Western Outlaw. Born part Sioux and Cherokee Indian, he was one of the most notorious and feared renegades on the Frontier. He began his life of crime in petty thievery and killed his first man at age twelve. By 1894, he was a wanted man belonging to the infamous Cook Brothers' gang that robbed banks and trains across the Oklahoma Territory. He later formed his own gang that included such outlaws as Henry Starr and Billy the Kid. In July 1894, he robbed the railroad depot at Nowata and killed the station agent Richard Richards. As he was being chased by a posse of lawmen, he shot and killed Deputy Sequoyah Houston. He later robbed the Shufeldt & Son store at Lenapal and shot and killed Ernest Melton, an innocent by-stander. It was for this murder that Judge Isaac Parker placed a $1,300 reward on Cherokee Bill, dead or alive. In January 1895, he was captured, taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas for trial, convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. In an attempted jail break, Cherokee Bill shot and killed guard Lawrence Keating and was once again found guilty and sentenced to hang. Responsible for more then a dozen murders, Judge Issac Parker, characterized him as a "bloodthirsty mad dog who killed for the love of killing." When asked at his hanging if he had any final words he stated, "No! I came here to die, not to make a speech."
Western Outlaw. Born part Sioux and Cherokee Indian, he was one of the most notorious and feared renegades on the Frontier. He began his life of crime in petty thievery and killed his first man at age twelve. By 1894, he was a wanted man belonging to the infamous Cook Brothers' gang that robbed banks and trains across the Oklahoma Territory. He later formed his own gang that included such outlaws as Henry Starr and Billy the Kid. In July 1894, he robbed the railroad depot at Nowata and killed the station agent Richard Richards. As he was being chased by a posse of lawmen, he shot and killed Deputy Sequoyah Houston. He later robbed the Shufeldt & Son store at Lenapal and shot and killed Ernest Melton, an innocent by-stander. It was for this murder that Judge Isaac Parker placed a $1,300 reward on Cherokee Bill, dead or alive. In January 1895, he was captured, taken to Fort Smith, Arkansas for trial, convicted of murder and was sentenced to death. In an attempted jail break, Cherokee Bill shot and killed guard Lawrence Keating and was once again found guilty and sentenced to hang. Responsible for more then a dozen murders, Judge Issac Parker, characterized him as a "bloodthirsty mad dog who killed for the love of killing." When asked at his hanging if he had any final words he stated, "No! I came here to die, not to make a speech."
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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