Seminole Indian Territory Installment IX

Seminole County, Oklahoma, 1924. Prohibition agents attack a moonshine still, blasting away at the moonshiners. Prohibition agent, Wiley Lynn [Murderer of Bill Tilghman], arrests the main moonshiner, saying that he is in violation of the Volstead Act. Wiley then kicks the moonshiner in the face.

The agents take the moonshiner to a building used by the oil well drillers. Wiley asks the moon shiner who he makes his deliveries to? The deputy agent tells the moonshiner that he better tell the man who he delivers to. The moonshiner says that Mr. Lynn already knows who he delivers to. Wiley pulls out his gun and shoots the deputy agent. The moonshiner then pushes the deputy agent down an oil well opening. Wiley starts laughing and the moonshiner joins in on the laughing. Then, suddenly, Wiley got very menacing saying that he did warn the moonshiner. He then tells the law breaker that he better get out of Seminole County and never come back. The moonshiner agrees to that and starts walking out of the building. Wiley calls out to the man, who turns around, and Wiley shot the fellow in the chest. He then throws the body into the same oil well opening. Wiley now bloodies his forehead by banging it against a pipe.

The Guthrie Daily Leader, July 24, 1896
George King, a Negro from the Seminole nation, was brought here last night by Deputy Marshal Ryan and lodged in the federal jail. He is charged with having committed a rape on a white girl in that country. He will be taken to Fort Smith. Under the laws of the Indian Territory the punishment for rape is death by hanging.

Robert Reed, Deputy U S Marshal
U. S. Marshals
Robert Reed and Sore Lip Willie had been appointed Deputy U S Marshals for the limited duty of apprehending a black man named Coffey Barnes for stealing horses. The lawmen located Barnes in the Seminole Nation and when Barnes resisted arrest and he was killed in the shootout. Later, on Sunday, October 27, 1889, the lawmen were sitting on their horses talking to John Halsey at a gate near his home. As the three were talking, five men were observed riding toward the house. As the five men neared the gate, they drew their pistols and opened fire on Reed and Willie, shooting them out of their saddles. The lawmen were dead when they hit the ground. The five men then rode away without saying a word. Halsey recognized the men as Cudge Barnett, Prince Hawkins, Ross Ryley, D. Brown and a man he knew only as Lane. No record can be found indicating if the five men were ever arrested for the murder of the deputies.

Cherokee Bill aka Cherokee Kid
At eighteen, while attending a dance at Fort Gibson, Texas, he shot Jake Lewis twice for beating up Crawford’s little brother. He then headed for the Creek and Seminole Nations (now Oklahoma) where he met Jim and Bill Cook, a couple of outlaws.
In the summer of 1894, the Cook’s and Crawford got the owner of a restaurant to go and collect some money due each of them as a payment share for some Indian land called the Cherokee Strip. The government had bought the land. She did collect the money for all three, and on her return was followed by a sheriff’s posse trying to catch up with the Cooks. There was a gunfight at one point, one killed and one wounded. The owner of the restaurant was questioned about the gunfight and was asked if Crawford was amongst the group. She replied no but that it was the Cherokee Kid. This, apparently, was where he gained his nickname.
The famous Cook gang made itself known across the Cherokee and Seminole Nations (in now Oklahoma) in July 1894 with robberies and murder.

Famous Lawmen and Outlaws in Seminole County
The early 1920's also saw the discovery of oil in Oklahoma, and "boom towns" began to spring up around the state. These oil towns became the scene of much violence. One such town was Cromwell in Seminole County. Oil had been discovered in October of 1923 and by 1924, Cromwell had 10 unsolved murders. Governor M. E. Trapp called upon former deputy United States marshal Bill Tilghman, now retired, to take on the job of town marshal and clean up the boom town. But in November 1924, the famous lawman died at the hands of a drunken federal prohibition agent [Wiley Lynn]. His murderer was tried, but found not guilty, and lived to slay another lawman a few years later. Tilghman's body was taken to the rotunda at the state capitol, where thousands of Oklahoman citizens paid their respects to one of the "Three Guardsmen" who had fought the bad men in the territorial days.
In 1907 Seminole County was created when Indian and Oklahoma territories were joined to form the state of Oklahoma. At 1907 statehood the county's population stood at 14,687, rising to 19,964 in 1920. In 1908 residents voted to designate Wewoka, the largest town in the county at that time, as the county seat. The Seminole National Capitol Building, built by the Seminole after the Civil War, served as the courthouse until a new structure was constructed in 1927. The Seminole County Courthouse is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NR 84003429). County Courthouse, 1904.

