Back to Index

LAST RAID OF THE DALTON GANG

By M. K. Wyatt

September 18, 1929--Fredrick Press—The cunning hand of the Dalton gang were in many a robbery and hole-up in Oklahoma or, more properly speaking, old Indian Territory, in the early 90’s.  The very name of the outlaw gang was a terror to travelers, express messengers and trainmen.

       One of the most daring of these exploits of the band of outlaws took place on a hot day in July, 1892.  On that day a northbound Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway train was help up and robbed in a most daring manner near Adair station, in the northeastern part of Indian Territory.  One person was killed and several wounded during the hold-up.  The robbers succeeded in completely looting the express and mail cars, securing a large count of booty.  They escaped without the loss of a single man of their band.

       Bob Dalton, leader of the gang, and Grat Dalton, a younger brother, were recognized as members of the part who executed the daring J. K. & t. robbery.  United states officers pursued the outlaws but they made good their escape.

       The last raid of the Daltons occurred at Coffeyville, Kansas, on October 5, 1892.

Boasts of Raid

       Just before starting to Coffeyville on that last memorable raid, Bob Dalton made the boast that they would eclipse anything ever undertaken by an band of outlaws, as they planned to rob two banks at the same time in broad daylight in a town of more than 3,000 population.

       Coffeyville was a little frontier town in the early 90’s and its businessmen, as usual, were going about their daily tasks of routine work until about 10 a.m., when five horsemen rode into town out of the timber on Verdigris River in Indian Territory.  They were the notorious Dalton gang, consisting of Bob Dalton, leader; Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers, alias Tim Evans; Grat and Emmett Dalton, brothers of Bob.

       The five outlaws would have attracted attention had they rode down the main street of the little Kansas town, for their Mexican saddles were bright and showy, fitted out with the customary hair-cover pockets, the handy “slicker” tied in a roll behind the saddle, and the every-ready Winchester rifle in a scabbard alongside.  But instead of making a spectacular entry into Coffeyville the five men came up a side street, hitched their horses in an alley, later to be known as “death alley,” then walked the rest of the way through the alley to the plaza, a three-cornered building located on a lot by itself and which housed the bank of C. M. Condon and Company.

Plans Well Matured

       Plans for the robbery seemed to have been well matured by the bandits.  After crossing a street the five men quickened their steps and three of them entered the door of the Condon bank, while the other two ran directly across the street, entering the front door of the First National Bank.

       Safely inside the Condon bank, the three men, who were Grat Dalton, Bill Powers and Dick Broadwell, closed the door of the bank and took strategic positions around the room.  At the same time three Winchesters pointed their muzzles at an astonished and frightened bank force as Dalton shouted: “Hands up!”

       Working fast, Grat Dalton stepped behind the counter and with a sack provided for the occasion, forced Charles M. Ball, cashier, to hold the sack while he scooped money from the counter and put it in.

       A similar scene was being enacted across the street at the First National Bank with Bob Dalton, leader and Emmett Dalton, the youngest member of the gang, second in role of leader.  By this time citizens of Coffeyville had become cognizant of the fact that something unusual was taking place in the banks and a general “call to arms” was sounded.  Strange as it may seem, for a frontier town, there was not an armed person on the streets at this hour.  But there was a general rush to the hardware stores, where guns were secured, quickly loaded and put into action.

Kloehr’s Deadly Rifle

       Lying on a cot in the Red Front livery barn, nearby, sick and indisposed, was a man by the name of John Kloehr.  Kloehr was a German who mad migrated from the old country with his father, brothers and sisters and settled in Coffeyville in 1871.  He was well liked among the people of his town and made friends with everyone.  In his business as proprietor of a livery stable he knew members of the Dalton gang and had regarded them as friends.  Modest and unassuming, Kloehr appeared to be anything but a man-killer.

       On this occasion, however, when the alarm reached him that the bank was being robbed he was among the first to secure a Winchester.  Loading the gun, he took his place on the sidewalk with others who were armed and had opened fire on the Condon National Bank.  Plate glass windows began to rattle, shattered glass flew in all directions, and the battle was on.  From inside the bank Powers and Broadwell returned shots, while Bob Dalton continued the work of gathering up several thousands of dollars.  Outnumbers by the citizens and deluged with a barrage of bullets, the bandit sought to escape by the rear door, but there was none.  They had not figured on the absence of a rear exit and, getting considerably nervous over the shots coming from the outside, Grat Dalton dumped the contents of his sack on the floor, picked upon the currency and hurriedly went out the door by which he had entered, closely followed by his two companions.

       Across the street Bob and Emmett Dalton, who were equally hard pressed, had already taken hurried leave by a back door exit into an alley.  Shooting at everyone they saw, the two bandits ran along Eight Street and darted down the alley where their horses were hitched.  In the exchange of shots they killed two of the town’s leading businessmen, George Cubine and Charles Brown, and had wounded several others.

