Today in Old West History
September
September 1
1858- Four Lakes, president day Washington- Colonel Wright leads troops against Spokane Indians.
1862- Birch Coulie, Minnesota- Major Brown and his 200 men closing in on Little Crow make camp.
1864- near present day Rhame, North Dakota- Hunkpapa Sioux attack an immigrant train of 80 wagons under the escort of Captain James Fisk. 12 members of the train are killed and the remainder made a running fight for 10 miles until they could make camp. The immigrants left out poisoned hardtack overnight for the Indians.
1868- Spanish Fort, Texas- Indians kill nine settlers near the fort.
1870- Calamity Jane claimed that on this day two itinerate ministers performed a wedding ceremony for her and Wild Bill Hickok on the prairie.
1878- Lincoln, New Mexico Territory- William Bonney and a small party arrive to help Charles Bowdre and Doc Scurlock move their families to Fort Sumner.
1893- Ingalls, Oklahoma Territory-Lawman Robert Andrew accompanied by deputy Jim Masterson (brother to Bat Masterson) found the Doolin gangs hiding place and at high noon the seven members of the Doolin gang had it out with lawmen that left 3 deputies dead, Tom Houston, Dick Speed, Lafe Shadley. Gang member Roy Daughtery, AKA Arkansas Tom. Dynamite Dick, Bill Doolin, Tulsa Jack, Red Buck, and Bill Dalton escaped when Tulsa Jack shot his way through barricades from a hotel to the stable where the gang's horses were kept, freeing the animals and leading them back to gang members who made good their escape, leaving only gang member Roy Daugherty (Arkansas Tom) who was trapped in a second-story hotel room.
1975- Gunsmoke ends its 20-year run on television.
September 2
1862- Birch Coulie, Minnesota- Little Crow and his Sioux warriors attack Major Brown's encampment at dawn and kill almost every horse. Colonel Sibley, at the Lower Agency, hears gunfire in the distance and ride's to Brown's assistance. Brown lost 24 men and had 67 wounded.
1868- Little Coon Creek, Kansas- Indians attack a mail escort. Three soldiers are wounded and three Indians are killed.
1884- Missoula, Montana- a fire destroys 22 buildings, including the Missoula National Bank.
1885- Rock Springs, Wyoming- 28 Chinese coal miners and general laborers were killed by 150 by striking coal miners who were upset about their refusal to join a strike against the Union Pacific Coal Department. Those who survived were allowed to return to work. In 1887, the U.S. government paid $147,748.74 in restitution to China as a result of this clash. The ink was barely dry on the agreement when a masked gang of men lynched five Chinese in Pierce, Idaho.
1887- Arizona Territory- the Blevins family, five brothers, assorted cousins and nephews, were deeply involved in the range war of the 1880s called the Graham-Tewksbury Feud. All were ranchers located in Pleasant Valley, but most of the clan members doubled as hired gunmen, and some of them were dedicated killers like Andy Blevins, who was also known as Andy Cooper. Andy Blevins was a rustler and killer who hired out to the Graham cattlemen who were battling the sheep herders headed by the Tewksburys. On Sept. 2, 1887, Andy Blevins led some of his brothers and other cattlemen on a night ambush of the Tewksbury sheep camp, shooting clan leaders John Tewksbury and Bill Jacobs in cold blood as the sheep men went to check on their horses.
September 3
1855- present day Nebraska- General William Harney defeats Little Thunder's Brule Sioux at the Battle of Blue Water.
1863- present day North Dakota- the Battle of Whitestone Hill takes place west of the James River. Troops under General Sully attack a Santee Sioux camp that is being abandoned. Sully loses 20 men and 50 wounded. Indians had 150 killed and 156 taken prisoner. All Indian ponies are killed and burned along with 200 tons of dried buffalo meat and 300 tepees.
1863- Illinois- Texas Ranger Ira Aten, one of the most dedicated and tough lawmen in the Southwest was born. Aten moved with his family when a child to Round Rock, Texas, where his father had a small farm and traveled the Bible Belt as a Methodist minister. In 1878, when Ira was only fifteen, he and his brothers saw Sam Bass, the infamous outlaw, brought into Round Rock, mortally wounded after a gun battle with a posse following a robbery. His father, the Reverend Mr. Aten, was called to Bass' deathbed where he gave him spiritual aid in his last moments and heard the outlaw's last words. ("Let me go--the world is bobbing around," slipped from Sam Bass' mouth before he died.) From that moment on, Ira Aten vowed that he would never follow the path of the gunman but would become a champion for law and order, promising his father that he would join the Texas Rangers as soon as he was of age. Aten went on to become one of the most respected rangers in the Lone Star State. Aten then retired from the Rangers and was promptly appointed sheriff of Fort Bend County which was plagued by a Democrat-Republican political fight later known as the Jaybird -Woodpecker War, one which involved Texans attempting to eradicate the last of the carpetbag politicians left over from the Civil War. Aten and his deputies soon put a stop to the wholesale shootings that took several lives, and the lawman is credited with halting this deadly Texas feud. In 1904 he then moved his wife and five children to the Imperial Valley in California to raise oranges, dying in Burlingame on Aug. 6, 1953, at age ninety-one.
1865- present day Wyoming- Colonel Cole and his troops defeat 3,000 Sioux, Arapahos, and Cheyennes at the Dry Fork on the Powder River.
1875- Fort Smith, Arkansas- six outlaws were hung at the same time following their sentence handed down from Judge Isaac Parker.
1876- Wyoming- the Wyoming Weekly Leader reports that a shipment of oysters were expected soon.
1877- Arizona Territory- Ed Schieffelin records his silver claim on the future site of Tombstone.
1880- Mammoth Cave, Kentucky- Jesse James and William Ryan hold up a stagecoach traveling between Mammoth Cave and Cave City, Kentucky.
1887- May Leslie divorces her husband, Buckskin Frank Leslie, charging him with physical abuse and unfaithfulness. Testimony revealed that before they made love, he would stand May against the wall and trace her outline by firing his .45 around her.
