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Bluford Duck
Jun 17, 1859 - May 7, 1895
Blue Duck,
sometimes referred to as Bluford
Duck
was an
outlaw
of
the
Old
West. He was probably best known
for a photograph taken of him around the mid-1880s, in which he posed with Belle
Starr, a famous Old West female
outlaw.
Blue Duck was born in the
Cherokee
Nation
, with the name of
Sha-con-gah.
By the early 1870s, Duck was riding with gangs across the
Oklahoma
Territory
committing
armed
robberies
and acts of
cattle
rustling. He became involved
romantically with
Belle
Starr along that time. After she
married
Sam
Starr, she and her husband formed
their own gang, which Duck joined. He is believed to have ridden off and on
with that gang through most of the latter part of the 1870s.
On June 23, 1884, he and Outlaw William
Christie were riding in the Flint District of the Cherokee Nation, and the
two men came upon a farmer named Samuel Wyrick. For no apparent reason, the
two outlaws opened fire on the farmer, emptying their
revolvers
into
him, killing him. They then reloaded and fired on a young Cherokee boy who'd
witnessed the
murder
missing him but shooting his
horse
from
beneath him. They were both captured by
Deputy
US Marshal
Frank
Cochran
, and taken before
Judge
Isaac
Parker
, known as the "Hanging
Judge", in
Fort
Smith, Arkansas
Both were convicted, but Christie was later cleared of the charge and
released. Blue Duck was sentenced to
hang
but later the sentence was reduced to
life
in prison
He was sent to Menard Penitentiary in
Chester,
Illinois
as
Inmate # 2486. Blue Duck was assisted in an unsuccessful
appeal
by
Belle Starr. In 1895, he was diagnosed with
tuberculosis
and
given only a short time to live. At that time, he was granted a
pardon
and
released. He died shortly thereafter in
Catoosa,
Oklahoma
where he is buried.
His
grave is in the Dick Duck cemetery in Catoosa, Rogers county.
He was one of the main characters in the
Lonesome Dove series, a
series
of four
western
novels
written
by
Larry
McMurtry
and
the five
television
miniseries
and
two
television
series
based
upon them.
series is set within historical events and characters, although they are
often adapted or altered to accommodate the fictional timelines of the
main characters.
The novels and miniseries follow the exploits of several members of the
Texas
Ranger Division
from
the time of the
Republic
of Texas
up
until the beginning of the 20th century. Recurring characters include
Augustus "Gus" McCrae, Woodrow F. Call, Joshua Deets, Pea Eye Parker, Jake
Spoon, Clara Forsythe Allen, Maggie Tilton, Lorena Wood Parker, Blue Duck,
and Buffalo Hump.
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