their vicious crimes. They were all still teenagers. |
BELLE STARR, QUEEN OF THE OUTLAWS
After her death she became the most famous
women outlaw in the old west. During her lifetime she was a familiar sight in Fort Smith. Her reputation
as an outlaw was overrated and infllated thanks to dime novels long after her death. She was convicted only once, in 1886
for horse theft. She was probably involved in much more and the fact she
was held accountable only once gives testimony to her brains and cleverness.
Much of Belle's legend has been wildly embellished, very likely by her daughter Pearl and swallowed whole in movies, newspapers and dime novels. Part of her legend says Belle was the daughter of a man who supported Quantrill's Raiders during
the Civil War and she herself, at the age of fifteen or sixteen, supposedly
acted as a spy and courier for Quantrill; however, most of this story is pure fantasy without any evidence to support the story.
She was a dead shot with a pistol
and an expert rider. Legend says that one of her first lovers was Cole
Younger of the Jesse James gang, by whom she had a daughter, Pearl, this is pure fiction. She married three times. Her first husband was Jim Reed,
stagecoach robber and horse thief who was killed by a deputy sheriff after he and Belle returned to Texas from California.
Her second husband was Sam Starr the son of a notorious Cherokee renegade
and an accomplished criminal in his own right. He was killed in
a gun fight while waiting trial for horse theft. Her last husband
was Jim July, another outlaw who some believe was her killer. Her cabin
at Youngers Bend in the hills of eastern Oklahoma, near today's Lake
Eufaula, was a hideout and refuge for bandits and killers so suspects in her murder are plenty.
Live
by the gun and die by the gun. Belle was ambushed by a person unknown, most likely her husband Jim July as she was returning to her cabin on February 3, 1889 after escorting July part way to Fort Smith to attend trial. July was known to despise his wife he called an old hag. A shotgun blast
to her back knocked her from her saddle. A second blast hit her in the
face and neck and she was found face down in a puddle. She died
in the arms of her daughter Pearl just shy of the age of forty-one.
She was buried near her cabin near Porum, Oklahoma. A grave stone erected
by her daughter Pearl marks the site.
The photo bottom right is an early photo of Belle's grave in front of her cabin at Youngers Bend. Today this is an Oklahoma State Park with hiking trails to various points of interest. Her cabin was torn down hears ago, but today there is a replica minus her barn seen to the right in the photo. Her grave was neglected for years, but thanks to the Oklahoma Historical Society it has repaired. The headstone, which was leaning against the side of the tomb, has been restored to its original location. The stone and the tomb with a heavy slab covering the top were paid for by Belle's daughter Pearl.
The inscription on the headstone reads, "BELLE STARR Born in Carthage Mo. Feb 5 1848 DIED Feb 3 1889"
"Shed not for her the bitter tear,
"Nor give the heart to vain regret,
"But tis the casket that lies here,
"The gem that filled it sparkles yet."
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Belle Starr and her favorite horse in Fort Smith. The man in front of her is thought to be Deputy U.S. Marshal Tyler Hughes who arrested her at her cabin at Youngers Bend. During her life time she was only convicted of one crime, for horse theft. She claimed that its owner had loaned it to her. She only spent a brief time in Jail. |
Belle's grave at Youngers Bend - this appears to be an old newspaper photo. She was two days short of her 41st birthday when she was ambushed and gunned down probably over a dispute with a neighbor. |
CHEROKEE BILL
His real name was Crawford Goldsby but as an outlaw he was infamous as Cherokee Bill. He was born in 1876
in Texas to George Goldsby, a member of the U.S. Tenth Cavalry (the Buffalo
Soldiers) and Ellen Beck whose parents were former slaves. I found it interesting that Bill
was a year younger than my grandfather who was my legal guardian as a child.
The Goldsby's
were of mixed African-American, Cherokee Indian, Mexican and White blood.
No one really knows how he came by his alias but during his short outlaw
career most people knew him simply as Cherokee Bill. Bill's criminal
career started hen he was eighteen. He was not yet twenty when he
died on the Fort Smith Gallows. When he was 17 he attempted to shoot
and kill a man who had beaten him up in front of his girl friend at a
dance. The man filed charges against him for attempted murder.