1913 - Alan (Walbridge) Ladd was born. Actor: The Carpetbaggers, Citizen Kane, Shane, This Gun for Hire etc.; actress Cheryl Ladd's father-in-law; passed away Jan 29, 1964.
September 4
1877- Camp Rogers, Nebraska- Lieutenant William Clark offered $100 to anyone at the camp who would kill Crazy Horse. 400 Indians and eight cavalry units depart for the chief's lodge.
1879- New Mexico Territory- Apache chief Victorio attacked a company of 9th U.S. Cavalry camping Ojo Caliente killing eight troopers and escaping with more than forty cavalry mounts.
1881- Arizona Territory- General Eugene Carr engages White Mountain Apaches, killing six turncoat scouts and twelve Apaches, including the prophet Nakaidoklim. The Apaches retaliate by attacking Fort Apache.
1886- Skeleton Canyon, Arizona Territory- Apache leader Geronimo surrenders to General Nelson A. Miles.
1887- Arizona Territory- the Blevins family, five brothers, assorted cousins and nephews, were involved in the range war of the 1880s called the Graham-Tewksbury Feud. Sheriff Perry Owens, one of the deadliest shots in the West, then gathered a posse and rode out to the Blevins ranch near Holbrook on this date. He advanced on the ranch house with a rifle in his hand, apparently intending to serve warrants on Andy Blevins for the murder of Tewksbury and Jacobs. At that moment, Andy Blevins fired at Owens from behind the front door of the ranch house but his shot was wild. Owns fired a rifle shot that smashed into Blevins' chest and sent him reeling backward into the arms of his mother. Then John Blevins, the oldest brother, stepped to the door and fired at Owens; the lawmen's responding fire brought him down, too. Moses Roberts, a brother-in-law of the Blevins, then raced outside, firing at Owens, but Owens killed him with a single, mortal shot. Next, 16-year-old Sam Houston Blevins charged toward Owens with a blazing six-gun, but the sheriff fired one shot, killing the boy. Only John Blevins survived this gunfight. By the end of September except for John Blevins, the Blevins family members were decimated in the bloody Graham -Tewksbury Feud. John Blevins later became a lawman and helped chase the Apache Kid in 1889 after the Kid had murdered Sheriff Glenn Reynolds.
September 5
1836- Texas- Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.
1847- Clay County Missouri - Jesse Woodson James was born and later became America's most famous outlaw, invoking images of Robin Hood… to some.
1862- present day Montana- Jim Fisk's group establishes a northern route from Minnesota.
1867- Abilene, Kansas- the first shipment of Texas longhorn cattle leaves, on a Union Pacific train, filling 20 cars, headed to Chicago.
1875- Huntington, West Virginia- Robbery attributed to the James gang. Four Robbers, two dismounted reportedly liberated $10,000.00 from a local bank. During the robbery R. T. Oney, cashier and a friend were alone in the bank prior the robbery. One man was shot and killed, gang member Thompson Mc Daniel (brother to Bud). Jack Keene aka Thomas J. Webb was arrested in Tennessee a short time later, returned to West Virginia, tried and sentenced to twelve years in prison.
1877- Ft. Robinson, Nebraska- Sioux chief Crazy Horse was bayoneted while resisting arrest. Crazy Horse died around midnight.
1878- Dodge City, Kansas- Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilghman and Clay Allison, four of the West's most famous gunmen meet.
1896- Circle City, Alaska- beef sold for 48-dollars a pound during the Klondike gold rush.
September 6
1860- present day Utah- the 4th Artillery battle Indians on Deep Creek.
1864 - Kansas- Fort Zarah was established on the banks of Walnut Creek near the crossroads of the Santa Fe Trail, the army supply route from Fort Riley, and the main Indian trail. In 1867 Fort Zarah was relocated in stone buildings two miles downstream near the Arkansas River. Fort Zarah was abandoned December 4, 1869 as the Indian problem moved southwestward.
1873- Hays City, Kansas- David Roberts shoots and kills Peter Welsh and George Summer in front of Cy Goddard's saloon.
1875- Ft. Smith, Arkansas- Charles Evans was hung by order of Judge Isaac Parker for the killing of a 19-year-old youth. Evans had the audacity to wear that youths shoes to his hearing which were recognized by the boys father.
1878- Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory- as many as 80 of John Selman's “Wrestlers” stage a raid, killing one.
1887- Laramie, Wyoming- the University of Wyoming opens.
1895- Bill Tilghman shot and severely wounded Doolin gang member Bill Raider, but nursed him back to health so he could travel.
September 7
1876- Northfield Minnesota - failed robbery of the bank by the James & Younger gang. The Youngers were captured some days later and only Frank & Jesse James escape.
1878- Lincoln County New Mexico- Sam Smith and Joe Bowers raid the ranch of Charles Fritz scatter 17 horses and 180 head of cattle.
1880- Fort Cummings, New Mexico Territory- the 4th Cavalry reports one soldier killed and four wounded in a fight with Indians near the fort.
1881- Glendale, Missouri- the James gang make their last robbery as they robbed the Chicago and Alton Railroad.
September 8
1868- Fort Berthold, Dakota Territory- a skirmish between seven Sioux warriors and members of the Gros Ventre, Ree, and Mandan tribes occurs near the fort when the Sioux fire shots across a river. Members of what are also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes give chase and catch one of the Sioux warriors, whom they kill and scalp.
1868- Cimarron Crossing, Kansas- Indians kill 17 settlers in a raid.
1879- Dodge City, Kansas- A.H. Webb settles an argument with B. Martin by delivering a killing blow to Martin's head with a Winchester.
1881- Arizona Territory- the Bisbee to Tombstone stage, AKA the “Sandy Bob” stage, was held up. The stage was named for the driver, Charles “Sandy Bob” Crouch. Lawmen interviewed the passengers, who said that one of the masked holdup men had grabbed the $2,500 in gold bullion and then said to the other bandits: "Have we got all the sugar?" Earp, Billy Breckenridge, and others were shocked to hear this statement which they knew was a favorite phrase of Frank Stilwell, who was Sheriff Johnny Behan's chief deputy. Boot marks at the scene of the robbery were matched to Stilwell's boots. He and Pete Spence, Stilwell's livery stable partner, were arrested in Bisbee and returned to stand trial in Tombstone.
