Strap yourselves in folks, we're about to embark on a thrilling journey through the wild and gritty tales of the legendary Wild West! Ever heard of the infamous Bat Masterson? Well, this episode is all about his equally intriguing brother, James Masterson. We shine a spotlight on his tumultuous life, culminating in his pivotal role in the Battle of the Plaza and the exhilarating Battle of Ingalls. This episode is not just a history lesson, it's a thrilling ride that will transport you back in time, making you feel like you're right in the heart of the action!
Are you ready to face the Doolin-Dalton Gang with us? Fasten your seatbelts as we delve into the notorious lives of outlaws like Bill Doolin, Bitter Creek Newton, Arkansas Tom Jones, Dan Clifton, Tulsa Jack, and George Redbuck Whiteman. Feel the tension rise as we relive the dramatic escape of George Bitter Creek Newcombe from a hostile Comanche band and his subsequent face-off with deputy Dick Speed in Ingalls. The adrenaline doesn't stop there! We intricately weave the narrative of the intense gun battle that ensued, with James Masterson and the townsfolk caught in the crossfire.
Finally, we dissect the heart-stopping gunfight in the tiny town of Ingalls, Oklahoma. Picture the scene - Arkansas Tom, trapped, his comrades escaping amidst a hailstorm of bullets. Experience the desperation of Doolan's frantic search for wire cutters for their escape. Feel the dread as Arkansas Tom watches the dust settle after his friends' escape, left alone in the deafening silence following the chaos. This episode is a wild rollercoaster of gripping narratives, fraught with danger, suspense, and the raw, unfiltered reality of the Wild West. So, hold onto your hats; this will be an unforgettable ride!
"Edward Masterson and the Texas Cowboys," penned by Michael King, takes readers on an exhilarating ride through the American West, focusing on the lively and gritty cattle town of Dodge City, Kansas. This thrilling dime novel plunges into the action-packed year of Ed Masterson's life as a lawman, set against the backdrop of the chaotic cattle trade, filled with fierce conflicts, shifting loyalties, and rampant lawlessness. You can order the book on Amazon.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:11):
Our story goes back to April 6th 1881, after James
Masterson lost his job as citymarshal during a Dodge City
government change.
The government in Dodge Cityfelt like the long-standing
hard-lined stance of themarshal's office was past its
prime and no longer useful.
Masterson, then the owner ofthe Lady Gays Saloon, had a
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fallout with his businesspartner, aj Peacock.
The fallout occurred over thehiring of Peacock's
brother-in-law, al Uptograph, asa bartender.
During this time someone wiredBat Masterson in Tombstone that
his brother's life was in danger.
Bat Masterson arrived in Dodgeon April 16th 1881, and saw
Peacock and Uptograph near thetrain station.
(00:52):
Gunfire broke out, with otherstaking part in the Battle of the
Plaza.
Uptograph was the only casualty, taking a bullet through the
lungs.
Bat was fined for discharging agun within the city limits and
the brothers left Dodge.
James Masterson moved toTrinidad, colorado, where he
joined the police force.
While in Trinidad, jamesMasterson arrested John Allen
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for the shooting death of FrankLoving in what became known as
the Trinidad Gunfight.
In 1889, james Masterson tookan active part in the Gray
County War in Kansas.
He was one of a group of lawmenwho made a raid on the
courthouse at Cimarron whichresulted in a famous gunfight
known as the Battle of Cimarron.
Masterson later moved toGuthrie, oklahoma, and then
(01:36):
later became a deputy sheriff ofLogan County, oklahoma.
On September 1st 1893, as aspecial deputy, us Marshal James
was involved in the Battle ofIngalls.
The 30-minute gunfight occurredin Ingalls, oklahoma, against
the Doolin-Dalton Gang and wasresponsible for the capture of
gang member Arkansas Tom Jones.
Wild West Podcast is proud topresent the Battle of Ingalls.
(02:07):
On a hot summer day in lateAugust of 1893, bill Doolin's
dusty, spur-bound boots clinkedacross the front porch of a
small wooden-framed ransomsaloon.
Bill watched the sunset of thehorizon spreading its largeness
into a grateful sky Rich hues ofred blended with oranges,
purples, crimson.
Bob's spirit soared at thesight that he was transported
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into a timeless existence, readyfor a long awaited drink.
After a hard, desperate ride,bill swung the saloon door wide.
The sun rays pierced the darkroom, overcasting the shadows of
the other two cowboys whofollowed him.
Litter Creek Newton entered thesaloon while placing one hand
on the handle of his holsteredcult revolver.
Arkansas Tom Jones followedcarrying a winch-chested rifle
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held firmly across his chest.
From the sun-lit door behindArkansas Tom, four cowboys could
be seen in the street.
The cowboys outside were giveninstructions to keep a lookout
for any approaching lawman whomay have wandered into town.
The dismounted dynamite dickheld the reins of three horses.
Dan Clifton, known as DynamiteDick, was a noted safecracker
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and cattle wrestler wanted inthe Oklahoma Indian Territory
for robbery.
The second cowboy in the streakwas Tulsa Jack, who held the
reins of Bill Doolan's prizeiron grey mare.
William Tulsa Jack Blake hadjust recently took part in the
April 3, 1895 Rock Island trainrobbery.
Tulsa Jack, during the trainrobbery, was put in charge of
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patrolling the passenger cars.
He pillaged the passengers oftheir wallets, watches and
jewelry.
Bill Dalton sat in the saddlewhose back could be seen through
the saloon's front door.
William Marion Dalton was theco-leader of the Wild Bunch gang
and he was the brother of thefounders of the Dalton gang.
After three of his brotherswere killed in an unsuccessful
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1892 raid on Coffeeville, kansas, dalton moved to Oklahoma
Territory.
There he met up with BillDoolan and the two formed their
own gang.
They called their gang by twonames the Doolan Dalton gang for
their joint leadership and theOklahoma Brays For three years.
They led their gang incommitting robberies of banks,
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stagecoaches and trains invarious places around Indian and
Oklahoma Territories Texas,arkansas and Kansas.
The dismounted George RedbuckWhiteman cast a shadow from his
building's corner with his rifletip sparkling in the late
evening sun.
Redbuck, originally from Texas,earned his nickname for his
flaming red hair.
(04:37):
By the time he wound up inOklahoma he had become a horse
thief and killer.
Before joining the gang he hadalready killed four men and was
willing to kill more for theprice of just $50.
Redbuck enjoyed killing andoften bragged about his deeds
Inside the dim, kerosenelantern-lit saloon.
Bill walked toward the back,passing the tobacco case by the
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entry and approached the brassfootrailed bar.
Bill glanced at the shelf spacefull of liquor stock and
glasses.
He glanced into a large, longwall-mounted mirror seeing his
two friends' images on bothsides of the entry door and
three men playing cards in adark corner of the half-empty
saloon.
Next to the mirror hung apartially nude picture of a
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Buxom woman in a lazing position.
The image embraced a woman withlong dark hair flowing about
her head and shoulders.
Doolan laid a dime in a nickelon the bar and called for his
first drink.
Ransom, the saloon owner,entered from the back ice house.
A muscle twitched involuntarilyat the corner of Ransom's right
eye.
His mouth formed a rigidgrimace.
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He folded his arms tightlyacross his chest and tapped his
foot, while staring through agrimy window out into the street
Behind the bar.
Ransom reached into the topshelf, pulled down a bottle of
Redtop Rye whiskey the best inthe house and set it on the bar
in front of Bill Doolan.
Ransom then towel dusted theupside down shot glass, pulled
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the cork from the amber-coloredbottle and poured it to the brim
.
Within a second and withoutsaying a word, the small-framed,
dark-haired, full-bearded BillDoolan consumed his first shot
while placing five gold eaglecoins on the bar.
Bill turned his back to Ransomand spoke to the card-playing
cowboys who sat quietly at thetable.
He asked them if they wereinterested in joining him for a
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drink.
One man, lehman Myers, sittingin a round card table, who was
afraid to move, had a full mouthof tobacco that he almost
swallowed, spitting into thenearby cuspidore.
