Wild Bunch
Encyclopedia
The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang or the Oklahombres, was a gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...

 of outlaws based in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...

 that terrorized Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, and Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Territory
The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...

 during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen. They were also known as The Oklahoma Long Riders from the long dusters
Duster (clothing)
A duster is a light, loose-fitting long coat.The original dusters were full-length, light-colored canvas or linen coats worn by horsemen to protect their clothing from trail dust. These dusters were typically slit up the back to hip level for ease of wear on horseback and were the recommended...

 they wore. Of all the outlaw gangs produced by the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...

, none met a more violent end than the Wild Bunch. Being formed in the last decade of the 19th century, of its eleven members, only two would survive into the 20th century. All eleven would meet with a violent death in gun-battles with lawmen.

Origins

The gang consisted at various times of Bill Doolin
Bill Doolin
William "Bill" Doolin was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.- Early life :...

, George "Bittercreek" Newcomb
George Newcomb (Outlaw)
George "Bittercreek" Newcomb was an American outlaw of the American Old West. He was a member, first, of the Dalton Gang but after being called "too Wild" by Bob Dalton, he and Bill Doolin started the Wild Bunch gang.-Early life & career:...

 (aka "Slaughter Kid"), Charley Pierce
Charley Pierce
Charley Pierce was an American outlaw in the American Old West who rode with both the Dalton Gang and the Doolin Dalton Gang during the 1890s. He and "Bittercreek" Newcomb were killed by friends, the Dunn brothers, for bounty money....

, Oliver "Ol" Yantis
Oliver Yantis
Oliver Yantis, known as Oliver "Ol" Yantis was an outlaw of the Old West, best known for being a member of the Doolin Dalton Gang....

, William Marion "Bill" Dalton
William M. Dalton
William Marion Dalton , called Bill Dalton, was an American outlaw in the American Old West. He was the co-leader of the Wild Bunch gang and he was the brother of the founders of the Dalton Gang, Gratton, Bob and Emmett....

, William "Tulsa Jack" Blake, Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton
Dan Clifton
Dan Clifton , known as Dynamite Dan, was a western outlaw and member of the Doolin Gang.Clifton was a minor criminal wanted in the Oklahoma Indian Territory for robbery, safecracking, and cattle rustling before joining the Doolin Gang in 1892...

, Roy Daugherty (a.k.a. "Arkansas Tom Jones"), George "Red Buck" Waightman, Richard "Little Dick" West, and William F. "Little Bill" Raidler
Bill Raidler
Bill Raidler, known as "Little Bill" Raidler was an outlaw of the Old West, and member of the Doolin-Dalton gang.Raidler was born William F. Raidler in Pennsylvania, and raised to be an educated man. However he had an adventurous side, and drifted down to Texas where he became a cowboy, then...

.

Doolin, in addition to having been a member of the Dalton Gang
Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...

, had been a cowboy in Kansas and the Cherokee Outlet
Cherokee Outlet
The Cherokee Outlet, often mistakenly referred to as the Cherokee Strip, was located in what is now the state of Oklahoma, in the United States. It was a sixty-mile wide strip of land south of the Oklahoma-Kansas border between the 96th and 100th meridians. It was about 225 miles long and in 1891...

 and held something of a Robin Hood image. He was well liked by many, and he and his gang received considerable aid in eluding the law (see Ingalls, Oklahoma
Ingalls, Oklahoma
Ingalls is a small community in Payne County, Oklahoma, about 10 miles east of Stillwater. The town was settled out of the "Unassigned Lands" in 1889, and had a post office from January 22, 1890, until October 31, 1907. It was named for Senator John J. Ingalls of Kansas.Ingalls was the site of a...

).

The Wild Bunch had its origins following the Dalton Gang's botched train robbery in Adair, Oklahoma Territory
Adair, Oklahoma
Adair is a town in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 790 at the 2010 census, compared to 704 at the 2000 census. Named for two prominent Cherokee brothers, the town was established in 1883 and opened a Cherokee school.-History:...

, on July 15, 1892, in which two guards and two townspeople, both doctors, were wounded. One of the doctors died the next day. Bob Dalton told Doolin, Newcomb, and Pierce that he no longer needed them. Doolin and his friends returned to their hideout in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory
Ingalls, Oklahoma
Ingalls is a small community in Payne County, Oklahoma, about 10 miles east of Stillwater. The town was settled out of the "Unassigned Lands" in 1889, and had a post office from January 22, 1890, until October 31, 1907. It was named for Senator John J. Ingalls of Kansas.Ingalls was the site of a...

