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LIVELY DAYS IN DODGE WITH BAT -MASTERSON By ARTHUR CHAPMAN The Death of "Bat" Recalls His Career in the Little Kansas Town, Where History Was Wri& ten With the Six-Shooter and Where New Epi? taphs Were Required for "Boot Hitt." the Ap? propriately Named Town Cemetery, Every Day THE death of William Barclay Master son at his desk in the office of "The Morning Telegraph" a few days ago has served to recall memories of Dodgo City, Kan., when- "Bat," as he whs generally called, was a leading figure. In the 70's the principal cattle trail from Texas ended at Dodge City. The livestock that - trailed f rom the Texas rangea was shipped East by rail from Dodge. The big cattle out? fit* brought in their trail herds, and the cow? boys who had chaperoned the beef steers over long and arduous way proceeded to have as good a time as the law permitted?aud some? times better. Making them stay within the limits of the law became a matter that called the appointment of good mon and true shooters to the office of Shea'iff of Kord County. The cowboys were always armed, and they re reckless. They were not inclined to look with favor upon any man who attempted to . their hilarity. "Bat" Masterson and his brother Ed were among those present in Dodge in the most stir? ring times of that settlement. It took a man with a reputation for fearlessness to be Sheriff of Ford County-, in which the cow town was located. Ed Masterson was one of the best men who held that post of danger. Others whose nemos ranked with those of the Master son hoys in the town's annals at that time were Wyatt Eai-p, Luke Short, Charley Bass ett, Pat Shugrue, George Cooddell, Ben Dan? iels, Mayor A. B. Webster, Ben Thompson, "Mysterious Dave" Mather, Neal Brown and W. H. Harris. The Earp family, in particular, was famous for its gun-fighting ability. "Wild BiD" Hick?jk at one time lent his prowess bril? liantly to the post of marshal. The term gunfigbter is badly misused by many. One is apt to picture a swaggering bad man, of the motion picture type, eager to shed blood and not much caring whether it happens to be the blood of the guilty or the innocent. But most of these gunfighters of Dodge earned their lam-els in the interests of law and order. Ed Masterson, young, alert and unflinching in his determination to en? force the law as Sheriff, was killed because he requested a party of cowboys to give up their guns as they entered a Dodge City dance hall. "Bat" Mastersou quickly avenged his broth? er's death. The brothers were never far apart, and after Ed took the oath of office "Bat" made it a point to be on hand at all hours of the day or night, to be of assistance if necessary. "Bat" could not prevent his brother's death, but he killed one of the cowboys and wounded several others ae they fled from town. It h said that with Ed's death his brother's hearl broke. At any rate he was never the sam< man afterward, and much of his taciturnity in later years was ascribed to the death oj the man who stood closer to him than am other individual. After the death of Ed Masterson the offic? passed to several others within a short spac< of time. "Bat" himself held the office for i while, and Dodge City was never better thai under his rule. Also he was an effectiv? marshal. One of the most celebrated characters t? assume the Sheriff's badge was a little black smith named Pat Shugrue. Pat was short o stature, but known to be game. His usu?i method of procedure Was to walk up to .rious cowboy and say: "Young feller, consider yourself under ar rist." Cenerally the cowboy conaidered himself that way, but if he showed "the ?slightest indi? cation cff n.*Hm1ai*ec he was ? clasped in the blacksmith'^ iron omhvaee and relieved of his weapons before he had time to draw. So strict wui. Pat Shugruu in hewing to the i i ine of duty that the liberal -clement In .?edge City l>ecnme restless under the pressure ^of "Bat" Master son as he appeared when he had to hold down the lid in Dodge the lid. Pat was up for re-election, and word went out that he was to be beaten, by fair means or foul. "Bat" Jfflasterson heard the rumors that were rife on Front Street, which was Dodge's Broadway, and he decided that the town could not afford to let so good a man as Pat be beaten. So he sent out word regarding the political crisis in Dodge and on Election Day he had assembled a coterie of gunfighters ready to uphold law and order. Wyatt Earp came up from the Southwest to help his friends, Pat and "Bat." There were Charley Bassett, Luke Short, Neal Brown and others, including "Bat" himself?all ready to nip in the bud anything that looked like an attempt to "count out" Pat Shugrue. The little black? smith went back into office in triumph, as the formidable body of gunfighters ,overawed those who had political trickery in mind. At the time "Bat" held down the posts of sheriff and marshal at Dodge, Front Street, which was divided by the Santa F? tracks, was lined with saloons and gambling houses. Many professional gamblers had come to Dodge City to prey on the cowpunchers, who generally were paid off on reaching the end of the trail and who were generally "cleaned out" in a few hours, or, at the most, a few days. Fights were many, and they were all for blood. The burying ground near the edge of the town T>he gunmen who carried *&e Dodge 'City election for Pat Shugrue. Top row : W. ' If? Harris, Lake Short, Bat Masterson. Bottom vow: Charley Baasett, Wyatt Earp, !L. McLean and Neal Brown ibodge City as it looked in ?875, <a mere sprawl of unpointed buildings grew rnpidly, and took the common sobriquet of '"Boot Hill," because few of its tenants had died with their boots off. To-day the hill is graced by a fme schoolhouse. Mayor A. B. Webster of Dodge is said to have been the only man who ever disarmed "Bat" Mnsterson. The Mayor kept a general ?store in Dodge. He was a quiet, peace-loving citizen. In fact, he loved peace to such an extent that he was willing to fight for it upon occasion. It is related of him that a brawling cowboy, with several homicides to his credit, came into the Mayor's store with the avowed intention of shooting up that official. Mayor Webster was at the time weighing out some sugar for a customer. Askir'j; his patron to excuse, him for a moment, the Mayor turned to a drawer, produced a gun of sizable charac? ter and shot the cowboy dead. When the Mayor disarmed "Bat" the latter individual had come all the way from Tomb? stone, Ariz., to have matters out with a gun? man who had come off first best in a quarrel with a younger brother, Jim Masterson. "Bat" and the gunman blazed at each other when they met in Front Street, but before either had been wounded Mayor Webster arrived on the scene ami commanded them to desist. Then the Mayor walked up to each contestant in turn and took their guns away, with a few remarks about the impropriety of violating the peaceful atmosphere of a town that had re? formed its wild ways and had set out to be the quietest place in Kansas. One of the best stories of the days when "Bat" was marshal of Dodge is related as fol? lows by Andy Adams in "The Log of a Cow? boy." which is a first-hand recital of life on the cattle trail from 'Texas. "Some professor?a professor in the occult sciences, I think he called himself?-had writ? ten to the Mayor to ask what kind of a point Dodge would be for a lecture. The lecture was to be free, but he also intimated that he had a card or two up his sleeve by xvhich he ex? pected to graft some of the coin of the wayfar? ing man as well a.s the citizen. The Mayor turned the letter over to 'Bat' Masterson, the marshal, who answered it and invited the pro? fessor iio come on, assuring him that he was deeply interested in the occult sciences and would take pleasure in securing him a hall and a date, beside:; announcing his coming. "Well, he was billed to deliver his lecture la-?t night. Those old long horns, McNultfl and Lovell, got us in with that crowd, and while they didn't know exactly what was coming they assured us we couldn't afford to miss it. At the appointed hour the hall was packed, not more than half being able to find seats. It is safe to say that there were five hundred men present, it having been announced for 'men only.' Every gambler in town was there, with ? a fair sprinkling of cowmen and our tribe. "At the appointed hour Masterson rapped for order as chairman,, and in a neat little speech announced the object of the meeting. 