1890- Luke Short, noted gambler and gunman, died of natural causes. Luke was born in 1854 in Mississippi.
1900- Galveston, Texas- six thousand residents drown in the United States worst hurricane disaster.
September 9
1850- California, in the midst of a gold rush, became the 31st state of the United States. The nickname for the most populous state is the Golden State (because of the 1848 gold strike), and that the golden poppy (orange-yellowish in color) is the state flower. (Contrary to popular opinion, the California poppy does not yield opium.).
1861- New Mexico Territory's governor Connelly calls for volunteers to resist an invasion “by an armed force from the State of Texas.”
1871- Newton, Kansas- the town became the western terminus of the Atchison, Topeka, Santa Fe Railroad.
1876- Dakota Territory- the Battle of Slim Butte takes place in present day South Dakota.
1899- Cochise, Arizona Territory- William Downing served as a deputy under Burt Alvord. Downing reportedly organized the posse that searched for Alvord after he turned outlaw and robbed a robbed a Southern Pacific train on his date. Out of deference to his old boss, it was said, Downing allowed Alvord to escape. Downing later went into the lumber business and then may have started down the outlaw path himself. One report has it that Downing, an enigmatic person, killed more than thirty men. Another claim was that Downing was the mysterious Frank Jackson, the only gang member who escaped during the disastrous Round Rock robbery of 1878 when Sam Bass was killed.
1967- Montana- Major Marcus Albert Reno died at age 54 on March 30, 1889, at Providence Hospital, Washington, following an operation for cancer. He was buried in Mt. Olivet Cemetery and reinterred on this date in the Custer Battlefield National Cemetery at the Custer Battlefield National Monument. He was born on November 15, 1834.
September 10
1858- present day Washington- Infantry and Indians fight on the O'Kanogan River.
1874- Calgary Alberta - North West Mounted Police Inspector Ephrem Brisebois and his troop reach junction of Bow and South Saskatchewan River; set up camp along the Elbow River the Centre Street bridge; within days, they start building a log structure that will become the NWMP's Fort Calgary.
1878- New Mexico Territory- seven settlers are killed in an Indian raid at McEver's Ranch. Two more settlers are reported killed at Arroyo Seco.
1881- Tombstone, Arizona Territory- Deputy Sheriff Bill Breckenridge organizes a posse that included Morgan and Wyatt Earp, to go after the robbers of the “Sandy Bob” stage.
1923- 75 riders reenact the old Pony Express, covering 2,180 miles in six days and 6 hours.
1955- Actor James Arness brought Marshall Matt Dillon to life as "Gunsmoke" premiered on CBS television. Gunsmoke debuted on CBS-TV and went on to become the longest-running (20 years) series on television. Gunsmoke had enjoyed a radio run of three years with William Conrad (Cannon) playing Marshall Dillon before the TV version went on the air. The two ran simultaneously for six more years. An interesting note: CBS' first choice for the role of the resolute, determined Matt Dillon was John Wayne. Wayne did not want to become involved with a weekly TV show at the time and suggested his friend, James Arness. Arness, the only cast member other than Milburn Stone to stay in the role for the full twenty years, became Matt Dillon. Not only was Gunsmoke the longest-running series with a regular cast of characters; but when it finally did meet its demise, it was the last of the network Westerns to go. At the beginning of every episode you see Marshall Dillon gunning down Arvo Ojalla, the man who taught the stars to shoot and pioneered the buscadero rig and the special, metal lined fast draw holster for the movies and TV.
1967- TV show The High Chaparral, starring Leif Erickson as Big John Cannon, premiered on NBC.
September 11
1857- Utah Territory- Indians incited by Mormon guerillas kill 120 California-bound settlers in the Mountain Meadows Massacre. The guerillas had persuaded the emigrants that they had convinced the Paitues to let them go if they would surrender their arms and allow the Mormons to escort the wagon train through the territory. Only 18 small children were spared.
1878- New Mexico Territory- William Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, spends the night at John Chisum's camp.
1905- Canada- John Ware, Alberta's first black cowboy and also a respected rancher in southern Alberta, died on this date when he. Little is known about Ware's early life, however, one story says that Ware escaped from slavery in Texas, although this is unlikely, it is possible that he was the son of a slave. Ware came to Alberta in 1882 as a cowboy on a cattle drive for the North-West Cattle Company (later the Bar U). By 1891, he had purchased his own land on the north fork of Sheep Creek and chose 9999 as his brand.
September 12
1864- Fort Scott, Kansas- a government supply train of 205 wagons departs for Fort Gibson in Indian Territory.
1874- Hemphill County, Texas- while trying to deliver dispatches an Indian battle begins as Billy Dixon, Amos Chapman, and four others fight off 100 Kiowas and Comanches in what became the Battle of Buffalo Waller. The men took refuge in a hollow in the ground created by rolling buffalos. They will be rescued three days later by troops, after suffering one loss.
1882- Tombstone, Arizona Territory- the Tombstone Epitaph reports that Johnny Ringo is drunk in Galeyville.
1972- After nearly 40 years of riding across millions of American TV and movie screens, the cowboy actor William Boyd, best known for his role as Hopalong Cassidy, died on this day in 1972 at the age of 77. During the 1930s, Boyd made more than 50 "B" westerns starring as Hopalong Cassidy. Together with his always loyal and intelligent horse, Topper, Hopalong righted wrongs, saved school marms in distress, and single-handedly fought off hordes of marauding Indians. Boyd's was the first cowboy actor to make the transition from movies to television. When it came to TV initially the network experts didn't think anyone wanted to watch cowboys on TV. However, eventually producers at NBC contracted with Boyd in 1948 to produce a new series of half-hour westerns for television. By 1950, American children had made Hopalong Cassidy the seventh most popular TV show in America, earning Boyd's venture more than $250 million, including sales of Hats, guns, chaps etc. In 1959, seven of the top-10 shows on national television were westerns like The Rifleman, Rawhide, and Maverick. The golden era of the TV western ended in 1975 when Gunsmoke left the air after 20 years.
