I just bought a year of True West magazine including the archives. Primarily because of Bob Boze Bell's great stories of the.....True West. Some of the best money I've ever spent.
Thanks for the accurate story. I lived in Coffeyville from 1948-1970 and my family had a store on ninth street and the back of the store was on Death Alley. Visiting cousins and friends would often want to go to the Dalton Museum so I was there many times.
I grew up in Chanute, Kansas...30 miles north of Coffeyville. I've been in front of both Banks and have visualized the shootout. It's amazing that no innocent bystanders weren't hit with the amount of gunfire? As a funeral professional, I can tell you that the deterioration of those bodies would have been incredible not to mention the odor by the time any preparations would have been done...😬 Always enjoy your Old West stories, Bob! Keep up the great work!🐎
Four citizens of Coffeyville, including the town Marshall, were killed in the crossfire. That's why the annual renactment is named "Dalton Defender Days". It is the defense of the town against the Dalton Gang that is remembered.
The original Condon Bank building is there and has been restored to how it looked in 1892. It serves as the office for the Area Chamber of Commerce. The bank itself existed until 2013. @JhonnyCash-mo2wx
Hi Bob from the UK. Good to hear the true version of the raid. You paint a great picture of the failed raid. some time back we [the wife and me] did a tour of the mid west which included tombstone and the OK and quite a few places of western interest which included Parachute on the way back to Denver . But unfortunately we ran out of time in the end to do all of them. I have just turned 76 now. So we will have to book another trip soon with Coffeyville at the top of a long list of western history to check out. My wife says she thinks I'm a reincarnated cowboy sometime i think she may be right . Even at my ripe old age i am still a AA rated clay shooter
Walked that alley ("Death Alley") countless times as a kid. When I was a little kid, we used to play in the cemetery where the Daltons were buried. Just a plain grave with a pipe (a hitching post) marking the site. As little kids we were told, "If you walk around the Dalton's grave 10 times - then stop and say, 'What are you doing down there?' -- the Daltons will say, 'NOTHING!'" Yeah, all the kids walked miles around that grave before we realized it was true - they ALWAYS said, "NOTHING!"... lol...
I visited Coffeyville on the anniversary of the raid when locals do a reenactment. It amazed me how close together everything was, the two banks and the alley. The whole event seemed to take just seconds, and everyone was dead except Emmett!
I grew up in southeast Kansas in Parsons and am familiar with the stories of the Dalton Gang. You provided some information I wasn’t familiar with. Thank you. Another infamous family that resided in the area were the Benders. Bender Mounds is about half way between Parsons and Coffeyville. Have you ever thought of doing a video on them?
My grandfather, Richard Davis, lived.on a farm near Coffeyville He heard the shooting and ran into town. I remember him telling me about seeing the bodies of the gang laying dead side by side. Yeats later I saw a photo of that and realized that he was lelling the truth. He was there and really did see the display of the bodies. Bob jacobs
There is a 'Life Size' photo of the deceased gang members in the Dalton Defenders Museum here in Coffeyville as well as all their personal belongings. On another note, Coffeyville was also the home of Walter 'Big Train' Johnson who played professional baseball and The Funk Brothers who designed and built airplanes.
Wow the old west has some amazing true stories and Jesse James was able too escape the law in them days only to be shot in the back by one of his gang members for a rànsom and I often wonder how would Jesse and Frank James story would have ended without that baçkstabbing member of his
All the old sayings apply across all the ages of time. A friend of mine was a lawman, he once said ''You gotta think and sometimes even act like one of them crooks. The trick is, not to get the smell on ya''.
A lot of cops I had the displeasure to meet were scum(not all). The only difference between them and the criminals they arrest is who they work for. Overly aggressive, tattooed, steroided up sociopaths. I have heard case after case of them going after people they dislike... and managing to get charges and convictions on people who didnt commit those crimes(but maybe they got away with other stuff). Still, I dont think acting like a lawless criminal to enforce the law is good thing.
You are a character, Bob; and yes, that is a compliment. I loved this slice of history, shared so well by you. Not sure why this story popped up on my YT page, but glad it did. Now I'm going to search out some more of your stories.
I was an intel analyst for the ASA in Germany and worked with a guy from Coffeeville KS. When I got out of the Army in 1977, I went to Coffeeville and got the tour. I never knew about The Daltons. The tour was by Steve Thurston from Coffeeville. He also worked at KIND Radio of Independence KS.
What’s amazing to me is that my grandparents were born in the 1880’s. I knew them well and grew up on their cattle ranch in NM. I have to say because of my early life, I understand how these townspeople thought. Any exciting event was, well their one chance at local fame. For example “Paul was there, you don’t say? …. And the story would grow as it is told over and over. Life was hard and often lonely. Stories were an important and even helped people gain local importance.
I knew a local historian named Warren Dalton Jr - now deceased - whose father was born in Missouri in 1870. I jokingly asked him if he was related to the Dalton gang and he told me his father who was born in 1870 legally changed his name from Bob to Warren so as not to be confused with the outlaw.
I live just outside of Coffeyville. If you're ever there on the first weekend in October stop by and check out defender days! They do a reenactment of the shootout. Bob is right about the alley, being there really puts it into perspective, plus they have marked where the outlaws fell. Wish I had known you were in town, would have loved to talked with you about the place! Great video!!
@@ValMartinIreland I’m from KC and shot a wedding there once years ago. I also have flown over it a few times. It’s not a large town now so get rid of the big box stores, parks, high school sports fields, etc and I’d imagine it’s about the same size.
Really. I live in Tulsa and when I moved here and realized that I was so close to Coffeyville & that I had to drive to independence I made our group stop to see the hitching post and graves.
I wish my mom's late husband was around to enjoy the internet. He would have loved your narrations. I have always loved the west (being from Tucson) and I enjoy your stories! Thank you for taking the time.
We can't imagine how hard life was then. I saw a show in the 1980's that did interviews with 80 to 100 year olds. All of them talked about how easy life is now.
