Crawford "Cherokee
Bill" Goldsby
. . . . the toughest of them all
by Bennie J. McRae, Jr.
Copyright 1994. LWF Publications. Reprinted
and posted from Volume 1, Number 4 - July, 1994.
On a sunny afternoon on March 17, 1896
as Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby escorted by prison guards, his mother
Ellen, Amanda Foster, an elderly lady who had help raise him, and Father
Pius, a Catholic priest, walked to the gallows to be hanged for murder.
Looking around at the crowd that had gathered to witness the occasion,
he stated, "This is about as good as day to die as any." A short time
later there was a creaking sound as the trap was sprung and he was dead
ending the life at twenty of the most notorious outlaws to roam the Indian
Territory and perhaps the entire Western Frontier. For over a two year
period during the last decade of the nineteenth century, he led a reign
of terror throughout the territory which included murder and robbery.
He murdered his brother-in-law, lawmen, and anyone he disliked who crossed
his path.
Crawford Goldsby was born on February
8, 1876 at Fort Concho, Texas. He was the second of four children and
the oldest son born to Ellen Beck and George Goldsby. The older sister
was Georgia Eller and the two brothers were Clarence and Luther.
Ellen was born in the Delaware District
of the Cherokee Nation. Crawford's maternal grandfather was Luge Beck,
described as being a Cherokee of the half blood, and grandmother was Tempy
Beck. Both had been slaves once owned by Jeffery Beck, a Cherokee.
In a signed deposition on January 29,
1912, George Goldsby stated that he was born in Perry County, Alabama
on February 22, 1843. His father was Thornton Goldsby of Selma, Alabama
and his mother was Hester King, a mulatto, who resided on her own place
west of Summerfield Road between Selma and Marion, Alabama. George also
stated that he had four brothers and two sisters by the same father and
mother, Crawford, Abner, Joseph, Blevens, Mary, and Susie.
George served as a hired servant with
a Confederate infantry regiment during the Civil War. While at Gettysburg,
he escaped and went to Harrisburg worked as a teamster in a Quartermaster
unit and subsequently enlisted as a White man in the 21st Pennsylvania
Cavalry Regiment under the name of George Goosby. (The spelling sometimes
varied between Goosbey and Goosley).
After the Civil War ended, he returned
to the Selma, Alabama area. During his last visit, the word was out that
he would be captured and lynched for going over to and fighting with the
Union Army, after which time he departed the area for Indian Territory.
In 1867 George enlisted in the 10th
Cavalry Regiment (Buffalo Soldier) under his proper name, George Goldsby,
and by 1872 he was promoted to sergeant major. After the expiration of
his five-year term, he re-enlisted and became first sergeant of Company
D, 10th Cavalry.
During 1878 when Crawford was two years
old serious trouble began to occur in San Angela (San Angelo), Texas between
the black soldiers and cowboys and hunters. The incident that led to the
largest confrontation took place in Morris' saloon. A group of cowboys
and hunters ripped the chevrons from the sleeves of a Company D sergeant
and the stripes from his pants. The soldier returned to the post and enlisted
the aid of fellow soldiers who armed themselves with carbines and returned
to the saloon. A blazing gunfight commenced resulting in one hunter being
killed and two others wounded. One private was killed and another wounded.
Texas Ranger Captain G. W. Arrington
with a party of rangers went on post, Fort Concho, in an attempt to arrest
First Sergeant Goldsby of D Company charging that he was responsible for
the soldiers obtaining the carbines. Colonel Benjamin Grierson, Post Commander,
challenged the authority of the rangers on a federal post.
Sergeant Goldsby apparently knew that
the Army could not or would not protect him away from the post so he went
AWOL, it has been said with the assistance of an officer of the 10th Cavalry.
He escaped from Texas into Indian Territory.
Sometime after being abandoned at Fort
Concho, Ellen Beck Goldsby moved with her family to Fort Gibson, Indian
Territory. She left Crawford in the care of a elderly back lady known
as "Aunty" Amanda Foster. She cared for him until he was seven years old
and was sent to the Indian school at Cherokee, Kansas. Three years later
he was sent to the Catholic Indian School at Carlisle, Pennsylvania. At
the age of twelve, he returned home to Fort Gibson.
