Comanche Jack Stilwell

And his infamous brother

Simpson Everett “Jack” Stilwell celebrated his 18th birthday by volunteering for a suicide mission.

Jack Stilwell

On September 17th, 1868, Stilwell and 48 other civilian scouts, under the command of Major George Forsyth, came under attack by an overwhelming number of Cheyenne Dog Soldiers under Roman Nose.

The frontiersman fought their way to a little sandbar on the Arikaree River (near present-day Wray, Colorado) and hunkered down to make a stand. Digging into the dirt and firing from behind their dead horses, Jack and the others repelled charge after charge from the warriors; sustaining their fair share of casualties in the process.

When the smoke finally cleared that night, four scouts were dead along with fifteen wounded, including Major Forsyth.

Early the next morning, on Jack’s birthday, he volunteered to go for help. He was initially rebuked as being too young but the incapacitated Forsyth quickly scribbled off a note and bid Stilwell and another scout named Pierre Trudeau good luck, likely thinking he’d never see either of them again. Matter of fact, the Major would soon send out an additional two men, under the assumption that Jack and Pierre wouldn’t make it.

Nevertheless, and against all odds, Stilwell and Trudeau were able to sneak their way through hundreds of warriors, crawling on their bellies the first several miles. For the next couple of days, the pair would travel only at night, eating rancid horse flesh for sustenance, until finally reaching Fort Wallace and delivering Forsyth’s dispatch.

Despite Jack being thoroughly exhausted and his feet swollen from cactus needles and thistles, he insisted on being part of the relief party that rode to rescue his besieged comrades.

Another scout would later describe Stilwell as “one of the bravest, nerviest, and coolest men in the command.”

Jack would continue scouting for the Army for many years, working out of Kansas, Texas, Arizona, and Indian Territory. And, later in life, he’d even pin on the badge of a deputy U.S. Marshal.

An interesting life, indeed. One made even more so once you discover who Jack’s brother was.

Frank Stilwell

Does the name Frank Stilwell ring a bell? Maybe this scene from the movie Tombstone will jog your memory.

Yep, that’s Frank Stilwell - Jack’s kid brother - who Wyatt Earp blasted with that scattergun.

Frank is thought to be one of the men who killed Wyatt’s brother, Morgan, in March of 1882. And when Comanche Jack heard about what happened, he lit out for Arizona looking to even the score.

Despite spending a few weeks hunting down Earp, along with John Ringo and a few of the Arizona cowboys, Jack gave up the search and returned to Oklahoma. Kinda makes you wonder what would have happened if he and Wyatt had come face to face, though, huh?

Stilwell would later become a lawyer, ultimately dying of pneumonia in 1903. And, coincidentally, he’s buried in Cody, Wyoming’s Old Trail Town, very close to the grave of recent Wild West Extravaganza topic John “Liver Eating” Johnson.

If you’d like to hear more, feel free to check out this older episode I did on the Battle of Beecher Island and, just in case you missed it, I recently released a brand new episode yesterday on a young Indian Territory bandit known as Cherokee Bill. You can find part one here.

Speaking of Cherokee Bill, below is the photo I mentioned during said episode.

Cherokee Bill and his arresting officers

That’s Bill with his hands in his pockets (duh) and to his left (with the #1 on his hat) is Ike Rogers, the Cherokee Freedman who helped capture him. As soon as the photographer snapped this picture Cherokee made a mad rush for the pistol in Deputy Crittenden’s (#4) holster. Unfortunately for Bill, he was a tad too slow. Instead of blasting his way to freedom he was simply placed in shackles and sent to Fort Smith to meet with the infamous Hanging Judge Parker. Hear more about Bill’s early life here and stay tuned next week as we discuss his ultimate fate.

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Adios!