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Serving most of his adult life as a
lawman, John
Joshua Webb (J.J.)
was also a hunter, teamster, surveyor, hired gun, and member of the
notorious
Dodge City Gang in
Las Vegas,
New Mexico
.
Born on February 14, 1847, in Keokuk
County, Iowa,
J.J. was the seventh of twelve children born to
William Webb, III and Innocent Blue Brown Webb.
In 1862, the family moved to
Nebraska and then later, to Osage City,
Kansas. Webb traveled west in 1871,
becoming a
buffalo hunter and then a surveyor in
Colorado. He then drifted from
Deadwood,
South Dakota
to Cheyenne,
Wyoming ,
to
Dodge City,
Kansas.
Over the years, Webb would lead an adventurous
life from
lawman to
outlaw, meeting numerous characters along the way,
such as Wyatt
Earp,
Doc Holliday,
Bat Masterson, and more.
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J.J. Webb,
shackled in the center of the photo, next to
his jailers at the Old Town Jail in
Las Vegas,
New Mexico .
Photo from Donnelly Collection, courtesy of
the
Las Vegas
Citizens' Committee for Historic Preservation
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It was in 1879 that
Webb worked with as a hired gun
for the Atchison, Topeka and
Santa Fe railroad in their battle against the
Denver & Rio Grande railroad for right–of–way through the Royal Gorge in
Colorado.
Soon,
John Joshua Webb moved on to again to
Las Vegas,
New Mexico . Though J.J. Webb
had been counted among the leading citizens of
Dodge City, in
Las Vegas, matters would take an entirely
different turn. When he arrived many of his acquaintances were there
from
Dodge including
Henry "Doc"
Holliday,
David "Mysterious Dave" Mather,
Wyatt Earp,
and his old nemisis,
Dave
Rudabaugh.
Shortly after his arrival
to
Las Vegas,
Webb partnered with
Doc Holliday
in operating a
saloon,
where
Doc
spent most of his time gambling.
On July 19, 1879, the two were seated at a
card table when a bully and former army scout by the name of Mike Gordon
began to yell loudly at one of the saloon girls. A former
"girlfriend," she had rejected him while he was trying to convince her to
leave town with him. Furious, Gordon stormed out of the saloon
shouting obscenities. When
Doc
followed the unruly man outside, a shot from Gordon's gun whizzed past
him. Calmly pulling his revolver,
Doc shot
one time, leaving Gordon in the dusty street. Gordon died the next
day and when word spread that
Doc
would be arrested for the killing, he fled to
Dodge City.
In 1880,
Webb accepted the position of
Las Vegas
City Marshal. In that
capacity, he soon joined the
Dodge City Gang led by Justice of
the Peace
Hyman Neill, known as “Hoodoo
Brown." The
Dodge City Gang was firmly in
control of a criminal cartel bent on thumbing their noses at the law. For two years, the members of the
Dodge City Gang participated in
several stage coach and train robberies, organized cattle rustling, and
were said to have been responsible for multiple murders and
lynchings.
The
Dodge City
Gang consisted of of men formerly from
Dodge City
including Justice of the Peace,
Hyman
"Hoodoo Brown" Neill; City Marshal, Joe Carson, Deputy U. S. Marshal
"Mysterious
Dave" Mather, police officer
John Joshua (J.J.) Webb, and a number of
gunfighters and
outlaws
including
"Dirty
Dave" Rudabaugh, William P. "Slap Jack Bill" Nicholson, John "Bull
Shit Jack" Pierce, Selim K. "Frank" Cady, Jordan L. Webb (no relation to
J.J.), and a number of other hard
cases. While
Rudabaugh, Jordan Webb, Cady,
Nicholson, Pierce, and the rest committed acts of thievery,
Neill,
Mather,
Carson, and J.J.
Webb, in their official capacities, helped to cover the
outlaws'
tracks.
On March 2, 1880, Justice
of the Peace,
"Hoodoo
Brown," learned that a freighter named Mike Kelliher was allegedly
carrying about $1900 and the unlawful
Dodge City
Gang was determined to relieve him of the cash.
The Ford County Globe of March 9, 1880, reprinted the report from
Las Vegas Daily Optic:
About four o'clock this morning, Michael
Kelliher, in company with William Brickley and another man, entered
Goodlet [a member of the
Dodge City Gang] & Roberts'
Saloon
and called for drinks. Michael Kelliher appeared to be the leader of the
party and he, in violation of the law, had a pistol on his person. This
was noticed by the officers, who came through a rear door, and they
requested that Kelliher lay aside his revolver. But he refused to do so,
remarking, "I won't be disarmed – everything goes," immediately placing
his hand on his pistol, no doubt intending to shoot. But officer
Webb was too quick for him. The man was shot
before he had time to use his weapon. He was shot three times–once in each
breast and once in the head... Kelliher had $1,090 [$1,900] on his person
when killed.
Regardless of his
status as a City Marshal,
Webb was convicted of murder and sentenced to
hang. On April 30th,
Rudabaugh, along with a man named John Allen burst through the
Sheriff's office to free
Webb. Though the jail break was unsuccessful,
Rudabaugh murdered jailer Antonio Lino in the process.
Webb's sentence was appealed and commuted to
life in prison.
Rudabaugh soon fled
Las Vegas along with another
Dodge City Gang member, hooking
up with Billy
the Kid and his gang. However,
Rudabaugh, along with
Billy the Kid was captured on December 23, 1880.
After
Dirty
Dave’s conviction, he found himself in jail with
J.J. Webb. Soon, the pair along with two
other men by the names of Thomas Duffy and H.S. Wilson tried
unsuccessfully to shoot their way out of jail on September 19, 1881. Duffy was mortally wounded and their attempt was unsuccessful. However,
Webb, facing life in prison, and
Rudabaugh, the threat of hanging,
were determined.
Two months later,
Webb and
Rudabaugh, along with five other men, chipped a stone out of the jail
wall and escaped out of a 7"x19" hole.
Rudabaugh and
Webb raced to
Texas and
then to Mexico where
Webb
disappeared and
Rudabaugh was later killed
Later
Webb returned to
Kansas, where he took the name "Samuel King," and worked as a
teamster. Somewhere along the line he moved on to Winslow,
Arkansas working for the railroad. In 1882
he died of smallpox in
Arkansas.
John Joshua Webb never married.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated December, 2007
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