The Fort Worth Record and Register
Thursday, February 23, 1905
pg 8

DEPUTY MARSHAL KILLED BY BANDITS
CHEROKEE FULL BLOODS OF WICKLIFFE BAND AMBUSH J. H. VIER.

HOT FIGHT WITH A POSSE
Indians Chased Into Hills, Where a Large force of Deputies Has Been Sent in Search.

Vinita, I.T., Feb. 22. - (Soecuak) - Deputy United States Marshal J. H. Vier, was fired on from ambush yesterday near Oaks, I.T., by the Wickliffe band of full blood Cherokee Indian desperadoes and instantly killed. His possemen had a running fight with the Indians and exchanged about fifteen shots with them but they escaped to the hills. A large force of deputies has been sent to the scene of the killing.



Palestine Daily Herald
Monday, March 12, 1906
pg 1

U.S. MARSHALS WERE KILLED BY CHOCTAW INDIAN OUTLAWS,                                  
THE WICKLIFFE BROTHERS AND THEIR GANG.

Special to the Herald.
Vanita, I.T., March 12 - Three officers and six horses were killed last night when a posse of Federal officers were ambushed by the Wickliffe gang of outlaw in the Spavinaw hills, nine miles north of Kansas, I.T. Three other deputies escaped. The dead are:
Marshals I. Gilstrap, Otis Little and Dick Terry.                                                                                                                                    
The three Wickliffe brothers are full-blood Choctaw Indians, and have been sought by the officers in the hills ever since the murder of Deputy Vior a year ago. The Wickliffes have the sympathy of other Choctaws, and are assisted by them in evading the officers. It is reported many of them are joining the band and a battle may result before the outlaws are
taken.
Marshal Darrough has asked the department of justice to authorize a posse of one hundred men to search the country.



Palestine Daily Herald
Tuesday, March 13, 1906                                                                                                                                                                          
pg 1

OFFICERS ARE ON THE TRAIL OF THE WICKLIFFE GANG,
WHO MURDERED UNITED STATE OFFICERS YESTERDAY

Special to the Herald.
Vinita, I.T., March 13, - No news has been received here today so far regarding the pursuit of the Wickliffe gang. Marshal Darrough with thirty deputies are gathered at Kansas. Bud Ledbetter, deputy marshal and a famous Indian fighter, left here today to join the posse.
Rain is falling in the Spanvinaw hills, making operations difficult. It is not expected that the Indians will be overtaken before tomorrow. A courier service will likely be established.



El Paso Times
Tuesday, March 13, 1906
pg 1

INDIAN OUTLAWS KILL POSSEMEN
The Wickliffe Gang of Full-Blood
Cherokees Slaughter United States Marshal's Men.

BLOODY BATTLE RAGES

Three Pale Faces Bite the Dust and the Bandits Are Besieged by 100 Men in Nighthawk Settlement.

