BASS REEVES - Deputy United States Marshal
Bass Reeves was often called “one of the bravest men this country has ever known.” “Invincible,” others noted, “a Deputy U.S. Marshal whose devotion to duty was beyond reproach.” ...Read more
Copyright 1994. Art T. Burton. Originally printed in Persimmon Hill Magazine, published by the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
BILL DOOLIN AND THE BLACK OKLAHOMBRES
The “King of the Oklahoma Outlaws” was the title Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman gave Bill Doolin. Doolin’s criminal career was affected by African Americans on both sides of the law on several momentous occasions and one incident that is questionable. ...Read more
Copyright 1996. Originally published in the Oklahombres Magazine.
BLACK, RED AND DEADLY, PART II
It has been over ten years since the release of my first book, Black, Red and Deadly: Black and Indian Gunfighters of the Indian Territory, 1870-1907. Since that time many people have read the book and learned about people such as Bass Reeves, Sam Sixkiller, Grant Johnson and Zeke Miller. I have had the opportunity to continue to research and write about African American and Native American outlaw and lawmen and to update information on individuals from my first book. ...Read more
Copyright 2003. Originally published in June, 2003.
CRAWFORD "CHEROKEE BILL" GOLDSBY ....the toughest of them all *
by Bennie J. McRae, Jr. On a sunny afternoon on March 17, 1896 as Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby escorted by prison guards, his mother Ellen, Amanda Foster, an elderly lady who had help raise him, and Father Pius, a Catholic priest, walked to the gallows to be hanged for murder. Looking around at the crowd that had gathered to witness the occasion, he stated, "This is about as good as day to die as any." ...Read more
THE CHEROKEE FRONTIER POLICE OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY
The Indian police of the Indian Territory were as heroic and brave as any law enforcement officers of the Old West. The Cherokee Nation was and is presently the largest in population of all the Five Civilized Tribes and had outstanding law enforcement officers on the Oklahoma frontier. Today they are the second largest Native American tribe in the United States in population. This paper will take a look at the officers of the frontier Cherokee Nation who served with the Indian police and the federal police. ...Read more
CHEROKEE SLAVE REVOLT OF 1842
Black slavery in America usually evokes images of the antebellum South, but few realize that members of the Five Civilized Tribes--the Cherokees, Choctaws, Chickasaws, Creeks, and Seminoles--in Indian Territory, today’s Oklahoma, also had slaves. Like their counterparts in the South, Indian slaveholders feared slave revolts. Those fears came true in 1842 when slaves in the Cherokee Nation made a daring dash for freedom. ...Read more
FLOYD WILSON: FORT SMITH LAWMAN
Floyd Wilson was one of the most able and noted deputy U.S. marshals for the Fort Smith federal court during the 1880s and 1890s. He also worked on and off as a town lawman in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Sadly, Wilson is known more today for the fact he was the one and only person killed by the famous Cherokee Indian bank robber Henry Starr. ...Read more
FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part 1: The story of the frontier Indian police in the history of Oklahoma is very important. It is one of the unsung stories in the annuals of law enforcement in the Wild West. Oklahoma, prior to statehood, was known as Indian Territory, and after 1889, Oklahoma Territory was added, taking on the nickname, the “Twin Territories.” ...Read more
Part 2: Charles LeFlore - Charles LeFlore was an outstanding but little known lawman in the history of Indian Territory. His family was one of the most prominent in the Choctaw Nation. ...Read more
Part 3: Jackson William Ellis - Possibly the most outstanding Indian policeman was Jackson William Ellis, born in Sweet Town, Cherokee Nation in 1849. He was known as Jack Ellis and was 5/8ths Cherokee. ...Read more
Part 4: Other Outstanding Indian Lawmen - John C. West was the last captain of the United States Indian Police, and a member of the Cherokee Lighthorsemen. West stood six feet five and weighed 200 pounds. He was undoubtedly Sam and Belle Starr’s biggest nemesis, arresting them on several occasions. ...Read more
Part 5: Black and White Lighthorsemen in Indian Territory - There were quite a few black lighthorsemen in the Creek and Seminole Nations who became renown. In the Seminole Nation, Freedman Dennis Cyrus was the most noted black Indian police officer. Cyrus served with the Seminole Lighthorse for twenty-five years. Five of those years he held a deputy U.S. marshal commission under Marshal John Carroll at Fort Smith. ...Read more
©Copyright 1996. Originally published in the Oklahoma State Trooper Magazine.
GUNFIGHT AT BOLEY, OKLAHOMA
The most famous shoot-out in Boley, Oklahoma, occurred on November 23, 1932, when Pretty Boy Floyd’s right-hand man, George Birdwell and two confederates attempted to rob the Farmers and Merchants Bank in Boley. Birdwell was accompanied by C. C. Patterson and a black man from Earlsboro named Charles “Pete” Glass who drove the getaway car. ...Read more
Posted by permission of Art T. Burton. Originally published in the Winter 1997 edition of the OklahombreS Magazine
INDIAN POLICE OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY
This essay concerns the little known Indian Police of frontier Oklahoma when it was known as the Indian Territory. An organization of policemen known as “Lighthorse” was formed by Major Ridge and James Vann in the Cherokee Nation in 1799. At that time the Cherokee Nation was located in the present states of Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee. ...Read more
THE LADY SHOOTIST
The woman carries a pistol buckled around her and has a Winchester strapped to her saddle. She is an expert shot and a superb horsewoman, and brave to the verge of recklessness. It is said that she aspires to win a name equal to that of Belle Starr, differing from her by exerting herself to run down criminals and in the enforcement of the law. ...Read more
LAWMEN AND OUTLAWS: THE LEGACY OF BASS REEVES
As we move toward the millennium I feel more strongly than ever that Bass Reeves was the most important lawman in the Indian Territory and one of the greatest frontier heroes in our country’s history. The research on his life is ongoing and I believe we will learn even more in the future about his outstanding dedication and commitment to duty, which will vindicate my Bass Reeves mania. ...Read more
©Copyright: July, 1997. Art T. Burton
WOMEN OF THE SHOOTING IRON - Deputy United States Marshals
Today on television there is a very popular program titled “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.” This show highlights the unlikely premise of a medically trained female doctor on the western frontier of the 19th century. As a woman, Doctor Quinn faces many hardships and biases, but she is determined and overcome most of them. As strange as it may seem, there were women on the Oklahoma frontier in another profession, thought today to have been an exclusive men’s club, the peace officer. ...Read more
* This article includes research from Art Burton's published works.