Ready to get a tantalizing taste of the Old West? Meet Dave Mather, a man as mysterious as the era he hails from. This episode peels back the layers of 'Mysterious Dave', from his humble beginnings in Connecticut to his daring escapades in the lawless lands of Arkansas and Kansas. Wander through the winding paths of his eventful life, exploring his transition from an outlaw to a lawman, and his encounters with famed figures such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. We'll also delve into the contested circumstances of his death.
Brace yourself for the second leg of this thrilling ride, as we share the rip-roaring adventures (and misadventures) of Mather. Ever heard the tale about the evangelist aiming to convert Dodge City’s wickedest man? Or the time Mather, along with Wyatt Earp, fled Texas after a botched gold brick scam? You'll get a front-row seat to these and more as we journey through the life of a man whose reputation as a gunslinger and outlaw echoed through the saloons and streets of the Old West. So dust off your boots, saddle up, and join us on this wild ride through the life of Mysterious Dave Mather!
Return of the Great Hunters
Cattle Drives Website
Legends of Dodge City Website
Order Books
Ready to get a tantalizing taste of the Old West? Meet Dave Mather, a man as mysterious as the era he hails from. This episode peels back the layers of 'Mysterious Dave', from his humble beginnings in Connecticut to his daring escapades in the lawless lands of Arkansas and Kansas. Wander through the winding paths of his eventful life, exploring his transition from an outlaw to a lawman, and his encounters with famed figures such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson. We'll also delve into the contested circumstances of his death.
Brace yourself for the second leg of this thrilling ride, as we share the rip-roaring adventures (and misadventures) of Mather. Ever heard the tale about the evangelist aiming to convert Dodge City’s wickedest man? Or the time Mather, along with Wyatt Earp, fled Texas after a botched gold brick scam? You'll get a front-row seat to these and more as we journey through the life of a man whose reputation as a gunslinger and outlaw echoed through the saloons and streets of the Old West. So dust off your boots, saddle up, and join us on this wild ride through the life of Mysterious Dave Mather!
Return of the Great Hunters
Cattle Drives Website
Legends of Dodge City Website
Order Books
He was known as Mysterious Dave or sometimes as New York Dave. During his lifetime he became noted for many professions in the Old West, as a horse thief, buffalo hunter, train and stagecoach, robber, law officer, prospector, farmer, gambler and hotel employee. Little is known today of Mather's life. The gaps in his personal history and his taciturn personality earned him the moniker Mysterious Dave. His historical records show that he was a lawman in Dodge City, kansas and Las Vegas, new Mexico, and was a frequent associate of batmaster son and Wyatt Earp. Mysterious Dave is rumored to be a descendant of Cotton Mather. It is known that this native of Connecticut began his career as an outlaw in 1873 in Sharp County as a cattle wrestler. The dates and circumstances of Mather's death are contested on several accounts. His alias accurately describes the true extent of our knowledge about his background and final years. Join us now as Wild West Podcast takes you back to the history of the Old West as we present the Life and Times of Mysterious Dave Mather. Stay tuned after the show for a special announcement. Mather was born in Deep River, Connecticut, then Saberook, connecticut, on August 10, 1851, the first son of Captain Ulysses W Mather and Lydia Mather. His brother, josiah Psi Mather, was born on October 11, 1854. Another brother, george Conway Mather, was born in 1855 and died in 1856. By the time Dave was 16, both of his parents had died, and Dave and his brother Josiah headed west and settled first in Dodge City, kansas. His father was a sea captain who was the first to claim that his family heritage descended from the famous Mathers of New England, including Richard Mather, increase Mather and Cotton Mather. Accordingly, americans born in that era with the surname Mather are most likely descended from Timothy Mather, a farmer, brother of Increase Mather and uncle to Cotton Mather. Dave was the first of three sons born to the Mathers. Ulysses Mather abandoned his family following the death of his son and loss of his ship. He died in 1864. While in port in Shanghai, china, the ship's Chinese cook stabbed him. Lydia Mather remarried a man named George H Randall sometime in the late 1850s. When she died in 1868, dave and Psi ran away to sea. The sea voyage lasted less than a year before the boys opted for a life on dry land and jumped ship in New Orleans.
