Outlaw Al Jennings, like many others of his day, operated on both sides of the law during his time in Oklahoma. He was born in Virginia in 1863 and given the name Alphonso. A Shawnee newspaper stated in an article in 1902 that he cut off the last two syllables of his name to keep them from being shot off when he arrived in Oklahoma Territory in the early 1890s.

The record of his life is riddled with contradictions, many fueled by Jennings’ own exaggerated stories. But we know he had studied law before arriving in Oklahoma Territory and was elected as district attorney in El Reno in 1890. He had three brothers — Ed, Frank and John — all of whom also were lawyers.

In 1894, Al joined his brothers Ed and John in a law firm in Woodward. Some time after this, Ed was killed in an altercation with Temple Houston, son of the famed Texan, Sam Houston. John Jennings was wounded in the fight. When Houston was acquitted of any wrongdoing, Al Jennings turned bitter and turned against the law.

He left Woodward and wandered between the Twin Territories for a time, finally taking work as a ranch hand in the Creek Nation, possibly at the Spike S Ranch near Bixby. With his brother Frank, Jennings turned to a life of crime, forming the Jennings Gang with two Irish brothers named Patrick and Maurice O’Malley.

The Jennings Gang built their reputation as train robbers, though there are wildly different claims about the success of their villainy. Their crime spree covered only a few months in the summer and fall of 1897. But it was enough to warrant a large reward for their capture.

In late November of 1897, deputy marshals converged on the Spike S Ranch where the Jennings Gang was hiding. In the ensuing gunfight, Al and the O’Malley brothers were wounded, but not seriously. Jennings was shot in the leg. They were able to slip away from the ranch, however, and made their way south through the Creek Nation.

Deputy Marshal James “Bud” Ledbetter tracked them in the intrepid fashion that had built his own reputation. Often referred to as a “bloodhound,” Ledbetter was known to stay on the trail of an outlaw for days and even weeks, and he rarely failed to make an arrest.

Ledbetter caught up with the Jennings Gang at Carr Creek near Onapa in McIntosh County. Some reports say he captured the gang single-handedly without firing a shot. He brought them to the federal prison in Muskogee where Dr. F.B. Fite was called upon to tend their wounds.

Jennings was tried and sentenced to life in prison, but his legal connections enabled him to get a much reduced sentence of five years. After he got out of prison, Jennings returned to practicing law, wrote a book of his life story, went on the lecture circuit, did a little preaching and even ran for governor of Oklahoma. He then felt the call of Hollywood and moved to California where he spent his latter days making movies and spinning tall tales about his life in Oklahoma.

Reach Jonita Mullins at jonita@netscape.com.