September 13
1847- Mexico City, Mexico- General Winfield Scott wins the last major battle of the Mexican-American War, storming the ancient Chapultepec fortress at the edge of Mexico City.
1863- the War Department turns down a request from General Carleton for cavalry to protect the gold fields in present day Arizona.
1877- Montana Territory- the Battle of Canyon Creek takes place as 350 men from Fort Keogh attack Nez Perces. Women and children escape through the canyon as the warriors fight the troops. Three soldiers are killed as are 21 Nez Perces.
1893- California bandit Chris Evans served in the Union Army during the Civil War. Following the war, Evans served as a scout for the U.S. He later moved to California with his brother Tom, and after years prospecting and working as a miner, bought a quarter section of "railroad land" in Tulare County. Nearby was a mine owned and operated by George and John Sontag. When the Sontags turned to train and bank robbery, Evans joined them. The Sontags and Evans robbed throughout California. In January 1892, a posse tracked down Evans and the Sontags in a San Joaquin Valley barn. Following a fierce battle, George Sontag was captured but Evans and John Sontag escaped. Lawmen continued to pursue Evans and Sontag and finally cornered them on Sept. 13, 1893, at Sampson's Flat, Calif. In an eight-hour battle, two deputies and John Sontag were killed. Evans was wounded many times by detective Frank Burke. He was dragged unconscious to jail.
September 14
1864- German Gulch, present day Montana- gold is discovered.
1869- Wichita, Kansas- Billy the Kid's mother, Catherine McCarty, buys a town lot.
1901- 42-year-old Vice President Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as the 26th President of the United States upon the death of William McKinley, who was shot eight days earlier. 17 years earlier in February 1884, Roosevelt's young wife died after giving birth to their daughter; a mere 12 hours later his much-beloved mother also died. Devastated by this cruel double blow, Roosevelt sought solace in the wide open spaces of the West, establishing himself on two ranches in the Badlands of Dakota Territory and writing to friends that he had given up politics and planned to make ranching "my regular business." Despite this, three years later he returned to New York City and resumed the political career that would eventually take him to the White House. Even after he had returned to the civilized East, Roosevelt always credited his western interlude with restoring his mental and physical vitality. From an early age, Roosevelt had been convinced of the benefits of living the "strenuous life," arguing that too many American males had succumbed to the ease and safety of modern industrialized society and become soft and effeminate. Roosevelt thought more men should follow his example and embrace the hard, virile, pioneer life of the West, a place where "the qualities of hardihood, self-reliance, and resolution" were essential for survival. He earned the respect of Dakotans by tracking down a gang of bandits who had stolen a riverboat and once knocked out a barroom bully who had taunted him. Though he spent the vast majority of his life in the East, Roosevelt thereafter always thought of himself as a westerner at heart, and he did more than any president before him to conserve the wild western lands he loved.
1905- 70-year-old Rain in the Face died. Having previously denying that he had been the one that killed Custer, on his deathbed he said “Yes I killed him. I was so close to him that the powder from my gun blackened his face.”
1957- TV show Have Gun, Will Travel, starring Richard Boone as Paladin, premiered on CBS.
September 15
1858- The Butterfield Overland Mail Company begins the first transcontinental mail service, from St. Louis to San Francisco, sending out its first two stages, inaugurating government mail service between the eastern and western regions of the nation. The company's motto was "Remember, boys, nothing on God's earth must stop the United States mail!" The passengers were packed into the coaches, they baked or froze as they bumped across the countryside, and dust was constant on the 3 week trip. Travelers found that toilets and baths were few and far between, the food was poor and pricey, and the stage drivers were often drunk, rude, profane, or all three. Robberies and Indian attacks were a genuine threat, though they occurred far less commonly than popularly believed. The line continued to operate as a part of the larger Wells, Fargo and Company operation until May 10, 1869, the day the first transcontinental railroad was completed.
1858- Fort Belknap, Texas- Major Earl Van Dorn launches punitive mission against Comanches
1880- Hayes City, Kansas- local paper estimates that 400,000 head of Texas cattle were driven to Kansas this season.
1883- Austin, Texas- the University of Texas opens. “Hook 'em horns”.
1891- Lellietta, Oklahoma Territory- the Dalton Gang raided the Missouri-Kansas & Texas Express outside of Lellietta, stopping the train and quickly looting the express car taking between $2,500 and $14,000, according to varying reports. None of the train passengers were molested or robbed, according to Dalton custom, and the robbery took less than fifteen minutes, with no gunfire exchanged between the Daltons and the express car guard. The gang was becoming proficient.
1892- Adair, Oklahoma Territory- Seven or eight of the Dalton Gang walked into the depot at Adair, in the Cherokee Strip and gang held up the station master. When the Missouri-Kansas & Texas train pulled into the station, the bandits were waiting for it. One outlaw jumped into the cab of the engine, holding the engineer at gunpoint, while the rest of the gang went to the express car, backing a wagon up to it. The express guard refused to open the door to the mail car, but after the bandits fired several shots through the door and threatened to use dynamite to blow up the entire car if need be, the guard opened the door. Some of the Daltons jumped inside and quickly emptied the safe. As they threw the moneybags onto the back of the wagon, the bandits were startled by the sudden fusillade unleashed from some of the passenger cars which carried a large force of Indian police and railroad detectives. The bandits drove the wagon away as they returned shots. Deputy Marshal Sid Johnson was wounded by one of the bandits he thought he recognized as Grat Dalton. Ironically, Johnson had served with Grat and Bob Dalton when they had all been marshals in Fort Smith. Although hundreds of shots had been fired, miraculously none of the bandits were wounded, and they escaped intact with the stolen money.
1949- TV show The Lone Ranger, starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto, premiered on ABC.
September 16
1867- Kansas- the 10th Cavalry fight Indians on the Saline River. Two civilians are reported killed.