One of the most famous occurrences in the county was the Green Corn Rebellion. In August 1917 a group of radicals associated with the Working Class Union formed groups in Seminole and surrounding counties to oppose and evade the World War I draft by destroying utilities, confronting law authorities, and, ultimately, marching to Washington, D.C. Approximately 450 were arrested. The event seemed to mark the end of Oklahoma's flirtations with socialism.

In 1832 Washington Irving was among the early explorers of the area that was first settled by the Creek and Seminole in the 1830s. In 1856 the Seminole moved east of the county area to a separate reservation. As a result of the Reconstruction Treaties of 1866 and ensuing agreements over the following two decades, the Seminole were assigned lands that comprise present Seminole County. Confusion over boundaries caused the Seminole to purchase land from the federal government and the Creek Nation, which had been resettled to the east. The Seminole established their capital at Wewoka.

Twenty-five archaeological sites represent Seminole County's prehistory. One site dates to the Paleo period (prior to 6000 B.C.), thirteen to the Archaic period (6000 B.C. to A.D. 1), four to the Woodland period (A.D. 1 to 1000), and seven to the Plains Village period (A.D. 1000 to 1500). Between 1971 and 1972 archaeologists found stone dart points and other evidence indicating occupation of people from the late Archaic period at the Raulston-Rogers (SM-20) Site (listed in the National Register of Historic Places, NR 78002262).

More Seminole Memorabilia--Connection to In-Laws and Outlaws. It should be noted that I have posted several tidbits about Jake Sims, Seminole Lawman of yesteryear. Both my grandfather and father told me many stories about Jake and a host of other Lawmen of this county, as well as the lore of many outlaws connected with Seminole--there are MANY! There was mention of Jake in one of my previous posts, referencing 85 Years Ago, The Seminole Producer, June 17, 1931, see below. In some of my previous posts, grandson of Jake Sims, Charles Sims, inquired whether Boley, OK was still extant. I am glad to report that it is. Boley has often been referred to as an original Oklahoma "Negro" town, just across the border of Seminole County, lying in Okfuskee County. Well...that ain't all there is to that story. It really should be known as one of the original Oklahoma Freedman Counties; that just so happens it is what it is. Strangely, the day following an exchange between Charles and I, what would appear but a piece in The Seminole Producer about Boley and outlaw, George Birdwell, written by his G-G-Granddaughter, Jaime Birdwell-Branson, in This Land Press. It is a fascinating article; it is almost a full page in the Producer so I will not post in its entirety. Further, I am not sure how many of you are familiar with This Land Press, but if you have any Okie in you, I heartily recommend it. I will post a link to it, below. Boley was one of 50 "all-black" towns in Oklahoma, settled by former slaves of Native Americans, following the Civil War. These are/ were known as Freedmen, not "all black", by any stretch. Boley was incorporated in 1905, built on land given to Abigail Barnett, daughter of a Creek Freedman. Boley was hailed by the famed Booker T. Washington as, "the most enterprising, and in many ways the most interesting of the Negro towns in the U.S."

