This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
Levi Richardson (c. 1851 – April 5, 1879) was an Old West gunman, gambler and buffalo hunter. During his lifetime, Richardson was quite well known.
Richardson was born in Wisconsin, migrating to Dodge City, Kansas, after first working for a lengthy period as a buffalo hunter. When he first arrived in Dodge City, his reputation as being a gunman came with him, although it was mostly, if not all, hearsay. Richardson no doubt had been involved in several shootouts with Native Americans while on the plains, but as to actual Old West gunfights, no records are known to exist, his only confirmed gunfight being the one in which he was killed.
It is believed that Richardson first arrived in Dodge City around 1874, drifting in and out over time, spending much of his time gambling, and in doing so making that his primary employment. He quickly became well known around the cattle town, and was not particularly well liked, although some sources say he got along well with Bat Masterson. Several around town had known him during his buffalo hunting days, to include Eugene LeCompt and H.H. "Henry" Raymond, who said at best he was an unpleasant man. During this time he met in passing Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. He also met and became friends with Frank Loving, a young gambler.
By all accounts, Loving and Richardson got along well until early 1879, at which time evidently Loving, who had married, believed Richardson was acting inappropriately and disrespectfully toward the latter's wife, Mattie. This led to problems between the two men, resulting in numerous verbal clashes, and in March, 1879, the two became involved in a fist fight on Front Street. After that fight, Richardson told Loving "I'll blow the guts out of you, you cockeyed son of a bitch", to which Loving, who was not armed at the time, simply turned and walked away.
The arguments between the two men culminated in Richardson walking into the Long Branch Saloon on April 5, 1879, intent on settling things with Loving once and for all. Loving was not in the saloon at the time, so Richardson waited for him, with Loving appearing some time after 9:00pm. Loving seated himself near a potbellied stove at a long table, at which time Richardson went and joined him. The two, by witness accounts, had a low conversation which no one could hear, then suddenly Richardson stood and said "You wouldn't fight anything, you damn son of a bitch", to which Loving calmly and simply replied "Try me and see".
Richardson drew his gun first, prompting Loving to do the same, with the two men less than an arms length apart. Richardson fired five rounds to Loving's six, with Richardson grazing Loving's hand, but himself receiving bullet wounds to his chest, side and arm. Deputy Town Marshal Duffy entered the saloon first, disarming Richardson as the latter fell to the floor. Town Marshal Charlie Bassett arrived also, and Loving was arrested, standard procedure in such a case. Richardson died on the floor of the saloon, and the shooting was ruled self defence in a coroners inquest, with no trial. The gunfight, which later became known as the Long Branch Saloon Gunfight , gave notoriety to Loving.
The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second gunfight between lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cowboys that occurred at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Arizona, United States. It is generally regarded as the most famous gunfight in the history of the American Old West.
John HenryHolliday, better known as Doc Holliday, was an American gambler, gunfighter, and dentist. A close friend and associate of lawman Wyatt Earp, Holliday is best known for his role in the events leading up to and following the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. He developed a reputation as having killed more than a dozen men in various altercations, but modern researchers have concluded that, contrary to popular myth-making, Holliday killed only one to three men. Holliday's colorful life and character have been depicted in many books and portrayed by well-known actors in numerous movies and television series.
Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp was involved in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which lawmen killed three outlaw Cochise County Cowboys. While Wyatt is often depicted as the key figure in the shootout, his brother Virgil was both Deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone City Marshal that day and had considerably more experience in law enforcement as a sheriff, constable, and marshal than did Wyatt. Virgil made the decision to enforce a city ordinance prohibiting carrying weapons in town and to disarm the Cowboys. Wyatt was only a temporary assistant marshal to his brother.
Virgil Walter Earp was both deputy U.S. Marshal and Tombstone, Arizona, City Marshal when he led his younger brothers Wyatt and Morgan, and Doc Holliday, in a confrontation with outlaw Cowboys at the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral on October 26, 1881. They killed brothers Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. All three Earp brothers had been the target of repeated death threats made by the Cowboys who were upset by the Earps' interference in their illegal activities. All four lawmen were charged with murder by Ike Clanton, who had run from the gunfight. During a month-long preliminary hearing, Judge Wells Spicer exonerated the men, concluding they had been performing their duty.
