as taken from: Black History in Oklahoma-a resource book
Oklahoma City Public Schools, 1971; pp 128-131
Since he died in 1896 and the people who knew him best are also gone, it is unlikely that the whole truth about Crawford "Cherokee Bill" Goldsby will ever be known. His father was George Goldsby, a soldier of the Tenth Cavalry, one of the famous "Buffalo Soldiers." Several historians have referred to the older Goldsby as Mexican or a combination of Mexican, Caucasian, and Indian, but it seems more likely that if he belonged to the Tenth, he was a black man. Mrs. Goldsby was black, with some Indian and white ancestry.
Crawford
Goldsby was born at Fort Concho, Texas, on
February 8, 1876, later moving to Fort Gibson, Indian Territory. We'll
let others tell the rest of his story - as they saw it or, perhaps, as
it was.
Cherokee Bill, the most noted of all Indian Territory outlaws during his palmy days, was born at Fort Concho, Texas, but was from early youth reared at Fort Gibson...until he was sent to school at Cherokee, Kansas. Three years later he attended the Catholic Indian school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and had not been considered a bad boy until after leaving school; but, his mother having remarried, the lad, rather forced outside, became quite a blustering fellow and a bully. He killed his first man, Jake Lewis at Fort Gibson, when eighteen years of age, and soon after formed the acquaintance of Jim and Bill Cook in the Creek nation, and became a member of their gang.
During the Cherokee payment in 1895 the Cooks, together with Cherokee Bill, started for Tahlequah to secure their shares of the money, amounting to $265.70 each; but as none of them cared to be seen in that vicinity they stopped at the Half-Way House on Fourteen Mile creek, near the former home of the Cooks. The three gave the proprietress, Mrs. Effie Crittenden, orders to draw their money, and after her return and before their departure, on the evening of July 18, a fight was had between Sheriff Ellis Rattlingourd and seven deputies on one side and Cherokee Bill and the two Cooks on the other. In this fight Jim Cook was shot seven times, and Sequoyah Houston was killed. The sheriff and four of his posse fled and a Fort Gibson doctor was pressed into service to bind up Jim Cook's wounds; but while this was being done the two Bills were forced to flee and Jim was captured. He was sentenced at Tahlequah to seven years in the Cherokee penitentiary, but made frequent escapes and was recaptured until the Cherokee authorities paid no further attention to the matter.
Soon after the fight at Fourteen Mile
creek the Cook gang was organized, which, besides Cherokee
Bill, included Bill Cook, Henry Munson, Curtis Dason, "Skeeter"
Baldwin, "Long" Gordon, Jim French and others. Their reign of terror was
short, but bloody, and all have met just punishment. Cherokee
Bill was among the last togo, and was hanged at Fort Smith March
17, 1896, for the murder of Lawrence Keating, turnkey at the jail, whom
he shot down while attempting to escape...
(* Please note that Lawrence Keating's name is either misspelled or misspoken in two of the interviews given below.)
Cherokee Bill's right name was Crawford Goldsby. I knew Cherokee Bill when he was eighteen years old. He cleaned up and swept out our store. He was the best working, the most honest Negro boy that worked for us. His father was a white man, his mother weas a half-breed, half Indian and half Negro. Cherokee Bill was whiter than most half-breeds. He was a pretty good boy. About the only trouble he ever had was a few fist fights... Later I was squirrel hunting up on the Grand river and met Cherokee Bill and had a long talk with him. He told me he had always been a good boy, but hereafter he was going to be plenty tough. he had two quarts of whiskey and asked me if I wanted it, saying he never used the stuff. He later quit the Cook gang and went up about Nowata Territory. After he had been around there a while he killed the depot agent. They say he killed a lot of men, but I think that these was all that he actually killed. The agent at Nowata, a man at Lenapah and the other was Larry Katting, a guard at the Ft. Smith jail.
While I was working at the Nevins ferry
my horse had strayed and I was out looking for it. I met Bob Elliott just
west of Telephone ferry. He asked me where I was going, I told him I was
looking for my horse; he then asked me to go with him and warn Cherokee
Bill and Bill Cook that Bill Stout had gone to Muskogee to tell
the U.S. marshal where they were hiding and he would help me find my horse.
