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Oklahoma Federation of Labor Collection, M452, Box 5, Folder 2. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma.
BABfc, JOHN T. SECOND INTERVIEW 9655*
449BARR,-JOHN T. . SECGND INTERVIEW. 9655 '
Investigator, Raymond Jantz,January 13 , 1933.
Interview with John T. Barr-,Stecker.
I moved to the Chickasaw Nation, Indi-an Territory,
in 1371, f if ty-five years ago. v'fhen I came to the
Territory there were but few white s e t t l e r s .here. The
land embraced in whet were^c'elled the Chootaw and
Chickasaw Nations by t reaty with the Indians had been
ceded to them in consideration of the relinquishment
of lands in Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
At the ti-ne, of the removal of the t r ibes known as
the Five Civilized Tribes to the Indian Territory the
country was intended ss a permanent abiding place 'of
such t r ibes , where, as self-governing coranunities,
$he Five Civilized Tribes should be free .from any
interference or encroachmen-t of the whites, but as .
years passed and the population of the s ta tes contiguous
to the Indian Territory increased / the whites over-
flowed, in to the Territory where they improved and
BARR, JOHN T .* • 3EG0HD INTERVIEW.
-2-
9655
450'
s-
cultivated the land as tenants of the Indians.
Thus, finally, partly as 8 result of the short-
sightedness of the Indians in admitting the whites into
the country and pertly as a result of 'the pressure of
the dominant race, v/hich had over-ridden' them in their
homes east of the Mississippi end whom they were, again
y;powerless 'to resist , this seclusion and isolation'
the * .
which/Indians sought by immigration was lost.
I t i's 2 matter of. history now that their tribal
laws and courts were finally abolished, the land once
held by them in common was allotted to th<?»i in severr.lty,
and the old Indian Territory and Oklahoma csrue into the .
Union as a state.-
I only refer to these matters as a background for
my description of life in/the old Chicka.saw Nation end
the incidents I am about/to describe, for those conditions
grew out of the changes that tine has ?/rought during
the last fifty ^fesrs. '
' At the time I' came to the Chickass'v Nation the
country was only thinly settled and as I have already
BARR, JOHN 1. SECOND INTERVIEW. 9655
i - 3 - -
ststed there were only 8 few white se t t l e r s here, many
• of them inter-married white men who had contracted
marriages with women of Indian blood. The Indians as
a general thing lived in small settlements but the few
whi te s e t t l e r s who were scattered here and there over
the-country seldom located in the Indians' sett lements.
Most of the Indians were averse to manual labor
and as game was plentiful they managed to get along
very well with their stock and small garden patches.
A few of the mixed bloods were more enterprising and
had farms-but generally speaking there was very l i t t l e
•"* effort on the part of the Indians to-put* the land into
cult ivat ion. Originally no white people had any r ight
to l ive in the Indian country and, those who came i'n.
were real ly he.re on sufferance or by permission of the
Indian au thor i t i e s . A permit lav: WPS enacted under
othe provisions of which white men were permitted to
l ive in the Terri tory. The f i r s t permit law enacted
provided that whites might l ive here by paying an
r annual permit fee or tax of 25 cents . This charge was
la te r increased by the Indian Legislature, f i r s t to
BARR, JOHN 1. . SECOND
I4-
52
$1.00 per year and la ter to* $5.00. There was very l i t t l e
objection to ttie f i r s t raise but when the annual permit *
was boosted to $5.00 per head there was some d i s sa t i s -
faction among the whites. Some few.of them moved out
of Indian Territory but most of them paid the tax without
question.
As the land was held in coranon, no one could acquire
t i t l e to any part icular t rac t of land. Right of .possession
depended on the occupancy and improvements made upon the
land. There was no law regarding land l ines other then
a trespass law making i t unlawful for anyone to locate
or reside nearer than one-fourth mile from the holdings'
and improvements of another.
As the white people continued to d r i f t into 4he (
c'ountry, some of the more enterprising Indians conceived
the idea of making long-time leases on tuei r holdings of
from five to ten years, depending upon the emoiint of
land put into cultivation and the kind of buildings erected.
Under th is lease system the country began to s e t t l e up
very rapidly. The open range and plenty of grass and
water began to a t t r a c t cow-men and quite a number of stock.