Cherokee Bill started down the outlaw trail in earnest by joining with
the infamous Bill Cook gang. During a holdup of a store and post office
a few miles south of Coffeyville, Kansas, Cherokee Bill shot Ernest Melton
through the eye and killed him instantly. Melton was watching the
robbery from the window of a restaurant across the street. This
was the crime that would lead Bill to Judge Parker's gallows. The killing may have been accidental as Bill claimed, but his subsequent crime spree made that irrelevant.
During his career
with the Cook gang he was involved in numerous robberies and murders.
He was captured in January 1895 after he robbed a train on his own.
Bill was taken to Fort Smith and convicted of the killing of Melton.
During his incarceration in the Fort Smith jail a trustee smuggled him
a revolver which he hid in his cell. As the guard was about to lock
down the jail Bill came out of his cell and shot him. A furious
gun battle raged for hours inside of the jail. Finally, Henry Starr
a friend and fellow outlaw persuaded the jailers to allow him to talk
to Bill. Starr convinced Bill to give up his gun on the promise
that the guards would not hurt him. Cherokee Bill's appeals failed
and on March 17, 1896 he was marched to the gallows. When asked
if he had any last words he made his famous comment, "I came here to die, not make a
speech." |
Crawford Goldsby, A.K.A. Cherokee Bill. When he met his end he was nineteen years old. |
NED CHRISTIE
was a full-blooded Cherokee
and very intelligent. His career as an outlaw was longer than most. He
had served in the Indian legislature but turned to banditry and whiskey
peddling as a more lucrative way of life. After several months on the
run and battles with Parker's deputies Christie was cornered in 1889 and
wounded not long after he ambushed and killed a deputy as the man was
crossing a stream. He escaped. Christie's hideout was a log house,
a virtual fortress he constructed in Rabbit Trap canyon. about a dozen
miles from Tahlequah. In the fall of 1892 the marshals learned of
his hideout and surrounded the location. The battle raged for days.
Even with the use of a cannon the deputies were unable to dislodge Christie.
Finally, the marshals tied together several sticks of dynamite. Under a covering
of rifle fire from the posse one of the marshals placed the bomb against
the house. The explosion blew down walls and set the ruins of the building
on fire. In the midst of the flames Ned Christie emerged from a trapdoor
in the floor and attempt his getaway. A hail of bullets brought him down.
In Fort Smith Christie's corpse was propped up on a slab and his picture
taken, surrounded by the men who had ended his life. His body was claimed
by relatives and buried in the Cherokee Nation, today's Sequoyah County in eastern Oklahoma. |
Ned Christie |
Ned Christie in death |
The posse that killed Ned Christie |
THE DALTON GANG
Thanks to books and subsequent movies, the Daltons are, next to Belle Starr,
the most famous of Oklahoma's outlaws during the era of Judge Parker. Three of the
Dalton brothers served as U.S. Deputy Marshals for Judge Parker's Court.
Frank was possibly the only law-abiding sibling of the Dalton brothers. He died
while attempting to arrest whiskey peddlers near Fort Smith.
Grat and Bob Dalton began their careers with the intent of following the
footsteps of older brother Frank, but were soon involved in shady deals
and horse stealing. Their errant ways ended their careers as lawmen. The
Dalton's were cousins of the outlaw Younger brothers of Missouri. At the time of the Civil War the Dalton family lived near the Younger family. Bob Dalton dreamed of becoming
more famous than Cole Younger and Jesse James. As bandits they never matched
the cunning of the James gang but they earned their reputations by their
disregard for their lives and the audaciousness of their robbery attempts.
Their final exploit in Coffeyville, Kansas in October 1892 gained them a national reputation
and ended the lives of Bob and Grat.
The town of Coffeyville, Kansas took unkindly to the daring daylight attempt
to rob two banks at the same time. The town folk shot them to pieces as
they tried to make their escape. Emmett was seriously wounded but survived
to spend more than fourteen years in prison. He died peaceably at the
age of sixty-six in Hollywood, California on July 13, 1937. The
Dalton's were the end of an era in old west and Judge Parker's Court.
For a more detailed
accounts you should obtain a copy of Glenn Shirley's book, LAW WEST
OF FORT SMITH, a History of Frontier Justice in the Indian Territory,
1834-1896 (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Neb., 1957)
The book is
an interesting and entertaining history of the outlaws and lawmen who
made Fort Smith a legend of the Wild West. |
The end of the Dalton Gang, a gruesome day in Coffeyville, Kansas. The dead men are (left to right) Tim Evens, Bob Dalton, Grat Dalton, Dick Broadwell.
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