I found this in the Dodge City Democrat of 9-23-1893, yesterday:

"WERE HID IN THE FLINT HILLS
Perry, O. T., September 19 - This town, the county seat of county O, and the principal townsite on the line of the Santa Fe road, fell into the hands of sooners. Several minutes after noon on the opening day a number of horsemen were seen scampering in this direction from the Flint Hills, over towards the east, and five minuts later a party of 200 horsemen, under the head of Jim Masterson, mounted on Bill Dalton's famous horse, descended upon the townsite and occupied the choicest lots. They chose the lots immediately surrounding the land where the boomers portion of the town will doubtless be built. That they were sooners who had been hiding in the Flint Hills is absolutely certain, for no horse has yet been found who can make nine miles in twelve minutes. At 12:45 the honest boomers began to come in. They too were mounted on horses and they beat the Santa Fe excursion trains by eight minutes. It is estimated that 5,000 people claimed lots during the afternoon."

I'm wondering if this is USDM James P. Masterson and if the Bill Dalton is Bob, Grat, Emmett's brother?

This would be after Ingalls; could a horse of Bill Dalton's have been left there and captured by the marshals?

Roger Myers

It's possible but according to Glenn Shirley, "Heck Thomas, Frontier Marshal," Marshal Hixon shot Dalton's horse in the jaw as it left the stable at Ingalls. A second shot from Deputy Shadley broke the horse's leg. If the horse was Dalton's, it was not one he left at Ingalls.

Mike: Yes, I'm aware that Dalton's horse was shot at Ingalls but wonder if maybe he didn't leave another in the livery stable and Jim wound up with it. I was hoping someone may have dug further into the newspapers regarding the Ingalls fight and found mention of another horse belonging to Dalton. It could be the marshals, or maybe just Jim, confiscated the doggone thing. A likely scenario?

I wonder too if this even is the USDM Masterson. I think there were other families of Mastersons in the Territory.

Hope things are well with you and yours.

Roger

As soon as I posted that message, it hit me that you were aware of the fate of Dalton's horse as it is in one of your articles. Duh!! The foggier recesses of my mind recall a similar tale involving a race horse, but I can't remember the cast of characters. I'll have to dig a little to get it.
Another possibility is that Bill Dalton got a replevin order to get possession of his brother Emmett's horse which had been taken by a deputy marshal named Chapman. Don't remember if it was ever determined what became of that animal.
I like the scenario and the question, it warrants a looking into.

Emmett's horse would be a possibility as it could have been considered "famous."

