Rose Dunn,
outlaw or rebellious teenager??? One may look back at Rose Dunn’s actions as
just a young rebellious teenage girl in love, but history has called her an outlaw. Rose was an attractive
young girl who was born in 1879 near Ingalls, Oklahoma. Even though she was
from a poor family, she received a formal education at a convent in Wichita,
Kansas. Rose learned to ride, rope
and shoot from her 2 older brothers who were minor outlaws when Rose was young.
Through her 2 brothers, Rose met George "Bittercreek" Newcomb and it
was "love at first site."
Rose or
Rose of the Cimarron, as she was called by Newcomb, became romantically
involved with him around 1893 when she was either 14 or 15 years old. Newcomb
and his gang the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang worshiped Rose because of her good looks and her
calm and kind demeanor. The gang was extremely protective of her and in turn
she was especially loyal to them. Rose being completely infatuated by Newcomb
began supporting him and his outlaw lifestyle by going into town for the gangs
supplies since the law wanted all in the gang.
George "Bittercreek" Newcomb
While Rose
was helping the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang and Newcomb, her 2 brothers left the outlaw
life and became well known bounty hunters called the Dunn Brothers. Soon Rose's
outlaw life would end too.
In 1893 in
Ingalls, Oklahoma the Doolin-Wild Bunch Dalton gang was in George Ransom's saloon. Soon U.S.
marshals surrounded the saloon demanding the outlaw’s surrender. Needless to
say the gang did not go quietly. The gun battle started and quickly became an
intense shootout; know today as the Battle of Ingalls. Now there is some
speculation on whether this part of the story is true. It has been said that
Newcomb was badly injured during the shootout. While he was lying in the
streets, Rose ran from the Pierce Hotel to bring him two belts of ammunition
and a Winchester Rifle. When she got to Newcomb she fired the rifle at the
Marshals while Newcomb reloaded his revolvers and was able to escape.
During the
shootout 3 deputy Marshals were killed and Newcomb and Charley Pierce were
wounded, but they both managed to escape. Newcomb, other members of the gang,
and Rose hid out for at least two months. Rose nursed all the injured back to
health. At this point there was a $5,000 bounty out for Newcomb, dead or alive.
Now,
remember Rose's brothers were bounty hunters. On May 1895 Newcomb and another
gang member, named Pierce came to visit Rose at her home. The Dunn Brothers
shot both Newcomb and Pierce as they dismounted their horses in front of the
house. Rose was later accused of setting the outlaws up by letting her brothers
know when they were coming. The Dunn Brothers and Rose denied this fact. Rose
was never prosecuted for her involvement with the gang. Rose's life of crime
ended and she married a local politician and lived the remainder of life as a
respectable citizen until her death at the age of 76.
Her
rebellious teenage years or her life as an outlaw however you decide to look at
it did one thing and that was to catapult her into the level of a western
legend.
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