NO QUARTER TO BE GIVEN

Vinita, I.T., March 12, - A United States marshal's posse of six men was ambushed by the Wickliffe gang of full-blooded Cherokee Indians yesterday afternoon in the Nighthawk Indian settlement in the Spavinaw hills, 31 miles from Vinita, and three members of the posse were shot and killed.
The dead are:
I. L. Gilstrap, deputy United States marshal of Vinita.
Otis Tuttle, posse man of Vinita.
Dick Terry, posseman of Tahlequah.
The Wickliffes, three brothers, Charles, John and Tom, were at  last accounts, besieged in the house of their uncle, Jim Wickliffe, and posses from all directions, probably 100 men in all, had gone to capture or kill the desperadoes.
It is likely that a fight took place this afternoon, but there is no telegraph or telephone connection with the Nighthawk settlement.
The Wickliffes killed Deputy Marshal Vier about a year and a half ago, and the officers have been on their trail ever since.
Deputy Gilstrap, with Otis Tuttle, Dick Terr, Thomas Wafford and Andy Dick, posseman, Sunday afternoon at 4 o'clock rode up to the home of Jim Wickliffe, uncle of the Wickliffe boys, and were intending to make a search of the place, when the outlaws, concealed in the house opened fire on them. At the first shot Gilstrap, Tuttle and Terry were killed and at the next volley all of the horses were killed besides two bloodhounds.
The survivors of Gilstrap's party fired into the house, but the fire from the outlaws was so sharp that they soon sought shelter behind trees and stones.
The little band of survivors decided to send Pless Mann to Tahlequah for assistance while the other two men would shadow the house and, if possible, prevent the escape of the Wickliffes. Mann arrived at Tahlequah at an early hour this morning.
Marshal Darrough and fifteen deputies set out for the battleground this morning; ten men from Pryor creek and parties started from other settlements, probably 100 men in all.
The trouble with the Wickliffes dates back to January 1902, when the Cherokee land office was opened at Vinita. The full-blooded Cherokees objected to the proceeding and they held war dances all over the Cherokee country and the situation became alarming. On one occasion Peter Dolf, a full-blood Indian was killed by another full-blood, for no other reason than that he came to Vinita and secured an allotment.
The murderer was sent to the penitentiary for life, but other outrages were committed by the Indians, the last of which was the murder of Deputy Marshal Vier by the Wickliffe gang.
The Wickliffe brothers are sons of John Wickliffe, formerly chief justice of the supreme court of the Cherokee nation. About fifteen years ago Charles Wickliffe killed a brother and escaped punishment, through the influence of his father.
The Nighthawk faction of full-blood Cherokees are in full sympathy with the outlaws.



The Denison Daily Herald
Tuesday March 13, 1906
pg. 1

LED INTO TRAP.
Deputy Marshals Were Ambushed
By the Wickliffes.
Vinita, I.T. - March 13 - Mrs. I. L. Gilstrap arrived here yesterday with the body of Deputy Marshal Gilstrap. She reports that the Indians pretending to help the officers led them into a Fort where the Wickliffes were concealed, and the fight followed. Gilstrap was shot in the head and killed instantly.
Dick Terry was probably mortally wounded, and Otis Tittle is missing, but not hurt.
One of the Indians is believed to have been killed and others injured.
There are eleven Indians in the fort, and it is believed that another battle will take place today.
________
Search for Outlaws Continues.
Vinita, I. T., March 13. - Marshal Darrough and posse continued today searching for the Wickliffe Indian outlaws. It may be several days before the bandits are located, owing to the good start they have.




The Denison Daily Herald
Monday March 14, 1906
pg 12

BLOODY BATTLE WITH OUTLAWS
WICKLIFFE GANG AND DEPUTY MARSHALS
FIGHT IN CHEROKEE NATION HILLS.

THREE OFFICERS KILLED

Each Side Has Been Reinforced and the Battle will Be to a Finish,
Outlaws Have Many Friends Who Will Fight to the Death.

Muskogee, I.T., March 12 - A bloody battle is now on in the Cherokee Nation hills between the Wickcliffe gang and officers. Three officers have been killed.
The Wickliffes have been reinforced by friends and Marshal Darrough has sent to Marshal Bennett of the Western district for Winchesters and has called in all the deputies of the district and sent them to the scene and also called on the people
of the Cherokee Nation for reinforcements to help capture the gang.
The fight commenced Sunday afternoon at the old Wickliffe homestead twenty-five miles northeast of Tahlequah in the hills and in the fight Deputy Marshal Ike Gilstrap and Possemen Dick Terry and Otis Little were killed outright. They were ambushed by the Wickliffes. John Wolfert and two other possemen whose names cannot be learned were in the fight, but at last reports had not been killed. One of them rode into Tahlequah where he got assistance and also wired information to Vinita to Marshal W. H. Darrough of the tragedy. Deputy Marshal Long has left Tahlequah with four men to relieve the possemen who were in the party during the fighting. Marshal Darrough has started from Vinita with a strong posse. Marshal Bennett will send Bud Ledbetter in the Cherokee country if the occasion warrants it.
There are three of the Wickliffe brothers and they were joined by another man, a young Indian whose name is not known and who was in the fight. So far as is known there was not one of the outlaws hurt.
It is reported here at 12 o'clock that the friends of the Wickliffes, and that includes nearly all of the people living in the flint hills around their home, are joining them and it is feared that the fighting has not yet reached its worst stage. The Wickliffes
are desperate men and they have many fearless friends.