Keeping in mind that not all the readers of this message board are totally familiar with the Cherokee Strip or Outlet run, in the late 1880’s and early 1890’s, the Federal Government bowed to increased pressure to break up Indian Territory Reserves and add the vast acres to the public domain. This was accomplished by first surveying the lands and then announcing the land available on a first come-first served basis through a series of runs. In 1893, the approximately 6 million acres of the Cherokee Strip became available and on the appointed day, September 16, 1893, an estimated 76,000 home seekers and opportunists lined the prairies at various starting points for what the Oklahoma Times Journal for September 14, 1893 described as the “greatest handicap (horse race) ever run on American soil.” Not everyone, however, played by the rules. Some land hunters used every trick in the book to get the jump on their fellows, including hiding within the Strip near a coveted spot where at noon they dashed out to drive claim stakes, set up camp, and then drove off competitors. Such claim jumpers were called sooners and their attitude was, as one man put it to another while sighting down his Winchester, “This here’s a game of checkers. I jumped, now you move.”
Now as to the question, Was there a particular horse owned at any time by Bill Dalton that could be considered “famous”?
In recorded events involving the Dalton outlaws, there is scant mention of what became of mounts captured or confiscated by law enforcement. But one animal stands out as the exception, a horse used by one of the brothers Bob, Grat, and Emmett Dalton in the Coffeyville, Kansas raid that was later the subject of a court case initiated by Bill Dalton.
To recap the Coffeyville raid, the Dalton’s, who had once been employed by the U. S. Marshal’s offices operating in Indian Territory, had gone into wholesale bank and train robbery. But, they were not content to merely profit from these activities, they wanted to gain notoriety as the most successful of outlaws; therefore, they determined they would effectively rob two banks simultaneously, a feat attempted by others but never carried off with a clean escape. Their target was the twin banks of Coffeyville.
During the attempt in October, 1892, the populace became alerted and a gun battle erupted. It is from the historical accounts of that fight that we can try to determine which Dalton horse was available to later become the property of Jim Masterson. There are two possible candidates. According to David Stewart Elliott, the first historian of the affair, gang member Dick Broadwell, though mortally wounded, mounted his horse and rode about a half mile from town where he collapsed and expired; his horse and trappings were discovered at the scene. Elliott also says the horses of Bob Dalton and Bill Powers were shot and killed during the gun battle in the alley of death, but there is no mention made of the horse ridden by Grat Dalton being a casualty at any time during the fight. However, because of later events, it is more likely that it was Grat Dalton’s horse which was killed rather than Bob’s. Emmett Dalton, in an attempt to help his brother Bob, was badly wounded by a shotgun blast which drove him off his horse; however, there is no mention that the horse was among the injured.
According to the statement of famed lawman Heck Thomas, and official correspondence, Bill Dalton came to Coffeyville to retrieve his brothers’ bodies and personal effects. However, Bill found that much of his brother’s property was gone. When, Bill approached Heck for advice on how to regain the property, Bill mentioned to Heck that he had been told that a deputy Marshal had claimed a horse as being his property and authorities had released it to him. Thomas knew this animal was the rightful property of Bob Dalton because he had tried to buy it from its previous owner and had learned that Bob had beaten him to it. Therefore, Thomas, advised Bill to get a replevin order—a writ to demand return of property unrightfully claimed. And, Bill did get such an order, but there the story stops, for to my knowledge, no one has followed up to determine if the horse was ever returned to the Dalton family. This horse, however, if it was regained by the Dalton family, would certainly qualify as “famous.”
Author, Nancy Samuelson, in a recent Wild West article, claims the horse sought by replevin order was that of Emmett Dalton. That may be, but frankly, it’s not clear from the sources I’ve examined what happened to Emmett’s horse. At this point, I’m more inclined to believe that only one of the horses survived and have only Thomas’ insistence that the horse in question was Bob’s. But, if Emmett’s horse did make it, it, too, would have from that point forward been considered “famous.”

A third possibility exists. During the Ingalls Oklahoma Territory fight, September 1, 1893, the State Capital reported that Bill Dalton had his horse shot out from under him twice and that he afterwards took his saddle and placed it on another horse and rode off. The Capital ends its account saying that Dynamite Dick fell off his horse and that Bill Doolin rode back to get him and that four men rode off on three horses. However, Shirley, who generally uses the best explanation from a conglomerate of sources, states that Dalton’s horse was shot twice and that after it went down, he retrieved wire cutters from his saddle bags to free the other members of the gang who were trapped by wire blocking a draw. Shirley then has Dalton riding off with another member of the gang, specifying that five men left on 4 horses. Shirley also has the Marshal’s posse taking Arkansas Tom’s horse from the stable and has deputy Roberts lugging Dalton’s saddle. Unfortunately there is no source quoted for this detail.

Another question, Was there any reason one would want to own the horse of an outlaw, other than novelty value? Well, obviously, as the animal in question was supposedly used in a quest to beat others to a small fortune, the speed or endurance of the mount was a factor. But, were the Dalton horses exceptional? Heck Thomas said he had offered to buy the one obtained by Bob Dalton for $100, a price which was about three times greater than the bill for an average mustang, so that is some hint that the beast was above average.
And, above that evidence, there are several suggestive circumstances signaling the horses used by the Dalton gang were outstanding. The Daltons were not just riders, they were horsemen. Through their mother they were related to the Younger brothers and Cole Younger was a known racer of thoroughbreds throughout Missouri, Louisiana, Texas, and the Indian Territory. One horse owned by Cole was described as: “one of the famous long limbed, blue grass breed of racers, not fair to look upon, but of great speed.” In an article in the August, 2003 issue of Wild West, author William Preston Mangum II describes how the James and Youngers obtained many of their horses from select breeders in Missouri. Furthermore, when actively robbing folk, the Younger and James gang were invariably described as being “mounted on fine blooded horses.” Then, too, is the fact that Louis Dalton, the father of the boys, and a relative by marriage of the Younger clan, had the same passion as his in-laws, the love of fast horses. It’s not hard to connect the dots and suggest that the Dalton boy’s horses were probably of a much higher standard, and that was certainly the opinion of Sand Springs old timer Jack Wimberly who claims to have often sheltered the Daltons. According to Jack, “their saddle horses were the best I ever saw.”

