William Blake

Who was William Blake?

William "Tulsa Jack" Blake was an outlaw of the Old West, and member of the Wild Bunch gang. He had been a cowboy in Kansas through the 1880s, before drifting into Oklahoma Territory, where in 1892 he met outlaw Bill Doolin, and joined Doolin's Wild Bunch gang, sometimes called the Oklahombres, or the Doolin-Dalton Gang.

He took part in numerous bank robberies and train robberies, and was a key figure during the gangs shootout with US Marshals in Ingalls, Oklahoma in September 1893, during which three Deputy Marshals were killed. On April 4, 1895, Blake was tracked to a hideout in Major County, Oklahoma, by a posse led by Deputy Marshal Will Banks. During a fierce gun-battle that lasted over 45 minutes, Blake at first held the Marshals off. However as he broke cover to flee, he was shot and killed by Deputy Marshal Banks. His death marked the beginning of the downfall of the Wild Bunch Gang.