The Old West was not all shootouts and gunslingers engaged in quick draw duels on Main Street. Indeed, shootouts were often deadlier for bystanders than the participants, and gunslingers preferred to shoot their victims in the back when possible – it was safer for the shooter. Still, the American West could get rough, and plenty of notorious outlaws gave often only slightly less notorious lawmen all the work they could handle to impose law and order.
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Noted lawman Wyatt Earp is most likely the most storied figure of the Old West. He was also a skilled gunslinger who was greatly feared by the outlaws of the time. Earp had a varied career that saw him travel to boomtowns like Wichita, Dodge City and the lawless town of Tombstone to serve as sheriff, and he took part in some of the most legendary gunfights of the 1800s. The most famous of these is, without doubt, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, which happened in 1881 when Earp, his brothers Morgan and Virgil, and friend Doc Holliday confronted a gang of cowboys who had recently been arrested for robbing a stagecoach. Three of the cowboys were killed in the encounter, and everyone except Wyatt was wounded.
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Bat Masterson was widely known himself as a buffalo hunter, Indian fighter during the celebrated “Battle of Adobe Walls,” civilian scout for the U.S. Army, gunfighter and lawman in Dodge City, Kansas. Masterson’s first gunfight took place in 1876 in Sweetwater, Texas, when he was only 22. After that, he joined his brothers, Jim and Ed, who were deputies in the notorious town of Dodge City and it wasn’t long before Bat was elected sheriff of Ford County. Masterson’s most well-recognized gunfight was the Battle of the Plaza in 1881.
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William Matthew “Bill” Tilghman, Jr. was a lawman and gunfighter during the Wild West days of Kansas and Oklahoma. During his career, Tilghman earned the admiration of many gunslingers like Wyatt Earp, Virgil Earp, the Mastersons, and Wild Bill Hickok. Tilghman developed the status of a man who only resorted to violence when it was absolutely essential, but was known to be deadly efficient in its use as a last resort. Deputy U.S. Marshal Bill Tilghman, along with two others, Chris Madsen and Heck Thomas, were known as The Three Guardsmen, a name popularized in Old West literature describing the three lawmen who became legendary in their pursuit of many outlaws of the late 19th century.
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Patrick Floyd Jarvis “Pat” Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender and customs agent. In 1880s, Garrett became the Lincoln County Sheriff and secured his reputation when he gunned down one of the most popular bad guys in the Old West, William H. Bonney aka Billy the Kid. According to legend, Garrett and Bonney knew each other and they were even supposedly often seen together gambling in saloons. Anyway, as soon as Garrett became sheriff, his duty was to bring Billy the Kid to justice. The $500 reward just placed on Bonney’s head probably helped, too. On July 14, 1881, Garrett tracked down the Kid near Fort Summer and shot him. The shot hit the Kid in the chest just above the heart, killing him.
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Wild Bill Hickok is remembered for his services in Kansas as sheriff of Hays City and marshal of Abilene, where his ironhanded rule helped to tame two of the most lawless towns on the frontier. Following his Civil War service, Wild Bill Hickok moved to Kansas where he was appointed sheriff in Hays City and marshal of Abilene. Both towns had become outposts for lawless men before Hickok arrived and turned things around. In an 1871 account that changed his life, Hickok was reportedly involved in a shootout with saloon owner Phil Coe. In the melee, Hickok caught a glimpse of someone moving towards him and responded with two shots killing his deputy Mike Williams. The event haunted Hickok for the rest of his life.
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