Hard times make strong men who make easy times. Easy times make weak men who make hard times. I can at least count on a man from back then to have my back and not today's tick tock "are you mansplaining" type
I can speak upon how you hear about hair-triggers. We had a relative who was a sheriff in a texas town and he had a two-gun set up which I got to try on when I was a kid. Of course I was amazed at how heavy they were. The triggers were truly hair-triggers. I wondered how he ever got them out of their holsters without them going off?
when you say people were playing with the bodies.... my father who is long dead now once told me when i asked him as a kid about how people were " in the old days ". ill always remember he told me "son... people were A holes back in those days"😂... thats always stuck with me!
Great talk. I fondly remember going on a trip and hitting the magazine store before the flight and getting a “True West” magazine. Loved it. I just did a subscription for two years…I really want to support and keep this magazine going.
After driving from Adobe Walls Texas, my best friend and I were heading to Dodge City KS and visited the Dalton Gang Hideout. It was their sister house and is setup for tourists. Really cool place and gives you sense of how it was for the gang.
I grew up in South Dakota and remembered my grand daddy would tell me old South Dakota history. Really enjoy this channel and the rich American history. Can you please give me information on your book.
My wife and I were in Tulsa for a concert, we had all afternoon to waste, so we drove up to Coffeyville to see the little museum there. I highly recommend it if you're interested in old west history.
Hey you did a great job turning this into a movie in my head. What a storyteller! I cant believe i havent found your channel until now. Excellent job sir i will be checking out the restnof your stuff!
I don't know why they choose a weekday at 4pm. Most are still at work and dealing with family. How nice would a relaxed hour on Saturday or Sunday evening have been?
When I was little, I found out I was related to Emmett. Thought it was the coolest thing ever. My dad's side of the family all got us books about the Dalton Gang. The way you tell it is so easy to picture. Thank you! Alot of things I knew, but alot I didn't
Blevins, here. My great-grandma used to tell stories about patching them up after raids. It always felt cool to be descendant of such notorious figures.
My wife and I went through Coffeyville 11-19-21 on highway 169 to visit valued relatives in Humboldt. As we passed through Coffeyville area, we noticed a sign with arrow directing people to Dalton Cemetery, leaving an impression 4 Dalton brothers did not leave Coffeyville. A case for observing 2nd Amendment to USA Constitution happened on that day in 1892 it seems.
I spent a few days in Coffeyville back in 2007. It rained the entire time and when I was leaving, I fueled up and barely got out of town before the levees broke and destroyed the town.
No, not really an argument for the Second Amendment- there was no time for folks to run home and arm themselves. Instead, we have several local hardware stores becoming improvised arsenals. Just like what happened to the James/Younger gang in Northfield...
Wow! Great perspective of a moment stranger than fiction! After 42 years of law enforcing and retired as a Tennessee sheriff, truth is stranger than any fiction writer can make up...
Being from the UK, I'm really fascinated by your channel. It's really good,and I love listening to your accounts of what a lot of people were like back then,be they lawmen or outlaws. I wonder if the hostage survived though? It makes me think, what an incredibly violent world it was back then.I can also imagine not everyone liked guns, and just tried to do their best to make it. Anyway, well done. :)
In 1870 there was roughly 38.9 million people living in the US with a quarter of the population living in urban areas and cities. Today we are upwards of 350 million. 2/3 of the population live in urban areas and cities today. Firearms were not required to have serial numbers and many did not back in the old west days. My grandfather bought a 12 gauge shotgun at the local hardware for $3.50 in the 1870s. I still have that gun among many others. As far as how many are actually registered.. LOL. You can figure that number to be probably four times higher. America has always been big on the gun because of our Wars. The right to keep and bear arms in the Constitution, and because of those wars, let Americans decide for themselves if they wanted to own firearms and most did. Guns were only unpopular with women and preachers, but some of those were even gunslingers, along with people that went to church. I don't carry a firearm these days. You can be held accountable for too much carrying those things around. However, laying beside me every night is a 9 mm automatic. And I live out in the country. There's not a robber around every corner, but thieves come and go, and houses get broken into on and off. Keeping a firearm beside you is a good idea. I never keep One in the Chamber though. I can't remember which famous Japanese officer made this comment, when it was suggested to him that they invade America during WW2. He said, it's impossible because there was a gun behind every blade of grass. There's a lot of Truth to that. There's probably 15 firearms in my own home
@@70stunes71 - The ironic thing is the US in Not even the biggest Gun ownership per percentage of population. I believe It's Finland is first, Switzerland is second (Where all Children are required to own, train with a pistol and a rifle every year). Then Israel is third. The US has the most guns per person, but only less than 50% of the population are gun owners. India has the biggest number of registered and unregistered guns.
@@inisipisTV Finnish snipers were some of the deadliest in WWII. Russia lost 40 soldiers for every Finn that was killed. Incidentally, some of the deadliest Russian snipers were women.
I appreciate your detailed research of the Dalton Gang’s fatal attempted robbery. It’s a fantastic story! You described it so well that I felt I was there! Has a movie ever been done on the robbery? I’m going to have to buy the book!
Great story. Thanks. I went there as a kid and now I want to go back and check it out. My grandfather farmed in that area for 80 plus years, so I went to Coffeyville all the time.
My Great Grandfather was an abandoned infant in Victoria Market, Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺. His adopted name was George Dalton. He fought at Gallipoli in WW1. He came back alive and married a Woman named Emma. They had a son called Francis Arnold Dalton. He fought in WW2 (Tobruk and New Guinea. He came back and married Patricia Lillian Wilson. They also had several children, the eldest was a boy named Phillip Douglass Dalton. He was 23 when he married my mother Barbara Kubrick. They had three children called Graeme Phillip Dalton, Stewart Geoffrey Dalton and finally a girl named Rachel Susan Dalton. My name is Stewart Geoffrey Dalton and as far as names go. I feel pretty blessed to hold the last name of Dalton. So even though my genes are definately not related to any Daltons. I still love these old western tales of gunslingers, moonshine runners and even the good old Gold Rush days of San Francisco or even the great trek on the Klondike Gold Rush days. Different times and Ways back then. Thank you for reading this far Stay Blessed and Peace Be With You.
Great overview of the raid - I first went there in 1969 at 17 - taking my grandparents from Wyoming to Florida - my grandfather insisted we go - it was a great day and memory - I have been back several times - it still fascinates me -
Loved this! Thank you! I went to Coffeyville one weekend just to see the landscape. I drove a couple of miles out of town to see the burial site as well.
