“Outlaws and lawmen of Oklahoma’s past are living characters under Ken Butler’s pen.All the ‘good guys’and the ‘bad guys’ are here, with a few who were both!â€
—Chuck Parsons, Western historian

“Ken Butler has outdone himself on the book More Oklahoma Renegades. This fine narrative companion to his Oklahoma Renegades breathes life into many more wild characters of the powder-stained Southwest, and it will be a valued addition to those interested in outlaw-lawmen history.â€
—Herman Kirkwood, president of the Oklahoma Outlaws Lawmen History Association

“With his powerful language and thrilling stories of the past, Butler ‘lassos the spirit of the Wild West in all of us.’â€
––Annie Withers, The Ozarks Mountaineer

In the Twin Territories, as Oklahoma was known before statehood, renegades roamed, and attempted to rule, the land. Famous lawmen like Bill Tilghman, Heck Thomas, and Chris Madsen and infamous outlaws, including the Dalton and Bill Cook gangs, have been the topics of many books, documentaries, and magazine articles. Other lesser-known characters from Oklahoma’s past have received little, if any attention—until now.

Train robberies, murders, prison breaks, and hangings were part of everyday life in the Twin Territories, and they are all featured in More Oklahoma Renegades. Stories like that of Ira Terrill are included here. Serving on the Oklahoma Territorial House of Representatives, Terrill advocated for tougher murder laws, enacting a law that allowed Kansas to work prisoners in the coal mines. After a particularly heated argument, Terrill was the first to be arrested under the law and serve under such conditions. After his release, he concentrated his efforts on exposing the injustice of forcing inmates to work as slaves, inspiring lawmakers to later cancel the arrangement. Others mentioned include doctor-turned-deputy Zeno Beemblossom and the banker-turned-hero Ben Kiehn.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
What began as research for a short article by author Ken Butler quickly turned into five years of work, resulting in his first book, Oklahoma Renegades: Their Deeds and Misdeeds. Ken Butler was a lifetime member of the National Association for Outlaw and Lawman History and a charter member of the Association for the Preservation of Lawman and Outlaw History of Oklahoma (Oklahombres).

MORE OKLAHOMA RENEGADES
By Ken Butler
384 pp.  5½ x 8¼  97 photos  6 maps  Biblio.  Index
ISBN:
EAN: 978-1-58980-464-7 pb