Chronicles of Oklahoma
Volume 12, No. 3
September, 1934
THE MURDER ON TURKEY CREEK
Page 258
In November 1876, two men met in Medicine Lodge, Kansas and discussed their desires to cross the Indian. Territory into Teas.
Richard Wannamaker was preparing to drive a herd of thirty ponies into Texas where he was possibly preparing to open a dental
office. Frank Kilborn had a wagon, but was unable to secure any horses to pull his equipment into the country where he and
his wife and three children were proposing to make their home. These two men decided to unite their efforts temporarily in
order to attain the desired places of residence. Wannamaker then set about to secure the services of two men to assist in
driving the animals and caring for the stock. After some time he located two men, Dick Simpson and Monroe Kiplnizer who agreed
to assist him. in. his trek across the territory.
On November 11, 1876 this group of strangers set out to be intimately associated for several weeks while en route to Texas.
Concerning one another's past each knew nothing. Wannamaker was a man of about fifty, had considerable property, and was in
possession of quite a bit of knowledge of the west and had with him some money. The Kilborns were simple young people with
a desire to get ahead in the new land. The two drivers were both products of the frontier. Simpson was about twenty-six and
had been doing work with various outfits connected with stock for some time. Kiplnizer was only eighteen years of age and
unable to read or write, but was faithful to whom so ever employed him.1
The party traveled somewhat slowly so that the horses had time to graze en route and on November 24, they reached Turkey Creek,
Indian Territory in the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation, about fifty miles from the present location of El Reno, Oklahoma.
This creek was at this time known for the great number of the wild fowl along its banks and three members of the group set
out to secure fresh meat. Kiplnizer took with him a Winchester Rifle, while Simpson and Wannamaker both took double barreled
shot guns. Soon after leaving camp, Kiplnizer left the others to hunt on the opposite side of the creek. Hearing the shots
of the others, he thought that they were being more successful than he and crossed over again. This time he met
Page 259
Simpson, who informed him that he had just killed the "old man". Kiplnizer rather thought that he was joking as this was the
type of humor affected by the older herder and the two went into camp. Immediately, Simpson acted surprised and asked where
the old man was and then advanced the idea that he was probably lost and would return after a while.2
When the evening meal was over and the older member of the party had not yet returned, they discussed the advisability of
going out to search for him, but decided to await daylight. In the night, Simpson arose and requested Kiplnizer to go out
with him to search for Wannamaker, but the young herder feared foul play. Kilborn, knowing nothing of the afternoon and the
confession of Simpson, agreed to go out with, him. The two started on horseback but Kilborn soon returned to camp and informed
the others that he feared that Simpson meant harm to the entire party and that they should leave at once for the nearest fort
in the territory.3 They broke camp at once, left the herd, and went as swiftly as possible to Darlington where they came into the charge of
the Indian Agent, John D. Miles.
The arrival and report of the Kilborns and Kiplnizer destroyed the comparative peace of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Agency and
Miles set out to conduct the various actions required of him under the Intercourse Laws of 1834. The first necessary action
was to detain the party; second to locate the body of the man if he were really murdered. Therefore, he requested the parties
to remain in the agency, and sent out Ben Clark, a government employee as his representative with a troop from the fort.4
In the meantime, a Mr. Harris learned of the murder through some Indians and advised D. W. Jones, a rancher about ten miles
north of Turkey Creek, of the rather indefinite information and expressed his opinion that the body was probably somewhere
along the creek. The two men set out immediately on horseback to investigate the matter and shortly discovered the tracks
of a wagon which they followed until they came upon a herd of ponies grazing on the prairie. Harris expressed the opinion
that these horses
Page 260
and ponies resembled very closely the animals of an old man by the name of Wannamaker who was setting out to cross the territory
into Texas. After conferring for some minutes, the men saw some Indians in the distance and decided to take the unprotected
animals to the ranch. Upon reading the signs about the camp site, these men decided that something was decidedly amiss and
that the party had abandoned the stock.
