Nathaniel Reed
Encyclopedia
Nathaniel "Texas Jack" Reed (March 23, 1862 – January 7, 1950) was a 19th-century American
outlaw responsible for many stagecoach, bank, and train robberies throughout the American Southwest during the 1880s and '90s. He acted on his own and also led a bandit gang, operating particularly in the Rocky Mountains
and Indian Territory
.
Reed is claimed to have been the last survivor of the "47 most notorious outlaws" of Indian Territory. He became an evangelist
in his later years, and could often be seen on the streets of Tulsa preaching against the dangers of following a "life of crime". His memoirs were published in the 1930s, and are considered valuable collectors' items (one copy was reportedly sold on the internet
for $1,500 in 2007). He claimed to have ridden with the Dalton gang
, Bill Doolin
, Henry Starr
and other outlaws and bandits of the old west. He may have also helped Cherokee Bill, a fellow outlaw from the Indian Territory, in his escape from Fort Smith
during the 1880s.
As with many others of the era, Reed's colorful stories of his almost 10-year career as an outlaw were probably exaggerated by later writers. He claimed to have ridden briefly with the Daltons, and participated in their dual bank robberies in Coffeyville in 1892, as well as in the infamous 1893 gunfight at Ingalls
. However, there is no corroborating evidence that he was involved in either of those events.
. His father, Mason Henry Reed, was killed in action fighting for the Union Army
during the American Civil War
, probably at the Battle of Campbell's Station
on November 16, 1863. His mother was Sarah Elizabeth Prater. Reed lived with a number of relatives, including his maternal grandparents, until 1883 when, at the age of 21, he moved to the American frontier. He worked at various jobs in Idaho
, Wyoming
, Colorado
, Texas
until he reached Oklahoma
, where he became a ranch hand for the Tarry outfit.
During the summer of 1885, his foreman recruited him to rob a train at La Junta, Colorado
. In the course of the robbery, Reed entered the passenger car firing his pistol to keep the passengers under control. He later received $6,000 for his part in the hold up. Encouraged by this success, Reed gave up working as a cowboy and became an outlaw. During the next nine years he and his gang robbed trains, stagecoaches, banks and, on one occasion, captured a large shipment of bullion in California.
, Reed learned that a gold shipment was leaving Dallas, Texas
on November 13, 1894. He recruited Buz Luckey, William "Will" Smith and Tom Root, and selected Blackstone Switch at Wybark as the site for the robbery. The plan was for Reed to throw the switch as the train approached then, as it entered onto a sidetrack, the gang would use dynamite to enter the express car. Root, a full-blooded Cherokee known for his size and strength, would enter the express car, break open the strong boxes, and bring out the gold. Smith would hold a gun on the engineer and fireman while Luckey stayed with the horses.
Despite their practice staged-robbery the previous day, as the Katy No. 2 approached, Reed threw the switch too early. Engineer Joseph Hotchkiss stopped the train when he saw the signal light change, far short of the siding. Reed and the others were forced to run towards the train yelling and shooting. Hotchkiss and the fireman alerted the messengers using the bell cord connected to the car and jumped off the train to hide in a small ravine nearby.
The railroad company had anticipated the possibility of a robbery, and had moved the gold to another train, putting in its place several armed messengers to guard the express car including Bud Ledbetter, Paden Tolbert
, Sid Johnson, Frank Jones. When Reed and the others approached the express car, he called for the messengers to leave the car. When they refused, Reed and Root took cover behind some trees and began shooting into the car. The messengers returned fire, resulting in a gunfight that lasted for nearly an hour. Eventually one of Reed's men was killed; Reed jumped onto the train and went through the passenger cars forcing passengers to put their valuables into a sack before he and his gang fled.
As they rode away, Reed was shot by Bud Ledbetter; the pain from his wound grew so severe that his partners were forced to leave him behind for the night. He gave them some of his loot, and kept the rest of it in a sack to use as a pillow. He lay on a blanket hiding under a rock ledge until he was found by an Indian woman, who nursed him back to health.
The American Express Company offered a reward of $250 for the arrest and conviction of each member of the gang. An extensive manhunt was conducted by U.S. Marshals George Crump and S. Morton Rutherford, and large groups of deputies were sent into the Indian Territory and Creek Nation. While burning the canebrake
s in the Verdigris bottoms
, one deputy found the burnt remains of Reed's saddle and threatened to destroy the crops of local residents if they did not turn over Reed and his men. This was considered a legal act, authorized by "The Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker
himself, but no one came forward with information. Reed was warned of the search and decided to leave the territory as soon as he was able. He arrived in Seneca, Missouri
on December 9, where Bill Lawrence took care of him.
Once fully recovered from his wounds Reed returned to Arkansas in February 1895, where he stayed with his brother in Madison County
. Having decided to retire from a life of crime, he wrote to Judge Isaac Parker, agreeing to testify against the man who planned the robbery in exchange for probation
, although he did not participate in the proceedings. Smith managed to disappear, but U.S. Marshal Newton LaForce was successful in tracking down Luckey and Root to the latter's home in Broken Arrow
, 15 miles south of Tulsa, Oklahoma
. The two fugitives were subsequently killed in a gunfight with LaForce and his men on December 4, 1894.
