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 Jack
L. Bridges (1833-1915) -
Born in Maine in 1838,
Bridges moved westward where he landed in
Kansas
City. There he served as a
lawman
for 15 years before becoming a
U.S. Deputy Marshal in 1869.
Working under
U.S. Marshals, Dana Houston and William S. Tough out of the Wichita,
Kansas
Court, he was first assigned to Hays City,
Kansas.
Since Bridges worked the western part of
Kansas
he was often called to work with the Cavalry at Fort Supply,
Oklahoma
curtailing
Indian
attacks on white settlers and arresting
Indians
who had violated laws. In this capacity, he often worked with famed frontier marshal,
U.S. Deputy Ben Williams, who was respected among the Comanche, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes.
A few years later, he was sent to Wichita, where
he became involved in one of the most serious altercations of his life. On
February 28, 1871, Bridges got the opportunity to arrest an infamous train
robber, horse thief, and murderer by the name of J.E. Ledford. The
U.S. Deputy Marshal harbored a
deep resentment against Ledford for having pistol-whipped him some months
earlier and looked forward to taking his "revenge.” Taking no chances, Bridges
rounded up some 25
soldiers of the Sixth United States Cavalry to accompany him on the
arrest. The men approached the Harris House Hotel, where Ledford was the
proprietor, but were told he was not on the premises. They then scouted the
area, seeing a man run into an outhouse behind the hotel. Bridges, a cavalry
scout named Lew Stewart, and Lieutenant Hargis were approaching the outhouse
when Ledford came charge out with his pistol blazing. He shot Bridges but the
men emptied their guns into him, hitting him four times. Ledford died a few
hours later.
Severely wounded, Bridges returned to his
birthplace in Maine to recuperate from his wounds. Once he was healed, he
headed west again, first to
Colorado and
then back to
Kansas,
where he settled in
Dodge City. On July 8, 1882, he became the city marshal and a
few days later the
Dodge City Times commented on
his appointment:
"Jack Bridges was installed as City Marshal on
Saturday last. Marshal Bridges was for a number of years
Deputy U. S. Marshal in Western
Kansas.
He is a cool, brave and determined officer, and will make an excellent
city marshal. Jack's friends speak highly of him and of his integrity and
bravery. He has done some fine service for the government, and upon every
occasion, has acquitted himself with honor. He is a pleasant man socially,
and has courage for any occasion."
In the wicked little town of
Dodge City, Bridges had a number of altercations with hard case
cowboys, and in the spring of 1883, found himself caught in the middle of
the "Dodge
City War." As city marshal, he was directly responsible to
Mayor L. E. Deger who was one of the protagonists in the affair. However,
Bridges declared that he was "as much the marshal for one party as the other"
and though he did his duty as city marshal, did not take sides in the bloodless
battle between the Dodge City Peace Commission and City Administrators.
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