Our tour of the city began this morning at Boot Hill Museum. A number of places have a "Boot Hill", and Dodge City is no exception. The history of this one, however, is well documented, and while the "occupants" of the original cemetery have been moved (twice), the area has been preserved as part of the museum.
The museum has an excellent display detailing many aspects of the lives of Native Americans. Did you know that the seating arrangements in a tipi was very important? Men sat on the north side, cross-legged, while women sat on the south, but not cross-legged.
This proverb has meaning these days:
Of course, there is a direct reference to the old tv program, Gunsmoke. Donna wanted to check out the saloon to see if Matt and Miss Kitty were inside!
The Long Branch was the scene of several shootings. On April 5, 1879, wagon driver Levi Richardson and gambler Frank Loving engaged in a gun battle. Knowing that Loving was a regular at the Long Branch, Richardson came to the saloon and waited for him so he could settle his differences with him permanently. When Loving arrived, the two men began shouting and both started shooting. As they chased each other around the stove, they were so close the ends of their pistols almost touched. Eleven shots were fired, leaving Richardson mortally wounded. Loving was cleared, pleading self-defense.
Wyatt Earp was born in Illinois, and, having a rather checkered youth, was not always on the correct side of the law. Eventually, he was appointed marshall of Dodge City in 1877, having returned from Dakota Territory and Texas with his common-law wife Celia Ann Blaylock, and Doc Holliday, whom he had met in Fort Worth.
Wyatt arrived in Tombstone, AZ, in 1879 where he accepted the appointment as deputy sheriff and faced the McLaury's and the Clanton's at the OK Corral. Leaving Tombstone, he spent time in Idaho, San Diego, San Francisco, Nevada, and Nome, Alaska. He was arrested a number of times for running illegal card games. He died on January 13, 1929 in California.
Wyatt's friend and associate, Bat Masterson, was born in Canada, but moved with his family to Wichita, KS, where Bat worked for the railroad. Taking up Buffalo hunting, Bat made quite a good amount of money, but soon found his calling as a gambler. Bat was known to everyone in Dodge City, and soon was appointed sheriff of Ford County. That led him to jobs as marshall of Creede and Trinidad, Colorado. As time progressed, Bat took work as a sports writer for the Morning Telegraph newspaper in New York City, where he was found slumped over his typewriter one morning at the age of 67. Read Masterson's last words below his photo below:
There were a number of "soiled doves" in Dodge City, with one of the best know being Mary Elizabeth Haley, know as Squirrel Tooth Alice. Having been captured by Comanches at age 10, but redeemed by her family, she was considered to have been defiled. When she met and fell in love with a man twice her age, her father shot and killed the man. She ran away from home and fell in with gambler "Texas Billy" Thompson and they soon found their way to Dodge City. She had a fondness for Prairie Dogs, making pets of them. Thinking they looked a lot like squirrels, and noticing the gap in her teeth, the famous moniker was coined! One of her daughters commented about her "she wasn't average."
When Wyatt Earp ventured to Texas, only to return in the spring with Doc Holliday, Doc brought along his lady Big Nose Kate. Mary Katherine Haroney was born in Hungary in 1850 where her father was a famous physician. He moved to Mexico to care for Maximillian I, but when the government fell, the family hurriedly moved to Iowa, where it was noticed that structure did not fit Kate well. When she came to Dodge in 1874, she lived in the Dodge House with Doc. They both loved the nightlife and hard fast living. Kate often said of Doc: "I can out shoot him, I can drink more whiskey than he can, and I can beat him playing poker." They loved and fought hard. One conversation between Wyatt and doc took place after Kate drank too much and began to wreck the hotel room. Doc said, "You know, I had to quiet her, Wyatt; I just hit her gently over the head with the butt end of my gun...had to quiet her."
May I introduce Big Nose Kate and Doc:
Dodge City is dotted with bronze statues of famous local personalities.
James Arness:
Wyatt Earp:
And Wyatt again, looking west down Front Street, the worst street in the territory.
"El Capitan" memorializes the 4 million head of Longhorn cattle driven over the Santa Fe Trail to the railhead in Dodge City. Longhorns are descendants of Spanish cattle brought to Mexico in the 16th century.
Donna stopped for a drink and a hand of cards with Bat Masterson. Notice he's reaching for his gun.....not a good sign!
Feed lots still dot the Dodge City countryside. An overlook is provided so we could see the Martin operation, known as "The T-Bone Factory."
As we returned to downtown, we saw a group of silent but vigilant cowboys from the past keeping a watchful eye over their city.
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