To be continued…

Seminole Indian Territory Installment VIII

If we don't know our history, how the heck can we know what we're doin' or where we’re goin’?! The Trail of Tears, War Chief Jumper, amongst many others, are a fascinating history. I had the pleasure of working for former Governor George Nigh, a notable Oklahoma historian. He passed much of this along to me and I love to pass it along to others. I am a proud Okie--that darned red dirt runs through my veins, just like the music--Red Dirt genre... 

http://www.seminolenation-indianterritory.org/leaders.htm

I posted these stories here to prompt discussion about Seminole anything history. My grandfather and my father told me many stories and provided colorful anecdotes. Many of the "Lawmen and the Lawless" around these parts left descendants that still live/ lived and play/ played here today. These stories need to be told. Please tell them, whether absolute fact, family anecdotes, whoppers and tales. I am sure many of us would love to know them. I moved back here finally to retire after living in other places--OKC, Washington, DC, Knoxville, TN, etc. I was away from 1977 through May of 2015, although I came back in 2005-6 to take care of mom following a stroke and again in 2012-13 before leaving again to care for a friend with a broken leg. Although I was away, in many ways, I never left, always being kept up by family and friends and returning often for vacations etc. I am retired and I would not do it anywhere else. I love being an Okie and especially an Okie from Seminole. I would love to hear YOUR stories.

David Samuel “Sam” Robertson, Constable / Deputy Sheriff
Wolf Township / Seminole County Sheriff’s Office
Seminole County Deputy Sheriff Robertson also served as the Constable for the small town of Wolf, two miles south of Bowlegs. In the early morning hours of Wednesday, December 11, 1929, Robertson was raiding a gambling game in Wolf. Otis Lackey was acting as a lookout for the game but had left his post when Constable Robertson entered the game. Robertson was standing near the game, amiably telling the players to present themselves in front of the judge the next day, when Lackey returned and saw him. Lackey drew a gun and shot the officer twice in the back. Robertson died several hours later. Seminole County Deputies John Poe and Jim Villines arrested Lackey the next day. Lackey was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Deputy Robertson was survived by his wife and eight children. Robertson was one tough SOB!
The Muskogee Phoenix on September 22, 1894 carried a story about a shooting Rufus Cannon was involved in: "About a year and a half ago, Rufus Cannon and W.L. Stanphill, deputies under Marshal Yoes, had a fight near Wewoka with a portion of the Woodward gang. Joe Pierce was killed and his friends claim that the killing was unjustifiable. They attempted to have the deputies indicted for murder, but failed. The special grand jury.......took up the case again and returned indictments against both. Stanphill was in the city and surrendered at once. Rufus Cannon was out in the Seminole Nation, but came in today and gave himself up to C.J. Lamb. Both had admitted to bond and are confident of their acquittal."
Belle Starr
Sam Starr, John Middleton and maybe other associates of Sam's were suspected of the robberies of the Creek and Seminole Nations treasuries. A posse raided Younger's Bend looking for Starr and Middleton and evidence to tie them to the robberies. The pair was not at the ranch when the marshals arrived and the posse found nothing to implicate them in the hold-ups. With the heat on at Younger's Bend, Middleton decided to go back to his home in Dardanelle, Arkansas and asked the Starr's to help him. Sam and Belle hid Middleton in a wagon covered with a tarp. With their saddle horses tied to the back and the children little Ed and Pearl in the wagon, Belle and Sam headed for Arkansas. When the group camped for the night on the first day out, probably near Keota, OK, Middleton somehow offended Belle Starr and she refused to go any further or to allow Middleton to take her horse.

Another Jake Sims story:
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo, OK, hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.

They left their car in front of the Dyer place and Chief Sims went to the front door. Keirsey and Tyler went to the back door while Hall covered the side of the house. Sims encountered Edwards at the front door and a gunfight broke out. At the back door, Tyler and Keirsey encountered Sam and Ruth Dyer. Tyler held them at gunpoint in the back room. Sims, having shot Edwards in the shoulder, continued to stand his ground at the front door. Edwards, seeing that escape in that direction was blocked, retreated toward the rear of the house and picked up a second handgun on the way. At this point, James Keirsey stepped through a doorway with gun drawn and encountered Owen Edwards, who had a gun in each hand. As Chief Sims moved in from the front of the house, Keirsey told Edwards to drop his guns. In response, Edwards opened fire with both guns and shot Keirsey numerous times, killing him. Keirsey returned fire as he fell to the floor, hitting his killer once or twice. Tyler rushed to the aide of Keirsey - the Dyers escaped out the back door. Chief Sims approached Edwards from one side as Tyler moved in from another direction. Edwards was still blazing away with his handguns. Sims and Tyler filled his head with bullet holes and brought the gunfight to an end.

