Sheriff and Posse Attack the Willet Boys, Were Mistaken for Dick Yeager’s Gang A Bloody Fight—Was It A Mistake?

For several days rumors that the notorious Dick Yeager and a companion by the name of Black were scouring the country in the vicinity of Sheridan, this county, have been current. Tuesday a Negro by the name of Malone came to town and told a story to the effect that these men were on his claim Monday and ate a meal at the house of Roberts, another Negro who lives on the same claim. A contest between Roberts and Malone over this claim has been in progress over five years, and has been the result of much bad blood and trouble between them.

Malone reported that, after eating at Roberts’ house, Yeager and Black rode over to his house and commanded him to skip out and leave the place or they would kill him. He did not know them at this time and replied that he would not leave the claim as the land department had awarded it to him. At this reply, he says, Yeager drew his Winchester and said “well I’ll put some smoke between your eyes.” Just at this moment, a party of farmer vigilantes came over a hill near by and opened fire upon Yeager and Black, when they galloped off and escaped.

Part of this story is not believed, though there seems to be no doubt of the presence of these outlaws in that neighborhood about this time. Malone also is reported to have said that he gave Black some oil to put on his heel, which was sore. This gave an air of truthfulness to Malone’s story, as it has been reported that in the recent escape from deputy marshals out west, Black was wounded in the heel just as he was escaping into a cornfield. Malone thinks that Roberts put these out laws up to order him off the claim. But, as said, Malone’s story is not corroborated. However, other reports of the presence of Yeager and Black in the neighborhood, have been coming to the officers for several days, and there is no doubt now but what these stories were well founded.

Tuesday night about midnight a telegram came to Sheriff Burchett telling of a fight that had taken place near Sheridan between citizens and Yeager’s party, that one man was killed, three were wounded, and two of the outlaws held as prisoners at Hennessey. Deputy sheriff, Al Burchett and the coroner went up to Hennessey on the early passenger yesterday morning. He returned with the two wounded prisoners on the morning passenger.

It transpired, however, that it was not Yeager’s party but the fight had occurred between a sheriff posse and John Willet, Wm. Willet and an unknown man who was with them. John Willet was killed, his brother William was badly though not seriously wounded in the right hip and the other man was shot in the left arm. The fight occurred between these three men and S. H. Fox, Ben S. Vanderwork and George Huff citizens of Sheridan and vicinity. Huff was wounded in the shoulder. Wm. Willet and the stranger were brought down from Hennessey by Al Burchett,
and lodged in jail. The body of John Willet came down on the afternoon freight. The Willet boys are well known here and have many friends.

When Oklahoma was first opened to settlement they both took claims a few miles east of Kingfisher, lived on them and prove them up. They are both single men. Some time ago John Willet sold his claim for $2,000 and deposited the money in the Peoples bank, checking on his account, as he needed money until the account was closed. Cashier Smith knew him quite well and never had occasion to doubt his honesty.

The coroner’s jury, which sat upon the case of John Willet, returned a verdict that he had come to his depth at the hand of officers while resisting arrest.  Both the Willet boys were well known in this town. All their old neighbors speak well of them.

Mr. Grimes, a farmer in good standing, whose farm adjoins the farm owned by Wm. Willet in a conversation yesterday said: --“I have known Wm. Willet for 5 years. His homestead (N. E. ¼ 35, 16,6) is near mine. I have also known John for one year. I never heard a word against them. They were good citizens, good neighbors, honest in other dealings, punctual in the fulfillment of their contracts and popular in the neighborhood.”

John R. Sturgeon, son-in-law of Mr. Grimes corroborated his father-in-laws statement. He said he had been intimately acquainted with the Willet boys ever since Oklahoma was opened to settlement and never knew them to get into trouble of any sort before. He said they were great hunters and traders—always kept a lot of dogs, horses and guns, and would trade for most anything. “I do not believe,” said he, “that they were guilty of wrong doing.”

Tony Smith, another neighbor corroborated the foregoing statement, and added that he and the Willet boys had taken a contract to haul lumber from Guthrie and had worked together. He believed a mistake had been made.

