sheriff or Davis, had no ties to the county or to state officials. The
Tribal Council adopted a formal resolution that stated:
WHEREAS, in no case have the criminals been apprehended and brought to
justice, and,
WHEREAS, the Osage Tribal Council deems it essential for the preservation of the
lives and property of members of the tribe that prompt and strenuous action be
taken to capture and punish the criminals...
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Honorable Secretary of the Interior be
requested to obtain the services of the Department of Justice in capturing and
prosecuting the murderers of the members of the Osage Tribe.Later, John Palmer, the half-Sioux lawyer, sent a letter to Charles
Curtis, a U.S. senator from Kansas; part-Kaw, part-Osage, Curtis
was then the highest official with acknowledged Indian ancestry
ever elected to office. Palmer told Curtis that the situation was
more dire than anyone could possibly imagine and that unless he
and other men of influence got the Department of Justice to act,
the “Demons” behind the “most foul series of crimes ever
committed in this country” would escape justice.
While the tribe waited for the federal government to respond,
Mollie lived in dread, knowing that she was the likely next target
in the apparent plot to eliminate her family. She couldn’t forget
the night, several months before the explosion, when she had been
in bed with Ernest and heard a noise outside her house. Someone
was breaking into their car. Ernest comforted Mollie, whispering,
“Lie still,” as the perpetrator roared away in the stolen vehicle.
When the bombing occurred, Hale had been in Texas, and he
now saw the charred detritus of the house, which resembled a
wreckage of war—“a horrible monument,” as one investigator
called it. Hale promised Mollie that somehow he’d avenge her
family’s blood. When Hale heard that a band of outlaws—perhaps