American Frontier Lawmen 1850-1930 (Elite)

·

()SPREY PUBLISHING

American Frantier Lawmen 1850-1930 I

I

I

I

I

CHARLES M ROBINSON III is a history inst ructo r at South Tex as Commun ity College and the author of twelve books. His book, Bad Hand: A Biography of General Ranald S Mackenzie , won th e Tex as State Historical Commission 's prestigious T. R. Fehrenback Award and w as honored by a resolution from the Texas House of Representatives. He is a member of a number of hi storical as soci at ions, and he li ves in San Benito, Texas.

RICHARD HOOK w as born in 19 38 and t rained at Reigate College of Art. After national serv ic e w ith 1st Bn , Queen's Royal Reg iment, he became art ed itor of the much-praised magazi ne Finding Out during t he 1960s. He has worked as a freelance illustrator ev er sinc e, earning an international reputation, particularly f o r his deep kn owledge of Native American material culture , and has illustrated more than 50 Osprey t itles. Richard is married and lives in Sussex.

CONTENTS ROUGH LAW FOR A ROUGH LAND

3

THE REIGN OF "JUDGE LYNCH"

6

• Texan vigila n tes

BLOOD FEUDS AND RANGE WARS

13

• The Texas Ran gers • The J ohnson Co u nty War • Billy the Kid and Pat Ga rrett

GUNFIGHTERS, OUTLAWS, AND BADMEN • • • •

22

Tombsto ne Wild Bill Hi ckok Bat Masterso n Ben Th ompson

TOWNS THAT ATE MEN FOR BREAKFAST

32

FROM TRIBAL LAW TO WHITE MAN'S LAW

47

THE TRIUMPH OF THE LAW

54

THE PROFESSIONAL LAWMEN

62

• The Pinkerton Detective Age ncy

FURTHER READING

67

COLOR PLATE COMMENTARY

68

INDEX

72

Elite · 96

OSPREY PUBLISHING

American Frantier Lawmen 1850-1930

Charles M Robinson III . Illustrated by Richard Hook Consultant editor Martin Windrow

First pub lished in Great Brita in in 2005 by Osprey Publishing, Midland House. West Way. Betley, Oxfo rd, 0 X2 OPH, UK 443 Park Avenue South . New York. NY 10016, USA Email: [email protected]

© 2005 Osprey Publishing Ltd.

Artist's Note Readers may care to note that the original paintings from which the color plates in this book were prepared are available for private sale. All reproduction copyright whatsoever is retained by the Publishers. All enquiries should be addressed to :

All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, crit icism or review. as permit1ed und er th e Copyright . Designs and Patents Act . 1988, no part of this publication may be reprodu ced, sto red in a retrieval system. or transmit1ed in any form or by any means, electron ic. electrical , chemical. mechanical, opt ical. phot ocop ying, recording or otherwise, without the prior writ1en permission of the copyright owner. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publishers. ISBN 1 84176 575 9 Editor; Jud ith Millidge Design: Ken Vail Graphic Design. Cambri dge, UK Index by Alison Worthington Originated by The Electronic Page Com pany. Cwmbran , UK Printed in China th rough World Print Ltd. 05 06 07 08 09

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

A CIP catalog record for this boo k is available from th e British library FOR A CATALOG OF ALL BOOKS PUBLISHED BY OSPREY MIlITARY AND AVIATION PUEASE CONTACT: North Americ a: Osprey Direct 2427 Bond Street. University Park, IL 60466. USA Email: [email protected] All other regions: Osprey Direct UK PO Box 140. Wellingborough. Northa nts , NN8 2FA. UK Email: [email protected] Buy online at www.ospreypublishing.com

Scorpio Gallery, PO Box 475, Hailsham, East Sussex, BN272SL The Publishers regret that they can enter into no correspondence upon this matte r.

AMERICAN FRONTIER LAWMEN

1850-1930

ROUGH LAW FOR A ROUGH LAND

As early as th e 1870s, eastern readers entertained th em selves with stories of frontier j us ti c e in dime novels like this on e. (Author's collectio n)

THE

"Man ifest Destiny" was th e 19th-eentury co ncep t th at ens h rined th e beli ef th at th e em bryonic Am eri can people were destined to adva nce to th e Pacific, ex te nd ing th e ben efi ts of th eir civilizatio n and in stitutions to th e en tire co n tine n t. By th e second half of th e 19th-eentury, it becam e clear th at th e Am eri can people often advanced more rapidly th an th ei r institutions, and o ne institution particularly lacking in th e ea rly West was formal law e nforce men t. Areas were se ttled and town s grew before any sort of local o r regional jurisdi ction was established, and th e fed eral gove rn men t was ofte n eq ua lly slow to respond. If a military post was located n earby, th e co m man der might ex te n d his au tho rity to an adjacent town, as much to con trol his own troops as to co n trol th e civilian populace . O th e rwise , cit izens were left to th eir own devices. Faced with th e need fo r so me sort of order, and to quell the lawlessn ess of th e go ld fields and cow towns, th e an r , good people of th e West resorted to what 19thce n tu ry historian Hubert Howe Ban croft called "popular tr ibunals." In the mining cam ps, min ers might elec t one of th eir own , who sh owed eno ug h intelligen ce and co m m o n se nse to co m mand respect as a judge. This man co nti n ue d to work his claim , and when a case arrived, he would convene a co urt on th e nearest tree stump. Sometimes a local citizen with a popular following migh t be design at ed j udge by default. But pe rh ap s th e most highly developed of th e popular tribunals was th e vigilance com m ittee . T h e term "vigilan te," as a member of th ese co mm ittees was called, has co me under attack in modern tim es, co nj u ring im ages of a bloodcraze d mindless mob bent o n killing anyo ne who ge ts in its way. In fac t, th e lynch m ob was almost th e o pposi te of th e vigilance co m mittee, whose mem be rs ofte n were highly res pected cit izens, filling a role th at co nve n tio na l law enfo rcement co uld no t - o r wou ld not - fill. Vigilan tes kn ew who th ey were after, and had solid reason s for pursuing th em . Vigilantism itself is based o n th e soc ial co n trac t, specifica lly, that govern men t is o bliga ted to protect life , liberty, and property, in exchange fo r loyal ty and obe d ie nce fro m its citize ns. If, h owever, go vern me n t fails to provide

3

4

th ose p rotections, th e Citizens are absolved of o bed ie nce a n d, by ex te nsio n, ca n invoke th e age-old law of private justice. Even th e m ost so p h istica te d pi oneers understood th at th e early West re qu ire d a different ap proach fr om the well-orde re d Eas t. Professor Thomas J. Dimsdale , an Oxford grad uate who became Montana's first su perin te n de n t of public in structi on in abou t 1864, observed vigila ntism first-hand in th e rough-and-tumble go ld town of Virginia City. In a region where resp ect for th e law was n on-existent an d co rrup tion re igned su p re me, Dimsd ale wrote , "it b ecomes abso lu te ly n ecessary th at good, law-lovin g , a n d o rde r-sus ta in ing m en shou ld unite for pe rso nal p ro tec tio n, a n d for th e salvatio n of th e co m m u nity. Being united, th ey must act in h armony; repress disorder; punish crime, an d preven t ou trage, or th ei r o rgan izatio n would b e a failure fro m th e start, and soc iety wou ld co llapse in th e throes of a narchy. No ne b ut extre me penal ties inflicted with p romptitude , a re of any avail to quell the sp irit of th e d esp eradoes with wh om th ey h ave to co n te n d . . .. Sec ret they must b e, in co u nc il an d m embership, or th ey will re main n earl y useless for the detection of crime, in a co u n try where equal facilities for th e transmi ssion of intelligence are at th e co m man d of th e cri m inal and the judiciary; and an o rga n izatio n on this foo ting is a VIGIlANCE COMMITTEE." Man y vigila nce co m m ittees fitt ed the bill ; th ey were form ed to h andle a parti cul ar e mergency an d wh en th at emergency was passed - whi ch is to say when re al law an d orde r were estab lished - th ey di sbanded. U n fo rt u nate ly, o thers fell into the ultimate temptation of suc h organ izations, to se ttle private quarrels th at did not adversely affect soc iety as a whole . Often this resulted in a blo od feud, wh ich n o ted Texas hi storian an d self-style d "fe u d co llecto r" c.L. So n n ichse n once d efined as th e m ore hi ghly d eveloped co usin of th e lyn ch m ob. Blo od fe uds arose when well-defined facti ons with strong se nses of grievance d ecided to ex term inate each o ther. They were p articul arly co mmon in Tex as, where th e Southern se nse of p e rsonal h ono r an d resentment ove r th e Civil Wa r co m b ined with the West ern pench ant for se tt ling things without recourse to formal law. Thus Texas remain ed a lawm an 's ni ghtmare fro m th e en d o f th e Civil War until th e close of th e 19th ce n tury. So u thern resen tmen t aside, th e Am erican West ex p lo ded with ac tivity foll owing th e Civil Wa r. Wh ereas it to ok ove r 340 years , from 1607 to 1848, to se ttle th e a rea fro m th e Atla n tic O cean to th e eas te rn edge of th e Great Plain s, th e region from the Great Plains to th e Pacific was e n tirely d eveloped by 1890 . Th e greates t push ca me during th e 25 yea rs im m ediately fo llowi ng th e Civil Wa r 's e n d in 1865. T he fe de ral gove rn men t, h avin g esta blished su premacy, n o longer n eeded to pl acate th e o p posing interests of No rth a n d So u th , but in stead ac te d in th e benefit of the

A notice from Fort Griffin, Texas, in a regional newspaper of 1876, warns prostitutes and their pimps to leave town or answer to the Shackelford County Vigilance Committee. (The Center for American History, the University of Texas at Austin)

nation as a whole. On e signi fica n t res ult was the Trans-Con tinen tal railr oad, whi ch mad e the West access ible . T hen ca me th e Panic of 1873, a serio us econo mic depression that se nt tens of thousands of ho mel ess, j obless people ou t on the fro n tier to see k a fres h sta rt in life. The Black H ills gold strike in th e Dako tas, and th e Tombstone silver strike in Arizo na accelerated th e process, as did th e sh ift from ope n ran ge ran ching to fenced ran ching. T he demand for law an d o rder o uts trip pe d the availability of co urts and lawme n. Yet effec tive as vigilan tes may have been , th e co mm unity as a who le looked for an alte rnative. Most se ttlers on th e fro n tier were p eacefu l citize ns, seeking on ly to better th emselves. In th eir view, popularj ustice co uld never su bstitute for th e real thing, particu larly given th e very fragile lin e - brutally reve aled in Walter Van Tilburg Clark's novel, Th e Ox-Bow Incident - sepa ra ting form al vigilan tism fro m its op pos ite, th e lynch mob . Often, th ough , th e com munity had to tak e wha t was available. In man y cases, thi s m ean t a gu nfigh te r whose reputation co mmande d respect from o thers of his kind. Thus, man y of the more famous Western lawm en , suc h as Wild Bill Hi ckok and Wyatt Earp , led lives that were at best questionab le. Even so, th e gu nfigh te r-lawman was genera lly reliab le , and co uld be depended on to keep th e more lawless elemen t under co n trol. One of the problems faci ng th e Western lawm an was th at n ot everybody ag reed on what co ns titu ted a crime . There was a fin e distincti on between an "ou tlaw" an d a true "ba d man." Outlaws ofte n were o uts ide the law for political and soc ial reasons beyond th eir co n trol, and thi s was particu larl y true during th e chaotic peri od following th e Civil War. The ou tlaws struc k back at th e symbols of power th at put th em o u tside th e law, suc h as banks, tr ain s, ex press co m pa n ies, and th e post office . Man y o therwise honest an d decent citizens su p ported th e ou tlaws, becaus e th eir targets were see n as in stitutions th at benefi ted th e rich at th e ex pe nse of th e ord inary citize n . T he public particularly desp ised th e railroads, with th ei r price-gougin g freigh t rat es, and banks that charged usu rious interest rat es, and repossessed farms an d ranch es a t th e sligh tes t op portun ity. T hus the men who ro bbe d banks and tr ains, like Sam Bass, J esse an d Frank J am es, and Co le and Bob Younger, were considere d friends of th e little man , while th e lawm en wh o chased them were th e enemy. Sometimes th e army lent a hand at law enfo rce men t, but eve n th e m ilitary co uld not always co u n t on citizen su p port. In Ap ril 1877 , Brig. Ge n . George Crook's aide, Lt. J oh n G. Bourke, wrote in his di ary: "T he Black Hi lls, se rving, as all new co m mu n ities do , as a resort for cro wds of the vilest and most unprin cipled o u tlaws, becam e from th e proxim ity to th e Indian Age ncies , a den of horse-thi eves wh o dep redated u po n th e

A prospector with a Winchester rifle takes his turn guarding a claim during the Black Hills gold rush in South Dakota in 1876. Miners improvised their own legal system to maintain order in the rough-and-tumble camps. (Photo courtesy of the South Dakota Historical Society State Archives)

5

peaceabl y di sp osed Indian s without in termission. General Crook mad e every effo rt to break u p th ese ga ngs , pursuing them with wh ite and Indian tro ops an d recap turing m uc h plunder and, in one or two cases ... ap p re hend ing so me of th e robbers who as soon as turned ove r to th e civil au thorities we re im mediat ely released u pon tech nica lities. " Gr adually, how ever, th e West was tam ed. While th e Earp b rothers an d Doc H olliday may have been no better th an th e cowboys th ey killed, th eir hi storic sh owd own at th e O.K. Co rra l represented a vict ory of co m m u nal law over th e rul e of th e strongest individual. "H anging Judge " Isaac Parker, th rough his marsh als and hi s ga llows, imposed th e power of th e Un ite d Sta tes govern men t on th e lawless Indian Territo ry. Even crusty, d ish onest o ld Judge Roy Bean did his part by co m mand ing resp ect fro m th e un rul y ra ilroad workers and cowboys of so uthwest Texas. Wh at ever his flaws, th e fro ntier lawm an was a harbi nge r of civilizatio n who slowly drew th e West away fro m popular j ust ice an d into th e fold of law an d ord er.

THE REIGN OF "JUDGE LYNCH"

6

The o rigin of th e te rm "lyn ch" is obsc ure , but ap pa re n tly ca me fro m th e name of a man who p racti ced su mmary judgm ent: in so me versio ns of th e legend, h e is a 15th -cen tu ry Irish ma yor. In o thers, he is a Virg inia pl anter. An d in still o thers, h e is a So u th Carolina j udge. Wh at eve r th e case, th e te rm has co me to mean a su m mary execu tio n withou t th e benefit of co ns titutio na l j ust ice . Both vigilance co m mittees and mobs practi ced lyn ching, but, as p reviously not ed, th e two were not th e same . The vigilance co m m ittee prese rved o rder. As Ban croft wrote in hi s history of popular tribunals: "T he vigilan ce co m mittee will itself break th e law, but it does not allow o thers to d o so . It has th e highest res pect for law, an d would be friendly with th e law, notwithstanding th e law is so me times d isp osed to be ill-natured; ye t it h as a hi gh er res pect fo r itself th an for ill-admin istered law." Ban cro ft wro te fro m personal observatio n, h avin g arrived in San Francisco at the heigh t of the go ld rush , and, needless to say, of vigilan tism. Hi s histo ry, in fact , p rim aril y co ncerns th e popular tribunals of go ld ru sh-e ra Ca lifo rn ia, where vigilantism was most renown ed and hi ghl y d evel oped. Indeed, it served a very d efinite soc ial need. Gold seeke rs flood ed into Califo rn ia, setting up vast, sprawling shanty and tent town s in th e go ld -fie lds. In th e early d ays, placer mining in th e streams often paid well , attracting prostitutes, ga m blers, thi eves, armed bandits, swin d le rs, an d other cri m inal elements . With no fo rmal law to protect th em, th e m in ers o rgan ized th eir own law, establishing m iners ' co urts an d vigilance co m mittees to mai n tai n order. In fac t, Place rville , Ca lifo rnia, originally known as H an g town , is testim ony to th ei r d ete rminati on to live in so me sem blance of safety. By mid-1 850, mining had become more com plex and ex pe nsive, forcing ou t th e small miners and p ro spectors. Facin g starva tion in th e go ld fields, th ey flooded into San Francisco , adding to the city's already straine d resources. In only two years, it had grown from a slee py little provin cial village to a sprawling metropolis. Tens of th ousands of people came by land and by sea, hoping to make th eir fortunes. Once th e easy go ld played ou t,

despera te refugees turn ed to crime. T he legal syste m , suc h as existed, was overwhelme d, and often had been co rru p ted by th e lawless elemen t. As one preacher noted at th e time , "The city of San Francisco , ma y, with propriety, be regarded at th e very cita de l of his Satanic Majesty." Two maj o r gangs flourish ed, o ne co nsis ting of Easterners, primari ly fro m New York, kn own as th e Hounds, and an eve n large r gang of released co nvicts from th e pen al co lo nies of Aus tra lia, who called themselves th e Syd ney Du cks o r Sydn ey Coves. They roamed th e city, casua lly killin g people in saloons, th en em ptyi ng th eir pocke ts, an d se tting fires, creating majo r blazes among th e tinder-dry wooden bui ldings, and usin g th e co nfusio n to ro b and loo t. T he situatio n came to a h ead on February 19, 1851, when two Syd ney Du cks en tered the d ry-goods sto re of CJ. J an sen , beat h im seve re ly, an d mad e off with $ 1,586 and his go ld watch . Po lice app re hen ded a m an who called himself Thomas Burdue , but who initially was believed to be a n ot orious criminal nam ed J ames Stuart, and a su pposed accomp lice, Robert Wildred. On February 21, an exam ini ng tr ial began to h ear evidence , which incl ude d a strong alibi for Wildred. Bu t when th e judge adjou rned until Monday th e m ood of th e crowd turned ugly, and mi litia had to be called to th e co urthouse to fend off th e m ob. T he next morning, a crowd of ove r 8,000 citi zens ga there d in th e main plaza to listen to haran gu es abo u t law and order. Sam uel Brannan , a Mormon elder and p ro sp erous busin essm an , called out, "Why shou ld we speak to juries, j udges, or mayors? Have we not h ad enoug h of suc h d oings in th e last eigh tee n m onths? It is we ou rselves who must be mayor, j udges, law, an d execut io ners. T hese men are murderers and thi eves; let us han g them!" The crowd seized the prisoners, and were preparing to h an g th em when co o ler heads p revailed. An ad ho c tr ial res u lte d in a h ungjury, an d th e men were jailed. Later th ey were able to pro ve th eir innocence. Brannan , however, had had eno ug h . Together with J ansen an d William Co leman (who had co nvinced th e mob to try Burdue an d

San Francisco, seen in this Currier and Ives print from the early 1850s, was a boomtown , attracting the lawless elements from the American East as well as released convicts from Australia. There was so little formal control that citizens took the law into their own hands. (Author's collection)

7

Business man and sometime scoundrel , Samuel Brannan was instrumental in San Franc isco 's ear ly Vigilance Comm ittee. (Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, University of Ca liforn ia, Berkeley)

8

Wildred rather than lyn ch th em }, he o rgan ized abo u t 200 men into th e San Fran cisco Committee of Vigilan ce . As a "citize n posse co mita tis," an ad hoc but well-organized g ro u p of citize ns d edicated to th e enfo rcemen t of law an d order, th e Vigilantes vote d th emselves power to try and execu te prison ers if th e legal syste m failed to d o so . The first man to feel th e wrath of th e Vigilantes was J ohn J enkins, a petty thi ef wh o was ca ugh t in th e ac t of stea ling a small safe . He was hanged to th e ap proba tio n of th e citize ns and th e newsp apers. Then , in July, th ey cap tured th e real J am es Stuart , wh o was han ged to loud accla im on th e Market Street Wh arf, Two o ther crimina ls were forcibly removed fro m th e j ail an d han ged. Despite this bloodshed, however, it would be a mistake to believe th e Vigi lantes were swept up in a killing sp re e . After th e initial furore over the Jansen affair, Brannan himself had promised th at th e co m m ittee would not tak e a life unless there was proof of guilt beyond doubt. As historian Robert Elman has pointed ou t, in th e ensu ing months, th e Committee of Vigilance tri ed 89 suspec ts, of whom only four were hanged. One was publicly flogged, 28 were d eported and , remarkabl y, 4 1 were d eclared not guilty and freed . The rem aining 15 were ap p re hen de d by th e Vigilan ce Co m m ittee , but turned ove r to poli ce as the Vigil antes became more sati sfied th at th e legal syste m would be ca pable of handling th em. In September 1851 , th e Vigilantes d eclared San Fr an cisco safe , and di sbanded. San Francisco's first ex pe rimen t with vigilantism had lasted ex ac tly 100 days, and th e effec t was felt through out Californ ia. " [I] n all th e min es, co m m ittees of vig ila nce we re organ ize d, gu ilty offe n ders

summarily punished," go ld fields merch ant Alonzo Delan o wro te, "an d with in thirty d ays, a sec urity of life and property was felt th rough out th e whole length and bread th of th e land, wh ich had not existed since 1849." Yet , given th e overall co nd itio ns of th e rough and tumble city, th e quiet co uld not last. Poli tical co rru ptio n was rampant, an d fra ud ule n t elec tio ns were co m mon place. It ge nerally was beli eved th at seve ra l officials were elected by a bloc vote of San Francisco 's unde rworld. By 1855, th e tension was palpabl e , aggrava ted by a fall in go ld producti on and th e failure of seve ra l banks. T he second Co mmittee of Vigilance, or what Ban croft called "the n ew crusade, " was co nceived in Nove m be r 1855, when a ballot-b ox stuffer and gam bler n am ed Charles Cora murdered U.S. Marsh al Willi am Rich ardson in co ld blood. Co ra was arres ted, but th e Monumental Bell , which had sum mone d th e o rigin al co rrimittee to action, ran g again . The old crowd ga thered again at th e Orien tal Hotel , wh ere Brannan har an gu ed th e co m mittee to seize Co ra . Unwilling to tolerat e th e cha lle nge to his authority, the sheriff arres ted Brannan "as a ge neral precau tio n agains t a public ou tbreak." Chas te ne d , Brannan assured th e sheriff there would be n o lynching. The first proceed ing against Cora resulted in mistrial. As h e waited in jail for a new trial , rumors flew abou t of co rru p tio n an d jury tampering. Mea nwh ile J am es King, ed ito r an d publish er of th e Evening Bulletin , ra n edi toria ls d en oun ci n g th e politi cal m achin e , and specu lating th at j ailer Billy Mulli gan would p robabl y let Co ra escape. The situa tio n came to a head , when h e attacke d J am es P. Casey, ed ito r of th e rival Sun day Times, and an elec tion in sp ector who had managed to ga in a seat on the Board of Su pe rvisors, eve n th ough n o o ne kn ew h e was running for office. King also poin ted o ut th at Casey had served a prison term in New York befo re co m ing west. On May 15, 1856, Casey co nfron ted King o n th e stree t and gu n ned him d own at 15 paces. Casey was arrested and jailed. Four days later; h owever, th e Vigilance Comm ittee acted. Armed with rifles, bayonets and a can non , th e Vigilan tes mar ch ed on th e jail and th reaten ed to ope n fire unless Casey and Co ra were su rre ndered. Over th e next two days, th e com m ittee held a trial. No t only was Casey tried for th e murder of King, but for a whole catalog of offenses since his ar rival in San Fra nc isco. Detlared guilty, bo th men were hanged from th e seco nd floor of th e co m mittee's m eeting house. The second Vigilance Co m mittee now numbered more th an 6,000 . The gove rno r d eclared an in surrection an d calle d out th e militia , but th e co mmander, Ge n. W.T. Sherman, refused and resign ed. In July, th e committee han ged murd erers J oseph H eth erington and Ph ilander Brace , inspi rin g further te rro r in th e city's cri minal elemen t. By Augus t, all was quiet. The San Fran cisco Vigilance Co m m ittee held a triumphant parad e , and disbanded forever. Commenting o n th e Vigilan te era , Delan o rem arked, "T h is was o ne of th e most exc iting pe riods in th e hi sto ry of Califo rn ia .... " And whil e h e su p ported th e Vigilan tes, h e ad ded, "may Go d gra n t th at th ere may never be ca use to have it re peated ." Texan vigilantes

Alth ough Texas has had its share of lynchings and vigilantism , none was more highl y d eveloped th an in th e area alo ng th e Clear Fo rk of th e

9

Major John B. Jones headed t he Frontie r Battalion of the Texa s Rang ers . Organized in 1874, t he battalion was t he first Ranger unit to hold police powers. Prior to t hat, they were a frontier defense f orce. (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)

10

Brazos River some 150 mil es west of Fort Worth. Becau se th e most se ttled part of th e Clear Fork Co u ntry eve n tually was organ ized as Shacke lford Cou n ty, th e va rio us vigila nce grou ps have been lumped more or less together un de r the n ame of their ulti mate sta te of development: the Shackelfor d Co unty Vigilance Co mmittee. At its heigh t, in the mid-1870s, it m e mbe rs in cluded so me of th e leadin g cattlem en and busin essm en of th e area, as well as members of th e official law enfo rcemen t co mmu nity. O nly th e Texas Ran gers rem ain ed above it, and th eir atte m pts to investiga te were th warted by th e co mm ittee 's fa r-reach ing political power. In th e ea rliest days of settleme n t, in th e 1850s, law an d o rde r were m aintain ed by sold iers at th e military post of Camp Cooper, o n th e north side of th e river. Wh en Texas secede d , howeve r, fed eral tro ops were withdrawn , and th e job was assu med by a local citize ns' comm ittee kn own as th e Old Law Mob. Because of th e sca rcity of co nte m porary records little is kn own abo u t it, altho ug h whe n a malefacto r was found lynch ed , a no tice pinn ed to th e bod y with th e initi als O.L.M. left littl e doubt as to who was re sponsible. Althoug h th e Old Law Mob 's in itial ro le seemed to be th e ma in te nance of some se mblance of order, by th e time it faded fro m histo ry in the lat e 1860s, it had degenerated into little m ore than a ga ng that murd ered people to se ttle person al grievances. T he establish ment of Fort Griffin , o n a hill ove rlooking th e so u th ba n k of the river in 1867, led to th e fo undatio n of a town on the bottomland, o r flat , between the h ill and th e river. Offi cially, the town was design at ed by th e Post Offi ce Department as Fort Griffin , but was popularl y called "the Flat. " Like any town th at ce n te re d its economy on th e military, a large segmen t of Fort Griffin 's populati on co nsisted of saloon keepers, prostitutes, an d ga mblers, eager to separa te the sold iers fro m th eir hard-earned pay. As th e 1870 s progressed , it also becam e th e ce n te r of th e buffalo hide industry in that part of th e co un try, and th e hunters, th eir pockets fu ll of cas h from th e sale of th ousands of hides, pro ved another easy target for th e town 's underw orld. As long as th ere was no civil j urisd ictio n , th e military ex te nde d its au tho rity into th e town . The formal o rga nizatio n of Shackelfor d Co unty in 187 4, however, re moved th e Flat fro m military co n trol, and it becam e the seat of trouble. Killin gs and ro bbe ries were n o t un common, and cattle th eft fro m th e area ra nc hes was chronic. By spri ng 1876, th e situation h ad become so bad that local citizens formed another vigilance co m mittee. Interestingly enoug h, th e vigilantes were led by th e very person who should have opposed them, newly elected SheriffJ ohn M. Lam. Lam had arrived as a cowboy several years earlier, had become a pro sperous ra nc her, an d had marri ed in to o ne of th e leading pion eer fam ilies.