El Paso Times
Thursday, March 15, 1906
pg 2

WICKLIFFES NOT CAPTURED

The Indian Outlaw Gang is Still at Large.
Vinita, I.T., March 12 - Marshal Darrough reached Vinita this afternoon from Spavinaw and said that the reports of trouble with the Cherokee Indians  had been exaggerated. Darrough arrested fifteen full-blood Indians on the charge of harboring and assisting the Wickliffe boys. These Indians were brought to Vinita late today and will be lodged in the territorial jail.
The Wickliffes had not been captured when Darrough left Spavinaw.
The marshal said that while most of the Indians are favorable to the Wickliffes there is no danger of an uprising. A battle is expected with the Wickliffes before they are captured, but the greater part of the Indian population, he said, is not in sympathy with the offenders, at least will offer no open resistance. The fifteen Indians arrested were taken without difficulty.
While at Spavinaw Darrough and his men ascertained the general direction taken by the Wickliffes and the officers will take the trail and stay on it until the men are arrested.



The Waxahachie Daily Light
Friday, March 16, 1906
pg 1

OUTLAWS NOT CAUGHT
Chase Given Up, Except in the Nature
of Still Heat With Hounds.

Vinita, I.T., March 16 - Very little has developed in the outlaw situation since yesterday and the Wickliffe brothers are today masters of the situation with only a dozen deputies and possemen trying to capture them.
The chase has been abandoned and the future operations will be in the nature of a still hunt, until the outlaws can again be located. The hunt will be carried on by about fifty experienced men with bloodhounds. Marshal Darrough has sent to different places for all the bloodhounds he can get. It is not likely that the officers can force a battle with the outlaws before the end of the month.
Rev. John Beamer, a full-blood Indian preacher, is in jail on a charge of inciting opposition to the enforcement of the laws. Beamer, it is charged is one of the captains of the Night Hawks, and has been leading in the stomp dances, trying to get his followers to help the Wickliffes.



The Denison Daily Herald
Monday, March 19, 1906
pg 6

NO TRACE OF WICKLIFFES
Courier Arrives from Scene of Man Hunt in Territory.
Vinita, I.T., March 19 - A courier who arrived here last night from Marshal Darrough's camp in the Spavinaw country says no trace of the Wickliffe Indian outlaws has been found. It is believed they will not leave the Spavinaw country. It affords many places of concealment and they can doubtless remain hidden there for a long time.



Bryan Morning Eagle
Sunday Morning, March 25, 1906
pg 2

WICKLIFFES FAR AHEAD
They Are Now Believed to Have Gone to Mountainous Country.
Oaks, I.T. - March 23 - Word received here indicates that the three Wickliffe Indian outlaws who are being sought by numerous posses, crossed the Illinois river the night following the fight and are headed to Lee's Creek, a wild mountainous country west of Stillwell, settled almost entirely with full-blooded Cherokees. If this proves true the outlaws have a long
start. Marshal Darrough late Thursday moved his camp from the Spavinaw hills to Illinois river.



The Denison Daily Herald
Monday, March 26, 1906
pg 3

CAUGHT SIGHT OF OUTLAWS
Much Ammunition Purchased at Vian for Wyckliffs.