, . •' ^ ' . . 453BARR, iow T . SECOND ittb&mmS '
- 5 -
ranches were established in the Indian Territory a t an
early da"te. > ^
The full blood Indians' did not take kindly to the
encroachments of the whites and would have been bet ter
sat isf ied without their presence in the cduntry. I well
remember a conversetion at the Brier Creek Court House
on one occasion between Dr. ./orthington, an inter-married
ci t izen who was County Clerk of pickens County/ an.d a
bunch of full bloods over the lease question. Dr. Abrth-
"ington was.urging the full bipods to Vase^out their
land, te l l ing them that the game.would soon be gone and
that they would have to-chen-e their customs; but that if
they would rant out the i r land the rents would make them*
a living.. The Indiens l istened at tent ively to his argii-
ment but rather scoffed at 'the idea, saying "Tom Fuller
mighty good, Doc; Tom Fuller mighty £ood."
As time went on, the lease system was greatly
extended. Cowmen were stocking the range with ca t t l e ,
some of the pastures being fenced." Under the Indian
rule i t was unlawful for a white man to hold ca t t le in
the, Indian Territory bu t \ th i s la v was easi ly evaded by
454BARR, JOHN T-, SECOND INTERVIEW. 9655
an arrangement with some Indian under which the pasture
and ca t t le were held in the Indian's name.
Owners of herds of cat t le ,on their way to the north-
ern" marksts through the Chiekasaw Nation from Texas?were
compelled to pay a tax of 25 cents per head on the ca t t le
driven through tiie Indian domain. This law was also evaded
f by resourceful comen and Indians in many instances by
giving a bogus b i l l of sale to some Indis n wno would meet
them at Red Rivey; the Indian for an agreed sura -wouldi .and / .
accompany the ca t t le , /c la im them as his own un t i l they &
passed the Chickasew border on the north.
During Governor Overton's administration in 1876 or
1877, the Indian Legislature again'amended the permit law
by raising the tax on each non-ci'tizen from $5.00 to
#25.00. There had been some dissat isfact ion some years
before when the tex had been raised from $L00 to $5»00but nothing to compare with the ten pest raised by this
/ " \ " Vl a s t increase. - [ - . \
/ " • ' \
Many of the lessees and renters openly refused io
I -pay and Governor Overton/ called cart the Milrtie end also
BARR, JOHN T. SECOND INTERVIEW *
- 7 -
9655455
(V
asked for the assistance of a squad of United States
Soldiers to collect the permit tax and remove those who
refused to pay it. These strong measures were effective
end most of the white men paid off their Indian land-\
lords', ass is t ing them in many instances and those who
persisted tn their refusal -.vert removed from the l imi ts/ • «. •
of ihe Chickasaw Nat ion. \
Meanwhile the t ide of white immigration to the
Indian Territory continued. -a^gpod many cowmen came in
from Texas seeking new range for the^ir ca t t l e and a l l
thjls tended to advertise the country. Many of the cowmenr • • i
rain wire fences around Jtheir ranges, putting in large
pastures to save expense and to keep ca t t l e belongingto otHers off the i r range. In this way quite a number of/ the
large pastures in ihe western part, of/Chickasaw Nation
were enclosed. Some of these pastures covered thousands
of
in
adres. As au white man could lawfully hold ca t t le/ .
the Indian country, the pastures by secret arrange-
ments were a l l claimed by Indian cit izens but were
finknced by/hon-citizens who were the. real owners of.
the stock, ' This was done to evade the law.
456BARR, JOHN T . SECOND. INT&1VIBW . 9655
-8- ' " .
This illegal practice became so prevalent as to
finally attract the attention of the Indian Government
and a law was passed prohibiting Indien citizens from
fencing more than one square mile or six hundred and
forty acres of land and orders were issued for the
removal of a l l fences enclosing holdings in excess- of
that provided by law. The owners refused to take down
their fences and the Militia was again called out to
cut down the, large pastures and put out permit ev.a.ders,
arid the Indian Militia in obedience to those orders
proceeded to cut the wire around the pasture illegally
fenced and considerable excitement followed.
V»T. 3.-"Washington, &n inter-married citizen, was the
owner of one of these large pastures. A detachment of
Militia camped neer his ranch with the view of cutting
his fences the following day. During the night their~~*
horses were a l l stolen or run off and. some twenty head
were killed arid the balance scattered over the country
which was rough\and broken. I t was penerelly believed
that Washington's cowboys had run the IndiarS * horsed off
BARR, JOHNiT* SECOND INTERVIEW.
-9- -
9655
.and Mr.. Washington and some of his cowhands were arresjted
but the matter was finally adjusted in some way and
Mr. Washington paid for the horses. , . ..
The early history of the Chickasaw Nation and so
far as that is concerned of the whole Indian Territory I
is crimsoned with blood. Many white men in the Chickasaw
'Nation could hardly be classed as good citizens. The
• /
unsettled condition of the country and the difficultyI !
of bringing criminals to justice made the CJtiickasaw
Nation an ideal stomping ground for renegades and out-i
laws from other states.I • ..
