Robber's Cave (Courtesy Photo)
The outlaws drove the pack train across the Texas plains and straight into Indian Territory, leaving a dozen dead Mexican Guardsmen in their wake. Eighteen burros were loaded down with more than a million dollars in gold bullion. They had reached the Wichita Mountains in late February as a blizzard slammed the mountain with gale-force winds and driving sleet. Jesse James and his gang made their way up the side of the mountain’s treacherous slope, struggling to keep the burros moving.
The boys had fought the frigid weather and deep snow for three and a half days and Jesse knew they wouldn’t last much longer. They were forced to turn the burros loose and bury the gold bullion, taking shelter in a nearby cave until the blizzard let up. Jesse nailed a burro shoe to the bark of a cottonwood tree near the cache of gold and emptied both of his six-shooters into the bark of another to mark the spot. The men etched out a contract on the side of an old brass bucket using a hammer and some tack that swore each one of them to secrecy about the location of the gold. Inscribed on the bucket were these words: “This is the 5th day of March 1876. We, the undersigned do this day organize a bounty bank. We will go to the west side of the Keechi Hills which is about 50 yards from (symbol of crossed sabers).
According to the Owlcation, “follow the trail line coming through the mountains, just east of the lone hill where we buried the jack (burro). His grave is east of a rock. This contract was made and entered into this V day of March 1876. This gold shall belong to who signs below” (owlcation.com).
The names on the bucket read; Jesse James, Frank Miller, James Overton, Rub Busse, Charlie Jones, Cole Younger, Will Overton, Uncle George Payne, Frank James, Roy Baxter, Bud Dalton, and Zack Smith. Shortly thereafter, the gang split up and Jesse James was shot to death by one of his own gang members on April 3, 1882, and the gold has never been recovered. Searchers have since found the markers, along with the brass bucket and a crude map, but the mountain keeps her secrets, and she keeps the gold to herself.
While Jesse and Frank’s gold may very well lie hidden in the bosom of the Wichita Mountains, others claim to have found over one million dollars in hidden treasure there. In 1850, 285 gold wedding bands were discovered by park employees east of the caves on Fourche Maline Creek, where the creek runs into an old stagecoach line. The Wichita Mountains became the object of French exploration in the eighteen-hundreds, and after they discovered gold in those hills, it was game-on. “The height of this gold rush came between 1901 and 1904 when over 20.000 prospectors filled the area” (owlcation.com).
The cave was the legendary hideout of the notorious James Gang and the infamous Belle Star, the “Queen of the Oklahoma Outlaws.” Star had a cabin about twenty miles north of the cave. It was known that she had given safe refuge to the outlaws, and she was said to be “in cahoots” with Frank and Jesse and the gang. Set in an area strewn with rock outcroppings topped by huge boulders, heavy forests, deep ravines, and ginormous caverns, the robber’s cave wasn’t easy to get back in the James Gang days and even harder to locate. With a natural stone corral at the base of the cliff for the ruffian’s horses, it was the perfect hideaway for the area’s famous outlaws of the day. The main cavern delves forty feet into the depths of the mountain and has a natural spring that bubbles up from below. There is rumored to be a secret escape route, known only to those desperados that dwelled there.
“The real ‘claim to fame’ for Robbers Cave, though, is as a legendary hideout for infamous Old West outlaws. Among the names commonly associated with the cave in local legend are those of Jesse James and Belle Starr.” According to Explore Southern History, a website dedicated to documenting the history of the southern United States. The cave was the legendary hideout of the notorious James Gang and the infamous Belle Star, the “Queen of the Oklahoma Outlaws.” Star had a cabin about twenty miles north of the cave. It was known that she had given safe refuge to the outlaws, and she was said to be “in cahoots” with Frank and Jesse and the gang. Set in an area strewn with rock outcroppings topped by huge boulders, heavy forests, deep ravines and ginormous caverns, the robber’s cave wasn’t easy to get to back in the James Gang days. and even harder to locate. With a natural stone corral at the base of the cliff for the ruffian’s horses, it was the perfect hideaway for the area’s famous outlaws of the day. The main cavern delves forty feet into the depths of the mountain and has a natural spring that bubbles up from below. There is rumored to be a secret escape route, known only to those desperados that dwelled there.
Osage and Caddoan Indian tribes used this area as a seasonal home and hunted its valleys for bison. Robber’s Cave State Park has more than 8,000 acres to explore and three lakes within its boundaries. You can fish for crappies, bass, and catfish or visit the beach for a day of fun in the sun. The park’s cliffs are one of the best rappelling and rock-climbing spots in Oklahoma, and it has three different hiking trails. A three-mile trail, a five-mile trail, and for those athletic types, a twelve-mile trail, as well as twenty-five miles of horseback riding trails. You can get a room at the infamous Belle Star View Lodge, pitch a tent, hook up at the RV park, or you can rent cabins by the week. The park also has equestrian campsites for all you cowboys and cowgirls.
Robbers Cave State Park is only 38 miles from the Oklahoma City limits, a perfect day trip that is fun for the whole family. The cave’s primitive surroundings make you think you have stepped back in time to when outlaws roamed these hills, taking refuge in the caves. It is easy to imagine Cole Younger and the Dalton Boys lounging around the entrance to Robbers Cave with the James boys, spinning tall tales around the campfire and laughing at each other’s jokes. Oh, if only these hills could talk.
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