OKlahoma

[lilithb]

a little oklahoma outlaw history..


www.okolha.net/

[lilithb]

Robbers Cave now stands empty as the tomb.
The winds whistle. The dust blows.
Jesse James and gangs have vanished and left
nothing but rumors behind. But today,
churches camp out here and this area is more
popular than ever. Some people have been
coming back for a lifetime.

Robbers Cave got its name from its alleged association
with Jesse James and gangs, and Belle Starr, along with
Cole Younger, and other assorted outlaws.

Robbers Cave
State Park
It is a known fact that Belle Starr did live about 20 miles from here and that she was Cole's wife at one time.

www.shareyourstate.com/oklahoma/robbers.htm

[lilithb]

www.rootsweb.com/~itcherok/


Oklahoma, also called "The Sooner State," is smack dab in the middle of the Heartland, USA. The name Oklahoma is from the Choctaw Nation words "okla" meaning people, and "humma" meaning red... "Red People." The largest population (250,000) of Native American Indians in the United States, with Tribal Headquarters for 39 Tribes, are in Oklahoma. The state was known as Indian Territory when the 5 civilized Tribes were forced to relocate here, during 1838-1839, from their homes in the southeast as ordered by President Jackson in what is known as the "Trail of Tears." A treaty then swore this would be the Indians' Promised Land, "for as long as the grass grows and the water flows." -- However, in 1889 a choice portion of Indian Territory in Oklahoma was opened up for white settlement in one of the most bizarre events known to American History. Over 100,000 people lined up along 165 miles of the Kansas border ready to take off and stake their claims in the Land Rush. Those Federal Marshals, railroad personnel, and others who were legally allowed in the territory before the shot fired at noon, starting the race into "Cherokee Strip," were called "legal sooners" which is how the name Oklahoma "Sooners" came to be.
In 1907, Oklahoma became the 46th state. Oklahoma is located north of Texas, and south of Kansas, with a portion of our panhandle south of Colorado. The northeastern part of Oklahoma, where I live, is called "green country"... Strange to think this is the same state that was referred to as part of the "dust bowl" of the 1930's. (There are still parts that get pretty dusty.)
Approximately 25% of Oklahoma is forest lands, including four mountain ranges: the Ouachitas, Arbuckles, Witchitas, and Kiamichis. We have over one million surface acres of water... more miles of shoreline than the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts combined.
Oklahoma has elk, deer, bears, wolves, coyote, groundhogs (woodchucks), rabbits, turkey, eagles, hawks, owls, many birds... and even bison (American buffalo) - Oklahoma's state animal - at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska. Here are some Oklahoma wildlife photos taken by an Oklahoma City friend, Eugene Gruhler.
Did you know Oklahoma has a Drug Store Museum? -- And even a highway museum - Route 66 Museum.

[lilithb]

When the man in the moon was just a little boy Oklahoma was home to ancient mound builders with cultural contacts as far off as the Aztecs and as far north as the Great Lakes. In fact, if is this had been the United States back then, Oklahoma would be known for housing Washington D.C. That community flourished for six hundred years.
Following that period Oklahoma hosted a few nomadic tribes. Even today, Oklahoma has the largest Indian population in America. The United States first acquired a claim to most of the state as part of the almost legal Louisiana Purchase. A hundred Native Nations who had never heard of Napoleon had their lands sold out from under them.

Andrew Jackson opened Oklahoma up as "Indian Territory" in 1830. Then he defied the Supreme Court and ordered the five civilized tribes of Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations to move west.

Many of the Seminole ended up going south for about nine years in an agreement with Mexico that had them protecting that country from the murderous Texans. They were also relatively successful at fighting off some of the Apache and Comanche that were raiding Mexico.

By 1887 "Individual" land ownership was introduced so the Native Americans could lose it all, one piece at a time. Oklahoma was a wild and wooly place for a long time. President Theodore Roosevelt tried to appoint Bat Masterson as a U.S. Marshal to the area. Bat declined rather quickly. By the end of the century the railroads were here, and land runs. Soon oil exploration had brought in immigrants from around the world.