Considering its lawless reputation as a center for soldiers, cowboys, and buffalo hunters, it is remarkable that almost no photographs of Fort Griffin, Texas, are known to exist. This drawing shows the military post on Government Hill (left), and the town on the bottomland between the hill and the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. (From the Collection of the Robert E. Nail Archives, Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas)

Beyond th at, he was a co m plete enigma. He claim ed to have be en born in Alabam a, and th at as a bo y had sold newspap ers on tr ain s. In his teens he becam e a cowboy. Despi te that, he ap pears to have had above average educ ation, polish , and a variety of talen ts, incl uding arc hitec ture (h is home , which h e design ed h imself, rem ain s almost a masterpiece of th e era, for a ba ckcountry ran ching region ) . Wh en h e se ttled for good in the Clear Fork Coun try, he alre ady had seve ral killin gs to his cred it, most of wh ich were cold-bloo de d and gro un d less. Ne vert heless, hi s ge n tee l manners, marital co n nectio ns, and forceful, charismatic personality initially cause d the co mm unity to overlook h is charac te r flaws. Within two days of Lam 's taking office as sheriff on Ap ril 18, 1876, th e Shacke lfo rd County Vigilance Com mittee swung in to actio n, with th e lynch ing ofa ho rse thi ef nam ed Houston Frau gh t. Then , o n May 12, The Frontier Echo, which served th e region from J acksboro some 75 mi les to th e eas t, carried th e followin g: Court Proceedings on the CLEAR FORKI Judge Lyn ch Presiding Special to the Echo FORT GRiFFIN, TEXAS May 7th, 1876 The notorious character known as "Reddy" of horse thief fame, was captu red on the 2nd inst. A t this place fo r horse stealing in Eastlan d county, and put in the military gua rdhouse f or safe keeping. On Friday afternoon he was turned over to parties to be conveyed to Eastland county. Yesterday his body was fou nd hangin g to a tree three miles from here. On 23 June, a notice was posted near one of Fort Griffi n more popular saloons ordering prostitutes and their procurers to leave town immediately "or you are doomed - VIGILANCE. "

s

11

The man in this dark photo, the or iginal of which has been lost, is thought to be John M. Larn, sheriff, vigilante leader, and murderer. Larn 's pure evil caused even his wife's family to join the vigilance group that killed him. (From the Collection of Robert E. Nail, Archives of the Old Jail Art Center, Albany, Texas)

12

No ne of thi s co uld have happened with out La rn's co nsen t, and indeed, it was ge nera lly kn own th at he was a lead er of th e Shacke lfo rd Co u nty Vigilan ce Co m mittee . Neve rtheless, as Edgar Rye , who served as j ustice of th e p eace in th e perman ent co u nty sea t at Albany, 14 mi les to th e so u th, grudgingly ad mitte d , "During th e first six months of hi s term Laren [sic] did more to quell lawlessn ess th an an y man wh o served th e people as sheriff, before or since his tim e." Yet as tim e passed, Lam 's d ar k side , th at th e co m m u n ity h ad chosen to ignore , began to emerge. H e was, in th e words of Texas hi storian Ru pert N. Rich ardson, "mora lly d ead. " Hi s life and ca reer were built o n m u rd er and d eception. Mu ch of h is ran ching p ro sp erity ca me fro m livesto ck sto le n from his less powerfu l neighbors. People wh o challe nged him either were found d ead , o r di sappeared en tirely. Even hi s closest associates began to fear him . Wh en o ne of hi s ca tt le-stealing acq uain ta nces, Billy Bland, was killed by a d eputy in a saloon fight in J anuary 1877 , Larn resign ed as sheriff in protest, and turn ed h is fu ll a tte n tio n to ran ching, ca ttlestealing, and murder, ofte n taking ca ttle in plain view of th eir lawful owners . H e an d hi s partner,John Selman, had abo u t 16 men under th e m an d began a co ncerte d effo rt to run th e sma ller ra nc hers out of th e co u n try. The Texas Rangers began in vestigating, and th e other members of th e vigilance comm ittee becam e nervous. If Larn were arres te d and talk ed, th e law would co me d own o n so me of th e lead in g families. They p ress ured th e state to sto p th e in vestigati on, an d th e number of Ran gers assigned to th e Clear Fork Co u n try was reduced. Nevert heless, th e in vestigat ion co n tin ued . Larn , m ean whi le , was co m ple te ly o u t of co n trol. For th eir own safety, th e co m m u nity lead ers began looking for ways to p erm an ently remove him . The en d came in J u ne 1878, wh en Larn , Selman, and th eir assoc iates am b ushed a small land own er nam ed AJ. Lan caster. Lan caster escape d, wen t to Rye 's co urt in Alb an y an d charged th em with atte m p te d murder. Learning of the warra n t, Selman atte m p te d to warn Larn , but was too late . Wh en h e arrived on a kn o ll ove rlooking Larri 's h ome at dayligh t 23 June , h e saw Larn being hoisted up o n a horse by members of th e posse se n t to arres t him . Unable to d o more , Selm an sp u rre d his h orse away, eve n tually escaping to th e Trans-Pecos regio n of far western Texas. Back at th e ran ch , Larn in form ed th e m embers of th e posse that if h e got away, th ey were all d ead men. Hi s ca p tors kn ew it was n o idl e threat; th e remark seale d hi s fate . H e was tak en to Albany, where Rye d enied bail and orde re d him j ailed. Rye later learned that if he had re leased Larn, h e, too, would have been killed. Shortly before 2am, a m ob of about 35 masked and armed men surrou nded th e j ail. Between ten and 15, including some of Larn 's in -laws, wen t in sid e an d o pe ned fire . Larn di ed with nine bull ets in him .

With his d eath , th e Shackelford Co u nty Feud, as it lat er was kn own , came to an end . T he Shackelfo rd Co u n ty Vigilan ce Co mmittee lin gered o n for a wh ile, but eve n tua lly, co nve n tio nal law enforcemen t took h old, and vigilance justice fad ed away,j ust as it would th rough out th e Wes t.

BLOOD FEUDS AND RANGE WARS Whil e m uc h of th e West suffered th rough ra nge wars of some sort, the fe ud was a n almost ex clus ively Texan ph enomen o n . Among the promin ent feuds are th e Taylo r-Sutton Feud, which gave rise to J oh n Wesley Hardin , th e Horrell-Hi ggin s Feud, the Mason Co u nty War, and th e p revio usly m entioned Shacke lfo rd Co u nty Feud. The Texas Rangers

T he blood feud was the product of th e Civil War, becau se it was almost en tire ly u nkn own in Texas prior to that tim e. As a fo rmer Co nfedera te state, Texas was placed under Reconstru ction Rul e , an d Un io n ists an d Republicans took offic e. Mu ch to th e dism ay of th e mi litary au thorities resp onsible for en fo rcing Reconstru ctio n , th e Texas Republicans and Un io nists differed little from th e Democrats and Secessio n ists. T he o n ly fu ndamen tal disagreem ent was whether th e sta te co uld leave the Un io n; o therwise th eir phi losophy was th e same, and th ey were slow to implem en t th e cha nges m andat ed by the federal go vernme nt aft er th e war. Having fin al authority, howeve r, the state's milita ry ru lers d eposed

Killer John Wesley Hardin gained his reputation in Texas's vicious Taylor-5utton Feud in the 1870s. After serving 15 years in prison, Hardin was admitted to the bar and practiced law in EI Paso. He was gunned down by Constable John Selman in 1895. (Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Library)

13

gove rnors in an effo rt to fin d o ne ra d ica l enoug h to suit th e powers in Wash in gton. Thus Texas had three ch ief execu tives in th e four-year period between 1866 and 1870, when th e mi litary found a sa tisfactory ca nd idate in the Radical Re pu blican Ed m un d ]. Davis. Davis create d a sta te po lice force , wh ich was de tested as an instrum en t of Rad ical Reconstru ctio n (the era of postbellum reco nstru ction in th e Sout h ) and disbanded after he left office in early 1874. Nevertheless, the sta te police had demonstr at ed th e need for a perm an ent statewide co nstabulary, and on April 10, 1874, th e legislature created the Frontier Bat talion, Texas Ran gers. During th e preceding 50 years of th eir ex istence, the Ran gers h ad served as a mo re or less volun tee r militi a for fro n tier defense. Law enforceme n t was th e resp onsibility of the lo cal au tho rities. Now, fo r th e first tim e, th e Ran gers were a full-time, professional servi ce , with civil po lice powers througho ut th e sta te. T he Fron tier Battalion was followed by a second law-enfo rcem en t fo rce, officially design at ed as Washington Co unty Volunteer Militia Com pa ny A, but in reality functioning as ra ngers. The me n of th e Washing to n Co unty unit called themse lves McNelly's Rangers, after their co m mander, the fra il, tube rcular, but resolu te Cap t. Leander H . McNelly. The first du ty of McNel ly's Ran gers was to quell the Taylo r-Sutton Feud, which had been raging in DeWitt Co unty, so ut heast of San An to nio, fo r abo ut seve n yea rs. Its origins are obsc ure, but it rose ou t of th e Civil War as a pow er struggle between the an ti-Reco ns truc tio n Taylo r su p po rt ers and th e pro-Reconstructi on Su tto n followers. The feud took a new turn in 1873, when guns linger and co ld-b looded killer J oh n Wesley Hard in allie d himself wit h th e Taylo rs. A year lat er, o n March 11, 1874, h e arranged the murder of Bill Sutton, one of th e lead ers of that fac tio n . T he Sutton m urder an d the subsequent reprisals pro m pted Distri ct Judge H . Clay Pleasan ts to call for Range rs. Th e state responded by se n d ing McNelly's men . T he gra nd jury was in sessio n wh en the Rangers arrive d , but McN elly kn ew th e Taylors an d Su tto ns were not impressed. Su tto n ch ief J oe Tumlinson n eve r appeare d in co u rt witho ut armed su ppo rt , and n eithe r did th e Taylors. Eac h side co u ld raise sco res of men read y for a figh t. Witn esses d isappeared, and whe n m embe rs of the two fac tio ns ap peared in co u rt to answer charges, remain ing witnesses suffered m em ory loss. By lat e 1874, h owever, th e feud was begin n ing to subside, simply because so many of th e origi nal parti cipants and leade rs were dead . T hose still alive h ad ex haus te d th emselves or were in hiding. Wh en J oe Tumlinson died of na tu ral ca uses late in th e year, DeWitt Co unty grew quiet, and McNelly's m en were reassign ed to th e Mexican borde r. T he Taylo rs and Su tto ns rem ain ed ca lm - at least for th e tim e bein g. The Johnson County War 14

Unlike th e feud , ra nge wars were wid esp read , an d started for vario us reasons. It m igh t be a co nflic t over wat er, or over grazi ng land , or the

Physically weak, but morally unyielding, Capt. Leander H. McNelly headed a militia company formed in part to quell the Taylor-5utton Feud. His efforts were only partially successful, and he was reassigned to police the reg ion between the Nueces River and the Mexican border. (Courtesy the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco , Texas)

Wealthy ranch owners and managers took their ease in the luxurious Cheyenne Club. The Johnson County War, to suppress discontented cowboys, was planned here. (Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

introduction of sheep in to cattle co un try, o r over who wou ld co n tro l th e local political and eco no m ic syste m . Th e advent of barbed wire brought an end to ope n-ra nge ranching, and led to ab sentee investing in the lucrative cattle busin ess. Enclosed pastures brought un employment to man y cowboys, and th e cavalier attitude of Eastern and foreign ra nc h owners ofte n led to trouble. In Oldham Co unty, Texas, th e proud cowbo ys resented being tr eat ed like se rvants and wen t o n stri ke , bringing th e an n ua l roundup to a standsti ll. In J ohnson Co unty, Wyoming, th e small land own ers decided to stand u p and fight aga ins t th e Gilde d Age cattle barons who were tryin g to push th em o ut. In some areas , th e big ranc he rs hired their own sec urity forces. The wealthy cattleme n of Wyoming planned the J ohnso n Co unty War with military pr ecision , yet from th e sta rt it was a fiasco. The ge ntleme n ran ch owners, who played billiards and sippe d claret in th e Che yenne Club, in th e state's capital, and whose tim e in the saddle - if any - was spe nt fox hunting, were simply too ob vious in their intentions. Alth ou gh th e stated purpose was to rid th eir distant ran ch es of cattle thieves, it was no sec re t they intended to clear out com pe tition from th e small ran chers as well. A parti cu larl y sore point was th e proud cowboys who worked th e ra nc hes. Traditio nally, th ey had been independe nt co n trac to rs, working for ranchers who th emselves had sta rte d as cowboys. The co wboys own ed their ho rses an d equipmen t, taking at least part of th eir pay in stock, and running th eir own cattle on th ei r em p loye rs' ra nges, slowly building up en oug h to start sp reads of th ei r own . Wh en th e Easte rners and Britis h co ns ortiu ms began buying up and co nso lida ting th e small ranch es, however, co rporate management was ap plied. T he cowboy become nothing more than an em ployee, not even own ing his horse. H e was viewed no differently from an Eastern fac to ry worker or, in th e case of th e Briti sh managers, a Ceylo n tea picker. This is what had prompted th e Texas cowboys to strike in 1883, an d th e Wyoming cowboys followe d suit. The resp onse in Wyoming was sim ilar to Texas; th e stoc kmen d rew up a black list , refu sin g to hire any cowboy who owned ca ttle , o n th e grounds th at he must have sto len th em .

15

16

Ca ttle th eft was blam ed fo r all losses in livestock , eve n th ough the majority was lost fo r o ther reasons. Ranges were overstocked , wh ich led to starvatio n . Prairie fires and grass hopper plagu es d estro yed th e grazing, an d ca ttle di ed in th e fir es. Drought an d sud den snows torms also took their to ll. Wh at ever reason, the Eas te rn and British in vesto rs were to ld that in vento ry was d own because of cattle th eft. This became an exc use to justify any ac tio n. To d eter "ca ttle th eft ," th e Wyoming Stoc k Growers Associatio n (W.S.G.A.), whi ch represented th e ge ntle men of New York, Aberdeen , an d th e Cheyen ne Clu b, convi nced th e sta te legislature to pass a maverick law, m aking any unbranded ca ttle th e property of th e W.S.G.A. T he grou p then so ld th ese ca ttle to th e hi gh est bidder. Purportedly aime d at d e terrin g ca ttle th eft, it ac tually kept th e small ranchers fro m reclaiming their own unbranded stoc k. The pro ceeds of th e sales th en were used to em ploy cattle d etect ives, who were little m ore than boun ty hunters an d vigilan tes . In 1889, Fran k Ca nton, a stoc k d etective fo r th e W.S.G.A., built a case agains t O. H . (Jack ) Flagg an d five associa tes on th e grou nds th at Flagg 's prospering small operatio n was stocke d with sto len ca ttle . Wh ether th e m en ac tually were ca ttle thieves, or whether Flagg sim ply was a shrewd b usinessman an d stoc k raiser, is d ebatab le . The court ofJ ohnson Co u n ty opted for th e latter, an d in the fall of 1889 , th e cases were d ropped. Even befo re th e cases were d ropped, the co u rt 's co ns ideratio n of Flagg and assoc iates co nvinced th e W.S.G.A. th at mo re d ecisive actio n was n eeded. On J ul y 20 , 1889, a party led by wea lthy stoc kman Alb ert Bothwell dragged Jim Avere ll an d Elle n Watson fro m their ca bins an d lyn ch ed th em as cattle th ieves . Avere ll's on ly offe nse ap pears to h ave been that h e h ad h om esteaded grazing la n d that Bo thwe ll wan te d, and had esta blished a store, saloon, an d post o ffice a t his pl ace , all of wh ich threatened th e large ran cher 's econom ic co ntro l o f th e area. Wa tson was no more than a Kansas prostitute , who had built up a spread, perhaps paying for h er stoc k in ways o ther th an cas h. T h e frie n d ly p ress in Cheyen ne h elp ed th e large stoc kmen justify th e lyn ch ing by d emo ni zin g th e pair, particularly Ellen Watson , who becam e "Cattle Kate ," gu n-to ting queen of th e stoc k thi eves. The effo rt was lost on the small ran ch ers, wh o blam ed th e lynch in g o n th e W.S.G.A.; n orthern Wyoming seethed with rage . The rage turned to fury on December 1, 189 1, whe n Joh n A. Tisdale , a hom estead er and friend of J ack Flagg, was am b ushe d and killed en ro u te h ome fro m Buffalo , seat of J ohnson Co u nty, with a wago n load of winter groceries, and Ch ristmas gifts for h is wife an d ch ild re n . A second hom estead er, Ranger J ones, was found d ead seve ra l days later. Blame immediat ely

James Averell wa s a storekeeper who made the mistake of homesteading land in Johnson County coveted by wealthy cattleman Albert Bothwell. In 1889, he and another homesteader, Ellen Wat so n, were dragged out of their cabins and hanged by Bothwell and his f riends. The lynchings brought an unexpected outcry that ultimately led to a showdown between cattlemen and homesteaders known as the Johnson County War. (Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

fell on Frank Canton and th e W.S.G.A. T he sma ll ranch ers th en form ed a rival organization, th e Nort he rn Wyoming Farmers' and Sto ck Growers' Asso ciation, to cha lle nge th e W.S.G.A. 's sta te-sanc tio ned m on opoly over roundups. The new organization announced it wou ld ho ld its own ro u nd ups, and claim any un bran ded cattle. In th e Cheyen ne Club, th e m embers of W.S.G.A. d e cided to recruit out-of-state gu nfigh te rs. Telegraph wires to J oh nson Cou n ty would be cu t. Buffalo would be seized , and th e sh e riff, h is d eputi es, and th e co u n ty gove rn me n t would be murdered. T h en; with the co u nty iso lat ed, occ u pied, and bereft of lead ersh ip , they wou ld di sp ose of so me 70 people on th e W.S.G .A.'s "dead list." Tom Sm ith, a stoc k d etective with roots in Tex as, returned to that state, where he recruited 22 gu n me n to rendezvous in Denver. The W.S.G.A. sec u re d h orses, wagons, tentage , beddin g , wea po ns an d am m u n itio n , and su p plies as though mounting a military cam pa ign . Costs were defrayed by 100 members who p ut up $1,000 each . One of the lead ing cattleme n, a form er army officer nam ed Frank Wolc ott, was put in charge of th e expe d itio n. On April 5, 1892, a special Pullman car pulled ou t of Denve r with th e Texans on board. At Cheyen ne, it was co n necte d to a special train charte re d so lely for th e trip to th e northern railh ead at Casper. Nine teen members of th e W.S.G.A. d ecid ed to go along. As th e train head ed north , Frank Ca n to n wandered into th e bagga ge ca r wh ere Wolc ott was di recting a redistribution of su p plies . Altho ugh Ca n to n was ch ief d etective for th e associatio n, Wolc ott considere d h im unworthy co m pa ny, an d o rde re d him o u t. Fuming, Can to n co m plained to Smith . Sm ith side d with Can to n, and th e Texans sided with Smith . Seeing th at his position was untenab le , Wolc ott resign ed , and Canto n took charge of th e en tire ex pe d itio n . Before reaching Cas per, th e train sto p pe d a t a juncti on , wh ere th e stoc kmen sen t a telegram to Buffalo to d e termin e wh eth er th e lin es h ad been cu t. T he lin es were d own . It was th e first stage of th e plan , and th e last stage th at went th e way it was su p pose d to . Afte r un loading at Casper and sta rt ing th e 150 mi les n orth to Buffalo , the wagons bogged down in the mud . In ca m p, th e in experienced stoc kmen picketed th eir h o rses to clumps of sage . Th e h orses pulled th e b ush es up , wandered off, an d it took hours to round th em up . Th en th ey ran into a snowsto rm . During a sto pover, th ey were to ld a band of ru stlers was a t a ranch 15 mi les away. Ca n to n urged co n tin uing on to Buffa lo , but th e stoc kmen d ecid ed to d escend o n th e ran ch in stead . Arriving a t d aylight, th ey su rro u n de d th e ranch buildings. In fact , th ere were o n ly two cowboys, Na te Cham pio n an d Nick Ray, bo th on th e d ead list. Ray was cu t down as he came out of th e house . Cha m pio n pulled hi s m ortally wounded

When the lynchings of Jim Averell and Ellen Watson brought an unexpected backlash, Bothwell attempted to demonize Ellen, planting stories in the Police Gazette, and elsewhere, that she was "Catt le Kate," a sort of queen of the rustlers. In reality, the worst that can be said of her is that she was a Kansas prostitute who exercised her right to homestead and run cattle on land sought by wealthy ranchers. She may have accepted cattle as payment for her services to lonely cowboys. (Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

17

The Johnson County War broke out in full fury in April 1892, when Ma jor Wol cott led a miniarmy of Texas gunmen and Eastern dandies that pinned down Nate Champion (second from left) and Nick Ray in a house at the TA Ranch. Ray died almost immediately, but Champion fought on until evening , when he , too, was killed. He wrote a minute-byminute account of the siege, so that his friends in Johnson County would know exactly what happened. (Wyoming State Arch ives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

18

com pan io n inside , and h eld off th e ca ttle men a full day, until th at even ing th ey se t th e h ouse on fir e . H e was killed as h e ran out. The attac k, h owever, had been witn essed by two passers by wh o rode into Buffalo an d ale rted th e town . Sheriff W.E. Angus ga thered an armed posse and rode ou t to meet th e in vad e rs, an d co uriers ga there d up reinforcements through outJohnson Co u nty. They m et th e stoc kme n and Texans n ear th e TA Ranch , and d ro ve th em back to refuge in th e ran ch buildings. For 24 h ours, Wolc ott used his mi litary ex perie nce to direct fortificati on, wh ile th e J ohnson Co u nty people threw up a siege lin e an d dug rifl e pi ts. Shooting sta rted abo u t d aylight on Monday, Ap ril 11, an d co n tin ued into th e n ext d ay. On Tu esd ay, th e telegraph lin e was fin ally re paire d, and officials in Buffalo wired Governor Amos Barber in Cheyen ne, requesting tro ops from Fort McKinn ey to h elp th em put down a "rebellio n ." Barber, h owever, was in th e pocket of th e W.S.G.A., and waite d until h e h eard from th e ca ttle m en, wh o fin ally go t a co urie r fro m th e TA Ran ch to th e n ext town . With that confirmatio n, Barb er wired Presid ent Benj amin H arrison, alo ng with Wyoming 'S two senators. Troops finally arrived th e n ext d ay, and th e stoc kme n surre ndere d . After being co nfined at Fort McKinney, th ey were tak en back to Cheyen ne where th ey spe n t ten weeks interned at Fort D.A. Ru sse ll. Eventually all charges were dropped, an d th e Texans were se n t off with a rousin g party at th e Cheyen ne Club. The J oh nso n Co u nty War was ove r. Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett Perhaps th e m ost famous of all co nflicts was th e Lin coln Co u nty War of Ne w Mexico , that pitted society as a whole against a you ng tough n am ed H enry McCar ty, kn own vario usly as William H . Bonney, Jr., H enry

r · .

Antrim, Kid Antrim, th e Kid, and , in th e final months of his sh o rt life , Billy th e Kid. McCarty's origins are vagu e. It is ge nerally accep ted that h e was born in th e Irish slums of either Manhattan or Brooklyn , probabl y in 1859. He , his widowed mother, Catherine, and broth er Joe , are known to have lived in Wichita at least in 1870 and 1871 , when th ey moved first to Denver, and th en to Ne w Mexico , in searc h of a h ealthier climate for h er tubercul osis. In 187 3, she married Bill Antrim , with wh o m she appare n tly h ad a pri or relationship of seve ral years . Eventually, th e famil y se ttle d in Silver City where Catherine di ed in 1874. An trim, a wagon driver by trade , and prosp ector by avoc atio n, was rarely home. A year later, young Henry had his first brush with th e law, a dubious charge of stealing a load of clothes from a Ch inese lau n d ry. H e esca pe d by squirming up th e jail chim ney, and fled to Arizona. In 1877 Henry was a teamster in Cam p Grant, when th e co n trac t blacksmith, Frank Cahill, called him a pimp. The boy resp onded by calling Cah ill a son-of-a-bi tch, with wh ich th e burly blacksmith pick ed him up an d pitch ed him to th e gro u nd . H en ry drew his gun an d killed him. This was hi s first killing. Esca ping from th e post guard h o use that night, h e fled ba ck to Ne w Mexico where , as Billy Bonney, h e went to work for an En glish ranch er and merch ant nam ed John Tunsta ll, in Lin coln Co unty. In doing so, he walk ed into th e middle of th e Lin co ln County War. The fe ud was between Tunstall , ranc her John Ch isu m, an d atto rney Alexander McSween on o ne side, and rival merchants JJ. Dolan and John Riley, in th e co unty sea t of Lin coln , o n th e oth er. Dol an and Riley controlled most of th e pat ronage in Lin coln Co unty, an d through th eir influence with th e territorial gove rn men t in San ta Fe , h eld most gove rn me n t beef co ntracts for th e army and th e Indian reservati ons. Tunstall, Ch isu m, and McSween resen ted th e m onopoly, believin g that, as large-scal e ca tt le me n, th ey sho u ld be able to d eal with th e governmen t directly. The smalle r ra nc hers were divid ed between those who had been crowde d out of public graz ing land by Ch isu m, and therefore side d with Dolan and Riley, and th ose who had ex perie nced bad dealings with Dolan and Riley's m ercantile establish men t, and sided with Tunstall, Ch isum, an d McSween.

