Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-03-08

been. killed by the Indians on
Sand Creek. His cattle were
scattered all over the plains, 50
hired out TO help him round
them mp.
sam lie Fors was a brother
Of Joe lie Fors, who became ia
nous running down cattle rus
tiers and outlaws in the Wyom-
ing Montana country in later
years. III have 70 tell you about
Joe later.
When the roundup job was
over | pulled into Dodge
had To stay there TO be a
witness against the Indians for
killing our cook and Billy Quin-
lans men. That didn't make me
bit mad because Dodge was a
great place for a loafing cowboy.
II was like Abilene Hays.
Ogallala and the other towns at
the end of the cattle trails, most
~ dancehalls, saloons and gam
bling houses. 1t was a weary
cowboys paradise. The Texas
cowboys made the town, but for
some reason the folks there
didn't think that gave them the
right TO run 1t.
During the middle and late
seventies the trail drivers were
pouring cattle into Dodge by the
tens of thousands. Railroad
trains were hauling the longhorns
east as fast as they could load
them.
The bosses sold their COW stuff
at Dodge and the cowboys got
their pay. That usually was
wages for six or seven months
work, sometimes longer
Wen, after a cowhand has gone
that long with nothing in his
pocket to jingle you can bet your
best saddle-horse he was going
TO spend il. Dodge was the only
place to do it. The cowboys
wanted their fun raw and rough.
That's the way they got it.
You couldn't have a frontier
town full of four or five hundred
whooping cowboys every night
without trouble We were all a
pretty wild lot. ready TO fight at
the drop Of a hat, SO Boot Hill
filled mighty fast for a few
years.
| reckon about every badman
and fighter in the West
bellied up to bar in Dodge
sometime during those wild days
in the shootin' seventies
A roll call would have turned
up Clay Allison, who put more
than twenty men in their graves.
Doc Holiday. the thin-faced gam
bier who became a pal of Wyatt
carp, famous frontier marshal
Ben Thompson, a Texas gun
fighter; Nanny Clements and
his brothers; Curly Bill, Cock
eyed Frank. Polecat Sam, Rat
tlesnake Bill and a scad of other
Western characters, mostly bad.
Wyatt carp and Ben Thomp-
son had tangled before II was
in Ellsworth. after Ben's broth
er, Bill, killed a sheriff for but
tin into gambling quarrel.
Wyatt backed Ben and a crowd
of Texans into a corner and made
them throw down their guns
without firing a shot. Ben never
quite got over it.
I never dropped my reins at a
place where you'd see such a
collection of characters as you'd
meet in Dodge There was Shot
gun Collins. Bullwhack Joe. the
Suffering Kid, Mysterious Dave
Dirty-face Charlie, Pock-marked
Johnnie, Six-finger Pete and
more | can't remember
But about all of them backed
down at one time or another be-
fore the gun hands and steady
eyes Of the men who wore a
marshal's badge, fellows like
carp, Bat Masterson his brother.
Ed, Charlie Bassctt, Billy Brooks
and Billy Tilghman.
Billy Brooks was the first
marshal in Dodge. He set out TO
curry the new camp down with
a six-shooter and did a pretty
fair job Of it. In his first month
on the job he put a dozen bad
men under the sod.
He stood in the middle OF
Front Street one day with his
forty-fours blazing when four
brothers set out TO get him for
| killing another member OF their
clan When the shooting was
over the four brothers were dead
and Billy had couple Of shots
/ left
But not long after that Brooks
had "A row over a dancchall gal
with buffalo hunter named
Kirk Jordan Maybe he figured
he was in the wrong Anyway.
! BROOKS bi-tailpd II over Tho