Leaders in the "Indian Territory" wanted a separate state and suggested the name of "Sequoyah" for it. Congress combined Indian Territory, Oklahoma Territory, and the Cimarron Strip into the single state of Oklahoma. Cimarron County now touches Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas and Texas. By this time, Oklahoma history was replete with Indians, buffalo, horses, slaves, freemen, cowboys, pioneers and other mixed cultures.

in spite of having the longest constitution of any state in the Union the best of all worlds evolved from the mix. When the famous "dust bowl" conditions sent some Oklahomans scurrying off to California, Will Rogers said the average IQ of both states went UP, Oklahoma by the people dumb enough to leave and California by the quality of people it gained. Today a dust storm is seldom seen, although virtually all youth (and visitors) have to be taught the huge difference between dust blowing and a dust storm.

Today the state thrives on events and festivities. It hosts a full calendar of huge festivals, rodeos, powwows and celebrations. Parks are maintained with hiking, biking, canoeing, boating and camping foremost in the plans. There are so many lakes here it is said that there is more shoreline in Oklahoma than there is on the East Coast, and Gulf Coast combined. The National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center are here too.

The business environment is second to none in the State of Oklahoma. The population here is 3,579,212. Cows outnumber the people almost two to one. There are 4,590,000 chickens here too. Swine is a controversial subject and won't be mentioned.

[lilithb]

Scholars have researched many American Indian oral traditions in Oklahoma, producing works on Cherokee, Kiowa, and other Native groups. Less work has been done on the other ethnicities. In the 1920s The Chronicles of Oklahoma printed articles on some Oklahoma legends. In the mid-1930s Benjamin Botkin published his Folk-Say series, which produced a few studies on Oklahoma tales. The Oklahoma Federal Writers' Project collected Oklahoma folklore, using a portion of it in Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State (1941). Several writers produced work on oil-field culture, including Mody Boatwright, J. Frank Dobie, Dan Garrison, and Bob Duncan. The Ozark region, which includes some of eastern Oklahoma, has received analysis, with several publications on its folklife. The cowboy culture has also been dissected, with John Lomax and later Guy Logsdon collecting ballads.

As early as 1832, while camped near the Cimarron River in present Oklahoma, Washington Irving reported hearing tales of a famous gray horse that could pace faster than the fleetest horse could run. Not long after this, Josiah Gregg repeated the same type of fantastic story of a great white stallion, a tale that he had heard on the Santa Fe Trail. These narratives of the Plains are reported by other early visitors and stem from Plains Indian encounters and stories from guides and fur traders. Settler stories are numerous in the West, but exaggerated tales of the Land Runs are uniquely Oklahoman. There are abundant anecdotes of thirsty participants trading their claims for water or whiskey, men and women leaping from moving trains to stake their choice of land, or Sooners concocting complicated ruses to conceal their early entry into the territory.

As long as there has been journalism in present Oklahoma there has been an interest in American Indian tales and legends. Newspapers and journals such as Twin Territories: The Indian Magazine regularly published articles on Indian folklore. Creek citizen Charles Gibson had his fables published throughout Indian and Oklahoma territories, relating stories such as that of the wolf and the rabbit, a motif reminiscent of Joel Chandler's Brer Rabbit tales. Tall tales, especially concerning the extremes of Oklahoma weather, have been told and retold in the history of the area. The familiar story of sticking a crowbar out of a hole in the house to test the wind (if it bends, it is safe to leave the house; if it breaks, one should stay inside) is an example. Legends of buried treasure, whether from outlaws or Spanish explorers, are well documented. One asserts that at the beginning of the nineteenth century Mexican outlaws buried a chest full of gold exactly twenty-two feet underground near Durant. During the first decade of the twentieth century several tried to recover the gold, using information from a supposed family member of the only brigand to return to Mexico. Every Oklahoma family seems to have a personal narrative tale related to outlaws. A grandfather, an uncle, or a second cousin met, hid, or was robbed by Jesse James, Ma Barker, Belle Starr, Pretty Boy Floyd, or Bonnie and Clyde. Many have a relative who claims to have met Geronimo at a parade or fair or by chance encounter, a meeting deemed important enough to pass down to subsequent generations.

