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Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

Late in the summer of 1884, a pair of wild-eyed, trail-stained strangers wandered into Dodge City, Kansas. Both were heavily armed when they entered the Long Branch Saloon. The bartender noticed their guns and informed the men the weapons weren’t allowed in town. The men announced to all in earshot that they hadn’t any intentions of surrendering their guns and defied the law to take their six-shooters from them.

The two grabbed a bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses and proceeded to a nearby table where they started drinking. In between drinks the pair loudly threatened to kill anyone with a badge who came near them. Marshal Tilghman’s reputation as an effective peace officer had reached beyond Dodge City, and the belligerent customers dared the well-known lawman to square off against them. “We hear tell he’s fast on the draw,” they shouted. “He’s got a chance now to prove it. Somebody go tell him that if he’s tired of living, we’re ready to help him end it.”

A man named Sampson let the marshal know what was going on and, in spite of the informant’s warning to stay away, Tilghman picked up his pistols and headed out of his office. As he left, he told Sampson if he didn’t go, gunslingers from all over the Territory would ride into Dodge ready to oppose him.

When Marshal Tilghman entered the saloon, patrons and employees scattered. The resolute lawman made his way to the mouthy drifters and instructed them to give up their guns. “They’re not allowed in town,” he told them. The three men eyed one another for a few brief moments and then one of them quickly drew his weapon. Before he could get off a shot, Tilghman had drawn and fired his gun at the man.

The second of the duo pulled his pistol but he didn’t get far. He was on the floor with a bullet in his chest before the smoke from Tilghman’s first shot had cleared. The marshal retrieved the dead men’s weapons and ordered a handful of cowboys who were taking refuge behind the bar to help carry the bodies to the mortician’s office.

To learn more about Marshal Tilghman and his wife Zoe read

Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

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Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

The Kiowas kicked their horses into a gallop toward the cowboys. Tilghman and the man with him took off in the direction they came. The packhorses they had with them as well as the stray cattle raced to keep up. The Indians divided into two parties, both hurrying after the cowhands as fast as their rides would take them. Tilghman and his coworker urged their horses to go even faster, and the animals did. The chase continued for several minutes with the Kiowas closing the gap on the exhausted cattle and pack-animals trying to keep up. Eventually the braves captured the cows and horses. Some stayed behind with the livestock while others maintained the pursuit of Tilghman and his companion.

The gap between the Kiowas, Tilghman, and the other cowhand widened and narrowed throughout the chase. Tilghman considered stopping to shoot the pursuers but was convinced killing one or several of the warriors would only cause more problems in the long run. The cowboys believed their only option was to outrun the Kiowas. The Indians doggedly followed the two men into a canyon, forcing the pair up a steep hillside. When the cowhands reached the top, they realized they were trapped. Far below them on the other side was a stream that was swollen from the recent rains. Tilghman quickly surmised they would have to jump if they hoped to survive.

The cowboys dismounted and coaxed their horses to make the leap first. They watched the animals plummet forty feet into the water. The dazed and slightly confused horses emerged unhurt from the death-defying jump. They swam to the bank of the stream, stumbling over rocks until they got their footing where they stood huddled together, shaking from the experience.

Tilghman and the cowhand with him leapt from the precipice minutes after making sure the horses had made it through the ordeal. The pair hit the water hard and popped to the surface moments later. Tilghman looked at the cliff towering over them to see if the warriors were at the summit. Seeing no one, the cowhands pulled themselves out of the rampaging stream and hurried to their horses. The still shaking animals could barely move beyond a walk. Tilghman and his cohort managed to lead the horses to an outcropping of rock. By then, the Kiowas were lined along the ridge. Tilghman removed his Sharps rifle from the holster on his saddle and fired a shot in the warrior’s direction. The Kiowas quickly climbed off their horses and flattened themselves on the ground. They didn’t return fire or attempt to follow the cowhands down the embankment.

To learn more about Marshal Tilghman’s life and times read

Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

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Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

Deputy marshal Bill Tilghman nudged his galloping horse in the side with his spurs to encourage the animal to run faster. The lawman was after a fugitive who had gotten a bit of a head start and whose ride was swift and agile. The horse’s ability to keep up with the outlaw’s mount had a great deal to do with the rider in the saddle. Tilghman was a solid, broad-shouldered man in his early forties and the desperado he was pursuing was a petite, seventeen-year-old woman. Jennie Metcalf, known in the Oklahoma Territory as Little Breeches, led her horse across the prairie around the town of Pawnee with ease. The ride was so fluid she managed to remove her Colt six-shooter from the waistband of the oversized trousers she was wearing, turn around in her seat and fire a volley of shots at Tilghman.