The choking Myers agreed tohold a drink at the bar.
Murray, the regular bartenderwho's at next to Myers, placed
his hand cards on the table,slowly pulled back his chair and
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moved behind the bar withcaution.
Standing at the entry, the twocowboys motioned out into the
street for the others to come inwhile Murray set up the glasses
.
Arkansas Tom placed his rifle onthe bar, reached over and
pulled the bartender's head andsawed off shotgun from
underneath the counter.
He busted open the shotgun'sbreach, removed the shells from
the chamber and stated you won'tbe needing this tonight.
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Bitter Creek, laughing, said hewanted a beer.
Duhlin, looking across the bar,saw three of his other friends
enter the saloon and askedwhat's it gonna be boys?
The drinks are on me.
Redbook was on the outside ofthe saloon watching over the
horses and for any lawman intown there was a lot of drinking
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that night Bill buying drinksand making friends.
While the boys becameboisterous, bitter Creek threw
beer on the guest and tooksports at shooting the whiskey
glasses off the top of the bar.
Late into the night, more townspeople joined the small crowded
saloon while the beer andwhiskey puddled on the floor,
bar and tables.
Losing his footing, bitterCreek fell into the bar,
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cracking his head against therailing and plunged into the
wall.
The fall backward caused thewarren cokey was wearing to
catch the hammer of hisholstered sidearm, the Colt 45
discharged, silencing the saloonand smoke.
It took a second for themisguided gunshot to sink in,
even though it was right beforeBitter Creek's eyes, larger than
life.
In response, bitter Creek thendrew his colt from the leather
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holster and shot back at amysterious source.
Looking down at the barrel ofhis smoking gun, bitter Creek
laughed, fell through theswinging doors and into the
street.
Bitter Creek, again on his back, began shooting holes into the
ransom saloon sign Outside.
The guarding, red Buck, drewand fired a shot at the fallen
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Bitter Creek, just missing hishead.
Haring the gunshot from thestreet Dulan, with two pistols
drawn, appeared on the frontporch and pointed them in the
direction of Red Buck.
Red Buck scratched his head indisbelief.
He pulled Bitter Creek to theporch and rested him on a bench
where he spent the remainder ofthe night.
(08:54):
The morning sun climbed to thesound of quails.
The chirp of crickets broughtinto the air a new day tingles.
The rising eastern sun of lateAugust opened the sleepy eyes of
Bitter Creek as the hard planksof the wooden bench gave his
back discomfort, his headhollowed with drink.
Bitter Creek braved his rollingstomach and set up slowly.
He snuggled his back to thebench as he saw an approaching
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shadow of a large man.
He looked into the man'sapproaching shadow, looking with
squinting eyes from the sun'sglare, a tall and muscular black
man carrying two sidearms.
The man held out a crumpledpiece of paper and printed on
the flyer was the face of BillDalton.
The text read Wanted $5,000,dead or Alive.
The black cowboy named CharliePettit, a deputy hired by
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Marshal Ed Nix, was eager tocollect the reward and boast it
of how he would capture BillDoolan.
Bitter Creek shook his head inamazement.
Charlie walked into the saloonand poured a cup of coffee.
It did not take long for theword to get out that the wild
bunch was holed up in the townof Ingalls.
When US Marshals got word ofthe gang's location, marshall
(10:01):
Everett Dumas, ed Nix formed aposse.
Based on the information in thereport, marshall Hixon and
other officers devised a plan toget the drop on the Dueling
Gang.
It was decided to locate twobig wagons covered in white
canvas, load them with men, gunsand ammunition and drive them
into town without drawing anyattention.
If anyone asked, they were tosay they were hunters.
(10:24):
Marshall Heck Thomas pronouncedit a fool's errand and refused
to have anything to do with it.
Regardless of any dissension,the plan was put into action.
The night of August 31st Beforemidnight, a wagon left from
Stillwater, driven by MarshallDick Speed, under the command of
Marshall Houston and withdeputies Hamilton, ham Houston,
his brother, Henry Keller,george Cox, ma Iason and HA Hi
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Thompson.
A little earlier, a wagon leftfrom Guthrie driven by Marshall
Hixon and with deputies DocRoberts, ike Steele, steve Burke
, laph Shadley and JamesMasterson.
It was midnight when bothwagons from Guthrie and
Stillwater met up.
Red Lucas was outlining hisplan of attack with an oak
branch drawing in the dirt.
He drew out the town'sboundaries when he spotted a boy
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.
He quietly whispered downwardin a low tone.
As he continued to sketch hewhispered to the others I think
someone is rustling about in theplum thickets.
It was the boy who hid betweenthe sagebrush and thickets that
had become the thorn in the sideof the lawman, the boy whom the
lawman captured until aconcerned crowd searching for
the boy wandered into the nightlighting a way of lanterns to
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find the lost boy.
Early the next morning the boyslipped away and ran into
Ingalls, telling the outlaws theMarshalls are coming.
The boy's warning gave theoutlaws time to saddle their
horses at the livery stable, butrather than making a run for it
they chose to return to theirpoker game at the saloon.
The sun was at mid-morning andcast forth the shadows of
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thirteen deputies standing andstaring into the unknown
vigilance of what breaks a man'sbravery into fear, a fear that
rushes into the hearts of aman's adrenaline, that quivers
into the thought of uncertainty,reluctance and doubt.
Each man was holding his rifle,each man forecasting what may
lay ahead in the town of Ingalls.
Ingalls was a quiet westernOklahoma town in the eastern
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part of Payne County.
The established town had alivery, stable, saloon and hotel
and by the winter of 1890, apost office was built.
The citizens of Ingalls werefor the most part respectable
and hardworking.
Some of the settlers had cometo Oklahoma to stake a claim
along the Cimarron River, juston the edge of Cowboy Flats.
Cowboy Flats was well known tothe cattle-drovers, indians,
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outlaws and several militarycamps.
This land was both fertile tothe soil and tainted to the soul
of both civility and wildness.
At any given moment, a changefrom peacefulness could erupt to
reckless violence like athunderstorm without warning as
it rolls across the plains.
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George Bitter Creek Newcombe,who had filed his claim to
Cowboy Flats, sat on the OKHotel's front porch dreaming
about Rose, the Rose of hisHeart, cimarron Rose.
He had fallen for Rose when heworked as a cow puncher for CC
Slaughter, driving his herdalong the Chisholm Trail to Fort
Scott Kansas.
That's when he was given hisfirst availies, the Slaughter
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Kid.
It was on one of thesecattle-drives that he met up
with a band of Comanches.
He was moving his herd withfour other cow punchers now
laying dead in the prairie grassbehind him.
This early morning, attack byIndians to his camp and a trip
to a nearby riverbank allowedhim to escape a flood of
oncoming arrows.
A lone horse trotting towardhim led him quickly escape, as
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he was now riding in full gallop, without his herd, to Fort
Scott Kansas.
As Bitter Creek looked back overhis shoulder, he spotted a band
of Indians leaving a wake ofred dust behind them.
He could almost feel the air oftheir lungs as they heard the
high yelps of war cries bouncingaround his eardrums with the
clarity of vengeance.
What troubled him most were thedismounted Indians who remained
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behind and the burning chuckwagon that he left.
That's when he grabbed for hishat to check the hairline of his
scalp and kicked two spurs hardinto his horse's side.
It was then that he felt thesting of pain running up from
his right lower thigh.
Reaching back, he felt a longpost.
As he followed it down to hisupper thigh that bounced between
his saddle and his hip.
He had been shot with an arrowand it was lodged deep within
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his skin and into the bone.
He rode hard for over 20 milesjust keeping ahead of the
hunters.
The Indians, who were determinedto claim a prize for their
warriors, built a trophy to avictory over another white man
who had taken their land.
The last thing he rememberedwas looking up into an evening
sky lying on his back amid thepain of tears.
He had fallen from his horse infront of Rose Dunn on the
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footsteps in front of her hotel.
The 14-year-old Rose Dunncalled for assistance.