After the killings of Nick Ray and Nate Champion , a sheriff's posse went in pursuit of Wolcott, his wealthy friends, and thei r hired guns who retreated to the TA Ranch. Wolcott erected militarystyle defenses centered on the main house (shown here). After a three-day siege, troops from Fort McKinney were allowed to take charge of Wolcott and his men, but only on the condition that those involved in lynchings would be bound over to the civil authorities fo r trial. (Wyom ing State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

19

I

The only authentic portrait of Billy the Kid is this tintype. The mirror image shows the pistol on his left side, giving rise to the legend that he was left-handed. In fact, Billy was right handed. (Arizona Historical Society)

20

Th e war blew open o n February 18, 1878. Do lan an d Riley ob ta ined a co urt o rder a ttac hi ng so me of Tunstall 's horses in payment of a supposed d ebt he owed th em. Wh en h e refused to d eliver, Sheriff William Brad y, wh o se rve d the two merch ants, se n t a p osse under William Morton to co llec t. Tunstall rode ou t to o rde r th em off hi s land , and Morton shot him through th e h ead . Th e m urder of hi s e m ploye r ca used someth ing to sna p in H enry McCar ty, or Billy as h e now was kn own . Through out his life , h e h ad sough t - and been d enied - ro le models, and now Tu ns tall, his latest, was d ead . A wee k lat er he was part of a posse of Tunstall ad he re nts who ran d own Morton and ano ther m ember of his grou p, Frank Bak er. After a running gu n fig h t, Morton a n d Bak e r surre nde re d on a p romise th at th ey would be returned alive to Lin coln for trial. Before th ey arrived, however, Billy not only killed th em , but also a member of th e posse who appare n tly had tri ed to protect th em. On March 31, he learn ed th at Brad y intended to arres t hi m for th e m urders, an d took refuge with several friends in Tunstall's sto re. The followin g day, when Brad y and two co horts walked acro ss th e street to arres t him, th e Kid and his friends gu n ned th em d own. Do lan an d Riley n ow turn ed th ei r atte n tio n to McSween, and in J u ly figh tin g broke ou t in th e streets. McSween 's m en, Billy among th em, re treate d into his ad obe b rick h ome in Lin coln, and Dolan an d Riley's new sheriff an d su p porters occ u pied th e surro u n ding buildings. The siege lasted five d ays. O n J uly 19, so me of th e Dolan and Riley m en go t close e n ough to pi le wood arou n d th e walls of McSween's ho me an d se t it afire . By ni ghtfall, th e ho use n o lon ger was tenab le , and McSween 's men m ad e their break . Billy and two others man aged to ga in th e river a few h u n d red yards away, but McSween was killed at th e d oor. McSween's d eath en de d th e Lin co ln Co u nty War, an d Billy became a rebel without a ca use. H e put together a band of ca ttle th ieves, who raided both th e ran ch es an d th e Ind ian reservati ons. With th e law on his h eels, h e fled to Texas. Yet, by December, it ap peare d violence would break ou t in Lin coln Co u nty again . In the m eantime , Presid en t Ru th erfo rd H ayes h ad ap poin te d Lew Wallace (who was fini shing his n ovel Ben-Hur) as territorial gove rnor with o rde rs to clean up co rru p tio n and en d th e vio le nce. To avo id jury intimidati on in Lin coln Co u nty, so ld ie rs fr om Fort Stan ton began making arrests. Wallace proclaimed a ge neral am nesty fo r any o u tlaw who was not th en under cr iminal indictment. Alt h ough Billy was under crim inal indictment, he re tu rned to New Mexico , met with Wallace , and struck a d eal whereby h e would

receive amnesty in exc hange for testimony. Billy testifi ed , an d Dolan was co nvicted of co mplicity in murder. Yet th e distri ct atto rney refused to honor th e gove rnor 's ag reemen t, and ordere d Billy held fo r th e vario us o uts ta nd ing ind ictments agai ns t h im . Billy escaped and returned to stea ling , ope ra ting around Fort Su m ner, a town that had gro wn up around an aba ndone d mil ita ry post. In 1880 , Lin coln Co u n ty vote rs electe d Patrick F. Garrett as sheriff. One of his first assignments was to ap prehend Billy. In December Garre tt se t an ambush . Billy man aged to avoid th e tr ap , but his frie nd, Tom O 'Folli ard , was killed. A few days lat er, however, Garrett co rnere d him at Stinking Sp rin gs. Another accom plice , Charles Bowdre , was killed, and Billy was tak en to Mesilla where , in April 1881 , he was co nvicted of th e murder of Sh eri ff William Brad y, an d se n te nced to han g. On April 28, he slip pe d his handcu ffs over hi s unusually small hands, hit j ail gua rd J. W. Bell with th e chains, th en shot him. Billy th en go t a sho tgun from th e office , and waited until a second guard , Rob ert O linger, return ed from lu nch . "He llo, Bob," Billy greeted, then killed him with a blast from th e sho tgu n . Th en , before shocked on lookers could rea ct, h e gra bbe d a horse an d rode ou t of town. In lat e June , Garre tt learned that Billy was hiding in Fort Sum ne r. He sen t for J ohn William Poe , a Texas stoc k det ective , whom he h ad m et a co uple of months ea rl ier. Garrett wan ted him in Ne w Mexico becau se h e was unknown and would attrac t no atte n tio n . Garrett sp read word th at he was go ing to Arizo na o n busin ess and , together with Poe an d Deputy Thom as McKinney, sta rted so ut h to ca tch th e main road at Roswell. Soon, however, th ey doubled back north to Fort Sum ner. OnJuly 14, Poe went into town , but learned nothing. Garre tt decid ed to investigate Pet e Maxwell 's ran ch at th e aba ndone d mili tary post. Arriving afte r dark, th ey ra n into J ohn J acob s, an o ld frie nd of Poe 's from Texas, who was cam ping by th e post. Acce pting an offe r of coffee fro m J acob s, th ey planned th ei r next move. This meeting is hardly worth mentioning ex cept for a remarkab le co incidence: Jacob s, th e first she riff of Shackelford Co unty, had been succeede d by John Larn. Poe, a form er buffalo hunter, had been guard ing Larn th e night he was killed. Ga rre tt had hunted buffalo o ut of Fort Griffin, altho ug h he had not kn own Poe or Jacobs at th e tim e. Finishing th ei r co ffee, Ga rre tt, Poe , and McKinney crept th rough an o rc ha rd toward th e o ld parad e gro und. A gro u p was sitting o n th e parad e chatting in Spa n ish . Although Garrett co uld not recognize th em in th e dark, o ne was Billy th e Kid. Billy go t up and sta rted toward o ne of th e old officer's houses. T hey wen t back th rough th e o rc hard , and circled arou nd th e edge of th e post, to avoid th e gro u p o n th e parade g ro u nd. Reachin g

John William Poe (standing , at a stock-raiser's convention) was involved in the killings of both John Larn in Albany, Texas, and Billy the Kid in Fort Stanton, New Mexico. (Western History Collections, University of Oklahoma Library)

21

Maxwell 's house, Garrett left Poe and McKinney by th e edge of the porch , th en slipped in sid e and woke Maxwell. Billy th e Kid, mean while, was at Bob Cam pbe ll's h ouse , just up th e row. Getting hungry, he took a knife and wen t ove r to Maxwell 's, to cu t some meat fro m a side of beef han gin g o n th e porch . Sea ted on th e porch , Poe saw him , but did n ot recogn ize him. Risin g to hi s feet , he caught hi s sp ur in a crac k and stumbled. "Q uien es [Wh o is it]?" Billy dem anded. "Q uien es?" "O h, you needn 't be afraid ," Poe repli ed . "We' re not going to hurt you." In sid e , Garre tt was talking quietl y with Maxwell , when th ey h eard Billy's voice an d fro ze. Billy backed into th e dark room an d called out, "Pe te, who are those two fell ows ou t th ere o n th e porch ?" Garrett fir ed twice and Billy fell. Po e j um pe d into th e doorway with pistol drawn ,just as Ga rre tt ran out shouting, "I killed the Kid! I killed th e Kid !" Then Maxwell dash ed o ut and Poe leveled hi s pistol. "Do n't shoot!" Garrett yelle d . "T hat's Maxwell. " Po e co llec ted his th ough ts an d said, "Pat, you must have killed th e wro ng m an . Th e Kid would never co me here. No t to Maxwell's ." Maxwell h eld a can d le to th e window whil e th e o thers went in and co n firmed it was Billy th e Kid. "He won 't bother this sec tio n any longer," Ga rre tt rem arked. Billy was buri ed th e next day in th e o ld post ce metery, su p posed ly between his frie n ds Charles Bowdre an d Tom O 'Folli ard. At least th e three share a co m mo n head ston e su rro u nde d by an iron fence today.

GUNFIGHTERS, OUTLAWS, AND BADMEN

22

The Western tough did n ot fit into a sing le ca tegory. Gunfighters, ou tlaws, and "bad rne n" were three distinct types . Som etimes, but not always, a man would d rift across th e lin e fro m o ne to th e o ther. As noted earlier, being an ou tlaw did no t necessarily mean a person was a badman, althoug h a badman in vari abl y was outs ide th e law. Th e gunfigh ter might be on o ne side of th e law or th e o ther, and occ asio nally o n both. The gunfigh te r made his living by hi s profi cien cy with a firearm , and many a frontier lawm an was a gun figh te r because hi s reputati on kept things in line. Some of th e leading gu nfigh te rs, suc h as Wild Bill Hi ckok , o r th e Earp brothers, ge nerally staye d within th e law, alt ho ug h occasio nally th ey mi ght stray across th e lin e toward lawlessn ess. Th e Ben Thompsons of th e world were esse n tially badmen, but from tim e to tim e , th ey would don a badge an d acquire an air of resp ectabili ty. An outlaw might or migh t not turn into a badman . It largely dep ended upon th e individuals. The J am es and Younger brothers were amo ng th ose who crossed th e lin e. It took years of pursui t and a trial (in which he was acquitted) to mello w FrankJam es, and a lon g pri son term to tame Cole Younger. There were, however, outlaws who never soug ht th eir sta tus, an d would try to find a jurisdiction whe re th ey were not kn own , and where th ey could live under assume d names as law-abiding citizen s. Suc h was th e case of a Texas Ran ger nam ed Bell who, in reality was Kit Dalton, outlawed by fed eral au thorities becau se of his parti san activities during th e war. For a while , he ro de with Frank and J esse J am es, but even tua lly tir ed of ou tlaw

life , move d to Texas and, as Bell, serve d on th e side of the law. It was rare for a bona fide badma n to tum over a new leaf, but occas ionally it happen ed . On Sep tem ber 29, 1927, citizens of Oklaho ma gave a state fune ra l to one of th eir m ost respected citizens, Brig. Gen. Frank M. Can ton, commander of the Okl ahoma Na tional Guard, the same Frank Can ton who, four decad es earlier, had figured prominently in Wyoming's J ohnson County War. One newspap er eulogized him as a "conscien tious cham pion of law and order." What very few people kn ew was th at Frank Can ton, sold ier and lawman , was a Texas badman nam ed J oe Homer, an arme d ro bber and accuse d cold-bloo de d m urderer. J osiah Homer was born in Indian a in 1849, and served as an orde rly in th e U n io n Army during th e clos ing days of th e Civil War. After th e war, h e drifted , even tually se ttling as a cowboy near J acksboro , Texas, abo u t 60 miles west of Fort Worth. J acksbo ro was a tough town. "Dru n ken me n used to shoo t up the town abou t every night an d sometimes during th e day," Ind ian sco ut and lawman H enry Stro ng la ter recalled. H orner fitte d in well. During the early 187 0s, In d ians ofte n sto le stoc k fro m th e surround ing ra nc hes , and in ret aliati on for th e loss of some of h is ho rses, Ho rn er began stealing Indian stoc k fro m th e Kiowa-Com an ch e Reservati on in Oklah oma. Alth ough ge nera lly win ked at by th e wh ites, stealing In d ian ponies was a criminal offense , and as Horn er/ Canton 's biograp her, Robert K. DeArment, pointed ou t, th ere was o nly th e sligh test jump be tween stealing Indian stoc k and white stoc k. Horn er mad e th e j um p , and by 1874, h e and h is partner, Bill Cotnam, h ead ed a band of tough s that locals ca lled th e Horner-Cotnam Gang. By th e end of that yea r, h e was charged with assault and two co unts of ca ttle th eft. In Sep te m ber 1876, Horner was j ailed in J acksbo ro fo r two charges of assault and four of ca ttle th eft. O n September 13, he esca ped, an d em ba rked on a bona fid e career of crime. In Decembe r 1876, he and two co m panio ns ro bbe d th e bank in Comanc he, Texas, bu t were spotted and identified by H en ry Strong, who h ad kn own th em in J acksboro . Acco m panied by deputies, Strong trai led Horn er to San Antonio, where th ey arres ted him. H e was se n te nced to ten years in prison, but escaped agai n before he co uld be transferred . After even m ore crim inal ac tivity, he was fin ally run d own to Uvalde, abo ut 90 mi les due west of San An to nio, where h e received another ten-year se n te nce fo r robbery, to run co nc urre n tly with th e first. In May 1877 , he en te re d th e sta te peniten tiary at Hun tsville , where he was assigned to a chain ga ng. It is an interestin g qui rk of his pe rso nality th at , for all his crimes, Horn er basically respected th e power of th e law. In pri son , he determined th at if he were ever free aga in, he would uphold it instead of oppos ing it. On Aug ust 4, 1879, he esca pe d fro m the cha in ga ng an d disappeared

Frank Canton was an outlaw turned respectable pillar of the community. Bo rn Josiah Horner, he was wanted in Texas for a long list of crimes, including murder. He disappeared in 1874, re -emerging in Wyoming under his new name. He spent the rest of his life on the right side of the law, including service as deputy U.S. marshal in Oklahoma and Alaska. Canton later returned to Texas to take responsibility for his youthful crimes, and received official forgiveness from the state. At t he time of his death, he was brigadier general and commander of the Oklahoma National Guard. In his later years, friends urged him to resume his identity as Joe Horner, but he refused, preferring to be remembered as Frank Canton, upholder of the law. (Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

23

foreve r. In his place emerged Fra n k M. Canton , lawman , who would spe nd th e last 48 years of his life ato ning for the sins ofJ osiah Ho m er. Tombstone

T he blurred lin e between law an d lawlessn ess cause d th e most famo us and co n troversial - gu nfig ht in America n histo ry. Str ictly spea king , it occ urre d o n Block 17 of Frem ont Street, Tom bston e , Arizo na. But becau se of a stoc k pen that fro n ted j ust up th e street, it has en tered histo ry as th e O.K Co rra l figh t. O n th e one side was the Earp faction co ns isting of Virgil Earp, who represen ted th e legal authority of th e town , with broth ers Mo rgan and Wyatt, and Wyatt's frie nd Dr. J ohn H. Holliday, a tubercul ar for mer d entist tumed pro fessio nal ga mbler, who had n o legal sta nd ing o the r than citizen . On th e o the r was th e Clan to n fac tio n, which included, amo ng o thers, J oseph Isaac "Ike" Clan to n , hi s broth er William "Billy" Clan to n, brothers Tom and Frank McLau ry, and th e law as represented by Co ch ise Co u nty Sh eriff J oh nny Beh an . Only Billy Clan to n an d th e McLau ry brothers represented th e Clan ton s in th e fight, an d all three di ed: The Earps, Wyatt, Virgil, and a third broth er, J am es, arrived in Tombston e in December 1879. Virgil, who h ad some background in law e nforce ment, was mad e city marsh al, an d Wyatt becam e hi s deputy. Wyatt n ow em barked o n a scheme th at p reviously had serv ed him well in Dodge City, Kan sas. H e bought a ga m bling co nc essio n in Tombstone 's posh O rie ntal Saloon where he would ge t a percen tage of h ouse win n ings, and where his co m missio n as a peace officer gave him legal au thority over poten tially un rul y losers. J im my Earp, meanwhile , tended to th e saloon busin ess; his arm cri p pled by a Civil War wound , he co u ld not h ave qualifi e d as a gu nfigh te r, as did h is bro thers. evertheless, Wyatt and Virgil were not alo ne. T hey were soo n joined by th eir brother Mo rgan , who was eq ually handy with a gun , and Doc Holliday, whom Wyatt had befriended in Fort Griffin , Texas, and with

24

Allen Street in Tombstone shows an air of ru stic decorum that di sappeared as soon as the sun went down. Sandwiched among the re spect ab le businesses were dozens of saloo ns that turned the st re et into a Bedlam of b raw ls and shootings. The " g host" images flanking the welldressed gentleman on the right are two men who were moving too quickly to be recorded by the photography of the t ime. (Arizona Historical Society, Tuc scon , AHS 14835)

whom h e asso ciated in Dodge City. Hollid ay was a medi ocre gunfigh te r, but th e fac t th at h e was dying an d had nothing to lose mad e him th e mo st dangerous of all. Newcom ers, th e Earps meant to be powerbrokers in a town mad e of newcomers, and this ea rned th em th e en mity of th e cowboys and ran ch ers of th e surro u nd ing coun tryside, man y of whom were secon d ge ne ratio n . Am ong th e most powerful were Ne wto n Haynes "O ld Man " Clan to n, an d his sons, Ike , Billy, and Phineas, together with th eir allies, th e McLaurys. They sold beef, much of it stolen, to th e citizens of Tombstone , and th eir pen ch ant fo r livestock th eft brought th em into co nflict with th e Earp s. Th e Clan tons h ad yet ano ther ally, Sheriff J ohnny Beh an , who need ed th e su pport of th e county's large cowboy faction to stay in offic e Th e trouble began when Virgil, who also se rved as d eputy U.S. marsh al, traced six stole n gove rn men t mules to th e McLau ry ranch . Befo re th ey co uld be recovered , however, th e McLaurys managed to dispose of th e mules, th ereb y removing th e evidence . Behan thoroughly resen ted Virgil, whose dual role as depu ty U.S. marshal an d city marshal gave him su p re me au thority both within th e Tombstone city limits, and in Behan 's jurisdi ction of Coc hise Co unty as well. But th e sheriffs real hatred was reserved for Wyatt Earp who had sed uced (a nd would even tua lly marry) Behan 's param our, J osephin e Marcu s. In July 1881 , Beh an arres ted Doc Holliday for killin g a Wells Fargo stage driv er during a holdup atte m p t. The charge was dismi ssed for lack of evide nce, but rumors sp read th at th e Earps also were invo lved , particu larly becau se Morgan now was em ployed by Wells Fargo . All summer th e situatio n det eriorat ed th en , in Septe mbe r, Virgil arrested Deputy Sheriff Frank Stillwell, and Clan to n ad here n t Pet e Spe nce, for ro bbing a stage . Frank McLaury sto rme d into town , co nfro n te d Morgan , and issued a public cha lle nge. A gu nfigh t now was in evitab le. On O ctober 25, Ike Clan to n and Tom McLaury ca me into town , a n d Ike go t glorio usly drunk. Abo ut l am , he went into ' th e Alh ambra saloon and ordere d a meal. Wyatt was also havin g a lat e su p per, and Morgan was tending bar. Doc Holliday, who blam ed th e Clan tons for his legal p roblem s, ar rived and, enraged at th e sigh t of Clan to n, walked over to th e tabl e , an d said, "You son-of-a-bitch cowboy, ge t ou t you r gun an d ge t to work." "I don 't have any gu n," Ike replied. Th e argumen t grew heat ed, and Morgan gra bbe d Doc by th e arm and took him o ut into the stree t. Ike , tho ug h, wasn 't fini sh ed, an d followed th em out, where both Morgan and Doc turn ed on h im . Unarmed, Ike wandere d off, to con tin ue d rinking and find a card game. By 11.30am, he had arme d himself

Doc Holliday, the dentist turned professional gambler. (Author's collection)

25

26

with a revolver and rifle , and rem arked, "As soo n as th ose damned Earps mak e th eir appeara nce o n th e street today, th e ball will open ." Wyatt and Virgil fo und him in an alley. Co ming u p fro m beh ind, Wyatt gra bbe d th e rifle , wh ile Virgi l hit him over th e head with a revolver. Th ey haul ed him into co urt for carrying firea rms with in th e city limi ts. As Ike sat wiping th e blood fro m hi s head , Wyatt told h im , "Yo u've th reat ened my life two or th ree tim es. I wan t th is thi ng stoppe d. You damn d ir ty cow thi ef, if yo u ' re anxious to figh t, I'll meet yo u ," "I' ll see you after I ge t th rough h ere ," Ike ret ort ed . "All I wan t is four fee t of grou nd ." Wyatt walk ed ou t but ra n into To m McLau ry. Heat ed wor ds were excha ng ed , an d Wyatt slapped McLa ury with his left hand , an d h it him ac ross th e head with a pistol in hi s righ t. Now, an o ther Clan to n ally, Billy Claibourne, appea red , and when Ike paid his fin e , to ok him to a doctor to ge t hi s head bandaged. Outside th e d octor's office , Claibourne ra n into Billy Clan to n an d Tom McLau ry. Alt ho ug h younger th an Ike , it always fell on Billy to ge t keep his troublesome brother in 'line. "I didn't co me here to fight anyone, an d no o ne wants to fight m e ," he snappe d at Ike. "Ge t your ho rse and go h ome." The Clan to ns, McLaurys, and Billy Claibo urn e head ed for th e O .K. Corra l fo r th eir horses. It was too lat e. Virg il had det ermin ed to arres t and disarm th e Clan tons and th e McLaurys. H e called o n J ohn ny Behan to help him , but Behan refused, saying th e Earps' p resen ce wo uld lead to a fight. "T hey won 't hurt me ," he told Virgi l. "I will go down alo ne and see if I can d isarm th em ." With th at , Beh an sta rte d toward th e O .K. Corral. Virgil, m ean whil e , was joined by Morgan , Wyatt, an d Doc Holliday, and togeth er th ey started toward Frem ont Street. Th e cowboys, m eanwhile , had left the corral and were stand ing in th e vacant lot between Camillus S. Fly's Ph otographic Gallery and th e H arwood house. Virgi l placed his right hand o n his gu n , that was stuc k in th e waistband of his trouse rs. See ing th em approach , Behan ra n up to Virgil and said , "For Go d's sake, don 't go th ere o r th ey will murder you." 'joh n ny, I am go ing down to disarm th em," Virgil replied . "I have already disarmed th em all," Beh an lied. With that, Virgil shoved his pisto l arou nd his sto ma ch to his left side , and sh ifte d Do c's cane to hi s right hand . The Earps moved into th e vacant lo t and con fro n ted th e cowboys. Billy Clan to n and Frank McLaury had th eir hands on th eir pisto ls. Tom McLau ry did not ca rry a pisto l, but was grasping a Win ch ester rifle in th e sadd le scabbard of Frank 's horse. "Boys," Virgil said , "th row up your hands. I wan t your guns." Billy and Frank drew th eir guns but pulled back th e hammers. "Ho ld o n, " Virgil said , "I don 't want that. " Ike put his arms ac ross his ches t to show he was unarmed. Wh o fire d th e first shot will always be a mystery. Ike Clan to n and J ohnny Behan lat er testified it was th e Earps, wh ile Virgil testified th e cowboys fir ed first. Wyatt believed h e an d Billy Clan to n ope ned fir e almost sim ulta neously. As soon as th e shooting started, Ike grabbe d Wyatt's arm. "T h e fight has co m menced," Wyatt snapped . "Go to figh ting o r ge t away." With th at , he sh oved him aside . Ike ran th rough Fly's fro n t door,

barely missin g a load of bucksh ot fro m Doc Holliday's shotgu n . Behan grabbe d Billy Claiborne, an d jerked him toward th e back door. Billy Clan ton was aim ing straigh t at Wyatt, but Wyatt co ncen trate d on Frank McLaury, who was th e bette r sho t. Frank go t off one shot before staggering over to th e side walk with Wyatt's bullet in hi s sto mach . Billy was so close to Virgil Earp th at his pistol was to Virgil's side rather th an in fro n t of him. Virgil lat er testified h e h eard two shots, one of th em Billy's. With th at he sh ifte d th e cane to hi s left hand, drew hi s own gun, and began to fir e. " [I] t was ge neral th en," h e said, "an d every bo dy wen t to fighting." Tom McLau ry had man aged to stay o ut of th e fight, usin g Frank's h orse for cove r. Now th e h orse bolted and dash ed ou t into th e street, leaving him ex posed. Unawa re - or perhap s not ca ring - th at h e was un arm ed , Doc H olliday gave him a shotg un blast in th e right side. Tom man aged to stagger d own Fremont Street to th e co rner of Third, where he co llapse d, mortally wounded. Morgan Earp had woun de d Billy Clan to n, who fell over and began firin g across his arm . A bullet struck Virgil in th e calf, and his legs gave way. The badl y wounded Frank grabbe d for th e Win ch ester as his horse ran past, but he missed. H e turned to see Doc th row th e shotgun aside and draw his own pistol. They fired sim ulta neously, Doc missed , but Frank's bullet grazed th e dentist o n th e hip. At th at moment, howeve r, a bulle t from Morgan Earp hit Frankjust below th e ear and fini sh ed him. Now, th e only cowboy left was th e badl y wou nded Billy Clan to n, who pushe d himself u prigh t, fir ing one last shot that hit Mo rgan in th e sho u lde r. Morgan and Wyatt both fired, an d Billy fell ove r again. The fight was over. It had lasted 30 seconds . As a ca lm descended o n Fremont Street, Camillus Fly ca me ou t of his house and walked ove r to th e dying Billy, who was making o ne last feebl e attem pt to coc k his revo lver. Fly took th e pistol from hi s hand.

