Cherokee Bill was an outlaw who committed a series of violent crimes across the Indian Territory of the 19th Century, around what is now known as Oklahoma. Bill’s name grew in infamy after running with a crew of Black Indian outlaws and he was hanged for his crimes at the age of 20.
Born February 8, 1876 at Fort Concho in San Angelo, Texas, Bill’s father was a mulatto Union Army soldier and a member of the famed Buffalo Soldiers regiment. His mother was said to be a mixed Black and Indian woman. Raised primarily at Indian schools, Bill’s mother remarried and the family moved to Missouri. According to accounts, Bill clashed with his new stepfather and moved to live with a sister in Oklahoma at 15.
Bill’s life of crime began around 17 or 18, although other reports state he might have killed his first man at the age of 12 over a disagreement. In 1894, Bill’s reign of terror as an outlaw began. (READ MORE)