. It was fortunate for the three, because on October 5, the Dalton Gang would be wiped out in Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville, Kansas
Coffeyville is a city situated along the Verdigris River in the southeastern part of Montgomery County, located in Southeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 10,295...

.

Career

Doolin wasted no time. On November 1, 1892, his new gang, the Wild Bunch, robbed the Ford County Bank at Spearville, Kansas
Spearville, Kansas
Spearville is a city in Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 773.-19th century:The land for the townsite of Speareville was deeded by the Santa Fe to the Arkansas Valley Town Company in March, 1873, and was surveyed and platted. The town was named for...

, getting away with all the cash on hand and over $1,500 in treasury notes. From the postcard descriptions sent out, the Stillwater, Oklahoma Territory
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...

, city marshal recognized Ol Yantis, the newest member of the gang. Shortly, Yantis was cornered and killed in a shootout with the marshal's posse.

On June 11, 1893, the Wild Bunch held up a Santa Fe train west of Cimarron, Kansas
Cimarron, Kansas
Cimarron is a city in and the county seat of Gray County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,184.-Geography:Cimarron is located at...

, and took $1,000 in silver from the California-New Mexico Express. A sheriff's posse from old Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory
Oklahoma Panhandle
The Oklahoma Panhandle is the extreme western region of the state of Oklahoma, comprising Cimarron County, Texas County, and Beaver County. Its name comes from the similarity of shape to the handle of a cooking pan....

, caught up with the gang north of Fort Supply
Fort Supply
Fort Supply was a United States Army post established on November 18, 1868, in Indian Territory to protect the Southern Plains...

. The gang got away, but, in the ensuing gunfight, Doolin received a bullet in his left foot. Doolin was to suffer with the pain for the rest of his life, and it led indirectly to his capture.

On September 1, 1893, a posse organized by the new U.S. Marshal, Evett Dumas "E.D." Nix
Evett Dumas Nix
Evett Dumas Nix, often known as E.D. Nix, was a US Marshal in the late 19th century handling the jurisdiction that included the wild Oklahoma Territory, later to be the state of Oklahoma...

, entered the outlaw town of Ingalls with the intent to capture the gang. In what would be remembered as the Battle of Ingalls
Battle of Ingalls
The Battle of Ingalls was a gunfight on September 1, 1893 between United States Marshals and the Doolin-Dalton Gang, during the closing years of the Old West era, in Ingalls, Oklahoma. The Doolin-Dalton Gang had been involved in a number of train robberies and bank robberies, beginning around 1891...

, three of the fourteen lawmen carrying Deputy U.S. Marshals' commissions would die as a result of the battle. Two town citizens would also die; one killed protecting the outlaws. Of the outlaws, Newcomb was seriously wounded but escaped, and Arkansas Tom Jones, the killer of the three deputies and one citizen, was captured.

After a short break the gang continued its activities. On January 3, 1894, Pierce and Waightman held up store and post office at Clarkson, Oklahoma Territory
Clarkson, Oklahoma
Clarkson was a small community located north of the Cimarron River in Payne County, Oklahoma Territory. Founded by Dunkers , the post office opened January 31, 1890, with Grant T. Johnson as the postmaster. The post office closed February 28, 1903...

. On January 23, the gang robbed the Farmers Citizens Bank at Pawnee, Oklahoma Territory
Pawnee, Oklahoma
Pawnee is a city in Pawnee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,230 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Pawnee County.-Geography:Pawnee is located at...

, and March 10, the Wild Bunch robbed the Santa Fe station at Woodward, Oklahoma Territory
Woodward, Oklahoma
Woodward is a city in and the county seat of Woodward County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the largest city in a nine-county area. The population was 12,051 at the 2010 census....

, of over $6,000.

On March 20, Nix sent the Three Guardsmen
Three Guardsmen
The Three Guardsmen is the name popularized in Old West literature describing three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19th century. Deputy U.S. Marshals Bill Tilghman , Chris Madsen , and Heck Thomas were The Three Guardsmen, working under U.S...

 a directive to take care of the Wild Bunch. The directive stated in part, "I have selected you to do this work, placing explicit confidence in your abilities to cope with those desperadoes and bring them in—alive if possible—dead if necessary."

On April 1, 1894, the gang attempted to rob the store of retired US Deputy Marshal W.H. Carr at Sacred Heart, Indian Territory
Sacred Heart, Oklahoma
Sacred Heart is a small unincorporated community in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. Established in 1879 by Father Isidore Robot as a Catholic mission on the old Pottawatomie reserve, it was originally named Sacred Heart Mission. The name was changed to Sacred Heart in 1888 shortly...

