Hang the Archer Gang

The Archer Gang was a set of four brothers,
Who took after the Reno's and a slew of others.
Their reign of crime
Spanned decades of time
And they share the blame with moral-less fathers and mothers.

The Archers robbed stagecoaches, travelers, and trains.
Then they hid among kin like wheat among grains.
The Dalton's and James,
The Fords and other lames,
Had similar families with outlaw-like brains.

They played the "good neighbor" until money ran low,
Then they grabbed pistols and shotguns and got up to go.
They roamed far and wide
To fleece others then hide,
But their years of success just darkened each soul.

After years on the run a mad posse came callin'.
And when their women-folk heard they all started bawlin'.
Tom, John, and Mort,
Vigilantes did abort
With nooses 'round necks that sparked caterwallin'.

The youngest brother Sam made it to trial,
And was quickly convicted and lost his smug smile.
A noose was soon fetched
And Sam's neck was stretched,
And the townsfolk commenced to party awhile.

History records the Archer Gang with one of the longest crime waves.
But the end was still the same: it sent them to their graves,
Where the outlaw soul
Has one place to go,
To Hell's deepest hole with the volcanic caves.

The Head and Heart of the "Oklahoma Guardsmen."

Some men who wore a star were as bad as those they trailed.
But others had integrity and felt all law breakers should be jailed.
Evett Nix was one
Who used brain before gun,
And wished all outlaws, instead of victims, wailed.

Nix was Marshal over the Oklahoma Territory.
It was a vast expanse known for gore and glory.
Nix was spread too thin
So he hired more men:
Each of them top lawmen with a better story.

Frank Canton was associated with the Johnson County War.
And Chris Madsen had fought with Garibaldi on a foreign shore.
But the two known best
For their deeds in the West,
Were Thomas and Tilghman for their blood, guts, and gore.

Nix was the first marshal to ever deputize Heck Thomas.
'Cause he was good with a gun, had grit, and showed promise.
When settling the West
You go with the best,
'Cause justice works better with a law make, not a law miss.

When Bill Tilghman came from Dodge City he was a gunman feared.
But when he brought in Bill Doolin five thousand townsfolk cheered.
In the badge wearin' game
Tilghman earned fame;
Til shot dead by Wiley Lynn, a drunkin' coward who sneered.

When Nix' Oklahoma Guardsmen took control
The territorial crime wave began to slow.
All that was needed
Was for the law to be heeded,
When tough honest men bring their guns to the show.

Colorado Bill and the Hanging Judge

William Elliott, also known as "Colorado Bill;"
He didn't grow up a real man, just one who knew how to kill.
Four dead in four states
While Justice just waits,
And Bill stayed in the Choctaw Nation for a spell.

Then Bill killed David Brown and his soul became darker.
But the law ran him down and sent him off to Judge Parker.
Fort Smith's "Hanging Judge,"
On the law he wouldn't budge,
So Bill was hung and buried with a two-bit marker.

Sent to his Maker by a Preacher's Son

Cassius "Cash" Hollister -- once a mayor, but often a lawman --
Had a raucous temperament, more fitting to an outlaw clan.
But outlaws were bust,
Cash earned the town's trust
In the kill or be killed peace officer plan.

Cash was once fined for assaulting Frank Hunt.
With temper in check, lawbreakers took the brunt.
Then came a surprise,
To hear of Cash's demise,
Shot twice by the gun of a preacher's naughty runt.

Dynamite Dick Dead in the Dirt

Daniel Clifton, also known as "Dynamite Dick,"
Cattle rustling and bank jobs were his chosen shtick.
With his criminal resume,'
He joined Bill Doolin's "Oklahombres,"
With pistols and black powder his favorite tricks.

But an outlaw career can be boom or bust.
It ain't no position to instill some trust.
Yer' pals are all varmints
Who wear blood-stained garments,
And when you retire it's face down in the dust.

While the Doolin Gang took the bank in Southwest City,
They killed J.C. Seaborn, and it wasn't pretty.
Doolin and Clifton were jailed;
Bribed a guard: the system failed,
But the posse that followed had sand and were gritty.

"Every man for himself" is the fugitive code.
Find a place to hole up and drop all yer' load.
Clifton was found on a farm,
Tried to escape without harm,
But he was shot on the run and lay dead on the road.

Lawmen and Liquor Don't Mix

George Flatt was a lawman in Kansas,

who also co-owned a saloon.

They said he had grit,

was as tough as they get,

and his six-gun could carry a tune.

On July the seventh,

in eighteen-seventy-and-nine,

Jake Adams and George Wood

were up to no good,

just drinkin' and shootin'

and thinkin' it's fine.

Now Constable Kelly and Deputy Wilson

with Flatt and Kiser by their side,

came in for a gander

and up went their dander

as bullets whizzed by close and wide.

Wilson was wrist-shot,

and Kiser was head-shot.

Thank God it was only a graze.

And Flatt killed both outlaws:

Adams and Wood.

I think he just earned him a raise.

Flatt became marshall and upheld the peace,

but he had him a habit to drink.

Bending the elbow

and tipping the mug

can be just as bad as the opium drug;

just try them and then try to think.

Well, Flatt had a few,

and then a few too many;

some might say he was "dead drunk."

But he got up and staggered

and tried to get home,

too wasted to smell a near skunk

He was shot from behind,

it severed his spine

right at the base of his skull.

Two men were suspected,

Horseman and Hunt,

but the Hangman never would pull.

They say justice failed

'cause neither suspect was jailed.

But I say, if you think they got away

think again.

'Cause ol' Frank and Bill

are roasting in hell,

since crime unrepented is sin.



Lynching Robert Lacy

Have you heard 'bout Robert Lacy, the outlaw, gunman, and gambler?
Shot several men down New Mexico way, roamin' the state like a rambler.
Some say he had a death omen
So he headed north to Wyomin'
And supported himself as a cheatin' card handler.

Up in Rawlins he continued the shady play.
Tapping out the citizens: several suckers a day.
But the town grew wise.
It sparked fire in their eyes.
And shouting vigilantes soon led the way.

They stormed the saloon where Lacy played draw and stud.
They grabbed him and his pal: another card sharping crud.
Both were dragged out
Amidst bellow and shout,
Then noosed and lynched, and cut down with a thud.