Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-03-17
BILL COLBERT'S
EVENTFUL LIFE
Veteran Friend of the Law Longs for
Freedom of the Farm Old Timer
of this Section Who is Serving a
Life Sentence for Robbery.

an. writing from McAlester, has the
following story in that paper relat-
ing to an interview had with Bill
Colbert, an old timer of this section
and well known to many OF our cnt-
izens, who is now confined in the
penitentiary serving a life sentence
on a charge of robbery:
Bill Colbert served twenty years
as posseman for United . States
marshals during the toughest. blood
lest period of the Indian Territory.
He is now serving a life sentence in
the state penitentlary for conjoint
robbery of a bootlegging joint
"Its Bills future record that is
keeping him in" an official explain
ed an official after / had asked him
about Bill's record as prisoner. 1t
is said that Bill's wife took up"
with another man after prison walls
had separated them few years. She
is said to be afraid that If Bill is
paroled he will drop i'm on the new
arrangement and use winchester
with the same deadly effect that
marked his work as a posseman.
On several visits to the state peni-
tentiaIy at McAlester / have noted n
llong-haired bear of man standing
with folded arms in the rotunda of
the place A big white hat, silk muf-
| fler loosely knotted about his thick
neck and his size make him stand
out in the crowd. His friendly visit
Iful nod. and grave, intelligent ex-
preston Of face always win him more
than usual notice from visitors.
The last time / was there / asked
permission to talk with him in the
visitors room. with the same cour-
tesy and readiness to grant inter-
views with prisoners that has mark
ed every request of visitors, Assist
ant Warden Fry told me l could
question Bill as much as | liked and
sent for him.
Forrest Majors, uperintendent of
the prison laundry, made things cas-
ier by telling the Old man as he came
up that l was not after material for
tale of blood. such as had been
iprinted about him, and Bill was
ready to talk when he came in, hat
in hand to the visitors room.
Bill is of mixed blood, Indian and
African, is 65 years old has the
manner of a man who has mixed
much with white people and was Ia
ken at face value and "knew his
place. Nearly six feet tall, he tips
the scales at more than 200 pounds
His thick mustache is graying and
his long wavy hair is thinning un-
der the years. His face is not mark
ed by scars of his adventurous life,
except for a long depression in the
forehead and he says that was done
in runaway accident when he was
a child. He is as bulky as a grizzly
bear and his expression and tone OF
voice are those one would fit well
with long years of service as judge
of high court.
'I want you to tell me something
of yourself" I said. as Bill sat down
on the opposite side of the table.
He nodded gravely. 81 will an
swer any questions. l don't know
how to tell about myself any other
way" he replied.
'You see, / told my story once,
and a paper printed it with "A Man
killer over the top, and told about
me killing men and didn't say much
labout me working for the United
States courts. That made it look
like was bad man. Why l never
had a personal fight in my life ex-
cept when l was a boy playing In
dian ball. and then we used to fight
with fists sometimes and forgot all
about it the next day"
Then, in answer to questions, the
old man told his story. At times the
dates seemed hazy in his mind, and
he pondered for moments, gazing at
the barred windows. seeing the out
doors of the old Indian Territory
days in memory.
Bill Colbert was born about sixty
five years ago, of mixed parentage,
near Durant. His youth and young
er manhood were those of others in
his time. AS boy, he ran wild and
played Indian ball There were no
school days except the school of the
woods and the prairies. There he
got the training in woodcraft and in
marksmenship that led him into the
Government service.
Thirty years ago he was given
work as posseman out of the famous
Federal Court at Fort Smith, Ark.
That was in the bloody days of ter
ritOrial history when Judge Parker
administered the justice of rope to
the desperadoes the United States
marshals, their deputies and posse
men brought in from the wilderness
of the Indian Territory.
For twelve years Bill Colbert hunt
chases.
Some of the outlaws were brought
back in chains, some in wagon
THE marshals gave us the warrants
and told us to bring in the men they
wanted. We brought them back