Blackwell gunfight facts for kids
The location of the gunfight.
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| Date | December 4, 1896 |
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| Location | Near Blackwell, Oklahoma Territory, United States |
| Outcome | Outlaws defeated |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 1 |
The Blackwell gunfight happened on the morning of December 4, 1896. A group of lawmen faced two outlaws at their hideout. This hideout was near Blackwell, Oklahoma. During a long shootout, Deputy Alfred O. Lund shot and killed an outlaw named Dick Ainsley. The other outlaw, Ben Cravens, was badly hurt and caught.
How the Gunfight Started
Ben Cravens and Dick Ainsley were small-time thieves. They also stole cattle. Ainsley was known as a skilled gunfighter. Not much is known about their lives before 1896. Ainsley was also called "Buck" McGregg or "Diamond Dick." He got the name "Diamond Dick" because he had a diamond ring. Also, three of his fingers were shot off in a gunfight. This happened with police from Lincoln County.
On November 27, 1896, Ainsley and Cravens rode into Blackwell. They wanted to buy supplies. They also planned to rob the town bank. After their tasks, they rode out of town. They went to a small shack next to a dry creek called Lost Creek. This spot was about three and a half miles northwest of town.
Since the creek was dry, they needed water. Cravens went to a neighbor, Bert Benjamin, to ask for drinking water. While talking, Cravens asked Benjamin many questions about the bank. This made Benjamin suspect their true plans. Benjamin acted normal. The next day, he told the police what had happened.
Deputy J. R. Cox thought Ainsley and Cravens had robbed a store. This store was in Hewins, Kansas. Instead of forming a group of lawmen right away, he told Benjamin to go home. He asked Benjamin to report back if he saw the bandits again.
On December 3, 1896, Benjamin saw Ainsley and Cravens again. He reported back to Deputy Cox. Cox then gathered a group of six men. This group included himself, Alfred O. Lund, Bill Sherr, John Hunter, Jay McClain, and Richard Clarke. Lund later became a lawman because of this gunfight. He had always wanted to work in law enforcement. He owned a stable. The presence of Ainsley and Cravens gave him a chance to join the law.
Around midnight, the lawmen took positions by a riverbank. They planned to ambush the outlaws when they rode into town. But Bert Benjamin arrived and told them that Ainsley and Cravens were sleeping at the shack. This shack was near his home. Deputy Cox worried about people getting hurt in town. So, he asked Benjamin to lead them to the hideout.
By 3:00 AM on December 4, 1896, the lawmen reached the wooded area. They found that the outlaws had a guard dog. Surprising the outlaws was no longer possible. Cox decided to split his men to surround the shack. They would wait until daylight to demand surrender. Lund, Benjamin, Sherr, and McClain moved through bushes. They took positions covering the front door and window. Cox, Hunter, and Clarke went to the back. They watched the back of the building and a small barn. The outlaws had left their horses there.
The Gunfight Begins
At sunrise, Dick Ainsley was seen by the lawmen. He came out the front door of the shack. He had a Winchester rifle in his hands. Ainsley looked around. Then he leaned his rifle against the shack to wash his hands. A moment later, Ben Cravens appeared. He also had a rifle.
This was the chance Deputy Cox was waiting for. Both outlaws were in view. Cox stood up from his hiding spot and yelled, "You're surrounded, throw up your hands!" But the outlaws did not listen. They raised their weapons and started shooting.
After the first shots, Bert Benjamin fired his shotgun. Then he ran home, seemingly scared. This left Alfred Lund alone at his spot in front of the shack. From there, Lund had a good view. He saw that the other lawmen's shots were not working well. They mainly had shotguns, which did not shoot far enough.
Cravens was the first to get hurt. He was running for the corner of the shack. A rifle bullet broke his collar bone. Even though he was seriously hurt, Cravens kept fighting.
Later, Lund saw Ainsley's rifle barrel sticking out from behind the shack. Lund fired his rifle. This forced Ainsley to move back to some cottonwood trees. These trees were in the dry creek. There, Ainsley showed off some "fast hip shooting." Then he moved behind a fallen tree. He waited for any lawmen to come closer. He hoped to surprise them.
But Lund was smarter. While Ainsley waited, Lund got the jump on him. He sneaked forward to force a surrender. Before Lund could say anything, Ainsley saw him. Ainsley reached for his gun. Lund then fired. He hit Ainsley in the chest. Ainsley did not die right away. Lund was not sure if his shot hit the target. The bullet that hit Ainsley went straight through him. It killed a cow about fifty yards further up the creek.
Meanwhile, the other lawmen went after Ben Cravens. He was trying to escape through tall grass. This was on the eastern side of the creek. At the same time Ainsley was shot, Richard Clarke hit Cravens. He used buckshot, hitting Cravens in the side. Cravens fell to the ground, hidden in the grass.
It took some time for the lawmen to find the outlaws. They needed to take their weapons. During the search, Cox and his men heard McGregg (Ainsley) groaning. They thought it was Lund. They called out to see if he was okay. But the real Lund did not answer. He was afraid it was a trick by Cravens. Lund only knew who they were when he heard the lawmen talking. They were saying where they found Cravens.
Lund then told one of the men to find Ainsley. He told him to take Ainsley's guns. Lund went to the eastern side of the creek to find Cravens. When he got there, Lund had someone fire towards the hidden Cravens. This made Cravens put his hand up above the grass. He showed who he was. The lawmen demanded Cravens show both hands. But when they got closer, they found the outlaw badly hurt. His other hand was holding his wounds.