Speaker 1:Dave Mather came by his nickname Mysterious Dave. Honestly, he did not talk about his life before he came out west, but that was not unusual. Many men were reticent about their pasts and the general frontier rule was always don't ask. Mather's life through most of the 1870s is poorly documented. It was not until 1873 that he appeared in Sharp County, arkansas, with a group of men busying themselves by making off with other people's livestock. He seems to have operated as a cattle wrestler and outlaw in Arkansas along with Dave Rudabaw and Milton J Yarbury. A warrant was issued for the three after a prominent rancher was murdered and his home robbed. His name and Dave Rudabaw and Milton J Yarbury appeared on an 1873 warrant. They fled to Decatur, texas, in 1873.
Speaker 1:After working as an assistant city marshal in El Paso, texas, mather made his way to Dodge City, kansas. Mather's brother Si reported that he and Dave tried to work as buffalo hunters on the Lano Esticado around 1874. Mather may have met future associates such as Wyatt Earp, bat Masterson and Bill Tillman, who tried their hand at hunting buffalo. Bat may have suggested Mather go to Dodge City. Noting a man could make good money in that town and find plenty of entertainment and excitement. His first stop would have been to take pay from Charles Wrath for the few buffalo hides he had scanned while hunting on the south side of the Arkansas River.
Speaker 1:When Dave Mather arrived in Dodge City in 1875, he was noted to be no great personal charmer. He had a slender build, dark complexion, brooding eyes and what some might call a killer mustache. Some even say that in his manners and conduct Mather greatly resembled Doc Holliday in his anti-social ways. Beeson, the owner of the long-branded saloon, once said of Mather's character they called him mysterious because he would not talk. If a stranger would ask a question, dave would look at him, turn on his heel and walk off.
Speaker 1:When Dave Mather arrived in Dodge City, the streets were less active than Bat Masterson had said. In fact it was slow. The gloom of the October day crept into him like a damp into bare timber. It seeped into his pores, traveling to his temperament and making him somewhat irritable. Then, without warning, a blanket of gray clouds came in over Dodge. A steady rain poured down on him like a mist in chaotic directions. The downpour was thick enough to soak his hat and muddy his boots.
Speaker 1:He had to take refuge and found the place closest to him called the Lady Gay Saloon. He rested his hand on the rough paintwork that coated the door and pushed them. Ever so slightly. The hinges squeal, as though they were a warning, but a festive crowd silenced the door's plea. The laughter inside overpowered the piano player in the corner of the room. Loud conversations swirled in a dirty cloud of cigar smoke. He could smell a stagnant stench of tobacco hiding within the collaboration of entangled odors. He walked by the ferro table and caught a sharp sting of stale beer and body odor. He looked quickly around the room to find a resting place, found the darkest corner of the room, pulled up a chair. He waited to place his order and thought this is my kind of place.
Speaker 1:Then the bartender yelled at him from across the bar. What'll it be, mr? He asked. I'll take a bottle of your finest, dave replied. The bartender then looked at him. He held a fake smile, as if the bartender had something else to say. Well, buddy, you're not gonna get any service in here until you check those guns, explained the bartender. Now hand them over. The bartender's insulting smile tore Dave. Dave knew in an instance the bartender was ready for conflict if he had said no to the request. Now bring them six shooters my way and I'll serve you up my finest, ordered the bartender.
Speaker 1:The room grew silent. With the request, dave sensed a nervous anticipation filling the room. He could feel the tenseness tingle through the crowd of silent onlookers. It was like there was a profound and eager hopefulness for him to position himself against the bartender's demands. Dave slowly stood up, reached for his gun belt, unstrapped his holster and twisted the belt around the two six shooters. He walked to the bar, handed over his gun belt, knife and six shooter to the bartender.
Speaker 1:What'll you have, mr? Ask the bartender. As he placed his strange revolvers under cover of the bar, a voice next to him said he'll have me. My name's Cornelia. What's yours?
