Whiskey & Westerns on Wednesday & Mysterious Dave

Whiskey and Westerns on Wednesday are proud to present the story of Mysterious Dave Mather’s. In this pod show, Brad Smalley introduces Knob Creek the selected Whiskey of the week and takes the trail of the life and times of Dave Mather’s. The show is a humorous edition of the ends and outs of the ambiguities of Mather’s lifestyle in the old west and recounts how he addressed the creeds of Dodge City. History Analyzed
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Speaker 1 0:23

Joe whiskey

Speaker 2 0:23

to motivate, to inspire, read good.

Speaker 3 0:41

Remember one whiskey and Westerns on where? My name is Mike King. I am the producer and writer of Wild West podcast. Today we, as it relates to a legend I have with me, brand small brand is the narrator of the wild west pod cast, true historian, the early days of dodge city. Before we get started with our show, I would like to thank all of our dedicated listeners. Each and every one of you has made this show a popular release, especially for those who love the stories of the old west are worldwide listener loyalty is much appreciated and allowing us to continue to climb the podcasting charge to over 13,500 visitors. Brad, what whiskey have you selected for us on this episode of Whiskey and Westerns on Wednesday?

Speaker 4 1:48

Well, Mike, Today we've got nothing shorter, just a classic Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskey. Uh, your friend in my old

Speaker 3 1:56

creek creek. So tell me. Well, before we do a taste test on this, there must've been a reason why you selected Knob Creek. For tonight's story,

Speaker 4 2:11

we'll simply put Mike, you and I, or a gentlemen who enjoy drinking whiskey

Speaker 3 2:17

[inaudible],

Speaker 4 2:18

there's another fella and old dodge who enjoy drinking whiskey and his name was mysterious. Name matter,

Speaker 3 2:23

mysterious day matters. Now, mysterious. Must have something behind it. So we'll talk about that. Well, what I want to do right now is let's take this knob creek to a test

Speaker 4 2:36

absolutely well, um, should lead out a knob creek. It's one of those, uh, uh, there's four of the small batch collection that comes from beam suntory put out by Jim beam a fred. No master distiller. Men knows what he's doing. A knob creek is one of them. Uh, then there's three more Basil Hayden's Booker's, Baker's mayors, bakers, candlestick makers, and Basil Hayden. It almost sounds like a knob creek, just to break the alliteration. It's a, it's a good good whiskey. 100 proof used to be. It does come with an age statement anymore, but if you have an old bottle sitting around, maybe a folks you drinking at home, uh, used to be aged nine years. They took the age statements off of that. A two, three years ago now because there was actually a shortage of Knob creek that actually tells you how good it is. They just couldn't keep it in a so they worked real hard to keep that same flavor profile, but there's whiskeys in here that aren't necessarily. There might be a little younger than nine lobby, a little older than nine, but with the overall age is about nine was not bad, but you know when you taste it, you're thinking you're tasting nine years. Speaking of flavor profile, I tell you and we discussed this earlier and I've had arguments over this more than once and I'm telling you, you taste that and I swear to God, Mike, you get red right gala, apples,

Speaker 3 4:25

dipped and peanut butter and. All right, so once you're gonna what I'm going to need to do and just take a sip of this and tell you whether or not taste the red apple and peanut butter right on the front of your tongue. I'm going to butter. You see what I'm getting the Red Apple, but I'm not getting the peanut butter.

Speaker 4 4:47

Well, it's, it's all subjective. So let me take another shot here because I definitely want to see if I get that peanut butter taste, but more more fun than that. After you've had a taste, go back there and just knows that a little bit. Rich Maple Syrup.

Speaker 3 5:07

Yeah. I got to make Maple Syrup

Speaker 4 5:09

on the initial knows it's lot more than just that whiskey soaked oak. It's 100 proof.

