Henry Starr - The Cherokee Badman

Henry Starr - The Cherokee Badman

<<Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >>

Henry Starr wounded Then on March 27, 1915 Henry and six other men rode into the town of Stroud, Oklahoma. Starr’s plan was to rob two banks at the same time, much as the Dalton Gang had unsuccessfully tried to do in Coffeyville, Kansas in 1892. The Stroud, Oklahoma robbery would prove almost as disastrous for Henry Starr. Proceeding to rob the Stroud National Bank and the First National Bank, word of the holdup spread quickly and the citizens took up arms against the bandits. Henry and another outlaw named Lewis Estes were wounded and captured in the gun battle. The rest of the gang escaped with $5815, thus pulling off a double daylight bank robbery.

After Starr recovered from his wound, he stood trial and entered a plea of guilty to the Stroud Robbery on August 2, 1915. Sentenced to 25 years, he was transferred to the Oklahoma State Penitentiary at McAlester, Oklahoma.

While in prison at McAlester, Starr began speaking of the foolishness of a life of crime, urging young people to stay honest and earn their money in a legal manner. “I’m 45 years old now,” Starr told a reporter from the Oklahoma World, “And 17 of my 45 years have been spent ‘inside.’ Isn’t that enough to tell any boy that there’s nothing to the kind of life I have led?” The good words had the proper effect. Starr was paroled in on March 15, 1919.

Movie Poster from "A Debtor to the Law" For two years, the famous bandit stayed true to his word and lived an honest life. He even encouraged others to do so by starring in "A Debtor to the Law", a film, which depicted the Stroud, Oklahoma, bank robbery and the senselessness of crime. Henry produced and starred in the silent movie, which was an immediate and huge success. He went on to star in a couple of other movies, and received an offer from Hollywood to do a movie out there. He turned it down from fear that if he went to Hollywood the authorities in Arkansas would try to extradite him for his part in the Bentonville robbery. It was during his time in the movies that Henry met and married his third wife, Hulda Starr from Salisaw, Oklahoma. They were married on February 22, 1920 and moved to Claremore, Oklahoma.

Nevertheless, Starr could not live the life an honest man for very long. On Friday morning, February 18, 1921, Henry and three companions drove into Harrison, Arkansas. They entered the People's State Bank and robbed it of $6000. During the robbery, Henry was shot in the back by the former president of the bank, and his partners fled, leaving him to face the music alone. He was carried to the jail where doctors removed the bullet. Obviously proud of his record, he boasted to the doctors on Monday, February 21, 1921 "I've robbed more banks than any man in America." The next morning he died from his wound with his wife, Hulda, his mother and his 17-year-old son at his side.

Henry died as he had lived, in a violent manner, but true to the code of the outlaws, he never revealed a single partner in any crime. He never shot anyone in the commission of a crime, and served his time in jail like a man. He had succeeded where others had failed by robbing two banks at once, and by robbing more banks than anyone else.

During his 32 years in crime, he claimed to have robbed more banks than both the James-Younger Gang and the Doolin-Dalton Gang put together. He started robbing banks on horseback in 1893 and ended up robbing his last in a car in 1921. Allegedly, he robbed 21 banks during his outlaw career making off with nearly $60,000.00.

"I love it. It is wild with adventure."

– Henry Starr describing the bandit life in the Old West shortly before he was shot to death in a gunfight in Arkansas.

The loot from Starr’s earlier crimes was, by his own words, hidden “..near the border in a place nobody could find it in a million years.” Many researchers believe that this cache is hidden somewhere along the Cimarron River in Stevens County, Kansas. To read more about the hidden treasure, click HERE.

<<Previous 1 2 3 4 Next >>

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Saloon Style Tin Signs - Decorate with saloon-like decor with these nostalgic tin signs. Find saloons, restaurants, liquor and beer, including Budweiser, Coors, and more. All signs are made of heavy gauge metal and have rolled edges for safe handling. Great for hanging or framing!