OUTLAWS Ep. 2 | “Cherokee Bill”

Summary

Legends of the Old West OUTLAWS Ep. 2 | “Cherokee Bill”
Podcast by Black Barrel Media | Host: Chris Wimmer
Airdate: April 29, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the tumultuous and violent life of Crawford Goldsby, better known as Cherokee Bill—a notorious outlaw of the American West. Chris Wimmer traces Cherokee Bill’s troubled youth, his spiral into criminality, and his bloody legacy during his time at the heart of the Cook Gang. The episode explores themes of trauma, cultural displacement, and the lawless nature of Indian Territory in the late 19th century.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Life and Family History

• Mixed Heritage and Early Hardship
  • Crawford Goldsby was born to a Black father (George Goldsby, a Buffalo Soldier) and a Cherokee mother (Ellen Beck), with hints of Lakota and Mexican heritage. He struggled to fit in anywhere.
    • “The kids were destined to struggle to feel like they belong anywhere.” (06:14)
  • His father went AWOL after a violent incident and was never seen again; his mother worked as a laundress, often away from her children.
  • Goldsby was sent to schools in Kansas and later Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania aimed at assimilation, stripping Native children of their culture. “...a guiding principle which was embodied by the unofficial slogan, kill the Indian, save the man.” (08:06)
• Alienation and Abuse
  • Did not get along with his stepfather, then moved in with an abusive brother-in-law before striking out on his own at 17.
    • “To no one's surprise, Crawford did not get along with his stepfather.” (08:49)

The Harvest Dance Incident: Turning Point

• Goldsby’s fall into outlaw life was catalyzed by a humiliating beating at a Harvest Dance in 1893, witnessed by his teenage sweetheart, Maggie Glass.
  • “Crawford Goldsby was determined to settle the score.” (03:13)
• He ambushed and wounded his assailant, Jake Lewis. Lewis survived and identified Goldsby, setting him on the run from law enforcement.

The Cook Brothers and Birth of the Cook Gang (12:34)

• Formation and Background
  • Goldsby fled into Creek Nation and fell in with Bill and Jim Cook, who shared similar backgrounds and loss.
• Outlaw Status
  • The trio accessed Cherokee government payments via a proxy, but were spotted and pursued. Goldsby killed a deputy in a hotel shootout. The gang then became permanent outlaws.
    • “With that shootout and that killing, the Cook brothers and Crawford Golsby were officially outlaws who would be hunted forever.” (17:22)

Robbery Spree and Escalation of Violence (18:35 – 24:24)

• Quick Succession of Crimes
  • Robbed stores, trains, and stages. Notable events:
    • July 31, 1894, Chandler bank robbery: Cherokee Bill killed bystander J.B. Mitchell.
    • The rapid, reckless pace of the gang’s crimes frightened residents throughout Indian Territory.
• “The gang roared to life as if it knew its days were numbered and the guys wanted to make the most out of every minute.” (18:29)
• After Chandler, increased law enforcement pressure resulted in deaths, captures, and betrayals within the gang.

Capture of Cherokee Bill (25:40–28:27)

• Set-up by Maggie Glass and Ike Rogers
  • U.S. Marshals used Maggie and her cousin Ike Rogers to lure Cherokee Bill to a birthday party, where he was subdued after refusing to drink drugged whiskey or lay aside his weapon.
  • “Maggie Glass and Cherokee Bill were both suspicious of Ike Rogers invitation, but they both attended the party.” (26:56)
• Rogers incapacitated Bill with a surprise blow, and he was delivered to Fort Smith for trial.

Trials, Prison Mutiny, and Death (28:27–34:07)

• Trials
  • Convicted in two days for the murder of Ernest Melton.
  • Later, after attempting escape and killing prison guard Lawrence Keating in a dramatic shootout (31:32), he was convicted and condemned again.
    • “On the first floor of the jail, the noise must have been deafening as more than 100 shots were fired.” (31:36)
• Execution
  • As the moment neared, Cherokee Bill showed no fear:
    • “I came here to die, not to make a speech.” (33:40)
    • (Alternate version) “This is as good a day to die as any.” (33:40)
  • Hanged before a large crowd, attended by his mother and siblings.

