The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-26
WITH DALTON GANG
Prisoner in County Jail Was
Kidnapped by Them.
SERVED AS THEIR SLAVE
Geo. Stokes Tells of His Re-
markable Experience.

A supposed remnant OF the Dalton
gang is In the sedgwick county Ja'l. He
was arrested under the name CT Geo.
Stokes Sunday night for assaulting Mrs.
Mary Burns on South Mosley avenue.
The officers OF the law little dreamed
then Of catching q once helpless accom-
plioe of the worst gang Of outlaws that
ever terrorized the southwest. This IS
true. nevertheless, II the story OF the
young negro. as told to q reporter for
the Eagle last night, is correct The
negroes story has every evidence of hon
esty and authenticity. for he is very
ignorant, cannot read or write. and " ould
therefore have little acquaintance with
the operations of the Dalton gang other
wise than from actual contact.
The discovery Of Geo. Stokes car GER
was made by accident. A reporter for the
Eagle called to talk with him about the
crime with which he was charged. but
which he stoutly denies. His left leg was
cut severely by barbed wire, and from
the knee down was bare. Three figure
ones were noticed branded across his
shin.
What caused those marks7''
Them? Oh. they were got when I was
with the Dalton gang" said Stokes.
What? You don't mean to say you
were with the Dalton gang. do your
Eyes, sir. I was with them till they
broke up
What could you do with q band of
outlaws. holding up trains and rob5ing
banks?''
81 didn't do any Of that. I had TO hold
the horses"
The latter answer seemed more proba-
bic. The reporter ard Jailer Dodd sat
down by him and got the following story
OF his life, as near as he could remem-
Der Il:
Stokes real name is not Stokes. He
doesn't know his name or his age. He
was kidnapped when he was a little hoy.
just barely large enough to hold and take
care OF horses. He doesn't know where
he came from. nor what kind of a gang
he was with until quite large boy. His
only duty was to hold the horses in a
sequestered spot while the gang crer-
~ated in town or held up q train. One man
was always with him to see that nothing
went wrong and that he did not get away
He was cuffed and whipped. treated like
q slave and made to perform all kinds
of dirty work about the camp. II It hap
pened to rain he was whipped, because,
they told him, he caused It to rain. Once,
he said. Bill Dalton shot him through the
calf OF the leg when he was a little slow
getting out to dance for the amusement
of the gang when they were In camp.
When he got large enough to be of spec
ial service. they. fearing he might decide
10 get away, branded him with red hot
irons. Bill McGowen held him while Pill
Dalton applied the red hot irops To his
shins. and twice on the right arm. The
brands show plainly today.
The negro told In his ignorant but hon
est way OF the disintegration of the gang
and how he finally escaped from the g. asp
Of Bill McGower and John Long. the last
two OF the gang. After the gang I'rCke
up McGowen and Long are said to have
made a business of cattle stealing. and
about three years ago they shipped three
cars through Wichita to Kansas City.
Stokes was taken along to help water and
feed. While here he was sent after a
tunity to get away. fer he says they
treated him brutality on the way I'D. He
fell IN with another colored man who
promised him protection After day or
two they left together and went as far
as Purcell, l. T. where he got employ
ment with the Marietta show. He was
with this show when he was arrested
Sunday night. They had promised to try
TO find his people for him, but the search
never revealed them and the negro is in
the world without friend or home.
He told last night Of many OF the esca-
pades of the gang. but he cannot remem-
Der dates very easily. He was with the
gang when IL robbed a train on the
Katy between CofTeyville and Kansas
City, and when they robbed another
train east of Muskogee.
Asked about the Coffeyville raid. where
the gang met with such disaster, Stokes
gave the following outline II his part OF
the work:
Me and VIII McGowen and John Long
was left with the horses ont on Onion
creek. by the old cheese factory. Bill
Dalton was telling the boys how 70 do
Emmett and Grant Dalton came back and
told US IL they didn't get back in one
hour something had gone wrong. and for
us to pull out for cave No. 1. 1T Mother
Dalton's farm. near Kingisher. They
did not come I'm one hour and we pulled
out. We never knowed how the fight
came out until Bill Dalton reached US
soon after. We was in the cave. Nc
Gowen and Long stayed In the cave about
a week and l stayed In three days. but
had TO carry their meals to them. At the
end Of three days Bill told me to so 10 the
house and wash dishes and help Mother
Dalton Then BIZ and his sister went to
Coffeyville to look over the field after the
fight. They said they were from Cali
fornia.
Il stayed around the house a good deal.
One day Bill came in and said. Mother.
Ed will be here pretty soon Tell him us
boys has gone east That same day Ed
came and Mrs. Dalton told him what BIZ
said and he started after them. In about
two weeks they came back with a sack
full OF money.
when the United States marshal kill
ed Bill Dalton the gang didn't know what
TO do. hardly. They broke UP soon and
Bill McG0wen took charge Of me and 1
stayed with him until ! got TO Wichita
You ought TO a seen Bits wife and
mother when they heard he was killed.
was glad. but they made me cry. They
took IL terrible hard.
Jim Long is down In the territory now,
but forget where McGowen is
Asked about the secret caves OF the
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