Deputy U.S. Marshal William Pitts

William Pitts

Deputy Marshal William Pitts was shot and killed while investigating reports that three men were smuggling liquor into the Indian Territory from Texas.

Deputy Marshal Pitts set up surveillance at Lake West, about 35 miles north of Paris. When he saw a wagon being driven by three men traveling north, he stepped from the brush and stopped them. The three men identified themselves as Isam Frazier, Lige Woods, and Jim Allen. When Deputy Marshal Pitts said he suspected them of liquor smuggling, and started to search the wagon, a confrontation ensued.

One of the men ripped Deputy Marshal Pitts' pistol from its holster and shot him in the stomach. He died within minutes. Allen and Wood were acquitted but Frazier was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to a long prison term.

Deputy Marshal Pitts served in the Eastern District of Texas, which included the southern part of the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma)