William Brown, Ralph Tate, and several other men formed a crew of workers employed cutting hay at Fort Sill, Indian Territory in August 1880. When Brown and one of the men got into an argument and then a fight, Brown retrieved his gun and, intending to shoot the man, shot and killed Tate.
Brown fled. Tate’s father pursued him doggedly, with one report suggesting the pursuit lasted for weeks and covered hundreds of miles. Once Brown was captured, he was taken to Fort Smith and arrested. He confessed.
Brown was convicted of murder on March 3, 1881, and sentenced to death. With four other men, he was hanged on September 9, 1881.
The Federal Death Penalty Project 