Billy Clanton (left) and Tom and Frank M cLaury are laid out in silver-rimmed coffins prior to one of Tombstone's biggest fun erals. Th ey were displayed in a hardware store that had an especially large window. (Arizona Histo rical Society, Tucson , AHS 17483)

27

In itially, Wyatt and Do c, the on ly two still able to sta nd, were jailed without bond o n charges of murder. No imm ediat e actio n was ta ke n agains t Morgan a n d Virgil, bo th bedridden from th eir wou nds, but Virg il was suspe nded as marsh al. Even tua lly, all were cleared at an inquest in whi ch Judge Well s Sp icer no te d th at alt hough th e Earps' ac tio ns had virt ually n o force of law, th e co n tin ui ng threats agains t th em by the Clan to n fac tio n were miti gating circ u ms ta nces. It wasn't fini sh ed. One nigh t two months lat er, Virgil was crossing Fifth Street whe n a shotgun blast o u t of th e d arkness shatte re d h is left arm . T he n, in March 1882, Wyatt and Morgan were playing billiards wh en a shot smas hed th e glass in th e d oor and ripped th rough Morgan 's spine. H e di ed two hours late r. Witn esse s saw Pete Spe nce, Fr ank Stillwell, an d a man purported to be an Indian . Virgil and his wife took Morgan 's body on th e train to Califo rn ia fo r burial. Wyatt and Doc accom pa nied th em as far as Tucson, where th ey spo tted Frank Stillwell. They d etrain ed, and Stillwell was found dead th e next morning. Back in Tombstone, th ey went hunting for Pete Spe nce. H e elude d th em, but th ey did kill th e "Ind ian," wh o was ac tually a Mexican. Then, with J ohnny Behan afte r th em for Stillwell's murder, th ey left for Albuquerque , Ne w Mexico , beyond Arizona jurisdi ction. Wild Bill Hickok

28

Most of th e famous lawm en and gu nfig h ters at so me point In th eir careers seem to have mad e an ap pearance in Kan sas. Ind eed , Wyatt Earp, Will Bill Hi ckok, and Bat Masterson go t th eir start th ere. Locat ed at th e ce n ter of th e buffal o range , th e terminus of th e railr oad s from th e eas t, and th e terminus of th e ca ttle tr ails from Texa s, it offe re d unlimited op port u n ities for a man lo oking to ea rn a livin g with a gu n . J am es Bu tler Hi ckok was born in Illinoi s in 1837 an d left h ome for Kansas in 1855. At first h e worke d in od d jobs, th en su p porte d th e "Free-So il" politi cal movement th at was d etermined to ge t Kan sas into th e Unio n withou t slavery. Ab out 1859, h e began driving stagecoaches an d wagons but, afte r being m au led by a bear in 1861 , was reassign ed to th e Rock Creek Stage Stati on in Nebraska . By this tim e , th e Civil War was lo oming, and Kan sas and Ne b ras ka were boiling ove r with sec tio nal hatreds. According to Hi ckok , th ese led to a feud with Dave Mcf. anles, who h e said h ead ed a gang of border ruffians, as pro-Southern gu n men were kn own. In H ickok's version of eve nts, McCanles an d hi s m en were d etermined to kill h im for his Un io n ist leanings. Wh en th e shooting and knife-slash in g were fini sh ed, h owever, h e claimed h e h ad killed McCanles and nine members of his

Cochise County Sheriff Johnny Behan, shown here with his w ife, sided with the cowboy faction during the Earp-Clanton feud and made a half-hearted attempt to head off the O.K . Corral fight. Prior to his marriage, he and Wyatt Earp quarrelled over the affecti ons of actress Josephine Marcus, whom Wyatt later married. The lady in th is photograph often has been identified as Behan's sister, but recent research indicates she wa s his wife. (Arizona Hi storical Society, Tucson, AHS 30223)

ga ng, wh ile he himself was hit by II pieces of bucksh o t and was cut in 13 places. As tim e passed, an d dime novels embe llished th e fight, the number of McCanles me n grew to 30. Even so, th e reali ty of H ickok alo ne facing fo ur men and killin g th ree of th em , was im pressive enoug h to give him th e ni ckn am e "Wild Bill." Wild Bill Hi ckok 's ac tivities durin g th e Civil War are shadowy, but h e appears to h ave served th e Un io n Army as a sco u t, as sp ies were kn own at th at tim e. After th e war, h e turned to gambling in Springfield, Missouri. InJuly 1865 he got into an argumen t ove r a debt with another professional ga mbler, Dave Tutt, an d wen t ou t into th e street to se ttle it. Tu tt 's sho t mi ssed , and Hi ckok pu t a bullet th rough hi s heart. T hese ex ploits did much to en hance his re p uta tion, as d id h is appearance. H e was handsom e , with long, ches tn u t-colored hair, and long, well-t rimm ed m ou stach es. He d ressed in either velvet or form-fitt ing buckskins, with a re d sash, an d large , Mex ica n-style hat, an d carried a pair of Co lt's .36-caliber Navy Mod el revo lvers with ivory grips in reverse d h olsters. H enry Morton Stan ley, who lat er ga ined fame and a kni gh th ood fo r his African explo ra tio ns, noted that H ickok "held himself stra ight, and had bro ad , co mpac t shoulde rs, was large chested, with small waist, an d well-form ed muscul ar limbs. A fin e , handsome face, free fro m bl emish , a ligh t moustach e , a thin pointed nose , bluish-grey eyes, wit h a ca lm look , a magni ficent forehead , hai r parted fro m th e ce n te r of the fore head, and han ging down beh ind th e ea rs in wavy, silke n cu rls .. 00 He is more inclin ed to be soc iable th an otherwise ... an d is en dowed wit h ex traord in ary power and agi lity.. 00" "I say, Mr. Hickok ," Sta n ley greeted, "how man y wh ite men have you killed to your ce rtain kn owledge?" Wild Bill deliberat ed for a mo me nt, n o d oubt calcu lat ing a figure th at would impress this pilgrim with pen cil an d pad. Finally he said, "I su p pose I have killed co nsiderably ove r a h undred." Impressed , Stanley asked, "What mad e you kill all those men? Did you kill the m witho u t cause or p rovo cation?" "No , by heaven ! I never killed one man without good ca use . .. .I was 28 years old when I killed th e first white man , and if ever a man deserved killin g he d id ." Indian s, of co urse , did no t co u n t in th e frontier recko ning of killin gs. Leavin g Springfield, Hi ckok served as d eputy marsh al at Fort Riley, Kansas, and th en as an army sco ut. T he yea r 1869 fo u nd him at Hays, Kansas , where h e became city marsh al. Within a year, howeve r, he was involved in at least six saloon killings, fo ur in volvin g so ld ie rs fro m nearby Fort Hays. Lt. Ge n . Philip H . Sheridan ordered hi s arrest, an d Wild Bill h astily de parted. After a bri ef, lackluster stin t in a Wild West sho w, Hickok re turned to Kansas, where h e becam e town marsh al of Abile ne, a no n-mil itary town ou tside Sheridan 's jurisdi ction. On his firs t day in office, h e sho t two men, an d had been on th e j ob o n ly briefly when three dan gerous men, Phil Coe, Ben Thompson, and J ohn Wesley Hardin came into town. Coe and Thompson came in together, an d pooled th ei r resources to o pe n a ga m bling den kn own as th e Bull 's Head Saloon. Thei r q uarrel with Hickok began when he ordered th eir sign painted over to cover mo re gra ph ic portions of th e sym bo lic bull 's lower anato my. Fro m th ere it accele ra ted. The Eng lish-bo rn Thompson had grown up in Aus tin,

29

The rough mining town of Deadwood, South Dako ta , seen here about 1880 when it was four years old, attracted lawmen, badmen, and gunf ighters, including Wild Bill Hickok, who was murdered during a poker game in one of Deadwood's saloons. (Nebraska State Historical Society)

Tex as, an d co nside re d himself Sou thern . Hardin was ra bid ly an ti-Unio n, and Th ompson playe d o n this, alleging th at Hi ckok on ly killed Sou therners. The town began betting on who would win a gunfigh t, H ardin or Hi ckok . The confrontation came when Wild Bill tried to arrest Hardin for ca rry ing fir earm s. Hardin lat er claimed to h ave handed over h is gu ns, grip fir st, but at th e last second, performed his fam ou s "borde r roll ," flipping th em arou nd so th e m uzzles p oin ted square ly at Hi ckok. Wh at ever th e case , Hi ckok always ad mired an opponen t with equal n erv e , especially co nside ring th at H ardin was o nly days shy of hi s 18th birthday. They adj ourn ed to th e backroom of a saloo n for drinks and emerged frien ds . Ph il Coe was n ot so lu cky. He an d Hickok quarreled over a wom an , an d Wild Bill killed him. It was ob viou s th at Hi ckok was becoming gu n crazy. Additionally, his eyesigh t was beginning to fail. Wh en he acc ide ntally killed one of his own d eputies, who was running to his aid in a free- for-all gunfight, th e city cou nc il had enoug h and dismi ssed him. Afte r arrang ing some sort of understanding with th e army, h e re turned to Fort Hays, serving briefly as town marsh al. Then, afte r a seaso n wi th Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show, he went into a d ownward spiral, d riftin g fro m town to town as a gam bler, until fin ally he was murdered in Dead wood, Dakota Territory. Bat Masterson

30

Co m pare d to Hi ckok, th e Ea rps, an d o ther co ntem pora ries, Bat Masterson see ms almos t a reluctan t gu nfighter. H e ge nerally tri ed to avoid trouble , but hi s own audacity ofte n brought it to him. Masterson was born on a farm in Queb ec in 1853. O rigin ally, he was nam ed Bartholomew, fro m which "Bat" is derived, but for unkn own reasons, he later changed hi s given name to William Barcl ay. Wh en Bat was abou t eigh t, hi s fath er m oved th e fam ily to th e Un ite d States, an d h e grew up o n various family far ms in New York, Illinois, an d Kan sas. In 1871 , h e and hi s olde r brother, Ed, wen t to Wichita

where th ey worked as graders for th e Atchison , Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad . By 187 3, Bat h ad turn ed buffalo hunter, and was among th e handful of hunters who h eld off an attack by over 700 Comanches and Kiowas at the hide depot of Adobe Walls, Texas, in 1874. The Adobe Walls fight inaugurated the Red River War of 1874-75. After se rving as a scout for the army during th e war, Masterson moved to Mob eeti e , in th e Texas Panhandle. On J an uary 24, 1876 , how ever, he was in a tryst with a dance hall girl named Molli e Brennan aft er hours at the Lad y Gay d an cehall, when Sgt. Melvin A. King, from n earby Fort Elliott, burst in on ' them. Loaded with bad whisky, and with hi s own d esigns on Molli e , King began blazing away with his service revolver. A bullet went through Mollie and penetrated Bat 's pelvis. Bat managed to sh oo t King through th e h eart before collapsing. Mollie died a short tim e later, and Bat was tr eated at the Fort Elliott hospital until he recovered. He was still limping when he arrived in Dodge City that spring. H e served bri efly as a policeman, left town , and th en returned in 1877 to open a saloon. In O ctober of that yea r, afte r a bri ef stint as under-sh eriff of Ford Co u nty, Bat was elec ted she riff. His record was impressive. H e chased down train robbers and murderers . Pulling d ouble-duty as d eputy U.S. marshal , he went to Nebraska to bring ba ck seven Cheyen ne Ind ians to Dod ge City for trial for depredations co mm itte d in Ford Cou n ty d uring th e 1877 Ch eye n ne outbreak . With his old frie n d Ben Th ompson and nin e o thers, he took tim e out to serve as a gua rd for th e Santa Fe Railroad in a right-of-way feud with th e Denver an d Rio Grande. Th en Denver an d Rio Grande offered $20,000, an d Thompson, Mast erson and co m pany changed sid es. By th e e nd of his term, however, vot ers were disillusioned abo u t his h eavy expe nd itures, and hi s close assoc iatio n with Dodge City Mayor James H. Kelley's political ma chine , and turn ed him out of office. Although Bat con tin ue d to serve off and on as a lawm an during th e next co u ple of d ecades, h e was less a gu nfigh te r than a gam bler and sportsman. He tri ed his hand at being a boxing promoter, an d even attempted to publish a newspaper. In 1902 , however, h e turned hi s back on th e West an d moved to New York, where h e wou ld remain for th e rest of his life.

Dapper, Canadian-born Bat Masterson was more of a sportsman with a literary bent than a gunfighter. Nevertheless, in his brief career as a lawman, he helped clean up the Kansas cow towns. He eventually moved to New York, where he became a newspaper columnist, and died at his desk. (Kansas State Historical Society)

Ben Thompson

In looking back over gu nfig h ting lawm en, one name keeps cro p ping up, that of Yorkshire-born Ben Thompson. Only once did h e actually serve as a lawman , and th en only bri efly. Most of th e tim e h e was on th e opposite sid e , a part-time gu n m an , part-tim e gam ble r, and full-tim e reprobate. If Hi ckok was a d andy, Thompson was elegant. H e co uld be see n on Austin's Congress Avenue d ecked out in fro ck co at, vest, cravat,

31

silk topper, ca ne, and his eve r-p resen t revolver. Part of it was his love of a figh t; h e parad ed d own the stree t, hoping someone would remark o n hi s attire . One day a cowboy kn ocked off hi s topper. Seeing th e man was drunk, Thompson sh rugged it off. But when h e did it a second tim e , Thompson shot hi s ea rs off. The cowboy was ca rried into a n earby sto re, wh ere so meone remarked, "Do n't you kn ow who th at was? Wh y, th at was th e n ot orious Ben Thompson wh ose hat you kn ocked off." Wh ether from pain , o r fear, o r both , th e cowboy fainted. Thompson loved to d efy co nve n tio n, kn owin g th at no one would arg ue. Once he forced th e tender of a white-only bar to serve all black cus to mers. An o the r tim e , he load ed hi s gu n with blanks, jumped up on th e stage of an Aus tin variety h ouse , and em p tied it at th e aud ience, to see how much o f a sta m pe de for th e ex its he co uld ca use . In cid en ts like this gave him an undeserved reputati on as a first-rat e gu nslinger. Bu t wh ile Thompson co uld be d an ge rous, he was not in volved in n earl y the number of shoo tings fo r wh ich h e has been cred ite d, eve n if his good frie nd Bat Masterson ra te d him as th e best. Thompson was b rought to Texas as a ch ild, an d grew up in Austin . Hi s first scrape ca me when h e was 18, an d wou nde d a black you th in a quarrel. H e was j ailed, but the gove rnor o rdered hi m re leased . H e fought for th e Co nfe de racy du ring the Civil War, the n served as a m ercenary with Imperi alist forces in Mexico , managing to escape one ste p ahead of the victo rio us Mexican Republican s. After spe nd ing most of th e 1870s in Kansas an d Colorado, T hompson returned to Austin wh ere, in 1880 , he was elec ted town marshal. H e was a go od an d efficie n t lawman , but resign ed in 1882 becau se of a gu nfigh t in San Antonio, in which he killed ga m bler J ack H arris. Two yea rs lat er, h e and badman King Fish er, bo th d ru n k, were co nfron te d in San Antonio 's Vaude ville Variety Theat re by H arris's partners, J oseph C. Foster and William H . Sim ms. Wo rd s were exc hanged , tempers flared, gu ns blazed, and wh en it was fini sh ed, T hom pson and Fish er were d ead . The clos ing of th e 1880s saw th e gu nfig h te r-lawman fade away. Men like Wyatt Ea rp, Bat Masterson, and Wild Bill H ickok, who upheld th e law by firepower, were replaced by p ro fession al lawmen like Chris Madsen, Willi am Til ghman , and H eck T homas , who enfo rce d the law by skill and d edicat ion to duty.

TOWNS THAT ATE MEN FOR BREAKFAST Despite th e H ollywood im age , Western towns provided a b ro ad crosssec tio n of Am eri can life of th e era . Visiting Deadwood, Dak ot a Te rritory, in September 1876 , on ly four months afte r its founding, Cap t. J ohn Gregory Bourke of th e Third Cavalry co m men te d in his di ary, "We saw and encou n te re d all classes of soc iety, rep resen ta tives of its goo d gra des and bad . We were prepared for any d evelopmen ts of reckless misrule an d d efiance of o rder: but our ex pecta tio ns failed to be realized. We admitted tacitl y th at we were in a littl e co m m u nity where O rd er h ad cast th e fir st rays of its ligh t into th e d arkness of Chaos and where if Vice , in its most hideous forms did ex ist, it was o n ly by toleran ce and no t bv en co u race men t." 32

(Continued on page 41)

A

THE "HANGING JUDGE " OF FORT SMITH

B

BUTCH AND SUNDANCE

_ _ _ _ _ _ _.

-.I

C

D

JOHN CLUM AND INDIAN POLICE

E

F

G

Tolerance, however, allow ed for a gre at d eal, for o n th e ve ry same page of his diary, Bourke noted, "Gam bling Hells flourished: all games co uld be found . Three card monte, Keno, Poker, Roulette and Faro; but Faro was th e favorite. The tabl es of th ese games of ch anc e were gro un de d with players, winning or losin g with eq ual indifference and equal stolid ity. Every now and th en, a tap upon th e littl e be ll by the dealer's side brought in refreshments of a liquid form for the cro wd [.] Close by th ese were ' h urdy-gu rdys' , where th e music from asthmatic pianos tim ed th e dancin g of painted, padded and leering Aspasias, too hideous to hope for p rofit in any village less remote from civilizatio n ." Deadwood gre w up along Deadwood Cree k one of th e more promisin g locales for prosp ectors and miners in th e Black Hills gold ru sh . Plains town s like Dodge City, Kan sas, and Fort Griffin , Texas, often sp ra ng up aro und military posts, but th eir gre a t ec o no mic bo om beg an with buffalo hunting. In fact , th e first proposed nam e for Dodge City was Buffalo City, but th e Post Offi ce Department rejected it because there alre ady was a Buffalo , Kansas. Dodge , afte r th e adj acen t post of Fort Dodge , th en becam e th e logical cho ice . The buffalo boom had sta rted in 1870 when eastern tanners det ermined th at buffalo hide made th e best leath er for th e belts th at d ro ve th e machines of th e industri al East. The demand for hides skyroc ke ted, and th e plains flooded with hunters. Within a few sh ort years, however, th e unimpeded slaug h te r virtually ex te rm ina ted th e buffalo , and th e plains town s sh ifte d to cattle. Cattle fro m south Texas were dri ven up th e Great Western Trail , through Fort Griffin , to Dodge. Trail bosses bought su pplies, an d cowboys spen t th eir pay, money flowed freely, and th e need for tough lawm en co n tin ue d . Whatever th e case, th ese town s drew read y cash, and attracted gam blers, thi eves, pro stitutes, and o thers eager to share in the wealt h . One Fort Griffin resid ent recalled , "The buffalo hunters and their skinners, th e drovers, and th e cowboys go ing up th e [Great Western] trail had plen ty of m oney to spe n d, and th ey spe n t it recklessly.. . .1 saw a buffalo hunter co me into town o ne day and market his season's kill for

Hunters skin a buffalo In Taylor County, Texas, In 1874. The lucrative buffalo hide business was an economic cornerstone for the early days of Dodge City, Kansas, and Fort Griffin, Texas. The hunters themselves, flush with money from four months on the range, made easy targets for crooked gamblers. (Texas State Library and Arch ives Commission)

41

42

$ 1,500, and th e next morning he had to borrow money for his breakfast. Th e ga m blers had go tte n all of it. The ordi nary fellow did not have th e ghost of a show in th ose ga mbling halls. Most of th e ga mes were crooked , an d if th ey co uld no t ge t it o ne way, th ey would another. Frequently, th ey would ge t th eir victims d runk and ' ro ll' th em and take it away fro m th em in th at way." Simi lar sce nes were re peated throug hout th e West. Buffalo hunter J. Wright Mooar came in to Dodge City looking to sell his season 's take to hide buyer Eugene LeCompt. He foun d th e nervous LeCompt involved in a high-stak es card game wit h some ro ug h-loo king characte rs, in a saloo n south of th e "dead lin e" that separated Dod ge City's red light d istrict from th e resp ectabl e north part of town . Recogni zing th e danger, Mooar disrupted th e ga me by demanding immediat e negoti ations on his hides. Afte r LeCompt folde d an d walk ed outs ide, he told Mooar, "I would n 't go back in th at h ouse fo r a milli on dollars. By Go d, you saved my life right th ere." No t all gam ble rs were cu tth roats. Many were professionals who viewed th e ga min g tab les as a calling, just as th e cowboy viewed cows, or th e miner a quartz-lad en wash . One ea rly Deadwood resid ent said, "Always th ey wor e th eir pok er masks an d spo ke with quiet voices . Winnings and losses alike left th em appare n tly unmoved." An other added , "In Deadwood Gulc h yo u 've go t to be a good loser. That 's what life o n th e fro n tie r is - ch an ce. The professional ga mble r j us t goes a littl e fart her with th e ga me, th at 's all." Like m ost generalizat io ns, there ofte n were excep tio ns . Tro uble see me d to follow Luk e Short, a sometime cowboy, dispat ch rid er, and d rifter, who decided th e elegan t life of a pro fessional gambler more suited his tastes. He spe n t severa l years ga mbling away his wages, carefully observi ng all th e tools and tricks of th e tra de, so th at by th e late 1870s, he was a house dealer. In 1881, he was dealing at the Orien tal in Tomb ston e, where he got into a d ispute with Charlie Storms, whose re putatio ns as faro dealer an d gu nfigh te r were equally impressive. Bat Masterson averted a shooting by intervening an d leading Storms back to his hotel. Sto rms, however, reappeared at th e Oriental, and in th e ensuing scuffle, wen t for his gu n. Sh ort, however, fired first, and Storms died instantly. After being cleared of murder charges, Short th en wen t to Dodge City, where h e purch ased part-interest in th e famous Long Branch Saloon. H ere h e had hi s sec o nd fight. It started when th e poli ce arrested so me of Sh ort's girls, but left th ose of th e mayor's politi cal cronies unmolested. Short su bse q ue n tly go t into an argu me n t with one of th e arres ting officers, and guns flash ed. Although th e office r was unhurt in th e shooting, Sh ort an d seve ra l o ther politically undesir abl e ga mble rs were run ou t of town. Once again co ming to hi s aid , Masterson persu ad ed Kan sas Governor G.W. Glick th at Sh ort was th e victim of Dodge City politics. That , together with th e appearanc e of Wyatt Earp in Short's cause , co nvinced th e Dodge officials to let Short return. He remained until Nove mbe r 1883, when h e sold ou t and bought an in terest in a saloon in Fort Wo rth . Here h e was involved in ye t ano ther shooting, th is time killing former city marsh al J im Co urtrig h t, who was tryin g to ex to rt p rotection mo ney. After yet ano ther fracas in 1890, resulting in m inor injuries, Short 's h ealth began to fail, and h e died in a Kansas spa in 1893.