The wounded Bitter Creek wasmoved from the dust-ridden front
street into a room adjacent tohers as she nursed him back to
health.
This was his rose, the rose ofhis heart, as he sang his
favorite song I'm a wild wolffrom Bitter Creek and it's my
night to hell.
And he howled four times,calling into the wind.
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The deputies heard the howls inthe quiet of their camp.
These taunting howls made themstare down at the barrels of the
Winchester rifles and shotguns.
The deputies raised their armsin the direction before them, a
town that called from the wildthe wild bunch of Duhlin and
Dalton calling them into battle,a battle that they were soon to
face, as deputy Dick Speed tookthe first step.
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On September 1st 1893, twowagons full of deputy sheriffs,
disguised as homesteaders,descended on Ingalls.
Federal officer Red Lucasreported that Duhlin, bill
Dalton, bitter Creek, newcomb,tulsa, jack Blake, red Buck
Waipman and Dynamite DickClifton were bellied up at the
bar at the Ransom Saloon.
The 13 lawmen entered town andscattered to cut off all avenues
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of escape.
Lawman Dick Speed was the firstto enter Ingalls and pulled his
wagon up in front of Pierce'slivery stable.
He walked inside, threatenedthe owner and his stable boy
with his Winchester.
Dick told them both to be quietor suffer the pain of death.
Up the street in Ingalls outlawBitter Creek, newcomb saw the
wagon halt near the liverystable.
Ever wary, bitter Creek decidedto investigate.
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He would also check on hishorse, left for shooing at
Wagner's Blasmice Shop.
Finding that his mount wasready, he saddled and began to
walk his horse toward thesuspicious wagon.
Now Speed, spotting thehorsemen approaching, asked a
passerby, 14-year-old DelSimmons, demands identity.
Surprised the lad blurted outwhy that's Bitter Creek.
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Newcomb heard the exclamation,whirled to see the boy pointed
at him and yanked his Winchesterfrom its scabbard.
Looking down the barrel of hisWinchester rifle, dick Speed had
his sights locked onto BitterCreek Newcomb.
Dick's speed eager, with theheadlong zest of a hunter for
the game, stepped from behindthe wagon's rear wheel.
Dick's right index fingersqueezed off the first shot.
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The hammer met the cap with abrass casing, sending the.45
caliber bullet toward BitterCreek.
The bullet hit with such forcethat it threw the horse-driven
Bitter Creek onto the ground.
The sound of the shot echoedterror into the town.
As the bullet made its mark onBitter Creek's rifle, dick aimed
once more at the fallen BitterCreek and saw his boots lying
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still behind the cover of a wellSeeing no movement.
Dick made a complete circle andslowly approached the lying
cowboy with caution.
The adrenaline rushed fromDick's heart into his brain as
he froze to the second shot thatwhirled past his head.
The second bullet fired fromBitter Creek's single-shot rifle
had missed.
The third and fourth shotscoming from Bitter Creek's
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revolver were relentless andsent Dick into a spinning panic
of darkness.
Dick fell to the street like anapparition, seen and gone.
The blue smoke whirled fromBitter Creek's revolver and
drifted over the fallen Dick'sspeed as anxious pain and the
sight of blood entered his mind.
It was his blood that trickledover the fingers that clambered
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onto the damaged rifle.
The bullet splintered off therifle, sending one half through
the groin and splitting off hisspine's lower tip.
The other half of the bulletlodged into a nearby hitching
post.
Bitter Creek screamed out inpain of anger, yelling and
cursing at his fallen prey.
In front of him laid Dick'sspeed, still and motionless,
with his right breast open to ablood pool.
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Using the broken rifle as acrutch, bitter Creek pulled up
from the ground, limped to hisnearby standing horse, grabbed
the harness and looked into theeyes of his startled mount.
Still clutching the center ofhis rifle, he gripped the saddle
horn and spun the horse aroundwith one foot in the strop, half
hanging off and in full gallop.
Bitter Creek headed down MainStreet and to the edge of town.
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The sounds of gunfire broke outaround him.
Looking back over his shoulderhe saw Reverend Platt attending
the fallen deputy marshal DickSpeed, the man he had just shot,
the man without warning, whohad shot at him With his right
leg over the saddle.
He looked at the gun barrelscoming out from undercover,
finding the streets as a volleyof shots rang over him.
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Five rifle barrels appearedfrom the breaking glass windows
of the saloon.
The five outlaws poker game hadbeen interrupted and all chips
were lying on the floor.
While taking aim to givecovering shots to Bitter Creek's
escape, two deputies steppedforward into the street,
blocking Bitter Creek's escaperoute.
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In contrast, the other deputiesfired repeated rounds into the
saloon.
Two deputies in the street letoff another volley of rounds.
The escaping Bitter Creek,noticing his exit being blocked,
turned his horse hard left androde into the open door of
Ransom's livery barn.
He dismounted his horse withthe near escape of being hit.
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The second time Bitter Creektook cover inside the barn
behind the large wooden door andlooked out into the street.
Reverend Platt had pulled DickSpeed onto the porch of the
saloon.
The gun barrels over thestooping reverend's head led out
a series of bursts.
The burst from the outlaw'srifle was like a sudden blast
from an open furnace door.
The gunfire caused the joltedreverend to let go of the water
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canteen which he had held in theaid of the dying Dick Speed.
Awakened by the gunfire, thelivery barn owner jumped up from
the saloon's pool table, heinstantly ducked as appearing in
front of him.
From inside the saloon, theglimmering light to four bullet
holes smashed through the woodenboards.
George Ransom pushed away fromthe pool table and dashed for
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the front door.
With glass breaking around him,he reached for the door handle.
He instantly found himself offhis feet and onto the saloon's
porch front.
Ransom, getting a short glanceof the reverend on the outside,
grabbed hold of his red-soakedthigh and rolled back through
the half-open door.
The next shots rang out overhis head as he crawled back into
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the saloon, resting in the icehouse behind the protection of a
block of ice.
A few seconds had passed whenseveral shots were fired into
the saloon from the street.
These shots caused Murray tofall through the framework of
the ice house and into George'shiding place.
Lehman Myers, the third tenantof the saloon, fell unhurt on
top of the wounded Murray.
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Murray held his right shoulderwith his left hand and, with his
dangling right arm, appliedpressure to his wounded left
side.
Murray had been shot twice fromthe street by three deputies
who continued to rain a hail ofbullets into the saloon and ice
house.
Bitter Creek, still hidingbehind the barn door, looked
further down the street seeingtwo boys playing marbles in
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front of the hotel.
Above in the second-storywindow of the hotel was a
flashing muzzle of Arkansas Tom.
Arkansas Tom was well into thefight by repeatedly firing shots
at three deputy marshals.
The shots fired from the windowcaused the marshals to dive
behind a water trough at thesaloon's corner.
One of the boys' mothers couldbe seen running to the rescue to
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the already scampering marbleplaying boys.
A few seconds later, dallSimmons, a student from Duncan,
kansas, was seen running fromthe drugstore.
As the boy crossed the street,one of the deputies fired a shot
into his back.
The boy dropped instantly.
Seeing the boy fall into thestreet from the deputy's
misguided gun, arkansas Tomimmediately fired down at the
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deputy.
The unexpected shots from thehotel window forced the deputy
to take cover by a nearby trough.
Deputy Hickson, under cover ofthe trough, felt three more
bullets pass over his head.
The shots ricocheted off theground and startled a horse tied
to the hitching post.
Two more shots were fired fromthe saloon.
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A horse pulled the reins awayfrom the hitching post, running
directly in front of thesaloon's gunfire.
Hickson saw the horse fallingand moved out of the way for
fear of the horse falling on him.
Dr Sulf was in his office at theback of the store when he first
heard the shots fired at BitterCreek.
He also heard the other twoshots that brought down Dick's
speed.
These were the shots thatbrought him to the store's front
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porch.
Dr Sulf looked down the streetwhere James Masterson hid behind
a blackjack tree.
James mentioned to the doctorto get out of the way.
Get down, get down, yelledMasterson, while two chunks of
bark from a bullet splinteredtree landed the doctor's feet.