After his release Reed became an evangelist
, preaching the rewards of living a respectable, law-abiding life. He also toured the country with a series of Wild West shows. His memoirs, The Life of Texas Jack, were published in 1936, and 35,000 copies of several published pamphlets and dime novels describing his life as an outlaw were sold before his death at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma
, at the age of 87. He was buried in St. Paul, Arkansas
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
outlaw responsible for many stagecoach, bank, and train robberies throughout the American Southwest during the 1880s and '90s. He acted on his own and also led a bandit gang, operating particularly in the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
.
Reed is claimed to have been the last survivor of the "47 most notorious outlaws" of Indian Territory. He became an evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
in his later years, and could often be seen on the streets of Tulsa preaching against the dangers of following a "life of crime". His memoirs were published in the 1930s, and are considered valuable collectors' items (one copy was reportedly sold on the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
for $1,500 in 2007). He claimed to have ridden with the Dalton gang
Dalton Gang
The Dalton Gang, also known as The Dalton Brothers, was a family of both lawmen and outlaws in the American Old West during 1890-1892. They specialized in bank and train robberies. They were related to the Younger brothers, who rode with Jesse James, though they acted later and independently of...
, Bill Doolin
Bill Doolin
William "Bill" Doolin was an American bandit and founder of the Wild Bunch, an outlaw gang that specialized in robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kansas during the 1890s.- Early life :...
, Henry Starr
Henry Starr
Henry Starr was an American outlaw: specifically, a horse thief and train robber. He was also convicted of murder once, of U.S. Deputy Marshal on December 13, 1892. Henry Starr claimed in court to not have known he was a U.S. Marshal and only to know that a man had opened fire on him without...
and other outlaws and bandits of the old west. He may have also helped Cherokee Bill, a fellow outlaw from the Indian Territory, in his escape from Fort Smith
Fort Smith
Fort Smith is the name of several locations:* Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, Canada* Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States* Fort Smith National Historic Site, in Fort Smith, Arkansas...
during the 1880s.
As with many others of the era, Reed's colorful stories of his almost 10-year career as an outlaw were probably exaggerated by later writers. He claimed to have ridden briefly with the Daltons, and participated in their dual bank robberies in Coffeyville in 1892, as well as in the infamous 1893 gunfight at Ingalls
Battle of Ingalls
The Battle of Ingalls was a gunfight on September 1, 1893 between United States Marshals and the Doolin-Dalton Gang, during the closing years of the Old West era, in Ingalls, Oklahoma. The Doolin-Dalton Gang had been involved in a number of train robberies and bank robberies, beginning around 1891...
. However, there is no corroborating evidence that he was involved in either of those events.
Early life
Reed was born in Madison County, ArkansasMadison County, Arkansas
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Huntsville. The county was formed on September 30, 1836, and named for James Madison, President of the United States...
. His father, Mason Henry Reed, was killed in action fighting for the Union Army
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, probably at the Battle of Campbell's Station
Battle of Campbell's Station
The Battle of Campbell's Station was a battle of the Knoxville Campaign of the American Civil War, occurring on November 16, 1863, at Campbell's Station, , Knox County, Tennessee....
on November 16, 1863. His mother was Sarah Elizabeth Prater. Reed lived with a number of relatives, including his maternal grandparents, until 1883 when, at the age of 21, he moved to the American frontier. He worked at various jobs in Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
until he reached Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, where he became a ranch hand for the Tarry outfit.
During the summer of 1885, his foreman recruited him to rob a train at La Junta, Colorado
La Junta, Colorado
The City of La Junta is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Otero County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,568 at the U.S. Census 2000. La Junta is located on the Arkansas River in southeastern Colorado east of Pueblo.-History:During...
. In the course of the robbery, Reed entered the passenger car firing his pistol to keep the passengers under control. He later received $6,000 for his part in the hold up. Encouraged by this success, Reed gave up working as a cowboy and became an outlaw. During the next nine years he and his gang robbed trains, stagecoaches, banks and, on one occasion, captured a large shipment of bullion in California.
Robbery at Blackstone Switch
During the early 1890s, when he was living near Muskogee, OklahomaMuskogee, Oklahoma
Muskogee is a city in Muskogee County, Oklahoma, United States. It is the county seat of Muskogee County, and home to Bacone College. The population was 38,310 at the 2000 census, making it the eleventh-largest city in Oklahoma....
, Reed learned that a gold shipment was leaving Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
on November 13, 1894. He recruited Buz Luckey, William "Will" Smith and Tom Root, and selected Blackstone Switch at Wybark as the site for the robbery. The plan was for Reed to throw the switch as the train approached then, as it entered onto a sidetrack, the gang would use dynamite to enter the express car. Root, a full-blooded Cherokee known for his size and strength, would enter the express car, break open the strong boxes, and bring out the gold. Smith would hold a gun on the engineer and fireman while Luckey stayed with the horses.