About four miles from Turkey Creek, two Indians were seen riding swiftly after them. Concerning their meeting, Jones reported:
. . . . After we had traveled about four miles, we saw two Indians coming behind us at full speed, and I rode back to meet
them. When they came near I saw they were Sac and Fox Indians. To the inquiry as to what they wanted, they replied in broken
English, "See white man dead—squaw find him." etc. Leaving Harris to take the stock to the ranch, I turned back with the two
Indians who said they would guide me to the dead white man. Just as we descended into the bottom, after a ride of four miles,
the sun was setting. A cold wind from the north west blew in our faces and the tall waving grass made spectres of the long
shadows that fell across our path as we sped along the stream, we passed down a steep bank into the timber and I found myself
in the midst of an Indian camp, where everything was confusion. At a word from my guides, they all uttered something which
was unintelligible to me, but quiet was restored. My guide dismounting, signaled to me to do the same, saying, "Come." Then
on foot I followed the Indian who went stooping and dodging through the brush some four hundred yards, whne he halted and
pointed ahead, said, "See;" and in the growing darkness, I beheld the body of the dead man. Upon approaching the body, I found
it to be of a man about fifty years of age. He was lying on his back, his right arm across his breast, his left arm thrown
out; he had been shot with a shotgun, the charge entering the left side of the face and many of them coming out on the right
side of the ear. The left pocket in his pants was wrong side out showing that he had been searched.5
Jones did not touch the body but rode swiftly back to his ranch where he found Ben Clark and the troops awaiting his re-
Page 261
turn. The party went out early the following morning, November 30, to investigate the death of the old man. From their examination
of the body, they were unable to learn anything as all of the papers and other marks of identity had been removed. While Harris
was almost certain that the stock belonged to a man named Wannamaker, he could not identify the body. As some animal had devoured
a portion of the face, it was essential that interment be performed at once, so the body of the murdered man was placed in
an unmarked grave near the place he had been killed.6 The investigators then returned to the Indian Agency and the Fort, taking the stock with them.
The Commanding Officer of the Fort, J. K. Mizner, had sent out a detail to locate Simpson, who had not returned either to
the camp or to the agency. Kiplnizer went with the officers in order to identify the man who was reputed to be responsible
for the death of his employer.7
The Kilborns were greatly upset over the entire affair. While they had known the man but a short time and knew nothing of
his past life, they had liked Wannamaker and regretted his death. Then too, they were in the Indian Territory, several hundred
miles from their destination without horses to draw their wagon into Texas. They could not remain and yet they could not go
on. Miles decided that the best possible thing to do was to allow the Kilborns, whom he considered innocent of any crime in
the death of the man, to take the four horses necessary to pull the wagon and to require their return on January 2, 1877.
The horses were returned prior to the date set.8
Miles was required to settle the estate of any person who met his death on the Cheyenne and Arapaho Reservation and this murder
of Wannamaker made it necessary that he take over the property of the dead man and dispose of it according to law. In this
case he had nothing to inform him as to the proper heirs of the property belonging to the man. When Simpson was apprehended
in Jacksborro, Texas, the billfold of Wannamaker was found in his possession and returned to Miles to aid him in settling
Page 262
the estate. This billfold contained a great number of objects bearing on his past life but no addresses of relatives with
the exception of a letter in German script from Langenthal, Switzerland, but no one about the agency or the fort could read
it and since the other material was of such little import or for some other reason it was not dispatched to the government
for this purpose.9
The property belonging to the Wannamaker estate which came into the hands of Miles consisted of thirty head of horses, only
two of which were branded, a shotgun; ammunition, six pairs of "tooth forceps", and other dental tools, and various other
sundry articles. Since there was no claimant to the estate the property was sold and the proceeds were transmitted to the
Secretary of the Interior.10
The letter which should have been read in 1876, can only be partly read in 1934 due to its poor condition and to its contact
with some kind of oil which was within the billfold. The translation is as follows:
Langenthal, den 6, Juni 1875
Heartily loved Brother:
I have just received your draft for 10 francs, and I am answering it. We were all very much worried about you and your family,
since we had had no answer from you for so long. Since we read at various times in the paper about violent negro rebellions
. . . . . we thought you might have suffered from them, which now, thank God, is not the case. Mother and I thank you a thousand
times for your filial love and sympathy, as I have already told you, . . . . . Mother, . . . . .
I have already from the beginning . . .
Asked what to do . . . . .
have received . . . . .
Page 263
away from bay . . . . . .
to understand . . . . .
Cant stand . . . .
I shall certainly not let mother want for anything as always she is looked after as she should be, better now than when Father
was living when there was only quarreling and disagreement . . . . I shall certainly do my filial duty as well as I can that
if you ask about it . . . . . it would satisfy you . . . . I assure you . . . . . . . . . Two, months ago cousin . . . . .
died of a stroke . . . .
and now last winter Cousin Rosine . . . . . and her share with all . . . . . sorts of tricks and flattery (meanness) only
a gift . . . . as property it was better . . . . .
. . . . . What Long years . . . . .
. . . . . a child . . . . .
In spite of his considerable property which . . . . .
Gyser bequeathed him, it is now . . . . in . . . the worst
sort of person . . . . .
Myself, and wife and children are at present in good health . . . and well, I have five and the . . . . sixth on the way,
but they all . . . . . and cheerful and happy . . . . .
I will close and hope soon . . . . .
to be able to write soon, and send you and your young wife a thousand greetings,
Especially our Mother.
Your faithful Brother
(signed) Jb. Schmidt11
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