Aftermath and Legacy (34:07–35:11)

• Last infamous execution by “Hanging Judge” Isaac Parker, who died months afterward; Cherokee Bill’s brother later killed Ike Rogers in revenge.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On childhood trauma and belonging:
  • “The kids were destined to struggle to feel like they belong anywhere.” (06:14)
• On assimilation at Carlisle Indian School:
  • “...a guiding principle which was embodied by the unofficial slogan, kill the Indian, save the man.” (08:06)
• On outlaw mentality:
  • “He grew up wild, as folks like to say, and his final year of freedom after the shooting at Fort Gibson would be the dictionary definition of wild.” (04:50)
• On the explosion of violence:
  • “The gang roared to life as if it knew its days were numbered and the guys wanted to make the most out of every minute.” (18:29)
• Judge Parker’s condemnation:
  • “That evidence shows a killing of the most brutal and wicked character. Melton was the innocent, unoffending victim of the savage brutality which prompted the robbery and murder.” (29:12)
• On Cherokee Bill’s last words:
  • “I came here to die, not to make a speech.” (33:40)
  • (Alternative) “This is as good a day to die as any.” (33:40)
• On lasting consequences:
  • “The final coda... Clarence Goldsby, Cherokee Bill's younger brother, shot and killed Ike Rogers in the last act of revenge.” (35:11)

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Timeline & Timestamps of Key Segments

• [01:36–05:09]: The formative years and the fatal dance with Maggie Glass
• [05:37–09:17]: Family disintegration and alienation; turbulent youth
• [12:34–17:22]: Meeting the Cook brothers and becoming an official outlaw
• [18:13–24:24]: Robbery spree, Chandler bank robbery, murders, and growing infamy
• [25:40–28:27]: The sting operation: Maggie Glass and Ike Rogers’ betrayal
• [28:27–32:11]: Trials, jailbreak attempt, and killing the guard
• [33:09–34:07]: Execution, last words, and burial
• [34:19–35:11]: Judge Parker’s death and final family revenge on Ike Rogers

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Episode Tone & Style

The episode retains a measured, narrative-driven tone, interweaving historical fact with cinematic storytelling. Chris Wimmer narrates with a mix of historical empathy and directness, capturing the violent, desperate atmosphere of the era.

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For listeners or readers seeking a vivid, detailed portrait of Cherokee Bill, this episode offers a compelling glimpse into the making of an outlaw, the chaos that followed, and the severe justice of America’s Wild West.

Transcript

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[Chris Wimmer]

Two years before, Cherokee Bill tried to shoot his way off of Murderer's Row in the Fort Smith jail with a

[Narrator]

pistol that had been smuggled in by a friend. He was a 17 year old kid

[Chris Wimmer]

whose life changed forever during the Harvest Dance at Fort Gibson in Oklahoma Territory. Fort Gibson sat near the Big Fork in the Arkansas river, just above the growing town of Muskogee and just inside the border of the Cherokee Nation in the eastern part of the territory.

[Narrator]

The entire eastern section of Oklahoma Territory was home to the nations of the Cherokee Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole.

[Chris Wimmer]

In the autumn of 1893, the outlaw who would be known as Cherokee Bill was still using his given name, Crawford Goldsby. 17 year old Crawford Goldsby went to the harvest dance to rendezvous with with 15 year old Maggie Glass.

[Narrator]

They had met at her cousin's house

[Chris Wimmer]

and apparently it was love at first sight.

[Narrator]

Now, the teenage lovebirds were undoubtedly excited for the big dance, but the night took an unexpected turn in a bad direction.

[Chris Wimmer]

A local man named Jake Lewis, who was in his mid-30s, asked Maggie for a dance. Jake was thoroughly drunk. Maggie declined the dance and he did not take the refusal well.

[Narrator]

As Jake Lewis hassled Maggie Crawford.

[Chris Wimmer]

Goldsby told Jake to back off. Jake was double the size and double the age of Crawford, and even though Jake was drunk, he was more than capable of handling the teenager.

[Narrator]

Jake pummeled the young man in front of the crowd at the dance. Crawford eventually escaped the beating, ran outside and galloped away as Maggie shouted for him to come back. He didn't go back that night or the next. The public humiliation was unbearable, and Crawford Goldsby was determined to settle the score. Two days after the dance, Jake Lewis was doing some work at the local livery. Crawford crept up to the barn with a revolver and waited in ambush.