Upon returning home, Crawford learned
that his mother had remarried. On June 27, 1889, Ellen married William
Lynch in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the "authenticated" laundress
of the 10th Cavalry, D Troop and stayed with the unit which gave her rations,
transportation, and quarters. She transferred to Fort Davis, Texas, and
to Fort Grant, Arizona. She was also with the unit at Fort Apache, Texas.
After departing Fort Apache, she traveled
to Kansas City to marry William Lynch before proceeding to Fort Gibson.
Lynch, born in Waynesville, Ohio, was a private in K Troop, 9th Cavalry.
He had served during an earlier enlistment with H Troop, 10th Cavalry.
Crawford and William Lynch, his stepfather,
did not get along. He began to associate with unsavory characters, drink
liquor and rebel against authority.
When Crawford was fifteen he went to
live with his sister Georgia and her husband Mose Brown. They lived near
Nowata, Oklahoma Territory on land gained by her mother's Freedman status.
The stay did not last very long because Mose had an intense dislike for
Crawford. He returned to Fort Gibson and lived for awhile with Bud Buffington
who is believed to be related to William Buffington the son of Lucinda
Beck. Lucinda was also once owned by Jeffery Beck and raised Crawford's
mother Ellen.
At age seventeen, Crawford began to
work odd jobs cleaning and sweeping stores and working on a ranch. He
sometimes worked for room and board and was later paid wages. He was described
by James Turley, ranch owner, as being "quiet, good natured, hard-working
boy, well-liked by all who knew him."
Crawford's first serious trouble started
when he was eighteen. One night while attending a dance in the Fort Gibson
area, he and Jake Lewis, a thirty-five year-old black man had a confrontation
over his younger brother and he was severely beaten by Lewis. Two days
later Crawford confronted Lewis with a six-shooter and threatened to kill
him. Shortly afterwards, he shot Lewis twice, left him dead, mounted his
horse and fled. However, Lewis recovered from his wounds. The authorities
in the Cherokee Nation attempted to arrest him, but Crawford left the
Cherokee Nation and went into the Creek and Seminole Nations, met and
joined up with two noted outlaws Jim and Bill Cook described as being
mixed-blood Cherokees.
During the summer of 1894, the government
purchased from the Cherokees their rights to land called the Cherokee
Strip. A certain portion of the payment was reserved for the Cherokee
tribal treasury and over six million dollars was to be paid out to all
who could make legitimate claim as to having the required one-eighth Cherokee
blood. Each individual was to receive $265.70. Goldsby and the Cook brothers,
while traveling to Tahlequah to obtain their share of the money stopped
at a hotel and restaurant on Fourteen Mile Creek operated by Effie Crittenden.
Effie employed a brother-in-law of the Cooks as a cook. The gang ordered
Effie to proceed to Tahlequah to obtain their money because they did not
want to be seen in the area. Goldsby was wanted for the shooting of Jake
Lewis and Jim Cook was wanted for larceny.
Effie Crittenden drew the payments on
behalf of Goldsby and the Cooks on the treasurer's last day at Tahlequah.
As Effie proceeded back to her establishment she was followed by Sheriff
Ellis Rattling Gourd with the intentions of capturing Goldsby and the
Cooks.
On the evening of July 18, 1894, a gunfight
occurred between the Sheriff and a posse of seven men on one side and
the Cooks and Goldsby on the other. In the Sheriff's posse was brothers
Dick and Zeke Crittenden who was commissioned as Deputy U.S. Marshall.
Effie was the separated wife of Dick Crittenden and it was alleged that
Dick planned the shootout in the hopes that Effie would be killed.
During the gunfight, posse Sequoyah
Houston was killed and Jim Cook was wounded. The Sheriff and four of his
posse fled. Shortly afterward the Crittenden brothers escaped in the dark.
It was after this incident that Crawford
Goldsby gained the alias "Cherokee Bill." While Effie Crittenden was being
questioned about the murder of Sequoyah Houston, she was asked if Crawford
was involved in the gunfight and she said, "No it was not Crawford Goldsby,
but it was Cherokee Bill."
