The outlaws had a haven in Ingalls, Oklahoma, and Marshal Nix wasted no time in moving to bring the gang down.

Outlaw "Arkansas Tom" Jones was stunned and captured after dynamite was thrown at him by Deputy Marshal Jim Masterson.

And a saloon owner known only as Murray was badly wounded by the marshals when he began shooting at the lawmen in defense of the outlaws.

To topple the gang, Nix organized a special elite group of one hundred marshals, including Heck Thomas, Bill Tilghman, and Chris Madsen, who became known as the Three Guardsmen.

[2] Marshal Nix was staunchly defensive of his deputies, and the actions they were forced to take in order to bring the gang to justice.

Marshal Nix stood in defense of his deputies, and addressed the Attorney General Judson Harmon directly on the matter, stating in part; "Murray and other citizens catered to their trade, carried them news of the movements of deputy marshals, furnished them with ammunition, cared for their horses, permitted them to eat at their tables and sleep in their beds", and continued "This man Murray came to the front door of the saloon either just before the outlaws left the building or just after, it is not known which.