The Unfted States Criminal Court, witii* headquarterJ *
at Fort Smith, Arkansas, was the only court having juri
diction in the Indian Territory. It is true that there
were Indian, courts but they had jurisdiction, only in ca;i
involving Indian citizens. A few deputy United States
marshals -scattered over this vast territory constituted the
i
ies
i ' y Ixonly police force, and energetic and efficient though they /
might have been, they were too few in number to apprehend \
many of the law violators and alli-round bad men of that day./ .
It was a violation of the United States law £o intro-
duce intoxicating liquor into the Indian ooupry,
BARB, JOHN'T, 3EGQND IJKTJBV?
fio- *9655
but this by no raeens/prevented i ts introduction,arid*/
' '"among the notorious' whiskey runners wbo'se'names/were
- well-known were/he //ade brothers, who/oe men/and two-
negroes, Dick / l a s s and George Mack/ • The}/ heed-
quarters/werii in the Sehinole lie #1 on bui/a's their
supply of jmiskey cane from Texas, they had to pass
through jm§ Chickasaw Nation with-I^freir--supplies,
following what became ,kn^n as tfye old .Vhiskey Tra i l .
'-noth/7/ ' ' J -'
ier well-known whi/skey peddler and all-around' / / *'
"barman" was Frank/Pierce fy&berts, "sometimes calledPierce, who''came- "rpm "Texas. Hi,s headquarters
- / ' ' . "-fere a,t J6hnsenville in/tni^Chibkasaw Nation. A
negro (of th<=> name of Manual-Patterson was another
notorious character/ He lived near the,-old Cherokee
town of ivashita. /He f inal ly ki l led one of the AAKJ&S
7 • • • ' • ' ' ' : - • • - • • ' • • • . • •
brothers, a density United States marshal-, while
res is t ing arrest , and Manuel Pctter^on '.later died in
the Fort Smith j e l l . - ' •
'" To/this li-st may be added the nspie. of • Bud
Stevens^ He commitfe.d some crime .aee'r Gerdenvilley.
"i'
BARR,>JOHN T . -SECOND INTERVIEW 9655
<* ' '-11- ' ; '
Grayson County, Texas, and when Deputy Sheriff Dallas
Hodges tried to ar-rest him Stevens shot and'killed
him and accompanied "by his wife, fled to the Indian
Territory and-located near Sorghum Flets on the <veshits
T-4^=tne Arbuckle Mountains. Some of the brokers- of
Dallas .Hodges learned of Stevens' thereabouts 2nd* ' (
• went to-arrest him. Stevens was hiding in a secluded
place in vrough;broken country and detecting the
approach of the Hodges men before they saw him, he
topened,fire, killing.^Bsbe Hodges end wounding
„ Mr. Colemen-end then made good his esc.e'pe 'o a nep-.ro
•.community near the fcot of the Arbuckle'Mountains.Here he found a congenial sp i r i t in the person of a young
• * " y
• negro of. the name of Bully July and being of. the same typ?
of character, they soon becane cronies end boon companions
fin3 made frequent trips together to the mountainus,. "^ut
July's cupidity finally r e s u l t s in bte'v=ns' death.
Learning- that.Stevens had accumulated some l i t t l e .property /
an d desiring to possess i t , the negro lured Stevens into
the mountain, shot him down' in coir!-'-lood^and having
concealed 'he body.' returned to the Stevenr, home and
4G0BAHR, JOfiN T . 'ECOND INTERVIEW //9655
-12- *
« informed Mrs. Stevens that her husband/was badly injured
in the mountains and needed h>r csre gnd attention.
'Ihe unsuspicious woman unhesitatingly/ ccccmpa.nied the
negro to the place where her husband/was supoosed to be,
•.vhere she was brutally f-sr<anlted 'by I 'he negro who then
murdered her and cist her body intci c deep cave.
The protracted absence of Stevens and his *vife
excited l i t t l e attention in the community where they had
resided for i t ".as known that jipywes an outlaw avd on
the "dodgfe," end i t was generelly believed thrt they had
left the country. ?rcb£-bly their fate -'.ouLi n -vor hav=
been known if the lips of the :nur:!erer li&3 remained
seeled, but .vhi skey finally vet^ayed him. ..hile attending
a negro gathering end while under the influence of .'.hiskey^
this negro confidentially revealed the details of his
crime to -one of his col rei fri^n-i c^ th- name "of Loftus.