A Seminole newspaper started a benefit fund for James Keirsey's family, which included his wife and three children. According to the newspaper, he was known as an "upstanding, fearless and intelligent gentleman, engaged in upholding the law and protecting the members of society." Almost 10,000 people attended Keirsey's funeral, the largest ever held in Durant.
Here is more on the Keirsey story:
Cliff Keirsey began his law enforcement career when he became a Bryan County night jailer in 1914. He then served as a Bryan County deputy sheriff, a Durant city policeman, a Texas peace officer, an Ardmore policeman, and he served with the Seminole police department for 12 years. James A. Keirsey was born in about 1890 and upon becoming an adult he served as a Durant policeman for many years. James moved to Seminole during the oil boom days and served as a city policeman. In late 1928 or early 1929 he was asked to fill the unexpired term of the Durant police chief. James returned to Durant for a period, and then resumed his work at the Seminole police department, where he was the assistant chief of police in 1929.
During his law enforcement career, James Keirsey had arrested Owen Edwards a few times. Edwards was reportedly a member of the old Kimes gang of bank robbers and had escaped from jail in Arkansas in the summer of 1928. He was a suspect in a string of 1929 Oklahoma bank robberies, including the banks in Minco, Prague, and Kendrick. During the time period that Keirsey was temporarily the chief of police in Durant, Owen Edwards reportedly vowed to kill Keirsey.
The robbery of the bank in Kendrick included the shooting of one man. The outlaws escaped in a Nash coupe, and in November 1929 the vehicle was found on the streets of Seminole. Two men were arrested. Within two days, Keirsey learned that Owen Edwards, and possibly other outlaws, were in Harjo hiding at the Dyer place. A call was quickly made to Oklahoma City for the assistance of agent Claude Tyler of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation. Tyler immediately travelled to Seminole, where he joined Keirsey, Seminole chief of police Jake Sims, and Seminole County deputy sheriff George Hall. The four lawmen arrived in Harjo shortly after sunset.
To be continued.

