b'the ranches alongside the Cimarron River. So Tilghman, together with his one-time Dodge City deputies Neal born on July 4, 1854, TilghmanBrown (Brown was one of the famed Dodge City Peace Commissioners along with Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson was, one could say, born inwho stood up for their friend Luke Short\'s gambling rights)and an Indian scout rode out to the Cimarron to investigate. battle, for just weeks afterDismounting his horse, Tilghman motioned Brown and the Indian scout to stay behind as he walked up towards the his birth, vengeful Sioux on theranch, which was little more than a dugout, and knocked on the door. The door opened, Tilghman greeting the warpath attacked his settlement.man at the door, walked towards the fireplace, and almost immediately realized he had made a very serious mistake A Sioux arrow passed through thefor he had practically walked into the face of certain death. As noted Western Historian Paul Wellman wrote in his sleeve of Tilghmans mothersexcellentA Dynasty of Western Outlaws: "Then, as he stood before the fireplace, holding his hands out to the warmth, dress, the sleeve of the arm thatTilghman saw, from the corner of his eye something else. From behind the burlap curtains of several of the bunks, cradled the little infant. rifle, or pistol barrels peeped out, all aimed at him!At that moment he knew that he had walked, with no warning, right into the outlaw hideout. What happened the majority of them proved costly with three U.S. deputyonce more on the move. One by one they were trackedin those next few minutes proved the caliber of a man marshals shot dead out of the saddle or down in the street,down, shot and killed, and in extremely rare cases, capturedBill Tilghman was. A fool, or a man with less than perfect no fatalities in the ranks of the outlaws, all of whom werealive and leading the way was a recovered Bill Tilghman.control of himself, might have leaped for the door or able to make their getaway, with the only exception beingOne by one the three "Oklahoma Guardsmen" Tilghman,tried to draw his guns. In either case, he would have Arkansas Tom Daugherty captured by Tilghman\'s oldMadsen, and Thomas, plus Frank Canton and Budbeen blasted to death, for he was covered by half a dozen Dodge City colleague and Bat\'s brother Jim Masterson as heLedbetter (and perhaps Bass Reeves as well) tracked downweapons, in the hands of murderous men. But not a unwisely stayed with his paramour at the local hotel insteadthe Doolin-Dalton gang and their associates. One by onemuscle of Tilghman\'s face, or a flicker of his eyes, showed of sticking close to his comrades who were holed up in athe Doolin-Daltons were captured or killed. that he had any inkling of the situation. He spoke, and his nearby barn. voice was that of a man with an infinitude of time, and no However even as the gang was eliminated one-by-one,pressing concerns of any kind.But Ingalls proved to be the beginning of the end of theit was Tilghman\'s pursuit of Doolin in the dead of an Doolin-Daltons, as all law enforcement resources availableOklahoma winter that turned into a misadventure that"How far is it to Bee Dunn\'s ranch?" he asked the man by to Judge Parker and Marshal Nix that were not neededalmost cost him his lifejust being barely saved bythe fire. "Find out for yourself," growled the man. Tilghman elsewhere bore down on the gang. There was a brief intervalboth his own courage and the character of his nemesisrubbed his cold hands together and stamped his feet. He of about 9 months while the posse was being organized andhimselfBill Doolin. had forgotten all about asking shelter for himself and his while another serious outlaw threat in eastern Oklahoma,friends. Only to get out of this place alive! the Bill Cook gang was being dealt with. As soon as thatWhat happened was this. Early in 1895, Tilghman received interval ended however, the vengeful deputy marshals werea tip that the Doolin gang might be hiding out at one ofContinued in Part 2 next month.DONT WAIT UNTIL THE HEAT IS UP AND SO ARE THE PRICES.50% OFF STANDARD AC UNITSLimited Time Only! Make the Precision Decision TM REPAIR#1 Ranked AC CompanyREPLACE in the State TUNE UP (602) 349-6922PrecisionAirAndHeating.comArizonaRealCountry.com August 2019 33'