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But setting all question of
comparative respectability aside, the whole affair resolves itself into a
matter of victory for superior force, and not law.
Luke Short, the chief
of the band of men lately exiled, has his interests in the town, and
claims he has been wronged. The
vigilantes who drove him and his friends
away assert that they are evil characters. Law has been set aside and
force is the sole resort. Governor Click has been attempting to preserve
the peace, but so far has made no great progress. The sheriff acknowledges
that he cannot protect the exiled men should they return, and so the
matter stands at present.
Yesterday a
new man arrived on the scene who is destined to play a part in a great
tragedy. This man is
Bat Masterson, ex-sheriff of Ford county, and one of
the most dangerous men the West has ever produced. A few years ago he
incurred the enmity of the same men who drove
Short away, and he was
exiled upon pain of death if he returned. His presence in Kansas City
means just one thing, and that is he is going to visit Dodge City.
Masterson precedes by twenty-four hours a few other pleasant gentlemen who
are on their way to the tea party at
Dodge.
One of them is
Wyatt Earp, the
famous marshal of Dodge, another is
Joe Lowe, otherwise known as
"Rowdy Joe," and still another is "Shotgun" Collins; but worse than all is
another ex-citizen and officer of
Dodge, the famous
Doc Holliday.
A brief
history of the careers of these gentlemen who will meet here tomorrow will
explain the gravity of the situation. At the head is
Bat Masterson. He is
a young man who is credited with having killed one man for every year of
his life. This may be exaggerated, but he is certainly entitled to a
record of a dozen or more. He is a cool, brave man, pleasant in his
manners, but terrible in a fight, and particularly dangerous to the ruling
clique, which he hates bitterly, Doc.
Holliday is another famous "killer."
Among the desperate men of the West, he is looked upon with the respect
born of awe, for he has killed in single combat no less than eight
desperadoes. He was the chief character in the
Earp war at
Tombstone,
where the celebrated brothers, aided by
Holliday, broke up the terrible
rustlers.
Wyatt Earp is
equally famous in the cheerful business of depopulating the country. He
has killed within our personal knowledge six men, and he is popularly
accredited with relegating to the dust no less than ten of his fellow men.
"Shot-Gun" Collins was a Wells, Fargo & Co. messenger, and obtained his
name from the peculiar weapon he used, a sawed off shot gun. He has killed
two men in
Montana and two in
Arizona, but beyond this his exploits are
not known.
Luke Short, the man for whom these men have rallied, is a noted
man himself. He has killed several men and is utterly devoid of fear.
There are others who will make up the party, but as yet they have not yet
arrived.
This gathering
means something, and it means exactly that these men are going to Dodge City. They have all good reason to go back. Masterson says he wants to see
his old friends.
Short wants to look after his business.
Earp and
Holliday, who are old deputy sheriffs of
Dodge, also intend visiting
friends, so they say, and Collins is going along to keep the others
company. "Rowdy
Joe," who has killed about ten men, and is the terror of
Colorado, goes about for pleasure. Altogether, it is a very pleasant
party. Their entrance into
Dodge will mean that a desperate fight will
take place. Governor Glick has, up to the present time, failed to preserve
order, and unless he takes some determined action within the next
twenty-tour hours, the men swear they will go to
Dodge and protect
themselves. For the good of the state of
Kansas, it is hoped the governor
will prevent violence."
May 13, 1883 -
The Daily Kansas City Journal
"Luke Short over whom all this
Dodge City excitement and sensation has been created, don't look like a
man that would be dangerous to let live in any community. In fact he is a
regular dandy, quite handsome, and Dr. Galland says, a perfect ladies man.
He dresses fashionably, is particular as to his appearance, and always
takes pains to look as neat as possible. At
Dodge City he associates with
the very best element, and leads in almost every social event that is
gotten up. Dr. Galland thinks the ladies will yet be heard from in
Mr. Short's
behalf. They have been very anxious to get up a petition among themselves
to send the governor and it will probably come yet."
May 23, 1883 - Letter to the Daily Kansas State Journal
by
Luke Short
"They speak of Mr. Harris being a man without character and that he is
living in an open state of adultery with a prostitute, which is an
infamous lie, and I will venture to say that there is not a man in
Kansas
who knows Mr. Harris but will say that he is an honest and an honorable
man, and a good citizen, and can buy and sell every man whose name appears
on that official list. As to his living with a prostitute, I consider that
a rather broad assertion to make and consider such things his own private
affairs and no body's business. I can say however that if the accusation
is true it is nothing more than what Sutton, Webster, Diger, Chipman,
Hartman, and others of that outfit have done in the past, and are doing at
present. Webster abandoned his family for a prostitute,
Nixon did the
same, and there are only those who cannot get a prostitute to live with,
who have not got them, and it is a conceded fact by all who have any
knowledge of Dodge, that all the thieves, thugs and prostitutes who have
been in the town in the past two years have been directly and indirectly
connected with the city government. These assertions I am prepared to
prove in any court of justice in the world.
