This is sooooo fascinating Gibson. Please keep it up.
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This is sooooo fascinating Gibson. Please keep it up.
Yessir--what Mike .44 said, and then some. Lotta little-known history being presented in this thread.
Thanks guys. AND doubly thanks for NOT pointing out a typo that I made. I posted NEVADA when I MEANT New Mexico. This was pointed out to me.
For having the tact and decency not to embarrass me, I am in your debt. The Hoodoo Brown crew/Dodge City Crew were in Las Vegas, NEW MEXICO. I CLEARLY knew that as evidenced by my Dave M ather sketch as it uses images from a web site about the history of the small town.
Again, my apologies! I corrected it.
Head on a stick and a just reward. It seemed that if you were determined to lead a life of crime it was better to keep moving. After awhile, the "good guys" will have taken enough abuse and settle the score. I think the paper summed it up well: "The was no hint of regret at his passing." It is interesting for the reporting to point out that "The Kid" treated Rudabaugh with "kid gloves" so we know he was a bad a$$. As always, interesting, fascinating, good hard work on your part. Again, I will say that I really like the formatting, pictures, and multiple texts/sources. Thanks
Let us see if you guys are interested in a bit of truth behind the legend.
We are aware of the embellishment and exaggeration behind William Frederick Cody and his "daring deeds". We, myself included, dismiss him. But is there a grain of truth behind the legend? Indeed there is. Stay tuned for some due being given to an old showman. Who is usually summarily dismissed. Not so fast, pal. :)
http://westernfrontierblog.files.wor...f_bill_250.jpg
"Cody officially signed the paybook as scout in Cheyenne, Wyo., on June 10, 1876. One trooper recalled, 'All the old boys in the regiment upon seeing General Carr and Cody together, exchanged confidences, and expressed themselves…that with such a leader and scout they could get away with all the Sitting Bulls and Crazy Horses in the Sioux tribe.' A soldier's wife was similarly impressed with Buffalo Bill: 'I remember his fine figure as he stood by the sutler store, straight and slender, with his scarlet shirt belted in and his long hair distinguishing him….' Actually, Cody's unique costume was cause for some snickering in the camp. Back in '69 he'd worn a frontiersman's buckskins, yet now he sported a bright red fireman's shirt; his black velvet pants were trimmed with scarlet, adorned with silver bells and fancy embroidery. This outfit was apparently some Eastern stage manager's idea of what Mexican vaqueros wore, and it was adopted for Cody's theatrical performances. When some unkind wags in Philadelphia joked that a real scout, whose job often entailed stealth, would scarcely roam the plains in a red shirt and bells, Buffalo Bill had been furious. He vowed to someday wear his stage duds on an actual campaign. Throughout the 5th's long, weary ride, Cody stuck to his velvet pants, bells and all."
http://images.reproarte.com/files/im...ellow_hand.jpg
William Frederick Cody was indeed a showman. He exaggerated his exploits for the stage, of this there can be no doubt, but what truth is there?
Well the truth is he was there and he did indeed scout and he did indeed kill MANY, many buffalo. While he claimed well over 4, 000 I have no idea as to the truth of that figure. But the fact is he was well known by the army and was, without doubt, respected for his real world abilities.
This short sketch is about an incident with a Cheyenne. The Indian's name has been erroneously translated as "Yellow Hand". This came about because of one Baptiste Garnier, AKA "Little Bat". He was a 5th Cavalry scout on the same expedition with Cody and interpreted the name Hay-o-wei as "Yellow Hand". The name should have been "Yellow Hair". He was the son of Cheyenne chief, Cut-Nose. The incident occurred on July 17, 1876 on Hat Bonnet Creek (not War Bonnet Creek as is often stated today; that creek is approximately 30 miles away).
Cody left his theatrical pursuits at the urging of Colonel Anson Mills, eventually; and announced to his audience that play acting was over and he was rejoining the Indian wars. He did so after receiving multiple letters from Colonel Mills, requesting his assistance. There actually exist contemporary letters written by Colonel Mills to his superiors asking for Cody and referring to him as "an excellent and invaluable guide".
He was welcomed by cheers from the enlisted men of the 5th Cavalry.
One enlisted man, Brown, wrote the following (it ends with a section of the quote above):
"At noon on the 9th W.F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) joined the command as a scout and guide. There is very little change in his appearance since I last saw him in '69, except that he looks a little worn, probably caused by his vocation in the East not agreeing with him. All the old boys in the regiment, upon seeing General Carr and Cody together, exchanged confidences, and expressed themselves to the effect that with such a leader and scout they could get away with all the Sitting Bulls and Crazy Horses in the Sioux tribe."
