He was steely eyed, hard riding and straight shooting; a soft-spoken, tee-totaling lawman who never drew his gun...unless he meant to use it. Among other things he was also a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter, rancher horse breeder, saloon keeper, politician…even a movie maker. His name was Bill Tilghman and of all the heroes of the Old West he was one of the last, one of the most heroic, and a legend in his own time. Tilghman is about his life and the woman who memorialized his adventures. Tilghman began his career in Dodge City in 1878 when his friend Bat Masterson, newly elected sheriff, made him under sheriff. Still going strong in 1924, the 70-year-old Tilghman was called out of retirement to help rid Cromwell, Oklahoma, of bootlegging gangsters. In 1878 the bad guys rode horses; in 1924 they drove Piece-Arrows and Fords and flew airplanes. Frontier outlaw or prohibition hoodlum, Tilghman fought them all. In his lifetime he saw the vast herds of buffalo disappear from the great plains and Oklahoma transformed from Indian territory and outlaw haven into homesteading land and booming oil country. Oklahoma City evolved from a collection of muddy tents and shacks into a thriving metropolis. It was a dramatic transformation and Bill Tilghman helped make it happen. Beside him through most of that transformation was his wife, author Zoe Agnes Stratton. Zoe not only had an up close view of the various outlaws her husband pursued, but was instrumental in preserving those daring exploits on paper. The short stories and books she wrote about Tilghman’s life as a law enforcement agent helped make him a celebrated figure throughout the West. Zoe recorded Marshal Tilghman’s capture of such criminals as the Doolin Gang, Cattle Annie and Little Britches, and the Jennings brothers. She also wrote of his friendship with such well-known figures as Marshal Heck Thomas, Marshal Bass Reeves, and Judge Isaac Parker. When Bill Tilghman was gunned down in 1924 by a corrupt
The book Tilghman is not only the story of a man - it’s a colorful, exciting history of the last days of the Western frontier. It’s also the story of a woman, desperate to hold onto her family and honor the life of the man she loved so dearly.