Storytelling was an important part of nineteenth and early twentieth century life, and often an adept yarn spinner would be the focal point of a community gathering on a Saturday afternoon. The content of the tale, while important, did not set the speaker apart as much as the delivery, use of local humor, and social context. A popular form would be the aforementioned tall tale, which can be a brief exclamation, an extended narrative, or an embellished personal exploit. Some Oklahomans have used their storytelling art to gain a national stage, for example Will Rogers. Others, such as author George Milburn, exploited the stories that they had heard in small communities by transferring similar tales to their literary productions.

Another characteristic, which is also common nationally, is the place-name legend. A legend claims to be an historical report of past events or persons. In Oklahoma, Broken Arrow is reportedly the place where an arrow was broken to celebrate peace between warring tribes. Slapout is said to be named to reflect a local storekeeper's usual reply that he was "slap out" of the item requested. These reflect places named from local stories and traditions. Locales such as Horsethief Canyon, Robbers' Roost, and Robbers Cave (now a state park) again display myths and tales tied to the real activities of outlaws in Oklahoma. Ghost stories have not only given roads, houses, bridges, and wooded areas a specific name but have created local superstitions that last for generations. A typical tale, one that was recorded in McAlester by the Oklahoma Writers' Project in 1936, describes a house of which the front door would always swing open, whether locked or tied; because a murder had occurred there house, there was a stain on the floor that could not be removed. Urban legends are not uncommon in Oklahoma. Oklahoma City and Tulsa have the usual claims of flushed alligators roaming the sewers, or of a crying woman who walks along the railroad tracks, grieving for a dead child or a lost love. Another legend, which may hold a germ of truth, claims that an elaborate series of tunnels existed under Oklahoma City, hiding a large ethnic Chinese subculture.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century sightings and stories still are reported concerning what many call bigfoot (Sasquatch), a large, hairy, manlike animal that walks on its hind legs. Most of these accounts occur in southeastern Oklahoma. In 1998 there were twenty reported sightings around the Ada area. Bigfoot and Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) sightings have continued the state's fascination with unexplained phenomena.

[lilithb]

Oklahoma has had its share of peculiar characters. Governor Alfalfa Bill Murray for example, went together with Texas to make a bridge across the Red River. Each state was to pay half the cost. After the bridge was built Texas insisted on making it a toll bridge and thus get their money back for building the bridge. Governor Murray sent the National Guard down to take control of Oklahoma's half of the bridge. “Let's divide this bridge right down the middle." With the bridge thus divided lengthwise the people going to Texas were allowed to go there for free while Texas could only charge people for the privilege of escaping to Oklahoma.

***

Alfalfa met a group of farmers in his office to hear their request for drought assistance. He called for Oklahoma weather maps and stabbed his finger at their region. "It says right here that you have already received a year's worth of rain."

Several of the farmers nodded, and one said: "Yes, I remember the night it happened."

***

In 1973 Enid recorded twelve inches of rain in three hours. Eastern Oklahoma gets an annual average of fifty six inches of rain. Western Oklahoma averages seventeen inches. Oklahoma City has recordable rain about eighty five times a year, on the average.

***

James C. Nance, long time Chairman of the House said that fistfights broke out on the floor of the House of Representatives almost every day all through the 1920s.

The Spirit of Oklahoma
On July 23rd, 1925 police officers poured 250 gallons of whiskey into the Hobart sewer. History does not record if it did any good.