They go
further on and state that I am a desperate character, and that not long
since I murdered an old grey haired man in
Arizona and that I have been
run out of nearly every country I have lived in. Which is as infamous as
it is false, as there is not a civilized country under the face of the sun
that I can not go to with perfect safety, excepting
Dodge City, and there
is no law to prevent me from living there, nothing but a band of cut
throats and midnight assassins, who have banded together for the purpose
of keeping all those out of the place who are liable to oppose them at the
polls, or offer them opposition in their business.
As to my
murdering an old grey haired man in
Arizona I was tried in a court of
justice for any offence I committed there, and the records will show that
it was a fair and impartial trial, and that I was honorably acquitted. The
delegation who came here to see the governor, and who claim to represent
the moral element of the town, was principally composed of tramps, who do
not own a single foot of ground in the country, and never have."
June 5, 1883
Topeka Daily Commonwealth
"Masterson,
Wyatt Earp, and all the sports in the country, held a meeting
at Silverton and decided to take
Dodge City by storm.
Short is at Caldwell
but will meet the party at Cimarron, 18 miles west of
Dodge, perhaps
Sunday night or soon after. Horses will be taken at Cimarron and the whole
party will rendezvous at Mr. Oliver's, two miles west of
Dodge.
Doc Holliday
and
Wyatt Earp are now secretly in
Dodge City, watching matters.
When the time for action comes a telegram will reach them worded as
follows: "Your tools will be there at ____," giving the time agreed upon.
The plan is to drive all of Short's enemies out of
Dodge at the mouth of
the revolvers."
June 7, 1883 -
Kansas City Evening Star
"The much talked of band of noted killers who were to congregate here and
accompany Luke Short, the exile, back to
Dodge City,
Kansas are in part at
least, at that place now. Advices from there state that
Luke Short,
Bat Masterson,
Charley Bassett and
Doc Holliday
at present hold the fort and that trouble is liable to ensue at any
moment.
Mr. Bassett
was here for quite a time and with Colonel Ricketts at the Marble Hall. He
is a man of undoubted nerve and has been tried and not found wanting when
it comes to a personal encounter. But Masterson and
Doc.
Holliday are too well known
to need comment or biography. A notice has been posted up at
Dodge
ordering them out and, as they are fully
armed and determined to stay, there may be hot work there tonight."
June 9, 1883 -
Bat Masterson when interviewed by the
Daily
Kansas State Journal
"I arrived here yesterday and was met at the train by a delegation of
friends who escorted me
without molestation to the business house of Harris &
Short. I think the
inflammatory reports published about
Dodge City and its inhabitants have
been greatly exaggerated and if at any time they did 'don the war paint,'
it was completely washed off before I reached here. I never met a more
gracious lot of people in my life. They all seemed favorably disposed, and
hailed the return of
Short and his friends with exultant joy. I have been
unable as yet to find a single individual who participated with the crowd
that forced him to leave here at first. I have conversed with a great many
and they are unanimous in their expression of love for
Short,
both as a man and a good citizen. They say that he is gentlemanly,
courteous and unostentatious - 'in fact a perfect ladies' man.'
Wyatt Earp,
Charley Bassett, McClain and others too numerous to mention are among the late
arrivals, and are making the 'Long Branch' saloon their headquarters. All
the gambling is closed in obedience to a proclamation issued by the mayor,
but how long it will remain so I am unable to say at present. Not long I
hope. The closing of this legitimate calling has caused a general
depression in business of every description, and I am under the impression
that the more liberal and thinking class will prevail upon the mayor to
rescind the proclamation in a day or two."
June 12, 1883 -
Ford County Globe
"Our city trouble is about over and things in general will be conducted as
of old. All parties that
were run out have returned and no further effort will be made to drive
them away. Gambling houses, we understand, are again to be opened, but
with screen doors (probably ornate oriental type door shields designed to
obscure the view from one room to another rather than fly screens) in
front of their place of business. A new dance house was opened Saturday
night where all the warriors met and settled their past differences and
everything was made lovely and serene. All opposing factions, both
saloon
men and gamblers met and agreed to stand by each other for the good of
their trade. Not an unlocked for result.