[Chris Wimmer]

When Jake showed himself, Crawford stepped out,

[Narrator]

announced his intention to kill Jake and opened fire. Crawford fired twice and hit Jake with both shots. As Jake fell to the ground, Crawford took off running. He ran from the site of the ambush and he ran all the way out of the Cherokee Nation. Believing he had killed Jake Lewis, Crawford fled west across the Arkansas river and

[Chris Wimmer]

into the neighboring Creek Nation. Ironically, it might have been easier for Crawford Golsbee to hide than if he had committed the more serious crime of murder. Jake Lewis would not have been alive to identify his attacker. But Jake survived the ambush and he knew who pulled the trigger. So Crawford Golsbee was now wanted for the shooting. And while part of him was probably just a lovesick teenager who had taken his revenge to the extreme, that wasn't the full story. Virtually all of Crawford's 17 years on Earth had been rough.

[Narrator]

If he had not ended up on

[Chris Wimmer]

the outlaw trail for the attack on Jake Lewis, it could easily have been something else. He grew up wild, as folks like

[Narrator]

to say, and his final year of

[Chris Wimmer]

freedom after the shooting at Fort Gibson would be the dictionary definition of wild.

[Narrator]

From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host, Chris Wimmer, and this season we're telling the stories of six outlaws.

[Chris Wimmer]

They're horse thieves, bank robbers, train robbers, and gunfighters.

[Narrator]

This is episode two, Cherokee Bill, A Most Violent Year.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crawford Goldsby's background and upbringing were complex. His father was George Goldsby, a buffalo soldier with the 10th Cavalry who was

[Narrator]

from Perry County, Alabama.

[Chris Wimmer]

His mother was Ellen Beck, who was born in and was a member of the Cherokee Nation. Her parents had been slaves in the Cherokee Nation until they received their freedom

[Narrator]

during the Civil War when Ellen was a child.

[Chris Wimmer]

Ellen and George met in Indian Territory and married at fort Sill in 1874.

[Narrator]

They had four children in Rapid succession,

[Chris Wimmer]

the second of whom was Crawford, with

[Narrator]

a heritage that was a blend of

[Chris Wimmer]

black, white, Cherokee and maybe Lakota and Mexican. The kids were destined to struggle to feel like they belong anywhere. And then in 1880, when Crawford was four years old, the family fell apart.

[Narrator]

According to the story, the family was

[Chris Wimmer]

stationed at Fort Concho in West Texas. In San Angelo, the town near the fort, a sergeant with the buffalo soldiers

[Narrator]

of the 10th Cavalry entered a saloon and was confronted by cowboys and buffalo hunters. They stripped the chevrons off of the sergeant's uniform and forced him out of the bar at the fort. When first Sergeant George Goldsby heard about the altercation, he led eight soldiers back to the saloon.

[Chris Wimmer]

The next confrontation led to a shootout in which three civilians and one soldier died. To avoid being arrested for inciting a riot and murder, George Golsbee went AWOL and fled north to Indian territory. His family never saw him again. Soon afterward, Ellen Goldsby moved her four

[Narrator]

children back to her childhood home of

[Chris Wimmer]

the Cherokee Nation and settled in Fort Gibson. But no sooner had they arrived than

[Narrator]

Ellen had to leave. Ellen Goldsby worked as a laundress for the Army.

[Chris Wimmer]

She traveled from fort to fort doing laundry.

[Narrator]

For the better part of three years,

[Chris Wimmer]

she was away from home. When she was gone, a woman named

[Narrator]

Amanda Foster cared for the four Goldsby

[Chris Wimmer]

children at Fort Gibson. When Ellen Goldsby returned, she wanted her eldest son, Crawford, to have more opportunities than menial labor or the Army. She sent Crawford to school in Kansas

[Narrator]

for three years and then to Pennsylvania

[Chris Wimmer]

to the notorious Carlisle Industrial School for Indians, commonly called the Carlisle Indian School.