1874- Mother of Billy the Kid died after a short illness. Billy was then about fifteen and did not get along with his stepfather, William Antrim, who thought the boy was a troublemaker as he had been in some minor scrapes in Silver City where he went to school and did odd jobs. He and another youth, George "Sombrero Jack" Shaffer, stole some clothes from a Chinese laundry, mostly as a prank, and were arrested. Billy, rather than face the wrath of his stern stepfather, left town, drifting about Arizona Territory, performing odd jobs on ranches and in small towns.
1880- California- Black Bart robs the Roseburg. Oregon-Yreka, California stage a mile from the Oregon border.
1888- El Paso del Norte, Mexico- in honor of Benito Juarez the city changes its name to Ciudad Juarez.
1889- Stillwater, Minnesota- Bob Younger, brother of Cole Younger, died in prison of consumption at age 35.
1893- Cherokee Strip- hundreds of thousands of settlers swarmed onto a section of land in Oklahoma known as the ``Cherokee Strip.'' (Not to be confused with the Oklahoma Land Run on April 22, 1889).
September 17
1864- Virginia City, Montana Territory- the first bank in Montana Territory opens.
1864- Virginia City, Montana Territory- John Dolan was hanged by vigilantes on this night having been a suspect in various crimes. One of which was stealing $700 from a friend.
1868- Northwest Kansas/Eastern Colorado- the Battle of Beecher Island- Col. George A. (Sandy) Forsyth and his command of 50 volunteers were on Arikaree Creek, a fork of the Republican River, five miles due west of Kansas's northwest corner. They were surrounded by a large band (accounts range from 500 to 1000) Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux. They retreated to an "island" (sandbar) in the Arikaree and dug-in. Forsyth and his men succeeded in repulsing three massed Indian charges. Thanks to the rapid fire capability of their seven-shot Spencer rifles, Forsyth's volunteers were able to kill or wound many of the Indian attackers, including the war chief Roman Nose. But as evening came and the fighting temporarily halted, Forsyth found he had 22 men either dead or wounded, and he estimated the survivors were surrounded by a force of 600 Indians. Among Forsyth's casualties was the company's surgeon and its second-in-command, Lt. Fred H. Beecher (he was nephew of Henry Ward Beecher, of Harriet Beecher Stowe). The U.S. Army officially named this the Battle of Beecher Island in honor of Lieutenant Beecher. Many of Forsyth's men were critically wounded and he knew they'd die if he didn't get help for them. Two of his men, Stilwell and Trudeau, managed to make it through the Sioux and Cheyenne and bring help. On September 25, the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers)-came riding to their rescue with a field ambulance and medical supplies.
1884- Lawrence, Kansas- the Haskell Institute, which provided vocational training for Indians, is dedicated. Twenty-two Pawnee children are enrolled the first day. Within three days eight Cheyenne chiefs will enroll another 80 children.
1879- Black Range, New Mexico Territory- two settlers are killed in an Indian raid.
1882- California- Black Bart robs the Yreka-Redding stage 14 miles outside of Redding.
1957- TV show, Sugarfoot, starring Will Hutchins as Tom "Sugarfoot" Brewster, premiered on ABC.
September 18
1860- New Mexico Territory- 40 Indians attack troops guarding a herd near Fort Fauntleroy. 10 of the Indians were killed.
1862- Minnesota- Colonel Sibley takes 1,600 men on a march toward the Yellow Medicine River, where a village of hostages is located.
1868- British Columbia- In 1862 discovered gold along Williams Creek in British Columbia's Caribou district and the town of Barkersville sprang up. Although originally a tent-town of itinerant miners, by 1868 the town boasted permanent stores, churches and a theatre, as well as hundreds of houses and shacks. On the evening of September 17, 1868 a miner tried to kiss one of the dance girls in the saloon. As she pushed him away, their struggle dislodged a stovepipe and set the canvas ceiling of the bar on fire. The blaze spread quickly, and within two hours only a few shacks and warehouses were left standing. Many houses and businesses were rebuilt within the year, however, the town never fully recovered and eventually became a ghost town.
1874- The Nebraska Relief and Aid Society is formed to help farmers whose crops were destroyed by grasshoppers swarming throughout the American West.
1876- Arizona Territory- Indian scouts report killing five Indians and capturing 13 east of Verde.
1877- Big Springs, Nebraska- Sam bass and his gang rob a Union Pacific train taking $60,000. The gang is tracked by Charles Bassett and Bat Masterson.
1877- Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory- Jesse Evans and his men steal horses belonging to John Tunstall.
1879 New Mexico Territory- Victorio's warriors and the 9th Cavalry fight at the Las Animas River. Four enlisted men and one civilian are killed.
1883- El Paso, Texas- while leaving a saloon former Texas Ranger and lawman, Dallas Stoudenmire, was shot in the head by James Manning. Manning was acquitted on the grounds that he was saving the life of his brother, whom Dallas had been quarreling with.
1957- TV show, Wagon Train, starring Ward Bond as Major Seth Adams, premiered on NBC.
September 19
1864- on Cabin Creek Cherokee Chief and Confederate General Stand Watie leading 1,500 Indians and Texans capture most of the Union supply train that departed Fort Scott, Kansas, on September 12. The wagons and their contents were valued at $1.5 million.
1867- Kansas- the 5th Infantry reports one soldier killed and three wounded in a fight with Indians at Walker Creek. Two Indians were killed.
1874- Kansas- grasshoppers are reported covering the ground, two inches deep in places.
1877- Sam Bass and his gang rob the Union Pacific train at Big Spring station which netted them $60,000 in gold coin.
1878- Wyoming- outlaws rob the stage near Cold Springs.
1883- the Cheyenne Daily Leader reports that “92 men in Dodge City have died with their boots on.”
1900- Winnemucca, Nevada -the Wild Bunch, including Cassidy, Harry Longbaugh (better known as the Sundance Kid), Logan, Hanks, and Ben Kilpatrick AKA The Tall Texan robbed the First National Bank of Winnemuca, Nevada taking $32,000.
September 20
1858- Camp Walbach is established to protect immigrants traveling through Cheyenne Pass between present day Nebraska and Wyoming.