Dr Sulf ignored James' warningand continued walking in the
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direction of the saloon'sflashing rifles.
Masterson dove for the groundas one round hit the tree.
A second shot branded a loud,indelible ring, a ring that
seemed to hang in the air,reverberating echoes around his
ears.
The shots were so close to hisear that the sound of passing
bullets peeled through his brainlike a muffled bell.
Dr Sulf was well out into themiddle of the street when the
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last shot brought silence intothe air, almost in eerie silence
, a silence abrooted like agentle spirit, heavy as a dark
cloud passing over, casting ashadow as deep as death.
All was silent.
Only smoke remained in the air.
All eyes were now on Dr Sulfmotioning to his wife to cross
over into the street.
Mrs Sulf covered her baby witha blanket and ran into the
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secure arms of her husband.
The doctor had Grinn grab thewrist of his wife's arm and
pulled her and the baby from thestreet.
They both hid under theprotective window of a walkway.
This is when James Mastersonnoticed a man running out of the
saloon.
James mistakes the man for anoutlaw and fires a shot into NA
Walker.
Three other marshalssurrounding the saloon took
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James's lead and fired two morerounds at the falling innocent
man.
Seconds after NA Walker hit theground, heavy gunfire from the
hotel and saloon forced themarshals to take protective
cover.
The barrage of bullets becamethe covering fire for the
already mounted Bitter CreekNewcombe who spurred his horse
to a full gallop and out of thelivery barn came horse and rider
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.
The gunfire was at its heaviestduring Bitter Creek's escape.
Bitter Creek's ride out of townlooked like a great express
train, flashing and dashingheadlong into the open prairie.
The outlaw bullets rained downfrom the hotel and saloon.
While two deputies ran to abetter cover position, dr Self,
his wife and baby could be seenrunning down the sidewalk with
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wood ships bursting above theirheads from the outlaw's
misguided aims.
Bitter Creek had escaped fromthe livery barn and was well out
of town when Dr Self, his wifeand baby had taken cover into
their house From their exposedpositions.
The deputies opened up onceagain on the saloon and hotel.
The outlaw's sight of JamesMasterson lay directly in the
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path of the self-house.
The returning fire from theoutlaws ripped through the
house's curtains, causing bothhis wife and baby to jump to the
floor.
All three took cover under abed mattress at the dwelling's
far end.
While Mrs Self comforted herbaby, two more shots hit the
mattress from which they hadfound cover.
During the lull in the fighting,hickson's men had moved in from
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the west.
They were taking a position tothe rear of the saloon.
Masterson and his men hadabandoned the street's heavy
fire by taking better coverbehind haystacks and some trees
near Dr Pickering's home.
Some of the deputies hadadvanced behind the hotel, while
a few deputies made their coverbehind the houses of Dr Self,
dr Call and the livery stable.
Simultaneously, the deputieswere repositioning themselves.
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Dr Self, his wife and baby ranfor cover to a nearby cave,
overflowing with frightenedtownspeople.
The cave was maintained for theprotection of tornadoes that
were frequently known to theOklahoma Territory.
Women, men and children weretaking refuge from the gunfire.
The gunfire that drove thepopulation of Ingalls away from
their homes into a dark cavewhere they prayed for their
(26:48):
lives and the safety of theirloved ones.
The cave sheltered those whowere mixed with emotion.
These were the emotions thatflashed across each face, like
the sweep of sun-scattered plowsover a landscape plain of
hopelessness.
Some blamed others whoentertained the outlaws.
Some said nothing.
Those who spoke loudly cursedthe terror that brooded outside
the cave and in their town.
Their faces fell pale withmisery as they stared out from
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the deep, dark well of fear andsorrow.
As more shots from the townechoed within the next, two
shots fired from the hotelwindow struck a wooden plank
above Tom Houston's head.
Houston became concerned on howhis hat stuck up from behind
the water trough where he washiding.
Houston quickly removed his hatas he hid where the two
deputies, hickston and Houston,were silenced.
(27:32):
Another shot from Arkansas' TomRifle struck close to Houston's
hand, causing him to run forbetter cover on the side of
Perry's store.
Feeling secure with Houston'snew position, hickston yelled
out from behind the trough.
He shouted to Bill Doolan tocome out and surrender or risk
being killed.
Doolan answered with his Colt45 revolver and two more shots
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were heard coming from the hotelwindow.
Houston could now be seen fullyexposed down in the street.
The bullets from Arkansas'Tom's rifle downed Houston and
brought out Doolan from the sideof the saloon.
The second barrage of shotscame from the deputies' rifles.
The hail of bullets was soheavy that Bill Doolan fell back
into the alley.
The other outlaws in the saloonin earnest made their run for
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the side door.
While dodging bullets,fragments and wood chips that
flew in all directions, billDoolan ran to the livery barn
along with the wooden plankporches of Front Street.
The other three outlaws gavecover outside the saloon.
Bill Doolan with his Coltpistol fired in the direction of
the deputies.
Red Buck and Bill Daltonfollowed in Doolan's order,
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firing more shots in thedeputies' direction.
Arkansas' Tom kept the deputiesundercover from the hotel window
.
Red Buck and Bill Dalton dodgedin and out of the storefront
entries Simultaneously.
Bill Doolan, undercover of thelivery stable, shot at
everything that moved.
Red Buck started saddling thehorses in the livery barn.
When Tulsa Jack and DynamiteDick made their way to the
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stable where Doolan providedcover fire.
Arkansas' Tom continued hisrounds from the hotel window,
keeping the deputies pinned down, and undercover the outlaws
under the shelter of the liverybarn, saddled and bridled their
horses still under fire.
From Arkansas' Tom's hotelwindow the deputies moved in and
around the livery stable.
Laef Shadley made a run to getwithin the exact aiming distance
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of the front of the livery barn.
Marshall Hixon moved around theside of the barn to cover the
back exit.
Doolan and Dynamite Dick tradedplaces with Red Buck, bill
Dalton and Tulsa Jack who keptthe deputies at bay.
Doolan and Dynamite Dick riggedand mounted their horses and
dashed out to the livery's reardoor.
Hixon, guarding the back exit,took his first shot at the
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exiting Doolan.
The shot missed and hitDoolan's horse in the jaw.
The horse spun instantly out ofcontrol.
Doolan, fighting for command ofthe unmanageable horse, rode
hard for another 75 feet.
Shadley, who had been coveringthe livery's front, ran in
Doolan's direction and hisunwieldy horse, hoping to get a
shot at Doolan.
(30:03):
Shadley had become exposed toTulsa Jack's rifle, incurring a
bullet through his side.
The wounded Shadley ran fromthe corner of the house in an
attempt to reach the shelter ofthe cave.
Doolan spotted the staggeringShadley and without warning,
fired two times from hiswinchester.
Both shots hit the unawareShadley in the chest.
Shadley, by luck, got off oneround before dropping backward
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and hard to the ground.
The bullet hit Doolan's horsein the leg and buckled the
animal beneath him.
The other escaping outlaws rodesouthwest past Doolan, down a
draw and into the barbed wirefence.
The gang's only escape fromtown was blocked.
Doolan, seeing the escape routeblocked by the fence, crawled
back to his downed horse.
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Reaching inside of hissaddleback, he grabbed some wire
cutters.
Seeing Doolan crawling towardsthem, the outlaws, stranded at
the fence and under gunfire,yelled for Doolan to hurry.
Doolan made his way now on foot, cutting the wire and making
way for all to escape, exceptfor Arkansas Tom who was still
firing shots from his hotelwindow.
(31:08):
The town of Engels grew silent.
Arkansas Tom now looked fromhis window into the street, a
street covered in blood.
Through the shell-ridden windowpane he saw Dick's speed lying
frozen on the saloon's frontporch and a walker was in the
street, wounded in the leg andcalling for help.
The horse that broke loose fromthe hitching post still kicking
, and Tom Houston faced down bythe livery barn.
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Dall Simmons, a 14-year-old boy, lay motionless behind the
saloon.
The wounded Chadley was out ofsight and accrued to the safety
of the cave.
