given birth to their tenth child, about a hiding spot where he had
stashed evidence that he had been gathering on the murders. If
anything should happen to him, he said, she should take it out
immediately and turn it over to the authorities. She would also
find money there for her and the children.
When Vaughan got to the hospital, Bigheart was still conscious.
There were others in the room, and Bigheart motioned for them to
leave. Bigheart then apparently shared his information, including
incriminating documents. Vaughan remained at Bigheart’s side for
several hours, until he was pronounced dead. Then Vaughan
telephoned the new Osage County sheriff to say that he had all the
information he needed and that he was rushing back on the first
train. The sheriff pressed him if he knew who had killed Bigheart.
Oh, he knew more than that, Vaughan said.
He hung up and went to the station where he was seen boarding
an overnight train. When the train pulled in to the station the next
day, though, there was no sign of him. OWNER VANISHES LEAVING
CLOTHES IN PULLMAN CAR, the Tulsa Daily World reported. MYSTERY
CLOAKS DISAPPEARANCE OF W. W. VAUGHAN OF PAWHUSKA.
The Boy Scouts, whose first troop in the United States was
organized in Pawhuska, in 1909, joined the search for Vaughan.
Bloodhounds hunted for his scent. Thirty-six hours later,
Vaughan’s body was spotted lying by the railroad tracks, thirty
miles north of Oklahoma City. He’d been thrown from the train;
his neck was broken, and he’d been stripped virtually naked, just
like the oilman McBride. The documents Bigheart had given him
were gone, and when Vaughan’s widow went to the designated
hiding spot, it had been cleaned out.
The justice of the peace was asked by a prosecutor if he thought
that Vaughan had known too much. The justice replied, “Yes, sir,
and had valuable papers on his person.”