Speaker 1:Cornelia leaned on the bar, her black hair lying over one shoulder of her low cut dress. She lulled her head to one side, pushing out her red lips just a little. She held a half smoked cigar in her hand. The smoke twisted in its artistic way, forming curls in the gloom, illuminated only by the kerosene lamps. Every hue of amber liquid in their inverted bottles was on the other side of the bar, along the wall. Dave looked over at the shelved whiskey bottles. How many drinks have you had, he inquired. Not enough, cowboy, replied Cornelia. How about another? Dave could tell Cornelia wasn't drunk yet, but she liked to give the impression that she was.
Speaker 1:The bartender was there to take his order. In a flash, his eyes dropped momentarily to her low cut neckline. She twiddled her hair in seemingly absent minded way and giggled girlishly. Out of a dark corner of the room, a voice bellowed out I can smell a Yankee in here. What do we do with the stinking Yankee boys? The bartender placed two shot glasses on the bar before Dave and poured the whiskey into the glasses. Don't mind him, said the bartender. His name's Rebel and he thinks we still have a war going on.
Speaker 1:The floor screeched with the movement of a chair. Dave turned around, put his back to the bar and watched as a man named Rebel approached him from the dark corner of the room. The approaching man's face was muddled, crimson, his eyes popped and his tree trunk neck strained. His words were spat out with ferocity and rapidity, without whipping the spit from his ashen face. He leaned closer, perfectly composed, nuttered four words I don't like Yankees. His fuse simmered and fizzed like a firework in a chill autumn breeze, and then he exploded with unrestrained fury.
Speaker 1:Dave remained as still as a cadaver, unblinking against his onslaught. Then, with barely concealed smirk, reville turned on his heels and from above his head, dave saw the flash of a blade. As his arms swung downward, a sudden gush of pain jolted throughout Dave's body. His stomach ached. He could feel his arms lose tension and his legs begin to weaken. You'll not get the better of me, he shouted as he felt his knees hitting the sawdustered wooden floor.
Speaker 1:Dave looked up. His tongue was soaked in the taste of blood, bruised and winded, his stomach in agony. Dave grabbed the foot of the Rebel and pulled him to the floor. Dave's head pounded in pain when he brought his fist to the Rebel's face, snapping his nose into a grotesquery. The sunlight shone around the door like a ghoul's grin. The curtains added an orange glow to the morning light. The world was as silent as it ended in the night. It was new morning, center and saint, just like Dave imagined it.
Speaker 1:Pain, severe pain. Then it hit him like a sledgehammer to the stomach. The unpleasant pain had a warmth to it, eating harshly into his midsection. There's nausea too. Just enough to make him clench his fists on both sides of the bed. He thought I've often prided myself in ignoring pain and rocking on regardless. But this was impossible. The pain owned him. It dominated every thought and controlled every action.
Speaker 1:Slowly and reluctantly he uncovered his face. Dave blinked, closed his eyes and blinked again. Streaks of sunlight penetrate the window and blind him. Then he saw a shadow of a figure move across the room. Good morning, I'm Dr McCarty, the shadowy figure said. Dave slightly pulled his head up to see the person who spoke to him. The doctor had the posture of a soldier. Every action he took was precise and purposeful. Where am I and how did I get here, dave asked. Mccarty did not reply. He smiled coldly and distantly.
Speaker 1:Mccarty began the examination. He gave commands rather than requests. When the prodding was over, dave dropped his eyes to the covers in anticipation of the doctor speaking to him. But when Dave raised his head again, the room was quite empty. Dave's hand stretched over the cold linen like an infant searching for a comforting toy and closed on the thick, itchy fabric. He was alone before the doctor entered, but now he felt ever more so. The walls seemed far away and Dave felt trapped, woozy and severely drugged.
Speaker 1:The next day Dave visited Dr McCarty about his inquiry. Physician Thomas L McCarty gave Dave a 50% chance of surviving. Dr McCarty established his first office in HG Springer's drugstore. Subsequently he formed association with the post surgeon at Fort Dodge, dr Tremaine, and the two practiced together for seven years. The Buffalo Hunters supplied much of their business. Dr McCarty became friends with Dave after carrying him into the Great Western Hotel lobby. Dave felt beholden to the doctor for saving his life and from then on he became Dr McCarty's benefactor.
