Bill Raidler, known as "Little Bill" Raidler ( - 1904) was an American

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

of the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

, and member of the

Doolin-Dalton ''Desperado'' is the second studio album by the American band the Eagles. It was released on April 17, 1973, by Asylum Records. The album was produced by Glyn Johns and was recorded at Island Studios in London, England. The songs on ''Desperado'' ...

gang. Raidler was born William F. Raidler in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, and raised to be an educated man. However he had an adventurous side, and drifted down to

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

where he became a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

, then eventually ventured up to

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

, where he met

Bill Doolin Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. He joined Doolin's gang around 1892. He was involved in numerous

bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...

and

train robberies In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

, as well as a number of shootouts with lawmen. On September 6, 1895, Raidler was trailed to a hideout in Oklahoma by Deputy US Marshal

Bill Tilghman William Matthew Tilghman Jr. (July 4, 1854 – November 1, 1924) was a career lawman, gunfighter, and politician in Kansas and Oklahoma during the late 19th century. Tilghman was a Dodge City city marshal in the early 1880s and played a role in ...

. Raidler engaged Tilghman and his two deputies in a gunbattle, and was shot in the wrist by Tilghman. As he attempted to flee, Tilghman shot him two more times, once in the back and once in the neck. Raidler survived, and was sentenced to ten years in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...

. He was released in ill health in 1903, suffering greatly from his gunshot wounds that never completely healed. He died a year later. At the time of his death, he was one of only two surviving members of the Wild Bunch gang, as well as one of only two members who survived into the twentieth century. Roy Dougherty, the last surviving member, outlived him by 20 years.

External links

"Little Bill" Raidler
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raidler, Bill American bank robbers Criminals from Pennsylvania Cowboys Deaths by firearm in Oklahoma Outlaws of the American Old West People from Oklahoma People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States Year of birth missing