I’ve yet to locate a specific second reference to Jim Masterson being a participant in the race to Perry, but Charley Colcord, the first Chief of Police at Oklahoma City, and a deputy U. S. Marshal, did make the race and was one of the first to arrive at the Perry town site. Colcord left a description of the race that has bearing to the question of the type of animal one would want for such an event. According to Colcord, he made the run from east of Orlando, on the north edge of Logan County, following the divide which ran to the Perry Township, twelve miles to the northeast. Colcord also states that the prairie was on fire, with the wind from the southeast, and that he had to ride the entire distance through dense smoke, a condition that would be hard on any horse. Colcord rode Tom, “a large thoroughbred race horse, 16 hands high, long and rangy. He was a descendant of Old Lexington, a four mile racer,” and conducted his race by holding his horse to a canter during the first 4 to 5 miles before letting Tom have his head. Even though he passed hundreds of riders on the fly and was one of the first to reach Perry, Colcord is clear that he was not the first on the scene by a long shot as there were hundreds of people already on the ground and a line had already formed at the land office. But, the real point of describing Colcord’s experiences is that Colcord deliberately chose an animal with breeding and staying power, just the type described as being favored by the Daltons. So, I think the evidence is strongly weighted toward a Dalton horse being a smart choice if Masterson actually did make the run.

Now, as to Masterson and his reason for being in the mob making the Cherokee Strip run, there is clear evidence that there were hundreds of people legally within the borders of the run, many of whom were government employees. Marshal Nix claims to have appointed “thousands of special deputies,” to keep order. Masterson had been used as a posse man many times so it’s possible that he was a special deputy for this occasion. He may have abused his authority to gain advantage for himself or someone else. Remember, a whole bunch of people landed on property and held it for a third party and never filed a claim. That may have been Jim’s game. Or, he may have been trying to secure a spot for himself, but since I don’t find him on lists of successful contestants and as he went back to Logan County shortly afterwards, I have my doubts. But his motivation is one of the questions to be ascertained before this story can be considered complete.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tower:
Masterson had been used as a posse man many times so it’s possible that he was a special deputy for this occasion. He may have abused his authority to gain advantage for himself or someone else. QUOTE]

Great stuff, Mike--thanks for posting it. The part above reminds me of an incident exactly to this point during the 1889 rush involving my least favorite USDM Ransom Payne, who once the Daltons were safely dead rushed to Coffeyville, posed for pictures with the corpses, and attempted to confiscate their bodies and ship them to California for bounties still offered by that state.

As Diron explains in another thread, Ransom was the nephew of the notorious sooner David Payne, and this "soonerism" seemed to run in his blood. Patrolling the land to be opened Payne used his USDM position and the headstart it gave him to file on some choice claims near Gutherie. His title was subsequently contested by other claimants who argued that Payne's position as a USDM, legally upon the lands to be settled, gave him an unfair advantage in staking a claim. The lower courts found against Payne and revoked his title. He appealed this all the way to the Supreme Court, which in a decision on 28 February 1898 (169 US 323) upheld the lower court's ruling.

--meursault

Mike: As Meursault said, great stuff!

It seems likely to me that Jim may have claimed Bob's horse and it was not relinquished, if it ever was, back to Dalton until after the "run."