Speaker 3 5:16

You better slow down on the peanut butter land. We got to show them that we might want to have a sandwich to. I'm thinking. Yeah, he's up on it. So now we've got a case test done. I'm saying that I haven't even got to the peanut butter park here, but at least I know that there's a little red apple in there and some maple syrup. So. Alright, let's talk about this

Speaker 4 5:40

mysterious day. Mathers, one of my favorite fellows and old dodge, I mean every one of these guys or they had their. Their nicknames like yo dirty Dave, route ball, a shotgun, collins. Everybody had a nickname so to speak. Mysterious. Dave was aptly named. He was mysterious for a reason. Whereas you had, because you had a mysterious personality or was that because he was just kind of recluse and sat in the back of the room in a dark corner somewhere? Well, he definitely wasn't sitting in a dark corner. He tended to be the fellow that would be out there on the boardwalk, leaned back in his chair with his, his foot up on one of the awning posts. Matter of fact, there's a very well known painting of Dave mather in that exact position. A lot of folks who knew him said he was often could be seen sitting like that. Uh, but very little is actually known about Dave matter. We know where he was born. We know when he was born. We know, we know who his parents were there stories that he may have been descended from cotton mather. He liked that story. In fact, he says to him to. I think he told that story himself. Oh, he did, Eh, you know, I'm from a descendant in their family and they did come from New England. So I'm inclined to, to accept that as true. But then everybody with the last name of mather in that part of the country also claimed to be descended from cotton mather. So whether it is or whether or not really doesn't have any bearing on his career from that point, did it have any bearing on his personality? Well, he definitely liked to be top dog. Okay. So he was kind of a show. I want it to be. He wanted to be known, have the reputation, not that he necessarily worked that hard at it, it just sort of came natural to it. Uh, but really the, the only things that we can set in concrete about Dave mathers life and career is much of the time that he spent in dodge city. Little Bit in Los Vegas, Nevada. And then of course back to dodge. But beyond that, uh, we can get to this later. But, uh, they was one of the guy, he just sort of disappeared from the pages of history. So that's where you get the name, Mr. I'll say Joe, he was very mysterious. The news tire life, and when I'm thinking is down toward the end of our story, there's going to be a mystery there too. Oh, absolutely. All right, so let's start out with some of the legends of day matters and some of the stories that have been told around dodge out this character Dave mathers. Mysterious date matters will as best as we can guess a lot of this is just hearsay if not heresy. Um, we have dave in dodge around at least by 18, 74 some gas even prior to that. Uh, we know that he became good friends with Dr Thomas Mccarty, a of early dodge you was the only legitimate physician and one of the earliest settlers of dodge city. As the story goes, Dave, who had arrived in dodge sort of on the run, he'd been involved with a, uh, a horse thievery operation down in Arkansas with, uh, David Bach. Milton yarberry. You assume that the good guys are the wild west. Yeah. Ruda bar. Okay. I answered another story retold right. Route of block comes and goes throughout just about everyone's story that he's involved in wrestling ceiling horse. He was a horse thief, there was thief, ring as an offense in the west. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that was an architect. So he got the heck out of Arkansas, Arkansas, all the way up through Nebraska. Dodge was kind of a linchpin in that he was running with a pretty big crew, a Horse Steve of horse thieves, absolutely sl that masters and got famous. He actually in his man career tracking down horse thieves. So once he arrived in Dodge city, uh, sort of on the run, uh, he had gotten in a scrape and the Dodge House hotel, apparently he just got slashed right through his gut. Some who, he just took a knife to him should. He got a big belly ache guy. He got one hell of a belly ache. And Dr Mccarty reportedly saved his life. At least that's what mather claimed. And during the time that matters spending dodge city over the years he had, he made a deal with Dr Mccarty that he would send and occasionally pressure, uh, anybody to go and see Dr Mccarty for their medical needs. There are rumors, of course, that he may have even a cause, some of the injuries that they needed to go see Dr. are you more of a persuasive kind of thing? Beat you over the head with my festival and now you go see the doctor. He definitely felt that he owed Dr Mccarty and they maintained a good relationship. They were business partners, you could call it that. That was a legitimate business in early dodge. Has anything come out and you fix them up. Well, a, that's again, that's one of those we don't have any concrete evidence for. But that story had been told so often by the people who who we can trust and you know, had legitimate reasons for not lying about that sort of thing. Tend to believe that that's one of the true stories about Dave. Uh, another one and is one of my favorites. Uh, and this story has been told and retold so many times over the years. I just love it. I affectionately refer to it as the conversion of Dave Matthews show

Speaker 3 11:59

right here. This one coming. It's, it's, it's Kinda, it's Kinda like we're getting some religion here, right? Is that what's happening here as, as much as they can. So we've got some conversion of day mattered.