The outlaws last sight was nowonly a trail of dust.
Arkansas Tom was a trappedvictim, a victim of the
revengeful deputies that nowcalled him down from his
second-story window.
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The gun battle was close to anend.
Thirty minutes had passed sincethe first shots brought
Arkansas Tom from his sleep, asleep that he will remember.
In a nightmare, the outlaws,his friends, had now slipped
away like a vision.
They had vanished like theshapes that float upon a
summer's dream.
His life had now fallen awaylike a speck in space.
The man solely responsible forhis friend's getaway was alone.
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The thoughts of being abandonedstreamed over him like a forest
in flame.
Tom looked on the floor of hissecond-story hotel room and saw
the piles of spent casings.
He had four shots remaining inhis half-loaded rifle, and he
heard footsteps coming up thestairs.
Our story goes back to April 6th 1881, after James
Masterson lost his job as citymarshal during a Dodge City
government change.
The government in Dodge Cityfelt like the long-standing
hard-lined stance of themarshal's office was past its
prime and no longer useful.
Masterson, then the owner ofthe Lady Gays Saloon, had a
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fallout with his businesspartner, aj Peacock.
The fallout occurred over thehiring of Peacock's
brother-in-law, al Uptograph, asa bartender.
During this time someone wiredBat Masterson in Tombstone that
his brother's life was in danger.
Bat Masterson arrived in Dodgeon April 16th 1881, and saw
Peacock and Uptograph near thetrain station.
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Gunfire broke out, with otherstaking part in the Battle of the
Plaza.
Uptograph was the only casualty, taking a bullet through the
lungs.
Bat was fined for discharging agun within the city limits and
the brothers left Dodge.
James Masterson moved toTrinidad, colorado, where he
joined the police force.
While in Trinidad, jamesMasterson arrested John Allen
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for the shooting death of FrankLoving in what became known as
the Trinidad Gunfight.
In 1889, james Masterson tookan active part in the Gray
County War in Kansas.
He was one of a group of lawmenwho made a raid on the
courthouse at Cimarron whichresulted in a famous gunfight
known as the Battle of Cimarron.
Masterson later moved toGuthrie, oklahoma, and then
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later became a deputy sheriff ofLogan County, oklahoma.
On September 1st 1893, as aspecial deputy, us Marshal James
was involved in the Battle ofIngalls.
The 30-minute gunfight occurredin Ingalls, oklahoma, against
the Doolin-Dalton Gang and wasresponsible for the capture of
gang member Arkansas Tom Jones.
Wild West Podcast is proud topresent the Battle of Ingalls.
(02:07):
On a hot summer day in lateAugust of 1893, bill Doolin's
dusty, spur-bound boots clinkedacross the front porch of a
small wooden-framed ransomsaloon.
Bill watched the sunset of thehorizon spreading its largeness
into a grateful sky Rich hues ofred blended with oranges,
purples, crimson.
Bob's spirit soared at thesight that he was transported
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into a timeless existence, readyfor a long awaited drink.
After a hard, desperate ride,bill swung the saloon door wide.
The sun rays pierced the darkroom, overcasting the shadows of
the other two cowboys whofollowed him.
Litter Creek Newton entered thesaloon while placing one hand
on the handle of his holsteredcult revolver.
Arkansas Tom Jones followedcarrying a winch-chested rifle
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held firmly across his chest.
From the sun-lit door behindArkansas Tom, four cowboys could
be seen in the street.
The cowboys outside were giveninstructions to keep a lookout
for any approaching lawman whomay have wandered into town.
The dismounted dynamite dickheld the reins of three horses.
Dan Clifton, known as DynamiteDick, was a noted safecracker
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and cattle wrestler wanted inthe Oklahoma Indian Territory
for robbery.
The second cowboy in the streakwas Tulsa Jack, who held the
reins of Bill Doolan's prizeiron grey mare.
William Tulsa Jack Blake hadjust recently took part in the
April 3, 1895 Rock Island trainrobbery.
Tulsa Jack, during the trainrobbery, was put in charge of
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patrolling the passenger cars.
He pillaged the passengers oftheir wallets, watches and
jewelry.
Bill Dalton sat in the saddlewhose back could be seen through
the saloon's front door.
William Marion Dalton was theco-leader of the Wild Bunch gang
and he was the brother of thefounders of the Dalton gang.
After three of his brotherswere killed in an unsuccessful
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1892 raid on Coffeeville, kansas, dalton moved to Oklahoma
Territory.
There he met up with BillDoolan and the two formed their
own gang.
They called their gang by twonames the Doolan Dalton gang for
their joint leadership and theOklahoma Brays For three years.
They led their gang incommitting robberies of banks,
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stagecoaches and trains invarious places around Indian and
Oklahoma Territories Texas,arkansas and Kansas.
The dismounted George RedbuckWhiteman cast a shadow from his
building's corner with his rifletip sparkling in the late
evening sun.
Redbuck, originally from Texas,earned his nickname for his
flaming red hair.
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By the time he wound up inOklahoma he had become a horse
thief and killer.
Before joining the gang he hadalready killed four men and was
willing to kill more for theprice of just $50.
Redbuck enjoyed killing andoften bragged about his deeds
Inside the dim, kerosenelantern-lit saloon.
Bill walked toward the back,passing the tobacco case by the
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entry and approached the brassfootrailed bar.
Bill glanced at the shelf spacefull of liquor stock and
glasses.
He glanced into a large, longwall-mounted mirror seeing his
two friends' images on bothsides of the entry door and
three men playing cards in adark corner of the half-empty
saloon.
Next to the mirror hung apartially nude picture of a
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Buxom woman in a lazing position.
The image embraced a woman withlong dark hair flowing about
her head and shoulders.
Doolan laid a dime in a nickelon the bar and called for his
first drink.
Ransom, the saloon owner,entered from the back ice house.
A muscle twitched involuntarilyat the corner of Ransom's right
eye.
His mouth formed a rigidgrimace.
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He folded his arms tightlyacross his chest and tapped his
foot, while staring through agrimy window out into the street
Behind the bar.
Ransom reached into the topshelf, pulled down a bottle of
Redtop Rye whiskey the best inthe house and set it on the bar
in front of Bill Doolan.
Ransom then towel dusted theupside down shot glass, pulled
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the cork from the amber-coloredbottle and poured it to the brim
.
Within a second and withoutsaying a word, the small-framed,
dark-haired, full-bearded BillDoolan consumed his first shot
while placing five gold eaglecoins on the bar.
Bill turned his back to Ransomand spoke to the card-playing
cowboys who sat quietly at thetable.
He asked them if they wereinterested in joining him for a
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drink.
One man, lehman Myers, sittingin a round card table, who was
afraid to move, had a full mouthof tobacco that he almost
swallowed, spitting into thenearby cuspidore.
The choking Myers agreed tohold a drink at the bar.
Murray, the regular bartenderwho's at next to Myers, placed
his hand cards on the table,slowly pulled back his chair and
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moved behind the bar withcaution.
Standing at the entry, the twocowboys motioned out into the
street for the others to come inwhile Murray set up the glasses
.
Arkansas Tom placed his rifle onthe bar, reached over and
pulled the bartender's head andsawed off shotgun from
underneath the counter.
He busted open the shotgun'sbreach, removed the shells from
the chamber and stated you won'tbe needing this tonight.
(07:06):
Bitter Creek, laughing, said hewanted a beer.
Duhlin, looking across the bar,saw three of his other friends
enter the saloon and askedwhat's it gonna be boys?
The drinks are on me.
Redbook was on the outside ofthe saloon watching over the
horses and for any lawman intown there was a lot of drinking
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that night Bill buying drinksand making friends.
While the boys becameboisterous, bitter Creek threw
beer on the guest and tooksports at shooting the whiskey
glasses off the top of the bar.
Late into the night, more townspeople joined the small crowded
saloon while the beer andwhiskey puddled on the floor,
bar and tables.
Losing his footing, bitterCreek fell into the bar,
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cracking his head against therailing and plunged into the
wall.