1875- New Mexico Territory - Cruz Vega a mail carrier of Mexican descent helped waylay and murder the Reverend F.J. Tolby as the minister was riding the twenty-mile trip between Elizabeth and Cimarron New Mexico Territory. Cruz was arrested and released for lack of evidence. Later a friend of Tolby, the Reverend O.P. Mains persuaded Clay Allison to beat a confession out of Cruz which he did on October 30, 1875. Cruz implicated Manuel Cardenas and then Cruz Vega was hung from a pole. On November 10th masked men stormed the jail and shot Cardenas to death.
1877- Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory- Dick Brewer, Charles Bowdre, and Doc Scurlock arrive with warrants for the arrests of Jesse Evans and his gang.
1878- Wyoming- a stagecoach was robbed by outlaws near Cold Springs.
1953 - Jimmy Stewart debuted in The Six Shooter on NBC. He played Britt Ponset on the radio Western.
1955: TV show Cheyenne, starring Clint Walker as Cheyenne Bodie, premiered on ABC.
September 21
1873- Fort Abraham Lincoln, Dakota Territory- George A. Custer's command arrives at the fort.
1874- Wyoming Territory- Two men killed 161 rattlesnakes in eight hours in Powder River.
1876- Minnesota- Jim, Robert, and Cole Younger are arrested for the bank robbery at Northfield. Frank and Jesse James managed to escape.
1891- Deputy U.S. Marshal Joseph Wilson was a Texan assigned to the Muskogee District by Judge Isaac Parker. Wilson was given the task of serving a warrant on Sam Hickory, a liquor runner who lived on Fourteen Mile Creek near Tahlequah (Oklahoma). Hickory was picked up by Wilson on this date, in one of the fields surrounding his home. The prisoner walked back to the farmhouse with Wilson to retrieve a riding saddle for the journey back to the Fort Smith prison. He slipped away from Wilson for an instant and grabbed his revolver. The lawman drew his gun and fired a shot at Hickory, which landed harmlessly in the door of the house. Hickory returned the fire, dropping Wilson from his horse. The body of the dead marshal was taken to a ravine about a mile away and left there. Three days later Wilson's body was recovered. His throat had been slit and there was a bullet wound in his knee. At his trial, Hickory claimed the shooting was in self defense. Wilson had shot at him, so he ran inside the house to fetch a gun in order to defend himself. The evidence against Hickory suggested he was lying, and accordingly, the jury returned a verdict of Guilty. After various appeals Hickory spent just 5 years in prison.
1904- Washington- Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph dies on the Colville reservation in northern Washington at the age of 64. Described as a military genius Chief Joseph was more of a diplomat than a warrior. Chief Joseph opposed many of the subsequent actions of the Nez Perce war councils. Joseph's younger brother, Olikut, was far more active in leading the Nez Perce into battle, and Olikut helped them successfully outsmart the U.S. Army on several occasions as the war ranged over more than 1,600 miles of Washington, Idaho, and Montana territory. Nonetheless, military leaders and American newspapers persisted in believing that since Chief Joseph was the most prominent Nez Perce spokesman and diplomat, he must also be their principal military leader. By chance, Chief Joseph was the only major leader to survive the war, and it fell to him to surrender the surviving Nez Perce forces to Colonel Nelson A. Miles at the Bear Paw battlefield in northern Montana in October 1877. "From where the sun now stands," he promised, "I will fight no more forever." Chief Joseph lived out the rest of his life in peace, a popular romantic symbol of the Indian who many admired now that they no longer posed any real threat.
September 22
1877- New Mexico Territory- Charles Bowdre and Doc Scurlock find the stolen horses but are unable to retake them due to the number of men guarding them.
1877- Canada- After several days of discussion and negotiation, the Blackfoot, Blood, Peigan, Sarcee and Stoney peoples signed Treaty 7 at Blackfoot Crossing in southern Alberta.
1890- Strawberry, Arizona Territory- a severe hailstorm is so bad that the stones are in drifts 1 ½ feet deep five days later.
1891- Oklahoma Territory- Sak, Fox, and Potawatomi lands are opened for settlement.
1951- Jacob Horner dies at age 96. He is the last white survivor of the Battle of Little Bighorn. He also worked in Hollywood as an adviser in western movies.
1957- TV show, Maverick, starring James Garner as Bret Maverick premiered on ABC.
September 23
1862- Wood Lake, Minnesota- Little Crow attacks Colonel Sibley's advance party. Among the Sioux killed was Mankato.
1869- Red Creek, Arizona Territory- the 8th Cavalry kill 18 Indians in a battle.
1872- Fort McPherson, Nebraska- William F. Cody leads General Phil Sheridan and his party on a trip to Fort Hayes, Kansas.
1875- Silver City Arizona- 15-year-old Billy the Kid is arrested for the first time. A friend of Billy's had stolen a bag of clothes from a Chinese laundryman as a joke and convinced Billy to hide it for him. When Billy was caught with the goods, he was thrown in the local jail to teach him a lesson. After two days, Billy took advantage of his small frame to worm his way up a chimney and escaped.
1877- Cow Island Landing, Montana Territory- the Nez Perces raid an army depot. Killing one soldier and two civilians.
1881- Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory- Dave Rudabaugh escapes from jail and heads for Mexico.
September 24
1860- New Mexico Territory- Navahos and the 7th Infantry battle near Fort Fauntleroy.
1877- New Mexico Territory- Dick Brewer, Charles Bowdre, and Doc Scurlock, pals of Billy the Kid, return to Lincoln.
1905- Basin, Wyoming- 4,000 of 7,000 of Louis Gantz's sheep are shot or clubbed to death by cattlemen. No one was ever prosecuted.
September 25
1867- New Mexico Territory- Cattleman Oliver Loving died at Ft. Sumner of gangrene poisoning resulting from an Indian attack. He requested that his body be returned to Texas as he did not want to be buried in a "foreign land." The following year Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving's son, Joseph, brought a metal casket containing the remains of Oliver Loving 600 miles back to Texas. Oliver Loving is called "The Dean of Texas Trail Drivers" as he is the founder of three major cattle trails.
