Execution of Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill.
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill, was executed on March 17, 1896. A jury found Goldsby guilty of the murder of Ernest Melton during a robbery of a store in the Cherokee Nation. While awaiting an appeal, Goldsby engineered an escape from the new jail. On July 26, 1895, he pulled a pistol (which had been smuggled to him) on jail guard Lawrence Keating, who was assisting in the nightly lockdown. As Keating reached for his gun, Goldsby opened fire, killing him. He was once again convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Again the decision was appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld the first verdict. As Cherokee Bill began his walk to the gallows, surrounded by a crowd of 3,000, he remarked that "this is about as good a day to die as any."
Probably the most famous outlaw that was hanged on the Fort Smith gallows was Crawford Goldsby, alias Cherokee Bill. Read about his run-ins with the law in this site bulletin.
After the murder of Ernest Melton on November 9, 1894, Cherokee Bill eluded capture for three months. Read about the carefully laid scheme that finally brought in the wanted outlaw in this site bulletin.
In 1895, when Cherokee Bill was lodged in the overcrowded and understaffed federal jail at Fort Smith, he attempted to escape. Read the story in this site bulletin.
Some 2,000 to 3,000 sightseers surrounded the gallows enclosure at Fort Smith on the day of Cherokee Bill's execution. Read about it in this site bulletin.