The fall backward caused thewarren cokey was wearing to
catch the hammer of hisholstered sidearm, the Colt 45
discharged, silencing the saloonand smoke.
It took a second for themisguided gunshot to sink in,
even though it was right beforeBitter Creek's eyes, larger than
life.
In response, bitter Creek thendrew his colt from the leather
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holster and shot back at amysterious source.
Looking down at the barrel ofhis smoking gun, bitter Creek
laughed, fell through theswinging doors and into the
street.
Bitter Creek, again on his back, began shooting holes into the
ransom saloon sign Outside.
The guarding, red Buck, drewand fired a shot at the fallen
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Bitter Creek, just missing hishead.
Haring the gunshot from thestreet Dulan, with two pistols
drawn, appeared on the frontporch and pointed them in the
direction of Red Buck.
Red Buck scratched his head indisbelief.
He pulled Bitter Creek to theporch and rested him on a bench
where he spent the remainder ofthe night.
(08:54):
The morning sun climbed to thesound of quails.
The chirp of crickets broughtinto the air a new day tingles.
The rising eastern sun of lateAugust opened the sleepy eyes of
Bitter Creek as the hard planksof the wooden bench gave his
back discomfort, his headhollowed with drink.
Bitter Creek braved his rollingstomach and set up slowly.
He snuggled his back to thebench as he saw an approaching
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shadow of a large man.
He looked into the man'sapproaching shadow, looking with
squinting eyes from the sun'sglare, a tall and muscular black
man carrying two sidearms.
The man held out a crumpledpiece of paper and printed on
the flyer was the face of BillDalton.
The text read Wanted $5,000,dead or Alive.
The black cowboy named CharliePettit, a deputy hired by
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Marshal Ed Nix, was eager tocollect the reward and boast it
of how he would capture BillDoolan.
Bitter Creek shook his head inamazement.
Charlie walked into the saloonand poured a cup of coffee.
It did not take long for theword to get out that the wild
bunch was holed up in the townof Ingalls.
When US Marshals got word ofthe gang's location, marshall
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Everett Dumas, ed Nix formed aposse.
Based on the information in thereport, marshall Hixon and
other officers devised a plan toget the drop on the Dueling
Gang.
It was decided to locate twobig wagons covered in white
canvas, load them with men, gunsand ammunition and drive them
into town without drawing anyattention.
If anyone asked, they were tosay they were hunters.
(10:24):
Marshall Heck Thomas pronouncedit a fool's errand and refused
to have anything to do with it.
Regardless of any dissension,the plan was put into action.
The night of August 31st Beforemidnight, a wagon left from
Stillwater, driven by MarshallDick Speed, under the command of
Marshall Houston and withdeputies Hamilton, ham Houston,
his brother, Henry Keller,george Cox, ma Iason and HA Hi
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Thompson.
A little earlier, a wagon leftfrom Guthrie driven by Marshall
Hixon and with deputies DocRoberts, ike Steele, steve Burke
, laph Shadley and JamesMasterson.
It was midnight when bothwagons from Guthrie and
Stillwater met up.
Red Lucas was outlining hisplan of attack with an oak
branch drawing in the dirt.
He drew out the town'sboundaries when he spotted a boy
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.
He quietly whispered downwardin a low tone.
As he continued to sketch hewhispered to the others I think
someone is rustling about in theplum thickets.
It was the boy who hid betweenthe sagebrush and thickets that
had become the thorn in the sideof the lawman, the boy whom the
lawman captured until aconcerned crowd searching for
the boy wandered into the nightlighting a way of lanterns to
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find the lost boy.
Early the next morning the boyslipped away and ran into
Ingalls, telling the outlaws theMarshalls are coming.
The boy's warning gave theoutlaws time to saddle their
horses at the livery stable, butrather than making a run for it
they chose to return to theirpoker game at the saloon.
The sun was at mid-morning andcast forth the shadows of
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thirteen deputies standing andstaring into the unknown
vigilance of what breaks a man'sbravery into fear, a fear that
rushes into the hearts of aman's adrenaline, that quivers
into the thought of uncertainty,reluctance and doubt.
Each man was holding his rifle,each man forecasting what may
lay ahead in the town of Ingalls.
Ingalls was a quiet westernOklahoma town in the eastern
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part of Payne County.
The established town had alivery, stable, saloon and hotel
and by the winter of 1890, apost office was built.
The citizens of Ingalls werefor the most part respectable
and hardworking.
Some of the settlers had cometo Oklahoma to stake a claim
along the Cimarron River, juston the edge of Cowboy Flats.
Cowboy Flats was well known tothe cattle-drovers, indians,
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outlaws and several militarycamps.
This land was both fertile tothe soil and tainted to the soul
of both civility and wildness.
At any given moment, a changefrom peacefulness could erupt to
reckless violence like athunderstorm without warning as
it rolls across the plains.
(13:03):
George Bitter Creek Newcombe,who had filed his claim to
Cowboy Flats, sat on the OKHotel's front porch dreaming
about Rose, the Rose of hisHeart, cimarron Rose.
He had fallen for Rose when heworked as a cow puncher for CC
Slaughter, driving his herdalong the Chisholm Trail to Fort
Scott Kansas.
That's when he was given hisfirst availies, the Slaughter
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Kid.
It was on one of thesecattle-drives that he met up
with a band of Comanches.
He was moving his herd withfour other cow punchers now
laying dead in the prairie grassbehind him.
This early morning, attack byIndians to his camp and a trip
to a nearby riverbank allowedhim to escape a flood of
oncoming arrows.
A lone horse trotting towardhim led him quickly escape, as
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he was now riding in full gallop, without his herd, to Fort
Scott Kansas.
As Bitter Creek looked back overhis shoulder, he spotted a band
of Indians leaving a wake ofred dust behind them.
He could almost feel the air oftheir lungs as they heard the
high yelps of war cries bouncingaround his eardrums with the
clarity of vengeance.
What troubled him most were thedismounted Indians who remained
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behind and the burning chuckwagon that he left.
That's when he grabbed for hishat to check the hairline of his
scalp and kicked two spurs hardinto his horse's side.
It was then that he felt thesting of pain running up from
his right lower thigh.
Reaching back, he felt a longpost.
As he followed it down to hisupper thigh that bounced between
his saddle and his hip.
He had been shot with an arrowand it was lodged deep within
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his skin and into the bone.
He rode hard for over 20 milesjust keeping ahead of the
hunters.
The Indians, who were determinedto claim a prize for their
warriors, built a trophy to avictory over another white man
who had taken their land.
The last thing he rememberedwas looking up into an evening
sky lying on his back amid thepain of tears.
He had fallen from his horse infront of Rose Dunn on the
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footsteps in front of her hotel.
The 14-year-old Rose Dunncalled for assistance.
The wounded Bitter Creek wasmoved from the dust-ridden front
street into a room adjacent tohers as she nursed him back to
health.
This was his rose, the rose ofhis heart, as he sang his
favorite song I'm a wild wolffrom Bitter Creek and it's my
night to hell.
And he howled four times,calling into the wind.
(15:13):
The deputies heard the howls inthe quiet of their camp.
These taunting howls made themstare down at the barrels of the
Winchester rifles and shotguns.
The deputies raised their armsin the direction before them, a
town that called from the wildthe wild bunch of Duhlin and
Dalton calling them into battle,a battle that they were soon to
face, as deputy Dick Speed tookthe first step.
(15:41):
On September 1st 1893, twowagons full of deputy sheriffs,
disguised as homesteaders,descended on Ingalls.
Federal officer Red Lucasreported that Duhlin, bill
Dalton, bitter Creek, newcomb,tulsa, jack Blake, red Buck
Waipman and Dynamite DickClifton were bellied up at the
bar at the Ransom Saloon.
The 13 lawmen entered town andscattered to cut off all avenues
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of escape.
Lawman Dick Speed was the firstto enter Ingalls and pulled his
wagon up in front of Pierce'slivery stable.
He walked inside, threatenedthe owner and his stable boy
with his Winchester.
Dick told them both to be quietor suffer the pain of death.