1868- Eastern Colorado/Western Kansas, Battle of Beecher Island- after having repulsed a large band of Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux on September 17th Col. George A. Forsyth sent two of his men, Stilwell and Trudeau, to get help for the critically wounded. They managed to make it through the Sioux and Cheyenne and bring help. On this date the 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers)-came riding to their rescue with a field ambulance and medical supplies.
1872- Arizona Territory- Captain J.W. Mason reports that 40 Indians were killed by the 5th Cavalry at Muchos Canyon on Arizona's Santa Maria River.
1873- Benson's Landing, Montana Territory- Calamity Jane gave birth to a baby girl, Jean Hickok, much later claiming that the child is Wild Bill Hickok's and that she was born in a cave.
1875- Henry McCarty (AKA Billy the Kid) escapes from a Silver City jail and rides towards Arizona Territory.
1877- Montana Territory- Major Guido Ilges and civilian volunteers fight the Nez Perces at Cow Creek Canyon. One settler is killed and two Indians are wounded.
1877- Kansas- Bill Heffridge and Joel Collins, members of Sam Bass's gang, are killed by soldiers in Grove County.
1886- Fort Du Chesne, Utah- Major Frederick Benteen, of Little Bighorn fame, is found drunk while on duty.
1888- Texas- Over a sort period of time Bill Whitley, Brack Cornett, and others robbed the bank at Cisco, Texas, taking $25,000 and, a few days later, they stopped an I&GN train near McNeill in Travis County, stealing $20,000 from the express car. Cornett's gang stopped another Southern Pacific train at Harwood, but a sheriff's posse was on board waiting for them and the gang was driven off. The band was successful in robbing another train near Flatonia. At Floresville in Wilson County, Texas, the band was finally trapped by U.S. marshals on this date. The gang members elected to shoot it out and Whitley was killed, another member was captured, and Cornett escaped in a wild ride across the plains. Sheriff Alfred Allee tracked the bandit across Arizona and, at Frio, shot it out with him, killing Cornett.
1919- Pueblo, Colorado. President Wilson suffers a stroke and collapses during a speech.
September 26
1860- The 7th Infantry and Navajos battle again near Ft. Fauntleroy, New Mexico Territory. Both side report light casualties.
1862- William H. Antrim, Billy the Kid's stepfather, is honorably discharged from the Indiana Volunteer Infantry.
1872- Kansas City, Missouri- outlaw Bob Younger aided the James brothers in their robbery of the pay office at the county fair.
1877- Kansas- Joel Collins, co-leader of the Bass-Collins gang, was shot dead by posse men & soldiers at Buffalo Station, Kansas a week after the Big Spring train robbery. He had $10,000 on him.
1888- Live Oak County, Texas. J. Frank Dobie, cowboy, historian and author is born.
1925- Glendale, Arizona- singer Marty Robbins is born.
1935- Colorado Springs, Colorado- Andy Adams, cowboy and author of The Log of a Cowboy died on this date. He helped his two brothers with cattle and horses on their father's farm. Adams traveled to Texas in the early 1880s and remained there for ten years, eight of which he spent in trail driving. He had become a foreman before he left the trail in 1890. In 1892 he drifted to gold-mining camps in Colorado and Nevada and in 1894 moved to Colorado Springs, where he lived until his death.
September 27
1864- Centralia, Missouri- Confederate guerrilla Bloody Bill Anderson and his men, including a teenage Jesse James, massacre 20 unarmed Union soldiers at Centralia. The event becomes known as the Centralia Massacre.
1864- Orofino Gulch, Montana Territory- James Whitlatch discovers the Union Lode near Helena and becomes the territory's first millionaire.
1867- Wild Bill Hickok appears for the first the first time in a dime novel, "Wild Bill the Indian-Slayer".
1869- Hayes City, Kansas- was a wild town freight and cattle center, and it attracted some of the worst gunmen of the day. One of these was a brutish teamster named Samuel Strawhim who arrived with a half dozen teamsters on this date. He and his friends stormed into John Bitters' Beer Saloon that night and began to wreck the place. A few minutes later Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok, accompanied by Deputy Peter Lanihan, arrived at the saloon and ordered Strawhim to surrender his guns. Strawhim laughed and drew his guns. Wild Bill drew both his 1851 Navy Colts, blasting Strawhim to death. A coroner's jury later stated that the Strawhim shooting was justifiable homicide.
1870- Bozeman, Montana. The discoverer and seller of the Comstock Load commits suicide, after being broke and in poor health at the age of 50.
1872- Kansas City, Missouri- Wild Bill Hickok infuriates Texans attending the Kansas City Fair by not letting the band play "Dixie". (I wonder where he was when the James and Youngers robbed the ticket receipts the day before?).
1877- New Mexico Territory. Horses are stolen by the Jesse Evans gang in Dona Anna County.
1877- Kansas. Six soldiers are wounded in an Indian fight at Famished Woman's Creek.
1878- New Mexico Territory- John Selman and nine of his “Wrestlers” ransack Will Hudgen's saloon near Fort Stanton.
1878- Famished Woman's Fork, Kansas- nine soldiers are wounded in a fight with Indians.
1878-Kansas- Chiefs Dull Knife and Little Wolf of the Northern Cheyenne led their people in a rebellion and flight from confinement and starvation on the reservation in Oklahoma (Indian Territory) to their home lands in Yellowstone. The trek climaxed on 27 Sep 1878, when 284 braves, women and children made their final stand on the bluffs of Ladder Creek, now Beaver Creek, just south of Scott County State Park. This encounter with the U.S. Cavalry was the last Indian battle in Kansas. The site--Squaws Den Battleground--drew its name from the pit in which the women and children were placed after helping to dig rifle pits for the warriors. The breastworks the Indians dug to withstand the attack by soldiers are still visible.
1886- Topeka, Kansas- 20,000 people see P.T. Barnum's “Greatest Show on Earth.”
1893- Delta, Colorado- Outlaws Bill & Fred McCarty were shot to pieces in Delta when they attempted to rob the bank there. Butch Cassidy had ridden with the McCarty's until he was sent to prison.