Of course another possibility exists as far as I'm concerned. The newspapers were wrong and USDM Jim never made that particular run.

Roger

You're right of course, the papers did like to use fillers with absolutely no truth to them or so distorted as to be near falsehoods, and Jim may not have been involved as a contestant in the run, but it's fun to pick at this question because it's not a dry recitation of facts. Something happened to those horses, and somewhere there's a record of what.

April 22, 1889 New York Times newspaper link

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0422.html#article

The story refers to the opening of the unassigned lands in 1889, but is a terrific piece. One of the better eye witness accounts of the chaos of Oklahoma land runs I've ever read.

A second reference to Jim Masterson being a participant in the race to Perry is found in the Guthrie Daily Leader, September 19, 1893: “Among the first horsemen who reached Perry were Jim Masterson and Carl Craig. Masterson rode Bill Dalton’s fiery steed.”
The bit about the party of horsemen seems to be a “stock story” found in a half dozen newspapers reporting the land rush which, under the caption “Perry Soonerized,” reads: “This town, the county seat of O, and the principal town site on the line of the Santa Fe railroad, fell into the hands of sooners. Seven minutes to 12 o’clock, a number of horsemen were seen scampering in this direction from the flint hills over towards the east, and five minutes later a party of two hundred descended upon the town site and occupied the choice lots. They chose lots immediately surrounding the land office where the best portion of the town will doubtless be built. That they were sooners who had been hiding in the flint hills, there was no doubt. No horse has been found that can make nine miles in twelve minutes. At 12:44 o’clock the boomers began to come in. They, too, were well mounted on horses, and they beat the Santa Fe excursion train eight minutes....” My feeling is that some Dodge reporter trying to add local color to reporting the run connected the dots from the Guthrie report and had Masterson riding at the head of the Sooners invading Perry.
Unfortunately, none of the early Perry papers were placed on microfilm, so there is no way to find the original story unless someone preserved a copy or another story turns up somewhere crediting the Perry paper.
The bit about Bill Dalton’s horse is still a mystery.

I just looked a copy of Court records from Coffeyville Kansas which had a listing of personal property taken from the deceased Dalton brothers and Grat's property list includes a horse, saddle and bridle, while his brother Bob's list includes only a bridle and saddle.
And, for you gun nuts, both property lists have the brothers armed with a pair of Colt six shooters and a Winchester rifle each.
And, it seems John J. Kloehr bought Grat's horse and Bob's saddle at a public sale held to pay for estate expenses four months after the Coffeyville robbery.

Thanks, Mike. Certainly Bob had a horse that day in Coffeyville, but we find it not listed in his personal property. Perhaps it was killed, perhaps it was stolen.

Above you found that Bill Dalton was urged by Heck Thomas to sue for a writ of replevin regarding that very horse. Thus, the horse had to be missing before an inventory of the Dalton's possessions was conducted. If Bill was successful in gaining possession of Bob's horse, it would no doubt be referred to as "Bill Dalton's famous horse," it's fame arising from the Coffeyville escapade.

If it was actually Grat's horse, it would still be famous, wouldn't it?

Roger

David Stewart Elliott (one time editor of a Coffeyville newspaper) in his "Last Raid of the Dalton's" at pg 55 says the animals belonging to Bob Dalton and Bill Powers were killed. Emmett was on a horse, assume it was his, and he fell off it, no mention of the animal being shot. Broadwell rode out of town shot to pieces, his body, horse and trappings were captured a half mile from town, again assuming it was his horse. Grat Dalton never made it to his horse. That makes three horses standing. Now, how the heck Elliott knew whose horse was whose is a question with the only logical answer being that Emmett told him it was after the fact because I just don't see these boys using identifiers on their mounts. A whole lot more exploration needs to be done. And, you might ride over to Coffeyville and look into it since the Historical Society there is supposed to have more than 100 pages of transcripts and court notes re the cases coming out of the Dalton robbery.

Thanks, Mike. I guess I'll have to do that and then go down to Oklahoma and see what I can find on Jim. I think it may make an interesting story, Jim being a Sooner.

Roger