Frank Eaton
Encyclopedia
Frank Boardman "Pistol Pete" Eaton (October 26, 1860 – April 8, 1958) was an American
author, cowboy
, scout, Indian fighter, and Deputy U. S. Marshal
for Judge Isaac C. Parker
.
, and at age eight moved with his family to Twin Mounds, Kansas in Osage County
to homestead.
When Eaton was eight years old, his father, a Vigilante
, was shot in cold blood by six former Confederates
, who during the war had served with the Quantrill Raiders. The six men, from the Campsey and the Ferber clans, rode with the southerners who after the war called themselves "Regulators
."
In 1868, Mose Beaman, his father's friend, said to Frank, "My boy, may an old man's curse rest upon you, if you do not try to avenge your father." That same year, Mose taught him to handle a gun, but it would take nineteen years for Frank to avenge his father.
, a cavalry fort, to learn more about handling a gun. Although too young to join the army, he outshot everyone at the fort and competed with the cavalry's best marksmen, beating them each time. After many competitions, the fort's commanding officer, Colonel Copinger, gave Frank a marksmanship badge and a new nickname. From that day forward, Frank would be known as "Pistol Pete."
During his teen years, Eaton was reputed to be faster on the draw than Buffalo Bill. From his first days as a lawman, he was said to "pack the fastest guns in the Indian Territory
." By the end of his career, Eaton would allegedly have eleven notches on his gun.
He began serving in Indian Territory as a deputy U.S. Marshal
at the age of seventeen, under Judge Isaac C. Parker, who was known as the "hanging judge." Eaton's territory extended from southern Kansas to northern Texas
. He would later say that from the start of his career as a lawman he began tracking down his father's killers, claiming that by 1887 he had killed five, and that the sixth only escaped his sixgun by being shot by someone else in a dispute over a card game.
Eaton was said to have been given a cross by a girlfriend, which he wore around his neck and which saved his life when it deflected a bullet during a gunfight. He would write later that, "I’d rather have the prayers of a good woman in a fight than half a dozen hot guns: she’s talking to Headquarters."
Eaton would serve as either a marshal, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff until late in life. At twenty-nine, he joined the land rush
to Oklahoma Territory
. He settled southwest of Perkins, Oklahoma
where he served as sheriff
and later became a blacksmith
. He was married twice, had nine children, 31 grandchildren, and lived to see three great-great-grandchildren. He died on April 8, 1958 at the age of 97.
Frank Eaton lived the life of a true cowboy. He usually carried a loaded .45 Colt
and often said "I'd rather have a pocket full of rocks than an empty gun." He was also known to throw a coin in the air, draw and shoot it before it hit the ground. The common saying in the mid-western United States, "hotter than Pete's pistol," traces back to Eaton's shooting skills, along with his legendary pursuit of his father's killers.
parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma
with Cowgirl "SPO" Phillips and Cowpoke "Real Deal" Rieger, a group of Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) students decided that Eaton's "Pistol Pete" would be a suitable mascot for the school.
Previously the college had been known as the "Princeton
of the Prairie" with a tiger mascot and colors of orange and black. Many at the school were unhappy with the "Tigers" mascot and felt "Pistol Pete," symbolic of the American Old West
and Oklahoma's land run roots, better represented the college.
However, it was not until 1958 that "Pistol Pete" was adopted as the school's mascot. The familiar caricature of "Pistol Pete"
was officially sanctioned in 1984 by the university as a licensed symbol.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author, cowboy
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 vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of...
, scout, Indian fighter, and Deputy U. S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
for Judge Isaac C. Parker
Isaac Parker
Isaac Charles Parker served as a U.S. District Judge presiding over the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas for 21 years and also one-time politician. He served in that capacity during the most dangerous time for law enforcement during the western expansion...
.
Early life
Eaton was born in 1860 in Hartford, ConnecticutHartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, and at age eight moved with his family to Twin Mounds, Kansas in Osage County
Osage County, Kansas
Osage County is a county located in east-central Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16295. Its county seat is Lyndon, and its most populous city is Osage City. The county along with Shawnee, Jackson, Jefferson, and Wabaunsee counties is...
to homestead.
When Eaton was eight years old, his father, a Vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
, was shot in cold blood by six former Confederates
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, who during the war had served with the Quantrill Raiders. The six men, from the Campsey and the Ferber clans, rode with the southerners who after the war called themselves "Regulators
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
."
In 1868, Mose Beaman, his father's friend, said to Frank, "My boy, may an old man's curse rest upon you, if you do not try to avenge your father." That same year, Mose taught him to handle a gun, but it would take nineteen years for Frank to avenge his father.
Adult life
At the age of fifteen, before setting off on his mission to avenge his father's death, he decided to visit Fort Gibson, OklahomaFort Gibson, Oklahoma
Fort Gibson is a town in Cherokee and Muskogee counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 4,054 at the 2000 census. It is the location of Fort Gibson National Cemetery and is located near at the end of the Cherokees' Trail of Tears at Tahlequah, Oklahoma.Colonel Matthew Arbuckle of...
