The Buck Gang Rampage
Rufus Buck (1877 – 1896) was born in the Indian Territory, today’s Oklahoma, to a Creek Indian father and an African American mother. Soon after hitting puberty, he formed a multiethnic teenage gang – all Indians, African Americans, or mixed race – and developed some nebulous ideas of sparking a Native American uprising. His chosen method was to lead his gang on a rampage of robbery, rape, and murder, that terrorized white settlers, Indians, and African Americans alike.
On July 28th, 1895, the gang started their rampage by killing a deputy US Marshal. On the way back, they raped a middle aged widow. They then robbed and killed a man for his horse. A few days later, they robbed a salesman, stripped him naked, and offered him a chance to escape. When he unexpectedly succeeded in escaping, they killed his assistant in frustration. They then raped and murdered two women and a 14 year old girl. On August 4th, they raped a woman in front of her husband, whom they held at bay with rifles. At least two of their rape victims died of their injuries.
Posses were formed to apprehend the gang, but while the posses combed the countryside, Buck and his gang brazenly rode into Okmulgee and robbed three stores. Whenever they encountered somebody riding a horse they liked, they offered to trade, and shot the rider if he declined. On the outskirts of Eufala they came across a black child, and shot him just to see him twitch as he died.
On August 10th, US Marshalls tracked the gang to their hideout near Muskogee. A furious firefight ensued, ending with the gang’s surrender after they ran out of ammunition. Taken to Fort Smith for trial, they were found guilty of rape, murder, and robbery, and sentenced to death. After appeals were exhausted, Rufus Buck and his gang were hanged on July 1st, 1896.