According to the author Edward Herring: "The deaths of Willis Brooks and Jim McFarland signaled the end of an era when disputes were settled with gun smoke and hot lead.
"[1][2] In April 1884, Sheriff Alex Heflin decided he had enough of the Brooks family and he deputized some local men and attempted to make arrests.
For the next six years they lived in Cooke County, Texas, but, in 1890, Willis II, who was now the leader of the family, moved north to the Chickasaw Nation, in the Indian Territory.
Since both factions weren't above cattle and horse theft, and the Dogtown area was known for being infested with rustlers, it is likely that at least one of the families was involved in stealing livestock from the other.
Henry applied the acid to the metal bars in his jail cell whenever he could and he hollowed out his peg leg to hide the bottle.
Knowing that the Brookses and McFarlands would be a problem, Rutherford and Hill visited both families to make it clear that they had not taken a side in the conflict.
The situation was very tense for a moment, but the "cool headed" Cliff Speer managed to diffuse it by slowly lowering Rutherford's rifle barrel and allowing Sam a chance to leave.
Jesse Hill said the following about that day: "It was the first and only time I ever looked down a gun barrel.... Willis Brooks and his cohorts, each mounted and armed, rode up to do battle....
Although Spokogee quickly grew to support a population of 150 people, Hill described them as nervous, especially when the McFarland or the Brooks families rode in heavily armed.
Hill eventually left town because of the stress, some of which was brought about by George Riddle, who had a bad habit of pulling his gun on anyone over any kind of altercation.
Because of this, Henry "Peg Leg" Brooks and his nephew, Earl, went out to roundup the livestock while Willis and two of his other sons, Clifton and John, mounted up to ride into town for the mail.
Herring says that the plan worked perfectly, Willis and his sons cursed Riddle and then drew their weapons on him, but he hastily ran across the street to Rutherford, who was standing in front of his office, and requested protection.
George Herring, however, says that Jesse Hill was standing inside Rutherford's office and witnessed Sam McFarland fire the first shots.
[1][4][5] No matter which version is true, after hitting George Riddle in the head, Willis "wasted precious time" by running up to him and shooting him twice more.
Clifton Brooks was struck multiple times; once in the leg, once in the neck, and once more in the chest, but he was able to survive the initial volley and make a run for it.
Immediately after the shooting ceased, Rutherford arrested Jim, Joe, and Alonzo and then delivered them to Deputy Marshal Grant Johnson in Eufaula by wagon.
On October 10, 1902, Jim and his wife were returning home from Weleetka in their buggy, and as they approached a river ford near Old Watsonville, someone opened fire on them with a rifle.
According to Ken Butler, the first newspaper account of the incident says that Henry "Peg Leg" Brooks killed Jim near Weleetka, although this was later proven to be false.
"[1][4][5] The death of Jim McFarland marked the end of the feud, although some newspaper accounts say that Henry Brooks was killed shortly after.
[1][2][4][5] The Fort Smith and Western Railway tracks finally reached Spokogee on April 1, 1903 and soon after the town was renamed Dustin.