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Frederick Tecumseh "Dash" Waite, occasionally spelled Fred WayteOtero, Miguel Antonio (1936). The Real Billy the Kid with new light on the Lincoln County War, Rufus Rockwell Wilson, New York, p.46 (September 23, 1853 – September 24, 1895) (Chickasaw) was noted for a period when he was a cowboy in New Mexico and a member of Billy the Kid's gang. He was also known for later serving as a legislator in the Chickasaw Nation government, and as its Attorney General.
As a young man, Waite left Indian Territory to work as a cowboy in the New Mexico Territory. While working for John Tunstall as a ranch hand, he met Bill Bonney and several other men. After Tunstall was killed in the Lincoln County War, Bonney, Waite and the others pursued Tunstall's killers as vigilantes, calling themselves the Regulators. As they turned to criminal activities, they became known as the "Billy the Kid gang."
In 1880 at about age 27, Waite left the gang and returned to the Chickasaw Nation to build a more settled life. He married, became a rancher, and started a family. He lived a law-abiding life thereafter and became involved in Choctaw and Chickasaw politics. He was elected to the Chickasaw legislature both as a representative and as a senator. When serving as a representative, he was elected for three sessions as Speaker of the House. He was appointed by the council and chief as Attorney General of the Chickasaw Nation. He died of rheumatism at the age of 42.
During the Civil War, the Waite family supported the Union. They were pursued by Confederate soldiers as the conflict reached the Nation, and fled to the Sac and Fox reservation in Kansas, which supported the Union. After the war, they returned to Indian Territory. Weiser, Kathy. "Old West Legends: Fred Waite - Chickasaw Outlaw Turned Politician", Legends of America. October 2012.] Accessed November 30. 2016
Reportedly, Fred was sent to school first at the Illinois Industrial University, for education in European-American ways. He moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he graduated from Mound City Commercial College in 1874. After his father's death, Waite returned to the Fort Arbuckle to manage the family store. He also managed a crew of thirty ranch hands who were looking after about a thousand head of cattle.
On February 18, 1878, after Tunstall was killed, Waite became a member of the Regulators. They originally collected as a posse led by Dick Brewer to serve arrest warrants on Tunstall's killers. Through the posse, Waite met Billy Bonney, Jose Chavez y Chavez (American Indian), Henry Brown, Jim French, and Charlie Bowdre. They later formed what became known as Billy the Kid's gang, led by Bonney.
The gang came into conflict with law enforcement and also attacked a suspect in Tunstall's murder. Waite was allegedly behind a wall with the gang when they killed William J. Brady, sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico. He was also present when the gang killed Buckshot Roberts, a suspect in the murder of Tunstall.Utley, Robert M. Billy the Kid: A Short and Violent Life. p. 71.
Waite became involved in tribal politics. He became a delegate to an inter-tribal conference. He was elected as a representative from his home district, and then as a senator in the Chickasaw government. It had two houses for its legislature. While serving as representative, he was elected by other members as Speaker of the House for three sessions. After that he was appointed by the chief as Attorney General of the Chickasaw Nation. While in this position, he died of rheumatism on September 24, 1895.
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