A view of Front Street in Dodge City shows the famous Dodge House with its adjoining billiard hall, and other businesses typical of a Kansas hide and cow town. (Kansas State Historical Society)

T he most famous card game in th e West occ u rred in Nu ttall an d Mann 's Saloon in Deadwood, o n Augus t 2, 1876 , when Wild Bill H icko k fin ally me t his en d . Hickok was 39 when h e drifted into Deadw ood accompanied by hi s some time param our, Marth a J an e "Calam ity J ane" Cannary, an d his side kick Colora do Charley Utte r. Alth ough h e recently had married circus performer Agnes Lake, she, appare n tly, was n ot part of th e retinue. Go norrhea h ad blurred Hi ckok 's di stance vision, but h e was still a dead shot up to 25 yards . Hi s dissip ated lifestyle had left h im a shadow of his former self but, n evertheless, hi s reputati on was intact an d th at , co mbine d with his braggad ocio , were h is undoing. As Black Hills historian Watson Parker has noted, many had gru dges agains t h im becau se of frie nds or re latives who had died in past disputes. Still o thers would have been willin g to kill Wild Bill, sim ply to go down in h isto ry as th e man who did it. Am ong th e latter was an undistinguished d rift er named J ack McCall. Aware th at h e was a walking target, Hi ckok took precautions. H e tended to use his left hand, leaving hi s gun hand free, an d h e preferred sitting with his back to th e wall. O n thi s particul ar eve n ing, h owever, h e violated that ru le, an d McCall came up behind him and shot him in th e ba ck of th e head . Hi ckok was h olding two pairs, aces and eigh ts, whic h have since become kn own as th e "dead man 's hand. " As th ere was n ot yet any formal law in Dead wood, a min ers' co urt co nvene d an d qui ckly cleared McCall based on his false allegation that Hi ckok had killed h is broth er. But a miners' co urt did not have th e legal stand ing to protect fro m double j eopardy, and McCall was later co nvicted of th e murder in a territo rial co urt in Yankt on, an d hanged. The miners' jury that acq uitted McCall was typi cal of th e tough ele me n t that made up th e bulk of th e population of th ese ea rly town s. But th e very re aso n fo r th ese towns' econom ic ex iste nces ca lled for tough p eople. The mines, buffalo ranges, ra ilro ad cam ps, an d ca ttle tra ils were n ot plac es fo r th e fain t-hearte d . In area s where a town sprang up aroun d a military p ost, th e post co m man der mi ght exercise

43

44

so me jurisdi ction ove r th e su rro u n di ng area, to keep h is troops out of trouble. But, as in th e case of Fort Griffin , th e esta blish men t of a local jurisdicti on removed th e area o uts ide th e p ost fro m military co n tro l. Following th e organizati on of Shackelford County in 1874, Fort Griffin was design at ed th e temporary co unty sea t. In June 1875, th e first gra nd jury co nve ne d by th e new co unty h anded down indictm ents. Many in volved women acc use d of "kee ping a disorderl y h ouse, to wit: a h ouse where vaga bo nds & prostitutes resort for th e purpose of public prostitution." Every so ofte n th e litany of "d isorderly h ouse" offe nses was broken by m en indicted for "playing at a ga me with cards in a h ouse used for ret ailing spiritu ous liquors." The removal of th e town fr om mili ta ry co n tro l also meant less co n tro l ove r sold iers out for a ni ght o n th e town. The post surgeon co m p lained : "T he habi ts of th e Men might be mat eri ally impro ved , by th e removal of a number of Lewd Women living in th e vicin ity of th e Post. The So ld ie rs not on ly become demo ralized by fre que n ting th ese re sorts but some of th em have already co n tracted venereal diseases and one soldier was wounded by a pistol ball in one of th ese drunken h aunts. It would, in my o pin ion be a great ben efit to th e ga rrison an d improve th e di scipline and h ealth of th e post if th ese disr eputabl e wom en were removed by th e Au thorities, ei ther Civil or Milita ry." The problem was th at th e military co uldn 't , and th e civil wouldn't. As Bourke noted in Dead wood, p ro stitutes were tolerat ed ra ther th an welcomed in th e woman -starved West. Virt ua lly every jurisdi cti on outlawed prostitution, but the e nfo rcemen t was uneven at best. Shackelford Cou nty records sh ow th at th e Fort Griffin pro stitutes were arreste d o n th e average of o nce a year, fin ed $ 100 on each co u n t of th eir indictmen ts, an d re leased to res u me their trad e. The fin es, in fact, were n othing mo re th an a "sin tax " that brought reve n ue for th e co u nty. In Tombstone , prostitution was initi ally co nfine d to a saloo n distri ct along Allen and Fremont Str eets, but in 1882 th e restri ctions were lifted . The town council, interested in bo ostin g Tombstone as a major mining ce n te r rath er th an a pl ace to raise a fam ily, recognized th at a well-developed syste m of bordellos was an integral part of a pred ominantly male busin ess environment. In fact, th e she riff was responsible for collec ting monthly operating fees fro m gambling esta blishments, saloons, th eaters, and bord ellos. If Tombstone was. less interested in resp ectability th an econo mic development, Abil ene was trying to become civilized . Founded in 1857, and formally o rgan ized in 1869, it was a h ell-for-leather railhead fo r th e ca ttle trail s, populat ed with a vola tile mixture of sold ie rs, buffalo hunters, Texas cowboys, an d railroad m en describ ed by lawman historian Glenn Shirley as some of "Sata n 's best pro spects." Yet th e town co unc il, h eaded by Mayor T.C. H enry, wan ted Abilene to be a place where honest citizens could raise th eir families . Acco rd ing ly, in 1870, th e co unc il prohibited ca rryi ng fir earm s within th e city limits, licensed th e saloons, es tablished closing h ours, an d tried to zone th e rowdy houses to a single d istri ct on Texas Street. Now that th ey had ord inances, th ey needed a marsh al to enforce th em. Seve ral marshals tri ed to bring the Texan s under co n trol, but the cowboys res pon ded by shoo ting th e "No Firearms" sign full of h oles, an d d emolishing th e ston e jail. They even tore up th e blinds of th e

mayor's offi ce. In d esp erati on, H enry turned to a man h e had previously reject ed for th e j ob, soft-spoken New Yorker named Thomas J. Smith, called "Bear River Tom" because of hi s rol e in a gu n battle in Bear River, Wyoming, in 1868 . The cowboys were waiting when Smith rode up Texas Street. One particularl y tough trail boss sh oved his revolver prominently aro un d his waist, and when th e m arshal advised him of th e gu n ord inance, responded, "Go to h ell!" In a flash , Smith smashed hi s fist aga inst the cowboy's face , kn ocked him se nse less and disarmed him. Wh en th e Texan came to, Sm ith o rde re d him back to his camp . Wh en another trail tough ended up on th e floor of a saloo n, th e cowboys ste p pe d up and began handing over th eir arms. Smith's n erve had won th eir respect, an d his preference for hi s fists over his gun assu re d th em that he had no animosity toward th em as long as th ey behaved th emselves. Abilene gaine d a reputation as a quiet town. Although Smith neither drank no r gambled, nor used strong language, h e did not try to e nforce his views on others. The saloo ns and bordellos co n tin ued th eir thriving busin ess on Texas Street, but th e days of random gu n play seem ed past. On November 2, 1870 , Smith and Deputy Sh eriff J am es McDonald went to Andrew McConnell's farm to arres t him for killing a man who had driven cattle across his land and ruin ed hi s co rn crop. McConnell and a n eighbor, Moses Miles, were ch op ping wood when th e lawm en arrived, and tri ed to flee into McConnell's dugout cabin . They cu t off Miles, but McConnell mad e it insid e and bolted th e door. While McDonald covered Miles, Smith broke down th e door of th e cabin where McConnell was waiting with a rifle. Both m en fir ed, Smith hitting McConnell in th e hand, and McConnell 's bullet striking Smith in th e chest. Wounded but not down , Smith grappled with th e farm er. Outside, McDonald thought Smith had been killed. Seized with panic, h e fled. But th e marsh al had ove rco me McConnell , dragged him outside , and threw him onto th e gro und. He was putting th e handcuffs on when Miles cre p t up fro m behind an d struck him on th e neck with an axe, nearl y severing hi s h ead. McConnell an d Miles fled, but were ap pre hen de d several days lat er. They escape d th e death penal ty but received long prison sen te nces. Bear River Tom Smith was given th e best fun eral Abil ene could afford. A gra n ite h eadstone over hi s grave was in scribed: "A Fearless Hero of Frontier Days, Who in Cowboy Ch aos , Establish ed th e Su p re macy of Law." "Cowboy chaos" was not an ex agge ra tion . After three months eatin g dust in th e tr ail up fro m Texas, cowboys drew th eir acc um ula ted pay and were read y to ce lebra te . And "rowdy" was a mild term for th eir celebra tions . Most cow town s had a syste m by which a cowboy got "square d" with th e local au thorities . This esse n tially was a bribe that th e trail boss or herd own er paid to th e town marshal, guaran teeing that a cowboy who was arres ted for being too unruly was tak en to a ch eap hotel to slee p it off, rather th an being dragged to jail. A single bribe paid to cover th e period that th e cowboy was in town was su bstan tially ch eaper th an bailing him o ut of j ail every morning. This, of course, was for

45

46

min or offe nses, such as d isch arging a firearm , brawlin g, or van dalism, and th e trail boss or h erd owner also ag reed to cover any damages. The "square" fee did much to stabilize th e town marsh al 's in come. The reaso n mos t cow towns were ind ulgent was simple - money. It cost $ 1,500 to trail a 2,500-head herd fro m Texas to Kansas, an d 80 percent of that was spe nt north of the poin t of origin. Conside ring that a sing le season migh t brin g as man y as 250,000 to 350,000 head of cattle int o town (in one week alone Abilene's Great Western Stoc k Yards ship pe d 58 railroad carloa ds of livestock to market ), th e goodwill of th e trail bosses and herd owners often det ermined a town 's survival. The fact was that cowboys, miners, buffalo hunters, railroad men , and, to a lesser degree, sold iers had money to spe nd and th ere wer e very few ways on th e frontier to spe nd it virtu ously. As Jimmy Skaggs observed in his history of the Great Western Cattle Trail , a qui et town was a town in serio us eco no mic trouble. The most ap propria tely named of th e toug h towns was Tombstone. Interestingly enoug h , th e name had nothing to d o with th e town 's wild and wooly reputati on. It came abou t when a man named Ed Sch ieffe lin began prospectin g between the San Ped ro River and the Dragoon Mo u n tains in so u theaste rn Arizona. Wh en, h avin g fo un d n othing, h e we n t to Fort Huachuca to resu p ply, people said th at all h e would find would be his tombstone. In th e spring of 1877 , Schieffelin had locat ed a "float" - an o utcropping broken off fro m th e maj or lode of silver - and went in to partnership with a su p plier nam ed William Griffith . Two claim s were filed , one nam ed Graveyard, and th e o ther, Tombstone. Rather th an creating a silver ru sh , th e area alm ost immediately attract ed mining co m pa nies, and soo n co m munities sprang up aro und th e mines. The mo st famous was nam ed for Ed Schi effelin 's original claim - Tombstone. Even without th e Earp-Clanton feud, Tombstone was a tough town . Sh ootouts in th e lo cal saloons and bordell os were fre quen t, and no on e bothered to keep co u n t of th e cas ualties . In su mm ing up th e O.K. Co rra l fight,Judge Spi cer esse n tially gave a portrait of Tombston e itself. It was, he said, a "co nd itio n of affa irs inc ide n tally to a frontier co un try, th e lawlessn ess an d di sregard for human life; th e ex iste nce of a law-defying elemen t in our midst; th e fear an d feel ing of insecu ri ty... the su p posed prevalence of bad , d esp erat e an d reckless m en who have been a terro r to th e co un try, an d kept away capita l and e nterp rise .. 00 " Presid en t Chester A. Arthur ag reed . As a federa l territo ry ra ther than a state, Arizo na ultimat ely was h is responsibility, and h e had h eard enoug h of Tombstone. On May 3, 1882, h e issued a proclam at ion, advising the Territo ry of Arizona to ge t co n tro l of its lawless withi n the

"Squirrel Tooth" Allee, one of Dodge City 's lead ing prostitutes, holds her tr ademark squirrel mascot In this formal portrait. (Kansas State Historical Society)

next 12 days or face th e prosp ect of m arti al law. Tombstone citize ns kn ew he was talking abou t th em. Although they held protest rallies and acc use d th e presid ent of "slan de ring" th eir city, they nevertheless realized h e was right. Public opin io n was sh ifting and by th e end of 1883, sou thern Arizo na was no longer a safe haven fo r crim inals. Even as th e badmen were bein g run ou t of th e area, Tombstone itself was going into decl in e. A drop in silver prices, in creased costs of mining, and flooding in the shafts all co m bined to en d its reason for ex iste nce. Tombston e became a slee py little desert town , but d id not disappear en tirely. Today, it an d Deadwood pro sper by sharing th eir past with tourists and, in Deadwood's case, with th e ad d itional in centive of casin os. Fort Griffin was n ot so fortunat e. Its buffalo econo my vanished after th e buffalo were ex te rm in ated . With th e en d of th e Indian Wars, its sold iers were withdrawn . The demise of o pe n range ra nc h ing in th e early 1880s spe lled th e end of the ca ttle tr ailin g ind us try. Too far beyond th e m ainstream of Am erican life for an y o ther purpose , Griffin was n o lo nger econom ica lly viab le. Today, th ere is little left but overgrown foun dati ons to indicate a rough an d tumble frontier town , th e largest thing goi ng between Fort Worth and El Paso . In Kansas, Abile ne is a major city, whose locatio n in th e ce n te r of th e sta te mak es it a key shi p ping po int for the all-im porta n t ag ricultural produce. Dodge City remains o n a major eas t- west lin e of travel. Yet in th e midst of modernity, th e ghosts of th e past lin ger and, in fact, find welc ome haven .

FROM TRIBAL LAW TO WHITE MAN'S LAW In their th ousands of yea rs of isolation fro m th e Old World, th e American Ind ians developed vario us syste ms of gove rn men t and law, accord ing to th ei r immediat e n eeds. Thus when Europeans push ed into No rt h Am erica, th ey found a wide variety of legal an d po liti cal structures. Some, like the au thorita rian Powh at an domain of Virgin ia and No rt h Caro lin a, were marginally familiar. O thers, particu larly, am ong th e nomadic tribes of th e plains, were totally alien. Am ong th e Plains Ind ians, law and o rder were soc ial co ncepts, rat h er th an political abso lu tes. The law of a Cheyen ne cam p was n othin g m ore th an public opinio n, but co nform ity was co nsidere d esse n tial fo r th e co mm un ity's survival. Violatio ns were punished to a greate r or lesser degree , based on damage or potential damage done to th e co m m un ity. The offenders might be wh ip pe d by members of the warri or soc ie ties, who fun ctioned as cam p police. O r th eir property was destroyed, th eir lod ge poles broken, or th eir ponies killed . Even so, crime, as understood in th e O ld World, was ex tre mely rare among th e Cheyen ne. Ge nerally, th e most serious problems were disputes be tween individuals, wh ich were se tt led wh en each side presented his case to th e co u nc il of ch iefs wh ich would re n der a decision. Theft was almost unknown . H omicid es mi ght be yea rs ap art , and ge nera lly involved alco hol o r a woman . Among th e Western Sio ux, a sim ilar syste m ex isted whereby th e individu al co nd uc ted himself accord ing to th e need s of the cam p as a

47

48

whole , and thi s syste m was rigidl y enforced by th e warrior socie ties. They handled civil violations, whi le crim inal co nd uct was punish ed by th e victim and /or his fami ly. Theft was considered a particul arl y odious offense , and thi s was so th o roughly drilled into th e Sioux fro m ch ild hood, th at it was almost n on existent, except in cases where o ne man ran off with another man 's wife. Th e wife might th en suffer perm an ent disfigurem ent by h er husband. Technically, h er lover could be ex pe lled from his warrior society an d publicly ce nsured , but in reali ty wife-stealers were so often killed by th e wom an 's husband or her brothers th at murder was practically equa ted with wife-stealing. Given th ese fairly uncomplicat ed syste ms , which were more or less universal through out th e plains, the sud den imposition of federal law co des was a tr aumatic even t for th e Western Indian s. Neve rt heless, th ey adap ted, and Indian p olice officers who enforced th e white man 's law ea rned an honored , if neglected, pl ace in th e an nals of weste rn lawmen . Am ong th e so-called "wild" Indians, th e pattern for successful tr ansition was se t with those th at co nve n tional wisdom conside re d th e most intractable - th e Ap ach es. The co ncep t of laws of possession were particul arl y h ard for th em to understand, becau se th ey th em selves had so few possessions. Pr operty was portable , and ge nera lly ga ine d by gift, trade , wager, or m anufacture. Theft was very rare , an d when it did occ ur, th e offe n der was ge nera lly forced to re tu rn th e property. He was also su bject to ridicul e whic h, wh ile trivia l fro m th e Old World viewpoin t, co uld be unendurabl e to an Ap ach e. T he th eft an d butch ering of stoc k, h owever, was a se rio us offense, and th e owner fre q ue n tly killed th e gu ilty party. As in pre-No rm an En gland, murder was not an offe nse aga ins t society, but rather agains t th e victim and hi s family. Co nse quen tly, it was th e responsibili ty of th e family to see k retribution. Thus it was diffi cult for th e Apaches to understand why th e gove rn men t put so much em ph asis on legali sm and ex ac ted, from th eir viewp oint, suc h d raconian punishments. The metamorphosis began on August 8, 1874, when J ohn P. Clum, a cocky young New Yorker, arrived to assume th e duties of age n t at th e vast Apach e reservation at San Carlos, Arizo na . As he passed th rough Tucso n, th en th e territori al capital, most onloo kers believed th at with in a week he either would be dead o r fleein g th e reservati on in terror. In fact, his predecessor had fled afte r a series of murders of wh ites on th e reservation, including Lt.Jacob Almy, com mande r of th e military garrison . But Clum 's self-assurance was backed by a det ermination to gain th e confiden ce of th e Apa ch es by giving th em his trust, augmen ted by a gre at deal of co mmon sense . At tim es, he might have see me d audacious, bu t the audacity was carefully calculated, and usually backed by substa nce. The first thing he det ermined was th at over th e past 18 months, th ere had been "too man y bosses," civil and mili tary. Each imposed his own policy, and some had no policy at all, co nfusing and demo ralizing th e Apac hes . Quite sim ply th ey did not understand what th e white men wan ted fro m th em. Two days afte r arrival, Clum ca lled a co unci l, ou tlini ng hi s age nda to th e Ap ach es. The key, h e said, was th at he ex pected th e Indian s to assist him in th e government an d th e ad min istra tion of th e agency. Once that proved succ essful, h e would pressure th e federal go vern men t to remove th e ga rriso n, and leave the Apach es to look after th emselves. Th e id ea that th ey would have a hand in th eir own fa te, ra ther th an be su bject

John P. Clum (bottom center in white helmet and moustache) parades his well-disciplined , well-armed Apache Police on the street in Tucson. The tough Indian officers had no qualms about arresting or, if necessary, killing their own people, including relatives who threatened law and order on the reservations. (Arizona Historical Society, Tucson, AHS 924)

to orders an d co n tro l, was so me thing en tire ly novel in th ei r d ealin gs with wh ites . Clu m kn ew from th eir immediat e response th at h e was beginning to win th em over. That acco m plished , h e went into d e tails. Wh en white m en d id wrong, o ther white men punish ed th em . The same would happen in San Carlos. H e would establish an Apache poli ce force . H e would ap poin t a su p re me co u rt with himself as ch ief justice and Apaches as associate justices. Apaches would se rve as witn esses. As he lat er ex plained : "U nder thi s syste m , all Apache offe nders would be arreste d by Apac he police , b rought before an Apache co u rt, with Apaches as witn esses, an d , if co nvicte d , sen tenced by Apache j udges, and fin ally d elivered into th e custody of Apache gua rds ... Within a month th ese d epartmen ts we re effec tively enforcing age ncy regulations - wh ich an ticipa te d so me of o ur federal sta tu tes by nearly half a ce n tury." Initially, four Apaches were ap poin te d p oli ce office rs. Their first test ca me abou t a mon th lat er wh en one of th em, Eskinospas , quietl y informed Clum th at a grou p of Apaches hidden in a ca nyo n were makin g a powerfu l home brew kn own as tizwin, in viol ati on of federal p rohibi tions against alco hol o n Indian reserva tio ns . Clu m an d hi s office rs se t o u t for th e illegal operatio n ab out gp m that ni ght, cross ing 4 mil es of ru gged terrain before th ey rea ch ed th e canyo n . In th e gloom bel ow, th ey co uld see th e fir es under th e b rewin g kettles, an d ab out 25 Indian s, m ore th an th ey had ex pecte d. The poli ce office rs were untested , an d th eir arms , obso lete .50-caliber gove rn men t issu e Sp ringfield rifles, were defective . Neve rtheless, he kept Eskin osp as by his side and slip pe d down into th e canyo n, whil e th e other th ree d eployed in th e b ru sh arou nd th e ca m p. Wh en Clu m was sure th ey

49

50

had had time to ge t into position, Eskinospas gave a war cry, answere d by th e oth er officers . They yelled over and over aga in, varying th e ton e to co nvince th e moo nshiners th ey were surrou nde d by sco res of officers. The wom en and child re n scatte re d in to th e brush , while 11 men lined up awaiting arrest. Three of th e officers covere d th em , while Clum and Eskin ospas destroyed th e brewe ry. The next mornin g, th e moonshiners were arra igned before th e Apac he co urt. Rather th an p resid e , Clum presented th e gove rn men t's case to th e Apac he j us tices, and th e police officers testified for th e prosecution. The d efendan ts were fo und guilty and se n te nced to 15 days' hard lab or in th e Apach e gua rd ho use, under th e cu stody of Apach e offic ers. The system worked, instilling even greate r co n fide nce amo ng th e Apach es of San Ca rlos . In an other turn of events, th e age ncy at Camp Verd e was closed , and its Apach es co nsolidated at San Carlos. Firearm s were prohibited at San Carlos except when issued to the men fo r th e specific purpose of hunting. The Verdes arrived fully armed , and gave noti ce th at unl ess Clum wanted an Indian war, th ey would keep th eir arms. Clum was adamant that th e Verdes h ad to follow San Carlos regulations. Meanwhile , Eskiminzin , an Arivaipa Apac he chief who had become frie nd ly with Clum , fo rmed an ad hoc secret senrice to su p port and protect th e age n t, and undermine the resolve of th e Verdes. In th e end , th ey surrendere d th eir arms, and Eskiminziri's act offaith was amo ng th e key fac to rs in a decision to withdraw th e mili tary from th e reservati on. Clu m and his Apach es were no w on th eir own . The closing of smaller age ncies contin ue d, and th e number of Apac hes consolidated at San Carlos rose from 700 to 4,200. Clum expa nde d his police to a perman ent force of 25 officers, including new arrivals, and appo inted a dep endabl e fro n tiersma n nam ed Clay Beauford as chief of police. Soo n afterwards, one of the wives of the Ton to Apac he chief Disalin reported that he beat her, and occasiona lly tied her to a tree to see how close he could come throwing his knife without hitting her. Besides bein g a chief, Disalin was th e brother of Tau elclyee, one of th e origina l four police officers . Nevertheless, Clum called him in and told him to either stop mistreating his wife or send her back to her family. An noyed , Disalin left. An hour lat er, he was bac k, ca rryi ng a blanke t. He glanced in to th e agency clerk 's office to det ermine his whereabouts, th en closed the door. Clurn demanded to kn ow what was on h is mind, and Disalin broke into a fu ry. At th at moment, th e ag en cy physician and janitor walk ed in . The ch ief ran into th e clerk 's office. ,fir ed a poorly aimed sho t, th en ran o u tside. Hi s attempts to kill Clum and th e clerk th warted , h e was now o n his way to kill Ch ief Beauford. Hearin g th e shots, two Apache officers ran up an d fired, th eir bullets on ly grazing Disalin. He co ntin ue d on until h e encou n te re d Beauford, firing a wild sho t th at m issed. Disalin momentarily sto ppe d to ge t better aim. Sudde n ly ano ther sho t ran g out and Disalin was dead, killed by Poli ce Offi cer Tau elcl yee. "I have killed my chief and my own broth er," h e told Clum. "Bu t he was tryin g to kill you, an d I am a policeman. It was my duty." The greatest co u p for Clum's Apache po lice was th e arrest of Geron imo during his first o ut break in 1876-77. Assigned to the task of brin ging him in, Clum took a large co n tingen t of police office rs and reserves, an d trailed him to th e Mimbres Apache age ncy at Ojo Calien te,

in sou thwestern New Mex ico . H e arrived at Oj o Calien te on April 20, and sent word to Geronimo th at he wan ted to see him. Geron imo arrived with a h un dred warp aint ed warriors th e next morning. Seei ng Clum o n the vera nda with six officers , an d 22 men dep loyed in an irregu lar line fro m a ravine to th e co mmissary building, th e chief wrote th em off as a threat , an d assembled his warriors in a grou p o n the parad e gro un d . Then he and th ree o ther ch iefs pressed menacin gly forward. Clu m gave Geron imo a d ressin g d own for his d epredati ons, and to ld him th at h e a n d hi s warriors we re go ing ba ck to Sa n Ca rlos. Uni m pressed, Ge ro n imo rep lied, ''You talk very brave , we d o n ot like th at kind of talk. We are n ot go ing to San Carlos with yo u, and unless you are very careful, you and your Apac he police will n ot go back to San Carlos, either. Your bodies will stay h ere at Oj o Calie n te to mak e foo d fo r coyo tes." Clum ra ised his left hand , to uching th e brim of h is hat. Suddenly, th e co mmissary doors swu ng ope n , and an Apache se rgean t dash ed ou t at th e head of a file of reserves, forming a lin e across th e parad e groun d . Geronimo sta rted to pull back th e hammer of his rifle , and Clum slippe d his hand to th e grip of his revo lver. At th at signal, 22 officers leveled th eir rifles at Geron imo and his men . Altogether th ey face d 80 policemen awaiting th e co mmand to o pen fire. Clum took Geronimo's rifle and handed it over to Tauel clyee . Beau fo rd disarmed six o ther ch iefs. The rest of them laid down th eir arms. T he first Ge ro nimo ou tbre ak was over, and had been quelled by the Apac hes th emselves. On th e No rt he rn Plain s, efforts on th e Sioux and Cheye n ne reservations to organize a system simi lar to Clum's be gan after the close of th e Great Sioux War of 1876-77. At Pin e Ridge, in what is now Sou th Dako ta, Agen t Valentine T. McGillycud dy proposed orga nizing an Indian police force am ong th e O glala Sioux shortly afte r assuming the age ncy in ea rly 1878. His moti ves were th e same as Clum 's - removal of th e soldiers and a shift toward self-govern me n t. He also believed tha t when a war rio r took th e govern me n t oath, wore the gove rn me nt uniform, and drew govern me n t pay, his own sense of honor would mak e h im in cap ab le of treach e ry, an d prompt hi m even to h un t down an d - if necessarykill members of his own tribe in th e performan ce of his duty. Th e id ea was resisted by Red Clo ud, o ne of th e greates t of the O gl ala ch iefs, wh o sa w th e es tablishmen t of a po lice fo rce, answe ring to th e age n t ra ther th an to h im , as a wea ke ni ng of hi s au thority. Yet McGi llycuddy also h ad a powe rful ally in th e lead ing warri or Lit tle Big Man . On Little Big Man 's advi ce , h e ap poin te d a you ng warrior n am ed Man Wh o Carries th e Swo rd , ge nerally kn own as Sword, to selec t 50 you ng warriors. Despite h arassm en t fro m th e Red Clo u d faction , Swo rd o rgan ize d th e fo rce an d was ap po in ted cap tai n.

