Volume 9 , Issue 46

Outlaws Will Surrender On Day of Statehood

Nov. 13, 1907, The Daily Oklahoman, headlines read: "Outlaws Will Surrender On Day That Statehood Comes - Hold out for trial that is unprejudiced - Wycliffes to give up after defying federal officers for years.

Muskogee, I. T., Nov. 12, 1907 -- "Tom, Charlie and Jim Wycliffe, the three Cherokee outlaws who after killing a deputy marshal, have defied the efforts of teh government to capture them for more than a year, have announced that they will voluntarily surrender at Tahlequah, Saturday, immediately after the statehood prolcamation has been issued and the present regime of marshals in Indian Territory is out of office.

The surrender of the Wycliffes will be one of the big features of the statehood celebration at Tahlequah. The plan of the Wycliffes seems to be complete. Through their friends they have conducted negotiations with the county officers-elect of Cherokee county, made arrangements to give bond and, in all probability, they will not go to jail at all but will be released upon their bond.

The career of the Wycliffes has been spectacular. While scouting from the officers, charged with murder on March 11, 1906; they ambushed and killed Deputy Mareshal Ike Gilstrap, who, with a posse, was after them, and wounded two deputies. The firght took palce in a ravine in the Spavinaw hills. Marshal Darrough called upon the government for assistance in runnign down the Wycliffes. He was given 109 picked men and a month was spent in the pursuit, but the Wycliffes were never approached by an officer and they were never more than 50 miles from the scene of ambush.

The bitter hatred of the Cherokees for the officers and the extremely tough countty enabled the outlaws to elude their pursuers successfully. Bloodhounds were put on the trail and the hounds were killed. Marshal Darrough finally gave up, thoroughly baffled. The chase cost the governement about $6.000.

In the meantime the movements of the Wycliffes were well known to their friends, and newspaper men went into the fastnesses of the Cherokee hills, sought out the outlaws, found them and got their statements.

They have always declared that they were willing to stand trial in the state courts and could prove ample justification for killing Gilstrap, but they could not get a fair trial at the hands of the federal officials.

It is understood that one of the pleas of the defense will be that Gilstrap went to the home of Charlie Wycliffe and insulted Mrs. Wycliffe and that the father of the three outlaws had been nearly beaten to death by another deputy marshal because he refused to give information as tot he whereabouts of the boys."
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