Stay tuned. . .
Cody had been on "duty" with the 5th for 3 weeks when Wesley Merritt was sent in as the new Colonel of the 5th Cavalry. Cody immediately met with him and accompanied him to his command. Merritt wasted no time and on July 3rd, the outfit was indeed on the Indian's trail of which they had been sent out in search of.
Company I was sent forward and came out of the brushy area they had been marching in to find Buffalo Bill already there and waving his hat at them. Company I then followed closely as the scouts pointed the way. Lieutenant King recorded:
"Buffalo Bill plunging along beside us on a strawberry roan, 16 hands high, gets a trifle of a lead, but we are tearing up the crest in a compact body, reach it, rein up, amazed and disgusted- not an Indian to be seen for two miles across the intervening swale."
But in 30 miles or so there would be a brief exchange of fire with the Cheyenne, which compelled the group to abandon supplies that they had for the enemy.
Within a week the soldiers would receive word of the Custer Massacre. . .
http://www.wyomingtalesandtrails.com/1stscalp.jpg
At first light on July 17, Cody who been out in from of the soldiers reconnoitering, caught sight of a Cheyenne encampment and immediately alerted the sentry of "A" column who was also in the field. He rode straight up to a young Chris Madsen, the man who would become a legendary lawman years later (one of the "Three Guardsmen"). He told them to signal the leadership of the soldiers but Cody never hesitated, he bolted away and rode to Colonel Wesley Merritt and told him of the situation. Merritt immediately sent out his men. Cody was sent in the lead.
The skirmish is next.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_xmx5nb5rts...+Bill+Cody.jpg
http://www.schwendguns.us/images/SG_Buffalo_Bill.jpg
Robert B. Smith, Wild West Magazine, December 1996:
Merritt ran down the hill to join the 5th as it crossed Warbonnet Creek [see above for actual creek] and formed its ranks on the east bank of the stream, just behind a high rise concealing them from the oncoming Cheyenne. Responding to whispered commands, the troopers thumbed cartridges into their Springfields and waited for whatever the next few fateful minutes would bring.
As scouts and soldiers saddled up, King kept the seven warriors under observation. He waited until they were no more than 100 yards from Warbonnet Creek, then jumped up and waved his hat, shouting: 'Now, lads, in with you!'
Instantly, Cody and the rest of his little band galloped around the hill and launched themselves at the seven Cheyenne. Trooper Madsen, still posted on his lonely hilltop to the north, had a clear view of all that happened next, as did Sergeant John Powers of Company A, who was moonlighting as an on-the-scene correspondent for the Ellis County Star.
Cody, astride a powerful horse [a magnificent animal, the 16 hand strawberry roan mentioned above], was well in advance of the other would-be rescuers, so far in front that upon rounding the hill he nearly ran headlong into the leading warrior, a young man sporting a magnificent headdress so long its feathers nearly trailed on the ground.
Cody and the lone Cheyenne fired at each other almost simultaneously, Cody using his Winchester carbine and the Indian replying with a heavy revolver. Cody's aim was better: his first shot passed through his opponent's leg and killed the pony he was riding.
At that moment Cody's own horse stumbled in a prairie dog hole, pitching Bill headlong to the ground. The scout scrambled up in an instant, just as his wounded opponent sent another bullet whizzing past his ear. Kneeling, Cody took careful aim and fired his second shot, one that hit the young Cheyenne square in the face and dropped him dead on the brown prairie grass.
While Cody's companions scattered the other six Cheyenne, he ran forward with a bowie knife and stripped the scalp of his dead foe. He later recalled that, swinging the grisly trophy above his head, he cried out in triumph, 'The first scalp for Custer!' And perhaps he did, though no one else on the field that day ever recalled his dramatic oratory afterward.
The warriors still straggling up from the rear began surging forward to see what all the shooting was about. Companies B, I and K of the 5th broke cover, formed line abreast and charged directly toward the oncoming Cheyenne, bugles blaring. The Indians, whose numbers were far, far less than the rumored 1,000, immediately turned and fled in the opposite direction, back toward the Spotted Tail Agency. In their flight, they abandoned blankets and provisions.
The three companies pursued only a short distance, never coming close enough to fire a single shot at their retreating enemy.
http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/ge...r/buffbill.gif
http://www.old-picture.com/old-west/...-Bill-Cody.jpg
Sometimes there a bit of truth behind the "legendary exploits". . .
Well, as David Hume might say, the sketch appears to "have fallen stillborn from the press". . . well, keyboard.
