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Though the Cook Gang was short lived, lasting
less than a year, these ruthless
outlaws made themselves extremely well
known across the
Cherokee, Creek, and Seminole Nations of
Indian Territory
in 1894.
It all began in the spring of 1894 when
Cherokee Bill Goldsby, at the age of 18, shot a man near
Fort Gibson and
believing he had killed him, fled to the Creek and Seminole Nations.
There, he soon joined up with
outlaws Jim and Bill Cook.
In June, 1894, the trio was confronted at
Fourteen Mile Creek near Tahlequah,
Oklahoma with a warrant for Jim Cook. In the inevitable shoot out
that occurred,
Cherokee Bill shot and killed
lawman Sequoyah Houston. Jim Cook was
also badly wounded and the other two took him to
Fort Gibson. Forced to
leave him, he was later captured by
lawmen.
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The Cook Gang with
Cherokee Bill Goldsby in middle front. |
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In the meantime,
Cherokee Bill rode to the home of his sister, Maud Brown, hiding
from the law. When her husband, George Brown, a vicious drunk, began
to beat Maud with a whip for not responding quickly enough to his
orders,
Bill walked up behind the man and shot him to death.
Afterwards, Bill Cook and
Cherokee Bill rounded up a gang, mostly comprised of black men
with
Indian blood and began to terrorize
Oklahoma. In addition to its leaders, the gang comprised of Henry
Munson, Curtis Dayson, "Skeeter" Baldwin, Lon
"Long" Gordon, Elmer "Chicken" Lucas, Ad Berryhill, William
Farris, Jess Snyder, George Sanders, Jim French and
Sam "Verdigris Kid” McWilliams.
Starting out small,
they were first accused on whiskey charges and horse theft, before
advancing to robbing banks, stores and stagecoaches. The
outlaws were ruthless, shooting anyone who got in their way.
On July 14th, the
gang held up a stagecoach and just two days later, they robbed a man
named William Drew. On July 18th, they held up the Frisco train at Red
Fork. However, due to the express messenger having had the foresight
to hide the money behind some boxes, the gang escaped with very
little.
On July 31, 1894, the
gang stole $500 from the Lincoln County Bank in
Chandler,
Oklahoma, killing one person and wounding others. In the process,
one member of the gang, Elmer Luca, was shot and captured by
authorities.
Hotly pursued, the
Cook Gang was surrounded at the home of a friend some fourteen miles
west of Sapulpa,
Oklahoma on August 2, 1894. During the volley of gunshots, one of
the
lawmen was shot and severely wounded. Two of the gang members, Lon
Gordon and Henry Munson were killed and Ad Berryhill was captured. The
rest of the gang fled.
Continuing with their
outlaw deeds they robbed the J.A. Parkinson & Company store in
Okmulgee,
Oklahoma on September 21st, getting away with over $600.00.
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Several weeks later, the gang got really
daring when on October 11th they first robbed the depot of the Missouri
Pacific Railroad in
Claremore,
Oklahoma and less than two hours later, robbed the railroad agent at
Chouteau.
Just some nine days
later, they wrecked the Kansas City and Pacific Express five miles south
of Wagoner,
Oklahoma, making off with the loot.
Ever continuing their
treachery through
Oklahoma,
Cherokee Bill, along with several other members of the gang, rode into Lenapah
on November 8th. While robbing the Shufeldt and Son General Store, an
innocent passerby named Ernest Melton heard the commotion and stuck his
head in to see what was going on. His curiosity got him killed when
Cherokee Bill raised his rifle and shot him in the head. Shortly
afterwards,
U.S. Marshals got a tip to the
outlaw's hiding place. Most of the gang members, including
Bill Cook,
were arrested; however,
Cherokee Bill escaped.
Continuing to be hotly
pursued,
Cherokee Bill persistently eluded the posse, for a while, at least. His final act along the
outlaw trail happened on December 31, 1894, when he acted alone to rob
the train station at Nowata,
Oklahoma.
With the assistance of
acquaintances who hoped to receive part of a $1,500 reward, he was
captured on January 30, 1895 and was soon delivered to
Fort Smith,
Arkansas to await trial for murder. On February 26th,
Cherokee Bill was tried for the murder before
Judge Parker, found guilty, and sentenced to death. Though Bill
appealed the verdict, he lost and federal officials hanged him before
hundreds of spectators on March 17, 1896.
Bill Cook died
in prison on February 15, 1900.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated June, 2008.
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