Wild Bunch
- This article is about the gang. For the 1969 movie, see The Wild Bunch.
The Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin–Dalton Gang, was a group of outlaws based in Indian Territory, that terrorized Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Territory during the 1890s—robbing banks and stores, holding up trains, and killing lawmen.
Activities of the gang
William "Bill" Doolin, in addition to having been a member of the Dalton Gang, had been a cowboy in Kansas and the Cherokee Outlet 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). The gang consisted at various times of Bill Doolin, George "Bittercreek" Newcomb (aka "Slaughter Kid"), Charlie Pierce, Oliver "Ol" Yantis, William Marion "Bill" Dalton, William "Tulsa Jack" Blake, Dan "Dynamite Dick" Clifton, "Arkansas Tom" Jones (born Roy Daugherty), George "Red Buck" Waightman, Richard "Little Dick" West, and William F. "Little Bill" Raidler.
The Wild Bunch had its origins following the Dalton Gang's botched train robbery in Adair, Oklahoma Territory 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, he no longer needed them. Doolin and his friends returned to their hideout in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory. It was fortunate for the three, because on October 5th, the Dalton Gang would be wiped out in Coffeyville, Kansas.
Doolin wasted no time. On November 1, 1892, his new gang, the Wild Bunch, robbed the Ford County Bank at Spearville, Kansas, 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 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.
Next, on June 11, 1893, the Wild Bunch held up a Santa Fe train west of Cimarron, Kansas, and took $1,000 in silver from the California-New Mexico Express. A sheriff's posse from old old Beaver County, Oklahoma Territory, caught up with the gang north of Fort Supply. The gang got away but in the ensuing gunfight, Doolin received a bullet in his left foot. Doolin was to suffer with the pain the rest of his life and it lead indirectly to his capture.
On September 1, 1883, a posse organized by the new U.S. Marshal, Evett Dumas "E.D." Nix, entered the outlaw town of Ingalls with the intent to capture the gang. 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. On January 23, the gang robbed the Farmers Citizens Bank at Pawnee, Oklahoma Territory, and March 10, the Wild Bunch robbed the Santa Fe station at Woodward, Oklahoma Territory, of over $6,000.
On March 20, Nix sent the Three Guardsmen 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. 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, 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, the territorial judge hearing the case, returned to Guthrie, the territorial capitol, and told E.D. Nix, " ... you will instruct your deputies to bring them in dead." [1]
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 but were unable to open the safe with $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.
The passing of the Wild Bunch
- Ol Yantis — killed November 29, 1892 at Orlando, Oklahoma Territory by a sheriff's posse.
- Arkansas Tom Jones — captured September 1, 1893, in Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory; pardoned in 1910; killed August 16, 1924, in Joplin, Missouri, by Joplin police detectives.
- Bill Dalton — killed June 8, 1894, near Elk, Indian Territory, by an Anadarko posse.
- Tulsa Jack Blake — killed April 4, 1895, near Ames, Oklahoma Territory, by Deputy U.S. Marshals Will Banks and Isaac Prater.
- Bitter Creek Newcomb — killed May 2, 1895, in Payne County, Oklahoma Territory, by the Dunn brothers, who were Bounty Hunters.
- Charley Pierce — killed May 2, 1895, in Payne County, Oklahoma Territory, by the Dunn brothers.
- Little Bill Raidler — shot and captured September 6, 1895, by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman; 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 by Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman; escaped with Dynamite Dick Clifton; killed August 24, 1896, in Lawson, Oklahoma Territory, by a posse under Deputy U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas.
- Red Buck Waightman — killed March 4, 1896, near Arapaho, Oklahoma Territory, by a Custer County 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, by Deputy U.S. Marshals under Deputy Marshal Chris Madsen.
- Little Dick West — killed April 8, 1898, in Logan County, Oklahoma Territory, by Deputy U.S. Marshals under Deputy Marshal Chris Madsen.
A later "Wild Bunch"
A later outlaw gang operating in the West, popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, was also sometimes called the "Wild Bunch". It was led by Butch Cassidy, and it included his closest friend Elzy Lay, the Sundance Kid, Tall Texan, News Carver, Camila Hanks, Laura Bullion, Flat-Nose Curry, Kid Curry and Bob Meeks. They would become the most successful train-robbing gang in history.