What Happened Next
Once Ainsley was dead and Cravens was caught, Deputy Cox sent Lund to Blackwell. Lund called his boss, Sheriff H. C. Master. He also called the county attorney, Dave Weir, and the coroner from Ponca City. Ainsley's body was taken to the Blackwell Hotel. Cravens was held in a room on the third floor of the same building.
During questioning, Cravens refused to give information about his dead partner. He only said his name was Dick. This made authorities think they had killed "Dynamite Dick" Clifton. He was a member of the Wild Bunch. The real "Dynamite Dick" was killed in November 1897 by Chris Madsen.
Because of the confusion, the United States Marshals office in Guthrie was told. Marshal Evett Dumas Nix led five deputies to Blackwell. One of them was Frank M. Canton. When they arrived, the marshals saw Ainsley's body. Nix said, "I don't know this man, but he isn't Dan Clifton." When they entered Cravens' room, the outlaw looked up and asked, "What do you want?" Canton replied, "The name of the dead man." Cravens then started coughing up blood. Canton asked if anything could be done. Cravens said, "Yes, get my father here because I'm real bad. The doctors said I might not make it." Canton agreed. Cravens' father arrived from Iowa two days later. However, Cravens survived his wounds. Canton never got an answer.
Even though Marshal Nix was sure Ainsley was not Dan Clifton, people still wondered for a while. People who saw Ainsley's body claimed he was "Skeeter Dick," "Three Fingered Dick," or another lesser-known outlaw. Eventually, Cravens spoke up. He confirmed his partner was Dick Ainsley, also known as Buck McGregg. Ainsley's mother also arrived in Blackwell. She was with two Lincoln County sheriffs. She claimed her son's body to take him home for burial.
While the outlaws were in the Blackwell Hotel, rumors spread. People thought their friends would try to rescue them. So, local citizens were made deputies. They were armed and placed in the streets for defense. No rescue attempt was made. But two "female bandits" arrived in town. They started asking questions about Ainsley and Cravens.
A newspaper, the Kildare Journal, wrote about it on December 11. It said two "rough and rugged females" arrived in Blackwell. They were armed. Their strange behavior and questions caused excitement. They asked about Cravens and "Dynamite Dick" (Dick Ainsley). The women were arrested and searched. Ladies who helped with the search almost fainted from fright. Blackwell citizens walked the streets with rifles. They were looking out for a raid from the outlaw's friends. The women claimed to be from Guthrie.
Cravens was taken back to Kansas. Deputy Powell took him. In January 1897, the judge sentenced him to twenty years. He went to the Kansas State Penitentiary in Lansing.
Three years later, on November 16, 1900, Cravens escaped. He used a fake gun. It was made from wood and tin foil from tobacco packages. He got away from a group of lawmen. He stole a horse. Soon, he was back in the Osage Nation committing crimes. He also convinced a young horse thief named Herbert Welty to join him.
On March 18, 1901, the two bandits robbed a store in Red Rock. They killed the manager, Alvin Bateman. Cravens was dressed as a farmer. Welty pretended to be his wife. The trick did not work well. Bateman found out who they really were. He was shot when he tried to pull out his gun. Cravens and Welty stole about $1,000 and other items. They escaped in a wagon. But somewhere outside town, their wagon overturned. Welty was shot in the face by his partner's shotgun. It is not clear if it was an accident. Or if Cravens tried to kill him to get all the stolen money.
Cravens left Welty for dead. But Welty survived his wound. He walked ten to fifteen miles to a home. This home was along Black Bear Creek. There, he was arrested. Welty later received a life sentence in prison for Bateman's death.
Cravens ran to a friend's home. This was Isom Cunningham's home. It was a few miles south of Pawnee. A group of lawmen surrounded him there. However, he managed to shoot his way out. It was described as "a perfect hailstorm of bullets." He killed a deputy sheriff named Tom Johnson. Another lawman, Deputy Jack Murray, said Cravens fired his weapons very fast. The firing made a "continuous sheet of flame." Darlene Platt wrote that Cravens emptied his rifle. He fell to the ground, reloaded, and fired again. Then he did the same with his revolver.
At this point, Cravens disappeared. The reward for him went from $1,000 to $10,000. This made him one of the most wanted outlaws in the area.
He reappeared in November 1908. He was arrested in Missouri. He had stolen either a horse or some hogs. At that time, Cravens was using the name Charles Maust. He said he came to Missouri from Oregon in 1902. He had worked as a farmer for six years. He was married. People thought he was a good citizen until his arrest.
No one recognized him at first. So he was sentenced to four years in prison. This was at Jefferson City. But not long before he was to be released, a prison barber recognized Cravens. He told his bosses. A trial was then held in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Cravens refused to give his real name. So, the authorities gathered over 200 witnesses. Many of them were known outlaws.
Among the witnesses were Marshal Alfred O. Lund. He was days away from retiring. Herbert Welty, Cravens' old partner, was also there. Cravens was defended by Al Jennings. He was a reformed outlaw who was pardoned by Theodore Roosevelt. Both Lund and Welty identified Maust as Ben Cravens. So, he was sentenced to life in prison. This was at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, on January 29, 1912.
Lund's part in Cravens' final capture was important. He was the first lawman in Oklahoma history. He started and ended his career facing the same criminal.