The mayor
stood firm on his gambling proclamation, but as his most ardent supporters
have gone over to his enemies, it will stand without that moral support he
had calculated upon to help him in enforcing it. We have all along held
that our mayor was over advised in the action he has taken and had he
followed his own better judgment, and not the advice of schemers and
tricksters who had selfish interests at stake, and not the best interests
of this community, he would have fared much better. No one knows this now
any better than himself. He has freed himself from that cropped-winged
moral element and stands on the side of the business interests of Dodge."
June, 1883 - Charles D. Ulmer, Sterling Bulletin
"On Friday, the party visited
Dodge City,
the rip-roaring burg of the West. As we glided into the depot, we looked
anxiously along the street, expecting to see many squads of festive
cowboys, rigged out with arms enough to equip a regiment, and ready to pop
a shot at any plug hat that might be in the crowd, but nothing of the kind
was to be observed; instead, there was a busy, hustling little city, like
many others in
Kansas, with, perhaps, a few extra saloons thrown in for
variety.
Dodge City
was a surprise to us. It is beautifully located -- the residence portion on
the hills which command a magnificent view of the country, east, west, and
south. The business portion is on the level bottom at the foot of the
hills. The railroad track is a little close to the main business street
for convenience.
"The party, on landing, instead of being received by a howling lot of
cowboys, with six-shooters and Winchester rifles rampant, were received by
a delegation of as gentlemanly and courteous men as can be found in the
state. During our stay in Dodge,
we had the pleasure of meeting most of the men who have been so
prominently mentioned in the late trouble at that place. Instead of
low-browed ruffians and cut-throats, we found them to be cultivated
gentlemen, but evidently possessing plenty of nerve for any emergency.
Among those we met and conversed with was Luke Short, his partner, Mr.
Harris, who is vice-president of the
Dodge City
bank, and Mr. Webster. The late trouble originated in differences between
Messrs. Short and Webster, and, we believe, after both sides get together
it could and should have been settled without the hubbub made, and
interference of the state authorities. Mr.
Short, Mr. Harris, and others
assured us that their side, at all times, was ready and willing to submit
their differences to the decision of the courts. The trouble has been
amicably adjusted, and no further trouble is anticipated on the old
score."
July 5, 1885 - Letter from Jeremiah Strang to John Martin,
Kansas Governor
"The
Texas cattle quarantine law passed last winter is quietly working out the
salvation of Dodge City. The festive
cowboy is already becoming
conspicuous by his absence in
Dodge, and ere long he will be seen & heard
there, in his glory, no more forever. The
cowboy gone the gamblers and
prostitutes will find their occupations gone, and, from necessity, must
follow. The bulk of the
saloons will then die out because there will be no
sufficient support left, and the temperance people can close the rest as
easily as they could in any other city in
Kansas."
November 5, 1885 - Letter from Governor John Martin to
Dodge City Mayor, Robert Wright
"The fact is
the condition
of affairs in Dodge, instead of improving, as I had hoped, seems to be
growing worse. I hear, every now and then, of robberies committed on
innocent strangers, who have come to
Kansas to seek homes. Visitors inform
me that the
saloons are increasing, not only in numbers, but in depravity;
and that thieves, desperadoes, gamblers and criminals generally, are
multiplying. It is also alleged that these lawless characters dominate in
the city; that they have terrorized all the better elements of society;
that they openly and defiantly flaunt their viciousness and depravity; and
that they appear to think there is no power or authority that can reach or
punish them."
November 9, 1885 - Letter from Dodge City Mayor, Robert
Wright to Governor John Martin
"You must recollect that our situation is different from that of other towns in the
Eastern part of the State, which have always enjoyed the benefits of
churches, schools & other civilizing influences. We have always been a
frontier Town, where the wild & reckless sons of the Plains have
congregated, their influences are still felt here, but we are rapidly
overcoming them, let us alone & we will work out our own salvation in due
season. I flatter myself that I know how to handle the boys, they cannot
be driven. Please do not borrow trouble Governor about the conduct or
management of
Dodge City."
January 14, 1931 -
Dodge City Daily Globe
"Ham Bell says the idea that he never drew a gun on a man when he
was sheriff here in the early days is all wrong. He never shot a man, he
says, and that was mainly because he was always careful to draw his gun in
plenty of time before the other man drew his. 'If I'd never drawn a gun,' he says,
'I wouldn't have lived a week.'"
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