Shortly after the fight at Fourteen
Mile Creek, the famous Cook gang was organized. The gang was integrated,
however, most of the members were black men some being Cherokee Freedmen.
Members included Bill Cook, Cherokee Bill, Lon Gordon, Sam McWilliams,
Henry Munson, and Curtis Dayson, and others. A reign of terror took place
during the month of July 1894 which included robberies and murder in the
Cherokee and Creek Nations. On July 14, 1894. the Muskogee-Fort Gibson
stage was held up. Shortly afterwards, a prominent Cherokee, William Drew
was held up and relieved of money, a pistol, and other items. Two days
later the Frisco train was held up at Red Fork.
On the morning of July 31 the Cook Gang
robbed the Lincoln County Bank at Chandler, Oklahoma Territory of an unknown
amount of cash. The barber across the street sounded the alarm and was
killed by one of the outlaws. During the getaway, numerous shot were fired.
One of the gang members was shot in the hip and captured. The others escaped
into the hills.
The terror continued throughout the
months of September and October 1894. A store was robbed at Okmulgee.
Individuals were robbed in the areas of Muskogee and Fort Gibson. On October
11, the Missouri Pacific depot at Claremore was robbed and two hours later
the Katy Railroad agent at Chouteau was also robbed. On October 20, the
gang wrecked and robbed the Missouri Pacific Railroad's Kansas City and
Memphis Express at Coretta.
Panic reigned throughout the area especially in the northern half of Indian Territory. A wire was sent to the Office
of Indian Affairs in Washington by Union agent Dew M. Wisdom in which
he summarized the conditions in the area stating among other things that
the affairs were in desperate condition; business was suspended, people
intimidated and individuals were being robbed day and night. He also stated
that his police force was not equal to the emergency and the U.S. Marshall
at Fort Smith stated that he did not have the money to keep marshals in
the field for a campaign against the outlaws.
Chief United States Marshall Crump of
Fort Smith, Arkansas was summoned to Washington to give an account of
the gang's operation. The U.S. Attorney General and Secretary of War pledged
full support of the government. The Secretary of War threatened to abrogate
the treaties, abolish the tribal relations, and establish a territorial
government." Rewards were posted for the capture of any or all of the gang
members.
Numerous detailed accounts by citizens
were reported as the gang robbed and murdered through out the region.
They sought revenge on those who knew them and reported their activities
to authorities. A black man by the name of Burl Taylor who lived in the
Creek Nation had several encountered with Cherokee Bill and reported the
other gang members as being Jim and Bill Cook, Jim French, Sam McWilliam,
who was known as the Verdigris Kid, Texas Jack and Skeeter.
Cherokee Bill had an irresistible charm
with women. However, this caused his downfall and capture as we will see
later. Supposedly he had a girlfriend in nearly every section of the territory
and was often protected by loyal friends. Lawmen who pursued him usually
kept a safe distance in order to avoid engaging him in battle. He was
on good terms with Cherokees, Creeks, and Seminoles and moved through
their villages and lands easily. In some areas the lawmen could not move
around as freely. Some towns even passed ordinances allowing him to move
around or through out the respective areas unmolested.
Cherokee Bill was credited with most
of the murders that occurred during the gang's rampage. Many times he
killed for no cause or reason. The number ranges from seven to thirteen.
One account said he murdered a least fourteen men.
In September 1894 Cherokee Bill shot
and killed his brother-in-law, Mose Brown, reportedly over an argument
about some hogs. The account of the incident as stated by the daughter
of Georgia and Mose relates to her mother receiving a letter from Cherokee
Bill requesting that she visit him.
However, Mose objected to her going
and later insisted on going along despite the pleas from Georgia that
he not accompany her on the trip. Upon their arrival at the location Cherokee
Bill was residing, Mose was asked why he came and during the altercation
that followed Mose was shot and killed.
Just before noon on November 8, 1894,
two men identified as Cherokee Bill and Sam McWilliams, the Verdigris
Kid rode into Lenapah located between Coffeyville, Kansas and Nowata,
Indian Territory with the intent of robbing a store operated by Schufeldt
and Son. Cherokee Bill entered the store while his companion waited outside
and he ordered the owner to open the safe in which he secured the cash
contents. Afterwards he decided to take some clothing and ammunition.
