The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-01-24
GUN WITH A BLOODY RECORD.
sixteen Notehcs in the Grip show the
Outlaws Deadly Work.


Wichita, Kan, corr. OF the Chicago
Chronicle.
Some time ago an Oklahoma man,
who has had wide frontier experience
and is well acquainted with the records
Of Western bad men, promised Ha. $.
Kay of this city a gun with a history
The gun. which has arrived. has Is
notches carved on the handle and every
Western man knows that each of these
notches represents the victim of a shot
from the gun. With il his friend sent
Mr.. Ray an interesting outline of its
history and of the desperate who once
carried it. The letter reads in part:
The gun l send you is As which,
by some, is considered the best ealiber
owing to the accuracy with which they
shoot. This particular gun was carried
by George Newcomb, alias Bitter
Creek, alias Slaughter Kid He was
given this last alias on account of the
many men he shot while yet quite a
kid.
Il used to work with this fellow ON
the range along in 70 or so. He was i'm
those days what was called horse
rustler' for the COW outfit. After he
drifted into Oklahoma he made the run
during the opening, settled on a claim
in portion Of Oklahoma known
as the notorious cowboy flats.
| say notorious for the reason that of
the seven COW punchers who settled in
the flats all of them turned out to be
train robbers and all were eventually
killed.
The first affair of note in which this
gun figured in the hands OF Bitter
Creek was at Cimarron ON the line of
the Atchison. Topeka & Santa Fe rail-
road, where he, with Bill Dalton, Tulsa
Jack, Dynamite Dick, Bob and EN-
met Dalton. held up a passenger train.
They shot the conductor and some two
or three of the passengers, but secured
little money.
THE next affair was the Coffeyvlle
bank robbery. where he was working
under the direction of Bob Dalton. All
of the robbers in this case were killed
with the exception of Bitter Creek he
being the only man out of seven who
escaped after having killed the city
marshal, barber and one other
After being set adrift by his COM
panions being killed, he disap-
peared for While. afterwards
joining gang led by Bill
Dalton. This gang robbed the
Santa Fe train at Wharton the Mis-
souri, Kansas & Texas at Prior creek,
and the bank at Southwest City, Mo.
the bank at Mound Valley. Kan. and
the Longview bank in Texas, etc. After
one or two other robberies they re-
turned to Oklahoma, finally drifting 10
ingalls,, in the eastern portion of this
territory, at which place they had a
fight with six United States deputy
marshals. In this fight there We're nine
people killed and wounded. including
the deputy marshals. who We're all
killed. Bitter Creek was very badly
wounded, but managed to get away.
This fight took place on the LIST day of
September. 1888
I'm April of the following year the
Dalton gang being practically broken
up. Bitter Creek Joined a new outfit
which was headed by Bill Doolin. and
on the evening of April 4. 1894, they
robbed the Rock Island train at Dover.
Okla, and had a fight the following
evening. In which Tulsa Jack was
killed, Bitter Creek again escaping.
with his clothing shot full of holes.
''On May 5. 1894, Bitter Creek hay
ing separated from the rest of the gang
ran on to some OF the deputies on the
eastern line of the territory and in the
fight which took place was killed. The
railroad and express companies and the
government paid an aggregate reward
of $1,000 on this noted outlaw.
You will note that there are several
of this gun which | send you. 1t is
rough places or notehes on the handle
presumed that Bitter Creek intended
10 enumerate the people he had killed
by making a notch for everyone. as IL
is known that he had personally killed
quite a number of men during the fights
in which he was engaged"