Collector publishes gunfighter history

As one of the nation's foremost authorities on Old West collectibles, Len Gratteri can now add the title "author" to his list of accomplishments with the printing of "William Sherod Robinson - Alias Ben Wheeler."

"I'm excited and relieved it's finished," said Gratteri. "The reaction of my peers has been very positive when I attended the Wild West History Association Convention in Ruidoso, New Mexico. They loved the detail and compelling story."

Gratteri is the owner of Old West Collectibles & Books in Sisters and has accumulated an envious array of American frontier memorabilia and rare first edition books over the course of 25 years. His new book on the notorious Texas lawman-turned-outlaw has just been published by Nortex Press, completing a 20-year journey into the past to bring a legend to life.

It's a 277-page account of the Medicine Valley Bank robbery in Medicine Lodge, Kansas, and the lynch mob that captured and hung the outlaws at the end of a tight rope. Gratteri wrote the book with the help of authors and historians Rod Cook and James Williams

"It's an important story because it contains all the exciting components of frontier justice. That kind of stuff happened very rarely and almost never all together as it actually occurred. Hollywood movies make you believe it went on every day, but it really didn't," said Gratteri.

Robinson was a tall, ornery gunman wanted for intent to kill, horse thievery and deadly assault when he abandoned his wife and four kids and headed north out of Texas. Another marriage gave him a new name - Ben Wheeler - and he landed a job in 1882 as an assistant marshall in Caldwell, Kansas, helping Marshall Henry Brown, once an associate of Billy The Kid, to tame the tough cattle town.

On April 30, 1884, they attempted to rob the bank in the neighboring town of Medicine Lodge, along with two ranch hands from the T-5 Ranch in southern Texas. The botched heist resulted in Wheeler killing a cashier and Brown shooting the bank president, who spun the vault dial just before dying. A posse was dispatched and cornered the gang in a redrock box canyon during a torrential downpour, knee deep in mud, and hauled them back to town to be strung up.

At 9 p.m., the jail was stormed by unknown townsfolk seeking revenge. Brown tried to run but was nearly cut in half by a charge from a 10-gauge shotgun. Wheeler was shot in the shoulder and also lost two fingers. Black powder caused his wool vest to catch fire. The mob dragged the remaining three down to the creek basin and hanged them in an elm tree. Their wives claimed the bodies that night.

Gratteri's link to the storied events of 1884 go far beyond mere words and exhaustive research. He is the proud owner of the actual Colt .44-40 single-action revolver and marshall's badge belonging to the dastardly Ben Wheeler, as well as a small coil of the hanging rope.

"The finding of the badge started it all back in 1988. Norm Moore, an antiques dealer in Portland told me about a box he got ahold of from 98-year-old Alice Wheeler, the last surviving member of the Wheeler family," Graterri said.

"It contained the actual silver Assistant Marshall badge of Wheeler's, some books on Caldwell and vintage family photos."

Gratteri purchased the lot and the hunt was on to compile more information on the subject.

"I told my wife I needed a project as I got older, a project in a pioneer area of research that had never been touched," he said.

The Wheeler gun was held in a private collection in England for years until it went up for auction at Christies in New York in 1998.

"It had never been lettered or authenticated through Colt records but I knew it had been well documented," said Gratteri. "I bid by telephone and won with a high bid of $13,000. I was just reaching my limit but I wanted the gun to go with the badge. It needed it and I couldn't let it go."

Behind his office desk, Gratteri scans the library, considering his next project and drifting back to another time.

"You'd think public figures from Caldwell would have been recognized," he said. "But when you're desperate, you do stupid things. These guys didn't play smart."

Gratteri plans on attending the Sisters Western & Native American Arts Festival, held September 4-5 at Creekside City Park. He'll be answering questions and signing copies on Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. His book is available in softcover at local bookstores and online at

http://www.amazon.com.