Gunfighter Summaries - L

Lincoln County Regulators (1878) - Made up of a group of young men ranging from 14 to 30 years old, the Lincoln County Regulators began as a deputized posse seeking revenge for the death of their boss and friend, John Tunstall. Formed just days after Tunstall was ambushed and killed by Lincoln County Sheriff William Brady and his posse on February 18, 1878, the incident and subsequent formation of the Regulators started the Lincoln County War. The group was formed by Alexander McSween, Tunstall's lawyer and friend who rounded up several men who had been employed by Tunstall, including Dick Brewer, John Middleton, Henry Newton Brown, Fred Waite, and Billy the Kid. Legally deputized by Justice of the Peace John Wilson, the group was initially formed for the purpose of serving warrants that were issued for Tunstall's murderers. For the next five months the violence would escalate and a number of men would join the Regulators including Charlie Bowdre, Henry Newton Brown, Jose Chavez y Chavez, George and Frank Coe, Tom O'Folliard, Jim French, William McCloskey, Frank MacNab, Vicente Romero, Yginio Salazar, Josiah Gordon "Doc" Scurlock, Francisco Zamora, John Scroggins, "Tiger Sam" Smith, and "Dirty Steve" Stephens.

Richard M. 'Dick' Brewer was the group’s first leader until he was killed by Andrew "Buckshot” Roberts at Blazer's Mill on April 4, 1878. Frank MacNab then took command, but would also die less than a month later at the hands of a posse made up of the combined forces of the Jessie Evans Gang and Seven Rivers Warriors at the Fritz Ranch on April 29^th. Josiah Gordon "Doc” Scurlock then took the lead.

The violence of the Lincoln County War continued to rage until finally in September, 1878, President Rutherford B. Hayes removed New Mexico's corrupt Governor Axtell from office and appointed Lew Wallace as New Mexico's new governor. At first, Governor Wallace felt that conditions in Lincoln County might call for martial law. The President, however, advised lawbreakers to return to peace. On November 13,1878, Governor Wallace proclaimed an amnesty for all those involved in the Lincoln County War if they were not already under indictment. This proclamation; however, did not include Billy the Kid. Officially, this ended the Lincoln County War, but, not before nineteen people had been killed in the conflict.

John Long, aka: "Long John"( 18??-??) - The first record of John Long in the Old West was when he got into a gunfight in the lawless settlement of Fort Griffin, Texas in 1876 and killed two men -- one Vergil Hewey and an unknown black soldier who was assigned to the fort. Long then moved on to Lincoln County, New Mexico where he got a job working as a deputy sheriff and was with the posse that killed John Tunstall, which triggered the Lincoln County War. On April 1, 1878, he, along with Sheriff William Brady, George Hindman, Billy Matthews, and George Peppin were ambushed by a group led by Billy the Kid. He would later be a prominent figure in the climactic four-day battle in Lincoln. When the violence finally abated, Long evidently either settled down or disappeared, as his name was soon lost to history.

"Cock-Eyed” Frank Loving (1860?-1882) – Born in Jackson County, Missouri around 1860, Loving moved with his mother to Fort Worth, Texas in the early 1870s after his father died. By the time he was in his late teens he had made his way to the lawless town of Dodge City, Kansas, having taken on the "career” of a professional gambler. Making his main "place of business” the Long Branch Saloon, Loving had been arguing with a man named with Levi Richardson, allegedly over Loving's wife, Mattie. On April 5, 1879, the argument came to a head when Richardson strode purposely into the saloon and drew his six-guns on Loving. Loving obviously drew his in response. The Long Branch Saloon was then filled with smoke. Charlie Bassett, the Dodge City Marshal heard the shots and came running. By the time he arrived, both men were still standing but Richardson had shot five shells from his gun and Loving's Remington No. 44 was empty. Richardson then fell to the floor with a fatal gunshot in the chest, as well as a shot through the side and another through the right arm. Frank Loving, who had only a slight scratch on the hand, was immediately taken to jail. Two days later, on April 7, 1879, the coroner's inquest ruled that the killing had been in self-defense and Loving was immediately released. The gunfight is known as the Long Branch Saloon Shootout or the Richardson-Loving Gunfight. (See historical accounts HERE.) Later, Frank Loving would leave his wife Mattie, a two-year old son, John, and a one-year old daughter, Mintie.

After Dodge City, Loving moved on to another lawless town -- Las Vegas, New Mexico, before finally making his way to Trinidad, Colorado in 1882. There, he ran into an "old” Dodge City acquaintance and gambler, John Allen. Allegedly the two had been arguing for some time over loans the two had made to each other. The next thing you know another gunfight was in the making. This time Loving would not be so lucky. On April 16, 1882, he was killed by Allen in what is known as the Trinidad, Colorado Shoot-out. Allen was arrested and charged with murder, but several months later he was found not guilty and released.

Joseph "Rowdy Joe" Lowe (1845-1899) - Hailing from Illinois, Joe and his wife Kathryn, who was known as "Rowdy Kate," left the area after the Civil War and roamed through the various cow towns of Kansas where they established a number of rowdy saloons. In 1870, the pair set up a combination brothel/gambling hall in Delano, Kansas, the worst section of Wichita. On October 27, 1873, Lowe shot and killed Edward "Red" Beard, who owned a saloon next door. After Beard had argued with one of the "ladies" in his own saloon, she fled into Lowe's place with Beard chasing her with his guns ablaze. Instead of hitting his intended target, Beard shot one of Lowe's "girls" and hit another patron, one William Anderson, in the eye. Retaliating, "Rowdy Joe" shot Beard, who later died from his wounds. Lowe's saloon soon became so notorious for shootings and rigged card games that customers would no longer come into his the gambling hall, so "Rowdy Joe" and Kate moved on. Next, they were again setting up drinking halls in Texas, where it was said that Lowe sometimes joined up with the Sam Bass Gang, participating in several robberies. By 1899, Lowe had moved on again establishing a small ranch outside of Denver and claiming to have given up his wild ways. However, on February 11, 1899, he was drunk in Denver's Walrus Saloon, when he found out that a man at the bar named E.A. Kimmel was an ex-policeman. Lowe immediately began to insult Kimmel, who knowing that Lowe had a reputation as a gunman, pulled his six-shooter and fired five bullets into him, dropping "Rowdy Joe" to the floor. When Lowe was rolled over, it was found that he was unarmed.

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