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George Newcomb, who was known as
"Bitter Creek" Newcomb, came from
Fort Scott,
Kansas.
Starting his career as a
cowboy
at the age of twelve, he worked for
C. C. Slaughter on the Long S Ranch in
Texas
before drifting into
Indian
Territory.
Charlie Bryant came from Wise County,
Texas.
He had a gunpowder burn on his cheek that earned him his nickname
"Black-Faced Charlie."
For a short time, the brothers served with distinction on the side of
the law. But, a narrow
margin separated the lawless from the law enforcers during those rough
times. Slipping from one side to the other,
Bob Dalton,
along with his brother
Emmett,
were charged with selling whiskey in the Osage Nation on March 21,
1890.
Jumping bail,
Bob
and
Emmett
headed to
New Mexico. Forming their first "gang",
Bob
recruited
George "Bitter Creek" Newcomb, Bill EcElhanie, and
"Blackfaced Charlie" Bryant to ride with them. It was at a
gambling house in Silver City,
New Mexico
that the
Dalton Gang committed their first robbery.
Silver City, New Mexico Vintage Postcard
After riding
into the mining camp, the crew sat down at a faro game, where they
lost heavily. Convinced the game was crooked, they pulled their guns,
taking back what they had lost and then some.
Bob
and
Emmett
fled to
California, where their younger brother
Bill was a successful farmer and rancher.
In September, 1890,
Grat was arrested for stealing horses, but was later released for lack of
evidence. Grat lost his job as a deputy marshal for conduct unbecoming an officer,
but he still worked as a posse man for other deputy marshals in the
area for a time. Later,
he too, left Indian
Territory, joining his brothers in California.
Before
Bob,
Emmett
and
Grat
arrived at
Bill’s ranch in
California,
Bill had married, living a respectable life, and had become
involved in politics as part of the Populist Party. As a member of the party,
Bill became embroiled in a Populist fight with the railroad backed
political machine, referring to the railroad as the S.P. Robber
Barons. This political fight was based on battles between the
Southern Pacific Railroad and local farmers over land disputes.
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 Bill’s
anger with the railroad is thought to be one of the reasons the brothers
decided to rob a Southern Pacific train headed to
Los Angeles
on February 6, 1891. Prior to
this robbery,
Bill
had not been in trouble with the law at all.
Bill,
along with
Bob,
Grat
and
Emmett
attempted to hold up the train at Alila,
California,
but this first attempt at train robbery was a fiasco. While
Bill
kept the passengers from interfering by shooting over their heads, the
others forced the engineer to show them the location of the cash-carrying
express car. When the engineer, a man by the name of
George Radcliffe,
tried to slip away, he was shot and killed.
Finding
the express car on their own, the guard refused to open the heavy door and
began firing on them. Thwarted, the brothers finally gave up and
rode away.
Bob and
Emmett fled California with a posse on their tail; however;
Grat and
Bill were arrested.
Bob and
Emmett made their way back to Indian
Territory and hooked up with
Emmett's old ranching buddies Charlie Bryant and Bitter Creek Newcomb. In
May, 1891, the four robbed the train at Wharton, Indian
Territory making off with $1745. Meanwhile in California,
Grat Dalton
was found guilty of the train robbery on July 3, 1891 and was sentenced to
twenty years in prison.
Three months after
the Wharton robbery in August, 1891, Charlie Bryant
became ill and was taken to the doctor in Hennessey,
Oklahoma
Territory. While there, Deputy Marshal
Ed Short arrested Bryant
while he was recovering from his illness at a local hotel.
There being no jail in Hennessey, the marshal loaded
Bryant
on a train and headed to the federal jail in Wichita.
In route, Bryant
somehow obtained a gun and attempted to escape.
In the ensuing shoot-out between Bryant
and Short, both men were killed by shots from the other.
The
Dalton Gang's
next robbery was the Katy train at Leliaetta, near Wagoner in
Indian
Territory. With
Bob and
Emmett,
were Bitter Creek Newcomb, Bill Power,
Dick Broadwell,
Charlie Pierce, and
Bill Doolin. On the night of September 15, 1891 they stopped and
boarded the MK&T train, and robbed the express car of $2,500.
Back in
California,
on September 18,
Grat
escaped while on the train transferring him to prison. According to
one account, two deputies, handcuffed to one of them, accompanied
Grat. While one of the deputies was asleep and the other busy talking to other
passengers,
Grat
stole the key to the handcuffs and jumped from the window of the moving
train, landing in the San Joaquin River.
Grat
made his way back to
Oklahoma,
and quickly joined back up with the gang, while his brother Bill was still
in California awaiting trial.
Continued Next
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