Another great story, Bob. You have a talent for story telling. Would love to hear you tell stories about lesser-known Arizona lawmen, like Jeff Milton or Bob Paul. I'm partial to the lawmen, but you can't tell their stories without talking about the scoundrels they went after. Thanks, amigo.
When I saw The Dalton Gang museum in Coffyville as a young kid, that’s the place that really got me interested in the history of the Wild West and the outlaws, and I had no idea that my home state of Oklahoma had so many big time gangs, and gangster. Like the Barkers and Pretty Boy Floyd and the Central Park Gang all in Tulsa. I know they call the Tulsa race riot a massacre now to appease people, but I believe the gangsters like Doc Barker participated in killing those people, and it was all caused by the inciting lies from the Tulsa Tribune news paper, the media is still causing people to be killed today.
I grew up in Tulsa. I think Bill Doolin maybe met his end in OK too. It’s the nature of the land, outlaw-sanctuary. Folks even blasted each other in the land run. Respect to the Native history there.
What a astute observation, ....(money, popularity,) Propaganda is a great tool of persuasion... Often used to bend the minds of the people, nothing changes, not then, and certainty not now!
Grandparents had a farm/ranch 30 minutes west of Coffeyville. Walked the streets there many times where the gang was shot down. Amazing everything is still there and looks pretty much the same. Great video.
I'm glad they kept the town's layout about same as it was. It's too bad Dodge City didn't do the same. They left a company put stockyards and slaughter houses so close to the city that it's really stinks.
I happened on this video, and I believe it gives me information about a photo I have seen and may have a copy of, of my great grandfather in a yard with Bob and Emmit Dalon about two weeks before the Coffeyville raid. It has Bob wearing a Stetson hat.
Mr Taylor, according to my grandfather George W Dalton 1880-1957 on my mother's side said he's related to the Dalton Boys. Sure would like to see a copy of that photo of Bob wearing a stetson hat.
Interesting.back in the early 1960s my family lived in coffeeville .me my sister and brother used to go to the condon bank and see the bullet holes in the window.we lived three or four blocks from downtown.
Just came across this today. It interests me as I grew up next to members of the Dalton family in the San Francisco bay area. Their mother told me and showed me a family scrapbook. I don't really know what went on with that family but strange things happened. The younger son, whom I played Monoply with was always in trouble. The oldest son jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge when he was about 18. Interesting, but sad family. Really like your channel.
The youngest of the Dalton brothers survived the raid on Coffeyville. He wasn't exactly welcome to stay here. It's my understanding that Emmet left Kansas to move to California.
@@jtuttle11 so maybe my next door neighbors were really related to that family. There was some resemblance in the pictures, but that doesn't mean a claim is genuine. Hmm...interesting. Their father had a hair trigger temper. He was the Dalton, but he never talked about "that" background. He did look like he could have been related. He just up and walked off one day.
In the late 80s in Central IL I was friends with a Dalton family who were somehow related to the Dalton gang. They were descendents from 1 of the 15 Dalton siblings. But I doubt they from any of the 4 brothers.
I like how you said that you like to walk where it happened .. walking the same floor that they walked gives you a sense of realism .. they walked where you are standing .. its brilliant
Unless I missed it, the last similarity between this and Northfield that you couldn't think of may have been that a brother went back to rescue another brother in both robberies.
Yes i believe that in both robberies in Northfield and Coffeeville, after being shot, one of the gangs brother went back to help the other; yes different places, times but all family related, Youngers and Daltons were first cousins and also in some way the 2 James boys. My grandpa on my mother's side was George Washington Dalton 1880-1957, was 3rd cousin. A few stories were told to me and my siblings by our mother. Thanks True West Magazine for your video, also my Grandpa Dalton told his story to the True West Magazine sometime in the 1950s
I've got to disagree with your statement that the law was absent during these raids, City Marshal Connelly of Coffeyville was killed by Grat Dalton in the alley as he attempted to cut off the outlaw's escape.
Somewhat of an unpopular opinion, here, but Marshal Connelley was reported (by several eye-witnesses, including my great-grandfater, Ansel McMurtry, employee of Isham's hardware, and also reported in a book titled, "Not In My Town", by Ursula Turner) to have been accidentally gunned down in a hail of friendly fire from Isham's. He stepped out into the alley, amid a storm of lead, shouted at the escaping Dalton boys, "Stop in the name of the law, or I'll shoot!", and was promptly hit in the back by rifle fire from the hardware store shooters. Later, the vilification of the Dalton Gang lent a little more credence to the idea that Grat shot him dead, but local townsfolk testimony says otherwise! It's still a mystery, and never confirmed, but if you ask anyone at the Dalton museum in Coffeyville, they'll corroborate that story as "plausible".
@@BillyTheBigKid82 everyone knows what they do is either wrong or right . There is a "moral law" written in everyone. Someone committing a crime always hides and runs because they already know inside what they did or do is wrong. Be safe out there Bill
I completely see your point, but stealing is stealing. If it isn't yours, you didn't find it somewhere, lost in a hole, and no one is willingly giving it to you, leave it alone.
I just finished a book "Tough Towns" about how citizens in towns took up arms and killed the bad men. Most of the towns were in Oklahoma from the late 1870's to the late 1930's.
I grew up in El Dorado, KS and had friends in Coffeyville. Visited the town many times and always was fascinated with this event. Great story! Thanks for filling in details.
Thanks for the story of the Dalton gang. Really enjoyed the way you told the history of this and wanting to hear more from you. Great job and hat's off to you👍🇺🇸🇨🇱
Enjoyed the story, was there a couple of year ago, they also have an interesting museum. Great place to visit and a bad place to park horses for a (2) banks robbery.. Thank you, look forward to more of your wild west stories.
Sometimes YT recommendations are spot on. I really enjoyed listening to you. Never realized that 'the Daltons' from Lucky Luke were a real gang. It was interesting. Thank you :).
Marshal Charles Conley was killed during the robbery. In the 80’s his step daughter was in a retirement home near me, and spoke about the event in a newspaper article.