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers, or in the late 19th and early 20th century, gunmen were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in gunfights and shootouts. Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a handgun, but this can also refer to those armed with rifles and shotguns. The gunfighter is also one of the most popular characters in the Western genre and has appeared in associated films, television shows, video games, and literature.
Bartholemew William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist known for his exploits in the late 19th and early 20th-century American Old West. He was born to a working-class Irish family in Quebec, but he moved to the Western frontier as a young man and quickly distinguished himself as a buffalo hunter, civilian scout, and Indian fighter on the Great Plains. He later earned fame as a gunfighter and sheriff in Dodge City, Kansas, during which time he was involved in several notable shootouts.
David Allen Mather, also known by the nickname "Mysterious Dave," was an American lawman, gunfighter, and occasional criminal in the Old West. His taciturn personality may have earned him the nickname "Mysterious Dave". Mather served as a lawman in Dodge City, Kansas, and East Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory. He disappeared in 1885 and his precise fate is unknown.
Timothy Isaiah Courtright, also known as "Longhair Jim" or "Big Jim" Courtright, was a Tarrant County Deputy Sheriff in Ft. Worth, Texas from 1876-1879. In 1887, he was killed in a shootout with gambler and gunfighter Luke Short. Before his death, people feared Courtright's reputation as a gunman, and he reduced Ft. Worth's murder rate by more than half, while reportedly extracting protection money from town business owners.
Luke Lamar Short was an American Old West gunfighter, cowboy, U.S. Army scout, dispatch rider, gambler, boxing promoter, and saloon owner. He survived numerous gunfights, the most famous of which were against Charlie Storms in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, and against Jim Courtright in Fort Worth, Texas. Short had business interests in three of the best-known saloons in the Old West: the Oriental in Tombstone, the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, and the White Elephant in Fort Worth.
David Rudabaugh was a cowboy, outlaw, and gunfighter in the American Old West. Modern writers often refer to him as "Dirty Dave" because of his alleged aversion to water, though no evidence has emerged to show that he was ever referred to as such in his own lifetime.
Charles E. Bassett was a lawman and saloon owner in the American Old West in Dodge City. He was one of the founders of the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, served as the first sheriff of Ford County, Kansas, as well as city marshal of Dodge City. His deputies included Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.
James Patrick Masterson, was a lawman of the American West and a younger brother of gunfighters and lawmen Bat Masterson and Ed Masterson.
The Long Branch Saloon was a well-known saloon in Dodge City, Kansas, from about 1874 to 1885. It had several owners, most notably Chalk Beeson and gunfighter Luke Short. The establishment provided gambling and live entertainment, including Beeson's five-person orchestra. It was the scene of several altercations, shoot-outs, gunfights, and standoffs often associated with cattle towns in the American wild west. Most famous was the 1879 Long Branch Saloon Gunfight, in which Frank Loving killed Levi Richardson.
The Variety Hall shootout, also called the Las Vegas Saloon Shootout, was a gunfight that took place in Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States. It launched gunman "Mysterious" Dave Mather to fame.
Frank Loving, sometimes called "Cockeyed" Frank Loving, was an Old West gambler and gunman. He was involved in two well-publicized shootouts of the day.
The Long Branch Saloon gunfight, on April 5, 1879, was an altercation that took place between Frank Loving and Levi Richardson at the Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas. Both men were gamblers who frequented the saloon.
Martin J. "Mart" Duggan was a gunfighter of the American Old West who, although mostly unknown today, was at the time one of the more feared men in the west. He is listed by author Robert K. DeArment, in his book "Deadly Dozen", as one of the most underrated gunmen of the Old West.
John Bull (1836–1929) was a little-known yet deadly English gunman of the American Old West. He is featured in the book "Deadly Dozen", written by author Robert K. DeArment as one of the twelve most underrated gunmen of the 19th century west.
Pat Desmond was a lawman and gunman of the American Old West. He was listed as one of the twelve most underestimated gunmen of the Old West in the book "Deadly Dozen", written by Robert K. DeArment.
The Gunfight at Dodge City is a 1959 American DeLuxe Color Western CinemaScope film. It was produced by the Mirisch Company, directed by Joseph M. Newman, co-written by Martin Goldsmith and Daniel B. Ullman and starred Joel McCrea as Bat Masterson.