Speaker 4 12:12

Doj was sort of a, a, a goal for a lot of the, the missionaries over the years. If you, if you were out to bring Christ to dodge city and you can survive your attempt, there was nothing you couldn't do. It may have been some funding going on for that. Oh, entirely possible. But there was, there were a couple of legitimate ministers who did finally set up shop and dodge. Most of them who came through. We're just itinerant preachers trying to have a revival sorta thing. Well one of these preachers sorta aes set up shop. He really wanted to make it big. He was seeing some success, sort of the hell fire brimstone type guy, holy roller. And he was getting people falling all over him and just feeling like he was really doing a good job bringing religion to Dodson.

Speaker 3 13:05

So he was getting a good following. There was a large crowd. People were actually coming to church and listening to his revivals and saving a lot of songs.

Speaker 4 13:17

Will this, this preacher man sort of got himself a big head over the daily news is success went to his head and he thought that if he had all these folks going said, the biggest center in Dodge city that he thought he could single out was dave man.

Speaker 3 13:37

Okay, so why don't you telling me was the preacher's got a big head now, and he's singling out mysterious. Dave, Dave, Matt, this is. This is headed in the wrong direction, right? And rhc, but

Speaker 4 13:51

oh hey. He figures it would be a feather in his cap if he could bring them. Man, like Dave mattered to the Lord, and he made it very well known. All over town says, we're going to get Dave, Matt. We're going to get him to come to church on them. We're going to save his soul, and Dave manager's going to be right with the Lord and you're just going to see a change in that man. And it was getting so big all over town that day. Finally, just decided to take the preacher up on his offer and attend to service

Speaker 3 14:26

you saying that his congregation as what it sounds like to me to recruit day matters, to come to church.

Speaker 4 14:34

It got to the point where Dave just didn't really have a choice. I mean, he could continue to ignore it, but that wasn't going to change. It was only gonna get worse.

Speaker 3 14:43

The townspeople were pretty much just pestering the hell out of him.

Speaker 4 14:46

Uh, they were, they were, uh, if not him, he was hearing it around the. And the man has got a reputation to uphold. So Dave being the, uh, the man that he was, he decided to attend the service and when they saw him coming, of course they've got to place honor us. A ushered him, excuse me, right up the center aisle, gave him a spot right in front of the pulpit on the righthand side. And preacher started preaching right to Dave. And again, at that point in time, he took his position on the bench with his feet up on my opinion. He May, we'll have, I can see him in that. I've just added to the story, now I can definitely see him doing that. Uh, but he, there, he sets a preacher's preaching right today of getting all up and if you're, he's got the whole crowd with their hands in the air and, and finally the preacher, he lays it on the line, says, if a man like Dave mattered, will accept Christ today, says there is nothing on earth that I Ellis owners that I will be able to achieve in the Lord's work and I'll just be ready to die right today and go straight to heaven. If only I'll get to go riding along with Dave mattered. And of course the rest of the congregation just jumps up and they're all screaming, yes, yes, absolutely. We're willing to lay down our lives right now just just to support Dave mather and his conversion. And, and Dave was moved. He was, he was touched. So he got out of his position on the bench and the PA, he got up, he got up and went up to the pulpit, turned around and address the congregation. And he, he was very moved by her emotions, were running, running hot and heavy, and he thinks he thinks the preacher, he would knock teary eyed when she. I don't know that Dave really had any tear done. It's kind of hard telling that I mean he had, he was somewhat emotional. He was very great. He was grateful he could come up visibly, verbally in front of the whole congregation. Oh yes sir. We have witnesses to this. And he thanked him from the bottom of his heart. He said that he was just so deeply moved by their willingness to lay down their lives just for him. And, and he was so touched that he knew the Lord had spoken to his heart and Dave was ready to go. However, however he knew himself and, and he had a terrible fear back slide. Says, even though I believe my sins as of this point or a completely forgiven, okay, I'm ready to die and go to heaven right now. I believe that, but only I know myself. As soon as I walk out, the tent says they have, I'm going to walk right back into my sinful ways. He was fearful, he was fearful of that, and he says that because of that, because I have such a terrible fear back sliding, that if I am going to enter the Lord's presence, I need to do it right now. Today before I walk out of this tent and because I am so grateful to each and every one of you here in this congregation for your willingness to take this journey with me, I'm going to have to do any pulls his gun and turns around and fires a shot right past the reverend's ear. And people start duck. They freak out, yelling or ducking out this out, the tense running, hiding behind the pulpit, side running. Feather in young tension is high and Dave stands there with his gun in his hand and says, use sons. The bees are nothing but a bunch of hypocrites. You're not willing to die with me at all. And it was just all there is to that. And that was the last of the preacher man in dodge city.

