Talked Loud and Looked Loud
BUT EARLY BAD MEN NOT SO DANGEROUS AS THOUGHT
Submitted by: Mollie Stehno

Buck Campbell of Waukomis is, one of Oklahoma's oldest pioneers and newspaper men wrote the following article for the Oklahoma News to be published in connection with the '89ers celebration. Campbell established the Hennessey Clipper in 1890.

The so-called bad men of Oklahoma in the early days were really not as bad as some of them thought they were.

They talked loud, looked loud, acted loud and dressed loud, but were not half so dangers as they would have you believe.

Of course, there is no disputing that there were many killers and bandits in the territory, but the real wild and wooly kind hard to curry were not so prevalent around Hennessey where I settled.

The more loud-sounding name a man had the less ferocious he was likely to be.

There was Ranaky Bill, handy with a gun; Big Ike, gentle as a deer; Little Joe and Big Joe; The parson, so called because he neither swore, smoked nor rank. Then there was Happy Jack, Papa Cave and many other peaceful, well-bred, law-abiding fellows.

Many of them were former cowboys, but in 1890 there wasn't a cow in the whole bunch.

When the Cherokee Strip opened one of the registration booths was located on the line north of Hennessey. During registration there were several thousand home-seekers, quartered in and around Hennessey, and every day was like a Fourth of July celebration.

Breaks Up Poker Game

There was plenty to eat and drink, but the visitors had to have other amusements to keep them out of mischief.

One of the principal modes of entertainment was the poker games about town. One evening there was a game in full blast in the back end of one of the saloons. About 9 in the evening, the sheriff of the county dropped into town and sauntered into the back of the saloon where the game was on and various kids of gambling amusement in progress.

He began toying with the chips. When one of the proprietors expostulated with him rather roughly for interfering with the progress of the game he replied:

"I am sheriff of this county and guess I have a right to do as I want to in this matter."

In two minutes there was not a participant left in the room, they scouted for the doors and went through the windows pell mell.

I came to Oklahoma quite by accident. I was returning from a trip to Galveston, anxious to get back to Kansas. In the spring of 1890 there was a big flood and it took long traveling and careful planning to get around the lowlands from Oklahoma City to El Reno.

Rode On Freight Train

I traveled on a freight train because the far was less. At Kingfisher there was a regular sandstorm and the engine broke down, at Hennessey, just past Kingfisher.

I met a jolly bunch of fellows and decided to stay. That's how I came to settle in Oklahoma.

Hennessey was a border town, but not of the rough and ferocious type. There were virtually no laws to break as every one was a law unto himself.

Most of the folks were friendly and minded their own business. We slept unafraid with the stars as a covering.

To the north of Hennessey, before the strip opening, the country was known as Tuttle's ranch, where old Sol Tuttle became a wealthy cattle king. As the agitation for the opening of the strip became stronger, like many others, he removed his cattle. The whole country was a big pasture enclosed by a wire fence. It was considered no sin to rustle wire and any of the farms were fenced with wire that had been rustled from these pastures.

Some did a good business selling the wire to the more timid, who were willing to pay a little something to have some one else do the rustling.

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