I asked him where they were hid and he pointed upon the hill where the
school for the blind is now located. And said, "See where those yellow
slickers are spread over the bushes for shade? Well they are under them."...
When we arrived Cherokee said, "Come on under
and cool off." Bob Elliott answered, "We don't have time." Then said, "See
Bill Stout going yonder," Bill Cook answered, "Yes." Bob told them that
Stout was on his way to Muskogee to tell the marshal where they were hiding.
Cherokee said he could not believe it, that
every time he and Bill made a good haul, they always gave Stout a hand
full of money and gave his wife a lot of money to cook meals for them.
Pretty soon we saw a dust cloud coming from Muskogee, it was not long until
we counted thirteen in the marshal's posse. Bob and I went south across
the hill.... The posse went on around the hill to Will Robison's place
and hid in the crib and barn.... Cherokee
grabbed his Winchester and stood up where his horse was shot, firing at
the officers. Cook kept telling him to come on and they would get him another
horse; Cherokee answered that he would go
soon as he finished the round of shells in the Winchester. After he finished
firing he got on the
horse behind Cook, they started south at a fast gait
and Cherokee lost his hat in the strong wind.
He jumped off the horse and started back after it. He had his Winchester
gripped in both hands, raised over his head. He was running as fast as
he could, letting out a loud whoopie and curses each step. The posse thought
he was coming back after them, they all jumped on their horses and run
for it. Cherokee had a big laugh over it....
One day just before noon while I was
working on the Nevins ferry I was bringing the ferry from the east landing.
I heard someone calling me, looking around I saw a group of men on horseback
on the little strip of land running to a point between the Verdigris and
Grand rivers. They wanted me to come over after them which I did. It was
Cherokee Bill, Bill and Jim Cook, Jim French,
Sam McWilliams, who was known as the Verdigris Kid, Texas Jack and Skeeter.
Just as we landed for them to get
on the ferry twenty-five U.S. marshals rode up on the west bank of the
arkansas river where Hyde Park is now located. The outlaws asked me who
they were and I told them it was a marshal's posse. The outlaws tried to
get us to take them over to where the posse was but we told them we were
afraid to do it. That when the shooting started we would be killed, they
said alright then to take them to the east bank on the Ft. Gibson landing.
As soon as we landed them the posse began shouting for us to come over
and get them, when we got there they wanted to know who the men were that
we had ferried across. I told them who they were, they told me they did
not want any foolishness, they then went into a huddle a distance to where
I could not hear what they were saying; then they came back and asked me
if I was sure it was who I had told them it was. I told them it was and
they went into another huddle, then came back to me and wanted to know
how to get to the Rabbit Ford and how far it was. I told them (they knew
as well as I did). The outlaws had been in hiding across the river, when
the posse left Cherokee came out and motioned
for me to come over. When I got there they were waiting for me and asked
what the laws had to say; I told them what the posse was going to do. As
the posse had further to go, Cherokee said,
"Thanks, we will be there to meet them." Just as they left Jeff Nevins
called me back to the other side, when I got there Jeff asked me what was
going on. When I finished telling him he said, "Let's saddle the horses
and go see the fun." We got our horses and went down the bank of the river
on the west side. We got to where we could see the ford real good and stopped
and waited, it was not long until we saw the outlaws ride around the Rogers'
home and hide. Pretty soon the posse rode into the river, stopped and let
their horses drink. After they finished drinking the posse started on across
the river, just as they got started good the outlaws all started to running
their horses into the river and firing their Winchesters at the posse.
The posse did not fire a shot but turned their horses and made a run for
it; I never saw a bunch run as fast as they did, they did not come back
after the outlaws another time....
A little more than a year later Cherokee
Bill was captured at the home of Ike Rogers, a U.S. deputy marshal
who claimed to be a friend to Cherokee Bill.