The elusive Geronimo was apprehended for the first of several times by Indian police under Apache Agent John P. Clum. (Library of Congress)

51

52

Despite McGillycuddy's efforts , and th e goodwill of th e Ind ians, th e o rga n izatio n of the force p ro ceeded hap hazardly. A re tired cavalry se rgean t drilled the officers, and aft e r some hesita tio n , th e arm y su p plied Spence r repeating rifl es. But ra ther than p ro viding th e stan dard issue blu e uniforms th at th e Ind ians ex pecte d , th e gove rnmen t ini tially se n t su rp lus Co nfederate uniforms. On learning the significan ce of th e gray, th e Ind ians refused to wear th em; th ey had sworn an oa th to th e Great Fat her, and would not wea r th e unifo rm of his enem ies. Ultimately, th e govern men t blu e arrive d . T h e first serio us p roblem aro se when th e Cheyen ne ch ief Spotted Wolf led 25 warriors o n an o u tb reak. McGillycuddy o rd ered Sword to take 25 officers in pursuit. "Spotte d Wo lf must re tu rn ," McGillycuddy said . "You understand , Ca p ta in. Bring hi m h ere to my office, alive - o r d ead ." Sword salu ted and left. For 11 days, McGillycuddy waited for some wo rd , not certain if his police had been caug h t and massacr ed, if th ey th emselves had joined the hostiles, or if they had been successful. On the evening of the 11th d ay, the police returned , their Cheye n ne pri soners wailing a deat h song. Sword had followed Spotted Wolfs band in to Wyom ing. In the co nfro ntatio n, Spo tte d Wolf wen t for his gu n, and Sword killed him . T he body was in a bu ndle lash ed to a travois. T he ot hers, see ing th e fu tility of resistance , h ad su rre ndered . Like Clu m 's Apa ches, McGillycuddy's Oglalas had p ro ved themselves. Even tua lly, even Red Cloud grudgi ngly came arou nd. Perhap s th e m ost traumat ic co nfro ntatio n between Plain s In d ian officers an d th ei r fellow tribesmen ca me a t Sta n d ing Ro ck , North Dak ot a , o n Decem ber 15,1 890, in the mids t ofa Pan -Indian messianic m ovemen t kn own as th e Ghost Dan ce. Wh ether th e Ghost Dan ce ever was a se rio us threat is d ebatab le. But its nascent In d ian nati onalism , its calm ing influence over the ancie nt tr ibal hatreds th at had served th e gove rn men t so well in th e past , an d its p romise ofa world free of whi tes, was enoug h to co nvince federal officials that th e m ovement had to be quelled. At Sta nd ing Ro ck , th e Gh ost Dan ce ce n te red aro u n d Sittin g Bull. Alt h o ug h Agen t J am es McLaugh lin qu estion ed the serio usness of th e situatio n , he was pressured by hi gh e r authorities to sto p it. Mo st o f all, h e fea red m ilitary intervention because h e was afraid it wo uld lead to unnecessary bloodsh ed. Besid es, he saw th e Ghost Dance as a p hase th at was beginning to fad e at Sta nd ing Rock. T h e p roblem was aggravate d when Buffalo Bill Co dy, whom Sitting Bu ll kn ew, arrived with a commiss io n fro m Maj . Ge n . Nelso n Miles to arrest th e ch ief. McLaughlin telegraphed th e co m m issio ner of In d ian Affa irs, "A few In d ians still dancing, but it d oes n ot m ean misch ief at

The great Hunkpapa chief Sitting Bull died when a fight broke out as Indian police officers tried to arrest him for his participation in the Ghost Dance movement. (Author's Collection)

present. I have matters well in hand, and when proper tim e arrives ca n arrest Sitting Bull by Indian police witho u t bloods he d." The re ply from Washington in dicate d th e gove rn me n t pl ann ed m ilitary ac tio n, regardless of McLau ghlin 's views. On December 14, an Indian office r brought a message fro m police Lt. Bull Head at Gra nd River, where Sitting Bull lived, th at th e ch ief planned to leave th e reservati on . Bull Head urged immediat e action . McLau ghlin dispatch ed Sgt. Red Tomahawk back to Gra nd River with orde rs to arrest Sitting Bull early the next morning. Two co m panies of cavalry would stan d by in th e vicinity for back-up if need ed, but th e arres t itself would be mad e by Indian poli ce. At dawn th e next morning, 39 Indian office rs an d four special officers, under Bull Head an d Sgt. Shave H ead , deployed among th e houses around Sitting Bull 's home. Go ing ins ide th e h ouse , Bull H ead ro us ted up Sitting Bull and to ld him he was under arres t. De termined to make a good impression, Sitting Bull called for his best clothes, and asked one of th e office rs to sad d le hi s best h orse. Everything ap peare d calm . They walk ed out with Sitting Bull between Bull Head and Sh ave Head , with Red Tom ah awk bringin g up th e rear. Outside, however, th ey found th em selves co nfro n ted by a cro wd of heavily armed Ghos t Dan cers. The police shove d throug h th e mo b, and Sitting Bull starte d for his ho rse, whe n his son , Cro w Foot, sho uted, "You call yourse lf a brave man an d you have declared that you would never surrender to a blue-coat , and now you give yourself up to Indians in blue unifo rm s." Forced into a co rner and humili at ed by his own so n's challe nge, Sitting Bull sho uted for th e Ghost Dan cers to attac k. Two warriors immediately ope ned fire, m ortally wounding Bull Head and Sh ave Head. As h e fell, Bull Head se n t a bullet th rough Sitting Bull's body, and Red Tom ahawk fini sh ed him with a shot in th e cheek. Red Tomahawk th en took charge, an d drove th e crowd into a sta nd of tr ees, giving hi s officers a chance to retreat into th e houses. O fficer Hawk Man No . I (to distingui sh him from ano ther officer nam ed Hawk Man ) dash ed th rough th e gu nfire , gra b be d a h orse , and went to alert th e so ld ie rs. By th e tim e th e troops arrived, six poli cem en an d eigh t of Sitt ing Bull 's followers, incl ud ing th e d efiant Crow Foot, were dead. The officers were buried with full hono rs, an d a military det achment fro m Fort Yat es fired a salute over th ei r graves . To th e casual obse rve r, it might see m th at today, Indians have made th e full assimilation to what th ey used to call "the White Man 's Road. " Yet, in man y cases , th e co nve rsio n is p roblem ati c, and co nflicts between th e two syste ms have neve r been co m ple te ly resolved. Th e situatio n is further co mplica ted by th e special sta tus accorded Indians under modern fede ra l law, th at ofte n ham strings th e civil authorities of the sta tes in which Indian lands are locat ed . In Pin e Ridge , a co nflict rages between th e trib al officials, who live in th e urban area of th e reservatio n, and th e mo re tr aditional members who live in th e more rem ote ru ral are as. The officials are ofte n of mixed blood, an d are viewed as co llabo ra to rs, playing th e gove rn me n t's game in order to in cr ease th eir own power. The clash between th e 'two groups led to violen ce in th e spring of 197 3, resulting in the death of two Indian dissid ents, th e paralysis of a fed eral office r, and th e co n trove rsial im priso nmen t of trad itionalist spokesman Leon ard Pelti er.

53

In lo cal affairs, con tracts between Indian tribes and outsiders have been d eclared u nen fo rceable by the Uni ted States Supreme Court. Likewise , In d ian lands are off-limits to local law enforcemen t, who ca n not enter to serve war rants or processes, or to ma ke arrests without p erm ission fro m th e tribal au thorities . T h us, in man y ways, th e re lat io ns h ip between trad ition al law an d co nve ntio nal legal codes rem ains as clo udy as it was more th an a ce n tury ago.

THE TRIUMPH OF THE LAW

54

In 1882 Sou thern Pacific was push ing its rails across West Texas toward the Pacific. As it reached the Pecos River co un try beyond Del Rio, th ere was littl e , if an y, semblance of authority. T he brawling construc tion workers were enoug h of a probl em , but whe n the situatio n was agg rava te d by lawless elem en ts han gin g abo ut th e camps, the co n tra ctor began co m plain ing to the Tex as Adj utan t Ge ne ra l's Offi ce. Ran gers were se n t to clean up th e area. The p roblem was th at thi s vast ex pa nse was Pecos Cou nty, under th e jurisdi ction of th e co urts at Fort Stoc kto n, over 200 mil es away. T he so lu tio n appeared with a tough , sagacio us old man who ran a saloo n near th e cam ps. H is nam e was Roy Bean . The Ranger commander, Ca pt. T.L. O glesby, pressed for aj ustice of th e peace , and , even without official sanc tio n, Roy seemed to fit the bill. On J uly 25, 1882, th e Rangers brough t him his firs t case , a man nam ed J oe Bell , who was charged with aggravated assault. Roy fo und h im gui lty, in au gurat in g th e popular im age th at he was a "self-appoin ted" judge. In fact, th at was his o nly case with out legal sa nction because , o n Aug us t 2, th e Pecos Co u n ty Co m m issio ners' Co urt form ally appo in ted him justice of th e peace. Saloonkeeper Roy Bean e n te re d history as Judge Roy Bean. Roy did not have a shred of legal training, no r was he interested in acq uiring any. Likewise , no o ne ever acc use d h im of honesty. His ru lings were based o n a feel for th e locale , o n co m mo n sense, and very often on what su ite d his own int erests. Nevertheless, h e co mmande d th e respect of the cowboys and railro ad co ns tructio n wor kers , in a time and a place where th e resp ect of th e cowbo ys and co ns tructio n wor kers was far more important th an legalities. Wh en Judge Roy Bean mad e a ruling, it stuc k. That, in itself, was a remarkabl e ac h ievemen t. Eventually, Roy settled in a railroad tank town th at he promptly nam ed Langt ry, afte r th e popular ac tress Lillie Lan gt ry. H ere h e kept co u rt in a large saloon n ear th e tracks, where h e swind led cus to mers by fu m bling abou t in making change un til th e whistle of th e de parting train told th em th ey co uld arg ue n o longer. Wh en th at saloo n burn ed, h e built a smaller o ne , nam ed the J ersey Lilly in a second - misspe lled attempt to honor Mrs. Lan gt ry. O ften Roy's rulings were - to say th e least - unique. Once , when a railroad worke r nam ed O 'R ourke , who h appen ed to be a regu lar cus to mer at th e saloon, killed a local Ch inese , Roy searched through hi s law bo oks, and an no unced that th ere was no law specifica lly prohibiting th e killin g of a Ch inese . Anoth er tim e , when fun ctioning as coroner, he co nd uc ted an inquest o n a man who had been kn ocked off a bridge by a sud de n gus t of wind, and plunged to his death. Exa mining th e co rpse,

Roy fo und $40 cash an d a pistol in th e man 's pocket. H e promptly fin ed th e corpse $4 0 fo r ca rrying a co nceale d weapon . It sho uld be not ed th at rarely - if ever - did Pecos Co u nty or th e State of Texas co llec t th eir fu ll due from fin es levied by th e co urt in Langt ry. Yet it wou ld be a mistake to say that he wasn 't just, and his justice was based o n th e practi cal. Wh en thre e croo ke d ga m blers swind led a stagecoach dri ver o ut of both his and the co m pany's money an d property, Roy mad e th em re tu rn every thi ng, slappe d th em with exorbita n t fines , and ran th em ou t of town. Once whe n a man was caug h t stealing horses, Roy weighed th e odds. The horses had been recovered. No one was hurt. To send th e man to Fort Stockton fo r tr ial would draw Ran gers away fro m th eir duties in the ra ilroad camps. Would witnesses go to Fo rt Stoc kton? He gave th e horse th ief a dressing d own , and ordered hi m to leave th e area. Rarely did anyone ques tio n Judge Roy Bean 's rulings. If th ey did, th e reaction was swift, and established, o n no un certain terms, who ran th e sh ow. In o ne instance, when an atto rney presumed to argue, Roy turned to th e sen ior Ran ger present and asked, "What are your orders here?" "To stand be hin d you in every thi ng you say," the Ranger replied. "What would you do ifI told you to take this fellow out and hang h im?" "I' d tak e h im out and h ang him ." T he lawyer co m plained to hi gh er au thorities, but it d id littl e good, becau se th e high er authorities th emselves ofte n we re co nfo unde d by th e go ings-o n in th e co urt room at th e J ersey Lilly. As justice of the peace , Roy had th e legal au tho rity to perform weddings, but n ot to gra n t divorces. H e did anyway, and when told th at o nly th e district co urt co u ld gran t a divorce , he re torted th at in most cases he had married the co u ple ge tting a d ivo rce , and that a man o ug ht to be ab le to "rectify h is own mistakes." Roy n ever hanged anyone , although he fre q ue n tly threatened to do so. A death se ntence was entirely beyond th e legal sco pe of a justice of th e peace , and h is ability to be nd (or ignore) th e law was based o n his sh re wd assessmen t of how far he co uld bend (o r ign ore ) it. Despite his quirks and monumental flaws of charac ter, Judge Roy Bean did mu ch to bring stability to a lawless region . If he design ed th e law to suit himself, nevertheless, he represented th e growing d em and in the West for legitimate authority. Even before he assu me d th e gavel in the Pecos Rive r co u n try, far ther eas t th e citizens of DeWitt Co unty

Judge Roy Bean (w hi t e beard) st a nds in front of his Jersey Lilly saloon where he held court in the 1890s. With him is Texas Ranger Capt. John R. Hughes (left with two pistols in wa istband), who won the name " Bo rd er Bo ss " for his enforcement of the law in the Trans-Pecos region of Texas. (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)

55

56

d emonstrated th ey had had enoug h of th e Taylor-Sutton Feud. The breaking point ca me with th e ap pa re n tly pointless murder of Dr. Phillip Bra ssell an d hi s so n, George, o n th e night of Sep te m be r 19, 187 6. Public outrage was suc h tha t it was no longer safe to p roclaim allegiance to either th e Taylo rs or th e Su ttons. Murder indictmen ts were returned ag ains t seven members of th e Su tto n facti on , including two d eputy she riffs, and on th e night of December 22 , the Ran gers in terru p ted a wed ding ce leb ratio n and took th em into cus tody. In their usual fash io n, attorneys prepared motio ns, ex pecting to intimidate the presiding judge into dropping th e charges. In this in stance , however, th ey came up agains t J ud ge H . Clay Pleasants, who was d etermined to end th e feud. Wh en co u rt co nve ned , Ran gers at th e d o or di sarmed every specta tor, and three Ran gers, carbines coc ked and read y to fire , stood by th e bench . "T h is co u nty," J udge Pleasan ts began , "is and has been for yea rs a reproach to th e fair nam e of th e Sta te of Texas. O ver it h ave roame d bands of lawless m en , co m m itt ing terribl e o u trages , mu rd ering whomever met th eir d isd ain , shooting down men fro m ambush in th e m ost coward ly mann er po ssib le ." Even so me of th e specta to rs in th e cou rtroom "lo ng ago sh ould have been hanged," th e judge thundered. T he Rangers, Pleasan ts co n tin ue d , would re main in DeWitt Co u nty until peace returned. Meanwhile , he said , "I sha ll se nd th ese men at th e bar to j ail to await tri al for as wicke d an d coward ly a m urder as ever di sgraced this State . It is but th e beginnin g. Others will soon foll ow th em. The reign of th e lawless in DeWitt Co u n ty is at an end! " Becau se of legal man euverings beyond th e j urisd iction of th e local cou rt, th e case dragged o n for yea rs, and, ultimat ely every d efendan t went free . Neverth eless, as Pleasan ts noted, it signa led th e beginning of the end. If Pleasants ' jurisd iction was limited, th e auth o rity of Isaac C. Parker, U n ite d Sta tes Judge for th e Western Distri ct of th e Arkansas, was ab so lute . Hi sjudicial seat at Fort Sm ith, Ar ka nsas, was an anoma ly. It was create d by ac t of congress in 1851 , with jurisdi ction over th e nine co u n ties of northwestern Ar kansas , wit h th e adjacent Indian Territo ry attac hed to it fo r j udicial purposes. Within the Territ o ry were th e Five Na tio ns, eas te rn tribes , th at had been re locate d in th e 1830s. Although th e Nations had a highly d eveloped legal syste m on th e white model, and In d ian co u rts h ad jurisdi cti on ove r their own citize ns, their au th o rity over non-Indian s was vague. T h us th e Natio ns becam e a refuge for so me of th e worst ele men ts of soc iety. Th e creatio n of th e Western District was d esign ed to ad d ress that problem. Parker, wh o h eld th e position from 1875 almost until his d eath in 1896, was kn own as the "hanging j udge," becau se of th e large number of peo ple he se nt to th e ga llows. Yet he was a co m petent j urist and fo rmer m ember o f co ngress who, personally, co uld be co m pass io na te . The p roblem ex iste d less with Parker than with th e law itself. There was no ap peal of ca pita l co nvic tio ns in any federa l co u rt until 1889. Thus, th e o n ly ave n ue fo r th e co ndem ned was clemen cy from th e presid ent himself. Additionally, until 1897, fed eral law mandat ed th e deat h p enalty for murder an d rape in federal jurisdi cti ons. Nevertheless, Parker, who was required to ru le accord ingly, and who presid ed over o ne of th e most lawless j urisd ictio ns in th e Un ite d Sta tes, has been

Not even 60 but aged by diabetes and his heavy caseload, " Hanging Judge" Isaac C. Parker presides over his court In 1894. Far from being the bloodthirsty psychopath portrayed in pu lp f iction, he was a no-nonsense jurist who had no qualms about Imposing the penalties mandated by federal law. Yet he also advocated prison reform, saying he was loath to imprison a person in an Institution where he c ould not receive adequate f ood, education, and the opportunity to reform. Many convicts, upon their release, returned to Fort Smith t o thank Parker for his efforts. (Fort Smith National Historic Site, Arkansas)

un fairl y br anded as a bloodthirsty socio pa th who se n t men to th e ga llows witho u t a second th ough t. In te rest in gly enoug h , as o ne of hi s bi o graph ers, Mich a el J. Brodhead , has pointed ou t, Park er tried very few capital offenses. Most invo lved liquor violatio ns, h o rse th eft, tim be r poaching, assau lt, and manslaug hter (a non-capital offense ). O f those he did se n te nce to death , fewer than half actually were execu ted. An d , o n occasion, Parker hi mself interceded with th e president for clemency. Even so, when dealin g with a heinous offe nse , he co uld co me down o n th e cr imi n al like an avengi ng angel, and hand down a death se n te nce without the sligh test qualm. Wh e n Parker gaveled h is co urt to o rder o n May l O, 1875, Ar ka nsas was recove ring fro m th e ca rpe tbag rule of Reconstruction, and th e Western Judicial District was particul arl y n ot orious fo r its graft an d co rru ptio n . Parker, who received his appoin tment in part because of his un equivocal su ppo rt of th e Gra n t Ad mi n istra tio n , was viewed as sim ply ano ther carpe tbagger. As he saw it, his j ob not only was to esta blish his own cred ibility, but to restore digni ty an d h onor to th e syste m . Th e day h e an d hi s family arrived, he to ld his wife, "We are fac ed with a gre at task. These people. need us. We must not fail th em." He began by raisin g th e woefully undermanned force of deputy marsh als up to th eir even tual number of 200, more th an any o ther sta te or territory. He kn ew they had to be tough , and h e tri ed to keep th em honest. He summoned reluctant witnesses, o rdering th at th ey be paid the ir ex pe nses in cash. He reopen ed o ld cases, and worked to reduce th e bac klog left by h is indifferent pred ecesso rs. It to ok tim e , but by th e end of his first year in office , he had won over most of hi s ske ptics. Par ker justice became evide n t from the begin ning. Du ring th e Civil War and Recon structio n , th e court had paid very littl e atte ntio n to crime in the Indian Territory, an d showed partiality in its se n te ncing. The seve n men who wen t to th e ga llows in th e two years pri or to Parker 's arrival

57

58

were all Indian o r part-Indian. Now, th e hand ofj us tice ex te nde d to the Territo ry, an d to whi tes as well. On Se ptem be r 3, 1875, six men - three whites, two Indian s, and a black - m ounted th e ga llows for offenses com m itte d in th e Territo ry. In sen te nc ing th em to d eath , Park er had lectured th em in biblical tones, co n clud ing with, "Farewe ll fo rever un til th e co urt and you and all h ere today shall meet togeth er in the ge neral resurrection." There is no evidence, howeve r, th at h e wep t afte r d elivering d eath sentences, as persistent legend claims. Initially, eigh t m en had been co ndem ned. One , Frank Butl er, was sho t in an escape attempt. Another, O scar Snow, received a co m m u ted sentence from Pr esid ent Gran t becau se of his you th, an d was lat er p ardoned. The o ther six, Daniel Evans , William J. Whittin gt on, J am es Mo ore , th e appropriat ely named Smoker Mankiller, Sam uel Fooy, and Ed m u nd Ca m p be ll, all m ounted th e gallows set ag ainst the stoc kade wall of th e form er m ilitary post of Fort Sm ith . Six was as man y as th e gallows would accom modate , and a replacement built in 1883 co uld han g 12 at a tim e . But six was th e m ost ever h an ged in a single executio n at Fo rt Smith, an d on ly o nce more , in 1890, did th at occ ur. No rmally, they plunged into ete rn ity in grou ps of two to five . A han ging at Fort Smi th was a majo r social eve n t th at d rew people fr om mil es arou n d . In thi s instan ce , four p reach e rs led th e crowd an d th e co n dem ned in p rayer an d hymn-sin gin g. Most of th e co nde m ned had o n ly a few words to say, an d Evans said n o thing at all. Whittington , however, rose to th e occasio n with a prepared statemen t th at one of th e preach ers read. H e blam ed his fall o n th e exam ple set by h is alcoholic fa ther. H avin g himself take n to d ri nk, h e had kille d h is best frie n d in a drunken rage . "O h!" h e co n cluded . "That me n would leave off d rinking altogether. And, 0 , paren ts, I send fo rt h thi s dying warning to you today, sta nd ing on th e ga llows: Train up your children the way they should go . My fat her 's exam ple b rought me to rui n . Go d save us all! Farewell! Farewell !" As th e tr ap was sp rung, he shou te d, 'Jesus save m e !" Parker's d eputies h ad a d an gerous j ob. Du ring hi s te n ure, 65 would di e in th e lin e of duty. Fo r safety, th ey worke d in teams of fo ur or five , sp re ading o u t ove r th e Ter ritory. T hey fre q uen tly e nco u n tered resistan ce o r at least suspicio n, becau se the people they met had good reason to resist. They were also unpopular becau se th ey took witn esses into cus tody on th e spot, and transported th em back to Fo rt Sm ith, to be ce r tain they were available wh en th e judge n eeded th em. This, at th e very least, was an noyi ng, and th ere was always th e possibili ty of reprisal wh en th e witnesses re tu rned home . Shooto uts were unavoidabl e, but d eputies shot to wou nd, ra ther th an kill. This did no t rise ou t of humanitarian mo tives, but a live p risoner b rought a two-dollar arrest fee , whil e a co rpse usually brought nothing. Park er's burden was aweso me. During hi s 21 years at Fort Smith, h e tri ed m o re th an 13,000 cases . In 1883 Co ngress re d uced the load by seve ring th e weste rn In di an Territo ry fr om hi s di stri ct, but this was partly in resp onse to th e o u tcry in th e Easte rn press over th e multipl e public hangings. While h e retained jurisdi ction over the Na tio ns, the weste rn part of th e Territo ry was split between federal judicial di stri cts in Texas and Kansas . Then, in 1889, th e Su p re me Court was given au thority to review capital cases fro m all federal jurisdi cti ons. Parker was furious ,

because he believed legal machinat ions would ove rt u rn so me of hi s co nvic tio ns , and di lute so me of hi s se ntences. This, h e co n te n ded, impeded justice and enc ouraged cr ime . "I have no objection to ap peal," he remarked. "I even favor abolitio n of th e d eath penal ty, provided that th ere is a ce rtainty of punishment, what ever th e punishment may be , for in th e uncert ain ty of punishment fo llowing cr ime lies th e wea kness of ou r halting j us tice ." Ove r the n ext seve n years, d efense attorneys fo u nd numerous tech ni calities that ove rtu rned an in creasin g number of h is co nvictio ns and se n te nces. T he fin al blow, however, ca me in 1896, when Co ngress re moved th e Territo ry en tire ly from hi sjurisdi ction, restricting him to th e co u nties of weste rn Ar ka nsas . Park er, mean wh ile , was wearing out. Although h e was aged on ly 57 , he loo ked as if he were in his seven ties . H e was bedridden fr om ex haus tio n and seve re di ab etes o n Se p te m ber 1 when the law to ok effect, an d was spare d the indigni ty of h earing his clerk declare th e co urt adjou rned forever. H e o u tlived his co u r t by on ly two months. In se n te nc ing a person to d ea th , Judge Parker fo llowe d th e cus to m of ordering th e co ndem ned to be "hanged by th e n eck until you are d ead , d ead , d ead ." Far from being melo d ra matic, "dead, d ead , d ead " h ad a specific legal purpose. If th e ro pe h ad too much stretch an d the victim hit the grou n d , o r if it b roke , he co uld cla im th e se n te nce had been legally execu te d an d ap peal to d ouble j eopard y. T he tr ip le "dead " gave th e judicial jurisdi ction three atte m pts. In th e ea rly yea rs of Park er 's tenure , var io us people operate d th e Fort Sm ith ga llows. In th e mid-1880 s, however, th e j o b of chief execu tio ner fe ll to German-born George Maledon, who m oved into the position fro m jail guard . Although th e press dubbed him "p rince of han gm en," Maledon regard ed h imself as a technician , perform ing a fu nc tio n mandat ed by law. Aske d if he was bothered by th e ghosts of h is victims, he affa bly re plie d , "No , becau se I reckon I hanged them, too."