'Bat mentioned the lack of interest in the West in the higher arts and sciences, and he spoke our cai*eful attention to the subject under consideration for the evening. He said he felt it hardly necessary to urge the importance of good order, but if any one had come out of idle curiosity or bent on mischief, as chair? man of the meeting and a peace officer of the city he would brook no interruption. After a few other appropriate remarks he introduced the speaker as Dr. J. Graves-Brown, the noted scientist. "The professor was an oily-tougued fellow and led off on a prelude to his lecture, while Adventurous Career of the New York Deputy United States Marshal and Editor, Who Start? ed Life as a Buffalo Hunter and Fought When a Mere Boy in the Battle of Adobe Walls, One of the Classics of Warfare in the West the audience was as quiet as mice and as grave as owls. After he had epoken about five min? utes and was getting warmed up to his sub? ject he made an assertion which sounded a little fishy, and some one back in the audience blurted out: 'That's a damned lie/ The speak? er halted in his discourse and looked at Mas te rson, who arose, and drawing two six-shoot? ers looked the audience over as if trying to locate the offender. Laying the guns on the Ben Thompson, a celebrated gunman who made an efficient marthal table, he informed the meeting that another interruption would cost the offender his life, if he had to follow him to the Rio Grande or the British possessions. He then asked the pro? fessor, as there would be no further interrup? tions, to proceed with his lecture. "The professor hesitated about going on, when Masterson assured him that it was evi? dent that his audience, with the exception of one skulking coyote, was deeply interested in the subject, but that no one man could inter? fere with Che freedom of speech in Dodge City as long as it was a free country and he was marshal. After this little talk the speaker braced up and launched out again on his lec? ture. When he was once more under headway he had occasion to relate something about an exhibition which he had witnessed while study? ing his profession in India. The incident re? lated was a trifle rank for any one to swallow raw, when the same party who had inter? rupted before sang out: 'That's another damned lie.' "Masterson came to his feet like a flash, a gun in each hand, saying: 'Stand up, you measly skunk, so I can see you.' Half a dozen rose in different parts of the house and cut loose at him, and as they did so the lights went out and the room was filled with smoke. Masterson was blazing .away wdth two guns, which so lighted up the room that we could see the professor crouching under the table. Of course, the^' were using blank cartridges, bot the audience raised the long yell and poured, out through the windows and door?, and the lecture was over. A couple of police cam? later, 50 McNulta said, and escorted the pro fessor to hi? room in the hotel, and advised him that Dodge was hardly capable of appre? ciating anything so advanced as a lecture or. the occult sciences." "Bat" Masterson went to Kansas when he was a mere boy and for a while was a hide hunter. Buffaloes were being slain by thousands on the plains of Kansas and in the Panhandle of Texas. The business of hide hurting lastei only a few years. The buffalo hunters lived a hard, adventurous lifo and were in constant danger from attack by Indians. While at Adobe Walls, a collection of adobe buildings, the oiugin of which is a mystery some claiming that they were built by the early Spaniards, who roamed through the Panhandle into Kansas?Masterson and other hide hunters were besieged by Indians. The story of the defense of Adobo Walls?or Dobe Walls, as it is generally known?Is one of the Western classics, ranking as a saga with the story of the defense of the Alamo and the fight of Forsyth's scouts against the allied Indians at Beecher Island, on the Colo? rado-Kansas line. The hide hunters and the men who eon ducted the general store at Adobe Walls put up an unexpectedly strong defense. It is said that the Indians had been advised by their medicine man that no one except the store people were present at the trading post. Con? sequently when the hide hunters, roused from their sleep early in the morning, fired volley after volley upon the advancing Indians, there were surprise and consternation in the ranks of the attackers. The hide hunters were of necessity all crack shots, as one could not afford to waste ammunition firing at buffaloes, which were likely to attack their human foes when wounded. Every shot against the Indians found its mark, and after a long and determined siege the redskins finally with? drew, carrying with them a large proportion of their number, wounded or dead. It is said that they were so enraged at the false infor? mation given them by their medicine man that the unfortunate, prophet was killed. For years "Bat" Masterson was a prominent figure in the West. He was marshal in Lead ville when that mining camp was new and when it required a man of nerve to hold the job. Also he was a peace officer in Trinidad, Colo., which knew its wild days. He