[Narrator]

The goal of the school was to strip Native American children of their culture and customs and assimilate them into white Christian society, a guiding principle which was embodied by the unofficial slogan, kill the Indian, save the man. Crawford Golsbee endured two years at the school until he returned to Fort Gibson at the age of 12. When he got back, he learned that his mother had married a man named William Lynch. So now Crawford's father had vanished when he was 4. His mother was gone for a long stretch of time after that. Then he went to school in Kansas and Pennsylvania, and when he returned home, there was a new man living in the house. To no one's surprise, Crawford did not get along with his stepfather. At age 15, Crawford left the house

[Chris Wimmer]

and moved in with his older sister and her husband. There are accounts which say the husband was physically abusive, so that could have

[Narrator]

been a bad environment as well. The arrangement lasted two long years until Crawford moved out and took work on a local ranch. Crawford Golsbee was 17. It was the autumn of 1893, and it was the harvest dance at Fort Gibson.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crawford took a beating from Jake Lewis and was humiliated in front of Maggie Glass.

[Narrator]

In a fit of revenge, Crawford shot and wounded Jake Lewis and fled to the Creek Nation. Jake identified his attacker and the law in the Cherokee Nation swore out a warrant for Crawford's arrest. But Crawford Golsbee successfully evaded the law, and in the Creek Nation he encountered

[Chris Wimmer]

two brothers, Bill and Jim Cook, who

[Narrator]

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[Narrator]

The Cook brothers were similar in age to Crawford Goldsby. Bill Cook was a little older and Jim Cook was a little younger.

[Chris Wimmer]

They were mixed blood Cherokee citizens like Crawford and also like Crawford, they lost

[Narrator]

their father early in life.

[Chris Wimmer]

Their father passed away when they were

[Narrator]

children and their mother died when Bill

[Chris Wimmer]

was 14 and Jim was 10.

[Narrator]

At that point, with no parents, the boys were sent to the Cherokee Orphan Asylum in the Cherokee Nation capital of Tahlequah.

[Chris Wimmer]

The boys didn't like the orphanage, which

[Narrator]

was no surprise and they left before long.

[Chris Wimmer]

They survived the next few years by doing odd jobs. Bill Cook became a decent cowboy and an expert whiskey drinker when he was 18 or 19 he started selling illegal whiskey in Oklahoma Territory until he was caught by the U.S. marshals and thrown in jail for 40 days.

[Narrator]

Along the way, Bill fell in love with a girl named Martha Pittman to prove to her father that he wasn't a no account outlaw. Bill started working with the marshals as a posse man, but the pursuit of legitimacy came to an end when his younger brother Jim stole a watch. Jim was quickly caught and taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas. That was the headquarters of the deputy U.S. marshals who ranged through Oklahoma Territory and the home of the hanging judge, Isaac Parker. 16 year old Jim Cook had no interest in facing justice in Judge Parker's courtroom, so he jumped bail and went on the run. He ran back to Oklahoma Territory to the Creek Nation at the same time that Crawford Golsbee was running to the Creek Nation to avoid the law in the Cherokee Nation. When Bill Cook learned that his brother had been arrested and charged with grand larceny and had then escaped Fort Smith, Bill abandoned his job with the marshals and rushed to the Creek Nation in search of his brother. Bill found Jim and they both found Crawford Goldsby and since they all needed money, they quickly settled on a goal which was not illegal but made them permanent outlaws nonetheless. The US Government had just purchased a strip of land in the Cherokee Nation to open the land to white settlers.

[Chris Wimmer]

After the purchase, each Cherokee citizen was entitled to $265.70. Crawford Golsbee and the Cook brothers were Cherokee citizens and they were entitled to payment. But as wanted men, they couldn't collect

[Narrator]

their money personally in Tahlequah. So they rode to Tahlequah, and the Cook brothers asked a woman who was

[Chris Wimmer]

a friend if she would collect the money on their behalf. The three young men offered to give her $50 each if she performed the errand. She agreed, and she successfully collected the

[Narrator]

money from the treasurer's office. Crawford and the Cook brothers gave her

[Chris Wimmer]

$50 each, and she had earned a handsome reward for an easy job.

[Narrator]

But what none of them knew was

[Chris Wimmer]

that the woman's estranged husband had watched

[Narrator]

her go to the treasurer's office to collect the money.

[Chris Wimmer]

The husband became suspicious that she might be with the wanted boy, Jim Cook, and he alerted Cherokee authorities. A posse found the three young men on the evening of June 17, 1894,

[Narrator]

only a few hours after the boys

[Chris Wimmer]

had collected their money. Deputy Sheriff Sequoyah Houston of the Cherokee

[Narrator]

Light Horse police force led the posse

[Chris Wimmer]

that arrived to arrest Jim Cook on outstanding larceny charges.

