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…
Published April 2, 2012 | By Art T. Burton
THE “TONTO” OF INDIAN TERRITORY
By Art T. Burton
Long overlooked by historians and the press, black lawman Bass Reeves has become well known among Western historians if not the general public. In my 2006 biography of Reeves I compared…
Published February 17, 2016 | By Art T. Burton
FLOYD WILSON: FORT SMITH LAWMAN
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published January 15, 2012 | By Art T. Burton
OKLAHOMA’S FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part Five
Black and White Lighthorsemen in Indian Territory
By Art T. Burton
There were quite a few black lighthorsemen in the Creek and Seminole Nations who became renown. In the Seminole Nation, Freedman Dennis…
Published June 8, 1996 | By Art T. Burton
OKLAHOMA’S FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part Four
Other Outstanding Indian Lawmen
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published May 12, 1996 | By Art T. Burton
OKLAHOMA’S FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part Three
Jackson William Ellis
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published April 11, 1996 | By Art T. Burton
OKLAHOMA’S FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part Two
Charles LeFlore
By Art T. Burton
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. LeFlore…
Published March 9, 1996 | By Art T. Burton
OKLAHOMA’S FRONTIER INDIAN POLICE
Part One
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published February 13, 1996 | By Art T. Burton
GUNFIGHT AT BOLEY, OKLAHOMA
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published February 8, 1997 | By Art T. Burton
WOMEN OF THE SHOOTING IRON
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published July 8, 1997 | By Art T. Burton
THE LEGACY OF BASS REEVES
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published July 11, 1997 | By Art T. Burton
THE LADY SHOOTIST
By Art T. Burton
In an earlier article I wrote titled, “Women of the Shooting Iron” I mentioned a young lady named F.M. Miller who was a deputy U.S. marshal. A newspaper stated that she was commissioned…
Published August 15, 2002 | By Art T. Burton
BYNUM COLBERT: FORT SMITH SOLDIER LAWMAN
By Art T. Burton
There were many deputy U.S. marshals who worked for the Fort Smith, Arkansas federal court who should be better known and recognized for their contributions. One of these men was…
Published February 2, 2009 | By Art T. Burton
CHEROKEE SLAVE REVOLT OF 1842
By Art T. Burton
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,…
Published September 30, 2009 | By Art T. Burton
BLACK, RED AND DEADLY, PART II
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published June 16, 2010 | By Art T. Burton
BILL DOOLIN AND THE BLACK OKLAHOMBRES
A Legendary Lawman on the Western Frontier Who Rode for Judge Isaac Parker
By Art T. Burton
The “King of the Oklahoma Outlaws” was the title Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman gave Bill Doolin.…
Published May 1, 2011 | By Art T. Burton
BASS REEVES – DEPUTY UNITED STATES MARSHAL
A Legendary Lawman on the Western Frontier Who Rode for Judge Isaac Parker
By Art T. Burton
Bass Reeves was often called “one of the bravest men this country has ever known.” “Invincible,”…
Published June 17, 2011 | By Art T. Burton
THE CHEROKEE FRONTIER POLICE OF THE INDIAN TERRITORY
By Art T. Burton
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…
Published July 2, 2011 | By Art T. Burton
A. J. “BUD” TRAIL: CLAREMORE, I.T., DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL
By Art T. Burton
This article is on a little known, but courageous white lawman from the Indian Territory by the name of A. J. “Bud” Trail. I first became interested…
Published October 22, 2011 | By Art T. Burton
BASS REEVES AND THE NATIONAL MEDIA OF THE FRONTIER ERA
By Art T. Burton
In recent years Deputy United States Marshal Bass Reeves has garnered quite a bit of national publicity. My last book, published in 2006 by the University… C
Published December 11, 2011 | By Art T. Burton