became interested in the promotion of boxing matches and ran a fight club in Denver late in the 90's. He was appointed Deputy United States Marshal in New York City in 1905. In later years he wrote sporting comment for "The Morning Telegraph," and he wrote as he shot ?straight to the mark. One of the most celebrated gun fighters of "Bat" Masterson's day was Ben. Thompson. Ben, like many others, came to the marshalship after he had proved his skill in com! fact, they were not given to trying out amateurs in such jobs anywhere in the West in those times. Ben migrated to Austin, where he became marshal, and was called upon to slay many men in the course of his duty. Finally, his foes banded t catching Ben unawares in a theater, 1 -rally riddled him with bullets. THERE are many players who profess to find no trouble with the original or free bid who still find some difficulty in knowing just wdiat constitutes strength enough for a forced bid. A forced bid is one that is necessary to over call a previous bid, as distinguished from one that is made as an original call. Take the case of the second hand. The curds he holds are not such that he would bid on them if he were dealer, but when the dealer makes a declara? tion it is up to the second hand to put up some kind of a fight or lie down and let the adver? saries walk over him. What justifies a bid in such a position? The answer depends on due consideration of the fact that the partner, if he is a good player, will rot credit the bid for being as good as a ire?-- bid, even if it happens to be so. Then, as long as the partner is not going t<> he deceived, it is clearly allowable to make such a bid on the strength that fie will credit it with, let us any. a trick weaker than a free bid. If free bids are to be made on four tricks we get three tricks as tin- value of a forced bid. The point to be kept in mind is that these three tricks are to be counted in the high cards only?not on what the hand is worth under the limitation that a named suit must be the trump. The count is what the hand has to offer as assistance for a better bid, if the partner has one. Counting aces as two each, kings as one ano a king-queen suit as good as an ace and 8c forth, as pre*rtou?ly explained in these arti? cles, it should be an easy matter 4 count *.; any hand with a view to determining its valu?. for a forced bid. There are two common fallacies thai lea< many persons astray in their estimate of ? hand for bidding purposes. One is that the* must show their partners what they have The other -is that a\y. or seven trump ? and ; aingleton are good for about five tricks, tin troth being that they are out trnm-ns vm-H; tin AUCTION BRIDGE-~PLAYER'S SCHOOL bidding is finished, but only seven cards of one suit and nothing in another. Below is an example of the mistake of mak? ing a forced bid on cards that do not justify it, combined with the common error of taking the adversaries out of a contract in which they cannot go game, for if they can go game it is a waste of breath to bid against them. /. dealt and bid a club. His hand, counted on modern methods, is good for four or five tricks. A, under the impression that he must showr his partner what he has and that a singleton and six trumps is a pretty strong hand, bids a diamond. Counted by the modern rule, his hand is worth two tricks only and the singleton is an element of weakness?not of strength. . A bid in A's position is strictly a defensive bid?to keep the adversaries from getting the contract too cheaply and also to encourage the partner to get into the scrap. When bids are * 65 O ?J104 ?? J96 1082 to KQ97 6? 875 B Z_! * VU * KJ983 O 853 A42 V J965 * A Q 7 42 O . $ K Q 10 d made on such cards as A's they lead the part? ner into trouble. Now, look at the difference this bid of A's mode in ?e play of this band. When A paRs?*! m By R. F. FOSTER Author of Foster on Auction? Auction Made Easy, Foster's Complete Hoyle, Etc. the club bid Y went no trump, hut all he could make was two-odd, because in clearing his hearts wi'-b the finesse be let B clear his clubs and echo in spades. As it was, when A bid the diamonds Y passed, and it was B that went nu-trnnips, counting on A for something worth while in diamonds to justify taking the opponents out of a minor suit. To frighten A back into dia? monds, Y doubled, but the no-trumper stayed in. With three honors in spades, Z started with the king. Y played the encouraging nine, to show the honor. When B led the diamond Z discarded a club and Y led the club through B, Z winning with the queen and making three spade tricks, Y discarding the small diamond. On the small heart lead Y played the ace and established the ten of diamonds by leading the jack. With no ire-entry, dummy might as well lead another diamond, but the only remaining trick for B was the king of hearts, so that lie was set 500 points, ft?l through the false hop?