The Wild Adventure of a Man Named Shirley

Part II of II

Last week, we left Shirley G. Wilkins of La Grange in the small detached office of a store in Catoosa, Indian Territory on the night of February 7, 1895. His friend, Sam Irvine, had just been shot in an attempted robbery by Jess Cochran. Wilkins had returned fire and killed Cochran. Out of ammunition, he slid his shotgun on the floor next to Irvine and hid behind a bureau as Cochran’s partner, Jim French, one of the last members of the Bill Cook gang, entered the building and said, “Come out with your hands up and I will not kill you.”

“I told him I was coming, which I did very promptly. As I appeared he stood near the entrance with his winchester in his left band and his 46 revolver in his right, cocked and leveled at me. He ordered me to stand and not come too close. I obeyed him. He then ordered the three citizens [French’s hostages] to pick up Irvine and place him on the bed, and to bring in Cochran and lay him on the floor. He then wanted to know if I killed his friend. I told him I did not, and he seeing the shotgun on the floor where Irvine was lying, must have believed me, else he would have killed me at once. He then ordered one of the citizens to take off Irvine’s watch and put it in his pocket, which was done; all the time I was hands-up and the pistol pointing at my head. He then ordered me to take off my watch which I did and gave it to him and he put it in his pocket. He then demanded my money, of which I had a dollar and some small change in my pocket, which he got. About this time lrvine had revived enough to get hold of his pistol, which was under the pillow, and fired, the ball striking French in the neck just front of the left ear and ranging forward came out below his right eye. lrvine fired a second shot which took effect, and French, in the meantime, fired a shot at him, but it struck the bed railing, doing no damage. French then retreated to the hotel, got on his horse, which was hitched in front of it and rode off.

He went about a mile to the cabin of a full-blood Indian, who was living alone with his little child; ordered him to make up a fire, make a pallet for him, hitch his horse, then pull off his boots. This all being done, the Indian took his child and slipped out and went to a neighbor’s and told him about French being at his house. This Indian at once repaired to town and told the citizens, and in a short time a crowd gathered and went to the house where French was, and as they approached him he made some kind of a demonstration and a young man named Tom Tansel [or Tansley], from Tennessee, finished him by emptying a load of buckshot into his head.” [At this point in the story, other accounts say the citizens were too afraid to enter in the darkness and waited until morning, when they found that French’s legs had fallen into the fire and that his feet had been burned off.]

“I [stayed] with my friend Irvine until he died, and his remains were taken to Vinita and buried, and I then accompanied U. S. Deputy Marshal Taylor, who took charge of French’s remains, to Fort Smith, where they were fully identified as those of Jim French, the noted murderer and robber, for whose arrest, dead or alive, large rewards are said to have been offered. I arrived back here Monday, having been absent a week, lacking a few hours. “I can say that I never want to pass through another such scene or anything similar to it.”

Now, we might wonder whether Wilkins had actually participated in this episode. Several accounts referred to the store manager, Irvine, as Sam Irwin and one reported that Irwin’s store clerk, Tommy Watson, was the person who unloaded his shotgun on Jess Cochran. One account named Wilkins, but describes him as the store’s watchman. The Fort Smith, Arkansas newspaper reported that “Shirley Wilkins of Abilene, who killed young Cochran,” and Tansley had arrived at Fort Smith with French’s body, but they would not return to Catoosa for fear of retaliation.

Finally, one account of the incident stated that a “Texas cowboy” had killed Cochran. Wilkins and his brother, Bushrod, had been brought up raising stock, so that was probably a fair description. In 1899, the brothers bought a lot on Washington Street, just south of the La Grange square, and erected a livery stable. Shirley Wilkins married Virgie Moore here in 1901. However, they would not enjoy a long marriage. In December 1905, tuberculosis claimed Shirley Wilkins at age 39. He now rests in the Old La Grange City Cemetery.

Sources :

The Cherokee Advocate, Claremore, Indian Territory, February 6, 1895

Cleveland County Leader, Fort Smith, Arkansas, February 16, 1895

La Grange Journal, La Grange, Texas, February 14, 1895 and December 21, 1905

“James Kell “Jim” French, Sr., 8 Jun 1872 – 6 Feb 1895,” entry in the Citizens Cemetery, Fort Gibson, Muskogee County, Oklahoma on www.findagrave.com

William Bird Interview. Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, https://digital.libraries.ou.edu/utils/getfile/collection/indianpp/id/3600/filename/4234.pdf

The Spell of The West: Bill Cook Gang, http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/outlaws/cook.html

The Cook Gang: Plaguing Indian Territory, https://www.historynet.com/the-cook-gang-plaguing-indian-territory.htm