George “Bitter Creek” Newcomb – Oklahoma Outlaw

George "Bitter Creek" Newcomb Dead

George “Bitter Creek” Newcomb Dead

George Newcomb, known as “Bitter Creek” Newcomb and the Slaughter Kid, was born about 1866. Coming from Fort Scott, Kansas, he started his career as a cowboy at the age of 12, working for  C. C. Slaughter on the Long S Ranch in Texas.

Later he made his way to Oklahoma, where he became an outlaw. Newcomb was a member of both the Dalton and the Doolin Gangs, both of which robbed several banks and trains. By May 1895, he had a $5,000 reward on his head. After the Doolin Gang split up, fellow outlaw Charley Pierce and Newcomb rode to the Dunn Ranch on the Cimmarron River to visit Newcomb’s lover, the famous “Rose of Cimarron.” They also planned to collect $900 owed to Newcomb by Rose’s brothers. However, as they approached the house, the pair of outlaws were ambushed and shot out of their saddles by Rose’s brothers, who wanted to collect the large bounty on their heads.

Both bodies were then taken to Guthrie, but Newcomb was still alive. When he sat up and begged for water, he received another bullet for his efforts. His father, James Newcomb, claimed the body and buried George on the family farm near Nine Mile Flats, southwest of Norman, Oklahoma, on the north bank of the Canadian River.

 

© Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated November 2022.

Also See:

Doolin-Dalton Gang, aka Oklahombres, the Wild Bunch

Old West Legends

Outlaws on the Frontier

Train Robberies of America