Last Raid Of The Dalton Gang By M. K. Wyatt Submitted by: Mollie Stehno

The cunning hand of the Dalton gang were in many a robbery and hole-up in Oklahoma or, more properly speaking, old Indian Territory, in the early 90’s. The very name of the outlaw gang was a terror to travelers, express messengers and trainmen.

One of the most daring of these exploits of the band of outlaws took place on a hot day in July, 1892. On that day a northbound Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway train was help up and robbed in a most daring manner near Adair station, in the northeastern part of Indian Territory. One person was killed and several wounded during the hold-up. The robbers succeeded in completely looting the express and mail cars, securing a large count of booty. They escaped without the loss of a single man of their band.

Bob Dalton, leader of the gang, and Grat Dalton, a younger brother, were recognized as members of the part who executed the daring J. K. & t. robbery. United states officers pursued the outlaws but they made good their escape.

The last raid of the Daltons occurred at Coffeyville, Kansas, on October 5, 1892.

Boasts of Raid

Just before starting to Coffeyville on that last memorable raid, Bob Dalton made the boast that they would eclipse anything ever undertaken by an band of outlaws, as they planned to rob two banks at the same time in broad daylight in a town of more than 3,000 population.

Coffeyville was a little frontier town in the early 90’s and its businessmen, as usual, were going about their daily tasks of routine work until about 10 a.m., when five horsemen rode into town out of the timber on Verdigris River in Indian Territory. They were the notorious Dalton gang, consisting of Bob Dalton, leader; Dick Broadwell and Bill Powers, alias Tim Evans; Grat and Emmett Dalton, brothers of Bob.

The five outlaws would have attracted attention had they rode down the main street of the little Kansas town, for their Mexican saddles were bright and showy, fitted out with the customary hair-cover pockets, the handy “slicker” tied in a roll behind the saddle, and the every-ready Winchester rifle in a scabbard alongside. But instead of making a spectacular entry into Coffeyville the five men came up a side street, hitched their horses in an alley, later to be known as “death alley,” then walked the rest of the way through the alley to the plaza, a three-cornered building located on a lot by itself and which housed the bank of C. M. Condon and Company.

Plans Well Matured

Plans for the robbery seemed to have been well matured by the bandits. After crossing a street the five men quickened their steps and three of them entered the door of the Condon bank, while the other two ran directly across the street, entering the front door of the First National Bank.

Safely inside the Condon bank, the three men, who were Grat Dalton, Bill Powers and Dick Broadwell, closed the door of the bank and took strategic positions around the room. At the same time three Winchesters pointed their muzzles at an astonished and frightened bank force as Dalton shouted: “Hands up!”

Working fast, Grat Dalton stepped behind the counter and with a sack provided for the occasion, forced Charles M. Ball, cashier, to hold the sack while he scooped money from the counter and put it in.

A similar scene was being enacted across the street at the First National Bank with Bob Dalton, leader and Emmett Dalton, the youngest member of the gang, second in role of leader. By this time citizens of Coffeyville had become cognizant of the fact that something unusual was taking place in the banks and a general “call to arms” was sounded. Strange as it may seem, for a frontier town, there was not an armed person on the streets at this hour. But there was a general rush to the hardware stores, where guns were secured, quickly loaded and put into action.

Kloehr’s Deadly Rifle

Lying on a cot in the Red Front livery barn, nearby, sick and indisposed, was a man by the name of John Kloehr. Kloehr was a German who mad migrated from the old country with his father, brothers and sisters and settled in Coffeyville in 1871. He was well liked among the people of his town and made friends with everyone. In his business as proprietor of a livery stable he knew members of the Dalton gang and had regarded them as friends. Modest and unassuming, Kloehr appeared to be anything but a man-killer.

On this occasion, however, when the alarm reached him that the bank was being robbed he was among the first to secure a Winchester. Loading the gun, he took his place on the sidewalk with others who were armed and had opened fire on the Condon National Bank. Plate glass windows began to rattle, shattered glass flew in all directions, and the battle was on. From inside the bank Powers and Broadwell returned shots, while Bob Dalton continued the work of gathering up several thousands of dollars. Outnumbers by the citizens and deluged with a barrage of bullets, the bandit sought to escape by the rear door, but there was none. They had not figured on the absence of a rear exit and, getting considerably nervous over the shots coming from the outside, Grat Dalton dumped the contents of his sack on the floor, picked upon the currency and hurriedly went out the door by which he had entered, closely followed by his two companions.

Across the street Bob and Emmett Dalton, who were equally hard pressed, had already taken hurried leave by a back door exit into an alley. Shooting at everyone they saw, the two bandits ran along Eight Street and darted down the alley where their horses were hitched. In the exchange of shots they killed two of the town’s leading businessmen, George Cubine and Charles Brown, and had wounded several others.

Kloehr, seeing his friends fall under the deadly fire of the outlaws, hurriedly followed them, as they fled toward their horses. Grat Dalton and his two companions had already been severely wounded by guns in the hands of citizens soon after they had come out of the Condon bank. Powers was host as he ran to his horse and attempted to mount. Broadwell succeeded in mounting his horse, but had ridden 20 feet when a ball from Kloehr’s rifle, hit him. Bleeding and dying, he clung to his horse, passing out of town by the same route the bandits had chosen when coming into town. His body was later found about a half mile west of Coffeyville and his horse and trappings captured near where he had fallen.

Bob Fights To Last

Fast weakening from gunshot wounds, Bob Dalton made his way to a pile of rocks in the alley, where he sat down and fired several shots at his would-be captors. Seeing Kloehr standing with a rifle aimed, Dalton raised his own gun to shoot, but his weakened arm wavered and the shot intended for Kloehr went wild. A ball fro Kloehr’s rifle a moment later struck the desperate man square in the breast and Dalton fell back mortally wounded.

For the third time Kloehr’s rifle did deadly execution, when Grat Dalton oldest member of the band, dropped dead with a bullet in his throat just as he reached his horse. Emmett Dalton, who up to this time had escaped unhurt reached his horse and had mounted into the saddle, still clinging to the sack which held the money he had taken from the First National Bank, when he got hit by bullets from his pursuers guns that struck him in the right arm and the left hip.

Instead of riding away as he might easily have done, the wounded man rode boldly back to where Bob Dalton was lying and attempted to lift his dying brother upon his own horse. But just as he leaned forward to grasp his brother, another bullet hit him in the back and he tumbled off the horse on the sack of money, which he carried.

As he lay on the ground near his dead brother, Emmett put up hi uninjured hand and pleaded for mercy. The enraged citizens wanted to lynch him, but wiser heads overruled and the suffering man was taken to a hospital, where his wounds were dressed. He recovered and was the only member of the Dalton gang to survive this “last raid.”

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