One of the old military buildings at Fort Sm ith served as courthouse and ja il from 1872 to 1890, when the court moved to this more modern structure. Today, the federal c ou rt resides in the Isaac C. Parker Federal Building in Fort Smith. (Fort Smith National Historic Site, Arkansas)

59

Thomas " Blac k Jack" Ketchum calmly stands on the gallows as he is prepared for execution for train robbery in Clayton, New Mexico, on April 26, 1901. In measuring the drop, the executioners failed to consider that Ketchum's body would be off-balance because he had lost an arm from a 9unshot wound, and that he had gained considerable weight while in Jail. (Photo by W.A. White. Courtesy New Mexico History Museum, Neg. No. 128886)

60

Maledon 's ro pes were cus to m made in Missouri, an d he used them o n ly o nce. He prepared them by pre-stret ching th em , to avoid bouncin g th e vict im aro un d, or th e possibili ty that stre tch ing during th e execu tio n mi gh t cause th e victim to hit the groun d . O nce the stretch was out of th em, h e co ated th em wit h res in to keep th em in place. Wh en he hanged so meone h e folded the rope back and forth over th e ga llows beam so that it wou ld play out evenly. The n oose was placed with th e kn ot unde r th e jaw j us t below th e ear, to lever th e head sidewise and snap the neck insta n taneo usly. He devised a tabl e to calculate th e necessary d rop according to weight an d build . Too sho rt a d rop would fail to snap th e neck and cause slow strang u latio n . Too much would tear off th e victim 's head. No t everyone was as careful as Maled on , and execu tio ns co uld be messy affa irs. A case in point was th e bungled executio n of Thomas "Black jack" Ket chum. Ket chum spe n t most of his career in New Mexico, where h e was born about 1866. Whi le not a dandy, he was well-dresse d and well-groomed , giving th e impression of a rising busin essman , although in fact h e was a cowboy an d a drifter. T he Pink erton files indicate h e was a psych op ath ; if a plan went wro ng through h is own mi stak es, or if h e was j ilted by a woman , he would beat himself over th e head with his revolver or a ro pe as punishment. This quirk is docum ented by witn esses, bu t ano ther Pinkerton entry, describ ing hi m as a leader in Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch , is doubtfu l, altho ug h Blackjack ro de with some of th e lesser members. In 1899, h e put together a ga ng co ns isting of hi s brother, Sam Ke tchum , Elza Lay, a member of th e Wild Bunch , an d a n undistingui sh ed ba dman na med G.W. Franks, an d em barked on a se ries of robberi es of the Co lo ra do & Sou thern Rail road , th e same train four

tim es, always at Twin Mountain. Th e lack of im agin ati on was suc h th at ra ilroad det ectives and lawmen had no tr ouble esta blishi ng a pattern, and co rnering th e ga ng in a canyo n near Cimarron , New Mexico , in July 1899 . In th e ensu ing figh t, Sheriffs Edward Farr of Huerfan o Co unty, and W.H . Love of Cimarro n Co u nty were killed. Elza Lay was cap ture d, but Blackjack, Sam, and Franks go t away. Blackjack, however, was badly wounded and, unabl e to tr avel fast, was cap tured . A few days lat er, Sam tri ed yet another holdup at Twin Mountain, an d th e co nd uc tor blew his arm apart with a shotgun blast. Sam was captured, and th e arm amputated, but blood poisoning se t in an d h e di ed. In September 1900 , Black J ack was co nvicted in Clayto n , Ne w Mexico, of th e murder of Sheriff Farr and se n te nced to hang. The se n te nce was carried ou t on th e m orning of April 25, 1901 , under th e su pe rvisio n of an inexp eri enced she riff who h ad allowed for too much co un te rweigh t and too much of a d rop. Unaware of th e clumsy arrangemen t, Black J ack rem arked , "I' ll be in h ell before you sta rt br eakfast, boys." Then h e plunged th rough th e tr ap . The ro pe gave a horrible j erk and tore his head off. Whil e Blackjack might h ave been th e ex tre me case , th e efficie ncy of execu tions was so erratic th at ultimat ely, sta te legislatures intervened, re qu iring the co unties to se n d all condemned p risoners to the sta te p enitentiaries wh ich co n d uc te d execu tio ns under sta n dard ize d su pe rvisio n . Ir onically, in Texas at least, death ro w inmat es in th e sta te prison syste m re mai n co u nty prisoners ra the r than state pri son ers, maintained at co unty ex pense, an d with th e co u nty being bill ed for th e execu tio n . And becau se th ey are co u nty prisoners, unclaimed bodies of execu ted pri soners are buried se parate ly fro m sta te prisoners in th e pri son cemetery on Peckerwood Hill in Hun tsville.

Ketchum 's severed head, st ill in the black hood, lies by h is body on the floor under the gallows im m ed iat e ly following t he hanging. Because of the badly calculated drop, the rope decapitated him when it pulled taut . Such bungled local executions eventually prompted w estern states to centralize them in the state penitentiaries. (Photo by W.A. Wh ite. Courtesy New Mex ico History Museum , Neg. No. 46084)

61

THE PROFESSIONAL LAWMAN

62

In 1903, T homas A. Edison released h is movie , The Great Train Robbery. Although only ten minutes lo ng, it was th e first motion picture to tell a story, ra ther than show a series of vign e ttes . An d it was a Western , th e proto type fo r all Western movies to follow. Ironically, The Great Train Robbery was re leased o n ly two years after Bu tch Cassidy's Wild Bunch pull ed th ei r last train ro bbery, making off with $40,000 fro m th e ex press car n ear Wagn er, Montan a, on July 3, 1901. Cassidy, whose real nam e was George Leroy Parker, was the last of th e great wes te rn ga ng lead ers. Born to a devout Morm on fam ily, he n everthel ess tu rned to a life of cr ime, having been tau ght cattle ru stling and h orse theft by Mike Cassidy, who wor ked as a cowboy on th e family ra n ch south of Circlesville, Uta h. Park er later adop ted the alias of Cassidy in ad mi ratio n fo r hi s mento r. Butch Cassidy first ga in ed n oto rie ty as a m ember of a ga ng of ban k an d train ro bbers head ed by Bill McCar ty, a m an rumored to h ave been a vete ra n of th e J am es ga ng . Later, h e struck out o n hi s own , but in 1894, h e was arres ted an d co nvicte d of h o rse th eft, an d se n t to th e Wyom in g Sta te Penitentiary at Rawlin gs. Afte r 18 months of good behavio r, Governor William A. Rich ards offe re d him a pardon o n co n d itio n th at h e would reform. Butch fra n kly told th e gove rnor that was impossibl e , but did promise never to co m mit a cr ime in Wyoming again . As Butch had foresee n , th e path to crime was irresistible. Even tually, h e teamed up with Harry Longb augh , who wen t under th e alias of th e Su n dance Kid, and th ey fo rm ed th e Wild Bunch . Althoug h th ey ga ined n oto rie ty as holdup men, stock thi eves, an d ba n k ro bbers, they also were scrupulo us in th ei r effo rt to avoid casualties. For all his misd eed s, Cassidy was basically a kind person, who took pride in th e fact th at h e h ad never killed a man . He also soug ht advice fro m m embers of th e ga ng on any pl ans. For a wh ile, Bu tch kep t hi s word to Gove rnor Rich ards, limiting himself to Co lorado, Utah , Id ah o, Neva da, New Mexico, and Arizo na. But eventually, th e Wild Bunch turned to trains, and Un io n Pacific ran throug h Wyoming. At 2.30am on Jtin e 2, 1899, th ey pulled th eir first tr ain j ob, sto p ping the Overland Express with a false warn ing light near Wilcox, Wyomin g. Afte r uncoupling th e ex press car, th ey tri ed to force it open with dynamite. The car blew open withou t injuring th e guard, but th e safe pro ved too stro ng . An addi tio nal dynamite charge bl ew open th e safe, but sent th e pap er money flying through th e air. The gang ga there d up $30,000 and fled. T he Pinkerton Det ective Age ncy chased th e ga ng, distributing flyers with photographs and len gthy descriptions. A su bstan tial file was built with a co m ple te background o n Cassidy, Su ndance, and every other mem ber of th e ga ng fo r whom in format ion co uld be obtained. Afte r three m o re tra in j obs, U nio n Pacific took matters into its own hands, offering to let bygones be bygones, with a well-salarie d position for Butch as an ex p ress guard . He was having too much fun , h owever, an d declined, so Un io n Pacific hired a team of rifle men and provid ed th em with a hi gh -sp eed train.

Cassidy decid ed not to press his luck. Together with Sun dance , an d th e latter 's param our, Etta Place , he departed for Buenos Aires. O ver th e next ten years, th e two introduced Sou th America to Western-style hold-up s. Even tually, Etta tired of life o n th e ru n in a strange co n tinen t, and return ed h om e , where sh e d isappeared fro m hi story. The fate of But ch and Sundance rem ains a mystery. Su pposed ly, they were gu n ned down in a fight with troo ps, ei ther in Uruguay or Boli via. More likely, however, th ey returned home an d re tire d . Cassidy's much yo unger siste r in U tah insisted th at he occasio na lly visited her as lat e as th e 1930s. The Pinkerton Detective Agency

The Pinkerton Na tio nal Det ective Age ncy, whi ch chased Butch and Sundan ce , was founded by Allen Pinkerton, a Scots Chart ist and social revolutionary who fled to th e Un ited Stat es to avo id arre st in 1840. Settling in lll in ois, h e was active in th e abolitionist movement. Eventually, he was ap poin ted th e Chicago Police Department's first det ective , establishing a reputation th rough out th e Midwest fo r crime solving . Leaving th e police in 1850, h e organized Pinkerton's No rt h Western Police Age nc y, whi ch soon evolved into th e Pinkerton Na tio nal Det ective Age nc y. The age n cy's em ble m, "the eye th at n ever sleeps," gave rise to th e ex p ressio n "private eye" for a pri vate detective. The age nc y's reputati on brought it in creasin gly wealthy clients. During th e Civil War, Pinkerto n personally se rved as th e Army of th e Pot omac's head of sec re t service. After the war, th e agency provided sec urity for ra ilroads , banks, mine , ex press co m panies , and o ther co rpo ra tio ns th at were in strumental in n ational ex pans io n. In Pinkerton 's first ven tu re aga ins t Western outlawry, hi s agents broke up th e Ren o Ga ng . Then, in 1866, when J esse and FrankJames began th eir

Every available Texas Ranger from all four companies assembled in EI Paso in 1896, t o stop a prizefight be ing held in violation of both Texas and Mexican law. The group includes (front, left to right) Ad jutant General W.H. Mabry, who commanded the Rangers, and Captains John R. HU9hes, J.A. Brooks, William J . McDonald, and J.M. Rogers. Rogers, a devout Presbyterian, tau9ht Bible classes, and did not smoke, drink, or swear. The fight wa s held on a sandbar in the Rio Grande, unclaimed by either jurisdiction. (Texas State Library and Archives Commission)

63

64

ra m page, the detectives, now known as "Pin kerto ns," took to the field agai n , an d even tually spen t 16 years tryin g to chase down th e gang. By 1880 , Pinkerton a tio nal was th e largest privat e pol ice agen cy in th e world. Neve rtheless, its su p port for big busin ess, an d its methods questionab le eve n in th e re la tively to lerant 19th ce n tury - crea ted a distaste for th e agen cy in th e public mind. In o ne parti cul arl y notorio us in cid en t, Pin kerto ns besieging th e h o me of Mrs Zereld a Samuel, m o th e r of Fran k an d J esse J am es, th rew what th ey co n te n de d was a "flare" into th e h ouse. In th e explosio n that followed , Mrs. Samuel lost h e r right arm, an d J esse an d Frank's young ste pbrother was mortally wounded. So touch y was Pinkerton Na tio nal abo u t its im age , th at in the first decad e of th e 20th ce n tury, when undercover agen t Charles Siringo atte m pted to publish ed his memoi r of 22 years with th e age ncy, th e co mpany sued . After two years of litigat ion, an agreeme n t was reached. Siringo's boo k, A Cowboy Detective, was re leased in 19 12 with nam es changed. Th e agen cy itse lf be cam e th e Dick enson Age ncy. Hi s su pe rvisor,J am es McPa rla nd, a former un dercover man who had broken u p th e no torious Mo lly Maguires of th e Pennsylvania coal co un try, was called J am es McCa rtney. And Tom Ho rn , a fo rmer Pinkerton o perative who m th e im age-eonscious agency allowe d to go to th e ga llows on dubious charges rather than inte rven e , became To m Co rn . The Pinkertons were precursors of th e era of th e pro fessional lawman in th e West. Just as Judge Lynch had passed his gave l to real j udges enfo rci ng real legal co des, so th e bad ge-to tin g gu nfigh te r gave way to the full-time peace office r. Perhaps most represen tative of thi s new era were th e "Three Guardsm en" of O klah om a - Andrew "Heck" Th om as, Ch ristian Mad sen , and William Ti lgh man . In itially th ese three men were recrui ted by Evett D. Nix, U.S. marshal for Oklah om a Territory, to ca ptu re Bill Doolin 's gang of train and bank ro b be rs. Thomas and Madsen were ex perie nced lawm en , h aving already se rved as deputy m arsh als under J udge Parke r. Tilghman , who had been a peace officer in vario us j u risdic tio ns in Kansas an d Oklah oma , was th e newcomer. Neve rtheless, th e th ree men becam e frie n ds , and , co o rd inated by Nix, each worked a sec tion of th e Doolins' kn own hau n ts. Although sligh tly built, rh eumatic, and ord inary lookin g, Bill Dooli n had a well-deserved reputation as "King of th e Oklahoma O u tlaws." He had rid den with th e Daltons, and only a lame horse had spa re d him from sharing th eir fate in the bungled twin bank holdup in Coffeyville, Kansas, which had res ulted in th e death of every member except Emmett Dalt on. "Doolin had suffe re d no wrongs to avenge and had no call to be an ou tlaw aside fro m that of th e dare-devil spirit with in him ," Tilghman 's widow later wrote ,. "He liked th e wild life and he was not warned by the fate of th e Daltons." Doolin was wily. Wh en th e trail grew too ho t, h e would lie low. In December 1895, h owever, Ti lghman tr acked h im to the h ealth resort of Eurek a Springs, Arka nsas, where Doo lin

Tom Horn was a well-regarded army scout during the final Apache wars, who later became a stock detective in Wyoming. In a case that remains controversial, he was convicted and hanged in 1902, for the murder of the 14-yea r-old son of one of his employers. (Wyom ing State Archives, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

had go ne to tak e th e cu re for hi s rh eumatism. Th e badman was sitting in a ba th house , read in g a newsp ap er, when th e deputy marsh al walk ed in and pulled a revolver. Doolin sta rted for his gu n, but changed his mind an d su rre n de re d. Til ghman telegraphed Nix, "I h ave him. Will be home tomorrow." Doolin sat inj ail for six m onths, awaiting trial in th e territ o rial capital at Gu th rie . On th e night of July 5, however, he escaped . H eck Thomas kn ew th at Doolin 's wife lived in Lawson, Oklah oma, an d sooner o r lat er h e would co n tact her. He arra nged with two blacksmiths who kn ew th e family to keep an eye o n her. On Aug ust 23, Edith Doolin load ed a covered wagon with all th e effects necessary for relocati on, an d th en took her ho rses to th e blacksmith sho p to have th em resh od. Word was se n t to T ho mas , who arrived abou t 2p m th e next day, and formed a posse of his own people and local citizens . Thomas sta ked o ut a sto re sligh tly ou t of town , where Doo lin was suspected to be hiding. H e learned th at Ed ith had already di scovered she was being watche d , and th ey suspec ted Doolin wo uld be especially careful. They waite d until afte r midnight, when th ey saw Doolin co me out of the sta ble behind th e sto re, and start down th e ro ad toward th em, leading his h orse , and with hi s Win ch ester rifle held well in fro n t, ready to shoot. T homas yelled at him. Almost sim ulta neously, o ne of th e p osse yelled from th e oppos ite side of th e road . Doolin fir ed twice at Thomas as th e posse ope ned fir e. H e d ropped th e rifle and drew hi s pi stol , and may have go tten one shot off before h e went down with a blast fro m Thomas's sho tgu n. The body h ad 21 h oles in it. Doolin was tak en back to Gu thrie, where Thomas filed for reward money. Eventually, he co llec ted $1,435 fro m Wells Fargo, an d var io us go vern men t agenc ies, which he divided among his p osse. As Paul Tr achtman n oted in The Gunfighters, Doolin 's d eath dem onstrat ed th e value of a coord inated effo rt by peace officers . Equally important was th e assistance fro m m embers of th e co m m un ity, whic h showed th at citizens were n o longer willin g to tolerate lawlessn ess. Sometimes, citizens felt th e vengeance of th e badmen. Wh en Ch ris Mad sen was hunting th e vicio us Casey ga ng, he relied on information

r-

Cowboys show off with their guns for the photographer at Fort Fetterman, Wyoming. Although th is scene was staged , Fort Fetterman was a rough town tha t played a part in t he Joh nson ~ o u nty War, and served ~ s a model for the fictional town of Drybo "!e in Owen Wister's novel , The Virginian. (Wyoming State Archive s, Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources)

65

66

provid ed by Lu te Ho usto n , who o nce had befriended th em, and knew their hideouts. The Caseys, h owever, learn ed h e was an in fo rm ant, and o ne ni ght sto pped by h is house , an d asked him to ride offwith th em o n some pret ext. Seve ra l days lat er, Madsen rec eived a letter fro m the Caseys tellin g him where h e co uld find Houston. They had hanged him . With in three days, th ough , th e Caseys were killed in a fight with a posse. Th rough ou t the remainder of hi s lo ng and distin gu ish ed ca reer, Bill Tilgh man se rve d vario usly as sheriff, ch ief of police fo r O klaho ma City, and sta te sen ator. H e also dabbled in show busin ess, with a road show and mo tio n pictures d epicting h is ex ploits. In Septe mbe r 1924, h e was ap p roached by his o ld frie nd, Evett D. Nix, and representati ves of th e Cro mwell, Oklahoma , Cham be r of Commerce. Cromwe ll was a ro ug h o il pat ch town , beyond th e co n trol of th e local deputy she riffs. Nix and th e chambe r asked T ilghman to become city marsh al. The o ld lawm an was 71; h is wife , Zoe , was almost 40 years his j u n ior, and th ey had two you ng so ns . Ne vertheless, h e accep ted and wen t to Cromwell. In itially, he had fo ur d eputi es, but eve n tually th ey all quit, leaving him to handl e the town alo ne . O n No vem be r I , T ilghman and a friend heard sho ts fired o n th e str ee t, an d went out to in vestigate. T h ey encou n te re d Wylie Lynn , a federal Prohibi tio n agen t who, ironically, was intoxicat ed . T ilghman gra bbe d Lynn whi le h is frie n d wrench ed the gu n away. But when th e marshal re leased his grip, th e federal age nt pulled a second gun and fired, m ortally wound ing him. Tilghman was given a sta te fu nera l. Hi s body lay in th e capito l in Oklah oma City, wh ile th e flag overhead flew a t half-staff. Hi s death marked th e e nd of th e classic Western lawm an , althoug h some already had made their exits. Doc H olliday's tube rculosis finally claim ed h im at th e health resort of Glenwood Springs , Co lorado, on Nove m be r 8, 1887. Virgil Earp d ied in Po rtland , Oregon, in 1905. Wyatt lived th e lo ngest, dying in Los Angeles in 1929. Sh ortly before his deat h , he worked ex te ns ively with Stu art Lak e, who was writing h is biography. Wyatt em be llishe d, Lak e fabricated, and when the book , Wyatt Earp, Frontier M arshal, came ou t in 1931, J osephin e Earp charitably described it as "blood and th under." Neve rt heless, it has served as th e basis of the Wyatt Earp image in moti on pictures and televisio n . Like Ti lgh man , Pat Garre tt was assassinated . It was February 28, 1908, and h e was sh aring a buggy with business assoc iate Ca rl Adamso n fo r the four-hour ride between th e Garrett Ra nch an d Las Cr uces, New Mexico. En ro u te, they fell in with J esse Wayne Brazel, who had leased so me Garrett property. A quarrel had ensued ove r th e terms, and Garret t an d Brazel were barely on speaking terms. Adamson h alt ed th e buggy, an d both h e an d Garrett go t o u t to urinate . Ga rre tt was answe ring nat ure 's call wh en a bullet slam med in to th e back of hi s h ead . Several men were suspect ed, but o n ly Brazel went to trial an d h e was acq uitted. Bat Masterson perhaps had o ne of the most un ique end ings for a gu nfigh te r-lawman. As d eft wit h a pen as

Although best known for killing Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett's long life of public service included a warm association with President Theodore Roosevelt among others. John N. Garner, vicepresident under Franklin D. Roosevelt, called Garrett " an honorable, honest, patriotic American ." (Courtesy New Mexico History Museum, Neg . No. 47632)

with a h andgun , in 1903, he accep ted a job with The Morning Telegraph, a New York newspaper. Fin ally he had found his true place in life. H e liked New York and was disillu sioned with th e West, so much so th at in 1904, he turned d own President Theodo re Roosevelt's offe r of a U.S. marsh al' s position in Okl ah oma. A year lat er, how ever, he did accep t a deputy mar sh al' s post fo r th e Sou the rn District of New York, h olding th e position until 1909, whe n th e n ew ad m inistra tio n of Presid ent William Howard Taft saw fit to dismiss him. Back at The M orning Telegraph , h e settled in an d enjoyed himself, regaling th e paper 's young moti on picture edito r, Louella Par sons, with stories of th e West. On October 25, 1921, he was at his d esk working o n hi s colum n . He was suffering fro m a co ld, and one of h is co lleagues asked h ow h e was feeling. "All righ t," Bat replied, and co n tin ue d writing. A few minutes lat er, h e slum ped over his desk and di ed . Ch ris Madsen was o ne of th e lon gest-lived , dying in 1944. If Tilghman 's death ende d th e classic lawman as a type, Mads en 's ende d th e era.

FURTHER READING Ban cro ft, Hubert H owe, California Inter Pocula, Hi story Co mpany, San Fran cisco (1888) Ban cro ft, Hubert Howe, Popular Tribunals, 2 vols., Hi story Co mpany, San Fran cisco (1887 ) Ben em ann, William , ed ., A Year oj Mud an d Gold: San Francisco in Letters and Diaries, 1849-1 850, Un iversity of Nebraska Press, Lin coln (1999) Bennett, Estelline, Old Deadwood Days, Un iversity of Ne braska Press, Lin coln (1982 rep rin t of 1928 original) Brodhead, Mich aelj. , Isaac C. Parker, Federal J ustice on the Frontier, Unive rsity of Okl ahoma Press, No rma n (2003) Clum, Wood wo rth , Apache Agent: The Story oJJohn P. Clum, Un iversity of Nebraska Press, Lin coln (1978 re p rin t of 1936 origina l) DeArment, Rob ert K., A lias Frank Can ton, University of Okl ah oma Press, No rma n (1996 ) DeArment, Robert K., Bat Mas terson, the Man and the Legend, University of Okl ahoma Press, Norman (1979. Reprinted 1989 ) Dim sdale, Thomas j., The Vigilantes oj Mon tana, or PopularJ ustice in the R ocky M ountains, TimeLife Books Alexandria, Va. (198 1 reprint of 1866 origina l) Elma n, Rob ert , Badmen oj the West, Castle Books, Secaucus, NJ. (197 4) Faulk, Odie B., Dodge City, Th e M ost Western Town oj A ll, O xford Un iversity Press, New York (1977)

Faulk, Odie B., Tombstone: My th and Reality, O xford Un iversity Pr ess, New Yo rk (1972) Card, Wayne, Frontier Justice, University of Oklahoma Pr ess, No rma n (1949) H o ran , j am es D., Desperate Men : Revelations From the Sealed Pinkerton Files, Bonanza Books, New York (1949) McCillycuddy, julia B., Blood on the M oon: Valentine M cGillycuddy and the Sioux, Un iversity of Ne bras ka Press, Lin coln (1990) McLau ghlin,jam es, My Friend the Ind ian, Un iversity of Nebras ka Press, Lincoln (1989 reprint of 1910 origina l with three cha pters omitte d) Metz, Leon Claire, J ohn WesUry H ardin, Dark Angel oJ Texas, Man gan Books, El Paso (199 6) Metz, Leon Claire , Pat Garrett, the Story oj a Western La wman, Un iversity of Oklahoma Press, No rm an (197 3) Parker, Watson, Deadwood: the Golden Years, Un iversity of Ne braska Press, Lin coln (198 1) Poe, Soph ie Alberdin g, Buckboard Days, Un iversity of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque (198 1 reprint of 1936, original) Robinson, Charles M., III , The BuJJalo H u nters, State House Press, Austin (1995) Robinson, Cha rles M., III , The Frontier World oj Fort GriJfin: The L ife and Death oj a Western Town, Arthur H . Clark Co ., Spokan e, Wash. (1992) Robinson, Charles M., III , The M en Who Wear the Star: The Story oj the Texas Rangers, Random House, New York (2000)

67

Sh irley, Gle nn, Bu ckskin and Sp urs: A Gallery oj Frontier Lawmen, Hastin gs House Pu blish e rs, New York (1958) Shi rle y, Gle n n, H eck Thomas, Frontier Mar shal, Un iversity of Okl ah oma Press, Norman (198 1) Shirley, Glenn, Law West oj Fort Smith: A H istory oj Frontierjustice in the I ndian Territory, 1834-1 896,

Henry Holt an d Company, New York (1957) Siringo, Cha rles A., A Cowboy Detectiv e: A Tru e Stol)' oj Ttoenty-Two Years with a World-Famous Detective AgenC)', Universi ty of Nebraska Press, Lincoln (1988 rep rin t of 1912 origina l) Sonnichsen , C.L., I'll D ie BeJore I'll Run: Th e Story oj the Great Texas Feuds, Devan -Adair, New York (1962)

Son nic hse n , C.L., Roy Bean, L aw West oJ the Pecos, University of New Mexico Press, Albuq ue rque (1986) Tanner, Karen H oll iday, Doc H olliday: A Family Portrait, Un iversity of Okl ah oma Press, orman (1998) Tilgh man , Zoe A., Outlaw Days: A True H istory ojEarly-Day Oklahoma Chara cters, Harl ow Publ ish ing Company, O klahoma City (1926) Trach tman , Paul , an d th e Edi tors of Time-Life Books, Th e Gunfighters, Th e Old West, T ime-L ife Books, New York (1974) Turner, Alford E., ed, The Earps Talk, Creative Pu blish in g Co ., College Stat ion , Tex. (1980) Utley, Robert M., Billy the Kid : A Short Violent L ife, Un iversity of Ne braska Press, Lin coln (1989)

COLOR PLATE COMMENTARY PLATE A: THE MCCANLES FIGHT, 1861 It is June 12, 1861, and James Butler Hickok, who later wou ld be called "Wild Bill," guns one of the David McCan les's gang in a fight at Rock Spr ing Stat ion, Nebraska. The fight, blown completely out of proportion by Harper's Weekly, would turn Hicko k into a national celeb rity. Hickok killed McCan les and wounded two of his accomplices, who were finished off by Hickok's friends in the background. Hickok was only 24, and this portrait is based on one of his earliest known photographs: he did not yet sport the long, flowi ng locks, droop ing moustache, and buckskins for wh ich he became famous. Instead , he is dressed in a double-b reasted shell jacket, and flannel shirt and trousers. He does , howeve r, fire his trademar k Colt's Navy Revolvers , which he carr ies reversed on his gun belt. His opponent has a close-framed Remington revolver. Bot h men carry different styles of Bowi e knives in metal-mounted leather sheaths on their belts. The boots have low heels. The distinctive, high-heeled "cowboy boo t" evolved after the Civil War, when co nventional boots were found to hang in the large Western stirrups , creating a danger of riders being dragged to death .