That same rule applies today when it comes to the situation with the two Dalton Brothers that were one time in law enforcement. There's a very thin line between cop and criminal. A very thin and extremely fragile line.
@@Alcapone3176 Nope! That's a thin line between Cop and Criminal. A very well known and commonly used phrase. Just wanted to make sure you got that right. Google it! In this age of information, your ignorance is your choice. The one you just made up, sounds like something you just pulled out of your ass.
I enjoyed the whole experience in Coffeyville when I visited. The museum didn't glorify the outlaws like many museum do but made heros out of the defenders. It a great place so show how regular citizens if allowed can win against those who wish to destroy their town
Messing with the bodies wasn't unusual. My grandmother saw Bonnie & Clyde's bodies laid out on the sidewalk in front of the funeral home and she noticed a lot of Bonnie's dress had been cut away and someone had tried to cut Clyde's trigger finger off. They had a deputy sheriff outside by the bodies after that until their families come from Texas to claim their bodies.
@@JohnDoe-ie1fe Doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, it happened. There is video online showing their bodies laid out in front of the the funeral home. My grandmother lived in the next small town over from where they were killed. Her older brother drove her over to see them. She was 12 at the time.
I love the old west, however I'm glad I didn't live then. If one was well to do there were enough creature comforts but for the average person it was a hard life. I am sure Mr. Bell could expand upon that!
This is a great account! My father's Great uncle was one of the citizens that participated in the Coffeeville shoot 'em up...or so I was told. He was killed several years later when he was hit by lightning while bringing in his tractor before a storm.
I was told that one of my ancestors rode with the daltons. I think his name was Jim Hayman. He was hunted down and killed after he shot and murdered 2 marshals that were hunting him while they slept at their camp.
Your enthusiasm for the subject keeps the viewer's interest. There is nothing like a good storyteller. Attention to detail is a bonus. take care rwmccoy
I live in Australia, about 20 miles from the Beechworth Court where Ned Kelly was tried. A friend lives an hour to the south west. His wife's maiden name is Younger. Her great Great Grandfather's brother was Coleman Younger's father. It seems that English oppression made outlaws out of poor farmers on two different continents.
Yep, English oppressors made them rob all those banks and trains. Oh, and murdering people when convenient. Life was hard for sure but they made a choice.
Yes, I agree, why go down that narrow somewhat dark alleyway? We walked it as well, then went into the one hardware store that I believe was still owned by the same family, this was 2014. It was right across the street from the Congdon bank. Cool store with mostly all old displays in there, a rope operated elevator in the back, which we rode up on, just for fun. But, the neatest, oddest, to me anyway was the museum, where the gentleman who was working that day, asked me if I wanted to handle the rifle that was laying across the dead bodies in that famous photo. Well, I wasn't going to say no, so he got it out, and I "played" with it for a few minutes. It sounded like that was what he did with everyone who visited. Most times, there is NO way your going to handle an historic firearm. Even the historians wear white gloves, when they handle them. But to me, I thought it was just great, a 60 yr. old guy feeling like a kid in that moment. Love the Videos Bob.
I just bought a year of True West magazine including the archives. Primarily because of Bob Boze Bell's great stories of the.....True West. Some of the best money I've ever spent.
I love this old guy! He's such a great story teller and has devoted his life to doing his homework. He's the best.
never call a man old thats very insulting.
@@tabarnacdostidecal no it's not,,what are you talking about
@@tabarnacdostidecal AGREED
@@michaelcollins237 he ain't that old
Thanks for the accurate story. I lived in Coffeyville from 1948-1970 and my family had a store on ninth street and the back of the store was on Death Alley. Visiting cousins and friends would often want to go to the Dalton Museum so I was there many times.
I grew up in Chanute, Kansas...30 miles north of Coffeyville. I've been in front of both Banks and have visualized the shootout. It's amazing that no innocent bystanders weren't hit with the amount of gunfire?
As a funeral professional, I can tell you that the deterioration of those bodies would have been incredible not to mention the odor by the time any preparations would have been done...😬
Always enjoy your Old West stories, Bob! Keep up the great work!🐎
Four citizens of Coffeyville, including the town Marshall, were killed in the crossfire. That's why the annual renactment is named "Dalton Defender Days". It is the defense of the town against the Dalton Gang that is remembered.
The original Condon Bank building is there and has been restored to how it looked in 1892. It serves as the office for the Area Chamber of Commerce. The bank itself existed until 2013. @JhonnyCash-mo2wx
Hi Bob from the UK. Good to hear the true version of the raid. You paint a great picture of the failed raid. some time back we [the wife and me] did a tour of the mid west which included tombstone and the OK and quite a few places of western interest which included Parachute on the way back to Denver . But unfortunately we ran out of time in the end to do all of them. I have just turned 76 now. So we will have to book another trip soon with Coffeyville at the top of a long list of western history to check out. My wife says she thinks I'm a reincarnated cowboy sometime i think she may be right . Even at my ripe old age i am still a AA rated clay shooter
Tombstone isnt the midwest, that's the southwest. Midwest is the great lakes states and the plains states
The Dalton family came from Lancashire, England.
@@hetrodoxly1203 I’m the sole survivor!
@@wingcommanderdaltonwalton67 That's interesting are you descended from Charles Coleman Dalton?
@@hetrodoxly1203 I’m afraid not old chap.
Walked that alley ("Death Alley") countless times as a kid. When I was a little kid, we used to play in the cemetery where the Daltons were buried. Just a plain grave with a pipe (a hitching post) marking the site. As little kids we were told, "If you walk around the Dalton's grave 10 times - then stop and say, 'What are you doing down there?' -- the Daltons will say, 'NOTHING!'" Yeah, all the kids walked miles around that grave before we realized it was true - they ALWAYS said, "NOTHING!"... lol...
😃❤So fun!
B.S.
@@bobsyouruncle66 You have a right to an opinion. I was born and raised there. Story is completely true.
I visited Coffeyville on the anniversary of the raid when locals do a reenactment. It amazed me how close together everything was, the two banks and the alley. The whole event seemed to take just seconds, and everyone was dead except Emmett!
@@404cowgirl Puts the whole event into focus doesn't it?