I. O. Sturgeon, now of Guthrie, said he had known the Willet boys well and had seen them in Guthrie two weeks ago, on their way to the gold fields in G. County via of El Reno. He said in Guthrie all day Friday bout two weeks ago. He also believes that a mistake has been made.

H. W. Welch, well known in this town, said he had lived on an adjoining claim to Wm. Willet for a year and a half. Had known him for four years, and also knew John. He says they were good citizens and well liked.

Other persons made similar statements. Indeed no one has yet been found who knew the willet boys, who have a word to say against them and the universal feeling on the part of their old friend is that a sad mistake has been made.

Wm Willet requested that his brother should be buried in the Grimes grave yard, near his old homestead, and yesterday evening his old neighbors took his body out home for that purpose. Before leaving with it, the coffin was opened on Roberts avenue and many persons saw the body recognized it. The open coffin was then carried to the sidewalk under the room in the Opera House temporarily used as a jail and Willet was lifted up to the window so he could take a last look at his brother’s remains. He took one look at the body and with a loud sob fell back on his cot. It was a pitiful sight and excited the sympathy of all beholders.

Story of the Fight

W. H. Fox, one of the participants in the wild and bloody battle was seen last night and his story is as follows: “John Willet,” said he, was shot in the left breast and died in a minute or so without uttering a word. When he was shot he was standing behind his horse and the bullet that killed him must have passed through the horses neck. They both fell at once. When shot he was about seventy-five yards ahead of his brother and the strange companion who were behind in a wagon. Wm. Willet was shot in the left hip when he was kneeling to fire and the other man was shot in the left arm. When he was shot he threw his gun down and ran back and met another pursuing party to whom he surrendered.

It is reported that Dick Yeager and Black were in the neighborhood and Charlie Allen, deputy sheriff summoned a posse of citizens to go in pursuit. Ben S. Vanderwork, George Huff and myself were members of this posse. The party was traveling with a light spring wagon, covering it and pulled close together all round. Two men, Wm. Willet and the stranger as we afterward learned, were in the wagon, and John was on horseback. We had notice of this party and of course supposed it was Yeager’s party. We kept a mile west until we got sight of the party, when we turned east and dismounted ahead of them in a cornfield.

We hid our horses in the thick corn and squatted down until John Willet rode up. When he got to the corner he stopped, looked back as if looking for the wagon. He hesitated and then started on. Just then we stepped out ahead of him and ordered him to throw up his hands. He parleyed about a minute. We kept telling him to throw up his hands. He raised them up a little distance and then lowered them. We were all taking at the same time. He kept talking and said-Boys, you must be mistaken; I am not the man you want.

By this time the wagon was only about yards off. Its two occupants go out. John kept looking back to see what the men in the wagon were doing. As soon as they got out, William opened fire on us. The other man fired also. The stranger kept firing until he was shot in the arm. He was trying to hold
the horses and shoot at the same time. When the firing began we dropped down and moved over into the edge of an oats field. By this time John Willet had dropped off his horse and began to fire on us. He shot twice. He slipped off his horse while we were watching the wagon. I fired at Wm. Willet after three or four shots were fired at us. He fired the first shot.

About this time we turned around and John Willet was shot as before stated. After he fell he crawled about six feet toward the side of the road. He fell with his pistol in his hand. About this time Wm. Willet fell, he got up and fell a second time, and as he got up he said “boys, I give up.” I told him to come to us. He came up and surrendered. He said, “I think you men are mistaken, aren’t you.” I asked “why then did you commence shooting? You
shot first, anyhow.” He said, “I did not know what else to do—I thought that you would kill us anyhow. “I then told him,” we though you were Yeager and Black:--what is you name? His answer was “that is all right.”

