A BYTE OUT OF
HISTORY
Murder and Mayhem in the Osage Hills
01/26/05
Found: In
May 1921, the badly decomposed body of Anna Brown—an Osage Native
American—in a remote ravine in northern Oklahoma. The undertaker
later discovered a bullet hole in the back of her head. Anna had no known
enemies, and the case went unsolved ...
That might
have been the end of it, but ... just two months later, Anna's
mother—Lizzie Q—suspiciously died. Two years later, her
cousin Henry Roan was shot to death. Then, in March 1923, Anna's sister
and brother-in-law were killed when their home was bombed.
One by one,
at least two dozen people in the area inexplicably turned up dead. Not
just Osage Indians, but a well known oilman and others.
What did they
all have in common? Who was behind all the murders?
That's what
the terrorized community wanted to find out. But a slew of
private detectives and other investigators turned up nothing (and some
were deliberately trying to sidetrack honest efforts). The Osage Tribal
Council turned to the federal government, and Bureau agents were detailed
to the case.
Early on,
all fingers pointed at William Hale, the so-called "King of the
Osage Hills." A local cattleman, Hale had bribed, intimidated,
lied, and stolen his way to wealth and power. He grew even greedier
in the late 1800s when oil was discovered on the Osage Indian Reservation.
Almost overnight, the Osage became incredibly wealthy, earning royalties
from oil sales through their federally mandated "head rights."
Hale's connection
to Anna Brown's family was clear. His weak-willed nephew,
Ernest Burkhart, was married to Anna's sister. If Anna, her mother,
and two sisters died—in that order—all of the "head
rights" would pass to the nephew ... and Hale could take control.
The prize? Half a million dollars a year or more.
Solving the
case was another matter. The locals weren't talking. Hale
had threatened or paid off many of them; the rest had grown distrustful
of outsiders. Hale also planted false leads that sent our agents scurrying
across the southwest.
So four of
our agents got creative. They went undercover as an insurance
salesman, cattle buyer, oil prospector, and herbal doctor to turn up
evidence. Over time, they gained the trust of the Osage and built a
case. Finally, the nephew talked. Then others confessed. The agents
were able to prove that Hale ordered the murders of Anna and her family
to inherit their oil rights ... cousin Roan for the insurance ... and
others who had threatened to expose him.
In 1929,
76 years ago this week, Hale was convicted and sent to the slammer.
His henchmen—including a hired killer and crooked lawyer—also
got time. Case closed … and a grateful community safe once more.
Want more
details? The case files—all 3,274 pages of them—are
available free of charge on our Freedom of Information Osage
Indian Murders web page. Also see our Indian
Country website for today’s efforts to protect Native Americans.