-: held, out by A's unjustifiable sec^tid hand bid Here is the solution of problem No. 78, ii which there were no trumps, Z to lead a ne Y-Z to win five tricks: Z starts with the chub nine and Y wins, re turning the diamond queen, which A wins. I A now leads a small heart *V discards a dia mond; Z wins and leads a diamond, Y sheddinj the club ten. Z npw puts B in with a clui and Y makes two spades. If, instead of the heart A leads a spade, "5 covers, and Z discards a heart. If B wins th spade and leads a diamond, Z wins and lead heart queen, Y shed?lintr n ftnnd?*. ??>*! 7. "BtaVx a heart, Y a club and spade or two spades and a club. If B ducks A's spade load, Y's cover holds and he leads a ?diamond, allowing Z to lead the heart queen, Y discarding a spade. When A leads the spade again Y covers again. Now B wins and loses a club and spade at the end. Queries and Answers AUCTION BRIDGE Question?Is it true that the new rules for auction give imperial clubs as worth 11 a trick? If so, what do the honors count?? J. A. C. Answer?Imperial clubs at 11 a trick, under the proviso that there shall be at least four honors in one hand, is simply a freak call in? troduced by some players to give variety to the game, but it is as much an outlaw as the ^?ld widow at poker. 'Question?Dealer paires. Second hand lids no-trump. When it gets round to the dealer again he bich* two diamonds and the second hand two po-trumps, which all pass. What should be the lead from this hand? Hearts, jack and two small ; clubs, ace and queen ; diamonds, ten and two email, and live spades to king, queen, ten.?C. B. J. Answer?The spado king. The deferred diamond call indicates length only, and the repetition of the no-trump bid shows the de? clarer is not afraid of diamonds. The usual rule is not to lead to a secondary bid unless there are two honors in the suit. This differs from a fourth hand ask for a lead, as the bidder has already passed up a chance for a free bid. Question?Z deals and bids no-trump. A passes and Y says two spades. B passes and Z says two no-trump. A passes and Y bids three hearts, holding five spades to the ace, queen; five hearts to the queen nine; ace, ten small in diamonds; no clubs. The dealer then calls three spades, but bets he should have been left in on his no-trumper. He held three hearts to the ace, three spades to jack-ten, queen-jack small in diamonds, ace, jack and two small clubs.?F. A. A. Answer?It is invariably correct to take out a no-trumper with a two-suited, especially BRIDGE PROBLEM NO. 79 Hearts arc tmmps ct7id Z leads. Y and Z want six tricks. How do they get them? ?>o tutiov vext week. mn 4 when both the suits are major. : irer should have passed up the spade take-out in the first place. The return to imps denies any assistance for the sp id reas the dealer holds two honors. POKER Question?On the call A shows a straight, ace to five, while B shows a si i nine to king. Which wins? A bets, he is ace high as against king high.?L. W. Answer?A straight runs from card to the highest. A's straigl * , as against B's king high. Wh< used to fill out a run below th . is np longer higher than a king. Question?Two players are spa a dollar a throw. In drawing cards i ne of those given to A is accidentally turned ? by the dealer It is the spade king. A that card goes for the high B; iUgh he. cannot take it for the betting on the pet. ~-L. M. B. Answer?A is in error, as the high spade must be decided by the cards in the player's hand, and the spade king was never a paxi of As hand. RUSSIAN BANK Question?There are a great many plays made in rapid succession by A, who tinally places his finger on the eight of hearts, wl can be played on the nine of ci the same time the spade seven has txaen un? covered and could go on the foundation. H calls a stop. A bets? it is not a stop until ho moves "the eight of hearts.?G. !.. P. Answer?B is correct. The act ??*.' placing the fingers on a card which is r e 0!l the foundations, while there is another i - ? that is so playable, establishes the CRIBBAGE Question?Two cards are turned un for tha starter. Musi it be the higher? Mra. C Answer?If the dealer made the error, tho non-(U-ale>r can take his choice for the Start??*'