TERROR OF BAD MEN.

King Country Chronicle, Volume XX, Issue 2066, 13 January 1925, Page 2

TERROR OF BAD MEN.

MAN WHO ENFORCED LAWS. SHOT DEAD IN BRAWL. Hundreds of times during his fiftyone years as arch-foe of the lawless element in Oklahoma, "Bill" Tilghman faced the blazing guns of bank bandits, train robbers, murderer?,_ cattle rustlers and similar gentry, giving bullet for bullet and almost invariably bringing in his man. A dozen, perhaps fifteen, criminals met death at his hands; dozens were "winged" by his unerring fire; scores of proved had men surrendered without a. shot rather than face his markmanahip. And then, at 10 o'clock on the night of November 1 a small touring car, bearing two men and twosiomen, careered down the principal street of Cromwell, blackest spot in Oklahoma's oil fields, and came to a spot in front of (< j\la" Murphy's daneo hall. One elf the men stepped to the ground, drew a revolver and fired down the street, apparently without a. target. He was unsteady in his gait, witnesses said, from liquor. Tilghman, then marshal of Cromwell, at 5000 dollars a mouth, the highest salary ever paid a peace officer Oklahoma, stepped from tue dance hall to quell the new disturbance. He grappled with the offender and snatched away his gun, never attempting to draw his own weapon. The disturber, however, whipped out a second revolver, fired three shots into the body of the officer, leaped into his car and sped away. HOW TILGHMAN MET END. Half of Oklahoma gave chase. The other half stayed to help Tilghman bur: in fifteen minutes the dean oi Oklahoma's law enforcers, relentless terror of the criminal element and friend and idol of children was dead, "with his boots on." Wylye Lin. a Federal prohibition officer, was arrested soon afterwards and confessed to 'the shooting. His companions also were captmred. Linn will face trial for first degree murder. With TiJghman's death passed the last and 'greatest of Oklahoma's pioneer peace officers whose lives have been given entirely (to the war against) crime'"within the confines of Oklahoma. Indian scout, plainsman, United States Marshal, Stale Senator, who put m-uch of the "p«wer" into Oklahoma's criminal code, sheriff and one-time chief of police- of Oklahoma City,( he led a life more thrilling uhan many lessor lights, whoso names have become household words. For Tilghman withal was extremely modest, quiet spolken and sparing of words, always willing to discuss horses and farming, but never willing to discuss himself. ExpHojts of Al Jennings, whose gang of train robbers Tilghman broke up; of "Bud" Ballew, two-gun sheriff of Carter County, who: fell before the fire of a Texas ranger; Frank M. Canton, the man who did the most to wipe out cattle rosling in the southwest and whose gun many times spoke death to desperadoes, pale into mediocrity beside the daring performances of "Undo Bill." Tilghman put Al Jennings into the penitentiary and drove his gang to the four winds. He broke up the Dalou band and lie was in the front rank when the pitched battle was fought that resulted in t>he death oi most of She Dalon cohorts. He disrupted the Henry Starr baud of bank robbers, putting four in the- penitentiary, and was on bib way to capture Starr himself when the notorious bandit was ski in by an Arkansas bank president during a hold-up. Ho brought, to justice every member of the Ditolin band who was not killed in the battle by police officers. He converted Dodge CiHy, Kan., the wildest, widestopen most murderoMs town m the world, into a virtual Sunday school in three years, and where earned his reputation as the deadliest shot and the most daring man in the south-west. SHOWED NO FEAR OF DEATH.

Frequently Tilghman's exploits bordered on the foolhardy. Once when trailing the Dooilin gang of wain and bank bandits, he led his posse to within half n mile of their camp. He left bis men behind while lie went ahead t'o reconnoitre, and, misjudging the strength erf the robber band, undertook to make the capture singlehanded. He succeeded in reaching tho cowboys' bun in which they were upending the night, but when ho stepped thrtf.igh the door ho looked into ahe imizxles of rifles levelled at him from six bunks. Another second and his career wMuld have been ended, for here were men for all of whom a noose waited.. Bill Doolin, the leader, however, leaped to the floor- with a command to his men not id shoot, and in a. split second Tilghman was out of the door and gone. He led his posse back, but ,of course, the bandits had departed hastily, and in a long range, running rifle bathle next day on of the Doolin gang was killed. Several years later Tilghman, out of oratitude to Doolin, nisked his own capture Doolin alive rather than kill him. He trailed Doolin into Arkansas, managed to secrete himself in the nfcber's room at a. hotel, and when Doolin entered greeted him With dfraw/n, revolver. Doolin had swom he never would be capiiaved alive, and snatched out his own guTT Tilghman shot it from his hand, took Doolin back U< Oklahoma to be hanged and personally saw that fill ot Do'olin's effects and money were turned over to his widow aud child. At another time Tilghman surprised a gang of cattle rustlers, convinced them by a ruse that iliey were surrounded by a large posse of cowboys and captured the entire band without firing a shot Men were never mora dismasted than they when they discovered how thoy had been taken in, and this was the one incident* ot his career that Tilghman liked to talk about. He regarded it as a huge joke. _., , When trouble came Tilghman never waited for aid. He was in a tiny prairie town tfno day looking for a murderer, when three horsemen swept down on the town bank and held it up Tilghman saw the commotion a block away, ran to the scene and engaged the three in a pistol battle killed one, wounded one and filled the tfhird one's hdrse as he tried to escape. The wewnded man recovered and he and his companion went to the penitentiary. The town marshal never put m an appearance during tno melees.