William Davis "Dave” Allison
(1861-1923) - A career
lawman, Allison has been described as the most efficient lawman in
Texas. Born in Ohio, he went to
Texas when he grew up and at the age of 27, became the youngest
sheriff in the
Lone Star State. First elected as the Midland,
Texas Sheriff in 1888, he served six terms. After so many years in
Texas, Allison moved to
Arizona
and in 1903, joined the
Arizona Rangers, where he served for two years until the
organization was disbanded. During his tenure, he reportedly killed
Three Finger Jack in a chase following a train robbery at
Fairbank,
Arizona. He
was also credited with capturing the
outlaw pair of the Owens brothers and
Tom "Bravo Juan” Bowes. At other points in his lifetime,
Allison served as a
Texas Ranger; the Roswell,
New Mexico chief of police; a bodyguard for former
Tombstone boomtowner and mining magnate Bill Green during the
vicious 1906 mine strikes at Cananea, Mexico; a West
Texas constable; and a stock association detective. He is most
noted for leading the posse that caught and killed Mexican revolutionary
turned
outlaw Pascual Orozco in 1915. Along the way, he
was known to associate with and befriend such other
Old West
characters as
John
Hughes,
Thomas
Rynning,
Frank Canton,
Frank Hamer,
Charles Siringo, and a young George S. Patton, who would
say of Allison: "The most noted gunman here in
Texas." Though known for his fearlessness, lack of bravado, and
deadly aim with a gun, there were also some allegations that all was
not perfect with the lawman. Having a serious gambling habit, there
were claims made of misappropriation of funds at various times and
Allison sometimes left his positions under a cloud of suspicion.
However, he was still working on the side of the law in 1923 when he was
shot down and killed by two infamous cattle rustlers named Hill Loftis (aka
Tom Ross) and Milton Paul Good.
Working as
a detective for the
Texas Cattle Raisers Association, he and Horace Roberson, another
detective, were in Seminole,
Texas on April 1st to testify against the two cattle rustlers. The night before the trial, Allison and
Roberson were sitting in the lobby of the Gaines Hotel when in came the
two suspected cattle thieves, immediately opening fire with a pistol and a
shotgun. Both men were killed. Allison’s death was recognized as the end
of a frontier era in the Lone Star State. His funeral was a heavily attended by numerous
Texas
lawmen and cattle kings.
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