       Kloehr, seeing his friends fall under the deadly fire of the outlaws, hurriedly followed them, as they fled toward their horses.  Grat Dalton and his two companions had already been severely wounded by guns in the hands of citizens soon after they had come out of the Condon bank.  Powers was host as he ran to his horse and attempted to mount.  Broadwell succeeded in mounting his horse, but had ridden 20 feet when a ball from Kloehr’s rifle, hit him.  Bleeding and dying, he clung to his horse, passing out of town by the same route the bandits had chosen when coming into town.  His body was later found about a half mile west of Coffeyville and his horse and trappings captured near where he had fallen.

Bob Fights To Last

       Fast weakening from gunshot wounds, Bob Dalton made his way to a pile of rocks in the alley, where he sat down and fired several shots at his would-be captors.  Seeing Kloehr standing with a rifle aimed, Dalton raised his own gun to shoot, but his weakened arm wavered and the shot intended for Kloehr went wild.  A ball fro Kloehr’s rifle a moment later struck the desperate man square in the breast and Dalton fell back mortally wounded.

       For the third time Kloehr’s rifle did deadly execution, when Grat Dalton oldest member of the band, dropped dead with a bullet in his throat just as he reached his horse.  Emmett Dalton, who up to this time had escaped unhurt reached his horse and had mounted into the saddle, still clinging to the sack which held the money he had taken from the First National Bank, when he got hit by bullets from his pursuers guns that struck him in the right arm and the left hip.

       Instead of riding away as he might easily have done, the wounded man rode boldly back to where Bob Dalton was lying and attempted to lift his dying brother upon his own horse.  But just as he leaned forward to grasp his brother, another bullet hit him in the back and he tumbled off the horse on the sack of money, which he carried.

       As he lay on the ground near his dead brother, Emmett put up hi uninjured hand and pleaded for mercy.  The enraged citizens wanted to lynch him, but wiser heads overruled and the suffering man was taken to a hospital, where his wounds were dressed.  He recovered and was the only member of the Dalton gang to survive this “last raid.”

EXTERMINATING LOBO WOLVES ON THE ‘XIT’

By Ida M. Thomas

October 9, 1931—Fredrick Press—The XIT was the largest ranch in the cow country of the Old West, and was said to be the largest fenced in cow ranch in the entire world.  The State of Texas gave the 3,050,000 acres of land that later constituted the ranch to a Chicago firm in exchange for the State Capitol building at Austin.

            From 100 to 150 cowboys and over 1,000 cow ponies “rode herd” upon an approximately 150,000 head of cattle with the XIT brand.  There was an old Texas trail driver by the name of Ab Blocker who conceived the XIT brand, and put this brand o the first steer.  This steer was a longhorn from south Texas.

            In the fall with the first heavy frost chick wagons on the XIT ranch became idle.  The “regular” cowboys were “holed up” in their winter camps.  Of course they looked after the cattle and had other work to do, but they were paid no salary from the first of January to April or May.

            A bounty was paid on this and other ranches, of from five to ten dollars and sometimes-larger sums of money, for every lobo captured.  Lobos are large prairie wolves about the size of Newfoundland dog.  They were numerous in the early days, and were very cunning and hard to capture.  It was estimated by the cowmen that each lobo destroyed annual about 75 cattle apiece.  These wily fellows preferred fresh meat at all times.  It was not their habit to return to a carcass to eat it; therefore it was almost impossible to poison one of them.

How Lobos Kill Cattle

            A number of lobos, grouped together, would round up a small herd of cattle.  Selecting a weak cow or steer, they would run at its hind legs every time it came near the edge of the herd and cut its hamstrings with their sharp teeth, this rendering it helpless.  After this was accomplished, the work of killing the cow became an easy matter.  Large calves and yearlings were quick prey for the hungry lobo.  Losses from lobo depredations on the XIT amounted to thousands of dollars yearly.

            These lobos sheltered along the cap rock and in the breaks.  They would come out of their den at night and stroll off a long way in search of meat.  The XIT cowboys would either chase them down on their ponies of find their dens.

            The only way chuck wagons could be used in winter months was by lobo hunters.  About the first of January a chuck wagon and camp equipment were given two cowboys, who were also furnished with saddle horses.  Then they were put to “wolfing in the lobo districts.  Only two boys were allowed to go on these hunting trips at one time.  Very early in the morning these two cowboys would saddle up their ponies and ride along the edge of the plains, above the cap rock, and cut off later returning lobos as they came trotting along, lazy and full of beef, en route to their dens in the breaks.  The cowboys would usually succeed in shooting or roping them.  These XIT cowboys experienced many dangerous and thrilling adventures in the capture of the she wolf and her pups.