Live in South Africa and loved these stories as a young man. 1st time visit. Great storytelling.
I grew up in southeast Kansas in Parsons and am familiar with the stories of the Dalton Gang. You provided some information I wasn’t familiar with. Thank you. Another infamous family that resided in the area were the Benders. Bender Mounds is about half way between Parsons and Coffeyville. Have you ever thought of doing a video on them?
My grandfather, Richard Davis, lived.on a farm near Coffeyville He heard the shooting and ran into town. I remember him telling me about seeing the bodies of the gang laying dead side by side. Yeats later I saw a photo of that and realized that he was lelling the truth. He was there and really did see the display of the bodies. Bob jacobs
There is a 'Life Size' photo of the deceased gang members in the Dalton Defenders Museum here in Coffeyville as well as all their personal belongings. On another note, Coffeyville was also the home of Walter 'Big Train' Johnson who played professional baseball and The Funk Brothers who designed and built airplanes.
Wow the old west has some amazing true stories and Jesse James was able too escape the law in them days only to be shot in the back by one of his gang members for a rànsom and I often wonder how would Jesse and Frank James story would have ended without that baçkstabbing member of his
Love this. I am a James descendent.
I was there last month.
Your grandfather Richard was a punk
All the old sayings apply across all the ages of time. A friend of mine was a lawman, he once said ''You gotta think and sometimes even act like one of them crooks. The trick is, not to get the smell on ya''.
A lot of cops I had the displeasure to meet were scum(not all). The only difference between them and the criminals they arrest is who they work for. Overly aggressive, tattooed, steroided up sociopaths. I have heard case after case of them going after people they dislike... and managing to get charges and convictions on people who didnt commit those crimes(but maybe they got away with other stuff). Still, I dont think acting like a lawless criminal to enforce the law is good thing.
You are a character, Bob; and yes, that is a compliment. I loved this slice of history, shared so well by you. Not sure why this story popped up on my YT page, but glad it did. Now I'm going to search out some more of your stories.
Thanks for another look into the history of the West. I really enjoy the accounts and the friendly way you deliver them.
I was an intel analyst for the ASA in Germany and worked with a guy from Coffeeville KS. When I got out of the Army in 1977, I went to Coffeeville and got the tour. I never knew about The Daltons. The tour was by Steve Thurston from Coffeeville. He also worked at KIND Radio of Independence KS.
Oh! I've also been to "Cody Wyoming Buffalo Bills Saloon" and saw the Big Mirror that he imported from France I think. Love your work!
What’s amazing to me is that my grandparents were born in the 1880’s. I knew them well and grew up on their cattle ranch in NM. I have to say because of my early life, I understand how these townspeople thought. Any exciting event was, well their one chance at local fame. For example “Paul was there, you don’t say? …. And the story would grow as it is told over and over. Life was hard and often lonely. Stories were an important and even helped people gain local importance.
Love American history! Thank you. Greetings from South Africa!
I knew a local historian named Warren Dalton Jr - now deceased - whose father was born in Missouri in 1870. I jokingly asked him if he was related to the Dalton gang and he told me his father who was born in 1870 legally changed his name from Bob to Warren so as not to be confused with the outlaw.
What a great story! Thanks for sharing this! Greetings from Amsterdam the Netherlands.
Thank you for keeping history alive! God bless!
It's always neat hearing someone doing research and telling of our family history
Me too
As Blevins descendant, agreed.
I live just outside of Coffeyville. If you're ever there on the first weekend in October stop by and check out defender days! They do a reenactment of the shootout. Bob is right about the alley, being there really puts it into perspective, plus they have marked where the outlaws fell. Wish I had known you were in town, would have loved to talked with you about the place! Great video!!
Very similar to Northfield, MN. Defeat of Jesse James in September.
How many of the original buildings are still there now? How big a town was it back then? I am amazed at how many people were around at 9.3 am.
@@ValMartinIreland I’m from KC and shot a wedding there once years ago. I also have flown over it a few times. It’s not a large town now so get rid of the big box stores, parks, high school sports fields, etc and I’d imagine it’s about the same size.
Really. I live in Tulsa and when I moved here and realized that I was so close to Coffeyville & that I had to drive to independence I made our group stop to see the hitching post and graves.
I’m definitely going to go to the defender day in October this year. Had never heard about it til I read your comment.
I wish my mom's late husband was around to enjoy the internet. He would have loved your narrations. I have always loved the west (being from Tucson) and I enjoy your stories! Thank you for taking the time.
We can't imagine how hard life was then. I saw a show in the 1980's that did interviews with 80 to 100 year olds. All of them talked about how easy life is now.
Hard times make strong men who make easy times. Easy times make weak men who make hard times. I can at least count on a man from back then to have my back and not today's tick tock "are you mansplaining" type
I can speak upon how you hear about hair-triggers. We had a relative who was a sheriff in a texas town and he had a two-gun set up which I got to try on when I was a kid. Of course I was amazed at how heavy they were. The triggers were truly hair-triggers. I wondered how he ever got them out of their holsters without them going off?
Great story. Thanks for putting us there that day.
Hi Bob. What a great story , well told and totally entertaining. Thank you !
Thanks for another great episode. Keep them coming.
when you say people were playing with the bodies.... my father who is long dead now once told me when i asked him as a kid about how people were " in the old days ". ill always remember he told me "son... people were A holes back in those days"😂... thats always stuck with me!
Great talk. I fondly remember going on a trip and hitting the magazine store before the flight and getting a “True West” magazine. Loved it. I just did a subscription for two years…I really want to support and keep this magazine going.
After driving from Adobe Walls Texas, my best friend and I were heading to Dodge City KS and visited the Dalton Gang Hideout. It was their sister house and is setup for tourists. Really cool place and gives you sense of how it was for the gang.
I grew up in South Dakota and remembered my grand daddy would tell me old South Dakota history. Really enjoy this channel and the rich American history. Can you please give me information on your book.
My wife and I were in Tulsa for a concert, we had all afternoon to waste, so we drove up to Coffeyville to see the little museum there. I highly recommend it if you're interested in old west history.
Hey you did a great job turning this into a movie in my head. What a storyteller! I cant believe i havent found your channel until now. Excellent job sir i will be checking out the restnof your stuff!