While this activity was in progress, a group of men who was working next
door appeared at the window on the outside of the store to see what was
going on due to the commotion. Without warning and for no apparent reason
Cherokee Bill shot Ernest Melton and he died instantly. After the robbery
and murder the two outlaws rode out of town.
The shooting of an innocent bystander
by Cherokee Bill eventually led to his arrest and conviction to hang.
An intense search was mounted that forced the gang to separate. Many of
the members was either captured or killed. Those captured received long
prison sentences or were sent to the gallows. Sam McWilliams, the Verdigris
Kid, was shot and killed by and Indian deputy sheriff just east of Fort
Gibson. One of the Cook brothers was captured on a cattle ranch near Fort
Sumner, New Mexico Territory in the same area where Pat Garrett had killed
Billy the Kid.
Cherokee Bill continued to be elusive
and many lawmen were reluctant to confront him face to face because of
his feared reputation as being one of the toughest desperados in the area.
It was said that he could shoot faster than two ordinary men. Using his
rifle he could hit a squirrel in the eye as far as he could see and could
shoot from his waist and hardly ever miss the target. The citizens of
Lenapah were outraged and shaken up by the murder and it was stated that
an ordinance was passed granting him the privilege of free movement without
being molested which was one of the most unusual acts in the history of
the Western Frontier.
The Deputy U.S. Marshall began to solicit
the aid of citizens who knew Cherokee Bill and his movement patterns.
One acquaintance visited his hideout and was given a locket that was taken
during the robbery at the Schufeldt store in Lenapah. After the Marshals
were told of his hideout a posse was organized to flush him out. During
the gunfight his horse was killed, but he was able to escape.
A few days later Deputy U.S. Marshall
W.C. Smith came in contact with Clint Scales described as being a black
man who sometimes worked as a handyman. He advised the marshall that Cherokee
Bill would sometime meet one of his girlfriends, Maggie Glass, at the
cabin of Ike Rogers, just east of Nowata. Maggie was described as being
of African and Cherokee descent and was the niece of Ike Rogers' wife.
Ike was also of African-Cherokee descent.
Deputy Smith contacted Ike Rogers and
developed a plan to lure Cherokee Bill into a trap by using Maggie Glass
unsuspecting to bait the trap with Clint Scales causally dropping over
to spend the night. Ike held a deputy marshall's commission, however,
he had a bad reputation was not very effective.
Cherokee Bill was constantly on guard
and very suspicious of Ike Rogers and refused to leave even after Maggie
urged him to do so. Ike played the part of a generous host by offering
him whiskey laced with morphine, but Bill refused to drink and he kept
his rifle with him at all times even at the dinner table. The weapons
belonging to Ike and Clint were kept out of sight because they did not
want give Bill an excuse to shoot them. After breakfast the next morning
Ike gave Maggie a dollar and instructed her to go and purchase some chickens
from a neighbor so as to get her out of the house.
Shortly after Maggie departed Bill took
some paper and tobacco from his pocket and rolled a cigarette. When he
leaned over towards the fireplace to light it Ike struck him across the
back of the head. Ike felt the blow would have killed an ordinary man
but it only knocked him down. Ike's wife grabbed Bill's rifle while Ike
and Clint attempted to subdue him. After a twenty minute tussle on the
floor the two managed to get a pair of handcuffs onto Bill.
Bill was placed in a wagon with Clint
Scales and Ike rode behind with a shotgun. While enroute to Nowata, Cherokee
Bill broke the hand cuffs and grabbed at Clint's rifle. Clint fell out
of the wagon with his rifle while Ike kept him covered with the shotgun.
After arriving at Nowata, Cherokee Bill was turned over to Deputy Marshals
Bill Smith and George Lawson.
The deputies took charge of the prisoner
and placed him in the federal jail in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Cherokee Bill
was later arraigned before Judge Isaac Charles "Hanging Judge" Parker
charged with the murder of Ernest Melton. Ellen, Bill's mother, retained
J. Warren Reed described as being the most famous trial lawyer in Fort
Smith to defend him.