Entering A She Wolf’s Den

            A pack of hounds would be carried along to help in the location of the she wolf and her den.  On approaching her den, a man would take a short candle in one hand, his six-shooter in the other.  He would then wiggle into the den, and shoot the lobo by the reflection of the light in her eyes.  These dens were often very narrow, and a man would be forced to crawl inside at least ten or twelve feet with both arms extended in front of him in order to squeeze through.  Often the explosion fro his gun would put out his candle, and it would be necessary for him to back out of the den, re-light his candle, and crawl back in again before assuring himself of the effects of his shots.

            Charley Orr and Frank Fuller, two original XIT cowboys, were “wolfing” one spring when they came upon a lobo den.  They argued for a time on the question of which one would venture into the den.  The process of drawing straws finally settled the matter, and Orr proved to be the unlucky one.  He took his six-shooter and his candle, crawled several feet into the den, until the saw the light of the she wolf’s eyes, fired, but the shot from his gun brought a cloud of dust from the walls of the den which almost put out his own eyes and, to make matters worse, his bullet missed the lobo.  Whereupon the lobo, frantic with fear, caught sight of a gleam of daylight above Orr’s back and made a dash in that direction to escape into the open, but she found the space above Orr’s back too small to crawl through.  Therefore, as is the custom of a lobo, she began scratching her way out.  Every scratch took off part of the cowboy’s clothes; finally his shirt disappeared, then hide on his back began to disappear.  The she wolf dug her way out, only to be shot and killed at the entrance by Fuller, who lay in wait.  Orr captured nine pups from this den and made his own way out, minus a goodly portion of his back’s cuticle, but better off financially.

Courage Of An 18-Year Old Boy

            There was an 18-year-old cowboy on the XIT ranch, in the early days, but the name of Dumas Hall.  Hall ventured into the den of a lobo one winter and was bitten through the hand by the she wolf.  After a time he went in the den again.  When he came to a place that was very dark, and so narrow he could scarcely squeeze through, he thought he heard his horse running away.  Stopping long enough to listen, he discovered that the sound hoof beats proved to be only the beating of his own heart.  On this occasion, he had no light and he had also failed to bring his gun.  This young boy pushed on into the darkness, striking ahead of him with his knife.  In this way, he crowded the wolf into a small hole, which had been dug in the den, tied his lariat around her hind legs, pulled her out and killed her with rocks.  After making sure she was dead, he went back into the den again and brought out ten pups, which was one of the largest litters ever captured on the ranch.

            Allen Stagg, who was well versed in lobo lore, hunted them for several years on the XIT ranch.  In 1896 he killed 84 lobos.  He also passed through some narrow escapes.  He killed the old lobos and then with a metal hook attached to a long pole fished out the pups.

During the late nineties the company paid a bounty on approximately 200 lobos.  The XIT cowboys did so well in their work of destroying lobos from off the plains that now one of the animals is seldom seen in the panhandle

JOHN CUNNINGHAM

DIED IN STATE PEN

Injury Caused When He Was Shot in Gun Battle With Officers Near Duncan Over Two Years Ago

August 12, 1932--Fredrick Press—John B. Cunningham, one of three brothers, formerly of near Grandfield, serving life sentences in the state penitentiary at McAlester for murdering W. A. Williams, former sheriff of Stephens county, died in the state penitentiary July 29.  The body was taken to Duncan, where his aged parents reside, and buried the following Sunday at county expense.

            John Cunningham was one of the four brothers who made a spectacular gun fight for freedom about six miles north of Duncan on the night of May 12, 1930, which resulted in the slaying of Sheriff W. A. Williams and killing of Forrest Cunningham.  John was shot in the kidney and his brother, Manuel, in the spine.  A younger brother, Jess escaped but was captured later at Gunnison, Colorado.

            Relatives were surprised to learn of the death.  They had believed that John Cunningham, while seriously wounded, would eventually recover.

            The basis for this belief probably was the fact that his brother, Manuel, who was shot in the spine, was considered the more seriously injured of the two.  Manuel was paralyzed while in jail at Duncan and probably will be the rest of his life as the result of the bullet injury to his spine.

            John died of an intestinal obstruction, which developed from the kidney wound received more than two years ago in the gun battle.

            The Williams slaying together with the wounding of Police Chief I. B. Gossett, caused the greatest manhunt in this country in years.  Sheriff Williams died the morning after the shooting.  Gossett lingered between life and death and, after a long fight, recovered.

            One of the boys, Forrest Cunningham, and leader, was killed on the spot.  The wounded were treated in hospitals at Duncan and then in jail.  When Jess was captured in Colorado and brought back, all three decided to plead guilty in exchanger for life sentences.  They did on June 28, 1930, Manuel being wheeled into district court on a cot.  John, who died Friday morning, was able to walk into court for his sentence.