[Narrator]

Houston had planned to surround the hotel restaurant where the boys were staying and

[Chris Wimmer]

wait until nightfall to capture Jim Cook.

[Narrator]

But as the posse approached the hotel, Crawford Golsbee was sitting outside under a tree, enjoying the quiet summer evening. Crawford saw them coming. He grabbed his Winchester and raced for the hotel. He shouted at Bill and Jim to prepare for battle. As the posse surrounded the building, Deputy Houston demanded their surrender. The young men refused, and a gun battle erupted. Houston took a position in a nearby ravine and fired at the hotel. The shots wounded Jim Cook. Inside the building building, Crawford Golsbee fired a barrage at Deputy Houston, and at least one of the bullets found its mark. Deputy Houston fell, mortally wounded. In the small hotel, Jim Cook was nearly as bad. Outside, the men of the posse rushed to Deputy Houston's position, which afforded Crawford Golsbee and Bill Cook an opportunity. Crawford and Bill ran out of the hotel and dashed across the yard to the barn. They leapt onto their horses, collected Jim Cook from the hotel, and raced away into the darkness. With that shootout and that killing, the Cook brothers and Crawford Golsby were officially

[Chris Wimmer]

outlaws who would be hunted forever.

[Narrator]

Though forever would come much sooner than they hoped. Crawford and the Cook brothers made it 20 miles down the road from Tahlequah to Fort Gibson. They found a doctor and forced him

[Chris Wimmer]

to dress Jim's wounds. Then they stole a horse for Jim and kept moving. They started riding east toward Arkansas when

[Narrator]

they were spotted by lawmen. In the panic to escape, Crawford and Bill Cook became separated from Jim Cook.

[Chris Wimmer]

The lawmen overtook Jim and arrested him.

[Narrator]

But Crawford and Bill evaded capture. When Crawford, Goldsby and Bill Cook disappeared into the wilderness, it marked the beginning of six months of utter chaos in eastern Oklahoma territory. Crawford and Bill organized a group of

[Chris Wimmer]

bandits who would be called the Cook Gang, and Crawford became known by his famous nickname. Back in Tahlequah, when the posse had questioned the woman who helped Crawford and the Cook brothers, she referred to Crawford as Cherokee Bill, and the name stuck. She probably wasn't the first person to use the nickname, but that was when it took hold.

[Narrator]

Like all outlaw gangs, a revolving cast of characters rotated in and out of the lineup. But the thing that made the Cook Gang unique was that its members had the same mixed backgrounds as its founders. They had blended African American and Native American heritage, and they operated in the familiar grounds of the Cherokee Nation, the Creek Nation and the Osage Reservation. And they wasted no time. The gang roared to life as if it knew its days were numbered and the guys wanted to make the most out of every minute. On July 2, 1894, the gang raided a mercantile shop in the Creek Nation. Three days later, the gang hit a railroad depot in Nuada, north of Tulsa on the Osage reservation. Less than 12 hours later, the gang held up the Muskogee to Fort Gibson stage and relieved the passengers of their money and watches. One hour later, they robbed William Drew, a prominent Cherokee man, of $80, his belt and his pistol. In mid July, Bill Cook found out that a large amount of money was coming into Red Fork south of the city of Tulsa on a train from Frisco, Texas. Bill Cook, Cherokee Bill, and four other gang members decided to greet it upon its arrival. When the train pulled in, Bill Cook and Cherokee Bill stormed the express car while the others held the engine crew hostage. The large amount of money turned out to be $15, plus the bonus prize of a box of cigars and whiskey. Two weeks later, at the end of July, the gang ventured as far west as it dared. On July 31, five heavily armed men rode into the small town of Chandler on the trail between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The five men dismounted in front of the Lincoln county bank, stepped inside and drew their weapons. The teller fainted, and the outlaws collected around $500 with little effort. Outside, JB Mitchell, a barber who worked across the street from the bank, saw the robbery and shouted the alarm. As the bandits exited the bank, Cherokee Bill raised his rifle and fired. J.B. mitchell fell dead in the street, but his alarm raised the town. A citizen ran to the courthouse and alerted the sheriff. During the gang's escape from town, the sheriff and others opened fire and someone hit gang member Elmer Lucas. Elmer fell from his horse and was captured. Under intense interrogation, he named everyone in the gang and admitted to the Red Fork train robbery. It took just two days for a posse of lawmen to find the gang. The five from the Chandler robbery had rendezvoused with the others at the house of a friend. On August 2, the posse surrounded the house where the gang was hiding. Both sides opened fire and exchanged about 40 shots in a heated fire firefight. When the shooting stopped, two gang members, Lon Gordon and Henry Munson were dead. One A.D. berryhill was captured and the other four, Cherokee Bill, Bill Cook, Thurman Baldwin and Buck Snyder, escaped the house. For Cherokee Bill and Bill Cook, it was their second shootout with Lawman in less than two months in the summer of 1894. And as they quickly demonstrated, the brush with the law had no effect on their plans. In September 1894, the gang robbed the J.