Seminole Indian Territory - Installment VII

One of the things about Jake’s [Jake Sims] unique career that stands above all others was that after a famous gun fight with a gang of bank robbers known as the Edward’s Gang where Jake shot and killed a few bad guys and some of his fellow lawmen were shot and killed, Jake never again carried a gun. After the fatal gun fight, he is reputed to express the belief that there had to be a better way to enforce the law than with a gun. There were exceptions to his no gun rule but for the most part, he was a master at convincing criminals to surrender rather than run or resist arrest. The legend is that criminals from all over Oklahoma would come to Seminole to surrender to Jake Sims because they knew they would not be shot or abused while in his custody. This is pretty amazing for a lawman that stood at five feet, six inches and probably weighed less than 120 pounds.
Jake Sims never learned to drive. The story is that early in his career as a cop, he went to one of the new car dealers in Seminole to pick out a car to purchase so he could learn to drive. He drove the new car thought the wall and show room window of the car dealer. That was the end of his attempt to learn to drive. From then on, until his retirement, he always had a driver. The driver was always a cop who was armed.
With that minimal background information I can relate the following story. I was a small child [His grandson--Charles]. I am not sure how old I was when all this was happening but I would have been under the age of six because I was too young to go to school.
Jake, in his capacity at the Oklahoma Crime Bureau, traveled all over Oklahoma to visit with his informants and look for bad guys. He and his driver would leave OKC early in the morning and stop at various beer joints and BBQ places to meet with every sort of criminal and n'er do well imaginable. Sometimes they made it home at night. Sometimes they spent the night in various hotels. Jake liked to, on occasion, take me along on his trips. He and his driver would put me in the back seat of their enormous Buick and off we would go for an all-day or sometimes two-day trip.
My mother hated this. At the time, I did not understand why my mother did not like me traveling with Jake. My father was adamant that I be allowed to go with Jake on these trips. There were a lot of harsh words exchanged in our house over these trips. At the time, as a small child, I had no idea of why my mother would have objected to what, for me, were great adventures. Later in life I came to understand my mother’s point of view.
A typical day trip would consist of multiple stops in bars, BBQ joints and other shady places. Jake and his driver would take their place in a back booth or table. The driver would bring in a case of pint liquor bottles from the trunk of the car. Remember that Oklahoma was officially dry during this time period. A succession of what I can now understand was informants and criminals would sit down at Jake's table and tell Jake about god only knows about bad things and bad people. When the conversation with Jake was finished, the informant was rewarded with a pint or two bottles of whiskey. Most of these people who talked with Jake were probably not motivated by free whiskey. I think what was going on here was what we would more likely recognize today as some form of plea bargaining. You told Jake what you knew about the safe hijackers and he would have a talk with the local cops about your petty theft. I was never allowed to listen to these stories. I was always put at the counter or a table beyond hearing range. The bartender would give me a coke and entertain me.
Was I in any danger during these meetings? Probably not. I have a memory of setting at the bar when a very rough looking guy came into the bar and plopped down on the bar stool next to me. He made some comment to me and the bartender said to him, that is Jake Sims’s grandson you are talking to and Jake is sitting right over there watching you. The man jumped off his stool and told the bartender to tell Jake that I didn’t mean no harm. I was just being friendly. About that time, Jake’s driver stood up and wiggled his finger at the guy in a come here motion. The guy ran for the door. The driver said to the bartender, I ain’t going to chase him but you tell him that he needs to come see Jake the next time we are in town. I suspect the guy showed up for his appointment.
All of which gets us to my story:
One of the places I visited with Jake and one of my favorite places was outside of Moore, Oklahoma. At that time, Moore was just a wide spot on the road between Norman and OKC. It was a rural area. We would stop at a huge, two story house that was in the middle of farm field. A farm field where nothing grew. The house looked like a country and western version of Tara. Jake, his driver and I would climb the stairs to the front door where we would be escorted inside by a lovely lady. Jake and his driver would climb the sweeping staircase to the second floor while I would be taken to the "pallor" which was a large room decorated with big stuffed couches and chairs that reinforced the Tara image. This was my favorite part of the trip. The pallor would be full on some of the nicest ladies I have ever meet. Those nice ladies were so happy to have a small child to entertain. They would make me cookies and milk. I took turns setting on their laps and being kissed and hugged. As a child, I was always taken by the nice ladies’ form of dress. They did not dress like my mom or the other ladies in Seminole. They were very colorful. Some wore great, flowing skirts. Others did not seem to wear a lot of clothes and favored black stockings with huge seams. For a child, it was a little like going to the circus. Nevertheless, for a short time at the house, I would have the company of a lot of ladies who really loved me.
I assume that by pre-design, there were never any other men in the house while we were there. Occasionally there would be a knock on the door, but no one was ever admitted into the house. Jake and his driver would come down the stairs after an hour or so and we would load into the car and be off to our next stop. I have no recollection of ever asking what Jake and his driver were doing upstairs.
I am embarrassed to admit that I thought nothing of this particular stop for many years. Then one day when I was in my twenties, a great gestalt occurred. Holy crap. That was a whore house. It just never occurred to me while coming of age in Seminole. Now perhaps we all have dirty minds and what we are thinking was going on upstairs was not really what was going on upstairs. Maybe Jake was meeting with a higher level of informants, crooks and politicians out of OKC and that house provided the privacy they needed to conduct police business. Sure, that is possible.
I don't think my mother ever knew about this stop on my trips with Jake but maybe she did. Was I in any danger? Probably not. I think those ladies would have ripped the eyes out of anybody who tried to harm me.
We all have regrets in life. One of mine is that I was not old enough to really get to know Jake before he died. Can you imagine the stories that he could have told if I could have gotten him to talk. My guess is that a lot interesting names and places went to the grave with Jake.