Some great storytelling Bob. This channel gets my subscription and a like for the tale! Great stuff.
Love these old stories from the West.
Bob, I love these "True West history lectures." I have hardly ever read fiction. It's too boring when compared to history...
^^^ what he said
Anything amazing bit of history, so brilliantly narrated.
I was unable to watch last evening, so glad I could today. I absolutely enjoy your videos. Thank you for everything you share with us.
I don't know why they choose a weekday at 4pm. Most are still at work and dealing with family. How nice would a relaxed hour on Saturday or Sunday evening have been?
When I was little, I found out I was related to Emmett. Thought it was the coolest thing ever. My dad's side of the family all got us books about the Dalton Gang. The way you tell it is so easy to picture. Thank you! Alot of things I knew, but alot I didn't
Blevins, here. My great-grandma used to tell stories about patching them up after raids. It always felt cool to be descendant of such notorious figures.
My wife and I went through Coffeyville 11-19-21 on highway 169 to visit valued relatives in Humboldt. As we passed through Coffeyville area, we noticed a sign with arrow directing people to Dalton Cemetery, leaving an impression 4 Dalton brothers did not leave Coffeyville. A case for observing 2nd Amendment to USA Constitution happened on that day in 1892 it seems.
I spent a few days in Coffeyville back in 2007. It rained the entire time and when I was leaving, I fueled up and barely got out of town before the levees broke and destroyed the town.
@@beezertwelvewashingbeard8703 Well, it certainly did pretty much wipe out the East - Northeast side of town.
See my reply above concerning playing in the cemetery where the Daltons are buried.
No, not really an argument for the Second Amendment- there was no time for folks to run home and arm themselves.
Instead, we have several local hardware stores becoming improvised arsenals. Just like what happened to the James/Younger gang in Northfield...
I didn't realize any militia were involved.
Wow! Great perspective of a moment stranger than fiction! After 42 years of law enforcing and retired as a Tennessee sheriff, truth is stranger than any fiction writer can make up...
Being from the UK, I'm really fascinated by your channel. It's really good,and I love listening to your accounts of what a lot of people were like back then,be they lawmen or outlaws. I wonder if the hostage survived though? It makes me think, what an incredibly violent world it was back then.I can also imagine not everyone liked guns, and just tried to do their best to make it. Anyway, well done. :)
In 1870 there was roughly 38.9 million people living in the US with a quarter of the population living in urban areas and cities. Today we are upwards of 350 million. 2/3 of the population live in urban areas and cities today. Firearms were not required to have serial numbers and many did not back in the old west days. My grandfather bought a 12 gauge shotgun at the local hardware for $3.50 in the 1870s. I still have that gun among many others. As far as how many are actually registered.. LOL. You can figure that number to be probably four times higher. America has always been big on the gun because of our Wars. The right to keep and bear arms in the Constitution, and because of those wars, let Americans decide for themselves if they wanted to own firearms and most did. Guns were only unpopular with women and preachers, but some of those were even gunslingers, along with people that went to church. I don't carry a firearm these days. You can be held accountable for too much carrying those things around. However, laying beside me every night is a 9 mm automatic. And I live out in the country. There's not a robber around every corner, but thieves come and go, and houses get broken into on and off. Keeping a firearm beside you is a good idea. I never keep One in the Chamber though. I can't remember which famous Japanese officer made this comment, when it was suggested to him that they invade America during WW2. He said, it's impossible because there was a gun behind every blade of grass. There's a lot of Truth to that. There's probably 15 firearms in my own home
@@70stunes71 - The ironic thing is the US in Not even the biggest Gun ownership per percentage of population. I believe It's Finland is first, Switzerland is second (Where all Children are required to own, train with a pistol and a rifle every year). Then Israel is third. The US has the most guns per person, but only less than 50% of the population are gun owners. India has the biggest number of registered and unregistered guns.
@@inisipisTV Finnish snipers were some of the deadliest in WWII. Russia lost 40 soldiers for every Finn that was killed. Incidentally, some of the deadliest Russian snipers were women.
Great story told by a great storyteller !!
I appreciate your detailed research of the Dalton Gang’s fatal attempted robbery. It’s a fantastic story! You described it so well that I felt I was there! Has a movie ever been done on the robbery? I’m going to have to buy the book!
Great story. Thanks. I went there as a kid and now I want to go back and check it out. My grandfather farmed in that area for 80 plus years, so I went to Coffeyville all the time.
My Great Grandfather was an abandoned infant in Victoria Market, Victoria, Australia 🇦🇺.
His adopted name was George Dalton. He fought at Gallipoli in WW1.
He came back alive and married a Woman named Emma.
They had a son called Francis Arnold Dalton.
He fought in WW2 (Tobruk and New Guinea.
He came back and married Patricia Lillian Wilson.
They also had several children, the eldest was a boy named Phillip Douglass Dalton.
He was 23 when he married my mother Barbara Kubrick.
They had three children called Graeme Phillip Dalton, Stewart Geoffrey Dalton and finally a girl named Rachel Susan Dalton.
My name is Stewart Geoffrey Dalton and as far as names go.
I feel pretty blessed to hold the last name of Dalton.
So even though my genes are definately not related to any Daltons.
I still love these old western tales of gunslingers, moonshine runners and even the good old Gold Rush days of San Francisco or even the great trek on the Klondike Gold Rush days.
Different times and Ways back then.
Thank you for reading this far
Stay Blessed and Peace Be With You.
thanks for sharing
Just like the Great British government sent their criminals to Australia, you being from Autralia proved the name dalton means criminal.
@@jimsworthow531
Before sending convicts to Australia they were sent to America
The world is on a morbid curiosity kick with this sub.🙂
Great overview of the raid - I first went there in 1969 at 17 - taking my grandparents from Wyoming to Florida - my grandfather insisted we go - it was a great day and memory - I have been back several times - it still fascinates me -
More great content from True West Magazine! Thanks Bob!
My grandpa used to tell me a story about how the Dalton gang came to the farm & stole my great great grandfather’s horses in Gotebo Oklahoma.
