The Day Coffeyville Bled

The debate over whether or not a female was in close proximity to the Daltons on the morning of October 5, 1892, has been an ongoing issue. Many researchers and historians agree and disagree on a variety of finer points to the question. Some say no female was present and no female was ever on location to watch as the Daltons met their defeat at the hands of the law. Other researchers say that it was a female who brought down the fiery wrath of death upon the heads of the outlaw brothers, but again she was not at the scene.

Evidence is presented on both sides of the controversial idea and both factions have their points for conjecture. However, a single piece of evidence seems to escape every session of disagreement and that item rests comfortably today in its glass enclosure in the Dalton Museum in Coffeyville. The body of Bob Dalton was picked over and pieces of his clothing were cut and ripped away. Dalton’s personal belongings were acquired and later sold or kept secretively in private family collections for many years. Folded neatly in Bob Dalton’s pocket was a right-handed woman’s riding glove. This glove was retrieved from the dead outlaw’s body on the morning of the battle, by Perry Landers, who was employed by Isham’s Hardware Store at the time. The glove is available for viewing today, and it is in perfect condition and appears to have never been worn or at least worn so carefully as not to have been scared through rough treatment.

The significant point to be made is that the glove is for the right hand; it would appear to be the “extra” glove, the one not needed by its owner. The style at that time, as well as today, was to ride a horse using the left hand to hold reins, allowing the rider to have free access of her right hand. This would accommodate ease in roping and shooting should the need arise.

The romantic side to this item is Bob Dalton was given his fair maiden’s glove, a token of her love and devotion. A gesture of luck for the forth-coming battle. Apparently he had accepted it with pride and carried it with him into death.

Julia Ann Johnson was born a favorite child and raised on a farm. Her upbringing was in the company of her four brothers—three older and one younger. She also had an elder sister. With the limited number of female playmates her own age on hand, she was most likely to become tomboyish. This masculine attitude was also carried over into her latter years when she was known to have associated with several bisexual women.

Julia Ann was known to be able to play the piano and the organ. She was also seen in public on a variety of occasions with a gun in her hand and never feared to use it or at least threaten its use. It has not been determined if Julia Ann, herself, ever attended classes in a college or held any type of formal education, but it is very unlikely due to the rough exterior she often exhibited. However, Jennie Mae Johnson, another of the women associated with Emmett Dalton, did have some higher education. She was repeatedly sent away to schools where she was to learn of the finer arts of being a young lady.

This likeness of Eugenia Moore is complete in all respects, with the primary exception of her age. It is a known fact that Julia Ann was twenty-two years old at the time of the Coffeyville raid and her sister, Lucy Ann was about two years her senior. At every instance Moore is described as being much younger, having been born in 1875, however this would not preclude her presence at the Coffeyville scene, but rather simply make her only seventeen years old.

On March 31, 1956, John Tackett, noted Dalton photographer, died in Coffeyville, Kansas. His obituaries tell of the fame he had once gained by being present on the day the Dalton Gang was shot down. They also explain the important association with Emmett Dalton, which lasted for years after Emmett’s prison release. Apparently the strong background in photography coupled with his personal knowledge of that black day in history and Tackett’s business sense, unified Emmett and Tackett into a motion picture producing combination. Together they were to rewrite the episode for the world to see, as they saw fit. The remainder of the lines in the death notice, concerning Tackett’s life, are also spelled out with his many other accomplishments.