Speaker 3 18:39

So nobody would take date, day matters. Challenge took him up on it. Budget. Bunch of hypocrites at is where you call him. Mysterious. Mysterious Dave. All right, well what's I tell you what before we go on, my ice was getting a little thin. Help ourselves to another level,

Speaker 4 19:03

bit of Knob. Pull a corky or see if we can get that. Oh yeah, that's a good sound there. Yup. Thank you sir. I will add a little bit to my last year.

Speaker 3 19:15

Well in celebration of mysterious Dave mathers and we're doing a little bit of dog creek here. And the reason why we're doing the Knob creek is because they was unknown whiskey drinker.

Speaker 4 19:28

He liked a good drink as much as anybody, probably more than most. A matter of fact, a daring also during his time in dod, sitting in compliance with the width common practice and the ordinance, uh, when he entered the saloon, he would fork is guns over to the bartender. And when he got done ready to leave, he'd taken back and go out. Well, Dave was a responsible man and got himself a system or whatever. He was ready to leave the saloon. God, his guns back from the bartender. He would walk outside and fire a shot at the fire bell, hanging off the building across the street. Didn't alert the fire department.

Speaker 3 20:14

I just see vivid headed. It was just a my vision, good or bad or it's good. And then

Speaker 4 20:23

he could hit the bell and hear ring. Then he was sober enough if he couldn't hit the bell, it was time to stop drinking and go home. Gotcha. Okay. Well it was a nice window sobriety tests that you get from the highway patrol a little bit more fun than there's a. You don't mind. Dad was a trooper. I can try him. Try that out on the, uh, on the smokies out there. He could be going down now as the inventor of that tests. The field sobriety test. Field sobriety. Gosh, that's a good one to add that. But, uh, W we've talked about Luca glue in the past and all the practical jokes that, that luke like to play. Well, this one, even in this particular bartender and question was part of the loop mcgrew crowd and he decided that it would be a fun idea to wild day was drinking. He took Dave's guns and loaded with blanks. So after another couple hours, test a was deciding that maybe it's time to go home. He takes his gun back from the bartender, heads on out the front door and levels. His six shooter at the bell across the street pulls the trigger, gun goes bang, but there is no dang on the belt. Tries it again. Gun Goes Bang, done. Hit the bell. Dave sides. He's too drunk. He can't hit the bell. It's time to go home. Of course, again, still knowing he's got blanket is kind of bad on the bartenders and I am back in to that because he. He's not selling any more whiskey to the mysterious kids. It's more than worth just getting a laugh on me that's worth any primary. So it was not about economics. It's really about the story. So he's now got blanks in his guns. He shot at the bally's messed each time and so now what happened? They just feels that he's drunk and depressed and he's just gonna head home for the evening. We'll he's starts to get a little bit upset with himself because that's the first time he'd ever missed the bill and as he's never shot at it and missed it. He's never missed a bill. Yeah. Oh my goodness. She must've been a big bell or small bell or what? Dave was a good shot, good shot. Drunk or sober, and then it was a good shot. So by, by the time he hits down a couple of blocks down the street date was starting to get pretty irritated and he sees just a dog started crossing the street out in front of them, comes around the corner of building and Dave just. I mean he wasn't necessarily a bad guy, but he was drunk and he was irritated and the dog was in his way and he took a shot at it. Didn't hit the dog in and thought he'd gone blind fired. Two or three more shots. Still couldn't hit the dog point blank. Not only could he not hit the bill, he couldn't hit a full grown dog almost point blank running show. He retired his guns that point in time. Will he freaked out a little bit? Dave was. I don't necessarily know that he was a superstitious mayhem, but seeing that dog completely immune to his bullets. It was a little bit too much for one day event. He worried over that for two or three weeks. He actually handle a little bit of Knob creek that night perhaps show now we got to. You got him with the preacher? Yeah. Gathering with shooting a dog and a bell. We calling mysterious Dave, but I'm wondering how in the world did he get involved with the dodge city gang?