, a cavalry fort, to learn more about handling a gun. Although too young to join the army, he outshot everyone at the fort and competed with the cavalry's best marksmen, beating them each time. After many competitions, the fort's commanding officer, Colonel Copinger, gave Frank a marksmanship badge and a new nickname. From that day forward, Frank would be known as "Pistol Pete."
During his teen years, Eaton was reputed to be faster on the draw than Buffalo Bill. From his first days as a lawman, he was said to "pack the fastest guns in the Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
." By the end of his career, Eaton would allegedly have eleven notches on his gun.
He began serving in Indian Territory as a deputy U.S. Marshal
United States Marshals Service
The United States Marshals Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice . The office of U.S. Marshal is the oldest federal law enforcement office in the United States; it was created by the Judiciary Act of 1789...
at the age of seventeen, under Judge Isaac C. Parker, who was known as the "hanging judge." Eaton's territory extended from southern Kansas to northern Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. He would later say that from the start of his career as a lawman he began tracking down his father's killers, claiming that by 1887 he had killed five, and that the sixth only escaped his sixgun by being shot by someone else in a dispute over a card game.
Eaton was said to have been given a cross by a girlfriend, which he wore around his neck and which saved his life when it deflected a bullet during a gunfight. He would write later that, "I’d rather have the prayers of a good woman in a fight than half a dozen hot guns: she’s talking to Headquarters."
Eaton would serve as either a marshal, a sheriff or a deputy sheriff until late in life. At twenty-nine, he joined the land rush
Land run
Land run usually refers to an historical event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened for homesteading on a first arrival basis. Some newly opened lands were sold first-come, sold by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other than a run...
to Oklahoma Territory
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 the State of Oklahoma.-Organization:Oklahoma Territory's...
. He settled southwest of Perkins, Oklahoma
Perkins, Oklahoma
Perkins is a city in Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,272 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from Walden Perkins, a congressman who helped establish the local post office. The Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma is headquartered here....
where he served as sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
and later became a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
. He was married twice, had nine children, 31 grandchildren, and lived to see three great-great-grandchildren. He died on April 8, 1958 at the age of 97.
Frank Eaton lived the life of a true cowboy. He usually carried a loaded .45 Colt
.45 Colt
The .45 Colt cartridge is a handgun cartridge dating to 1872. It began as a black powder revolver round developed for the Colt Single Action Army revolver, but is offered as a magnum level handgun hunting round in modern usage. This cartridge was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and served as the...
and often said "I'd rather have a pocket full of rocks than an empty gun." He was also known to throw a coin in the air, draw and shoot it before it hit the ground. The common saying in the mid-western United States, "hotter than Pete's pistol," traces back to Eaton's shooting skills, along with his legendary pursuit of his father's killers.
Author
Frank Eaton wrote two books that exemplify the life of a veteran of the Old West. His first, an autobiography titled Veteran of the Old West: Pistol Pete, tells a tale of his life as a Deputy United States Marshal and cowboy. His second book, which was published thirty years after his death, is entitled Campfire Stories: Remembrances of a Cowboy Legend. Campfire Stories is a collection of yarns and recollections that Frank Eaton would pass along to the many visitors that came to sit a spell on his front porch in Perkins, Oklahoma.From Cowboy to mascot
After seeing Eaton ride a horse in the 1923 Armistice DayArmistice Day
Armistice Day is on 11 November and commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front of World War I, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day...
parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater, Oklahoma
Stillwater is a city in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. 177 and State Highway 51. It is the county seat of Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 45,688. Stillwater is the principal city of the Stillwater Micropolitan Statistical...
with Cowgirl "SPO" Phillips and Cowpoke "Real Deal" Rieger, a group of Oklahoma A&M College (now Oklahoma State University) students decided that Eaton's "Pistol Pete" would be a suitable mascot for the school.
Previously the college had been known as the "Princeton
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
of the Prairie" with a tiger mascot and colors of orange and black. Many at the school were unhappy with the "Tigers" mascot and felt "Pistol Pete," symbolic of the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
and Oklahoma's land run roots, better represented the college.
However, it was not until 1958 that "Pistol Pete" was adopted as the school's mascot. The familiar caricature of "Pistol Pete"
Pistol Pete (mascot)
Pistol Pete is the athletics mascot of Oklahoma State University, New Mexico State University and the University of Wyoming. The Pistol Pete mascot costume features traditional cowboy attire and a headpiece resembling Frank Eaton...
was officially sanctioned in 1984 by the university as a licensed symbol.
Director's Award
On March 15, 1997, the National Cowboy Hall of Fame posthumously honored Frank Eaton with the prestigious Director's Award. Eaton's youngest daughter Elizabeth Wise, together with Oklahoma State University President James Halligan, accepted the award for Eaton.Sources and external links
- Kansas State Historical Society, Frank "Pistol Pete" Eaton
- Pistol Pete page at OSU