September 28
1864- Camp Weld, Colorado- Black Kettle, White Antelope and five other chiefs are accused by Governor Evans and Colonel John Chivington of leading numerous attacks by Cheyenne and Arapahos. The Indians say they are innocent and blame the Sioux. The chefs are moved to Sand Creek where they are promised safety.
1866- Montana Territory- One soldier from the 2nd Calvary is wounded in a fight with Indians near La Bonte Creek.
1874- Kansas- General Phil Sheridan and friends go on a buffalo hunt near Wallace.
1874- Texas- Colonel Makenzie orders the slaughter of 1,000 Comanche ponies in the Palo Duro Canyon. A 200-mile forced march to Ft. Sill is ordered for the captured Indians.
1893- Texas- John R. Hughes (1857-1946), AKA Border Boss, was born in Illinois, and moved to Texas at age fourteen. A year later he was shot in the right arm during a battle with Choctaw Indians. Hughes ranched until 1886, when he sold out, unable to fight the cattle rustlers. He had recently killed four rustlers and wounded another two after trailing them for a week through northwestern Texas. In July 1887, Hughes and Texas Ranger Ira Aten trailed Judd Roberts, an escaped murderer, to the Texas Panhandle. Six shots killed Roberts as he tried to escape the lawmen. Hughes became a Texas Ranger the following month, and by 1889, attained the rank of corporal and had made a reputation for his border patrol along the Rio Grande. On this date John Hughes and his men trailed three cattle rustlers to Nogalitos Pass. The fugitives fired at the posse, and during the ensuing gunfight the lawmen killed two of them, brothers Art and Jubel Friar, while Ease Bixler, the third man, escaped. Hughes retired from the Rangers in 1915, and committed suicide in 1946 at age eighty-nine.
September 29
1857- Williamson County, Texas- future cowboy and suspected rustler Nathan D. Champion is born.
1859- Brownsville, Texas- on this date Mexican guerilla leader Juan Cortina and his renegade band seized control of Brownsville and demanded payment of a $100,000 ransom. When reports came through that Cortina had burned Corpus Christi and was laying waste to Texas, Governor Runnels appointed Texas Ranger John S. Ford major in command of all state forces on the Rio Grande to track down Cortina.
1865- William F. Cody's Company H of the 7th Kansas Volunteers is disbanded.
1866- Ft. Kearny, Wyoming Territory. Captain W.J. Fetterman reports one soldier killed during an Indian attack.
1867- Fort Garland, Colorado- Indians wound two members of the 37th Infantry.
1872- Texas- Colonel Mackenzie reports a fight between Indians and the 4th Cavalry, assisted by Tonkawa scouts, on the north fork of the Red River. 23 Indians killed, 120 captured, and one soldier killed.
1879- Dissatisfied Ute Indians kill Agent Nathan Meeker and nine others in the "Meeker Massacre."
1883- Coolidge, Kansas- Lon Chambers, carried a badge and enforced the law in the Texas Panhandle throughout the late 1870s. In 1881 he helped Pat Garrett try to track down Billy the Kid and his gang. He later quit law enforcement and formed his own holdup gang. They pulled their biggest job at Coolidge on this date. Three masked men boarded a westbound train that had made a brief stop at Coolidge, one of them believed to be Chambers. They ordered engineer John Hilton to take the train out of the station, and when he was slow to comply one of the gunmen shot him through the heart. The express messenger returned the fire, which drove the robbers from the train. Chambers was eventually arrested, but was released for lack of evidence.
1887- Fort Benton, Montana- A silver spike is used marking the completion of the St. Paul and Manitoba Railroad.
1887- Yuma, Arizona- The Southern Pacific's tracks reach the Colorado River.
1900- Wyoming -The Wild Bunch, including Cassidy, Logan, Bill Carver, Ben Kilpatrick AKA The Tall Texan and O.C. Hanks robbed the Union Pacific's Train No. 3 at Table Rock, near Tipton. The gang took a little more than $5,000 from the express car.
1907- Tioga, Texas- (Orvon) Gene Autry is born. 'The Singing Cowboy': actor: 100+ cowboy westerns; singer famous for Back in the Saddle Again, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine, The Death of Mother Jones, Mexicali Rose and others. He owned the California Angels, Golden West Broadcasting. Gene is only person to have 5 Hollywood Walk of Fame stars [film, radio, TV, stage, records]; passed away Oct 2, 1998.
September 30
1860- Idaho territory- gold is discovered.
1870- Colorado Territory- the first passenger train from Golden to Denver had a $1.50 fare.
1872- Squaw Creek, Arizona- Territory- the 1st Cavalry kills 17 Indians and wounded one near Squaw Creek.
1877- Montana Territory- General Nelson Miles attacked Chief Joseph's Nez Perce in the Bear Paw Mountains.
1878- Sante Fe, New Mexico Territory- General Lew Wallace arrives on a stage from Trinidad, Colorado.
1878-Bonito-Ruidoso Junction, New Mexico Territory- the “Wrestlers” three day rampage ends. Women are reported raped and two men murdered at the Hoze Chavez farm.
1881- Arizona Territory- 47 Apaches surrender at the San Carlos Agency.
1885- Wyoming- anti-Chinese riots in Rock Springs claim 28 lives. The Governor appeals to Washington, D.C. for troops.
1900- Winnemucca, Nevada- the Wild Bunch rode out again to strike the bank at Winnemucca taking $30,000.
1930- Death Valley Days became one of radio's biggest hits on NBC. The 30-minute, Western-adventure series starred Tim Daniel Frawley as the Old Ranger, Harvey Hays as the Old Prospector, John White as the Lonesome Cowboy, Edwin Bruce as Bobby Keen, Robert Haag as Sheriff Mark Chase and Olyn Landick as Cassandra Drinkwater. Death Valley Days was renamed Death Valley Sheriff in 1944 and The Sheriff in 1945. Death Valley Days eventually became a TV show.
1958- TV show, The Rifleman, starring Chuck Connors as Lucas McCain, premiered on ABC.
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