. Carr, shot through the stomach, managed to shoot Newcomb in the shoulder and the gang fled without getting anything.

On May 10, 1894, the Wild Bunch robbed the bank at Southwest City, Missouri
Southwest City, Missouri
Southwest City is a city in McDonald County, Missouri, United States. The population was 937 at the 2009 census, at which time it was a town. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, of $4,000, wounding several townspeople and killing one.

On May 21, 1894, the jurors in Arkansas Tom's trial found him only guilty of manslaughter in the killing of the three Deputy US Marshals. Frank Dale
Frank Dale
Frank Dale was the Chief Justice of the Territorial Supreme Court of Oklahoma Territory from 1893 until 1898. Born in Somonauk, Illinois, he pioneered both in Kansas and Oklahoma, becoming a well-known attorney in both states...

, the territorial judge hearing the case, returned to Guthrie
Guthrie, Oklahoma
Guthrie is a city in and the county seat of Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. The population was 9,925 at the 2000 census.Guthrie was the territorial and later the first state capital for Oklahoma...

, the territorial capitol, and told E.D. Nix, " ... you will instruct your deputies to bring them in dead."

Bill Dalton, meanwhile, had left Doolin to form his own Dalton Gang. On May 23, 1894, Dalton and his new gang robbed the First National Bank at Longview, Texas. This was the only job by the gang. Various posses would kill three of the members and send the last one to life in prison.

On April 3, 1895, the Wild Bunch, without Doolin, held up a Rock Island train at Dover
Dover, Oklahoma
Dover is a town in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 367 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Dover is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....

 but were unable to open the safe with the $50,000 army payroll. So they robbed passengers of cash and jewelry. Deputy U.S. Marshal Chris Madsen and his posse took a special train to Dover and picked up the trail at daybreak, surprising the gang around noon. The marshals killed Blake and scattered the gang. This would be the last robbery by the Wild Bunch as a gang, although its members kept up the robberies and killings for which they were known.

Demise

U.S. Marshal Evett "E.D." Nix
Evett Dumas Nix
Evett Dumas Nix, often known as E.D. Nix, was a US Marshal in the late 19th century handling the jurisdiction that included the wild Oklahoma Territory, later to be the state of Oklahoma...

 was appointed in 1893. He made his main priority the toppling of the Doolin Dalton Gang. Nix appointed one hundred marshals to the task, insisting they hunt down all outlaws, but with a priority on this gang. Marshal Nix was staunchly supportive of his deputies and in the means they felt were necessary to bring down the gang, and with him as their defender politically, his deputy marshals systematically hunted down the gang members.
  • Ol Yantis — killed November 29, 1892 at Orlando, Oklahoma Territory
    Orlando, Oklahoma
    Orlando is a town in Logan and Payne counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 201 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Orlando is located at ....

     by Ford County, Kansas
    Ford County, Kansas
    Ford County is a county located in southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 33,848. The Dodge City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Ford County. Its county seat and most populous city is Dodge City. The county is named in...

     Sheriff
    Sheriff
    A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

     Chalkey Beeson and Deputy US Marshal Tom Hueston.
  • Arkansas Tom Jones — captured September 1, 1893, in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory
    Ingalls, Oklahoma
    Ingalls is a small community in Payne County, Oklahoma, about 10 miles east of Stillwater. The town was settled out of the "Unassigned Lands" in 1889, and had a post office from January 22, 1890, until October 31, 1907. It was named for Senator John J. Ingalls of Kansas.Ingalls was the site of a...

    ; pardoned in 1910; killed August 16, 1924, in Joplin, Missouri
    Joplin, Missouri
    Joplin is a city in southern Jasper County and northern Newton County in the southwestern corner of the US state of Missouri. Joplin is the largest city in Jasper County, though it is not the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 50,150...

    , by Joplin police detectives.
  • Bill Dalton — killed June 8, 1894, near Elk, Indian Territory
    Pooleville, Oklahoma
    Pooleville is a rural community located in Carter County, Oklahoma, west of the Arbuckles. The post office opened July 20, 1907. The ZIP Code is 73401. It was named for an Ardmore banker, E.S. Poole....

    , by an Anadarko
    Anadarko, Oklahoma
    Anadarko is a city in Caddo County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Caddo County.-Early History:Anadarko got its name when its post office was established in 1873...

     posse.
  • Tulsa Jack Blake — killed April 4, 1895, near Ames, Oklahoma Territory
    Ames, Oklahoma
    Ames is a town in Major County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 199 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Ames is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....