Speaker 1:Supposedly Mather could not pay his bill because times were hard. Instead Dave brought McCarty whatever customers he could round up, usually a fellow gambler who did not need medical attention. Doc, this man wants an examination about $5 worth, mather, would tell McCarty. The patient always paid without complaint. It wasn't ethical, mccarty allegedly recalled, but I really needed the money. After he recovered he hung around, gambled and was frequently recruited to ride with posses after one criminal or another when things were quiet at the tables and there were no outlaws to chase or pharaoh games to play.
Speaker 1:Dave got a reputation as a very solemn but dangerous drinker. Dave liked to sit by himself in the local saloons across the street from an in hung town fire bell. It is said that late into a drinking day Dave would ask the bartender to return his six gun from the rack where they were checked under Dodge City Municipal Ordinance. He would then step to the door and take a shot at the fire bell when he could no longer make it ring, he figured he was drunk and went head for home. Because Mather was a solitary man with quirky habits, he made an easy target for would-be pranksters. One night, while Dave drank heavily in the back room of a saloon, the bartender loaded Dave's weapons with blanks. When Dave tried to ring the bell, nothing happened. So he got on his horse and headed home, spotting a coyote on the trail. He aimed fired and nothing happened. It was a good while before Dave took another drink.
Speaker 1:It is rumored that Mather's gun had misfired while drinking heavily one night in a Dodge City saloon and killed a dog. Dave was arrested for firing his weapon in the city limits and claimed the dog should have jumped out of Hormes Way. However, the jury decided that the dog died by a bullet fired from a gun in the hands of Dave Mather, better known as Mysterious Dave, and that the shooting was justified, as any dog should understand better than to go to sleep in a Dodge City saloon. It is not known what Mather thought of this tall tale.
Speaker 1:Dodge achieved its most significant notoriety as a gunman's town during the cattle drive period from 1876 to 1878. Sensationalists at the time depicted Dodge City as a seething cauldron of violence where the only law was the law of the gun and a man for breakfast was commonplace. That is considering the large number of characters in town with leather-slapping reputations. There was remarkably little gunplay. In June the Globe proudly announced Three dance halls in full blast. On the south side, stables jammed full, hundreds of cowboys perambulate daily, but two cases in police court. Who says we are a demoral city? Eddie Foy agreed. The majority of days passed rather peacefully in Dodge, with no killings and few fights.
Speaker 1:As with almost any of the characters of the West, what a person might read about some stories do not quite ring true. A person always has to use some judgment in deciding which ones to accept. There is an undocumented story about Dave Mather that may or may not be true, but it is fun to believe might have happened. This is when an evangelist came to town to hold a tent revival in Dodge City while Dave served as an officer. It was Mather's religious salvation. A preacher by the name of Johnson was in town on a mission to convert the wickedest man there. The townsman decided that Mather had earned the honor. Over an hour passed that one of them did not remind Mather that he needed saving. Bat Masterson confronted him in the local saloon and, with some fast talking aided by the other gamblers, finally convinced Mather to seek redemption.
Speaker 1:That night Mather went to church at the Lady Gay Dance Hall. After all the preaching and hymn singing was done, preacher Johnson asked the congregation who would bear witness to his faith. The preacher recognized the lawman with the reputation as a killer and focused his preaching on Mather. He got himself so worked up in the flow of oratory that he finally declared that he would be ready to die and go on to heaven if he could move this one lost soul to come to the Lord. In fact, he announced that he and all of the elders gathered at the altar would gladly give their lives to see this sinner saved.
Speaker 1:A little bit of that attention went a long way with Dave. At first he may have enjoyed the show, but now it was getting embarrassing. Mather was sitting in a prominent front row seat and, as if on cue, he rose up and announced that he had seen the error of his ways and was now converted. The preacher was delighted and announced that had Mather remained the way he was, he should have been afraid to die. You mean I don't need to be afraid now". Mather asked the preacher. Oh no, assured, preacher Johnson. Preacher Johnson, do you mean to say that living that way is so good that you're ready to cash in at any old time, asked Mather. Yes sir, yes sir, I am declared preacher Johnson. Hearing that happy announcement, mather responded by pulling his gun and stating so walk it here, then you better die right now while you're sitting pretty. Mather then pointed his gun at the preacher and exclaimed that he would give the gift of seeing the Lord face to face to his benefactors by sending them all to heaven ahead of him. With that, mather started firing in the general direction of the group around the altar and roared with laughter as they scattered and dived under the tables and chairs. Mather left buttering about a bunch of hypocrites. The town's gamblers and gunmen thought this was a good joke on the preacher and they made sure the story circulated.