We asked his name several times, but he refused to give it. He then asked whether the man in front was dead—“Is that boy dead?” I said, “I think he is. I then took him by the arm and led him down to where John lay. He leaned or laid over by his body, put his hand under his head and asked us to turn him over. He broke out crying, kissed John and said, “poor kid” or “poor Dick—poor boy.” The wagon had come up and he said, “There is a jug of water in the wagon-give him some water.” He started to the wagon, when some one said, “don’t let him go to the wagon—there might be some more guns.” “Yes, boys,” said he,” there are more guns in the wagon.” We got four Winchesters, a carbine, and three revolvers—Colts latest improved—two .45 caliber and one 38.

We put the dead body in the spring wagon and Wm. Willet got into a wagon, which had come along, and we went into Sheridan. The other man had been taken on ahead of us. When we got to Sheridan Dr. Baker dressed the wounds and the dead body was washed and laid out. That night we went into Hennessey and got in about 11 o’clock and notified Sheriff Burchett of the fight by telegraph.

George Huff was the only member of our party hurt. I am very sorry if any mistake has been made, but we had to fight back, of course.” James Gibson, a well-known citizen of Sheridan Township, was in the pursuit but not in the fight. His party got in sight of the wagon just as the firing began. He says he was in plain view of the wagon, only about 200 yards off and
saw William Willet get out and open the fire before any other shot had been fired. He also says, that the man who was shot through the arm ranch back to Willet and said, “don’t let them kill men, they have killed one of my partners and wounded the other.” This man has steadily refused to take about the fight, or the parties he was with, and refuses to give his name. He says he has been with them but a short time. William Willet says he is a tramp who has been living off of them for several days.

The people of Sheridan Township have been greatly wrought op over the Yeager-Black scare and the towns of Sheridan and Columbia were guarded all Saturday night.

A Mr. Harper is the father of the Yeager woman and suspicion has been aroused against him. He lives in Sheridan Township and it has been believed that his house had been a hiding place for Yeager and his gang. However, he told George Bowen yesterday to get his men together as they (meaning Yeager’s gang) would be in Sheridan that evening. Bowen was on the road to tell the sheriff’s posse and came up with us just after the fight and said, “Boys you have go have got the right parties—they were to be here this evening.”

Several other parties who live in that neighborhood are under suspicion and many mysterious movements have been noted. Harper, and his son Jim, Bill Tole and Wolf were arrested so El Reno deputy marshals report it, yesterday on the charge of harboring Yeager and Black.

The foregoing story and stories. The whole matter is, as yet, shrouded in mystery. Many persons think the wrong man has been killed, and the wrong man wounded. Others think the reverse. There is a whisper of the existence of documentary evidence--intercepted letters-which compromise the Willet boys. Why William Willet refused, even after his arrest, to give his name and why their unknown companion is so reticent, are questions that excite surprise, comment and suspicion. The future may make everything plain.

Wm. Willet’s Story

The editor of the Free Press visited Wm. Willet this morning in his room in the temporary jail and had a long talk with him. He recognized the writer, who has recently bought the Sandifer farm that he had—Willet had traded for and resold to Sandifer—and, after a few preliminary remarks, talked with the utmost frankness. His story is substantially as follows:

He and John, for some weeks, had been living with his brother George, who has a claim in the Strip, near the line of the Creek country. Something like two weeks ago, or a little more, he, John and Wilber Henderson, who had been living in the same vicinity, started to the “gold mines” in G County. After they had started they learned that the gold mine business was a
fake and so concluded to go on out west here their bother Enoch’ Willet had take a claim 35 miles northwest of Kingfisher, on Salt creek. He had sold this claim some time ago, and was over with his brother George, but they had nothing to do, and so went out to look over the country and spend the time.

They took Wilbur Henderson along, as he was a pretty good fellow, had been with them about two months and wanted to go along. They went west through Kingfisher, crossed north of Kingfisher creek, after going west to town, and kept on the divide until they go to Oneida. They went on west from there until they were about 20 or 30 mills southeast of Woodward, on the Canadian River, where they found grass dried up and so concluded to return to where their brother George lived. Their intention was to go into the Creek country and put up hay.

