Lawman- Peace Officer: Bat Masterson By G.C. Stevens

 

Photo from the authors collection

"Bat Masterson was the quintessential Peace Officer, who's good

 works are apparent by the legacy that he left behind"

-The Author

William B. 'Bat' Masterson, Was Ford County Sheriff and Dodge City citizen. W. B. "Bat" Masterson was born William Bartholomew (nee, Barclay) in Iberville County, Quebec, Canada on November 26, 1853. Bat was the second of five children. According to Masterson, in his book Gunfighters of the Western Frontier (1907), he gained his nickname later in life. Bat Masterson was the quintessential Peace Officer, who's good

 works, level head and attention to duty are apparent by the legacy that he that he left behind. 

"It was as a hunter he won his name of 'Bat', which descended to him, as it were, from Baptiste Brown, or 'Old Bat', whose fame as a mighty nimrod was flung all across, from the Missouri River to the Spanish Peaks, and filled with admiration that generation of plainsmen which immediately preceded Masterson upon the Western stage."

-Bat Masterson

Bat Masterson moved to Kansas sometime in 1871, he and his family settled near the small farming community of Sedgwick which is located near Wichita Kansas, along with a family friend, buffalo hunter, H.H. Raymond. The Masterson family had previously farmed in New York and Illinois. During the fall and winter, 18-year-old Bat went west to hunt buffalo with his 19-year-old brother Ed, together they camped with other hunters working along the Salt Fork River in present Comanche and Barber counties, Kansas. During this time, Ed and Bat Masterson met several people who would become Western legends, including Billy Dixon, Tom Nixon, "Prairie Dog" Dave Morrow, and Bat's lifelong friend, Wyatt Earp.  Bat and his brother also worked on a crew grading roadbed for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. Their territory covered a four-mile stretch from near Fort Dodge, KS to a tent town then called "Buffalo City" later Dodge City. According to Robert M. Wright, Dodge City's founder, in his 1913 book, "Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital"

"Bat Masterson was the real deal. He came west in the 1870s and was at the Battle of Adobe Walls where the buffalo hunters held off the Comanche. He was an Army scout against the Kiowa; in 1877 he joined his brother Jim and Ed in Dodge City and was elected Sheriff of Ford County where he had a commendable record."

-True West Magazine

The Battle of Adobe Walls

Probably the most amazing and poignant story about Bat was his involvement in the Battle of Adobe Walls, it was in June 1874, when he was in the Texas Panhandle, when he along with other buffalo hunters took part in the Battle of Adobe Walls, Texas, starting  on June 27, Bat was one of twenty-eight men and one lone woman in the poorly protected settlement of Adobe Walls. They faced with an attack by 800-1000 Native Americans Indians, lea by Chief Quanah Parker, who commanded the Comanches; Lone Wolf, the Kiowas; Stone Calf and White Shield, the Cheyennes against the white buffalo hunters. 

Law Enforcement

In 1877, Bat Masterson was elected sheriff of Ford County, which included Dodge City. His tenure was marked by decisive action against crime, especially horse theft. He was known for apprehending nearly every horse thief who dared to operate in the area Police1. His leadership helped bring order to the chaotic frontier town.

In 1879, he served as deputy U.S. marshal for Dodge County. While working in this role, he was part of the local “Gang” of town bosses, but his law enforcement duties were often tied to protecting the community and enforcing federal and local laws. Bat’s brothers, Ed and Jim, were also active in law enforcement. Ed served as assistant marshal in Dodge City and was known for his bravery, 

Ed Masterson Lawman

"In June 1877, Ed was appointed deputy marshal of Dodge City and very quickly became popular and respected throughout the entire town. Seven months after his appointment to the police force, he was promoted to city marshal. In the evening hours of April 9, 1878, Ed, along with his deputy, Nat Haywood, tried to control a group of cowboys wooping it up at the saloon. Ed disarmed Jack Wagner and gave the gun to Wagner's boss, A.M. Walker. When Masterson left, Walker returned the pistol to Wagner. Wagner went outside and got into a wrestling match with Ed. Wagner's pistol discharged in the struggle and the bullet hit Masterson in the abdomen and exited through his lower back. Even though shot, and his jacket on fire from the powder blast, Ed pulled his gun and fired 4 shots, killing Wagner and wounding Walker. Masterson then turned and stumbled 200 yards to the saloon and fell to the floor. He was carried to brother Bat's room where he died a short time later. He was 25 years old. Ed's funeral was attended by the entire town who mourned the loss of the lawman that they had come to love and respect."

-Find a Grave

refs

• kansashistory.us/fordco/batmasterson
• True West Magazine
• Find a grave

Correcting Morgan Earps Image on Find A Grave: G.C. Stevens

 

Photo of Morgan Earp, Courtesy of Emory Cantey

The real part of the Journey of our lives has a lot to do with the connections between people, places and times. We are caught up in the flow of the river of time. A river which can be majestic, or as violent and unforgiving like the Mississippi or Missouri rivers on a bad day. But then you view them from a distance, and experience their might, or in the case of history from a place further down the timeline. What the author has learned in the last few years, is that within the time continuum of our history, there can be found a lot misunderstandings which have manifest along the way when historians, writers and collectors dabble in the art of minutia. No where is this more apparent than when the pursuit of history crosses paths with historic photos. This area can be a deeply emotional pursuit, of those who have, what Glenn Boyer once called "photowishitus." And Morgan and other famed Tombstone legends seem to have had their photos mixed up with other people from time to time, one prime example is a photo once claimed to be Doc Holliday, which turned out to be a photo of another Tombstone Citizen by the name of John Escapule. (True West Magazine May 2015). The author even had T-shirt at one time that was purchased in Tombstone Arizona in a gift shop there, that featured an image of John Escapule on the front, which was identified as Doc Holliday. The same type of confusion also occurred with the photo of Morgan Earp. But the author did some due diligence on the above photo Morgan Earp (See articles below), and determined that the photo at the top of this article is Morgan Earp. Then one day I was working with Findagrave.com. and I popped on Morgan's listing at found that the photo featured was not Morgan but  a photo of James Earp was featured instead.  I promptly reached out to Findagrave.com and let them know of this and I uploaded a copy of the correct photo which they eventually approved and changed. Thanks to findagrave.com for working with me to correct this error.

-G.C. Stevens

The Correct photo of Morgan Earp, (and his wife Louisa Earp) also appeared in the late Ben Traywick's book "Historical Documents and Photographs of Tombstone. "Both photos were credited to the Glenn Boyer collection.

                            Findagrave.com Morgan Earp

Photo Investigation Morgan Earp  

In Wyatt Earps Shadow

Frontier Dust Wild West Stories & Poetry: By G.C. Stevens

 

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WILD WEST STORIES AND POETRY

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