Loftus l^ter toli some other negroes-en3. "ul'y bec&ne
suspicious of Lc^us a-ic killed hin: but the det&4§ts of
hifs cr\me Lgainst Stev^ca.tr.c hij ..ife finally leelr-id
cut,-probably through s>3rle o^ the negrnrs »vhom Loftus
had told -C'i\0. ofi.OBrs .vpre sent to tie scene of the
/crime. • - .
BARRj JOHN T. SECOND INTERVIEW. • 9655
t tr
-13-
The ccve was loc: ted in which Urs. 'oteveas ' body
had been cast , and one of the officers lowered into
• the cave. .Then he reached the bottom he found th^t
i\ was a veri table sneke den and signalled his friends
and f-jeypulled him out. Procuring a gun he again descend-
ed and kil led c - l e r S e number of rat t lesnakes. The-
" skeleton of Itfrs. Stevens was found in the cave and with •
her body there was e c?rpe.t bag. containing her clothing,
"dully was arrested, carried to Fort Smith, t r ied , convict^
ed and hanged in 1383.
1 no% cone to the incidents -leading up to the k i l l -
ing of my t/?o brothers, Jim e.ni ~.ndy Roff,^>y the notor-
.ious Lee gang of "outlaws in 1^85. At that tine Ji(n and
Andy and another brother of lfhiae were ranching between
Ca-ddo Greek an1 the mountains about twj aiiles west of
3erwyn. Frcnk Pierce, ..hose re: 1 nsne was Prank Pierce
..Roberts, Jim Lee and his brothers, P1'nk end To:.i Lee, and l
their trothi-r-in-law, £3 Oteine,w-re cper.-'tiag in the
vicini ty of. Ived -River some distance from whese my. brothers
• .vere ranching.
462
BAER, JOHN T. SECQftD' INTERVIEW 9655
- . . ' * . ' -14- - • •
Frank Pierce had moved into the Indian Territory
from one of 'the 7>/estern counties of Texas and had
iocated at Johnsonville.. Kis principal business was ..t
bootlegging and he was considered a very bad man..
«/hile-he was t t Johr son.ville he killed Chub yJoore,
Chickasaw Indian, but. escaped prosecution on a clain
of self-defence. J .-
s Ed St°in "was running e small store at th* t* time . • ' •
et Dela'were Bend" in Texa.s' on F;ed ?i?er a:id from him
?ie^'">^ obtained .his supplies of#<.hiskey. In fact
Stein 's pl^ce was the source offsupply for nos+ of
the whiskey peddler? operating ir> the Chiokas£.7 nation.
Jim lee >vas a squs-f men v/hq had married an Indien wife .
end as th is gave hix a "ri.°f>t" in the country, he had . *
quite a Itrge pasture feio.pd in on the Indian Territory
side of the r i i rer twelve to fifteen miles nortV of •
Delaware .Bead'near what was called "'•IS Branch, e
t r ibutary of Ceddo Creek, u rc^her oat-of-the-v.ay
place and f.vith him lived h.is brother, ''-rik This piece• • • - ' • '
wes the general stronghold of i r s t o* the bfd rr,en and
.B/.RB, JtiHN T. . SECOND INTERVIEW
- 1 5 -
4639.655
outlaws passing through tht.t part of the country.
Iliese four men were ' a i l friends and associates in
crime1 and the Lep brothers'.end ITrenk Pierce, in addition
to thei r other criminal a c t i v i t i e s , .vere essocie ted
to£et'ner in rusislinr c£ t t l e .
7or sevprcil" years prior to 11"5 aad up to that time>
qui te L> nu-r.Lfr of ci t t l e ranged 3,n the snouiiteins i e . r the
lioff ranchmand in A ^r i l of th:. t y^er ;\hile ~: • brother
* . N - ' ; *•Ti~ '-c u=p in I?le mountains lov.:inr- throagh the otre'e^
i
he sf>w five or six r.er. on horseback rounding, o small
o^' c a t t l e . *ie stirto-l to ride cvprito tbe olece
ossible andv?here they were to identify these men if p
;see what they were doing with the cat t le out .wh.en these,
men paw .AH coming they le^t tho ca t t l e and rode off.
Jim could no.t recognize any of the party l-it a^oi examiri-* *
ing the ca t t l e , he discovered thto „'.:-. • oeirr^ed to
some of the s e t t l e is in the neighborhood, «no owned small
herds. Some of these cf t t le belonged to a-man of the
name of Estes; others to a man- of the aame qf ?&c
and the others showed Moff" brrnda.
4641 •3ARR, JOHN T . SECOND, INTERVIEW 9655
Jim left the cattle and rode off some distance and
concealed himself and in £ Fhort time the rustlers
returned and rounded up the ca t t le .
