After killing U.S. deputy marshal John Garrett on July 30, 1895, the gang began holding up various stores and ranches in the Fort Smith area during the next two weeks.

In one incident, a salesman named Callahan – after being robbed – was offered a chance to escape if he could outrun the gang.

[7] While the Creek wanted to hold the gang for trial, the men were brought before "Hanging" Judge Isaac C. Parker.

The Buck gang, "Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker, half-black, half-Indian outlaw Cherokee Bill, and the socio-political environment at the death of Indian Territory are the subjects of the 2011 historical novel I Dreamt I Was in Heaven - The Rampage of the Rufus Buck Gang by Leonce Gaiter.

The story of the gang served as an inspiration for the 2021 Western film The Harder They Fall, in which Rufus Buck was portrayed by Idris Elba.