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Speaker 4 25:16

Will Dave again, was one of those fellows that was just as happy on either side

(Cont.) Whiskey & Westerns on Wednesday & Mysterious Dave

Speaker 4 25:23

of the law. Uh, he, he tended towards wearing a badge because that gave him legitimacy, but it didn't change his personality one iota. Whether he was wearing a badge or not. You still wanted to be top dog, but he still had even shoot a dog. He wanted to be tired. Yeah, you're right. He had his reputation and he, he didn't want to lose it, who does, but uh, as uh, his first real a law man job, so to speak, that, that we know of came in 18, 79 when he was deputized by Bat masterson along with all bunch of other guys. Uh, John, Josh will web Dave Root Ball, he's back again. Guys like dryly. Even doc holliday was roped into this. So the enforcers are back in town. The enforcers, there was a, a group of railroaders, uh, they called the railroad wars really just to put a finer point on it. And there was two different railroads that were claiming right of way through the Royal Gorge in Colorado railroad conflict, going on absolute railroad conflict. And it got pretty bad to a point where they started hiring a gunman and bat masterson who was not only a sheriff for the county at that point, but it was also a, a United States federal marshal was brought in, said you hire as many deputies is you can get your hands on and we're gonna go intimidate the other guys. And, and they, they did. It was a, there was quite the stand off and they wound up loss, but they, the important thing is they were well paid, so he went up there and go paid and joined an enforcement in law enforcement at that point. Right. And I guess she kind of liked the idea of wearing a badge. He did got a handle on it, like the power or you can swing your gun and be illegal about it. Absolutely. Uh, so after the, the railroad conflict was settled. Most of these guys decided that they'd done about everything they could do in dodge city. And several of them went down to Las Vegas, New Mexico and set up shop down there. And very shortly they had completely taken over the town. Uh, Dave was a constable down there who do brown from dodge who do around above, and we'll have our old friend who do brown shows up down in Las Vegas, New Mexico who was a justice of the peace down there. I didn't know he was that smart. A Smart Judge, Roy Bean. He just picked up a book and said, I'm the judge. All he needed was numbers and guns and they added a completely taken over the town, the politics, the law, all the legalities. They were running the place and because everybody knew where they were from, all these guys had been from dodge city, even down in Las Vegas, New Mexico. They recalled the dodge city gang show their reputation, followed them. Their reputation proceeded now, preceded pretty seated now man. So for them, the legends followed. Absolutely. And so here they are, they took over Las Vegas and they're, they're running the place down there. Dave himself was involved in at least one shoot out, a killed God down in Las Vegas and it was just getting more than the town folks can handle. So they set up their own vigilante mob and rent random out. Just just about overnight said we. They put out an ordinance that says all you guys need to leave or there's going to be a shooting war. And they, these guys, the dogs city gang took it at face value and they set up shop and they just left. So where do they go from there? Oh, dave moves around for a little bit. Uh, several of the guys came back, dodge, a lot of them went around through Texas for a time. Uh, we're pretty sure that dave, again, spend some time, uh, also over New Mexico, but also around in Texas. There's rumors that he and Wyatt earp actually got involved in a scheme where they were selling a fake gold bricks to make money down in obd. Obd scullery continues. Oh, Mobius designee. And that's another little nuances that keeps. He's out here selling gold bars. He's trying to him and again, it's supposedly a wide or they decide they're going to get a scheme there, there paint, painting, bricks, gold and real gold bar. No, of course not. They didn't have any gold, but they were painting, painting these, however they were doing it. It was your fraud on their part. Fool's goal. Problem is, or one is a fools as they thought they might be, and they got run out, didn't work, didn't make any money. And over time, Dave again, winds up back in dodge city show. He's back here in dodge city. What years at, Oh, now we're talking 18, 80, 82, 83, uh, by this point, the time of a saloon war. So absolutely dave by luke short or is she just come back on it? It's already there. He's already there. Matter of fact, he is Assistant Marshall under Jack Bridges. Oh, he's got his marsha badge. He's got the badge back. He's liking that I imagining it's a matter of law. He starts to settle down just a little bit. Not too much money, but just a little bit. He invests in a, uh, a saloon and dance hall in town. Uh, he starts flirting around with Tom Nixon's