[Chris Wimmer]

A. Parkinson Co. Store in Okmulgee.

[Narrator]

In early October, they robbed a Traveler and then a train depot later that night.

[Chris Wimmer]

A few days later, they hit two

[Narrator]

more train depots on the same night. On October 22, they hit the post

[Chris Wimmer]

office and two stores in the village of Watova, north of Tulsa on the osage reservation. On November 9, Cherokee Bill and gang member Sam McWilliams rode into the tiny

[Narrator]

town of Lenipaw in the northernmost reaches of Oklahoma Territory. The town was straight south of Coffeyville,

[Chris Wimmer]

Kansas, where the Dalton gang had been

[Narrator]

wiped out two years earlier.

[Chris Wimmer]

In Lenipah, Cherokee Bill walked into the

[Narrator]

general store while Sam McWilliams stayed on

[Chris Wimmer]

his horse outside and controlled the townspeople with his Winchester. Cherokee Bill robbed the store and two of its customers of $600, the store owner's gold watch and a bag of supplies. Before leaving, Cherokee Bill decided he needed ammunition.

[Narrator]

During the process of collecting the ammunition with the store owner from a back room, the outlaw spotted a painter named Ernest Melton watching the robbery from the window of the building next to the store. Cherokee Bill shot Ernest Melton in the head, stole the ammunition and returned to Sam McWilliams outside. As the outlaws galloped away, the townsfolk rushed to Ernest Melton's side. Ernest was unarmed and posed no threat. The outlaws had not worn masks, so it wasn't a case where Ernest Melton was the only person who could have identified Cherokee Bill. The outlaw had just done it. A small posse of townspeople gave chase, but they were no match for the outlaw's speed. The robbery and murder in Lenipah marked five months of nearly non stop action by the Cook gang. From the Osage reservation in the north to the Cherokee and Creek nations in the south. The people of Oklahoma Territory were terrified and fed up.

[Chris Wimmer]

Nearly 5,000 citizens signed petitions begging President Grover Cleveland for protection. The authorities issued rewards as high as $1500 for Cherokee Bill and members of the gang. But the gang kept going. On December 17, the outlaws robbed the Lafayette Brothers merchandise store in the Creek Nation near Lake Eufaula. On Christmas eve they were 100 miles

[Narrator]

north robbing a train depot in Newada. And they finished their spree on Christmas Day by robbing the passengers of a stagecoach. That was how Cherokee Bill and the Cook gang closed the year with six straight months of robbery and murder. From July to December there had been at least 14 robberies and at least two killings. But as abruptly as the spree began, it stopped. Bill Cook was captured in New Mexico on January 12, 1895 and sent to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he was eventually convicted on multiple robbery charges and sentenced to 45 years in prison. Cherokee Bill and some of the other gang members were still at large. But Bill was the real prize for law enforcement. The reward money hadn't worked and posse couldn't catch cherokee bill.