The marshal grimaced as he spurred his horse on and lifted his Winchester out of the saddle holster. It was August 18, 1895, and the sun was a ball of fire. The wind at his face was like the breath of a furnace. He was hot and tired and in no mood to take part in a gun battle with a teenager. Tilghman hadn’t anticipated the young woman would make a run for it when he set out to arrest her and her cohort, Annie McDoulet alias Cattle Annie, for stealing horses.

The pair’s misdeeds extended far beyond horse thievery. For several months, the women had been working with the Doolin Gang. In 1893, William “Bill” Doolin organized the group comprised of some of the most ruthless criminals in the region. They robbed banks, stagecoaches, and trains. Marshal Tilghman and two other deputy marshals, Heck Thomas, and Chris Madsen had been on their trail for years, but the gang was always one step ahead of them. It was clear someone was helping them to navigate around law enforcement’s efforts to apprehend the felons.

After the Doolin Gang robbed the United States Army payroll near Woodward, Oklahoma, in March 1894, the three officers discussed what they knew about each crime and what dubious characters seemed to always be in the general vicinity. Little Breeches and Cattle Annie were the prime suspects. The three men believed the women had been scouting for the gang, acting as their lookout, and keeping them in supplies. Tilghman was convinced the key to the Doolin Gang’s demise was to capture the misguided youth who were aiding and abetting them.

To learn more about Marshal Tilghman and his time chasing Cattle Annie and Little Breeches read Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

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Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him

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Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Women Who Inspired Him

He was steely eyed, hard riding and straight shooting; a soft-spoken, tee-totaling lawman who never drew his gun…unless he meant to use it.  Among other things he was also a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, rancher horse breeder, saloon keeper, politician…even a movie maker. His name was Bill Tilghman and of all the heroes of the Old West he was one of the last, one of the most heroic, and a legend in his own time. Tilghman is about his life and the woman who memorialized his adventures.

Tilghman began his career in Dodge City in 1878 when his friend Bat Masterson, newly elected sheriff, made him under sheriff.  Still going strong in 1924, the 70-year-old Tilghman was called out of retirement to help rid Cromwell, Oklahoma, of bootlegging gangsters.  In 1878 the bad guys rode horses; in 1924 they drove Piece-Arrows and Fords and flew airplanes.

Frontier outlaw or prohibition hoodlum, Tilghman fought them all.  In his lifetime he saw the vast herds of buffalo disappear from the great plains and Oklahoma transformed from Indian territory and outlaw haven into homesteading land and booming oil country.  Oklahoma City evolved from a collection of muddy tents and shacks into a thriving metropolis. It was a dramatic transformation and Bill Tilghman helped make it happen.

Beside him through most of that transformation was his wife, author Zoe Agnes Stratton.  Zoe not only had an up-close view of the various outlaws her husband pursued, but was instrumental in preserving those daring exploits on paper.  The short stories and books she wrote about Tilghman’s life as a law enforcement agent helped make him a celebrated figure throughout the West.  Zoe recorded Marshal Tilghman’s capture of such criminals as the Doolin Gang, Cattle Annie and Little Britches, and the Jennings brothers. She also wrote of his friendship with such well-known figures as Marshal Heck Thomas, Marshal Bass Reeves, and Judge Isaac Parker.

When Bill Tilghman was gunned down in 1924 by a corrupt federal agent, Zoe had to find a way to continue on and financially support the two sons she’d had with the lawman.  She earned a living writing about each case her husband had taken on during his career.  Zoe hoped her sons, Richard and Woodie, would do better than their father had when he was young as the old frontier days were past, but Bill Tilghman’s brace of pistols remained symbolic of the family’s fate.

In October 1929, nineteen-year-old Richard was killed in a crooked gambling game, along with his friend James Chitwood, a farmer.  Seventeen-year-old Woodie was arrested soon after for killing the man who shot his brother.  Woodie was arrested for manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.  Zoe wrote about those heartbreaking events as well.  Her body of work is recognized as some of the state’s finest historical writing.

Tilghman: The Legendary Lawman and the Woman Who Inspired Him is not only the story of a brave man – it’s a colorful, exciting history of the last days of the Western frontier. It’s also the story of a woman, desperate to hold onto her family and honor the life of the man she loved so dearly.