The dictionary is the reason Oklahoma has 3.2 beer.
It happened on this wise: The Legislature had to write a bill authorizing beer sales and none of the group assigned to write the bill drank beer. So, they pondered the eternal question: "What is beer?" None of them knew and none of them were going to admit it to anyone outside that room, so they brought in a dictionary and looked it up. There were the facts. Beer HAD to be 3.2 percent alcohol. Anything less was not beer. Well, that was plain enough, they thought. Therefore, Oklahoma still has 3.2 beer to this day.

***

Tatums, Tussy, and Hennipen are still all black communities and were founded by Buffalo Soldiers mustering out of the Army from Fort Arbuckle. These communities don't get their mail delivered directly to them. The mail truck dumps their mail off at the Davis post office and their post masters have to arrange for pickup. Dougherty gets their mail in the same way, so that's four, five mail dumps at the town of Davis.

Back east you probably have a town named first and then bring in a post office that gets named after the town, but out west of the Mississippi it was usually the post office that was established first and the town was named after the post office. The U.S. Postmaster has the responsibility for approving the final name for any post office. Once upon a time a request was received to name a post office to be established in a remote area in Oklahoma. "We have a prominent Indian here name of Chigley and would like to name the post office after him. But if that name is taken already we also have the Davis brothers who are prominent citizens here."

This was in a time before even good Indians were popular with the Great White Father. Consequently, Chigley was thoroughly scratched out and the name Davis put in. The town acquired the name of Davis after its post office. Would you believe it? There still isn't any post office named Chigley in the state of Oklahoma.

Some of Gene Autry's movies were made near Ardmore. Roy and Dale Rogers were married on the Healy Ranch just south of Davis. Gene Autry gave Roy his first big role in movies. Like Jimmy Stewart, Gene went to war. Roy grabbed opportunity by the horns and started making western movies. After the war the two cowboys tended to avoid each other when inadvertently invited to the same party. They must have made up later because the Gene Autry Museum now contains more Roy Rogers memorabilia than it does for Gene Autry.

To make up for so many people being economically forced to take their kids out of school in the fall to bring the crops in, Oklahoma arranged a free school guarantee for anyone up to 23 years old. Jim Davis was one Korean veteran that played high school football AFTER coming back home.

In the middle 1950s the coach for Purcell high school decided it was time for integration. He actively pursued any black students that even looked like they could play ball someday. One potential student lived way, way out. He did not want to travel that far just for school. "How about moving in with your cousin in Purcell?" The boy protested, "But I don't have one." The coach assured him they would find a cousin for him. With this kind of attitude it wasn't long before Purcell High School could play ball on equal terms with most of the colleges in the state.

[lilithb]

Red Dirt is found on more than one million acres in 33 counties in Oklahoma. The dirt is said to be red because of sands, siltstone and shale weathering.

Oklahoma owns part of four mountain ranges, the Ozarks, the Ouachitas, the Wichitas and the Arbuckles. No other state has as many man-made lakes in it.

Just west of Poteau Mount Cavanal is claimed to be the highest hill in the world, towering 1,999 feet above sea level. Since you are at Poteau, the Poteau River is the only river in Oklahoma that flows NORTH.

Oklahoma is the only state that produces iodine. It is one of three states that produce helium. Oklahoma produces more gypsum than any other state. The world's largest deposit of alabaster is at Alabaster Caverns, near Freedom. Oklahoma is the fourth largest producer of wheat in the United States. It is also fourth in cattle and feeder calf operations. It is fifth in production of pecans. You've heard Texans brag about six flags? Oklahoma has had fourteen flags fly over it.

On the negative side of the ledger, Boise City (in the Panhandle) was hit by SIX practice bombs on July 5, 1943. Oklahoma records an average of 84 tornadoes per year. A friend of mine was so worried about tornadoes here that he almost didn't come. "Don't worry, there's never been a major tornado in Moore," I told him. Within two months his whole block was torn up, every house on it (except his, thank goodness) looked like the Big Bad Wolf had made a personal call. Seems like he moved to San Francisco after that, no tornadoes there.

[lilithb]

HAUNTED PLACES IN OKLAHOMA

theshadowlands.net/places/oklahoma.htm