The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-05-21
. HOLIDAY AT LAS VEGAS.
KILLING RECORD MADE BY MTS-
TERIOUS Dye MATHES.


Five Men Were Slain In Twenty-four Hours
and Four OF Them Were to the Credit
of n Frontier StrateRist with n Past
in the Early, Tough Days of the Town.
1T was not what he said. it was what he
didn't say. but did do. that got Dave Mathes
his title, Mysterious Dave. He was not a talk
alive man. but he made q great deal of history
in Las Vegas In the first two years after the
Atchison road built into the meadows city"
said F. C. Armstrong OF st. Louis. in
telling some Of his experiences as q
travelling salesman in the Southwestern
territories. What State he originally
came from or what his past had been
nobody knew but himself. and he never
told. He came TO Las Vegas from Dodge City.
and In those DAYS a man hailing from Dodge
City had to show proof to the contrary not to
be taken for a bad man. The reputation for
murder and mystery which he brought with
hinrfrom Kansas he enlarged considerably in
New Mexico. where he soon became known as
a silent. dangerous man. who had plenty OF
sand. was consummatelv crafty and never gave
any tip as to what he meant to do.
I'm a new. tough Western town-and Las
Vegas was the toughest town In all America at
that time q man like Mathes who. whatever
he might have done. had kept his neck clear OF
a rope. was counted a good enough man to en-
list on the side Of law and order. and Mysteri-
GUS Dave was made deputy to Joe CaRson the
City Marshal. Hoodoo Brown. elected Munich
pal Judge after a ten days residence in the
town. dispensed variegated justice to Offenders
brought to Judgment. with a six-shooter with
in handy reach to back his decisions: and to
this trio. with the Vigilance Committee lying
low. but always ready to back them or hang
them accordingly as they behaved. was con-
nded the safety OF the town.
LAS Vegas. when l first set foot In the town
in the winter of 70 and 80. six months after
the first loot Of a locomotive had been heard
across the Rio Gallinas. was running with a
little more Of a whoop and a hurrah than usual.
1t was in the Christmas holidays. and miners
from the hills and cowboys from the ranges
were in town in force to celebrate. making
business at the saloons and gambling houses
and dance halls correspondence good. On the
day Of my arrival gotthrough my business by
ni iEIi"nd. a All" aIer X IN In one ev ef tbs q IN e3fm n1m ny is wiSm
houses there, who knew the place and itscelebri-
ties. l started out to see the sights Of the town.
andlampliGht within doors were more omfort-
able than the frost and stars without. There
looms, and at one we Visited I was Il Intro
duced by, my friend to Joe, Carson, the
nIsg M Mhfsn " fearless a pie eSe and rliiG a rcp iG%tyG1f fr
unlimited sand that he had brouRhtfrom Texas
and Colorado, As the three Of Us stood talking
His is Sa y m S e &sis ! S"S Sha By I RI sS dssss
i notIced dF0'R BIS 'n spp r@ass. and MSHe he o. d ia h nSs
s sRsdH nv S9 9fien Si16s oth; s sSiEdn'H 'fhiu fHw b S,m "n fh eS
the Marshal presented him to me as Mr..
hM nnds w ana My naS tns fb' sve' In w St shaking mnS
whose lace would DO hard 70 describe, for his
broad hat p, 95i a. masked ,nnn, his eyes. his heavy
jaw was about the only feature that I could
positively make out--his whole expression |
elt.possessed and it conveyed SOMEHOW a
s pn9sln Of SnsfI he Re Ien dPsps WITH 10 o as; but IS said I'd
'u a"To% 10 Haeniry's in town, with his crowd
Looking for trouble. l suppose said
ou "Sr' bTs, a9ad Ssss and = went ssvI put. ,s osr SO ,o e.:
while anf then, toward midnight. on our way
dance hall. Things were, getting lively there
T II dancers Sasd were r.. yhirling 70 the music O. a
stud poker, chuck,a-lnck and monte. strung
along yinn one PM side OF the room: were doing q rat:
tdIareeFT at tSs h ana There 1he 'T wSs lo %Hf t tsTS.
in. but before long the conversation
held the z ,door IN H1fi front Of ffH The bar rnf They % ssii
IDENTITY belonged together and were looking for
was a big. daredsv S i,fooEinS 60 fellow eli vne a] ,SSdhsr;
was a man almost as large: the third was a
young fellow scarcely more than a boy in years.
All wore two reyolyers apiece openly. This. 1
was TOLD was the Henry gang The big man
Big Randall. and the boy was Jimmie West,
and all OF them were notorious rs stock thieves,
and were. moro than suspected OF stage rob-
berry. with them was n fourth man, who car
ri9d no weapons In sight. and seemed 70 be-
His name. | afterward learned. was Dorsey.
and he w2s the cook for the gang.
Joe Carson came In and stood looking
quietly on, and ! caught a glimpse OF Mysteri-
GUS Dave back among the crowd Of onlOok ers.
began TO throw ont defances directed at him.
and the, feeling, that, difficulty was coming
out, on the floor. the play slackened at tho
tables and people began to leave the saloon.
The o~artenders looked anxious. md George
ylsage Ike IA hawks. had taken Als place be-
hind the counter near the money drawer.
whore he stood keenly watching all that went
on; The talk OF the dcsperadoeS grew more
ugly and threatening. and at a signal from his
leader ! saw the man called Dorsey slip out OF
III we don't get out OF this mighty quick
well stand a chance TO catch a stray bullet
said my companion, who had been Mt the ho-
ginning Of a dozen, frontier towns and knew
HtthinEs therell be shooting right away, and
I'VE edged along toward the side door as fast
as we could without seeming 10 he stampedcd.
At the entrance | stopped to take one more
their pistols. Carson. looking cool and deter
mined. was facing them at a little distance
away. and at the end Of the room. look
ing on with the ,,nnconcerned air Of