Our Man in Catoosa: Jim French?

“Big Jim” French, reportedly a half-Cherokee drifter from Indian Territory,[1] was a cowhand employed by John Chisum[2] who joined the McSween-Tunstall faction at the outbreak of the Lincoln County War. He participated in the assassination of Sheriff William Brady, and was wounded in the ensuing skirmish. He was with his companions when they were pursued and fired upon by Sheriff Long’s party outside of San Patricio. He was in McSween’s home, along with William H. Bonney and others, during the Five Days’ Battle in the town of Lincoln. But shortly after the winding down of the Lincoln County War, Jim French disappears from history.

There are many theories and ideas about where Jim went. There is a letter from Jim French to Sam Corbett, reminiscing about standing guard duty for the Susan McSween and remarking that she still owes French money, but it’s authenticity is disputed.[3]

James Kell French, pictured here, was born in 1872 and was in no way connected to Billy the Kid or the Lincoln County War

Many people claim that after leaving New Mexico, Jim French joined the Cook Gang (led by outlaw Bill Cook), and was killed along with “Slaughter Kid” in February of 1895. It’s very likely that the image which finds wide circulation in historical circles claiming to be Regulator Jim French finds its source in newspaper articles about the death of this Cook gang member.

Was former Regulator Jim French a member of the Cook Gang in Oklahoma (then Indian Territory) in the 1890s?

No.

Bill Cook, along with his brother Jim, took to outlawry sometime around 1893 or 1894. They were connected to train holdups all over Indian Territory, along with mail holdups, horse theft, and petty robberies. Other members of the gang included Crawford Goldsby, alias “Cherokee Bill,” Bill Doolin, Jim Turner, “Skeeter,” Sequoyah Houston, and “Buz Lucky.”

James Kell French joined the gang around 1894. He was born in June of 1872, the son of Thomas French. He went to the seminary at Tahlequah, and graduated with high honors, going into saddle-making after graduation. He married Nannie Rider in 1893. French was described as having “loftier instincts” than Bill Cook, and was never a rowdy whisky drinker or common thief like Cook.[4]

Although leading an upright life in good standing in his local community up to this point, sometime after 1893, French got into trouble at Fort Gibson. He was arrested at Fort Smith for carrying a pistol and placed in jail, from which he escaped by cutting his way out. From there, he joined up with the Cook Gang.[5]

In November of 1894, Fort Smith newspapers reported that Jim French and other members of the Cook Gang assaulted three young women in Oolagah, ten miles north of Claremore. The men approached on horseback, dismounted with their revolvers held on the women, and forced the women off the road into the bushes. Jim French was reportedly recognized by one of the victims, and the newspapers reported he “is one of the handsomest and best educated young men in the nation. He is 22 years old.”[6] At the end of November, French was tracked down by a posse, but escaped capture after a gunfight.[7]

Things were heating up for French at the end of 1894. By November, he was already known as Bill Cook’s “second lieutenant.” He had jumped bond at Fort Smith, and a $200 reward was put up by French’s uncle.[8]

Things were heating up for French by the end of 1894, and it was reported that he and Bill Cook had parted ways[9]. After being spotted in Eufaula on the December 3rd,[10] he and other members of the gang attempted to rob the store of J.R. Pearce in Texana. The men got away with about $20 worth of merchandise before they were fired upon and chased out of town by the two store managers.[11] On December 11, the gang robbed a country store in Golconda, taking about $100 worth of money and merchandise.[12]

A likeness of James Kell French taken from the photograph. Published by many contemporary newspapers, including the Nemaha County Herald on September 20, 1895.

In January of 1895, in Brooken, he shot a man named Scott Fisher, then, after subduing his victim, shot him again in the foot “for fun.” French had another man saddle Fisher’s race horse, and rode away.[13]

Jim was riding with Sam McWilliams,[14] alias Slaughter Kid, in early February of 1895. On the 7th of that month, the two young men rode into Catoosa, and dismounted in front of E.A. Patton’s general store. A store manager by the name of Irving (or Irvine) was sitting inside with an unidentified “Texas cowboy.” When French and the Kid attempted to enter, the cowboy opened fire with his revolver, killing the Slaughter Kid instantly, and wounding French in the midsection and throat. French fled to a nearby house. The house owner fled his home, and reported to the other residents that French was bleeding out in his residence.

When a posse of townspeople approached, Jim French lifted his head to look out from where he was reclining below the window, and instantly received a shotgun blast to the face.[15]

French’s body was taken to the jail at Fort Smith, and was identified by his brother Tom as being the noted outlaw. Jim was shot in the face with a load of buckshot, entering under his left eye, and blowing out the back of his head. As he fell, his feet landed in the fireplace of the home, and his right foot was burned off at the ankle. The body was shipped to Tahlequah, to the French family home. Jim’s brother Tom’s only regret was that Jim didn’t live long enough to kill Isaac Rogers and Tom Scales, which was the destination Jim was traveling to as he passed through Catoosa.[16]

While we still don’t know for certain the origins or fate of the Regulator known as Big Jim French, we can at the very least rule out one more possibility, as well as put to rest the circulation of a spurious photograph. James Kell French, bandit and one-time leader of the Cook Gang, was not the same Jim French that took part in the Lincoln County War.

On the body of James Kell French was a note, written by himself, which read:

“Bandits, beware of women! It’s hard to live in hell, to die and go to hell, but it looks like such is the fate of J.K. French.”[17]

[1] Coe, Frank, interview, March 20, 1927. [2] Utley, Robert, Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life [3] Contents and discussion of the letter can be found on the Historynet website: Big Jim French and the Lincoln County War (historynet.com) [4] “Cook Gang Cornered,” The Herald Statesman, Yonkers, New York, October 29, 1894, p. 3. [5] “Cook Outlaws Located,” The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, November 1, 1894. [6] “Assaulting Girls,” Chickasaw Chieftain, Ardmore, Oklahoma, November 15, 1894, p. 2. [7] “Lost Him in the Brush,” The Columbus Weekly Advocate, Columbus, Kansas, November 29, 1894, p. 1. [8] “Cook Outlaws Located,” The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, California, November 1, 1894. [9] “Jim French’s Crowd,” Minneapolis Daily Times, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 4, 1894, p. 4. [10] “Jim French’s Crowd,” Minneapolis Daily Times, Minneapolis, Minnesota, December 4, 1894, p. 4. [11] “Bandits Repulsed,” Chickasaw Chieftain, Ardmore, Oklahoma, December 27, 1894, p. 2. [12] “Robbed by Jim French,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri, December 13, 1894, p. 1. [13] Muskogee Phoenix, Muskogee, Oklahoma, February 6, 1895, p. 3. [14] “Held Up by Jim French,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, St. Louis, Missouri, p. 2. [15] “Wipes Out Cook Gang,” The Saint Paul Globe, Saint Paul, Minnesota, February 8, 1895, p.8.” [16] “Jim French’s Body,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 9, 1895, p. 2. [17] “Last of the Tribe,” Nemaha County Herald, Auburn, Nebraska, September 20, 1895, p. 3.