Bill Doolin - Doolin-Dalton Gang

 The Doolin-Dalton Gang rose from the ashes of the Dalton Gang’s bloody Coffeyville disaster. When Grat and Bob Dalton fell dead in October 1892, brother Bill Dalton joined forces with Bill Doolin, a seasoned outlaw from Oklahoma Territory.

Their new gang soon struck fear across the frontier. Members included “Bitter Creek” Newcomb, William “Tulsa Jack” Blake, and Charley Pierce. One of their fiercest gunmen was Israel Carr, a black outlaw. Carr was said to have killed more men than the entire gang combined. A lawman called him “one mean son-of-a-bitch.”

Other deadly characters joined the gang. There was Dan “Dynamite Dick” Clifton and “Arkansas Tom” Jones. The law knew them all as hardened killers. “Tulsa Jack” had once worked as a cowboy but preferred robbing trains to riding fence. Dynamite Dick got his name from his favorite tool—he was the gang’s explosives expert, always grinning as he lit the fuse. Arkansas Tom was a brooding, unpredictable sort who claimed he only rode with the gang for the excitement.

Frank James Western Outlaw

Frank James turned himself in to Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden in 1882. He surrendered his pistol and gun belt in a quiet room at the Capitol in Jefferson City, asking only for a fair trial.

He got it. After several weeks behind bars, Frank was acquitted. Public sentiment had softened, and the state couldn’t prove its case. Unlike the Youngers, Frank James never spent a day in the penitentiary.

He lived out the rest of his days quietly guiding tourists, giving the occasional interview, and tending to chickens on his farm. He died in 1915, an old man who had once terrorized the railroads.

Wyatt Earp Western Lawman

 

If you pointed a gun at Wyatt Earp, you’d best mean business and be ready to “burn powder.” The glint in his eyes and the guns on his hips meant business.

Wild Bill Hickok Gunfighter, Lawman, and Gambler

Wild Bill and Davis Tutt squared off in the town square of Springfield, Missouri, on July 21, 1865. They stood fifteen paces apart, hands twitching at their sides. Only one man walked away.

Clay Allison Gunfighter

Clay Allison entertained himself by shooting up dance halls and small towns, making respectable gents leap around barefoot while he riddled the floor with bullets. He didn’t need much of a reason—just a little liquor and a bad mood.

Doc Holliday Gambler, Gunfighter, Lawman

When he wasn’t raising hell with a pistol, Doc Holliday spent most of his time at the tables, dealing faro or sitting in on a game, and if someone crossed him, they weren’t long for this life.

Frank James Bank Robber

Frank James turned himself in to Missouri Governor Thomas Crittenden in 1882. He surrendered his pistol and gun belt in a quiet room at the Capitol in Jefferson City, asking only for a fair trial.

He got it. After several weeks behind bars, Frank was acquitted. Public sentiment had softened, and the state couldn’t prove its case. Unlike the Youngers, Frank James never spent a day in the penitentiary.

He lived out the rest of his days quietly guiding tourists, giving the occasional interview, and tending to chickens on his farm. He died in 1915, an old man who had once terrorized the railroads.

Condon Bank Coffeyville, Kansas

A typical day outside the Condon Bank in Coffeyville, Kansas, until Grat Dalton, Bill Powers, and Dick Broadwell walked inside, guns in hand. Bob and Emmett Dalton entered the First National Bank across the street.

Emmett Dalton Western Outlaw

Emmett Dalton said the Coffeyville raid was a suicide mission, but “I was damned if I did, and damned if I didn’t. If I stayed out, I’d still hang. So, I rode in.”

Death of the Dalton Gang

Deputy sheriffs standing by the dead bodies of Bob and Grat Dalton. The town had done what no one else could. They’d taken down the Dalton Gang and lived to talk about it.

Black Bart California Stagecoach Robber

 

Black Bart was one of the most prolific stagecoach robbers to haunt the Old West, and he did it without firing a shot. He was polite, calm, and—most curious of all—he left poetry behind at the scene of his crimes.

Billy the Kid New Mexico Outlaw

Pat Garrett said Billy the Kid was always laughing—he ate and laughed, drank and laughed, fought and laughed... killed and laughed.

Pat Garrett The Man Who Killed Billy the Kid

After his election as sheriff of Lincoln County, Pat Garrett formed a posse and hunted the Kid down. Billy surrendered, was hauled to Mesilla, and convicted of killing Sheriff Brady. He was sentenced to swing on May 13, 1881.

John Wesley Hardin Western Gunfighter

 John Wesley Hardin was the meanest, orneriest, deadliest cuss to sling iron in Texas. He once shot a man for snoring. That’s not a tall tale either.

Clay Allison Western Outlaw

 Clay Allison entertained himself by shooting up dance halls and small towns, making respectable gents leap around barefoot while he riddled the floor with bullets. He didn’t need much of a reason—just a little liquor and a bad mood.

Lawman Bill Tilghman

Bill Tilghman was “tall and slim, straight as an arrow,” and “was not afraid of anything living.” He didn’t talk much, and the word “quit” wasn’t in his vocabulary. Once he got his man in his sights, that was the end of the story.

Harry Tracy Oregon Outlaw

Harry Tracy & David Merrill escaping from prison.

On June 9, 1902, Harry Tracy and David Merrill made their break from the Oregon State Prison. They were working in the prison foundry when Tracy grabbed a rifle and dropped guard, Frank Farrell. Another prisoner, Frank Ingraham, tried to stop them—Merrill shot him in the leg. It later had to be cut off.

Out in the yard, the place turned into a shooting gallery. They gunned down the fence guard, Thurston Jones Sr. with shots to the chest and gut. Guard Bailey Tiffany was next. He was shot dead while standing watch. Duncan Ross hit the dirt and played dead. The escapees climbed a ladder, dragged Tiffany with them, and used his corpse as a shield. As they hit the tree line, Tracy put a bullet into Tiffany’s head. Three guards lay dead in three minutes.

That night, Tracy and Merrill holed up in the woods. Around 10 p.m., they met a man named Stewart and made him strip before breaking into his house. A few days later, they forced Mrs. H. Akers to cook them breakfast, then looted her pantry.

On June 15, they stole a team of horses near Oregon City. The next day, they crashed Charles Holtgrieve’s home on the Columbia River, demanded a meal, and made five men row them across. Outside Vancouver, they mugged a rancher named Reedy for his clothes, then disappeared for two weeks.

Jim Bridger Frontier Scout

 Jim Bridger, frontier scout and fur trapper. He co-founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and established Fort Bridger, a trading post on Blacks Fork of the Green River in Wyoming.

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