Speaker 1:A story was also told about Mather and Wyatt Earp traveling to Texas with a scheme to sell phony gold bricks. The ruse took place in 1878, as they were caught selling fake gold bars to gullible citizens in Mobeete. The two claimed that the bricks were from a lost mine dating back to the days of the conquistadors. Unfortunately, before they could get far with their scam, they were run out of town by a lawman named Jim McIntyre. While in Mobeete, near Fort Elliot in the Texas Panhandle, mather reputedly killed a man following a quarrel.
Speaker 1:Mather was one of the Kansas gunslingers assembled by Bat Masterson for the railroad wars of 1879 and 1880. The Atchison, topeka and Santa Fe Railroad competed with the Denver and Rio Grande for the rights to build a track through two disputed areas. Masterson also enlisted the help of JH Doc Holliday to find recruits. Among the six years so hired were two gunfighters with the colorful names of Dirty Dave Rudabaw and gunman Ben Thompson, reported to be a personal friend of Masterson. In addition, holliday tried to recruit his friend entertainer Eddie Foy, who declined because he couldn't hit anything with a gun. On March 25, 1879, the Ford County Globe reported.
Speaker 1:Last Thursday evening Sheriff Masterson received a telegram from officers of the Atchison, topeka and Santa Fe Railroad at Canyon City asking if they could bring a posse of men to assist in defending the workmen on that road from the attacks of the Denver and Rio Grande men who were again endeavoring to capture the long contested pass through the canyon. Masterson and Deputy Duffy immediately opened a recruiting office and, before the train arrived Friday morning, had enrolled a company of 33 men. They all boarded the morning train armed to the teeth. Sheriff Masterson, in command, started for the scene of the hostilities. The Denver News of Wednesday published an item to the effect that trouble is again brewing between the Atchison, topeka and Santa Fe folks and the DNRG road with regard to the right of way through the Grand Canyon of the Arkanses. Litigation has been pending several months and the news declares that the Rio Grande people want to break the recently entered into lease and if the decision of the US court is in their favor, they will hold the canyon. The Santa Fe folks are arming their men with weapons and making every arrangement to repel with force any attempt of the Rio Grande people to take possession of the canyon. Upon order of the court, on Saturday last a train left the end of Santa Fe tracks for Grand Canyon loaded with provisions, tents and a force of men, ostensibly laborers. Since that time, until yesterday, a number of cases of ammunition were sent after the men, and the intent of this action is clearly plain. The whole proceeding has been conducted with great secrecy and to keep knowledge of it from the Rio Grande men, a new force of employees was put in charge of the trains. If the decision of the Supreme Court is in favor of the Rio Grande, the managers of the road are going to take possession of the canyon. They had little experience and holdout against an armed Santa Fe force some time ago and stood the siege pretty well. General Palmer is, at Colorado Springs, aware of every move taken by the Santa Fe people, though they are carrying them on so secretly.
Speaker 1:In April of 1878, a construction crew assembled by the Santa Fe Railway began grading for a real line west of Canyon City at the mouth of the gorge. The DNRG, which had tracks that ended about three-quarters of a mile east of Canyon City, quickly sent crews to the same area, but the Santa Fe workers blocked the narrow entrance. The blocking of access to the gorge was to be the first round in a two-year struggle of the Royal Gorge War. The Rio Grande, a Colorado concern, was financially weak compared to the powerful Kansas line, and the war for the Royal Gorge drained off a great deal of capital. In December of 1878, under pressure from his bondholders, general Palmer was forced to lease his road to Santa Fe for thirty years. It appeared then that the war was over and that Santa Fe had won. But in March 1879, palmer reopened the fights in the courts, claiming that Santa Fe had broken the terms of its lease. At the same time, he dispatched squads of armed men to fortifications he had built overlooking the gorge. The Santa Fe re-armed its work crews and imported professional fighters to protect its holdings. The war was on again. While lawyers argued both sides in court, armed men hired by Santa Fe took control of the Rio Grande stations from Denver to Canyon City. Some sources alleged Santa Fe used its political influence to obtain a US Marshals appointment for Masterson so he could legally defend their property.