Despite their practice staged-robbery the previous day, as the Katy No. 2 approached, Reed threw the switch too early. Engineer Joseph Hotchkiss stopped the train when he saw the signal light change, far short of the siding. Reed and the others were forced to run towards the train yelling and shooting. Hotchkiss and the fireman alerted the messengers using the bell cord connected to the car and jumped off the train to hide in a small ravine nearby.
The railroad company had anticipated the possibility of a robbery, and had moved the gold to another train, putting in its place several armed messengers to guard the express car including Bud Ledbetter, Paden Tolbert
Paden Tolbert
Paden Tolbert was a 19th-century American law enforcement officer and railroad agent. He was one of the leading deputy U.S. Marshals in the Indian Territory during the 1880s and 90s and often worked with other well-known lawmen of his time including Bud Ledbetter, Heck Thomas and Bill Tilghman...
, Sid Johnson, Frank Jones. When Reed and the others approached the express car, he called for the messengers to leave the car. When they refused, Reed and Root took cover behind some trees and began shooting into the car. The messengers returned fire, resulting in a gunfight that lasted for nearly an hour. Eventually one of Reed's men was killed; Reed jumped onto the train and went through the passenger cars forcing passengers to put their valuables into a sack before he and his gang fled.
As they rode away, Reed was shot by Bud Ledbetter; the pain from his wound grew so severe that his partners were forced to leave him behind for the night. He gave them some of his loot, and kept the rest of it in a sack to use as a pillow. He lay on a blanket hiding under a rock ledge until he was found by an Indian woman, who nursed him back to health.
The American Express Company offered a reward of $250 for the arrest and conviction of each member of the gang. An extensive manhunt was conducted by U.S. Marshals George Crump and S. Morton Rutherford, and large groups of deputies were sent into the Indian Territory and Creek Nation. While burning the canebrake
Canebrake
Canebrake is an English noun meaning an area of land with a thick dense growth of cane, sugarcane, exotic bamboo, or similar plant material.Canebrake may also refer to:Places in the United States of America:*Canebrake...
s in the Verdigris bottoms
Verdigris
Verdigris is the common name for a green pigment obtained through the application of acetic acid to copper plates or the natural patina formed when copper, brass or bronze is weathered and exposed to air or seawater over a period of time. It is usually a basic copper carbonate, but near the sea...
, one deputy found the burnt remains of Reed's saddle and threatened to destroy the crops of local residents if they did not turn over Reed and his men. This was considered a legal act, authorized by "The Hanging Judge" Isaac Parker
Isaac Parker
Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years and also one-time politician. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion...
himself, but no one came forward with information. Reed was warned of the search and decided to leave the territory as soon as he was able. He arrived in Seneca, Missouri
Seneca, Missouri
Seneca is a city in Newton County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,336 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area.-2008 tornado:...
on December 9, where Bill Lawrence took care of him.
Once fully recovered from his wounds Reed returned to Arkansas in February 1895, where he stayed with his brother in Madison County
Madison County, Arkansas
Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 15,717. The county seat is Huntsville. The county was formed on September 30, 1836, and named for James Madison, President of the United States...
. Having decided to retire from a life of crime, he wrote to Judge Isaac Parker, agreeing to testify against the man who planned the robbery in exchange for probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
, although he did not participate in the proceedings. Smith managed to disappear, but U.S. Marshal Newton LaForce was successful in tracking down Luckey and Root to the latter's home in Broken Arrow
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Broken Arrow is a city located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, primarily in Tulsa County but also with a small section of the city in western Wagoner County. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2010 US Census, Broken Arrow has a population of 98,850 residents...
, 15 miles south of Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
. The two fugitives were subsequently killed in a gunfight with LaForce and his men on December 4, 1894.
Later years
Despite Parker's promise of immunity, Reed was convicted and sentenced to serve five years in prison. However, he served less than one, as shortly before his own death Parker granted Reed his parole, in November 1896. Reed subsequently carried his signed parole from Judge Parker around with him, along with a letter signed by Ledbetter acknowledging that Ledbetter had shot him.After his release Reed became an evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, preaching the rewards of living a respectable, law-abiding life. He also toured the country with a series of Wild West shows. His memoirs, The Life of Texas Jack, were published in 1936, and 35,000 copies of several published pamphlets and dime novels describing his life as an outlaw were sold before his death at home in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
, at the age of 87. He was buried in St. Paul, Arkansas
St. Paul, Arkansas
St. Paul is a town in Madison County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 163 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:St...
.
Books
- Croy, Homer. He Hanged Them High: An Authentic Account of the Fanatical Judge who Hanged Eighty-Eight Men. New York: Duel, Sloan & Pierce, 1952.
- Drago, Harry Sinclair. The Organized Bands of Bank and Train Robbers Who Terrorized the Middle West for Half a Century. New York: Bramhall House, 1964.
Magazine articles
- Cain, Lianne. "'Texas Jack' and the Blackstone Train Robbery". True West. (January 1996): 14.
- Reed, Nathaniel. "Train Holdup at Blackstone Switch". The West. (May 1964): 16.
- Shirley, Glenn. "The Bungled Job at Blackstone Switch". True West. (June 1966): 40.