Published: May 09, 2008 09:46 am            

Stillwater Rotary told wild west story

Oklahoma has been known for its wild west stories in books, magazines and movies. Most of the stories were fiction, but occasionally one will hear a true story. The Stillwater Rotary Club was fortunate to hear a former law enforcement officer tell of his experience tracing down a notorious gunman in Oklahoma.

Steve Bunch had earned a degree in police science from Northern Oklahoma College. It had been his goal all of his life to serve in that capacity. An Oklahoman and a member of the Cherokee Nation, Bunch had served in various capacities as a policeman. He now resides in Perkins and upon an invitation, issued by club member David McCroskey, to speak to the Rotary club, Bunch agreed to do so.

The episode involving Ben Craven became an important part of Bunch’s life. A widely known, even infamous, gunman, Craven had a knack for keeping his freedom. He was stealthy, sly and even quite clever. One of his specialties was the thievery of cattle. In one such instance he was caught and jailed. As mentioned, he valued his freedom and devised a scheme to make his escape from the jail. Craven whittled a gun from a piece of wood and used it to make his escape.

Searches for the best known thief in Oklahoma were numerous and virtually futile. He was an expert horseman and would leave his pursuers searching for his trail. He was the culprit in numerous bank robberies, using a specific technique that fooled the bankers every time. Even so, Craven did not escape the law’s bullets altogether. It was known that he carried one in his scalp and one in his chest. Physicians who attended him when injured provided that information.

Time went on and Craven was not caught to face his punishment. In fact, he was never caught and thus faced no punishment by lawmen. Bunch had followed his trail many times without success. It was a nuisance that was always on his mind. He never forgot that Craven was still out there. He tried every trick in the book but the clever robber baron made his escape. In time, there was no evidence that Craven was still loose and raiding banks and cattle herds and Bunch still had an unfinished job on his mind. He continued to seek out clues to the man’s whereabouts. Learning that Craven had moved his tactics into Missouri from whence no further word came about him. There was, however, a rumor circulating throughout law enforcements offices, that Craven had assumed another name.

Bunch followed a hunch and made his way into Missouri. visiting locations where Craven was known to have been, searching for someone using the pseudonym the thief had assumed. With no further hints regarding the thief’s activities, Bunch began searching cemeteries. With good fortune following him, Bunch found a gravestone in a Missouri cemetery with the pseudonym on it that Craven had taken. Bunch could then say with certainty that Craven had died, using his pseudonym, in 1950. Steve Bunch ended his story, a true one, with a smile.

        

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