CATCHING A KILLER

HOW BILL TILGHMAN'S HUNT FOR OUTLAW BILL DOOLIN MADE THE OKLAHOMA LAWMAN A LEGEND.

- CHRIS ENSS

When legendary lawman Bill Tilghman was killed in the line of duty in November 1924, his distraught wife, Zoe, was left with $80 and the monumental task of caring for their three sons alone. Inspired by the women who had penned books about their accomplished husbands, including Elizabeth Custer, who was married to Gen. George Armstrong Custer, and Jessie Benton Fremont, who was married to explorer John Fremont, Zoe hoped a book written about Tilghman would bring him the recognition she felt he deserved and provide necessary revenue.

According to Zoe, "My husband was one of the West's greatest peace officers. He hunted down famous outlaws and killed when he had to. But Tilghman was more than an expert gunman who fought on the side of the law. He and other men who held dangerous jobs as sheriffs and marshals did the work of civilization along the whole frontier."

Zoe was already a respected author who had written several published articles and poems for various magazines. Her first book, titled The Dugout, was about the life of early Oklahoma pioneers and was scheduled to be printed by Harlow's Publishing Company, a subsidiary of the newspaper where she was employed, in the fall of 1924 after Tilghman was killed.

In early 1925, she persuaded Victor Harlow, the founder of the publishing firm, to invest in a manuscript based on the life and services of the slain marshal. She had no way of knowing the tragedies and trials she'd experience would keep her from completing the book until the late 1940s. The content of the book did not pose a difficulty. Bill Tilghman was a legend who had lived an adventurous life, but Zoe was dealing with the death of one of her sons and the arrest of another for murder.

The Man with the Star