Muskogee, I.T., March 26 - Yesterday afternoon parties coming in from the region of the Ozark and Wauhillau Clubs report that the Wyckliffs have been seen in the hills near the Illinois River. This is near the Pin Hook hills, where the outlaws were last reported. This information is borne out by the fact that Marshal Darrough's men last night came in on the Iron Mountain trains and dropped off in the vicinity of Vian, which is the closest railroad point to the place where the Wyckliffs are believed to be. The region that has been the scene of this pursing of outlaws is many miles north of the Iron Mountain line. The Wyckliffs are now supposed to be south of the Frisco line, the nearest station being Welling.
The marshals dropped on to the fact that an Indian had come in to Vian and bought a lot of ammunition. The supply was unusual for a single Indian to purchase and he left town as quietly as he came. The deputy marshal covering this section decided to follow the Indian. He got other deputies and started on the trail, the Indian soon learned that he was being followed and when he reached the vicinity mentioned on the Illinois River, he suddenly disappeared and all trace of him was lost. It is believed that he was an emissary of the Wyckliffs and that he was sent to Vian to get supplies for them.



The Denison Daily Herald
Wednesday, May 16, 1906
pg. 6

ASKED FOR BLOODHOUNDS
DEPUTIES CHASING WYCLIFFE OUTLAWS STRIKE TRAIL
Vinita, I.T., May 16 - Marshal Darrough's full blood deputies, who are chasing the Wycliffe band of full-blood Indian outlaws, sent a messenger to the marshal here at midnight Tuesday night requesting that bloodhounds be sent to them, as they were after the outlaws.
An officer left with the bloodhounds at 1 o'clock yesterday morning and Marshal Darrough, with a few men, left later for the Spavinaw hills.
it is believed here that the Indians have the Wycliffes located and as soon as they get the bloodhounds they will give battle to the outlaws, and Mr. Darrough desired to join them. A battle is expected now at any time.



The Denison Daily Herald
Thursday, May 17, 1906
pg. 6

BROUGHT IN TWO
Marshal Darrough and Posse Return from Spavinaw Hills

Vinita, I.T., May 17- United States Marshal W.H. Darrough returned with a posse yesterday evening from the Spavinaw Hills with Ben Hungry and Ned Carselute, alleged accomplices of the Wyckliff brothers, full-blood Cherokee Indian outlaw.  The
prisoners were placed in the United States jail last night charged with complicity in the murder of Deputy United States Marshals I.L. Gilstrap and J.H. Vier.
John Smith and his full-blood Nighthawks, who are working under Marshal Darrough, got on the trail of the Wyckliffs and sent for the blood hounds and went on after the band, but up to this time have not been able to force a battle with them.
Hungry made a statement to Marshal Darrough in which he said that he was with the Wyckliffs when they killed Deputy Gilstrap and had been scouting with the Wyckliffs since Gilstrap was killed.  Hungry says he joined the Wyckliffs a week before the fight with Deputy Gilstrap.
He claims he was present but took no part in the fight.  He says John Wyckliff, the leader of the outlaws, shot Gilstrap's dead body and robbed it.
Hungry claims that the Wyckliffs forced him to stay with them after the fight and threatened to kill him if he left them.



Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Saturday, May 19, 1906
pg 1

ONE OF WICKLIFFE GANG IS CAPTURED
Ben Hungry Arrested Near Pryor Creek, I.T.

Special to The Telegram
MUSKOGEE, I.T. - May  19 - A special to the Phoenix from Pryor Creek says that Ben Hungry, a full-blood Cherokee, who was with the Wickliffes when they killed Deputy Gilstrap in the battle with officers, was arrested by Deputies Wofford, Dick and Long, ten miles east of Pryor Creek.
Hungry was wearing the hat Deputy Dick lost in the battle with the Wickliffes, which lends a credence to his story that he was with the Wickliffes.
An Associated Press dispatch received here early this morning says that the Wickliffes are in the neighborhood of Spavinaw and that Marshal Darrough is on their trail with bloodhounds.



The Denison Daily Herald
Tuesday, May 22, 1906
pg 6

PURSUIT OF WYCKLIFFS
Officers Are Following the Trail with Bloodhounds.

