A brief tribute to the men who were responsible for enforcing the law in the lawless Indian Territory
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A brief tribute to the men who were responsible for enforcing the law in the lawless Indian Territory |
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The Lawmen of Old Fort Smith |
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Judge Parker is given credit for cleaning up the nest of outlaws, rapist and murderers that stalked the Indian Territories. But, as he said about the lawmen who arrested and brought to trial these desperadoes, "Without these men, I could not hold court a single day." Parker's chief prosecutor was William H. H. Clayton, District Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. Clayton had served with the Pennsylvania Infantry during the Civil War and been part of many historic battles. In 1864, after leaving the Army he came to Pine Bluff to study law. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1871 and was soon appointed prosecutor for the First Judicial Circuit of Arkansas and in 1874 was appointed by President Grant as United States Attorney for the Western District at Fort Smith. |
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"Prince of the hangmen" was George Maledon. Maledon was a Civil War veteran and a crack shot and always wore two pistols. He was not only hangman but executioner by gun shot for several men attempting escape from the jail at Fort Smith. One man, aware of Maledon's reputation, escaped knowing he would be shot, because he preferred death by Maledon's gun rather than by his noose. Maledon was a man proud of his work. His ropes were the finest from St. Louis and he tied the knot in such a fashion to break the man's neck instantly rather then have him strangle. During his career he hung 60 of the 79 men to die on the Fort Smith gallows. Once asked if he feared the ghosts of the men he hung, he replied that he never hung a man that came back to have it done over. After his career was over he toured the nation at carnivals and fairs displaying some of the nooses he used and to explain his craft. |
The work of the U.S. Deputy Marshals was dangerous and poorly rewarded. Resisting arrest amounted to a sentence of one year in jail, little deterrent to men determined to avoid justice in Parker's court. And, it was a long way across Indian Territory to Fort Smith. Marshals were often ambushed, killed and their captives freed long before they reached the ferry at Fort Smith. The officers rarely earned more than five hundred dollars a year. They were paid for mileage and expenses only if they succeeded in bringing the fugitives to Fort Smith. If they killed the suspect the deputies had to pay for the victim's burial if the body was not claimed by relatives. The deputies could not collect rewards posted on outlaws by the federal government on the grounds that they were already compensated. The rewards were often as much as two or three times the annual income of a deputy. They did, however, seek out and collect on rewards posted by individuals, businesses and communities. |
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Almost 100 deputy marshals were killed while serving under Judge Parker. This stands in stark contrast to the 79 men who died on the gallows in Fort Smith. Angels by no means, yet most had a dedication to their jobs and their duties as lawmen. Only 200 deputy marshals covered an area of 74,000 square miles. The job was huge and the risks just as great. These men really had "true grit" and fictitious deputy marshal Rooster Cogburn would have fit right in. |
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1908
reunion of deputy U.S. Marshals who served under
Judge Isaac Parker. |
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Ronald
N. Wall |