wife. Whoa. Whoa, Whoa, whoa. Just a second. Now I know there's Tom Nickson, we, we talked about Tom Nickson, the buffalo hunter. Tom. Tom Nixon was a settler in these parts and own a ranch outside as early as 18, 68 rancher saloon owner tom next. And was one of the oldest of the old timers. Met Dave matters is trying to make an on his, his wife, wife, supposedly the. Is this the second wife for the first one? Uh, Tom, his wife, two wives, I believe he did, but you know, I can't remember. I think it might be a second wife. So he's moving in a fairly young. I was used quite a bit younger than, than Tom because he's been around here for awhile. Oh yeah. Tom Is so David, his agent, but he's definitely seasoned to Dave is making a move on Tom Nixon's. Why Dave had a thing for married women. I mean not, not the first time that he'd done that. I'm not at this point in, in dodge. Not that marriage vows were necessarily all that constrictive for several like common wall. Oh, many of them. It was just soaked up and said, yeah, you sleep here tonight. Absolutely. Uh, Tom, in fact, although he was legitimately married and uh, things started growing back and forth course, the saloon wars that Dave didn't play too big of a part in individually. But after that was all said and done, uh, as we, again, as we've talked about through the saloon, Lord, the politics and dodge changed rapidly. And politics and dodgers always. They always change. It was a swinging door. You were on one side of the fence or the other and you never stayed there for a long little Jack Bridges. As Marshall was replaced by Bill Tillman, Sat Marshall, uh, Bill was on the opposite side of the luke short faction and a bill. He actually, now that he's city marshal, he can hire the people that he wants. He fires Dave mather, Ooh. And hires his good buddy Tom Nickson show man. You got a conflict going on with the wife and now you get fired and he gets you jab as if there. There's got to be some sore points as if I need anything else to fight about is setting it all up. We'll. Well, uh, as this, the politics change, Dave, by all accounts wasn't to put out with Lewis and his badge. He still had his cylinder to fall back on which he did the Opera House Saloon, which is on the north side of the railroad tracks. It was a good shadow track will, yeah. A track to track that following the law. Not necessarily any more or legal. It's again, it goes back to how the laws were enforced, which depending on who was in office becomes the problem because a while Dave is running the opera house, he starts to remodel it into a dance hall, getting more business going through there. Will. The problem is, uh, Tom Nickson is also involved at this point in the lady Gay Saloon. Oh, here we go. Another lady gates on the South side of the railroad tracks and the supporting district. Wow. Oh yeah. Everybody on the lady gay. Well, I mean it's just like turned over or the saloon and God said he caused more problems than any other bar. And I would say, uh, not. I mean even the, even the long branch is as famous as it has become. Even it wasn't as noticeable as the lady made gay swung on, not even the dodge house, but uh, because of that rival faction. Once I'd been on the other side of the political fence, they passed an ordinance because again, Nixon and his partner were friends with the people in power, a webster's and the reformers will. They put out an ordinance that made it illegal to operate a dance hall in the city limits of dodge city because they were trying to shut down. They have mattered. He was just starting. Of course, the long, well established dance. All the lady gay that wasn't. That wasn't being shut down. It was the new ones. The same thing that's happening in the short and finish time. Exactly the same. It's almost like favoritism. Sure. If I owned a saloon and I'm on the right side of the fence, I'm going to have my ladies. The only reason they're passing laws is to make people. If they don't like illegal, I a show. They wanted really to own all of the businesses in town. Shut down the competition and show that one man up and Dave again. He had weathered low, losing his badge pretty well. That's okay, but this was very pointed. He knew where this was going and he wasn't gonna stand for. So right now we're looking at strike three. Dave was done talking. So what he did is he lowered the price of beer to five sentence every beer that he was selling, five snips, which undercut not only the lady gay, but everybody else in town, naturally five, seven beer. Where's everybody going to go? And they're going to. They're going to Dave's opera house. All right, so good move on his part. It was a wonderful move on his for making money. Hand over Fake News, shutting me down everywhere else. Writing tomorrow. Not offered beer for five ships. And of course that ticked off the, the establishment. The lady gay always comes back to politics and died. So what they did is Nixon really started pressure in all of the local brewers and the, the uh, the wholesalers to stop selling beer today, the mather. So well established