[Chris Wimmer]

So U.S. marshal George Crump decided to

[Narrator]

lure the outlaw into a trap using Cherokee Bill's old sweetheart, Maggie Glass. Maggie was now 16 years old and her 17th birthday was coming up at the end of January 1895. Maggie had a cousin named Ike Rogers. Maggie and Crawford Goldsby had met at Ike's house two and a half years earlier before the harvest dance when it all went wrong. Ike Rogers had a complicated history. He had served as a deputy marshal but had been dismissed for harboring fugitives. Now Rogers was in financial trouble and had recently asked for reappointment as a deputy marshal. Marshall Crump made Rogers an offer. Help us capture Cherokee Bill and we will reconsider your appointment. Rogers agreed and he found a way to invite Cherokee Bill to a birthday party that he was hosting for Maggie at his house. Maggie Glass and Cherokee Bill were both suspicious of Ike Rogers invitation, but they both attended the party on January 29, 1895. At one point, Maggie asked the outlaw

[Chris Wimmer]

to leave, but he refused. He remained vigilant, but he didn't leave. Throughout the afternoon and evening, Rogers made several unsuccessful attempts to subdue Cherokee Bill.

[Narrator]

Rogers suggested Bill lay his weapon aside and Bill refused.

[Chris Wimmer]

Rogers offered Bill a glass of whiskey, which was secretly laced with morphine and Bill refused to drink. Cherokee Bill slept lightly and awakened whenever Rogers approached. The hours ticked by and Rogers started to panic. Cherokee Bill would probably leave the house

[Narrator]

sometime after daybreak and Rogers needed to do something. In the morning, Rogers saw his chance. When Cherokee Bill lit a cigarette from the fireplace, Rogers struck Bill across the back of the head with an iron poker. Cherokee Bill dropped to his knees, stunned but still conscious. Rogers and his neighbor Clint Scales, fought with the wounded outlaw and subdued him long enough to apply handcuffs. Rogers and Scales bound Bill's feet with baling wire and placed him in a wagon. They drove him to the train station and handed him over to Deputy Marshal Bill Smith. Several hours later, Cherokee Bill was in Fort Smith, Arkansas with an appointment to visit the courtroom of Judge Isaac Parker. At the end of February 1895, Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill, had just turned

[Chris Wimmer]

19 years old and he went to

[Narrator]

trial for the murder of Ernest Melton,

[Chris Wimmer]

the man who had witnessed part of

[Narrator]

the robbery of the general store in Lenipaw three months earlier.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crawford's mother Ellen, secured the legal services

[Narrator]

of J. Warren Reed, one of the

[Chris Wimmer]

most renowned defense attorneys in Fort Smith. Reed put up a good fight, but in a lightning fast two day trial,

[Narrator]

a jury found Crawford Goldsby guilty.

[Chris Wimmer]

The outlaw sat in jail for six weeks awaiting his sentence. And it came on Saturday morning, April 13, 1895. Judge Parker delivered a scathing condemnation. Before announcing the sentence, he said, from the evidence in this case, there can be no doubt of your guilt.

[Narrator]

That evidence shows a killing of the most brutal and wicked character. Melton was the innocent, unoffending victim of the savage brutality which prompted the robbery and murder. Judge Parker, who was nicknamed the hanging judge for the number of times he imposed a death sentence, surprised no one

[Chris Wimmer]

by sentencing Crawford Golsbee to death by hanging.

[Narrator]

The execution was supposed to happen eight weeks later on June 25, but it was delayed while the case worked its way through the appeals process. As the original date came and went, Crawford Golsbee sat in his cell on the first floor of the three story jail in Fort Smith. The first floor was further condemned and it was known as Murderer's Row. While the weather grew hotter and summer dragged by, the prison guards noticed Crawford behaving erratically. On July 10, a supervisor ordered a search of all the cells. The guards found nine.45 caliber cartridges in Crawford's cell. In the crude bathroom on the first floor, they found a.45 caliber rope revolver hidden in a bucket of lime. No one knew for sure how the gun and bullets had been smuggled into the jail. But it was a scary development, sadly, for guard Lawrence Keating.

[Chris Wimmer]

He and the other guards failed to

[Narrator]

find a second loaded revolver and additional ammunition, which had been hidden behind a loose stone in the wall of Cherokee Bill's cell. On the evening of July 26, 1895,

[Chris Wimmer]

prison guard Lawrence Keating performed his nightly

[Narrator]

routine of locking the cell doors.

[Chris Wimmer]

He started on the first floor, murderers row, and he had no idea that a murderer in one of the cells had a gun. When Keating reached the cell of Cherokee Bill, Bill shouted at Keating to throw up his hands and surrender his pistol. Instead, Keating reached for his gun. Cherokee Bill fired twice.