            His brothers confessed to a series of bank robberies in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, after the shooting ended their active careers.

HAS SOUGHT BURIED TREASURE FOR 40 YEARS

May 18, 1934—Frederick Press—“There’s all kinds of money buried in Oklahoma,” says Andy Moore of Pryor who probably known more about buried treasure than any other person in the State.  For over forty years Moor has devoted the greater portion of his time to searching for hidden wealth.

       “Fifty years ago,” Moore continued, “there weren’t any banks to take care of people’s money, so they dug holes in the ground and hid it.  Some of this money still lies where it was first buried.

       “Outlaws, hard-pressed by officers of the law after pulling a robbery, sometime hastily buried their ill-gotten money.  Spaniards did likewise when about to be attacked by Indians, hoping some day to return and reclaim the gold or silver.

       “All that wealth, I believe, is till in the earth somewhere in this country, but its recovery is no easy task.  I’ve listened to tales of hidden fortunes in the forty years or more that I’ve traveled over Oklahoma and some of them sound mighty convincing.  I’ve been shown some well authenticated maps, all of which proves to me that many of these stories are not idle legends.”

       Moore backs his faith in these yarns told him by getting out and hunting hard for every treasure that may be buried in Squaw Hollow.  Rock Creek, Wild Horse Hollow, the Twin Hills, Sleeping Bear Rock and other romantic haunts of early day outlaws and explorers.  Sometimes his directions are oral, often they are written on an ancient map of buckskin, which an old Spaniard gave him years ago, and many times he trusts to his mineral rod and general knowledge of the country.  But, regardless of whatever tip he has, Moore never undertakes a search half-heartedly.  Failing, he takes his loss, like a good sport, saying with a mile.  “Oh, the treasure is there all right’ I just haven’t looked in the right place yet.”

The Belle Starr Treasure

       One of Moore’s hardest jobs was trying to locate the Belle Starr treasure.  “Not many yeas ago,” he says, “I was hunting for an army payroll which Belle Starr is said to have buried in a hollow north of Spring Creek on Grand River.  I certainly wanted to find that money.  I don’t know how much there was, but am told that many loads were necessary to haul it up the mountainside, using the best horses for transportation.  I found plenty of signs and marking when I got to where the money was said to be hidden and it seemed an easy task to find it.  Horseshoes were cared in the rock, and the numerals 7-11 and Bell Starr’s name were cut into the stone.  The right hand of a woman was carved in the rock, the finger pointing downward.  I was told that the money was buried under a rock, 35 feet below the surface.  I struck water, after digging 26 feet, and abandoned the search.  Fighting water is too expensive.  Many other persons have sought and failed to find that treasure since then.”

       On the Old Colorado Trail Moore has sought for the box of gold said to have been buried at Trails Inn after a stage robbery in which the stage driver was slain and the coach destroyed by fire.

       Halfway between Claremore and the Mayes County line a cowboy is reputed to have robbed and killed a ranchman from Texas who had sold his cattle, and was on his way East.  The alleged slayer, at a loss what to do with his wealth, since he could not spend it without exciting suspicion,, went down into the creek bottom, at the turn of the trail, and buried it.  But Moore has never found that treasure either.

       Six miles from Moore’s cabin home, at Bad Mountain, two rock vaults may be found.  In each, it is said are 320 bars of gold.  A large tree stands outside each vault.  Locate these trees, find the vaults, and Moore says you’ll discover 640 bars of pure gold.

No Easy Task

       Moore contends that searching for buried treasure is no cinch.  It costs money to outfit an expedition; the seekers sometimes strike water and must abandon the project, or use dynamite and pumps to combat it.  Erosion of soil changes land contour to an extent that the land is not always as described.  Then the treasures own weight often sinks it further into the earth.  The most discouraging thing of all, according to Moore, is to realize that you have probably missed the money by inches.  On top of that is a possibility that an assistant will betray you.  To spend many days, weeks or months of backbreaking work, and then learn that some helper has absconded with the treasure is disconcerting, to say the least.  Moore believes this happened ruing one of his adventures—that of a hunt at Morgan’s Inn on Grand River near Pryor.  According to the legend, a lot of money had bee hidden there by Spaniards in a cave on a bluff over=looking the river.  An Indian attack was imminent and the Spaniards, to save their gold, secreted it in a cave.  More and his associates went to look for the money in November 1930.

       They found the bluff, high and almost perpendicular, which made the work more difficult.  Rigging up pulleys and lowering platforms into place required three weeks.  Finally entrance into the cave was effected.  ‘Then,” said Moore, “one of the men helpers suddenly leaped into the stream and swam away.  I believe he took with him the Spanish gold or knew its exact location.”