Speaker 1:The Santa Fe put Bat Masterson in charge of Pueblo's Railroad Station and Roundhouse. The location was a strategic one. It controlled the tracks leading north toward Denver and west toward Royal Gorge. On June 10th 1879, judge Thomas M Bowen of the Fourth Judicial Court issued a writ in joining Santa Fe from exercising control over the Denver and Rio Grande. The sheriffs of the counties through which Santa Fe tracks ran were then ordered to take possession of any property being held by the Santa Fe. On the morning of June 1st, the sheriffs, backed by the Denver and Rio Grande gunmen, carried out the court order with military precision.
Speaker 1:At Denver, the offices of the Santa Fe were an easy target and quickly surrendered. The going was tougher in Colorado Springs, where fierce fighting broke out. That garrison fell to Palmer's superior force. Also, the one Santa Fe garrison that refused to fall was the one at Pueblo, commanded by Bat Masterson. Then, at 3 o'clock on the afternoon of June 11th, chief Engineer J A McMurdy and Deputy Sheriff Patrick J Desmond led 50 men in a direct assault on the telegraph office where John Joshua Webb and Dave Mather had been stationed, with several other Dodge City gunmen. Webb, mather and the others in that group were forced to flee via the rear windows. They dashed to the roundhouse where Bat Masterson was stationed with his men. Henry Jenkins of Dodge City was the only casualty. He was killed while trying to flee the telegraph office.
Speaker 1:R F Whitebreck called the troops at the roundhouse and requested a parlay with Bat Masterson. After a brief discussion, masterson ordered his men to surrender the roundhouse. Only 20 years after the event it would be charged that the Denver and Rio Grande had bought off Masterson. The amount was allegedly $10,000, which Bat supposedly divided with his men. The official version is that Whitebreck informed Masterson that he had a legal writ that all the other garrisons along the line had surrendered and that further resistance would result in needless loss of life for both sides.
Speaker 1:Some isolated skirmishes were in the weeks ahead, but Bat Masterson did not participate in them. During those later bloodless encounters, santa Fe's contingent of gunmen was commanded by John Joshua Webb. A force of men backed him up that almost certainly included Mysterious Dave. Finally, a settlement was reached and the shooting stopped. The war ended when the Santa Fe established in Ratone Pass and the Denver and Rio Grande gaining control of the Royal Gorge. A Dodge City newspaper noted that Captain JJ Webb and his men all came home this week, the railroad war having practically been ended and their services no longer needed.
Speaker 1:While the Royal Gorge war was going on, the Santa Fe continued its construction south through Ratone Pass and into the territory of New Mexico. The usual assortment of camp followers trailed the railroad. Many board veterans of the railroad war also saw an opportunity at the end of the track. Among them was mysterious Dave Mather. And now for our special announcement On February 18th, wild West podcast will interview Keith Wundra, the curator at Boot Hill Museum, on the topic of saloons in the beautiful, biblious Babylon of the frontier.
Speaker 1:A history of Dodge City saloons from 1872 to 1886. You can also attend the Coffee with the Curator session at Boot Hill Museum on February 14th at 9 am. This coffee with the curator session will be held in the newly renovated Great Western Hotel. Topics for the presentation will include prohibition and temperance, the Saloon War of 1883 and the Fires of 1885 to 1886. So come out and join Keith Wundra at Boot Hill Museum on Valentine's Day, February 14th, or join us at Wild West podcast on February 18th for this special presentation.
Speaker 1:That's it for now. Remember to check out our Wild West podcast shows on iTunes podcast or Wild West podcast dot buzzsprout dot com. You can also catch us on Facebook at Facebook dot com. Slash Wild West podcast or on our YouTube channel at Wild West podcast, mike King YouTube. So make sure you subscribe to our shows listed at the end of the descriptive text of this podcast to receive notification on all new episodes. Thanks for listening to our podcast. If you have any comments or would like to add to any of our series, you can write us at Wild West podcast at gmailcom. We will share your thoughts as they apply to future episodes. Join us next time as we continue with part two, the serious Dave, the Las Vegas years.