Up the street in Ingalls outlawBitter Creek, newcomb saw the
wagon halt near the liverystable.
Ever wary, bitter Creek decidedto investigate.
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He would also check on hishorse, left for shooing at
Wagner's Blasmice Shop.
Finding that his mount wasready, he saddled and began to
walk his horse toward thesuspicious wagon.
Now Speed, spotting thehorsemen approaching, asked a
passerby, 14-year-old DelSimmons, demands identity.
Surprised the lad blurted outwhy that's Bitter Creek.
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Newcomb heard the exclamation,whirled to see the boy pointed
at him and yanked his Winchesterfrom its scabbard.
Looking down the barrel of hisWinchester rifle, dick Speed had
his sights locked onto BitterCreek Newcomb.
Dick's speed eager, with theheadlong zest of a hunter for
the game, stepped from behindthe wagon's rear wheel.
Dick's right index fingersqueezed off the first shot.
(17:09):
The hammer met the cap with abrass casing, sending the.45
caliber bullet toward BitterCreek.
The bullet hit with such forcethat it threw the horse-driven
Bitter Creek onto the ground.
The sound of the shot echoedterror into the town.
As the bullet made its mark onBitter Creek's rifle, dick aimed
once more at the fallen BitterCreek and saw his boots lying
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still behind the cover of a wellSeeing no movement.
Dick made a complete circle andslowly approached the lying
cowboy with caution.
The adrenaline rushed fromDick's heart into his brain as
he froze to the second shot thatwhirled past his head.
The second bullet fired fromBitter Creek's single-shot rifle
had missed.
The third and fourth shotscoming from Bitter Creek's
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revolver were relentless andsent Dick into a spinning panic
of darkness.
Dick fell to the street like anapparition, seen and gone.
The blue smoke whirled fromBitter Creek's revolver and
drifted over the fallen Dick'sspeed as anxious pain and the
sight of blood entered his mind.
It was his blood that trickledover the fingers that clambered
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onto the damaged rifle.
The bullet splintered off therifle, sending one half through
the groin and splitting off hisspine's lower tip.
The other half of the bulletlodged into a nearby hitching
post.
Bitter Creek screamed out inpain of anger, yelling and
cursing at his fallen prey.
In front of him laid Dick'sspeed, still and motionless,
with his right breast open to ablood pool.
(18:33):
Using the broken rifle as acrutch, bitter Creek pulled up
from the ground, limped to hisnearby standing horse, grabbed
the harness and looked into theeyes of his startled mount.
Still clutching the center ofhis rifle, he gripped the saddle
horn and spun the horse aroundwith one foot in the strop, half
hanging off and in full gallop.
Bitter Creek headed down MainStreet and to the edge of town.
(18:54):
The sounds of gunfire broke outaround him.
Looking back over his shoulderhe saw Reverend Platt attending
the fallen deputy marshal DickSpeed, the man he had just shot,
the man without warning, whohad shot at him With his right
leg over the saddle.
He looked at the gun barrelscoming out from undercover,
finding the streets as a volleyof shots rang over him.
(19:16):
Five rifle barrels appearedfrom the breaking glass windows
of the saloon.
The five outlaws poker game hadbeen interrupted and all chips
were lying on the floor.
While taking aim to givecovering shots to Bitter Creek's
escape, two deputies steppedforward into the street,
blocking Bitter Creek's escaperoute.
(19:37):
In contrast, the other deputiesfired repeated rounds into the
saloon.
Two deputies in the street letoff another volley of rounds.
The escaping Bitter Creek,noticing his exit being blocked,
turned his horse hard left androde into the open door of
Ransom's livery barn.
He dismounted his horse withthe near escape of being hit.
(19:58):
The second time Bitter Creektook cover inside the barn
behind the large wooden door andlooked out into the street.
Reverend Platt had pulled DickSpeed onto the porch of the
saloon.
The gun barrels over thestooping reverend's head led out
a series of bursts.
The burst from the outlaw'srifle was like a sudden blast
from an open furnace door.
The gunfire caused the joltedreverend to let go of the water
(20:21):
canteen which he had held in theaid of the dying Dick Speed.
Awakened by the gunfire, thelivery barn owner jumped up from
the saloon's pool table, heinstantly ducked as appearing in
front of him.
From inside the saloon, theglimmering light to four bullet
holes smashed through the woodenboards.
George Ransom pushed away fromthe pool table and dashed for
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the front door.
With glass breaking around him,he reached for the door handle.
He instantly found himself offhis feet and onto the saloon's
porch front.
Ransom, getting a short glanceof the reverend on the outside,
grabbed hold of his red-soakedthigh and rolled back through
the half-open door.
The next shots rang out overhis head as he crawled back into
(21:03):
the saloon, resting in the icehouse behind the protection of a
block of ice.
A few seconds had passed whenseveral shots were fired into
the saloon from the street.
These shots caused Murray tofall through the framework of
the ice house and into George'shiding place.
Lehman Myers, the third tenantof the saloon, fell unhurt on
top of the wounded Murray.
(21:23):
Murray held his right shoulderwith his left hand and, with his
dangling right arm, appliedpressure to his wounded left
side.
Murray had been shot twice fromthe street by three deputies
who continued to rain a hail ofbullets into the saloon and ice
house.
Bitter Creek, still hidingbehind the barn door, looked
further down the street seeingtwo boys playing marbles in
(21:45):
front of the hotel.
Above in the second-storywindow of the hotel was a
flashing muzzle of Arkansas Tom.
Arkansas Tom was well into thefight by repeatedly firing shots
at three deputy marshals.
The shots fired from the windowcaused the marshals to dive
behind a water trough at thesaloon's corner.
One of the boys' mothers couldbe seen running to the rescue to
(22:07):
the already scampering marbleplaying boys.
A few seconds later, dallSimmons, a student from Duncan,
kansas, was seen running fromthe drugstore.
As the boy crossed the street,one of the deputies fired a shot
into his back.
The boy dropped instantly.
Seeing the boy fall into thestreet from the deputy's
misguided gun, arkansas Tomimmediately fired down at the
(22:29):
deputy.
The unexpected shots from thehotel window forced the deputy
to take cover by a nearby trough.
Deputy Hickson, under cover ofthe trough, felt three more
bullets pass over his head.
The shots ricocheted off theground and startled a horse tied
to the hitching post.
Two more shots were fired fromthe saloon.
(22:49):
A horse pulled the reins awayfrom the hitching post, running
directly in front of thesaloon's gunfire.
Hickson saw the horse fallingand moved out of the way for
fear of the horse falling on him.
Dr Sulf was in his office at theback of the store when he first
heard the shots fired at BitterCreek.
He also heard the other twoshots that brought down Dick's
speed.
These were the shots thatbrought him to the store's front
(23:11):
porch.
Dr Sulf looked down the streetwhere James Masterson hid behind
a blackjack tree.
James mentioned to the doctorto get out of the way.
Get down, get down, yelledMasterson, while two chunks of
bark from a bullet splinteredtree landed the doctor's feet.
Dr Sulf ignored James' warningand continued walking in the
(23:32):
direction of the saloon'sflashing rifles.
Masterson dove for the groundas one round hit the tree.
A second shot branded a loud,indelible ring, a ring that
seemed to hang in the air,reverberating echoes around his
ears.
The shots were so close to hisear that the sound of passing
bullets peeled through his brainlike a muffled bell.
Dr Sulf was well out into themiddle of the street when the
(23:54):
last shot brought silence intothe air, almost in eerie silence
, a silence abrooted like agentle spirit, heavy as a dark
cloud passing over, casting ashadow as deep as death.
All was silent.
Only smoke remained in the air.
All eyes were now on Dr Sulfmotioning to his wife to cross
over into the street.
Mrs Sulf covered her baby witha blanket and ran into the
(24:17):
secure arms of her husband.
The doctor had Grinn grab thewrist of his wife's arm and
pulled her and the baby from thestreet.
They both hid under theprotective window of a walkway.
This is when James Mastersonnoticed a man running out of the
saloon.