Jim then went to L.stes and'^cGolgin and- rep or te-"
.vlu-t he had seen, ' I t v\e.s evening &nc they 'were Icifce inj , , *
striking, the t r a i l to thny ..aited until-morning end.
started out. They trailed the: cattle across the river
to pelawrre 3en^ • «»Iien they rpde up to -twine's store
four or five ~ien ca,:e- oat with! fins in their hands,
inc^uJing Frank Pierce, the Le^ Boys and also iSd Steine
.vho acted as spokes-nan fo~ the narty. J^ Vrotii-r usked.i
wir. Steine if he' had seen anyone pa?,3 leading or '"riving
a lar'ge span of bli-cV i i les . Steiae th&n turned to his
followers, spying, "they tire lCokinc to% so:ne mules."
advantage, ray t ro th a r md his coiap--r.ioua di4 not deem
i t ad*riseble to men'M.oi Cc.!^!^ i.n.i soon £ " t a r •!".: t rode
1 away. . " ' v . • v
.Later my brotner and his co?nk tnioi? j~ot in touch
' '.vith the •.sheriff's office 1.1 jfcincsville am ./.r. Hil l ,
the sh^rif?, arranged to meez the~ on ? fixed L^te and
JOHLI 2?...
l a y plans for th.e a r r e s t of the r<uetle.rs.. l a accordance
" ' • " • • ~ \ • ' " ' • • / • '
with this arrangement a meetrag was held,attended by
posse of nien ftfom the; Territory, Sheriff -Hill andr ^
>t ' •
of his deputies.. -. •*>
Sheriff Hill suggested that inasmuclyas he and'
his deputy, Pr t i/are, were unknown .to t£e Xee boys' and
Frsnk ierce, they would gp to th.e store and g<
inside on a pretext of wanting.to buy something^nd Th "~~• • " - . ' • / • •
'this inenner locate their men and get the dr/p on them
and in"the rae&nt.ime- thet the res t of the pos:=e must wait-
on the -Territory side unt i l they her.ri ff.ofn- Sheriff H i l l .
ThtS plW wcs' filially adopted. • d i l l tnd .rare rode on
to the gjtore .wher e they'v^re ne.t by -/rink Pierce with •. •
'fly asked, them what' 'they wan-teed -anti upon bein^\irif ormed by M-V»__ ^ |i— thtt+-
they ^^4-«6n the^r.way toi&fe-xter L'i-1 v?£ntei3 to know whist"
\ I \ • ' ^ "' 'road to'iMske, Pieivce pointed! to-the r-^aJ '.vith'his "gun-1"
and .told; them to "hAt-it and Wot'look back.." '} it to
•obAy.so v I \rode on \o De^tei\.
n, tiki- meantime 't'h^ p.Qsse,\on the. t e r r i t o r y sicje ; '.'
vv,er«; (,vaitin^. for some v/ord frpm\tfae. sheriff , but bearing
.- \ '
\ • ! • / •
- -f - •_ ; • _
JpHN/% -.SECOND.:
< -I"- - 1 3 - '
.."9655
no/thing, they fina/ly became, res t less and sent a\man who
(d^in that/neighborhood and/had sometimes traded at .
/ • • • • ' - / / / ' / • '
>t-he- ^teine s4pre to -in.v.es.ti^e.te,',. beTieving thet he
would-not grouse'any suspicion among the people v.'h.o v)/ ' • • . /
acquainted with him bu/when he arrived'at the store/ ;'< i j ^ . - ' -
Pierce/ordered, him tyS get
As this man did not .return and no word came from
him, the possfe f inal ly decided to investigate the matter
for vthemsftives. ( 'twere were six or 'e ight men in the
party,'Tohn •/ia'shington, Andy-Hoff| three or "f.our Chick-
. asaw/nrdians and possibly one or//two others. They crossed
"the l o t . Mr. iVashington, 'who. hafi. taken shel ter behind a
Tence, • calTe^^uT*_|o^^im~^jS^^l*d^^
rep-liftd^, "Hold up. youTije3if,,:"<v&$d.-fired his sun^eft-,\\eshing-
ton, the bullet. striMng one i f the fence rai ls and '' • ' . . " • / / " • * • ' >
soa^ttering a lot of • sp l in te rs around him.'