During the trial the prosecutor produced
seven witnesses who positively identified Cherokee Bill as the person
who killed Ernest Melton. The defense lawyer put on the stand "alibi"
witnesses who swore Bill was seen fifty miles south of Lenapah the day
Melton was murdered.
Judge Parker charged the jury and within
a few minutes returned with a guilty verdict. When the verdict was read,
Cherokee Bill smiled. His mother and sister who had been in the courtroom
throughout the trial wept loudly. Bill said, "What's the matter with you
two?" "I ain't dead yet." He was placed back in jail and reunited with
his old friend Bill Cook who had been captured in New Mexico and the two
acted as if nothing had happened.
On April 13, 1895 Cherokee Bill was
taken to court for sentencing and June 25 was set as the execution date.
The execution date was reset to March 17, 1896 after the appeal process
to the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the lower court.
During the spring of 1895, there were
over 200 prisoners in the Fort Smith jail and constant scheming to escape.
The head jailer, J.D. Berry, ordered a search of the entire prison on
July 10. In Cherokee Bill's cell they found nine .45 caliber cartridges,
and in the bathroom they located .45 caliber revolver hidden in a bucket
of lime fully loaded. Everyone denied knowing where the weapons and ammunition
came from. There were many suspects, including Sherman Vann, a black trusty
and Henry Starr, the grandson of Cherokee outlaw Tom Starr and nephew
of Sam Starr. However the search failed to uncover a second revolver that
had been smuggled into the jail and hidden by Cherokee Bill.
On July 26, 1895 at 7:00 in the evening,
Turnkey Campbell Eoff and Guard Lawrence Keating entered Murderer's Row.
Keating was shot and killed while passing Cherokee Bill's cell after he
disobeyed Bill's order to give up his weapon. Eoff ran up the corridor
and Bill stepped from his cell and fired twice. George Pearce, another
outlaw and one of the plot's ringleaders, ran after Eoff. This probably
saved Eoff's life because Cherokee Bill could not shoot at him without
probably shooting Pearce.
Cherokee Bill held the jail under siege
and began firing at random from his cell. Each time he would fire, he
would gobble, a sound half between the bark of a coyote and that of a
turkey. The prisoners were badly frightened and many had crawled under
their bunks or huddled in the corner of their cells. Cherokee Bill continued
to hold out and refused to surrender.
Henry Starr volunteered to go to Bill's
cell and attempt to talk him into giving up the weapon. The authorities
agreed to allow Starr to visit the cell and agreed not to fire during
the consultation. A short time later Starr emerged from the cell with
Cherokee Bill's weapon.
The second trial lasted three days resulting
in a guilty verdict and Judge Parker sentenced Cherokee Bill to be hanged
on September 10, 1895. A stay was granted pending an appeal to the Supreme
Court. On December 2, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Fort
Smith court and Judge Parker again set the execution date as March 17,
1896.
On the morning of March 17, Cherokee
Bill awoke at six, singing and whistling. He ate a light breakfast sent
from the hotel by his mother. At 9:20, his mother and "Aunty" Amanda Foster
were admitted to his cell and shortly afterwards Father Pius arrived.
The hanging was scheduled for 11:00
a.m., but was delayed until 2:00 p.m. in order for his sister Georgia
to have the opportunity to see him before the hanging. She was scheduled
to arrive at 1:00 p.m. on the eastbound train.
Shortly after 2:00 p.m. while on the
gallows, it was reported Cherokee Bill was asked if he had any thing to
say and he replied, "I came here to die, not make a speech." Approximately
twelve minutes later Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby, the most notorious
outlaw in the Territory was dead.
The body was placed in a coffin which
was placed in a box and taken to the Missouri Pacific depot. Placed aboard
the train, Ellen and Georgia escorted the body to Fort Gibson for burial.
Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby is buried
in the Cherokee National Cemetery,
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma.
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REFERENCES:
Burton, Art T. Black, Red, and Deadly. Austin, Texas: Eakin Press,
1991.
Katz, William Loren. Black West. Seattle: Open Hand Publishing,
Inc, 1987.
Leckie, William H. The Buffalo Soldiers: A Narrative of the Negro
Cavalry in the West. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1977.
Sayre, Harold. Researcher and History Interpreter (Numerous Interviews).
Fort Davis, Texas. |
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