Vinita, I.T., May 22 - United States Marshal W. H. Darrough returned here yesterday evening from his chase after the Wyckliff brothers. Marshal Darrough has withdrawn the Indian posse and the chase is now being conducted by the regular deputies, who have Indians assisting them.
The officers found that an Indian on Clear Creek had been keeping the Wyckliff brothers and the officers surrounded the house at night, but discovered that the outlaws had escaped just before they got there. The bloodhounds took the trail and the officers are now following with the bloodhounds. It is thought that they are now about one day behind the bandits.



Palestine Daily Herald
Wednesday, May 23, 1906
pg 1

WICKLIFFE GANG
Closely Pursued By United States Officers
and Will Likely Be Taken.

Special to the Herald.
Vanita, I.T., - May 23, - The Wickliffe gang, by striking into Clear Creek and throwing the hounds off the scent, escaped the posse led by Deputy United States Marshal Wofford. Marshal Darrough has started a second posse to head off the gang, which is believed to be heading back toward Spavinaw.
The marshal expects to catch the fugitive between the two forces.



The Bonham News
Friday, May 25, 1906
pg 1

ARE VERY POOR MAN-HUNTERS
Marshall Darrough is Suspicious of Full-Blood Posse Chasing the Wyckliffs.

Tahlequah, I.T., May 23 - W. H. Darrough, marshal of the Northern District, has at last been forced to the conclusion either that the full-blood posseemen under the leadership of John Smith are very poor man hunters or else they have been giving him the double cross in their alleged search for the Wycliff outlaws. The full-blood posse has been called off and the regular deputies are now conducting the search, which evidently consists of riding back and forth through the hills of the full-blood country.
A government official stated today that Marshal Darrough had spent at least $5,000 in this chase of the Wyckliffs. The chances are that twice that amount would be more nearly correct. It has been two months since the Wyckliffs killed Deputy Ike Gilstrap, and with all the work that has been done, all the money that has been spent, keeping at first forty or fifty deputies in the field and finally resorting to the full-blood posse, there has not been a single instance of a report that an officer had gotten sight of a single one of the Wyckliff crowd. The impression grows that the entire full-blood country and many persons not full-bloods are in sympathy with the Wyckliffs and that every time the officers have struck what they thought to be a hot trail they have been in fact following a false scent that was put out by the friends of the Wyckliffes. It has been announced time and time again that they were right on the heels of the flying outlaws, but they never get in sight.
One of the most startling statements comes from Vinita. Marshal Darrough announced that he was going into the hills to see how the deputies were getting along, as it was reported that a fight was imminent and he wanted to be there. The same report says that Mrs. Darrough accompanied her husband on this trip. There was no fight and she returned satisfied with her trip. So far as is known, this is the first instance in which an Indian Territory marshal has allowed his wife to go into a country where a battle with outlaws was momentarily expected.



The Denison Daily Herald
Tuesday, June 12, 1906
pg 6

SAY THEY ARE PERSECUTED

WYCKYIFFES MAKE SENSATIONAL CHARGES AGAINST NORTHERN DISTRICT OFFICERS

MAY CAUSE INVESTIGATIONS

An appeal May Be Made to President Roosevelt - Alleged Outlaws Willing to Surrender if Guaranteed a Fair Trial - Other Territory News.