James mistakes the man for anoutlaw and fires a shot into NA
Walker.
Three other marshalssurrounding the saloon took
(24:38):
James's lead and fired two morerounds at the falling innocent
man.
Seconds after NA Walker hit theground, heavy gunfire from the
hotel and saloon forced themarshals to take protective
cover.
The barrage of bullets becamethe covering fire for the
already mounted Bitter CreekNewcombe who spurred his horse
to a full gallop and out of thelivery barn came horse and rider
(24:58):
.
The gunfire was at its heaviestduring Bitter Creek's escape.
Bitter Creek's ride out of townlooked like a great express
train, flashing and dashingheadlong into the open prairie.
The outlaw bullets rained downfrom the hotel and saloon.
While two deputies ran to abetter cover position, dr Self,
his wife and baby could be seenrunning down the sidewalk with
(25:20):
wood ships bursting above theirheads from the outlaw's
misguided aims.
Bitter Creek had escaped fromthe livery barn and was well out
of town when Dr Self, his wifeand baby had taken cover into
their house From their exposedpositions.
The deputies opened up onceagain on the saloon and hotel.
The outlaw's sight of JamesMasterson lay directly in the
(25:40):
path of the self-house.
The returning fire from theoutlaws ripped through the
house's curtains, causing bothhis wife and baby to jump to the
floor.
All three took cover under abed mattress at the dwelling's
far end.
While Mrs Self comforted herbaby, two more shots hit the
mattress from which they hadfound cover.
During the lull in the fighting,hickson's men had moved in from
(26:02):
the west.
They were taking a position tothe rear of the saloon.
Masterson and his men hadabandoned the street's heavy
fire by taking better coverbehind haystacks and some trees
near Dr Pickering's home.
Some of the deputies hadadvanced behind the hotel, while
a few deputies made their coverbehind the houses of Dr Self,
dr Call and the livery stable.
Simultaneously, the deputieswere repositioning themselves.
(26:27):
Dr Self, his wife and baby ranfor cover to a nearby cave,
overflowing with frightenedtownspeople.
The cave was maintained for theprotection of tornadoes that
were frequently known to theOklahoma Territory.
Women, men and children weretaking refuge from the gunfire.
The gunfire that drove thepopulation of Ingalls away from
their homes into a dark cavewhere they prayed for their
(26:48):
lives and the safety of theirloved ones.
The cave sheltered those whowere mixed with emotion.
These were the emotions thatflashed across each face, like
the sweep of sun-scattered plowsover a landscape plain of
hopelessness.
Some blamed others whoentertained the outlaws.
Some said nothing.
Those who spoke loudly cursedthe terror that brooded outside
the cave and in their town.
Their faces fell pale withmisery as they stared out from
(27:11):
the deep, dark well of fear andsorrow.
As more shots from the townechoed within the next, two
shots fired from the hotelwindow struck a wooden plank
above Tom Houston's head.
Houston became concerned on howhis hat stuck up from behind
the water trough where he washiding.
Houston quickly removed his hatas he hid where the two
deputies, hickston and Houston,were silenced.
(27:32):
Another shot from Arkansas' TomRifle struck close to Houston's
hand, causing him to run forbetter cover on the side of
Perry's store.
Feeling secure with Houston'snew position, hickston yelled
out from behind the trough.
He shouted to Bill Doolan tocome out and surrender or risk
being killed.
Doolan answered with his Colt45 revolver and two more shots
(27:52):
were heard coming from the hotelwindow.
Houston could now be seen fullyexposed down in the street.
The bullets from Arkansas'Tom's rifle downed Houston and
brought out Doolan from the sideof the saloon.
The second barrage of shotscame from the deputies' rifles.
The hail of bullets was soheavy that Bill Doolan fell back
into the alley.
The other outlaws in the saloonin earnest made their run for
(28:15):
the side door.
While dodging bullets,fragments and wood chips that
flew in all directions, billDoolan ran to the livery barn
along with the wooden plankporches of Front Street.
The other three outlaws gavecover outside the saloon.
Bill Doolan with his Coltpistol fired in the direction of
the deputies.
Red Buck and Bill Daltonfollowed in Doolan's order,
(28:36):
firing more shots in thedeputies' direction.
Arkansas' Tom kept the deputiesundercover from the hotel window
.
Red Buck and Bill Dalton dodgedin and out of the storefront
entries Simultaneously.
Bill Doolan, undercover of thelivery stable, shot at
everything that moved.
Red Buck started saddling thehorses in the livery barn.
When Tulsa Jack and DynamiteDick made their way to the
(28:58):
stable where Doolan providedcover fire.
Arkansas' Tom continued hisrounds from the hotel window,
keeping the deputies pinned down, and undercover the outlaws
under the shelter of the liverybarn, saddled and bridled their
horses still under fire.
From Arkansas' Tom's hotelwindow the deputies moved in and
around the livery stable.
Laef Shadley made a run to getwithin the exact aiming distance
(29:21):
of the front of the livery barn.
Marshall Hixon moved around theside of the barn to cover the
back exit.
Doolan and Dynamite Dick tradedplaces with Red Buck, bill
Dalton and Tulsa Jack who keptthe deputies at bay.
Doolan and Dynamite Dick riggedand mounted their horses and
dashed out to the livery's reardoor.
Hixon, guarding the back exit,took his first shot at the
(29:43):
exiting Doolan.
The shot missed and hitDoolan's horse in the jaw.
The horse spun instantly out ofcontrol.
Doolan, fighting for command ofthe unmanageable horse, rode
hard for another 75 feet.
Shadley, who had been coveringthe livery's front, ran in
Doolan's direction and hisunwieldy horse, hoping to get a
shot at Doolan.
(30:03):
Shadley had become exposed toTulsa Jack's rifle, incurring a
bullet through his side.
The wounded Shadley ran fromthe corner of the house in an
attempt to reach the shelter ofthe cave.
Doolan spotted the staggeringShadley and without warning,
fired two times from hiswinchester.
Both shots hit the unawareShadley in the chest.
Shadley, by luck, got off oneround before dropping backward
(30:26):
and hard to the ground.
The bullet hit Doolan's horsein the leg and buckled the
animal beneath him.
The other escaping outlaws rodesouthwest past Doolan, down a
draw and into the barbed wirefence.
The gang's only escape fromtown was blocked.
Doolan, seeing the escape routeblocked by the fence, crawled
back to his downed horse.
(30:47):
Reaching inside of hissaddleback, he grabbed some wire
cutters.
Seeing Doolan crawling towardsthem, the outlaws, stranded at
the fence and under gunfire,yelled for Doolan to hurry.
Doolan made his way now on foot, cutting the wire and making
way for all to escape, exceptfor Arkansas Tom who was still
firing shots from his hotelwindow.
(31:08):
The town of Engels grew silent.
Arkansas Tom now looked fromhis window into the street, a
street covered in blood.
Through the shell-ridden windowpane he saw Dick's speed lying
frozen on the saloon's frontporch and a walker was in the
street, wounded in the leg andcalling for help.
The horse that broke loose fromthe hitching post still kicking
, and Tom Houston faced down bythe livery barn.
(31:29):
Dall Simmons, a 14-year-old boy, lay motionless behind the
saloon.
The wounded Chadley was out ofsight and accrued to the safety
of the cave.
The outlaws last sight was nowonly a trail of dust.
Arkansas Tom was a trappedvictim, a victim of the
revengeful deputies that nowcalled him down from his
second-story window.
(31:50):
The gun battle was close to anend.
Thirty minutes had passed sincethe first shots brought
Arkansas Tom from his sleep, asleep that he will remember.
In a nightmare, the outlaws,his friends, had now slipped
away like a vision.
They had vanished like theshapes that float upon a
summer's dream.
His life had now fallen awaylike a speck in space.
The man solely responsible forhis friend's getaway was alone.
(32:13):
The thoughts of being abandonedstreamed over him like a forest
in flame.
Tom looked on the floor of hissecond-story hotel room and saw
the piles of spent casings.
He had four shots remaining inhis half-loaded rifle, and he
heard footsteps coming up thestairs.
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