68

PLATE B: THE "HANGING JUDGE" OF FORT SMITH Six men hang from Judge Isaac C. Parker's gallows at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Black hoods cover the ir heads , and the knots are placed at the curve of the jaw behind the left ear to lever the head sideways and instantaneously break the neck . Their legs are tied together for sanitary reasons ; when the neck snapped, the sph incter muscle relaxed , causing the victims to lose all bowel control. Parker (8 1) is sho wn with the exec utioner, George Maledon (8 2), and killer Crawford Goldsb y (8 3), also known as "Cherokee Bill," who was hanged at Fort Smith on March 17, 1896. Judge Parker never attended the hangings; he merely sentenced offende rs according to penalties prescribed under federal law. Exec utions were the responsibility of the U.S Marshal's Office , and Parker generally was hearing cases

when they occ urred. Over six feet tall and muscul ar, he is show n in a business suit of the period , black, with frock coat , vest , trouse rs, and neckt ie, white shirt , and watch chain. Known as the " Prince of the Hangmen ," German-born George Maledon , started as a guard at Fort Smith befo re becom ing executioner. A thorough techn ician, he had his ropes custo m-made , always pre-stretched them , and used them only once. He calculated the drop of each vict im according to their weight. As befits the United States executioner (and Maledon was an employee of the federal government), he is wearing a dark suit. He wears two revolvers, reversed. In his left holster is a Colt's Single Action Army, and on the right, Colt's Front ier Model 1878. In sentencing Goldsby, Parker desc ribed him as "most ferocious mo nster." Bill, who was just five weeks past his 20th birthday when he was hanged , began his career of murder at 14, when he killed his brothe r-in-law. Although the number of his victims may be overstated, there is no question he was a killer. Parker initially sentenced him to hang in February 1895. But while awaiting execution, Bill killed guard Lawrence Keating in an escape attempt, and was sentenced to hang for that murder as well. His features show his mixed origins: his mother was half-black, one-q uarter Cherokee and one-quarter w hite. His father was a mix of Anglo, Mexica n, and Sioux . This rendering is taken from a photograph taken in jail, and shows Bill in striped trousers , coat , vest , white shirt , and scarf. His wide-brimmed hat is blocked into the popular "Montana peak." Like Parker and Maledon , he is wearing shoes, rather than boots.

PLATE C : BUTCH AND SUNDANCE The Wild Bunch - George Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy, C3), Harry Longbaugh (the Sundance Kid, C1), and Longbaugh 's paramour, Etta Place (C2) - are shown in front of a Union Pacific express car, with a group of Pinkerton detectives hired by the railroad to hunt down Cassidy's gang. Among the last of the classic Western hold-up men, the Wild Bunch was robb ing Union Pacific trains even as Thomas Edison was

making the first film "Western," The Great Train Robbery, in 1903. The Pinkertons in th e bac kground are dressed variously in suits and ties and trail gear, as would have been typical of a group of men in their profession at the time. One wears a draw "boater" hat, and three have the "Montana peak," all popular in that era. The horses are stripped of all unnecessary equipment to allow fast mov ement. The Pinkertons are, from left to right, George Hiatt, Titi Kelliher, Jo Lefors, Jeff Carr, H. Davis and Si Funk. In the foreground , both Parker and Longbaugh are dep icted in suits they wore for a studio photo graph taken in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1901. They would not have dressed this way on the trail. The only concession to their profess ion is the riding boots and gun belts, neither of which app ear in the photog raph. Otherwise, they would appear as ordinary businessmen, compl ete with bowl er hats and watch chains. As a joke, they sent a cop y of the photog raph, along with a thank -you note, to a bank they recently had robbed in Winnemucca, New Mexico. Parker sits on a blown-out express safe, holding a Winchester rifle. Longbaugh is wearing a Colt 's Model 1873. Like Butch and Sundance, Etta is depicted in smart cloth es. Pinkerton's description of Etta was "appears to be the refined type." She may have been a school teacher, but this is not known for certain. She was not known to have dressed for the trail or wear a gun belt. The skirt and blouse are loose, flowing typ e, conduc ive to riding on a Western saddle. Etta was born

about 1878, which would have put her in her early twenties when she too k up with Longbaugh. Her ultimate fate is uncertain, although she is believed to have tired of the bandit life in South America and returned to the United States. Longbaugh is said to have accompanied her to New York and then to Denver before rejoining Parker in South America. It should be noted that both holsters slide onto the gun belts. The "buscadero" holster, which attaches to the gun belt, was a 20th-century innovation, primarily for Hollywood . PLATE D: THE O.K. CORRAL FIGHT The Earps and Doc Holliday take on the cow boys in perhaps the blood iest 30 second s in the West. When the shooting ended, the cowboys, Billy Clanton , and Frank and Tom McLaury were dead or dying , Morgan and Virgil Earp were seriously wounded, and Doc Holliday slight ly injured . There is no reco rd of the typ es of handguns that were used, and later, Wyatt appa rently couldn' t remember what he carried. Sometim es he said it was a Colt, and others, a No.3 Smith & Wesson. The more common and more likely was the Colt, and that is what is represented with all handguns here. The Joseph Isaac (Ike) Clanton was the prime instigator of the O.K. Corral fight. But when the shooting began he was unarmed and ducked into a nearby building, leaving his brother, Billy, and the McLaury brothers to deal with the Earps and Doc Holliday (Arizona Historical Society, Tucson, AHS 24366)

Major Frank E. Wolcott, a former army officer, headed a band of wealthy absentee landowners who were determined to drive out the small , independent ranchers from Johnson County in northern Wyoming. The angle of his head is not a pose, but caused by a permanently twisted neck after a brawl with a cowboy in Laramie, Wyoming. (Wyoming State Archives, Department of State Parks & Cultural Resources)

69

Earps, who were dressed in suits, did not wear gun belts , but carried their arms either in the waistband of their trousers or in the coat pockets. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are wearing frock coats , wh ile Morgan and Virgil are wearing sack coats . Billy Clant on and the McLaurys are dressed in typical cowboy garb of the early 1880s. Trousers are woolen with the cuffs turned up . Colors are drab , known as "serviceable" becaus e they minim ized dirt and stains . The hats were perhaps the most serviceable items in their wardrobe. The wide brim shielded the eyes from the sun, and protected the face and neck from rain. It could be used to fan campfires, and could be rolled up to serve as a pillow. On the open range, a light-colored hat waving in the air was visible for long distances, and so it could be used for signaling . The horse is outfitted w ith a standard Western saddle , lariat, and Winchester rifle in a saddle scabbard. Dr. John Henry Holliday (0 1) is almost cadaverous, his pasty cheeks sunk in under the bones , and eyes deep in the sockets. In fact , he is dy ing of tuberculosis, has had to aband on his profession of dent istry, and has beco me a bitt er, alcoh olic gam bler. By his own admissi on, Wyatt Earp is his only friend. Having been up all night coughing blo od, he was walking with a cane when he enc ountered the Earps before the fight , but Virgil Earp , who carried a revolver and a shotgun, took the cane and handed Doc the shotgun. Here Doc mortally wounds Tom McLaury with a blast. Virgil Earp (0 2) is carrying Doc Holliday's cane in his left hand and his Colt's revolver in his right. He will not fire a shot , but in a moment will drop from a shot in the leg fired by the wounded Billy Clant on. The only one to com e through the fight unscathed, Wyatt Earp (0 3) was Billy Clant on's target from almost po int-blank range when the shooting started. Wyatt , however, ignored him, and went for Frank McLaury, known to be the best shot of the three. Morgan Earp (0 4) has already shot Billy Clanton and Frank McLaury, but will get a shoulder wound from Billy's last shot. Still able to fire, Morgan and Wyatt will both finish Billy as he tries to stand up. Billy Clanton (0 5) slumps against the wall with two hits from Morgan Earp. Shot in the chest and right wrist , he is struggl ing to hold up his revolver with his left hand. He is wearing a handkerchief around his neck, where it can be tied over his face when the dust blows. He also has a woolen vest, almost universal attire among cowboys, because he could carry incidentals in the pockets; on horseback, trouser pock ets were inaccessible, and anything carried in them was uncomfortable.

! .

r

I

f

,

A

,

I

f

/'

,/ .(

(

I I',

/

(';

/I

I

I

I

,

,

/ .

,

/

Tom McLaury (0 6) pitches backward from the blast of Doc Holliday's shotgun . Unarmed , he was trying to get the rifle from his brother Frank's saddle scabbard when the horse, terrified by the shooting, bolts and runs. Mortally wounded , he will stagger to the corner of Fremont and Third Street, and collaps e. Like Billy, he wears a vest , and a light overcoat known as a duster. The duster had a deep vent, allowing the cowboy to tuck the tails under his seat, which wou ld prevent the wind from blowing up his back while riding. The collarless shirt, though occasionally worn , was not common. Most cowboys wore a pullover shirt with a turned -down collar. Shot by both Wyatt and Morgan Earp, Frank McLaury (0 7) struggles to stay on his feet, and, with his last shot, will wound Doc Holliday in the hip. Within seconds, though , Frank w ill die of a second shot from Morgan, just below his ear. Like Billy Clanton , he wears a handkerch ief around his neck , with suspenders holding up his trousers . Like Tom's colla rless shirt , Frank 's bib shirt was not common attire.

PLATE E: JOHN CLUM AND INDIAN POLICE John Philip Clum (E1) became agent for the Apaches at San Carlos Reservation in Arizona at the age of 22, through his mem bership in the Dut c h Reform Church whic h admi nistered the Apache agencies. He was desc ribed as "brash, impudent, contentious and nearly impossible to get on with ," but also "brave, intelligent, reliable in action , probably honest and, in sum , a fine agent. " During his three -year tenure from 1874 to 1877, his highly efficient Apache Police brought in numerou s renegades, includ ing Geronimo, whom he and his officers arrested at Ojo Caliente, New Mexico . He is shown here with single-b reasted frock coat often used in the West by thos e in official or business pos itions , colla rless shirt, and knee-length boots . The scarf around his neck had mult iple purposes . Besides wip ing off sweat , it was used to clean alkali dust from the face , beca use washing with water would dissolve the alkali, and burn the skin and eyes. It cou ld also be tied over the mouth and nose , to protec t them from dust blow ing in the high winds . The wide-brimmed , low, crowned hat protected the face from the intense Arizona sun. The Apache Police officer (E2) speaking to Clum is wear ing wh ite att ire w ith the knee -length Apache boot-moccasins. He has a flannel shirt and vest , and the trousers may be wool. His weapon and belt are government issue, the .45-55 Springfiel d carb ine, and the Mills web cartridge belt. His hat is decorated Indian-style, as is the clasp holding his scarf in place. ' Sergeant Eagle Man, a Lakota police officer of the Standing Rock Sioux Agency Police (E3) wears a government-issue blue uniform and native moccasins. His belt is civilian, but his sidearm is tucked in a government revolver holster with flap, and worn on the left side. The long arm is an 1875 Winchester rifle. He wears the badge of the U.S. Indian Police, and shoulder straps denote his rank. The hat is a civilian style, although Indian Police were issued government campaign hats as well.

,,I, I

( !:'

, ..I,

/

/

I

) 1" I

70

(

/

I

The docket fo r the fi rst ses sion of the Dis t ri ct Court of Shackelford County, Texas , in 1875, shows that Doc Holliday, whose name wa s misspelled, wa s charged along with a man named Mike Lynch fo r " Playi ng together & with each other at a game with cards in a house in which spirituous liquors were sold." (District Clerk's Office, Albany, Texas)

The man kneeling in front (E4)is a Crow Agency Police officer, whose reservation near Hardin, Montana, still encompasses the Uttle Bighorn Battlefield. He wears the traditional Crow panel leggings and moccasins and carries a night stick. His brass-buttoned vest and white sash also indicate that he is a police officer,as does the distinctive badge. Crow Police usually were recruited from the warrior societies. The badges are locally-made Indian Police badges, the top one incorporating the owner 's name. PLATE F: THE THREE GUARDSMEN William Tilghman , Henry (Heck) Thomas , and Christian Madsen were first brought together in the early 1890s by U.S. Marshal Evett Nix, to chase down the infamous Doolin gang. In December 1895, Tilghman tracked the rheumatic gang leader, Bill Doolin, to a health spa at Eureka Springs , Arkansas. Dressed as a preacher, he accosted Doolin in a bathhouse, and brought him to Guthrie, Oklahoma Territory, for trial. When Doolin escaped, the three went into action again. This time, Thomas tracked him to Lawson , Oklahoma , and in a brief fight, finished him with a blast from his shotgun. Bat Masterson described Tilghman (F1) as "the greatest of us all," and many lawmen and citizens agreed. He is shown here in his preacher's garb , black cutaway coat, vest, and trousers, and string tie, carrying a Bible, and the revolver that caused Bill Doolin to think better of challenging him in the bathhouse . Tilghman continued his career as a lawman until November 1, 1924, when, at the age of 70, he was murdered by corrupt Prohibition officer Wiley Lynn. He left behind a young wife , and two small boys. Heck Thomas (F2) was known as "Scissors-tails" for wearing a Prince Albert coat. Although Thomas could be a dandy, he was all business when it came to chasing badmen . He is shown here in his trademark working clothesknee-high boots, worn outside the corduroy trousers, flannel shirt , neck tie, and two ivory-handled Colt's revolvers in his gun belt. He carries the shotgun he used to bring down Bill Doolin. Thomas died of Bright 's disease in 1912. Copenhagen native Chris Madsen (F3) already had more adventure before immigrating than many men know in a lifetime. A boy soldier, he served in the War of the Danish Duchies, and in 1870 was wounded at Sedan during the Franco-Prussian War.After a stint in the Foreign Legion in Algeria, he came to the United States , joined the Fifth Cavalry, and served in the Great Sioux War. He was an eyewitness to Buffalo Bill Cody 's fight with the Cheyenne leader Yellow Hand at Warbonnet Creek in 1876, and later wrote an account of it. Leaving the army in 1891, he became deputy marshal a year later. He is shown in a business suit of the

period, trousers outside his boots , his large, bushy, red moustache drooping almost to his chin. A gun belt would have been worn under the coat. Madsen lived the longest , dying in January 1944, six weeks short of his 93rd birthday. PLATE G: BADGES AND GUNS Each jurisdiction had its own badge , and some were elaborate . The Esmeralda, Nevada, sheriff carried a silver badge with letters in blue enamel (G1). Some [urisdictions, in gratitude to a particularly efficient or popular lawman, might even give him a special bejewelled presentation badge in silver and gold. The badge carrying the greatest authority, ironically, was one of the plainest - the United States marshal (G3). The federal government also issued badges to Indian Police officers (G7). Noticeably missing are the Texas Rangers, who were not issued badges until the 20th century . The badges are as follows: G1 Nevada Sheriff Badge; G2 Police Badge , Oklahoma City; G3 Marshal 's Star; G4 Deputy badge ; G5 Orlando City Marshal's Badge ; G6 Deputy Badge; G7 Indian Police Badge; G8 Deputy's Badge The Remington 10-Gauge Shotgun, a breach-loading, shell-firing, double-barrel shotgun (G9) was a preferred long-arm. Remington 's standard model came with a 28-in. barrel, although gunfighters often cut it down for faster handling and a greater blast pattern at close range. The Model 1851 Colt's Navy .36-caliber revolver (G10) was a favorite because of its light weight and the fact that it could be carried in the coat pocket. The drawback was that the ball and powder had to be loaded individually into each chamber and sealed with grease to keep the flash of one round from setting off the entire cylinder. Colt's Model 1873 Single Action Army (G11) replaced the Navy. In its civilian configuration with 7%,-inch barrel, it was known as the "Peacemaker." The Peacemaker fired a metallic cartridge that allowed faster loading and more reliable fire. Another favorite among lawmen was the No. 3 Smith & Wesson. Regardless of model or manufacturer, however, pistols generally were ineffective at distances greater than 25 yards.

Members of Capt. Dan Roberts's company of Texas Rangers settle down for a meal near Fort McKavett, in the Texas Hill Country, a region especially noted for its blood feuds. (Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, Waco, Texas)

71

INDEX Figures in bold refer to illust rat ions Abilen e 44-6, 4 i Ame rican Indians 4i-54, 49 , ro-i , E Ameri can West, settle me nt 4-5 Angu s, W.E. 18 Apach e Police 48-51, 49, io-I , E Avere ll. james 16, 16 bad ges iI , G Baker, Frank 20 Ban croft , Hube rt Howe 3, 6, 9 Barbe r, Amo s 18 Bass, Sam 5 Bean , Judge Roy 6, 54-5, 55 Beauford , Clay 50 Behan ,J ohnny 24,25,26,28, 28 Billy the Kid see McCart y, Henry Bothwell, Albert 16, I i Bourke, Cap t. J oh n G. 5-6, 32-4 1 Brace, Philande r 9 Brad y, William 20 Brannan, Sam uel 7-8 , 9 Brenn an , Mollie 3 1 buffalo hunting 4 1-2 , 41, 4i Bull Head 53 Burd ue , Thomas i Cah ill, Frank 19 Can nary, Martha J ane ("CalamityJane") 43 Can ton, Frank Ooe Homer) 16, I i , 23-4 , 23 Casey. j ames P. 9 Casey ga ng 65-6 Cassidy, Bu tch (George Leroy Park er) 62-3, 68-9 , C Cha mpion, Nate li-1 8, 18 Che yen ne 4i , 52 Che yen ne Club 15, 15 Chisum ,J ohn 19 Claibo urne, Billy 26, 2i Clanton , J oseph Isaac "Ike" 24, 25-i , 69 Clan ton , William "Billy" 24, 25, 26--i, 2i, 69-i O, D Clark, Walter Van Tilburg 5 Clum, Jo h n P. 48-5 1, 49, zo-i, E Cody, Buffalo Bill 52, il Coe, Ph il 29-30 Colema n, William i - 8, 8 Cora, Charles 9 Co urtright, j im 42 cowboys clo thi ng 68, iO, A, D lifestyle 45-6 working cond itions 15 Cro w Age ncy Po lice i I , E Cro w Foot 53 Dalt on , Kit 22-3 Davis, Edm undj. 14 Deadwood 30 , 32-4 1, 42, 43 Delan o , Alonzo 9 Dimsdale , Pro f. Th om as j. 4 Disalin 50 Dod ge City 41, 42, 43, 4i Dnlan ,JJ 19-20,21 Doolin , Bill 64-5, il

72

Earp,Jimmy 6, 24 Ea rp , M organ 6, 24, 25-8, 69-zo, D Ea rp, Virgil 6, 24-8, 66, 69-i O, D Earp , Wya tt 5, 6, 24-8, 42, 66 , 69- iO, D Eskim inzin 50 Eskinos pas 49-50

Fisher, King 32 Flagg, O .H . Oack ) 16 Fort Fett erman 65 Fort Griffin 44, 4i Fort Smith 56--60, 59 Foster,Joseph C. 32 Fran ks, G.W. 60-1

Morton, William 20 O .K. Corra l fight (188 1)

t . 24-8, 46 , 69-70,

D

o u tlaws, definitio n 5

Park er, "Hanging Judge" Isaac 6, 56--9, 57, 6E B

gambling 41- 3 Garrett, Patrick F. (Pat) 21-2,66, 66 Geronimo 50-1, 5 1 Gh ost Dan ce movem ent 52-3 Go ldsby, Crawfor d ("Chero kee Bill") 68, B gu nfigh ters, definition 22 gu ns i i , G handgu ns 69- i O, D holsters 69, C revo lver s 68,69, i i , A- C, F, G rifles 69, C han gin gs and hang men 58,59-6 1, 60, 6 1, 68, B

Hardin, J oh n Wesley 13, 14, 29-30 Harrisjack 32 Hen ry, T.C. 44-5 Heth erington ,J oseph 9 Hickok,James Butl er "Wild Bill" 5,28-30, 43, 68, A Holl iday, Dr.J oh n H. ("Doc") 6, 24-8 , 25, 66, 69- i O, D Hom , Tom 64, 64 Horn er,J oe see Canton , Frank J acob s,J ohn 21 J ames, Frank 5, 22, 63-4 J am es,Jesse 5,63-4 J an sen, CJ i -8 J enkins, J ohn 8 J oh nson Co unty War 14-1 8,1 9 J on es, :>laj.John B. 10 Ket chum , Sam 60-1 Ket chum, Th om as "Black jack" 60-1, 60, 6 1 King,J am es 9 King, Sgt. Melvin A. 31 knives 68, A Lan caster, AJ . 12 Larn ,Joh n M. 10-1 3, 12, 21 Lay, Elza 60-1 LeCompt, Eugen e 42 Linco ln Co unty War 18-20 lynching, deri vation of term 6 Mabry, Gen . W.H. 63 McCall, J ack 43 McCan les, Dave 28-9, 68, A I\IcCar ty, Hen ry ("Billy the Kid") 18-22, 20 McCo nn ell , Andrew 45 McDon ald , J ames 45 McGiIlycuddy, Valentine T. 5 1-2 McKinn ey, Th omas 21- 2 McLaughlin, J am es 52- 3 McLau ry, Frank and Tom 24, 25, 26--i , 27, 69-70, D McNelly, Capt. Leander H. 14, 14 McSween , Alexander 19, 20 Mad sen, Ch ristian 64,65-6,67,7 1, F Maled on , George 59-60, 68, B Masterson , Bat 28, 30-1, 3 1,42, 66--i Maxwell , Pet e 21, 22 Miles, Moses 45 mining and min ers 3, 5, 6--7, 8-9, 43 Mooar,j. Wright 42

Pin e Ridge 53 Pink ert on Det ective Age ncy 62, 63-4, 68-9, ( Place, Etta 63, 68-9, C Pleasants,J ud ge H. Clay 14, 56 Poe ,John William 21-2, 21 pro stituti on 44 range war s 14-22 Ray, Nick Ii, 18 Red Cloud 5 1, 52 Red Tom ah awk 53 Richardson , William 9 Riley,J ohn 19- 20 Rodg er s, Cap t. j .M, 63 Rye, Edgar 12 San Francisco 6--9, 7 Schieffelin, Ed 46 Selman ,J oh n 12, 13 Shackelford Co unty Feud 9-13 Shave Head 53 Short , Luke 42 Simms, William H. 32 Sioux 4i-8, 51-2 Sirin go, Cha rles 64 Sitting Bull 52- 3, 52 Smith, Th om asj. ("Bear River Tom ") 45 Smith , Tim Ii So n n ichse n , C.L. 4 Spence, Pet e 25, 28 Spo tted Wolf 52 "Sq uirre l Tooth " Alice 46 Sta nley, Hen ry Morton 29 Stillwell, Frank 25, 28 Sto rms , Cha rlie 42 Strong, Hen ry 23 Stu art. j am es 7, 8 Sunda nce Kid (Harry Lon gbaugh ) 62- 3, 68-9 C Sword 5 1,52 TA Ran ch 19 Tau elclyee 50, 5 1 Taylor-Sutton Feud 13, 14, 56 Texa s

gove rn ment 13-1 4 vigilanc e committees 9-13 Texas Rang er s 10, 12, 13-14,54, 56, 63, 71 Thomas, Andrew "Heck" 64,65, 71, F Thompson, Ben 29-30,31-2 Tilghman, William 64-5,66, i I, F Tisdale, J ohn A. 16 Tombston e 24-8,24, 44, 46--i Tomlinson,Joe 14 Tun stall.john 19-20 vigilan ce com mittees 3-4,6--13 Wallace , Lew 20-1 WaL, on , Ellen ("Cattle Kate") 16, 17 Western film , first 62 Whi ttin gton , Williamj. 58 Wildred , Rob ert i Wolcott, Fra nk li-1 8, 19, 69 Younger, Bob and Cole 5, 22

Elite · 96 The history of military forces, artifacts, personalities and techniqu es of warfare

American Frontier Lawmen 1850-1930 In the 1840s, gold had officially been discovered in California , and many men made their way out West in search of riches. The early mining camps were dangerous places full of violence and crime. Law and order was needed, and the Vigilante Committee became the first organized deliverer of justice in these turbulent new towns. As more and more people headed out West, and many new towns

Full color artwork

sprang up, a more official system of law was created. From the days of the California Gold Rush to the killing of BillTilghman, the last of the traditional frontier lawmen, this book discusses the men who shaped law and order Unrivaled detail

O SPREY

Photographs

in the "Wild West."

IS BN 1- 84176 -575 -9

PUBLISHING

www.ospreypublishing.com

11111 765754 III 9 " 781841