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Oklahoma Panhandle: Badmen in No Man's LandWild West | Single Page | 8 comments | Print This Post | Email This Post
With most of the bones and chips gone, the courage of many citizens ran out. One family recalled planting 50 acres of corn and harvesting only enough roasting ears for a single meal. For a lot of hard-working settlers, the time had come to seek greener pastures. Some of the criminals drifted away, too; few people had any money, so crime didn't pay at all well. Even the provisional government folded up. And so, when the Oklahoma lands to the east opened for settlement in 1889, many people pulled up stakes and joined the land rush. The population dropped from about 12,000 to under 3,000, and, as an old-timer put it, 'We had to count in some prairie dogs and jack rabbits to get that number.' Subscribe Today
Things began to look brighter once No Man's Land became part of Oklahoma Territory. More people began to move in, and the strip got some real law. In addition to locally elected lawmen, the hard cases now had to contend with federal judges and tough deputy marshals. One of these marshals was the formidable Dane, Chris Madsen.
In Beaver City, district court was held in a room above a saloon, and on occasion the uproar downstairs interfered with the dignity of the proceedings upstairs. On one such day the judge turned quietly to Madsen, who was traveling with the court, and ordered him to abate the noise beneath. Downstairs, Madsen encountered three would-be badmen, who paid no attention to the Dane's reasonable requests for a little peace and quiet. So Madsen turned to direct action, shooting one man through the hand and pistol-whipping the other two. 'Jedge,' said Madsen, returning to the courtroom, 'Yo rebellion is oveh now. What disposition shall I make of the prisoners?'
Real law had come to No Man's Land. For more great articles be sure to subscribe to Wild West magazine today! Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Help HistoryNet by bookmarking to
            Tags: Historical Figures, The Wild West, Westward Expansion, Wild West
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8 Comments to “Oklahoma Panhandle: Badmen in No Man's Land”
You should add pictures, you know? With locations?? More people would visit your website. But they can't find what they are looking for.
By Laura on Jan 13, 2009 at 8:36 pm
I grew up in the Panhandle. My family homesteaded on the Beaver River just outside Guymon. My great grandfather, Giles E. Miller, my grand dad, Amos DeWolfe and my dad Donald C. DeWolfe were with the Newspaper, The Guymon Observer.
I'm looking for stories of family struggles and the hardships folks faced in "No Man's Land" My granddaughter is a singer/songwriter in Nashville and loves them.
My grand dad use to look out the window and say "Everything out there either sticks, stings or scratches!"
By Don DeWolfe on Jan 16, 2009 at 5:10 am
George "My Grandfather" had a shop in Gate and was a mechanic. He and his wife lived in a dug out south of Gate and had three children. I have always been interested in the history of Gate and Lavern Oklahoma, and the people that lived there, seeing as my family originated from that area.
By Byron Stubbs on Jan 17, 2009 at 3:13 pm
That is an interesting part of Oklahoma history. I did enjoy reading. Thanks!
By Todd Fore on Feb 9, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Don, I have several stories about the times in the Panhandle. I grew up in Keyes and family were some of the first settlelers. Before state hood.
By Mike on Feb 22, 2009 at 10:28 am
My grandfather was william david batman and maude batman. i grew up in that part of oklahoma.
I have some of my best memories of that time
By linda whiting on May 1, 2009 at 10:40 pm
My Great-great-grandfather was shot and killed by a rancher named Steven Penny when he refused to leave his homestead in Dec. of 1887. I have heard that Penny was hanged 15 years later for his crime but I have not been able to find any newspaper accounts of the shooting or the hanging. Can anyone help me with that?
By Dawna Lee Moody on Aug 17, 2009 at 5:36 pm
Most of this story is baloney repeated from other writers. The authors attempt to explain causes and circumstances are built on a misunderstanding of the historical sequence of events.
For instance nearly all of this lawlessness happened in about a a two year period between late 1887 and mid 1889. Nothing much happened until people arrived on the open cattle ranges and to settle.
Until people began arriving in western Kansas, there was no settlement other than buffalo hunters and some early cattle men. Many of the real facts have now been researched and much of the tall tales of early writers corrected.
By Ron Phillips on Oct 24, 2009 at 11:38 am