    , by Deputy U.S. Marshals Will Banks and Isaac Prater.
  • Bitter Creek Newcomb — killed May 2, 1895, in Payne County, Oklahoma Territory
    Payne County, Oklahoma
    Payne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2010 was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater, and the county is named for Capt. David L. Payne...

    , by the Dunn Brothers
    Dunn Brothers (bounty hunters)
    The Dunn Brothers were a group of brothers from Pawnee, Oklahoma who worked as Old West bounty hunters. They are best known for having killed George "Bittercreek" Newcomb and Charley Pierce, members of the Wild Bunch....

    , who were Bounty Hunter
    Bounty hunter
    A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...

    s.
  • Charley Pierce — killed May 2, 1895, in Payne County, Oklahoma Territory
    Payne County, Oklahoma
    Payne County is a county in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2010 was 77,350. Its county seat is Stillwater, and the county is named for Capt. David L. Payne...

    , by the Dunn brothers.
  • Little Bill Raidler — shot and captured September 6, 1895, by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman
    Bill Tilghman
    William Matthew "Bill" Tilghman was a lawman in the American Old West.-Early life :Bill Tilghman was born in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on July 4, 1854. He became a buffalo hunter at age 15 and claimed he killed over 1000 bison over his five years of activity...

    ; paroled in 1903 because of complication from wounds received when he was captured; died 1904.
  • Bill Doolin — captured January 15, 1896, in Eureka Springs, Arkansas
    Eureka Springs, Arkansas
    Eureka Springs is a city in Carroll County, Arkansas, United States. Along with Berryville, it is one of the two county seats for the county. It is located in the Ozark Mountains of northwest Arkansas. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the town is 2,350...

     by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman; escaped with Dynamite Dick Clifton; killed August 24, 1896, in Lawson, Oklahoma Territory
    Quay, Oklahoma
    Quay is an unincorporated community in Pawnee and Payne counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 47 at the 2000 census, at which time it was still a town; the community disincorporated on August 23, 2000.-Geography:...

    , by a posse under Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas
    Heck Thomas
    Henry Andrew "Heck" Thomas was a lawman on theAmerican frontier, most notably in Oklahoma.-Biography:Thomas was born in 1850 in Athens, Georgia, the youngest of five children of Lovick Pierce Thomas, I and Martha Fulwood Bedell.At the beginning of the American Civil War, at age 12, he accompanied...

    .
  • Red Buck Waightman — killed March 4, 1896, near Arapaho, Oklahoma Territory
    Arapaho, Oklahoma
    Arapaho is a town in Custer County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 796 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Custer County. Its name derives from the Arapaho Indians.-Geography:Arapaho is located at ....

    , by a Custer County
    Custer County, Oklahoma
    Custer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was named in honor of General George Armstrong Custer. As of 2000, the population was 26,142. Its county seat is Arapaho.-Geography:...

     posse.
  • Dynamite Dick Clifton — captured June, 1896, by Deputy U.S. Marshals from Texas; escaped with Bill Doolin; killed November 7, 1897, near Checotah, Indian Territory
    Checotah, Oklahoma
    Checotah is a city in McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. It was named for Samuel Checote, the first chief of the Creek Nation elected after the Civil War. The population was 3,481 at the 2000 census....

    , by Deputy U.S. Marshals under Deputy Marshal Chris Madsen
    Chris Madsen
    Chris Madsen was a lawman of the Old West who is best known as being one of The Three Guardsmen, the name given to Madsen and two other Deputy US Marshals who were responsible for the apprehension and/or killing of several outlaws of that era...

    .
  • Little Dick West — killed April 8, 1898, in Logan County, Oklahoma Territory
    Logan County, Oklahoma
    Logan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population as of 2009 was 39,301. Its county seat is Guthrie. Logan County is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

    , by Deputy U.S. Marshals under Deputy Marshal Chris Madsen.

Further reading

  • McRill, Leslie. "Old Ingalls: The Story of a Town That Will Not Die", Chronicles of Oklahoma 36:4 (October 1958) 429-445 (accessed March 18, 2007)
  • Shirley, Glenn. Gunfight at Ingalls: Death of an Outlaw Town. Stillwater, Oklahoma: Barbed Wire Press, 1990. ISBN 0-935269-96-1
  • Wellman, Paul I. A Dynasty of Western Outlaws.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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