The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1920-12-05
STILL DECLARES
HE IS OTHER MAN
Seeks Release From Pen
On Plea Of Mistaken
Identity
IN MANY JAIL BREAKS
Downfall Came When Un-
faithful to Partner III 'rim-
inal Operations

IbN 4. NJ FNlf lllsif
PONCA cry. Dec D.. sun
natntainiug mat no II another man.
Rcn Crnvcnt is asking his release
from the federal prison nt Ieav"n-
worth. Kan. where hc is serving "a
life term Known a. the last of a
long llM - the oklahoma bad men
,raNCna has ever maintained thhl IN
stosd uf being Crnvcns he is charles
Alnust, a Missouri fnUmhand. lie
FtuCk atublornly to thS story durlhS
Tho entire eight days of his historic
trial IN the federal court ut Guthrie,
early IN 1912, no other dcfcns" whH
offered by his attorney Al jennings
tnow n screen starr. and h" has
p,rsircd In his declaration during
the Intervening years. The state
mcnt that Cruvcns ~ now asking his
relrnsc was made here recently 10y
Judge John Embry. now OF OKLA
mona City. who was United state
district attorney at Guthrie In lel2
and u, osccutcd the Cravcns cas" per
sonally.
The Ponca city district was Zen
Cravens' favoritc area OF operation"
during a period OF Approximately 20
years In those days this tkhy)
county was "a cattle country prlncI-
pally aud the Usage country. joining
on the east, IN stlli an open range
to "a considerable extent. Cravcns
rode the range there when Canoy
and Coffeyvillc were the ends OF tho
4 railroads and the principal cattle
shipping points. All the cow men
and all the COW boys knew him, as
did also all the desperate characters
OF the early territorial days any one
Of whom would give him conceal
ment.
II reckon there II nothing left for
me to do but to go to the head Of
the river and come down again"
This was the statement that
Cravens made to the deputy mar
shais who took him from Guthrie
following his conviction, to Leaven'
worth. Undoubtedly he meant that
he must take his medicine start
serving hts term and then get out
the best way possible. with three
daring escapes already To his credit
and with u career In Outlawry that
has placed his name In the list Of
the most coldbloodcd OF hts kind,
Bon Cravcns has not given up. al
though he has reached undoubtedly
AN age that In near go.
E,scnprd Prom Kansas Pen.
when hen Cravens escaped from
the Kansas state penitcntiary al
Lansing, late In 1900. 1t WAS with the
use Of a tin-foilcd wooden revolver
lie had been sentenced to tina
prison late In 1895 for 20 years 10
highway robbery. committed at El
0in, Kan. lie was about 80 year
old and had travelled the paths
trails and Stage routes OF the Okla
homa X ansas' border, living IA kobii
Hood existence che greater portion
Of the time--participating In an oc
cAsiona, robbery. stealing horses
b0Otlcgging whisky among the In
dians and posing always AZ SUI
man. He had been engaged Also a.
"a freighter. stage driver cowboy
ana farmland, bot all his inclina
tions were toward outlawry.
Prison walls were, therefore. ever
more irksome to Cravens than In th'
several thousand other inmates %
the Kansas prison. ilc had Learned
how to break Jail, having made sue
csssfui escapes from prisons at To
peka, Kan. and Techumseh, okla.
and from the time he entered lans
Ing penitcntiary all his planning wa
how to escape again. lIo found tw'
willing accomplices In sam Smitl
and n. T.. Estellc. both life termers
and with wooden revolvcrs, covcre'
with tin foil, they held up tn
guards, secured better guns and raj
from the prison. A fus,lade uf bul
let's followed them and Smith wa
killed. Not long afterward Estcll
was captured at Memphis. Tenn. %,
n charge OF participating In "A trail
robbery at Quincy. III. and wa
sentenced to the state prison a
Joliet. Undoubtedly ho In still there
Stole Sorrcl stallion.
Cravens, free. stole handso m
sorrel stallion from "A Kansas farme
and rode him 100 miles. the anima
falling from exhaustion. That wa
the finest and pluckiest horse eve
saw" declared Cravcns later II
running from the prison, Craven
was struck on top OF his head by
bullet which lodged there. After tn
stallion dropped dead Cravens work
cd awhile shucking corn, and watch
ing his opportunity To get anothe
horse. he finally reached this county
the scene OF many Of his formc
cscapadcs. The bullet was stil
lodged on the top Of his head an,
he compelled an oklahoma ranch
man. an Old acquaintance, to cut /
out with razor. The surgical opera
tion was performed white Craven
held "A six-shootor In order TO fore,
tho ranchman to complete the job.
Evidently. while In the LansinJ
prison, Cravens had planned ca
recr OF outlawry and ne was no
long Idle. That was In November
lust 20 years ago-Hud by Januar,
lie had renewed all hts old ac
acquaintance. gone over the ol,
trails and mapped out here an,
there, where Il job might be pullc,
successfully. lie needed n ,ompnn
ion. lie figured that It was am
cult for one man to koep Ervcra
men In store, In a bank or alonl
the highway with their hands In IN
air and do the robbery at the sam
time.
Met u torucr Inmate
To help him cravens chose Rei
Wclty. kingfishcr county hn,
whose acQuaptancc he had made ,
Lansing whete Wclty was serving
term for horse stealing, lie ha
been pardoned about year prior
Cravens' escape. Wely was stayil
at home ana behaving himself wh,
Cravens appeared. Welty's moth
implored Cravens, who visited I,
Welty home frequently under Il
name OF Wilson, not to take her b
away from her and, Crayens "A
swered:
"You need not be alarmed.
would be the last man op earth
harm your boy
Within jwo Inonths'af'erward NJ