PJLerce then ran some djfstance, jumped on his horse
7?h\cn was. already, saddled and star ted to cross the^river,
• ...the Kieiaber;? of t he posse shodting at him: and he re turning"' - - J - \ , - • • • ' . " , ' • . • ; ' • ' ••"" - > v ' v • ' . . , - • '
; their \ite. He managed'to reach the other, srde of,"the/ ' - . \ •• : - . . • - : - • , ; • x w
BARR, jrOHNT. SECOND. . 9655467
•river; hup there he- f e l l .from his horse on" the sand bar,#
l i t e r a l l y shot tp pieces, his record of crime.et en end, •
Thml members of the posse- recovered several heeds - '
of the. siole^i stock in 'a brushy pasture? on-the Texas'
side in al bend of the r iv^r . Lee. boys werere not at
• \
the store\at..the time fierce v.as ki l led but when th|ey
learned of! his, death they were very\inu,ch incensed, and
.gathered together/<fuite a" number of b&d > men a t , Jim
on-Cold Branch,.
BKRB;, ?OW ;"T, SECOND- INTJRVJ-SI
""*• f
. • Gtay insii
I . and Kipfo j
ted?
then
' • / •
7
/ ; lRoff | rincli aiid I replies
of £; fqsse /to afssis^ I
errest of Jim and Pirik .Ouee and al§oan pyder
•*_ Goy.ern.or. rtplf?
i t being ip exces^ of flihe'adreage fellp^ed'-'by1 ldw^
./ith a- view .dT\%arrestiirg t|iese pefi
negro, Dallas Humby, fvhi(> wajs s'f;yin^
i. Guy. went, to the
him-.as qerabers-• ' ' ' .
these p^r-iies.
the Lees and EJi
fortified,, did
at that
et ia-1-l
was e ca^e of"'no*
There were,six me
Andy,&h.d^Xim,\p.; co jboy• f
jBjLlly.Kirksley,/' B^|uty Unite
two r'egultr posse-;pe\i, ' '.indyj
' "the. -lame of Snersdn Eols-ora. .]
_ , Ij
SECOND-INiiRVIEW.
•• : - 2 1 - ' . '
9655.
I t was -ah il l-8dyised expedition "for Guy's rashnessfl • • . - . * * . . • • • • , . . .
'..tcost him his l i f e and that of three others of the party..-.
~-~\ - *..QB . th e jnof ning of the f i r s t day. of. May, 13S5-, Guy
.marshalled hisi forces a t Hendter son's, store^. oii^JJiei^fefshi ta-- *-
some eight or jften miles from the L&eranch* There were 'v. ' •'
eleven-or -tw«|lve men in the ppsse by this time. They lef t' I " '' *
\j before dawn and arrived at thelLee ranch about sunup.
Lee ranch house was a two**roora»-log-house with an, open'hall
0 between the -wb rooms. There was e small window on th
, nor,th si'de 6|vthe east room wllii \a board shutter
y _ -. ;, • 1 • • •• \ i'\ s t ick and d i r t chimney-in the eas-c end of the
}house had be|sn carefully arrangetd ^o r e s i s t attack withv \ / ' .
• port holes-through which to. shoot; , there was one port.Vhlti d.e
Sonre ijwo hundred yards, east of ^the,houses-there was a• \
Hh\ •
and when Guy's forces res id the branch they
hoj
tit and boggy ^ajJ^tHey1'could ndtvcross, only
reac]
/$o' *urrekder that he
g the other side, so thejK.agreed .
with Mr. Johrison and walk to j;heX.
b^ys/liiat, if; the Lee .boys refused v
e e fight but would;
.his forces^
470BARB,. JOHN T. SECOND INT1HHEW ' . 9655
-22- ' )
When the members of the posse ceme up near the north-
east corner of the east room, someone>8fterward, said°to ' •
have been Ed Steine, the Lee boys brother-in-law, opened
'the windcw shutter on the north side anfl asked them What l
they wanted. Mr. Guy told him that he had a writ for Jim
and Pint Led and an order from Governor »Volfe to cut the i r
pasture, that he wanted them to come out and surrender and
/ t ha t he did not want any trouble and that he would see
that ' the Lee,'brothers and Humby were protected. Steine told
him to .come around to the front and they would talk-the«
matter-over and-with these, words shut the window.
• Guy and Folsom walked around to the front near" a large /
,oak tree standing a short distance- from the east end of
the ha l l where'er. Guy set h is gun down. A moment l a t e r
a shot was fired from the west room, the bal l passing
through Guy's body,kill ing him almostUnstantly. Ihis shot j
v was supposed to have been fired by the negro, Dallas
.Humby. " .