Oh well
Sorry I could not respond sooner as you hard work is appreciated. No excuse, but I have been working long hours and come home late and first thing I do is catch-up with the latest and greatest installment. Obviously Cody was respected as a scout and that says a lot. It appears that he would lead a charge and engage in close quarters combat - that would require bravery beyond most all mere mortals. Sounds like he always had a flair for the dramatic so his show was a logical extension. He could for sure say, "been there, done that."
Thanks buddy! I needed a little pat on the back.
Stick around a few minutes. Fortified with that post, I'll put up my VERY LATEST. Just finished early am. . .
This ol' boy was tripled distilled tough. Tell me you aren't astounded by the similarities to a scene in "The Unforgiven", 1992 incarnation, of course.
A legendary figure, Charlie Siringo. . . He was definitely in the arena. Knew them almost all, from Masterson, Allison, Earp, to Tom Horn, and all points in between.
http://www.jcs-group.com/oldwest/ahpeople/siringo.jpg
A true man of the west. We have mentioned him before. He was there. He was engaged in detective work. He gave the only true account concerning Allison and Earp in Dodge City, because he witnessed it. In his later years he wrote many great books. The lead in is from his book "Riata and Spurs":
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/255/talbot1w.jpg
http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/6004/talbot2.jpg
http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/120/talbot3.jpg
“Many a cowboy and many a Texan has bitten the dust before Mike Meagher’s steady aim,”
So, goes a dispatch from a Wichita, Kansas newspaper, dateline December 17, 1881.
Meagher had been a good lawman for a good number of years. His first law enforcement job was as marshal of Wichita Kansas in 1871. He was fairly consistently employed in law enforcement for the next decade. He likely killed sevaral men prior to the Talbot-Meagher Gunfight of December 17, 1881. One was a drunken hardcase in Wichita, Sylvester Powell, angry at Meagher for arresting him earlier, took potshots at an outhouse behind Hope's Saloon on January 1, 1877, with Meagher inside. Meagher was severely wounded and later shot Powell to death. Another occurred in Caldwell. He moved there in April of 1880 and immediately opened a saloon. But in no time, he was made mayor of the town and his first act was to replace the entire police force. Not good for the officers. . . One of the replaced was Marshal George Flatt, who quite obviously took offense and soon began to badmouth the city administration. In June, Flatt was found shot to death. Meagher and the entire police force was arrested for the murder, but no one was convicted of the crime. Meagher very likely took care of this man. It appears that he killed up to six men in gunfights, possibly. Meagher could have been a model for Matt Dillon.
Let's give the Powell and Meagher gunfight a bit more attention, shall we?
Meagher enforced the law VERY much like Matt Dillon. No nonsense, no favorites. Sylvester Powell was a stagecoach driver who had for some odd reason decided to liberate a horse from a hitching post that was then property of another man. BAD IDEA. The owner stood dumbfounded for a moment and then walked over and asked Powell if he lost his mind; trying to steal his horse in broad daylight right in front of him. Powell responded with a sixgun; he jammed his revolver into fellows face who promptly turned and fled to the law. Mike Meagher. Well, you can guess what Dillon, uh, Meagher did. That's correct, he marched right out into the street and confronted Powell who was in full possession of the stolen horseflesh. Now, Mr. Powell somehow decided that discretion was the better part of valor. Put simply, he knew damned well not to yank that smokewagon out on Meagher. Mike simply snatched him and carted him off to jail. He intended to leave him there for trial. No such luck! The stage line operator showed up at the jail later in the evening and presented the jailer with paperwork signed by the judge showing he had paid Powell's bail. He released him.
Powell immediately heads for a watering hole and starts downing scamper juice like he's been in the desert for a month. When he had drank himself up enough guts, he went looking for Meagher. Funny, he had been face to face with him earlier in the day. . . Much like a scene from "The Unforgiven", Powell followed Meagher down the alley beside Hope's Saloon. When Meagher hit the outhouse, Powell unleashed a lead curtain on him, through the front door. Assuming him dead, Powell walked up to front door of the outhouse and started to ease it open. Guess what? Meagher kicked the door open and stood there bloodied but clearly unbowed. He had been hit badly in the leg, a through and through that fortunately missed the bone. Powell freaked out and started backing away, he busted off another round that went through Meagher's left hand. Mike then swung into action and threw an off balanced shot that barely missed Powell. He was in terrible pain from the hand wound and Powell was retreating. Powell now burst into a full sprint! Meagher hobbling along behind him. Relentless.
