Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Ned Christie For Western Wednesday...!

Here is another character from the days of the old west that gave lawmen a run for their money.

Turns out he was in the right to do so. Here is his story straight from the folks at Listverse.

Ned Christie



People said Ned Christie was a shapeshifter, able to morph into an owl or hog when enemies approached. That would’ve been a good trick, since Ned Christie had a lot of enemies. For five years, this giant fought the best lawmen in the Indian Territory, and each time, he outwitted, outgunned, or outran his foes.

His life as a fugitive started in 1887 when Deputy US Marshal Dan Maples was gunned down. Authorities arrested a man who claimed Christie was the killer. Ned was a member of the Cherokee National Council and had been in town on tribal business when Maples was shot. When he learned he was a suspect, Christie refused to turn himself in.

He skipped town and hunkered down inside his home. With friends and relatives acting as sentries, the Cherokee held off lawman after lawman, including the legendary Bass Reeves, until 1889, when they set his cabin on fire.

Though the flames blinded his right eye, Christie escaped into the hills, where he built his Cherokee castle. It was a fort inside a heavy wooden wall with sand filling the gap. And for good measure, Christie built the thing on a cliff inside a natural rock barrier.

Christie defended his fortress for three years until Deputy Marshal Paden Tolbert showed up with 25 men, a load of explosives, and an Army cannon. Over the next few days, lawmen fired 38 cannonballs and 2,000 bullets before rushing the cabin with an improvised wooden shield and several sticks of dynamite. The fort exploded, forcing Christie to make a run for it. With a pistol in each hand, he charged the posse like Butch and Sundance but was cut down.

As Christie’s corpse made its way to Fort Smith, crowds gathered to get a look at the famous outlaw. Ned’s body was even propped up for photos at the Fort Smith courthouse. Then in the early 1900s, a witness came forward and testified that someone else had shot Dan Maples. Ned Christie was an innocent man.

Many innocent folks were hung back in those days, it seems. Kinda a rush to justice, I reckon.

Coffee out on the patio this morning.

6 comments:

linda m said...

In a lot of cases there was a rush to justice; but at least in a lot of cases there was justice. Not like today where criminals are treated with kid gloves and in some cases justice is never even seen. Good story.

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

But chasing him for 3 years doesn't seem like much of a rush, does it?

JO said...

I've read this story before and it still rankles me. Of course most of the stories about killing off innocent Native Americans do.

Coffee on the patio it is. I resaved you blog lets see if this works.

HermitJim said...

Hey Linda...
Must be hard to find the right balance between justice and vengeance. Luckily most of us never have to make that choice.
Thanks for stopping by this morning!


Hey Sis...
Pretty good for that day and age, actually.
Many thanks for coming by this morning!


Hey Jo...
I knew that this one would make you hot under the collar.
Thanks for dropping by today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

That is one of the problems with capital punishment. If proven innocent later on, there is no reprieve after the accused person is dead.

HermitJim said...

Hey Dizzy...
Being found innocent after the fact doesn't mean much to a dead man, only helps the reputation. Like you said, no reprieve.
Thanks for the visit, buddy!