Rogers had Cherokee's girl friend to come
to his house and then told Cherokee to come
over that he had told Cherokee's girl
to meet him there. So they met at the Rogers' home; after supper Cherokee
started to leave and Ike told him to stay all night that his horse had
been put up and had been fed and that there would not be any danger. So
cherokee stayed. There was another fellow there by the name of Clint Scales;
Ike had deputized him to help capture Cherokee Bill.
Cherokee and Scales slept together; Cherokee
took his Winchester and six-shooter to bed with him, every time Scales
moved trying to get in a position to grab Cherokee,
Cherokee would move too. The next morning
they could not get a chance at him as he carried his guns at all times,
even layed his six-shooter by his plate while eating breakfast. After breakfast
he went out and saddled his horse, came back to tell his girl good-bye,
while in the house he rolled a cigarette and asked for a match; no one
had one, he went to the fireplace and stooped over to get a light for his
cigarette. While he was stooped over Ike Rogers grabbed an iron poker that
was setting in the comer and knocked him in the head. Just as soon as he
fell, Ike and Scales jumped on him, hand-cuffed and shackled him. They
then hooked up a team and wagon and took Cherokee
to Ft. Smith. They were afraid to go the regular route, by the way of Webbers
Falls, instead they went by the way of Fayetteville, Arkansas....
Cherokee
Bill's trial came up sometime in February 1895. He had a good lawyer
by the name of Reed. They produced evidence to prove that he was at Fort
Gibson on the day of the murder but the jury found him guilty and the judge
set the date of execution for June 25, 1895. His lawyer appealed the case
to the Supreme Court and as the case was in the hands of the Supreme Court,
he was granted a stay of execution and it was this stay that cost the life
of Larry Keaton. For while they were waiting on the decision of the Supreme
Court, a gun was smuggled into the cell of Cherokee
Bill and in an attempt to break jail he shot and killed Keaton.
However, he was captured and tried for this murder and sentenced to hang.
March 17, 1896 was set for his execution
and at 2 p.m. he walked to the gallows. He was cool and displayed good
nerve. There were one hundred tickets given out to those who wished to
witness the execution but people climbed over the jail yard fence until
the yard was full of people. When Cherokee Bill
saw so many people he said, "...look at the people, something must be going
to happen." Then he looked up at the sky and said, "Well, this is as good
a day to die as any day." His mother was at his side and urged him not
to weaken. When he stepped upon the gallows he was asked if there was anything
he wished to say. He said, "I came here to die, not to make a speech."
At 2:30 p.m. the lever was pulled and Cherokee Bill
went into eternity.
From: Indian-Pioneer Papers,
Indian Archives, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City Oklahoma
Person interviewed: William Lee Starr
I was at the
Cherokee Freedman payment at Hayden. On one of the dancing platforms Clarence
and Ike [Rogers] began a dispute about something concerning the arrest
of Cherokee Bill.
Ike gave Clarence
a shove and made some threat. The officials of the payment decided to move
the payment to Fort Gibson. Clarence
told Ike Rogers that if he put his foot on the soil at Fort Gibson he would
be a dead man.
But Ike was
not to be bluffed. He notified Clarence
that he would be dow on the morning train which arrived in Fort Gibson
about 10:30 a.m. and that he was ready for him. I was in Fort Gibson when
the payment was going on.... Clarence
went to a room and put on his six-shooter just a few minutes before the
train was due. My wife asked him what he was going to do with that gun
and he smiled and said, "Nothing." She said to him, "You had better leave
it off," but he went straight to the depot. When the train pulled in and
Rogers dismounted, having his face toward the train, Clarence
shot him through the neck from behind.
After Ike fell
on his back, Clarence
shot him twice in the face and reached and Cherokee
Bill's gun that Ike had, then passed under
a box car going east. Some officers began shooting and Clarence
returned the fire, and a stray bullet struck T.J. Elliott, one founder
of the Elliott firm of Muskogee. Clarence's
mother lived one block east of the Missouri Pacific Depot at that time;
and a bullet fired by the officers passed through an old buggy as Clarence
went through his mother's lot.
Clarence
went to St. Louis and enlisted in the army and when discharged he was employed
in the Pullman service until he died. His body was shipped from St. Louis
to the Indian Territory and he was buried at Fort Gibson, his home town.