Very interesting slice of western history, well told
Loved this! Thank you! I went to Coffeyville one weekend just to see the landscape. I drove a couple of miles out of town to see the burial site as well.
If you drove a couple of miles out of town to see the graves, You missed them. The graves are within the city limits of Coffeyville.
Just another great story here Dude, thanks 👍
Another great story, Bob. You have a talent for story telling. Would love to hear you tell stories about lesser-known Arizona lawmen, like Jeff Milton or Bob Paul. I'm partial to the lawmen, but you can't tell their stories without talking about the scoundrels they went after. Thanks, amigo.
what about the lessen-known lawmen like Skipper MacGee or Albert Wisaldav?
Nobody can tell a story like this guy. I always enjoy listening to him. Thanks.
Arizona historian Marshal Trimbal
When I saw The Dalton Gang museum in Coffyville as a young kid, that’s the place that really got me interested in the history of the Wild West and the outlaws, and I had no idea that my home state of Oklahoma had so many big time gangs, and gangster. Like the Barkers and Pretty Boy Floyd and the Central Park Gang all in Tulsa. I know they call the Tulsa race riot a massacre now to appease people, but I believe the gangsters like Doc Barker participated in killing those people, and it was all caused by the inciting lies from the Tulsa Tribune news paper, the media is still causing people to be killed today.
I grew up in Tulsa. I think Bill Doolin maybe met his end in OK too. It’s the nature of the land, outlaw-sanctuary. Folks even blasted each other in the land run. Respect to the Native history there.
What a astute observation, ....(money, popularity,)
Propaganda is a great tool of persuasion... Often used to bend the minds of the people, nothing changes, not then, and certainty not now!
Thanks for sharing interesting content 👍
Grandparents had a farm/ranch 30 minutes west of Coffeyville. Walked the streets there many times where the gang was shot down. Amazing everything is still there and looks pretty much the same. Great video.
I'm glad they kept the town's layout about same as it was. It's too bad Dodge City didn't do the same. They left a company put stockyards and slaughter houses so close to the city that it's really stinks.
What a wonderful recounting of this historic tale, hugely enjoyable, subscribed.
I happened on this video, and I believe it gives me information about a photo I have seen and may have a copy of, of my great grandfather in a yard with Bob and Emmit Dalon about two weeks before the Coffeyville raid. It has Bob wearing a Stetson hat.
Mr Taylor, according to my grandfather George W Dalton 1880-1957 on my mother's side said he's related to the Dalton Boys. Sure would like to see a copy of that photo of Bob wearing a stetson hat.
I Love these old Stories that are very much True. Amazing they are.
Wow I didn’t know they had time release safe vault’s in 1892 , also EMMETT study law and opened a practice in California
Beautifully done, sir! I am renewing my subscription as well!
Interesting.back in the early 1960s my family lived in coffeeville .me my sister and brother used to go to the condon bank and see the bullet holes in the window.we lived three or four blocks from downtown.
Fascinating. Thanks for telling the real stories of the old west. First time I've heard about this one.
Just came across this today. It interests me as I grew up next to members of the Dalton family in the San Francisco bay area. Their mother told me and showed me a family scrapbook. I don't really know what went on with that family but strange things happened. The younger son, whom I played Monoply with was always in trouble. The oldest son jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge when he was about 18. Interesting, but sad family. Really like your channel.
The youngest of the Dalton brothers survived the raid on Coffeyville. He wasn't exactly welcome to stay here. It's my understanding that Emmet left Kansas to move to California.
@@jtuttle11 so maybe my next door neighbors were really related to that family. There was some resemblance in the pictures, but that doesn't mean a claim is genuine. Hmm...interesting. Their father had a hair trigger temper. He was the Dalton, but he never talked about "that" background. He did look like he could have been related. He just up and walked off one day.
In the late 80s in Central IL I was friends with a Dalton family who were somehow related to the Dalton gang. They were descendents from 1 of the 15 Dalton siblings. But I doubt they from any of the 4 brothers.
I like how you said that you like to walk where it happened .. walking the same floor that they walked gives you a sense of realism .. they walked where you are standing .. its brilliant
Back in those days, it was not uncommon for former lawmen to become outlaws and for former outlaws to become lawmen.
Bad Frank Philips
You are perfect for telling these stories!👍🇬🇧
Unless I missed it, the last similarity between this and Northfield that you couldn't think of may have been that a brother went back to rescue another brother in both robberies.
Yes i believe that in both robberies in Northfield and Coffeeville, after being shot, one of the gangs brother went back to help the other; yes different places, times but all family related, Youngers and Daltons were first cousins and also in some way the 2 James boys. My grandpa on my mother's side was George Washington Dalton 1880-1957, was 3rd cousin. A few stories were told to me and my siblings by our mother. Thanks True West Magazine for your video, also my Grandpa Dalton told his story to the True West Magazine sometime in the 1950s
Daltons were related to the James's and were influenced by the Northfield raid.
That was really enjoyable!!! Thanks!
I've got to disagree with your statement that the law was absent during these raids, City Marshal Connelly of Coffeyville was killed by Grat Dalton in the alley as he attempted to cut off the outlaw's escape.
That is correct my friend. I grew up In Coffeyville. The City Marshall was killed in Death Alley rather early in the battle.
That's correct, I grew up in Coffeyville and he is celebrated as one of the Dalton Defenders.
Somewhat of an unpopular opinion, here, but Marshal Connelley was reported (by several eye-witnesses, including my great-grandfater, Ansel McMurtry, employee of Isham's hardware, and also reported in a book titled, "Not In My Town", by Ursula Turner) to have been accidentally gunned down in a hail of friendly fire from Isham's. He stepped out into the alley, amid a storm of lead, shouted at the escaping Dalton boys, "Stop in the name of the law, or I'll shoot!", and was promptly hit in the back by rifle fire from the hardware store shooters. Later, the vilification of the Dalton Gang lent a little more credence to the idea that Grat shot him dead, but local townsfolk testimony says otherwise! It's still a mystery, and never confirmed, but if you ask anyone at the Dalton museum in Coffeyville, they'll corroborate that story as "plausible".
Nothing like the old west for action and style and daring
Come on, everybody knows what really happened: Lucky Luke finally lost it.