On their return they went north to the main road and came down the Cimarron and crossed the river on the first township line north of the Strip line. They kept the main road and crossed the Rock Island railroad on the same road about six miles north of Hennessey. From there they went south to the Skeleton Bridge, one mile east of Sheridan. They camped on the public road across from a white schoolhouse and ate dinner.

That was Tuesday. After dinner they went east to the log school house and from there south to the Skeleton bridge and crossed the Skeleton, then went two miles south to where the fight took place. John was riding ahead on horseback and William and Henderson were in the spring wagon, and John was ahead of the wagon about 150 yards at this point. When they got one mile south of the Skeleton they stopped at a well and got some water and filled their jug.

Here is where they first saw the people who were in pursuit of them. When they saw the crowd they were behind and to the right of them. They did not understand what the crowd meant but John said there must be a camp meeting near by. They estimated the people at 25 or 30, but did not pay much attention to them.

John rode ahead and when he reached the cross roads where the fight began, he was about 150 yards ahead of the wagon. Here he turned east, when three men ran out of a corn field with Winchesters. They ordered him to halt, and he jumped off his horse on the side opposite them, and as he do so, turned as if to look to see who the parties were. They fired and John and the horse fell. Then the men turned and began to shoot at William and Henderson. William then jumped out of the wagon, grabbed his carbine and returned the fire, shooting twice, when he was shot in the ship. Then he put another cartridge in his gun, but the other cartridge had not been extracted, and so the gun was rendered useless. The gun was a Spencer carbine. Henderson had tried to hold the team, but after the first shot, it got away from him and ran ahead to where the three men had halted John.

Henderson did not shoot; he had no gun in his hand. He was shot in the arm, and after the team broke loose he ran back to the crowd coming up in the rear. John did not fire his pistol. All the guns and the ammunition, except the Spencer carbine were in the wagon.

After this William surrendered to the men who had shot John. The men asked William what his name was, said they though it was the Yeager outfit. William told them they were mistaken, that they had got after the wrong men.

The balance of the story is substantially as told by Fox. They had no horses except the pony team and the horse John was riding.
William says two of the guns were not much account, and were thrown into the wagon with the intention of trading them off if they had a chance. One was an old gun and the other was defective.

William said, after John and I had sold out near Kingfisher, they paid everybody they owned, and said he. “No man in Kingfisher County can say we owe him a dollar. If we had been bad men, we would have kept our money, instead of spending it and going off to steal horses and other things.”

During this interview the sheriff served a warrant on the prisoner, charging him with feloniously shooting with intent to kill, etc. The complaint was filed before Squire W. R. Benson, who accompanied the sheriff to the jail and heard the prisoners pleas of not guilty. He said he shot in self-defense and wanted the preliminary examination held as soon as possible. His wound is not serious, though he cannot stand or walk, but will, no doubt, be able to do so in a short time.

At this time Mr. Sandifer, with whom the prisoner had formerly traded farms, came in and expressed great surprise and sorrow at the occurrence. Said he had known the prisoner for a long time—had done business with and borrowed money of him—and he considered him an honest man.

Willet has retained Mr. Cutlip as his attorney, who is an old friend and acquaintance.

Wilber Henderson’s Statement

Wilber Henderson’s statement is about as follows:

I formerly lived in Labettte Co., Kan., at and near Oswego. My mother lives there now. I worked before coming to Oklahoma in Sedgwick Co. Kan. I worked on a farm for L. S. Peacock, 12 miles southeast of Wichita and next for S. E. Brady 13 or 14 miles southeast of Wichita, I have been with the Willet boys a month or so. They are trying to make it out that I am Ike Black. I can prove by 5,000 people if necessary who I am, and I am not afraid on that account.
    “How have you got my name down,” he suddenly asked.
    “Wilber Henderson,” was the reply.
    “That’s not right,” said he.

I do not want my name published now. I have an uncle in Wichita, and he would see it in the Eagle, and then mother would hear of my trouble. I do not care for anybody but her. I do not want her to be worried about me.”

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Updated: Wednesday, 06-Aug-2008 05:48:31 CDT

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