Our bushwhacker now fled back down the alley and tuned onto Douglas Street. Here he slowed as he figured he had escaped, whiskey courage had disappeared. Then he hears the stern intonation, "Powell"! Yep, Mike Meagher is right behind him. He spins as fast as he can drawing as he turns but Meagher is quicker. Mike Meagher has sent Powell to the undertaker for cotton and pennies. Shot him squarely through the ticker. He hit the ground dead.
Mike Meagher and his brother, Mike on left:
http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/graph...e_and_john.jpg
Caldwell, Kansas 1880s:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/phot...01880s-500.jpg
For a month prior to December 17, 1881 Jim Talbot, a Texas cowboy and his cronies, to include, Jim Martin, Bob Bigtree, Tom Love, Bob Munson, Dick Eddleman, and "Comanche Bill” Mankin, had been staying in Caldwell. These men had been raising hell the whole time but the apex of it occurred on December 16 at Caldwell's Opera House.
Stay tuned. . .
So let's let a REAL historian tell some of the tale. My jackleg attempts are too full of old country-*** boy idiom.
Here is how James Reasoner in his book "Draw" tells the tale of the Talbot-Meagher Gun battle. (Just between us I'd still rather read Charlie Siringo's recounting. Just too cool to read a guy who was there telling you about stuff!.) But for your reading enjoyment. The bloody battle recounted is recounted by Reasoner.
[Let me again say that Meagher recovered and again say Powell never quite recovered :) Mike left the area and relocated in Caldwell. As stated, he was in short order appointed mayor. And again as said, he relieved the pitiful excuse for a police force of their jobs. Then Talbot and his group of cowboys showed up and began to hoo-rah the town for a month. They kept it to a dull roar until the night of December 16th.]
Caldwell's Opera House:
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/phot...ra%20House.jpg
Reasoner:
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/7312/talbot4.jpg
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/6576/talbot5.jpg
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/phot...on,%201889.jpg
Addenda from legendsofamerica.com:
"A coroner’s jury returned a verdict that Mike Meagher was murdered by Jim Talbot, and that Bob Bigtree, Jim Martin, Tom Love, Dick Eddleman, Bob Munson, and Doug Hill, were accessories to the crime. Dead or alive rewards totaling $1100 were offered for the capture of the men.
Later, Tom Love was captured, but on January 24, 1882, was acquitted. Love went on to become a lawman, who would later help to track down outlaw Bill Cook, a.k.a., The Cherokee Kid. Eddleman was also captured but was never convicted. Five years later, in 1887, Doug Hill was brought back from Texas. He plead guilty to manslaughter in the fourth degree, and received a sentence of six months in the county jail.
Jim Talbot was finally arrested in California in 1895 and returned to Kansas. However, his first trial ended in a hung jury and the second in acquittal.
Talbot returned to California and the next summer was gunned down by an unknown assailant. Some believe the killer may have been Mike Meagher's twin brother, John."
Alleyway where Meagher was killed:
http://donm.smugmug.com/Travel/4th-o.../IMG2846-L.jpg
Historic Marker:
http://donm.smugmug.com/Travel/4th-o.../IMG2841-L.jpg
Now let me see if I can get this old newspaper to copy and paste for you guys. . .
NYT 1895:
http://img543.imageshack.us/img543/2310/talbot6.jpg
http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/757/talbot7.jpg
That is all of the article that was present but it's solid piece of history!
I'm telling you boys those were some tough men.
Now then. That'll get the blood to pumpin'.
Refresh page if you just looked moments ago as I had to fix the Frederick Remington image of a posse chasing outlaws and corrected typos and verb tense, as well as left out words. Sorry.
Much appreciated, Gibson! I look forward to these additions each time I log on.
You bet. Guys like you, jmortimer, and the others really make it worth my while. Hell, I know an old law enforcement fellow such as yourself can appreciate a guy like Mike Meagher.
I had to find that newspaper article, then download it as a .pdf, then use my "snipping tool" to snip it into two files, then save the snips as files, then upload the snips to my son's "imageshack" account, then copy and paste the link adding image tags, to the post. But it seems worth it to me to share it with you fellows.
I'm going to have to take a day off, just to read all of the great stories here. Fascinating!
I'm in debt to you, Gibson--and I really appreciate the labor and effort investing in bringing these accounts to light. I know just enough about compilation and editing to be a certified danger to any site, so I avoid those sorts of projects without a couple daughters looking on to keep me from crashing and bashing things galley-west.
Tomorrow will be the first train Robbery. Pulled off by the Reno brothers gang in 1866.
Let's see some comments!