Hughes Brothers

In 1894 James Hughes moved to Oklahoma. He settled on a homestead along the Washita River southeast of Cloud Chief. He was a shrewd and respected businessman. While he wasn't an outlaw his two sons Ben and Jim had criminal backgrounds.

As the Hughes Ranch grew rumors began to circulate that everything going on at the ranch might not be on the up and up.It seems that the Hughes offered an invitation of shelter to men of questionable character. Men such as Bert Casey, Al jennings, George Miller, Ben Cravens, and Red Buck Weightman arebut a few who were thought to frequent the ranch.

By the turn of the century the Hughes ranch had expanded to the point that they owned a number of sections of land, leased 36 sections of "indian" land, and ran a mail route. Ben and Jim were worth more than a hundred thousand dollars. This was a huge sum in those days.

In 1904 James Hughes Sr passed away. it was from this point on that the Hughes ranch began it's downward spiral. Ben and Jim would remain at odds with the law for the rest of their lives as well as their sons.

The old ranch site would be a great place to search for treasure. Many outlaws spent time hiding on the ranch and there is a good chance that they hid their ill-gotten gains on the ranch. Some of the Hughes family fortunes could be hidden as well. With a little research the original ranch site could easily be located.