Willilam B. Dunn and his brothers, Bee, Calvin, Dal, and George, ran a road ranch near Ingalls, Oklahoma, for travelers looking for a place to eat and rest. Sometimes, these travelers that made the mistake of stopping were robbed, killed, and never seen again.

Led by their oldest brother, Bill Dunn, the Dunns sometimes acted as bounty hunters, helping law officers track down outlaws. However, they were also a gang of thieves and owned a meat market in Pawnee, Oklahoma, where they disposed of stolen cattle.

Their teenaged sister Rose became romantically involved with “Bittercreek” Newcomb, a member of the Doolin Gang, having met him through her brothers. On May 2, 1895, when Newcomb and fellow gang member Charley Pierce rode up to the Dunn Ranch to visit with Rose, the brothers shot and killed both outlaws as they dismounted. They then collected the bounty on both, believed to have been $5,000 each, due to the notoriety of the gang by that time. The Dunn brothers had previously made a deal with lawmen to help capture the Doolin Gang in exchange for the dismissal of charges against them.

In the meantime, U.S. Deputy Marshal Heck Thomas was on the hunt for Bill Doolin and offered Dunn and his brothers a share of the rewards and gained their cooperation.

Thomas had been scouting for Doolin along the Cimarron River and received information on August 22, 1896, that Doolin and “two others” were south of the Cimarron in the Sac and Fox country. They camped on Dry Creek, northeast of Chandler, on the night of August 23. U.S. Deputy Marshal Rufus Cannon soon joined them there. Thomas then received news that Doolin was visiting his wife in Lawson. On the morning of August 24, the marshals made a hard ride about 25 miles due north. They crossed the Cimarron River and arrived at the Dunn ranch at about 2:00 pm that afternoon.

On August 25, 1896, Bill Dunn led U.S. Deputy Marshal Heck Thomas and his posse to Bill Doolin’s farm in Lawson, Oklahoma. When Thomas demanded Doolin’s surrender, the outlaw pulled his six-gun and fired twice before Bill Dunn’s shotgun blast cut him to pieces.

By late that year, people around Pawnee had started complaining that the Dunn brothers were involved in rustling and robbery. Sheriff Frank Canton, a gunman with a substantial reputation who had previously arrested Bill Dunn for rustling, began investigating the claims. On November 5, Dunn answered his critics by blaming Deputy Sheriff Frank Canton for the brutal way in which George Newcomb and Charley Pierce were killed.

On November 6, 1896, Bill Dunn rode into Pawnee to confront Sheriff Canton. As the deputy sheriff walked out of a restaurant and headed back to his office, Bill Dunn appeared in front of him and tried to draw his revolver, but Canton drew quicker and fired two shots, killing Dunn instantly. The shooting was ruled self-defense.

 

©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2025.

Also See:

Ingalls, Oklahoma Gunfight With the Doolin Gang

Outlaw Gangs

Outlaw & Scoundrel Photo Galleries

Outlaws Across America

Sources:

Cantey Collection
Cordry, Dee; The Last Days of Bill Doolin
Bill O’Neal, Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters, University of Oklahoma Press, 1991.
Wikipedia