Outlaw Loot in Oklahoma. Really!

If it wasn’t for the outlaws we would have a lot less to look for!

Back in the late 1800’s three bandits robbed a bank in Kansas and headed south for their get-away. Their intended stopping point was Texas however they ran into a few problems along the way. Once they got close to the “foothills of the Wichita Mountains” in Oklahoma they were attacked. The story doesn’t say who attacked them but we might as well blame it on the Indians since it was Indian territory at the time.

Two of the three men were killed during the attack and the third was wounded. The wounded man buried the stolen money south of Geronimo, Oklahoma. The money was thought to be in an area about four miles west and two miles south of the town. Once the money was buried the third man headed for Texas, eventually arriving in Dallas. After arriving in Dallas the third robber was told he was going to die so, probably knowing treasure hunters some day would need something to do, he told his story about the robbery, the attack and hiding the money to a nurse that was caring for him.

Is this story true? In 1907 a skeleton with two rifles, a saddle and several spent cartridges were found in a large pasture south of Geronimo. Along with the saddle and rifles there were several silver “Indian trinkets” and two wallets found with the skeleton. The wallets even had money in them!

In 1910 a second skeleton was found just north of the first skeleton. It would seem that the robber who did make it to Texas was off just a little on where he thought he buried the loot. Both skeletons were found about six miles south and three miles west of Geronimo. This is a lot farther south than was stated in the original story. It is thought that the buried money is somewhere very near where the two skeletons were found.

For those of you coming to the get together in June, Geronimo isn’t that far from Marlow, Oklahoma.