In the early hours of a Monday morning, March 12, 1906, a group of lawmen, including Deputy United States Marshal Isaac L. 'Ike' Gilstrap, found themselves in a fatal confrontation near Spavinaw Creek in Craig County. Gilstrap, a large man of about two hundred fifty pounds, was part of a posse that had located the notorious Wickliffe brothers, who were wanted in connection with the death of another lawman.
The officers had tracked the fugitives to the home of their uncle, Jim Wickliffe.
As the marshals attempted to make an arrest, a fierce gun battle erupted. In the ensuing chaos, Ike Gilstrap was shot in the forehead and killed. He managed to eject a single cartridge from his weapon before succumbing to his wound. Another deputy, Dick Terry, was also wounded in the ambush. The outlaws had strategically killed the officers' horses to prevent any chance of escape. Despite the violence, several members of the posse managed to retreat under a hail of bullets.
Following the shootout, the Wickliffe brothers once again vanished. The search for them continued, and eventually, a man named Hungry, who had been with the gang, was captured. He confessed that John Wickliffe was the one who had shot and killed Gilstrap and had also robbed his body. Two years after Gilstrap's murder, the violent saga of the Wickliffe brothers took another turn when Charlie Wickliffe was killed by his own brother, Tom, during an argument. Shortly after, Tom and John Wickliffe surrendered to the Cherokee County Sheriff. However, when they were tried for a separate killing, a jury found them not guilty due to a lack of evidence. Ike Gilstrap was born in 1861 and was laid to rest in the Fairview Cemetery in Vinita.