A f w moruonts of silence followed and then from the
port 'holes' on the east end1 of the house rained a volley of
\ • -
BARR, JOHN Tw SSCQHB INTJBftVjDEIf .. * 9655
- 2 3 - -
shots i n t o the group of men outs ide , most o£^whom were
assembled near the e a s t end of the 'house . My two b r o t h e r s ,
Andy and Jim Roff,and B i l l y Kirksey,were k i l l e d i n s t a n t l y ,
two b u l l e t s passing through . their bodies-. ' Andy Roff, though
badly wounded, managed to ge t some dis tance from the hous,e.
The other members of the par*ty f led from the sceney^T
danger, some of them reech ing the s h e l t e r of a small gulch
heading up near the nor theas t corner of the house and others
running and h id ing from t ree to t r e e , f i r i n g back. They
eventual ly made t he i r - e scape .
My bro the r Andy was l a s t seen a l i ve by some of the
boys who escaped, s i t t i n g a t the root of a t r e e some l i t t l ei •
distance from the house apparently in great agony. All
indications show that he musjb have been alive when the
general firing ceased for when,his body was picked up later ,
a;t the root of the tree where he had been seen, i t was
discovered that two shots had passed" through his body, one
through the lower part and the other seemed to have been
fired when he was in a si t t ing position for the bullet
had entered his breast under the collar bone and passed.
BARR, JOHN %%. SECOND' INTHWIEW . 9655' * t
. • . - 2 4 - -
\
out a t the back iower down and had evidently been fired
a t close range for his. clothing was powder burned. , <
Ift was related by the survivors that ten or ..twelve
men must have been concealed in the house a t the time
the shooting occurred for the f i r ing was incessant, five
or six guns working from port holes and others being
constantly fired from other parts of the house.
I t waj the general opinion that the gang inside
included the three Lee bbys, Jim, Pink.and Tom, the i r
brother-in-law, Ed Steine,> Tom Cole, a man of the name of
Copel-and, the negro, Dallas Humby and possibly three or
four more}including the Dyer brothers who shortly a f te r -
weirds were hanged by a mob in lamar County, Texas, after .
k i l l i n g the sheriff of 'that county. At the time of' the-
hanging one of them had .a gunshot wound which he said he
had received, in a 'fight in the Indian Terr i tory.
Great excitement followed these bruta l and unjust-
if ied murders and large bodies of armed men wer-e organized
end sent out to range the country arid hunt down the
outlaws. The day following the tragedy a small- body of
, men on foe lookout for the Lees, were fired upon from the
",. V
. BARR; JOHN T-4 SECOND VMBftfcJSH "' ' •' 9655
- . ' - 2 5 -
i
brush but fortunately no one was hurt for the shots were
fired a t long range. The Sunday following the shooting
which occurred-on Friday, e crowd went to the Lee ranch
and finding tiie place deserted, burned the ranch house
down.
A. B. Roff offered a large reward for the capture . . .
of the Lee boys and Ed Steine, dead or a l ive . This reward
was posted e t Gainesville and as a resul t officers and
detectives came in from Dallas and other Texas points to
join in the hunt.
Shortly a f te r the reward was posted Ed Steine and
Tom 1SJ&- slipped through the country to Denison, Texas, and
surrendered to off icers . They were taken to .Sherman,
placed in j a i l end on e preliminary hearing before United
States Commissioner Rickets.were committed without bai l on
• a charge---of murder and were1 taken to Fort Smith and lodged
in the United States j a i l to await t r i a l . '
'Thejirshad considerable property, c a t t l e , horses and
some moneyed were able tot secure able attorneys to defend
them. Judge Pierson1 of Denison, Texas, and Cravens and
^y ** 474BARR, JOHN -T. 3$C0HD INTERVIEW ' , 9655
; . • . -26-
Duvall of Fort Smith, Arkansas, were employed in the i r
defense. Ed Steihe and Tom Lee were tr ied that" Fall and
after e hard fought ba t t le were .acquitted. Ed St'eine movepl
to Denison and resumed h is favorite business o"f se l l ing
whiskey'but as he was one of h i s own best customers, h e .
soon wound up his earthly career. The l a s t account ofl '« ,
Tom Lee was of his conviction and confinement in the pen-
i t en t ia ry on e charge of larceny.
The real leaders of the "outlaw band, Jim and Pink Lee,
were a t large for some time. They went heavily armed,
usually carrying two revolvers epiece in addition to two
r i f l e s on their seddleSjand as they liad a wide range . <"
extending from Delaware Bend on Red River on the south ; to ',
the Canadian River on the n o r t h e d had a host of friends
of . their own'stripe scattered a l l over the country to keep
them posted^ their apprehension wa<s a .d i f f i cu l t task. Many
of the negroes on Caddo Creek were giving the Lee brothers
aid and. comfort), carrying them provisions, advising than
of the whereabouts "of the pursuers an* hiding them on
occasion. Bu t ' t i r e l e s s Nemesis in the persons of'two men,
Heck Tomas sfrd a man of the name of Jim Taylor, were on
• . * •. c ' .. - • N 4 7 5BABR, 'JOHN T.. . SECOHD INTEKVIES, 9655 "
the trade of the Loo. brothers.
