law and order to the Indian Territory (this later became the state of Oklahoma in 1907.) The Three Guardsmen were credited with capturing more than three hundred outlaws over the next decade, and killing several. They were credited with ending the Wild Bunch, also known as the Doolin Gang. Years after being released from prison, Emmet Dalton said that Thomas's relentless pursuit of the Dalton Gang was why they had tried to pull off two simultaneous bank robberies in Coffeyville in southeastern Kansas. They wanted to make one big score and leave the territory for a time. But four of the gang were killed in the shootout and only Emmett Dalton survived. In August 1896, Thomas led a posse that tracked down and killed outlaw Bill Doolin. He had been captured, convicted and imprisoned but had escaped on July 5, 1896. By 1902, there were many European-American settlements in what became Oklahoma. Thomas was sent to Lawton. There he resigned as deputy marshal after being elected as the first police chief in the town. He served for seven years until his health began to fail. Thomas assembled a posse, and chased and captured bank robbers in the 1908 silent film The Bank Robbery. The outlaws were led by Al Jennings. The one-reel movie was directed by his former colleague Bill Tilghman. James Bennie Kent was the cinema-photographer, and it was produced by the Oklahoma Natural Mutoscene Company. The film was shot in Cache, Oklahoma, and at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. Comanche leader Quanah Parker had a bit part. During the filming, a bystander thought the bank was really being robbed and jumped out a window to run for the police. Thomas died aged 62 in Lawton, Oklahoma on August 14, 1912 of Bright's disease. In popular culture Heck Thomas was featured as a character in two episodes of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days, hosted by Ronald Reagan. In "A Wedding Dress" (1960), Charles Fredericks played Thomas. Brad Johnson, cast as lead Bill Tilghman, pursues the Doolin gang in Oklahoma Territory with Thomas. In "There Was Another Dalton Brother" (1964), actor Robert Anderson (1920-1996) played Thomas. He serves as a deputy US Marshal along with Frank Dalton (Don Collier), who questions a suspect in a missing persons case. Thomas was also featured in the original series Wild West Chronicles on INSP and Peacock TV played by David