Nathaniel Reed (outlaw)

Nathaniel Reed
Born	(1862-03-23)March 23, 1862 Madison County, Arkansas, United States
Died	January 7, 1950(1950-01-07) (aged 87) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Cause of death	Natural causes
Nationality	American
Other names	Texas Jack Reed
Occupation	Criminal
Known for	Outlaw and train robber in the Indian Territory during the 1880s and 90s.

Nathaniel "Texas Jack" Reed (March 23, 1862-January 7, 1950) was a 19th century American outlaw. He acted both on his own and as leader of a bandit gang robbing banks, trains and stagecoaches in the American Southwest, particularly the Rocky Mountains and the Indian Territory, during the 1880s and 90s.

He is claimed to be the last surviving "47 most notorious outlaws" of Indian Territory, he became an evangelist in his later years and could often be seen on the streets of Tulsa preaching on the streets against the life of crime. His memoirs were published during the 1930s and are considered valuable collectors items today (one copy was reportedly sold on the internet for $1,000 in 2007). In these, he claimed to have ridden with the Dalton gang, Bill Doolin, Henry Starr and other known outlaws and bandits of the old west. He may have also helped Cherokee Bill, a fellow outlaw from the Indian Territory, escape from Fort Smith during the 1880s.

As with many outlaws of the era, Reed's colorful stories of his near 10-year career as an outlaw were most likely exaggerated by future writers. In one instance, he claimed to have briefly rode with the Daltons in their dual bank robberies in Coffeyville in 1892 as well as participating in the infamous gunfight at Ingalls in 1893. There are no documented reports that he was involved in either of these events however.

Biography

Early life

Born in Madison County, Arkansas, his father was killed in action fighting for the Union Army during the American Civil War, probably at the Battle of Campbell's Station on November 16, 1863. Reed lived with a number of relatives until 1883 when, at the age of 21, he moved to the American frontier. He worked at various jobs in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas and finally Oklahoma where he was working as a ranch hand for the Terry outfit.

While working there during the summer of 1885, he was recruited by the foreman to rob a train at La Junta, Colorado. During the robbery, Reed entered the passenger car firing his pistol in order to keep the passengers under control. He later received $6,000 for his part of the hold up. With the success of his first train robbery, Reed abandoned working as a cowboy and became an outlaw. During the next nine years, he and his gang robbed countless trains, stagecoaches, banks and, on one occasion, captured a large shipment of bullion in California.

Robbery at Blackstone Switch

Living near Muskogee, Oklahoma during the early 1890s, he learned that a gold shipment was leaving Dallas, Texas on November 13, 1894. Recruiting Buz Luckey, William "Will" Smith and Tom Root, he selected Blackstone Switch at Wybark at the site of the robbery where the gang practiced a staged robbery the day before the robbery. The plan was for Reed to throw the switch as the train approached then, as the train entered onto a sidetrack, the gang would use dynamite to enter the express car. Root, a full-blooded Cherokee known for his size and strength, was to enter the express car, break open the strong boxes, and bring out the gold. Smith would hold a gun on the engineer and fireman while Luckey was to stay with the horses.

The following day however, as the Katy No. 2 approached, Reed threw the switch too early and engineer Joseph Hotchkiss stopped the train as he saw the signal light change. With the train stopping far short of the siding, Reed and the others were forced to ran towards the train yelling and shooting. Hotchkiss and the fireman alerted the messengers of the robbery using the bell cord connected to the car and jumped off the train to hide in a small ravine near by.

The railroad company, suspecting a possible robbery, had moved the gold to another train and had in its place several armed messengers guarding the express car including Bud Ledbetter, Paden Tolbert, Sid Johnson, Frank Jones and several others. When Reed and the others approached the express car, he called for the messengers to leave the car. When the messengers refused, Reed and Tom Root took cover behind some trees and began shooting into the car. The messengers returned fire and a gunfight took place for nearly an hour. Eventually one of Reed's men was killed and Reed jumped onto the train going through the passenger cars forcing passengers to put their valuables in a sack before his gang fled.

Reed was shot by Bud Ledbetter while they rode off however, the pain from his wound growing so severe that he gave some of the stolen loot to his partners who were forced to leave him behind. He lay on a blanket hiding under a rock ledge when he was found by an Indian woman who nursed him back to health.

Meanwhile, the American Express Company had offered a reward of $250 for the arrest and conviction of each member of the gang. An extensive manhunt was conducted by U.S. Marshal George Crump and S. Morton Rutherford who sent large groups of deputies into the Indian Territory and Creek Nation. While burning the canebrakes in the Verdigris bottoms, one deptuty found the burnt remains of Reed's saddle and threatened to destroy the crops of local residents if they did not turn over Reed and his men. This was considered a legal act, authorized by Judge Isaac Parker himself; however, no one came forward with information. Reed was warned of the search and decided to leave the territory as soon as he was able. He arrived in Seneca, Missouri on December 9, where Bill Lawrence took care of him.

Once he had fully recovered from his wounds, he was able to return to Arkansas and stayed with his brother in Madison County in February 1895. Deciding to retire from a life of crime, he wrote to Judge Isaac Parker and agreed to testify against the man who planned the robbery in exchange for probation although he did not participate in the proceedings. Although Smith was able to disappear, U.S. Marshal Newton LaForce was able to successfully track down Luckey and Root who were both hiding out at Root's home in Broken Arrow, only 15 miles south of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The two fugitives were subsequently killed in a gunfight with LaForce and his men on December 4, 1894.

Later years

Despite being promised immunity by Parker, Reed was convicted of train robbery and sentenced to serve five years imprisonment. He would eventually serve less than a year when, shortly before his own death, Parker granted Reed his parole in November 1896. He later carried around a letter signed by Ledbetter recognizing Reed as a man he shot as well as his signed parole from Judge Parker.

After his release, Reed became an evangelist preaching on the rewards of living a respectable, law-abiding life. He toured the country with a series of Wild West shows and published his memoirs "The Life of Texas Jack" in 1936. He also had several pamphlets and dime novels published describing his life as an outlaw, which sold 35,000 copies, before his death at his home in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 87. He was later buried in St. Paul, Arkansas.