Hahaha that's exactly what i thought 🤣🤣🤣 gawd Lucky Luke was the best man
Great stories. It would be very cool to add a few pictures of the current “back alley” and streets where it all took place. Thanks and well done.
We had a youth criminal gang nicknamed the Dalton's in my country a couple of decades ago. None of them got shot unfortunately.
Unfortunately?
@@rdallas81 Yes, I hate criminals with a passion, I feel no mercy towards them.
@@BillyTheBigKid82 everyone knows what they do is either wrong or right .
There is a "moral law" written in everyone.
Someone committing a crime always hides and runs because they already know inside what they did or do is wrong.
Be safe out there Bill
Robbing banks back then was barely considered a crime to most. Most people generally looked at the banks like we do the big wig corporations today.
I completely see your point, but stealing is stealing. If it isn't yours, you didn't find it somewhere, lost in a hole, and no one is willingly giving it to you, leave it alone.
You are incredible my guy, keep up the good work!
I just finished a book "Tough Towns" about how citizens in towns took up arms and killed the bad men.
Most of the towns were in Oklahoma from the late 1870's to the late 1930's.
Good times. Too bad things aren't like that now.
I grew up in El Dorado, KS and had friends in Coffeyville. Visited the town many times and always was fascinated with this event. Great story! Thanks for filling in details.
My roommate is a direct descendant of Virgil Earp, so this stuff catches my interest
Thanks for the story of the Dalton gang. Really enjoyed the way you told the history of this and wanting to hear more from you. Great job and hat's off to you👍🇺🇸🇨🇱
Enjoyed the story, was there a couple of year ago, they also have an interesting museum. Great place to visit and a bad place to park horses for a (2) banks robbery.. Thank you, look forward to more of your wild west stories.
Sometimes YT recommendations are spot on. I really enjoyed listening to you. Never realized that 'the Daltons' from Lucky Luke were a real gang. It was interesting. Thank you :).
Marshal Charles Conley was killed during the robbery. In the 80’s his step daughter was in a retirement home near me, and spoke about the event in a newspaper article.
RIP
Just found this channel. Gold!
That same rule applies today when it comes to the situation with the two Dalton Brothers that were one time in law enforcement. There's a very thin line between cop and criminal.
A very thin and extremely fragile line.
Just like "every cop is a criminal, and all the sinners saints"
Zero line between you and criminal then right?
@@Alcapone3176 Nope! That's a thin line between Cop and Criminal.
A very well known and commonly used phrase. Just wanted to make sure you got that right. Google it!
In this age of information, your ignorance is your choice.
The one you just made up, sounds like something you just pulled out of your ass.
@@dcuss7294 the thin blue line?
@@michaelbrownlee9497 Whatever 'you' wanna call it.
Hello from New Zealand thanks for excellent story… well done
I enjoyed the whole experience in Coffeyville when I visited. The museum didn't glorify the outlaws like many museum do but made heros out of the defenders.
It a great place so show how regular citizens if allowed can win against those who wish to destroy their town
theyre probably a little ashamed of the way they treated the dead, and even dead horses😂
This is awesome! This guy can really tell a story.
Messing with the bodies wasn't unusual. My grandmother saw Bonnie & Clyde's bodies laid out on the sidewalk in front of the funeral home and she noticed a lot of Bonnie's dress had been cut away and someone had tried to cut Clyde's trigger finger off. They had a deputy sheriff outside by the bodies after that until their families come from Texas to claim their bodies.
I don't believe that either
@@JohnDoe-ie1fe Doesn't matter whether you believe it or not, it happened. There is video online showing their bodies laid out in front of the the funeral home. My grandmother lived in the next small town over from where they were killed. Her older brother drove her over to see them. She was 12 at the time.
great job bob i really enjoy all your old west stories i learn so many details that i never knew excellent story teller keep em coming
I love the old west, however I'm glad I didn't live then. If one was well to do there were enough creature comforts but for the average person it was a hard life. I am sure Mr. Bell could expand upon that!
This is a great account! My father's Great uncle was one of the citizens that participated in the Coffeeville shoot 'em up...or so I was told. He was killed several years later when he was hit by lightning while bringing in his tractor before a storm.
I was told that one of my ancestors rode with the daltons. I think his name was Jim Hayman. He was hunted down and killed after he shot and murdered 2 marshals that were hunting him while they slept at their camp.
Your enthusiasm for the subject keeps the viewer's interest. There is nothing like a good storyteller. Attention to detail is a bonus.
take care
rwmccoy
I live in Australia, about 20 miles from the Beechworth Court where Ned Kelly was tried. A friend lives an hour to the south west. His wife's maiden name is Younger. Her great Great Grandfather's brother was Coleman Younger's father. It seems that English oppression made outlaws out of poor farmers on two different continents.
Ian Riordan - Didn't English oppression end with the War of Independence..?
@@davidearea242 Yes a 114 years after the war of independence and we were still getting the blame. Personally i blame the Romans
Bad seed.
@@alanbush4192 lousy romans bringing us paved roads and water projects.
Yep, English oppressors made them rob all those banks and trains. Oh, and murdering people when convenient. Life was hard for sure but they made a choice.
I really enjoy your videos..And your wonderful magazine.
Yes, I agree, why go down that narrow somewhat dark alleyway? We walked it as well, then went into the one hardware store that I believe was still owned by the same family, this was 2014. It was right across the street from the Congdon bank. Cool store with mostly all old displays in there, a rope operated elevator in the back, which we rode up on, just for fun. But, the neatest, oddest, to me anyway was the museum, where the gentleman who was working that day, asked me if I wanted to handle the rifle that was laying across the dead bodies in that famous photo. Well, I wasn't going to say no, so he got it out, and I "played" with it for a few minutes. It sounded like that was what he did with everyone who visited. Most times, there is NO way your going to handle an historic firearm. Even the historians wear white gloves, when they handle them. But to me, I thought it was just great, a 60 yr. old guy feeling like a kid in that moment. Love the Videos Bob.
Awesome story!
I really enjoyed this! Thanks. 👍🇬🇧
19:44 The road was paved by bad intentions!
Good pic, and a great reminder where all sin leads us! ✝️