[Narrator]

The first shot hit Keating in the stomach and spun him around. The second shot hit Keating in the back. As Keating stumbled away, four guards heard

[Chris Wimmer]

the shots and rushed to murderer's row.

[Narrator]

They opened fire on Cherokee Bill and the scene turned into a sustained gun battle.

[Chris Wimmer]

On the first floor of the jail, the noise must have been deafening as

[Narrator]

more than 100 shots were fired. Smoke filled the air, men screamed, and

[Chris Wimmer]

bullets ricocheted off the walls and the

[Narrator]

iron bars of the cells. Eventually, an inmate named Henry Starr negotiated with Cherokee Bill to surrender.

[Chris Wimmer]

Starr convinced Bill to turn over his revolver with the promise that the guards wouldn't kill him. Cherokee Bill agreed and handed the gun to Starr, who passed it to the guards. The only serious casualty of the gunfight was Lawrence Keating, who died from his wounds. Cherokee Bill now faced a second murder

[Narrator]

charge, this time for killing a federal officer during an escape attempt. Cherokee Bill was tried for the murder of Lawrence Keating on Aug. 8, 1895, and found guilty. On Aug. 10, he was sentenced to death for the second time. Seven months later, Cherokee Bill's final day arrived. According to reports from other prisoners, Bill spent his time singing and whistling, showing no fear or remorse. He had turned 20 years old on February 8, 1896, and his execution was scheduled for March 17. Judge Isaac Parker characterized Cherokee Bill as a bloodthirsty mad dog who killed for the love of killing. Fort Smith. Executions drew large audiences, and the hanging of a notorious outlaw like Cherokee Bill

[Chris Wimmer]

was not to be missed.

[Narrator]

Late in the afternoon of March 17, 1896, deputy marshals escorted Cherokee Bill, real

[Chris Wimmer]

name Crawford Goldsby, to the gallows for his date with the hangman's noose. Crawford's mother, Ellen, his sister Georgia, and his younger brother Clarence were there, as well as a few other supporters. The condemned man was offered the chance to speak any final words. According to the legend, he said, I came here to die, not to make a speech.

[Narrator]

Though another popular version was this is as good a day to die as any.

[Chris Wimmer]

It was all over.

[Narrator]

A few minutes later, Crawford Golsbee's mother Ellen and sister Georgia took his body by train to Fort Gibson. He was buried in what was then called the Cherokee National Cemetery, later renamed Citizens Cemetery of Fort Gibson.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crawford Cherokee Bill Goldsby was the last

[Narrator]

famous hanging from the court of the hanging Judge Isaac Parker. The final hangings from Parker's court happened on July 1, four months after Cherokee Bill's execution.

[Chris Wimmer]

By that time, Judge Parker was showing the effects of a long illness.

[Narrator]

Two months later, on September 1, the US Congress removed Oklahoma Territory from the

[Chris Wimmer]

jurisdiction of Judge Parker's court, which effectively ended his long reign as the final

[Narrator]

arbiter of justice for the territory. Over the course of his 21 year career, he sentenced 160 people to death and 79 of those sentences were carried out. Judge Isaac Parker died on November 17, 1896, eight months after the execution of Cherokee Bill. And the final coda of the Cherokee bill story happened five months after the death of Judge Parker. On April 20, 1897. Ike Rogers, the man who had captured

[Chris Wimmer]

Cherokee Bill, stepped on off the train at Fort Gibson.

[Narrator]

Clarence Goldsby, Cherokee Bill's younger brother, shot and killed Ike Rogers in the last act of revenge. Next time on Legends of the Old West. It's the story of notorious gunfighter Clay Allison.

[Chris Wimmer]

From Confederate army soldier in the Civil

[Narrator]

War to overall wild man of the West, Clay Allison Story features knife fights, vigilante lynchings and shootouts. And all of that was before tensions rose in Dodge City between Wyatt Earp and Clay Allison to the point where there was nearly a war in Dodge.

[Chris Wimmer]

Clay Allison's story is next week on on Legends of the Old West. To binge all the episodes of a new season and to listen to every episode of the podcast. With no commercials, subscribe in Apple Podcasts or sign up through the link in the Show Notes or On our website blackbarrowmedia.com this series was researched by Mandy Wimmer and written by me, Chris Wimmer. Original music by Rob Valiere.

[Narrator]

Thanks for listening.

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