Wild West Podcast

Vigilantes and Violence in Dodge City: A Stirring Journey through the Frontier Town's Gritty Genesis and Dark Days

June 05, 2021 Michael King/Brad Smalley
Wild West Podcast
Vigilantes and Violence in Dodge City: A Stirring Journey through the Frontier Town's Gritty Genesis and Dark Days
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Show Notes Transcript
Prepare to journey through the annals of time, as we uncover stories from the heart of the Wild West - Dodge City, Kansas. Set your ears to the stirring tales of a frontier town born out of a hunger for money, regulated by fast guns and vigilantes alike. We'll walk you through the town's humble beginnings in 1872, from a meager outpost of buffalo hunters to a notorious frontier town, marked by swift gun law and a staggering 30 violent deaths in its first year. We'll introduce you to figures like Billy Brooks, a privately hired lawman, and the vigilante mobs who, in their pursuit of law and order, only contributed to the chaos.

Strap up for the chilling tales of vigilantes like Tom Sherman, whose Dodge City saloon was one of the wildest in the 1870s. Experience the chilling narrative of confrontations that led to point-blank executions and induction into the vigilante honorarium. Relive the shocking events of June 3rd, 1873, when a vigilante mob took law into their own hands, resulting in the death of William Taylor, the cook from nearby Fort Dodge. Hear how Taylor's untimely death led to unprecedented military intervention, the arrest of several vigilantes, and the election of the first sheriff of Ford County. So come, step into our time machine and get ready for a wild ride into the heart of the Old West.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Wild West Podcast, where fact and legend merge. The Wild West Podcast presents the true accounts of individuals who settled in a town built out of hunger for money, regulated by fast guns, who walked on both sides of the law, patrolling, investing in and regulating the brothels, saloons and gambling houses. These are the stories of the men who made the history of the Old West come alive, bringing with them the birth of legends brought to order by a six-gun and laid to rest with their boots on. Join us now as we take you back in history, to the legends of the Wild West. The beautiful, biblulous Babylon of the Frontier. Standing out on the extreme border of civilization, like an oasis in the desert or like a lighthouse off a rocky coast, is the beautiful, biblulous Babylon of the Frontier, dodge City, so termed by Lewis, editor of the Kinsley Graphic.

Speaker 1:

Dodge City, kansas, started out in 1872 as a wild outpost of buffalo hunters and soldiers, small in numbers but marked by many violent deaths. It only took ten years for Dodge City to build the wild and wicked reputation it had held since the town's beginning. The city's population of 500 that first year was due almost entirely to the buffalo trade. The buffalo hunters and the soldiers from Fort Dodge came to the makeshift settlement to buy supplies, drink and to get away from their boredom. Even though a town company had organized the small settlement in August of 1872, the city was still unincorporated. The town had no elected or appointed officials, a county government had not yet been organized and consequently there were no courts, jails or official law enforcement in the region. The closest known law was located in the Hayes City, over 100 miles away. From August 1872 to July 1873, there were approximately 30 killings in Dodge City. Dodge City's privately hired lawmen, like Billy Brooks, were not up to the job of policing the settlement and by February of 1873, a vigilance committee had to be organized. Most of the business people who formed the vigilance committee brought in hired guns to protect their holdings. Within four months the vigilance committee killed two men, ran five others out of town and brought in a buffalo hunter named McGill who had been shooting up the town. In March of 1873, members of the vigilantes, including John Scott of Peacock's Billiard Saloon and James Hanrahan of the Occident Saloon, chased down a buffalo hunter by the name of McGill. Mcgill's crime for the day was disturbing the peace by shooting up the town. Mcgill made it just outside of town when he decided to take his needle gun and open fire on Hanrahan and Scott. The response was deadly. Hanrahan and Scott returned to Dodge City with McGill less of the fines for his damages. But he paid properly, strapped over his horse and riddled with bullets.

Speaker 1:

The honor now being portrayed as becoming an active member of the vigilance committee began to circulate on March 13th with Tom Sherman's induction into the vigilante honorarium. Tom Sherman's saloon at Dance Hall was one of the wildest saloons in Dodge City, kansas, during the 1870s. Tom Sherman, the proprietor, was a hard case when it came to dealing with any social problem that revealed himself in his saloon. Such was the case on March 13th 1873, when Sherman threw a troublemaker named Charles Burns out of his saloon. Sherman then chased Burns out into the street and shot him After shooting the man. Once, sherman reportedly commented on his poor aim. As Sherman walked up to his target, as he'd writhed in pain, he said I'd better shoot him again, hadn't I boys? Then Sherman fired a shot into the man's head at point blank range, killing him 3 months later.

Speaker 1:

In that same year of 1873, the vigilance committee had attracted disreputable personalities who brought joy to the act of vigilance. It seemed as if any individual who wanted to enforce the law could join the vigilance committee and get away with breaking the law. Simply put, mob rule was at hand, more so than the intent for public good. The violence climaxed on the night of June 3rd 1873, when two committee members seized a wagon and team of William Taylor. William Taylor, a servant of Colonel Richard Dodge, commanding officer of Fort Dodge, was on dispatch to pick up supplies. Taylor was inside Dodge City's general store when he witnessed John Scotty Scott and another man taking off with his wagon. Taylor ran out to stop the two thieves from driving off with the wagon. With their getaway halted by Taylor, the aggravated Scotty pulled his pistol and shot one of Taylor's mules. Taylor objected to John Scotty's actions. Scotty, with his revolver already pulled and his gun barrel still smoking from killing the mule, decided to smoke.

Speaker 1:

Taylor, john Scott and William Hicks dragged the wounded Taylor to Herman J Fringer's drugstore. While Fringer attended Taylor's wounds, a drunken vigilance mob entered the drugstore. The mob pushed Fringer out of the way and dragged Taylor into the street. Taylor begged for his life with no avail.

Speaker 1:

It was when the vigilance mob reached the middle of the street that Taylor must have realized his fate was near at hand. The drunken mob pulled their revolvers in unison, while Taylor closed his eyes in a blaze of a dozen shots, quilting the air from his lungs and sending him into the everlasting darkness the darkness the world would not allow to be blown away in the anomaly of the up and coming storm of one man's revenge. Taylor had been the personal cook for the post commander in nearby Fort Dodge. Colonel Dodge was so outraged that he wired the governor of Kansas and got special permission to arrest the guilty. Troops entered the town the next day and arrested Bill Hicks, who was later convicted. On June 5th, troops entered again and arrested five of the worst vigilantes, including Tom Sherman. On June 5th, the same day of Sherman's arrest, a special election was held and Charles Bassett was elected to serve as the first sheriff of Fort County.