This Wild Bunch gang claimed to make every attempt to abstain from killing people, and Cassidy boasted of having never killed a man. The non-violent claims about the gang were false, however. Kid Curry, George Curry, Will Carver and other members of the gang killed numerous people during law enforcements pursuit of them. Kid Curry alone killed nine lawmen while with the gang, and another two civilians during shootouts, becoming the gangs most feared member. Elzy Lay killed another two lawmen following a robbery, for which he was wounded, arrested and sentenced to life in prison. "Flat-Nose" George Curry killed at least two lawmen, before being killed himself by Grand County, Utah lawmen.
The gang was also closely associated with female outlaws Ann Bassett and Josie Bassett, whose ranch near Browns Park supplied the gang often with fresh horses and beef. Both Bassett girls would become romantically involved with several members of the gang, and both would occasionally accompany the gang to one of their hideouts, called "Robbers Roost". It was through associations with ranchers like this in the area that allowed the gang considerable mobility, giving them an easy resupply of fresh horses and supplies, and a place to hole up for a night or two.
At 1:00 a.m on June 2, 1899, Cassidy, Kid Curry, Logan and Lay took part in a highly successful Union Pacific train holdup at Wilcox, Wyoming, where they stole between $30,000 and $60,000. Afterwards, the gang split up, a common ploy after a robbery, and several fled to New Mexico. When they committed the robbery, the men were wearing masks made from white napkins possibly pilfered from a Harvey House restaurant. On July 11th, 1899, gang members robbed a train near Folsom, New Mexico, without Cassidy's presence. The pursuit by a well led posse, led by Sheriff Ed Farr culminated in two gun battles, which resulted in Sheriff Farr and two deputies being killed, the eventual death of gang member Sam Ketchum while in custody due to wounds he received, and the wounding and capture of gang member Elzy Lay, with whom Cassidy had first formed the Wild Bunch gang, and who was Cassidy's closest friend.
Cassidy and the other members regrouped in Wyoming. On August 29, 1900, Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Kid Curry and another unidentified gang member believed to have been Will Carver held up another Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming. Less than a month later, on September 19, 1900, they raided the First National Bank of Winnemucca, Nevada, stealing $32,640. These and other lucrative robberies led to much notoriety and fame.
The end of the Wild Bunch
In early 1901, Cassidy along with the Sundance Kid and his girlfriend Etta Place relocated to South America, due to constantly having to remain on the move because of Pinkerton detectives and other lawmen. That same year, on April 1st, Will Carver was killed by lawmen. Ben Kilpatrick was captured in Tennessee in December, 1901, along with Laura Bullion, and received a 20 year prison sentence, with her receiving a five year sentence. Kid Curry killed two lawmen in Knoxville, Tennessee, escaping capture, then traveled to Montana where he killed a rancher that had killed his brother Johnny years before. He then returned to Tennessee, was captured, only to escape once again. Kid Curry was killed in Colorado in 1904, during a shootout with lawmen. In 1908, Cassidy and Sundance were allegedly killed in a shootout with Bolivian cavalry.
Stories persist to present day that Cassidy and the Sundance Kid survived and lived for many years inside the United States, with Sundance dying in 1936.[1] Etta Place disappeared completely, with her last known sighting being in 1909 in San Francisco. It is believed that she reinvented herself, becoming a brothel and hotel owner named Eunice Gray, in Fort Worth, Texas, dying in 1962. Elzy Lay was released from prison in 1906, and after a brief visit at the Bassett ranch in Utah, he relocated to California where he became a respected businessman, dying there in 1934. Ben Kilpatrick was released from prison in 1911, and was killed during a train robbery in Texas in 1912. Laura Bullion was released from prison in 1905, living the remainder of her life as a housewife, dying in Memphis, Tennessee in 1961, the last of the Wild Bunch.
Footnotes
- ^ Shirley, Gunfight at Ingalls, p.105: "Marshal ... I have reached the conclusion that the only good outlaw is a dead one. It will simplify our problem ... and probably save lives in the future [if] you will instruct your deputies to bring them in dead."
Bibliography
- 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