On this day in 1885, a deputy marshal and 3 posse lost their lives in a gunfight. Two horses had been stolen from a man who leased land in the Chickasaw Nation. He knew who the thieves were, and reported them to the U.S. Commissioner in Fort Smith. The Commissioner issued arrest warrants for the thieves, and U.S. Marshal John Carroll gave the paper to James H. Guy, a sergeant with the United States Indian Police. Carroll commissioned Guy a deputy U.S. marshal. Deputy Guy gathered a posse of 13 men and rode to the home of the thieves. The posse surrounded the house, and Guy called for the thieves to come out. Gunfire erupted. Guy was killed, as were 3 of his posse. The remaining men retreated, and the thieves made their escape. After the shootout was reported, arrest warrants were put out for the horse thieves and other men believed to have been involved. At this time, Heck Thomas was running a private detective business in Fort Worth, Texas. He was offered a reward to track down the horse thieves, now murderers. Working with a deputy U.S. marshal from the Northern District of Texas, Thomas tracked the murderers to Gainesville, Texas. They resisted arrest, shooting at Thomas and the deputy. Both murderers were killed in the following gunfight. Shortly after this, Heck Thomas was appointed a deputy U.S. marshal for the Western District of Arkansas. He was later a deputy in the Eastern District of Texas, and the District of Oklahoma Territory.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 18:53:00 +0000
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