Heck'Thomas,then living in Fort Worth, Texas, a former . 'i • -
United States marshal and at one time city marshal of
Lawton, is well known to most of the people of Oklahoma.
Taylor was a resident of the Indian Territory and had a
reputation, of being handy with a gun, These men working
together kept persistently on the trail , of these outlaws; the
Lee brothers,.,from early summer until the.month of September,
1885. • • ' *
One of the principal hide outs of these desperadoes was
at Delaware Bend where many of their old friends and some of
their kinsfolk lived ,inoluding Doc Lee, a brother,and two
sisters . The Lee boys often hid .around with these people« so
in the vicinity of the homes of the members of the Lee 'olan,
Thomas aai Taylor^stablished headquarters', staying at Strather
Browns place out oh a hill- on 'the edge of the prairie*.
On the morning of the 7th day of September, 1885, Jim
and Pink Lee,started out south towards Brown's place with
the avowed intention of locating Thomas and Taylor and shoot-
. ing them down a t long range. While Thomas and Taylor were at
dinner some of the women folk came in and reported thet the
BARR, JOHN I . SECOND. IHTBRVIEW ' . 9655
Lee boys had jus t ridden- by at the back of 'the lo t »nd" Thomas
and Taylor immediately s tar ted in pursuit^,accompanied by a
man named Jack Brown and another man.- Believing that the
Lee^boys had gone into the brakes in the direct ion of -Ste ine ' s
., store they went in that direct ion but could not locate them. Mr.
Thomas f inal ly ascended 'a high point overlooking John. ' and
Washington^' pasture / with the aid of h i s f ield glasses ,
located the Lee boys out on the* p ra i r i e five or s ix hundred
yards from Brown's house. 1 The Lee boys, were in tent ly gazing
toward Mr. Brown's-house. •
A long branch headed into the p ra i r i e in Washington^'
pasture^up near-the place where the outlaws were standing and
Qouata. and h i s companions en t i re ly concealed from them, ,
traveled up the branch to a place where „ i t forked near the
top of the h i l l . Here JimTaylor le f t the re s t of the par ty
and crawled up the h i l l u n t i l he could peep over the top .
One glance was enough fox the Lee boys were- in. pla in view,
only about seventy-five yards away. They^rere s t i l l gazing
off towards Brown's house. They had discarded- two of t h e i r
jguns and each car r ied only one r i f l e apiece; one of them> • <. , m .'
of large calibre, a 45-90 as-1 recall i t ; they pro.bably• ' > * * " • •
i i
. • " •' • • . -' 4WBARB, JOHN T. . SECOHD IBTE WSW 965;5
; , ' -89-
intended tp do the i r shooting at long, range.
Crawling back out of sight,Taylor signalled Thomas to
join' him. ' Brown and his companion then .crawled up the le f t
fork of the branch to a clump of small t rees and Thomas went
di rec t ly up the h i l l and joined Taylor and together they
commanded the outlaws to lay down the i r arms and surrender.
Then Toraas and h is companion shot and shot to k i l l . Pink
Lee was shot through the head and expired at once. Jim Lee• ' ' ' i ' <
was badly wounded but game to the l a s t , he sprang to the.> " t* t
place where his brother lay and opened fire on his1 enemies
but his sights were raised for long shooting and the shots
a l l went wild. As he refused to give himself up another
7 shot was fired which closed his earthly pilgrimage.
Forty years ,have* corns and gone since these tragic
days. Most of the actors in th is st irr ing drama, good, bad,
and indifferent,are sleeping away th^ages in spine quiet
grayes. - \
In th i s narrative I have touched the^ dark side of l i fe/ *
\ r • •
but there was a brighter side as well. There was light* • - ' - ' /
among the shadows, sunshine ai/d roses as well as crime and• '
' • A
"' 478• ' / •
.30-
bloodshed'. There were joys as well, as sorrows. People
liyed and loved and lost in those early days as they do
now. There were friends whom w,e loved, neighbors whom
we honored and xesjpected. A great many of them s're gone
but I feel sure that these early pioneers have done their
bit to make the world a better place in wliich to live.
Those old-time Chickaaaws who were our f r i e r s , how.
we cherish their memories. Let us hope that their vision
of a "Happy Hunting Ground" I s a reality.*.
