Rose Dunn

Rose Dunn (1879?-1953?), also known as Rose of the Cimarron, was a woman best known for her beauty and good looks, and for her romantic involvement with outlaw George "Bittercreek" Newcomb in her youth, during the closing years of the Old West.

Early life, involvement with Newcomb

Rose Dunn was believed to have been born in Oklahoma, near Ingalls, in 1879. Her family was poor, but she received a formal education at a convent in Wichita, Kansas. Her two older brothers entered into a life as minor outlaws by the time she had reached the age of 12. She learned to ride, rope and shoot from her brothers. Through them, she met and became involved romantically with George "Bittercreek" Newcomb around 1893, when she was either 14 or 15 years of age. The gang that Newcomb ran with worshipped her due to her good looks and her calm and kind demeanor, and were fiercely defensive of her, spawning her loyalty to them.

She was completely infatuated by Newcomb, and began supporting Newcomb's outlaw life by venturing into town for supplies, as he was a wanted man and could not. Newcomb by that time was riding with the Wild Bunch gang led by famous outlaw Bill Doolin. Her brothers, however, had left the outlaw life and had become well-known Bounty Hunters, calling themselves the Dunn Brothers.

On September 1, 1893, the gang was cornered in Ingalls by a posse of US Marshals, in what became known as the Battle of Ingalls, resulting in an intense shootout. A western legend has it that Newcomb was badly wounded, and while he lay in the street, Rose Dunn is alleged to have ran from the "Pierce Hotel" to his location with two belts of ammunition and a Winchester rifle. She fired the rifle at the Marshals while Newcomb reloaded his revolvers, and Newcomb was able to escape. However, that account has never been varified, and was never mentioned by the US Marshal official report, which indicated that Newcomb at best fired two shots then fled.

Three Deputy Marshals were killed during the shootout, with Newcomb and gang member Charley Pierce wounded, but escaping. Gang member "Arkansas Tom" Jones was slightly wounded and captured by Deputy Marshal Jim Masterson. Together with Newcomb and other members of the gang, Rose Dunn hid out for at least two months, her acting as a nurse to help them back to health.

By 1895, Newcomb had a $5,000 bounty on him, wanted dead or alive. He and outlaw Charley Pierce began hiding out near Norman, Oklahoma, both of them having been wounded in a gunbattle with US Marshals. On May 2nd, 1895, the Dunn Brothers shot and killed both Newcomb and Pierce as they dismounted in front of the Dunn house to visit Rose. The brothers then collected the bounty, believed to have been $5,000 each.

Later life

After the killing of "Bittercreek" Newcomb, Rose Dunn was often accused of having set him up, revealing to her brothers as to where the outlaws were hiding. She denied this, and her brothers later defended her, stating that she had no knowledge of their intentions, nor did she reveal the hideout to them. She was never prosecuted for her involvement with the gang. Her short outlaw life launched her to the level of western legend. She eventually married a locally known politician, and lived the remainder of her life as a respectable citizen. She is believed to have died in 1953, at the age of 73.

Trivia

*A first cousin, Bill Dunn, was a cattle rustler killed in Pawnee, Oklahoma during a shootout with US Marshal and Old West gunman Frank Canton in 1896.

* Rose Road, in Payne County, is named for her.

External links

* [http://www.legendsofamerica.com/WE-WomenList.html#Rose%20Dunn,%20aka:%20The%20Rose%20of%20Cimarron Rose of the Cimarron partial bio]
* [http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Acres/2957/bittercreek.html Bittercreek Newcomb]
* [http://www.grahamleader.com/news/get-news.asp?id=9538&catid=5&cpg=get-news.asp Loyal to the end]
* [http://www.ionet.net/~okhombre/days.htm Last Days of Bill Doolin]