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One of the most notorious outlaws in the
Territory of
Oklahoma was Zip Wyatt, who also went by the names of Dick
Yeager and Wild Charlie.
Born as Nathaniel Ellsworth Wyatt in Indiana in 1864, to John T. and Rachel
Quick Wyatt, he was the second born of 8 children, which included seven boys
and one girl. The family moved around a lot before finally settling about 14
miles northeast of Guthrie,
Oklahoma in 1889. The family was poor, his
parents almost illiterate, and Nathaniel Wyatt came by his bad habits
legitimately as his father, known as "Old Six-Shooter Bill,” was frequently
arrested in Guthrie for drunkenness and disorderly conduct, while his older
brother, Nim, known as "Six-Shooter Jack,” was a known professional gambler,
who would be later killed in a saloon in Texline,
Texas in 1891. |
Guthrie,
Oklahoma
Territory, 1889, photo by D. S. Mitchell.
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Somewhere along the line,
Nathaniel acquired the nickname of "Zip” from a man who lived near
Fort Smith,
Arkansas, and was best known throughout his life by that moniker, or by his
alias, Dick Yeager.
Zip’s mother, Rachel, died in
February, 1890 and the following year, Zip married a woman named Annie Bailey
near Mulhall,
Oklahoma. The pair had one daughter. However, life for his wife
and child would be far from "normal,” as on June 3, 1891, Zip shot up the town
of Mulhall, wounding two citizens, and fled north to the Cherokee Outlet, before
making his way to
Kansas.
With a warrant out for his
arrest, Zip made his way to Kiowa County,
Kansas where he stole some riding gear
in Greensburg. Deputy Sheriff Andrew Balfour soon tracked down the outlaw to
Pryor’s Grove,
Kansas, about ten miles north of Greensburg, where he attempted
to arrest the fugitive, only to be shot in the abdomen, with the bullet striking
the officer in the spine and killing him. However, the deputy rallied before he
died, shooting Wyatt twice, but only wounding him slightly in the hand on his
left side. Deputy Sheriff Balfour left a wife and six children.
With yet another warrant on his
head and a $1,000 reward for his capture, Zip fled to his native Indiana, where
he hid out with relatives. Several months later; however, he was apprehended and
after a long extradition proceeding, Zip was returned to Guthrie,
Oklahoma to
face charges on his spree in Mulhall. The outlaw was able to escape from jail
once but was quickly recaptured. Undaunted, he tried again on December 31, 1892,
and this time, was successful.
He soon joined up with
Ike Black and the two formed
a gang, making numerous robberies in the area, including the robbery of the
Hightower Store and post office in Arapaho,
Oklahoma in November, 1893. As
Black
and Wyatt hid out in the Gypsum Hills, they were often aided by their wives, who
brought them food and supplies. The gang was soon blamed for almost every crime
committed in the territory, and a reward was placed on Wyatt’s head of $5,000
for his capture.
On January 20th, 1895, Fred Hoffman, the treasurer
of D County (now Blaine County)
Oklahoma was killed and though it could never be
proven, the gun that killed the treasurer was reportedly traced to Zip Wyatt.
Around this same
time, Zip Wyatt and Ike Black were thought to have joined up with the
Doolin-Dalton Gang, participating in the Rock Island train robbery in Dover,
Oklahoma on
April 3, 1895.
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Zip
Wyatt was pursued by numerous posses before he
was
finally captured in 1895. |
On June 3, 1895, an outlaw
gang robbed the store and post office at Fairview,
Oklahoma, taking
everything of value and three horses. The outlaws were quickly pursued by
U.S. Deputy Marshals, Gus Hadwinger and J. K. Runnels, and Woods County
Sheriff Clay McGrath and Deputy Marion Hildreth. Catching up with the
robbers the following day, they surprised the gang who were hiding in a cave
near the county line. In the ultimate gunfight that broke out,
Ike Black was
hit in the foot and Zip took a shot in the left arm, but the outlaws were
able to escape. The pressure continued from the lawmen, which now numbered
almost 200 looking for the pair.
On July 26th, the outlaw pair
robbed the Oxley,
Oklahoma post office and store, but only gained about $35 and
some supplies. However, during this robbery, they were recognized and the next
day a posse went after them, tracking them to a site near Salt Creek, about six
miles northwest of Oxley. When gunfire erupted once again,
Black received a
flesh wound to the head, but both men were able to escape once again, however,
their horses had run off and they were now afoot. |
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