Time after time Railroad Bill emerged victorious after each robbery or shoot out with the law but time was running out for the outlaw as each confrontation became much bloodier. On one occasion a railroad special agent backed by a posse of deputies surrounded Bill in an outbuilding and ordered him to come out. Naturally, he declined the offer and they all open fired into the building, riddling it with bullet holes. From inside Bill slowly picked his targets and returned their fire in a deadly and deliberate manner. When the smoke cleared the special agent had a hole in his hat and one deputy lay dead with the posse no closer to Bill’s capture than before. One reason he was so elusive was that the black populace helped feed and house him when he was in need. He had become their "Robin Hood!" Luckily, for the deputies there were few major roads through the backwoods of Escambia County, Alabama and Escambia County, Florida. However, there were a large number of game trails and three notch roads that only the backwoods folk were familiar with. To catch him they were going to have to think and react like Bill!
African American gunfighters of the era