Muskogee, I. T., June 12, It is quite likely that the sensational story of the Wyckliffes, allege outlaws and murderers, relative to the treatment of their people at the hands of the officials of the Northern District, some of them now out of office, will cause an investigation to be made.
The story of Charlotte, Wyckliffe, wife of Charley Wyckliffe, has particularly stirred the people of the district.
There is a pretty general sentiment in Indian Territory these days that when outlaws are few and not of the wild west, train-robbing variety, deputy marshals are too handy with their guns. If the stories of the Wyckliffes are true, theirs is an aggravated case and one that covers several years of incessant irritation. Whether or not these stories are entirely true can only be shown in a fair and impartial investigation, but there are many prominent Cherokees who believe they are true to the letter and they want an investigation. The Wyckliffes also say that a fair deal is all they want and that when they are satisfied they can get it they are ready to lay down their guns and stand trial, confident that there is not a jury in the Northern District that would convict them. The Wyckliffes have intimated to their friends that they are ready to come
in and surrender whenever they believe an "unprejudiced investigation can be held. Charley Wycliffe wants President Roosevelt to personally order an investigation. Indictments were returned against the Wyckliffes at Vinita Saturday charging them with the murder of Deputy Ike Gilstrap.
The present policy of the Wycliffes is undoubtedly to scout until statehood is secured and another regime of criminal officials is in power in the Northern district and that they will then if conditions are favorable, surrender. Charley Wyckliffe says he does not want to kill anyone and that he could have shot down Darrough's posse like wild hogs if he had wanted to, as they have all passed within fifteen feet of him without knowing it.



The Denison Daily Herald
Wednesday, August 8, 1906
pg 6

CREATED MUCH EXCITEMENT

Shackled Indians Were Thought to be Wycliff Brothers
Muskogee, I.T., Aug. 8 - There was quite an excitement here yesterday when two deputy marshals brought three wild looking Indians in in irons and took them to a restaurant to feed them. While the bunch was at the lunch counter someone went outside and whispered the word "the Wycliffs have been caught." That was the best advertisement that restaurant man could have invented, for in ten minutes there was a big crowd of people crowding around. The restaurant was filled
and a crowd gathered in front. One of the deputies carried a wicked looking bow and arrow with him. The crowd was pretty well sold when it became known that the three were some "tame" Indians who had been arrested in  Tahlequah on a minor offense and were being taken to Vinita.



Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Sunday, June 2, 1907
pg 3

Desperate Chances

Special to The Telegram
TULSA, I.T., June 1, - Hazarding capture to meet the wife he loves, Henry Starr, the once famous bandit, wanted for alleged participation in the robbery of a bank at Sheba, Ark., three months ago, in which $7,000 was secured, was discovered in Tulsa early this morning. He was accompanied by Wickliffe, the youngest member of the Wickliffe gang of full-blood Cherokee outlaws, wanted for the killing of Deputy United States Marshal Ike Gillstrap, in a desperate battle with federal officers in the Spavinaw hills, over a year ago.
The two men escaped from a house of a friend, where the meeting of Starr and his wife had taken place, and fled on horseback from the city with the federal officers in pursuit. For over three years after his release from the Leavenworth prison, where he had been sentenced for life on a charge of murder, Starr led an exemplary life.



Austin American-Statesman
Sunday, March 29, 1908
pg 6

BANDIT DIES BY BROTHER'S HAND

CHARLES WICKLIFE SHOT AT HIS HOME IN SPAVINAW HILLS
Muskogee, Okla., March 28. - Charles Wickliffe, one of the members of the notorious gang of Cherokee Indian outlaws, long sought by the officers, was shot and killed at the Wickliffe home in the Spavinaw hills, Cherokee nation, yesterday by his brother, Thomas, the result of a family quarrel.
The Wickliffe's were three in number, Charles, Thomas and John. They are full blooded Cherokees and considered the most desperate gang of outlaws that has infested the southwest in years. Many murders are laid to them and they were particularly sought for their attack near Kansas, Okla., on Sunday, March 11, 1908, upon a number of deputies, who were attempting their arrest for  murdering an officer. The deputies overtook the trio in the fastness of the Spavinaw country, a
wild mountainous district in the heart of the Cherokee nation. A fierce battle ensued with deputy marshals, but the outlaws escaped. The whole territory was aroused and for several weeks armed posses from all directions sought them. United States Marshal W. R. Durrows led the man hunt which was pushed with the utmost vigor. It availed nothing,  however, and not until the news of the death of Charles was brought in today had any definite information been received in the past three years of the whereabouts of the bandits.