citizen. And a gentleman on the other side of the fence started. She was political moon. Reverse problem is he had the power to do it and it was starting to work. They were putting the squeeze on on. Dave might've been strike for right there. It was. They were even counting strikes anymore. It was somebody who was about to round home and I'm talking the early gates for. I can hear it coming and it was getting hot. The hot between the two. Everybody in town knew it that sooner or later Dave mather and Tom Nickson, we're going to come to blows and finally Tom Sees, sees it coming and he knows the reputation that Dave has and tom takes a shot at it. Tom Nixon takes a shot. Excellent. Takes a shot at Dave matter, but he's. I mean he's got the upper hand. I mean if you think about it, very does, but. But he still takes her show and it sure does this. This is the high noon at guns behind you and gun fight on either end of the street and waiting for the other fish in the back alleys and the shaded. Do you need to kill somebody? You just need to do it. Bullshit. Because they're going to kill you. Isn't necessarily an ambush or something new come in, so you might as well just finish the bench that that was the idea guy. Tom Metzger. He. He grazed. He grazed Dave Thomas. Actually it was arrested. They posted bond, but dave now buffalo homeowner hunter actually missed. He missed a shot. That was his mistake happens. That was absolutely his mistake and I'm telling you, you don't miss a shot like that. When he got one, he paid for it. He paid for it. Even though he was arrested. They posted bond. Dave didn't press charges against Tom. This good guy? No, no days. Another plan. Dave didn't want Tom Nickson in jail. Dave wanted Tom Nickson out on the street open where he could keep an eye on him. Sure. And getting revenge. Yup. When it became necessary, and just a few weeks later, a sure enough they were out in front of the Opera House saloon. Tom Dixon was likely heading that way to check up on mather. Mather knew he was calming, came up behind him in the street when whispered behind him just to make his presence aware. And while Tom Nickson is turning around to see who had spoken to him, they've mather pulls his gun fires for shots and I'm thinking this story, he doesn't Miss. Dave doesn't miss a one of the four bullets, goes right through Tom Dickson's heart. He's dead before he hit the ground. Now here's the kicker, and it's not kicking on Nixon's. He's down on the ground, not kick one of the most. Telling this story is one of the most definitive stories of dodge city and how things operated. Because you've got a man who gunned down, another man in the back, the tops one of the top citizens of Dod city. Absolutely one of the founders of dodge city outright murdered in the street for bullets while he was turning around shorting while his back was turned. And do you think Dave mather was arrested? Thank. Yeah, of course you wash, right? Well, he was. He was right. But it was a clear cut case of self defense, self defense because weeks earlier, tom had tried to shoot day. Okay. Tom had pulled the gun first. Understand a really good lawyer. Everybody knew the judge ever. If David didn't shoot Tom, sooner or later, tom was going to shoot dave. That was just a well known defense. Wow. So no matter who shot, who adapt, boiling down, he was going to be self defense. They've got off scot free. Everybody would go offsite. Scott, for April, whoever shot who killed who? They would've got off scot free. Well, here's time. It just happened to be Nixon had Nixon comeback and shot. Dave. I don't know that that would've worked the same way. It may not because it was already in the soft. He'd already. He'd already planned the killing the assassination. You may be right, so maybe nation. Absolutely. Maybe diction is better off where he was at that point in time, having more troubles after that. One of the great leading citizens of the city is no more a lady gay goes up for sale and oh yeah, we can tell them more stories on lady gay Ad Nauseum, but

Speaker 3 43:19

okay. I think that's it for now. Remember to check out all of our wild west podcast shows on itunes, podcasts, spotify, any pod@Amazonoratwildwestpodcast.buzz spa. Sprout.com, we would like to conclude our show by thinking that our sponsor boot hill productions.com, and if you would like to sponsor our show, just send us an email@wildwestpodcastatgmail.com. We would like to conclude our show by reminding all of our listeners to check out upcoming digital bookstore by visioning bloomfield productions.com and select publications. The battle them simmer on is our newest digital book condition and can be preordered and Amazon.com and we'll be soon available in bookstores. Remember as always drink. That's a thanks for listening to our podcast. This podcast is licensed under creative comments attribute, noncommercial license. You can learn more about the legends of Dodge City by visiting our website@worldfamousgunfightersdotcomorvisitusatBrookdaleproductions.com. Now I'm thinking that so long as I've done this far.