Those Wicked Cattle Towns

Names like Wichita, Abilene, Hays City, Dodge City, Ogallala, Caldwell - born shabby and scruffy with dusty streets, sleazy saloons, gambling dens, bordellos and false front stores - those were the early cattle towns.  Popular dime novels of the day and newspaper exaggerations pictured the violence and bloody brawls that took place on a daily basis.  Supposedly.

The coming of the cattle seemed to settle these Wild West towns down some.  Local governments were formed.  Cattle sales meant hard money, not only for gamblers, bartenders,and ladies of the evening, but also for grocers, bootmakers, financiers, and merchants.

Andy Adams, veteran of the cattle days, wrote from the cowboy point of view in Log of a Cowboy: "Dodge is one town where the average bad man finds himself badly handicapped.  The buffalo hunters and range men have protested against the iron rule of Dodge's peace officers, and nearly every protest has cost human life.  Don't ever get the impression that you can ride your horses into a saloon, or shoot out the lights.  Most cowboys think it's an infringement on their rights to give up shooting in town, and if it is, it stands, for your six-shooters are no match for Winchesters or buckshot, and Dodge's officers are as tough a set of men as ever faced danger."  His picture was accurate.

To keep order and attract businesses, cattle town officials had to walk a fine line.  Quickly passed laws established lucrative systems of fines for gambling and prostitution - even carrying a concealed weapon. The income allowed the town to offer tax advantages to businesses and paid for the police.

Contrary to legend, a Kansas town marshal's job was not a glorious job, nor was it lonely.  Businessmen and politicians did not risk their safety or their city's reputation by hiring gun-happy cowboys.  Arrests were usually bloodless, and fines paid.  "Wild Bill" Hickok of Abilene and Wyatt Earp of Wichita did their job along with five other policemen on duty during the cattle season.  It wasn't a job for a lone gunslinger marshal, but it wasn't the job depicted in movies or books either.

Next time...When Mayhem Happens
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Today in Pioneer History: "On July 12, 1861, Wild Bill Hickok fought his first gunfight, outside the police station in Nebraska, establishing his reputation as a gunslinger.