Doc Middleton
Encyclopedia
James M. Riley (February 9, 1851 - December 29, 1913) was an outlaw
and horse thief
, whose exploits of stealing perhaps 2,000 horses over a two-year period earned a spot in the Wild West Show.
Riley was born in Bastrop, Texas
.
In 1877 he was caught stealing horses in Iowa
. After serving 18 months he moved to Sidney, Nebraska
where he shot and killed a soldier from nearby Fort Sidney in a bar fight. He was arrested but he escaped as a lynch
mob gathered.
He was eventually wanted by Wyoming Stock Growers Association
and the Union Pacific Railroad
, which offered rewards for his capture. Army officer William H.H. Llewellyn, seeking to protect pony herds on the Pine Ridge Reservation, was dispatched to capture him. Llewellyn along with an army from detachment under George Crook
lured him to a meeting with a promise of a pardon from the governor. In a melee two of Doc's gang were killed and a lawman was shot but Middleton was captured and was taken to Cheyenne, Wyoming
where he was convicted of Grand larceny
and served a prison sentence from September 18, 1879 and released on June, 18 1883.
In 1884 he and his third bride (a 16-year-old girl) moved to Gordon, Nebraska
where he operated a saloon and was briefly a deputy sheriff.
In 1893 Buffalo Bill
, as a stunt for the World's Columbian Exposition
, enlisted him to participate in the 1,000 Mile Chadron, Nebraska
to Chicago
horse race. He completed the race and rode most of the way, although he was transported part of the way by train.
He later moved to Ardmore, South Dakota
and in 1913 he moved to Orin Junction, Wyoming where he opened a saloon. After getting in a knife fight at the bar he was arrested for dispensing liquor illegally. While in jail he contracted erysipelas
and died. He is buried in Douglas Park Cemetery in Douglas, Wyoming
.
According to Hutton, Doc Middleton became best friends with one Zack Light, an equally desperate and offensive outlaw. Zack Light married Doc's sister Margaret Riley, but after a couple of years with the ruffian, marriage proved impossible and Margaret Riley moved to South Texas with her two children, Minnie Light and Zack Light, Jr.
In the biography of Juan Light Salinas, "Tio Cowboy--Juan Salinas Rodeo Performer and Horseman," (Texas A & M Press, 2007,) author Ricardo D. Palacios relates that Margaret Riley was his great grand mother. Minnie Light married Antonio G. Salinas, later Sheriff of Webb County, Texas. Together, Antonio and Minnie had five children, Juan Light Salinas, Jose Maria Salinas, Mucia Salinas (the author's mother), Margarita Salinas, and Antonio Light Salinas.
Palacios explains in "Tio Cowboy" that the eldest and the youngest of the children, Juan Light Salinas and Antonio Light Salinas, grandnephews of Doc Middleton, became prolific rodeo performers in the tie down calf roping event, eventually joining the national circuit and making every rodeo they could from about 1936 to 1949. They attended every finals rodeo at Madison Square Garden from 1936 to 1946. They were never world champions but they won their share and earned a very comfortable living in their sport.
Juan Light Salinas was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1992. Juan Salinas and Doc Middleton never met each other, but coincidentally, decades apart of course, both performed at the rodeo at Frontier Days, Cheyenne, Wyoming, "The Grandaddy of them all, (rodeos)."
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...
and horse thief
Horse thief
-United States:The term horse thief came into great popularity in the U.S. during the 19th century. During that time the Great Plains states, Texas, and other western states were sparsely populated and negligibly policed. As farmers tilled the land and migrants headed west through the Great...
, whose exploits of stealing perhaps 2,000 horses over a two-year period earned a spot in the Wild West Show.
Riley was born in Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop, Texas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there are 5340 people in Bastrop, organized into 2034 households and 1336 families. The population density is 734.8 people per square mile . There are 2,239 housing units at an average density of 308.1 per square mile...
.
Criminal career
He stole his first horse at age of 14. In 1870 he was convicted for murder in Texas and was sentenced to life in prison at the Huntsville Prison. In 1874 he escaped the prison.In 1877 he was caught stealing horses in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
. After serving 18 months he moved to Sidney, Nebraska
Sidney, Nebraska
Sidney is a city in Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,282 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheyenne County.-History:The city was named for Sidney Dillon, a railroad attorney...
where he shot and killed a soldier from nearby Fort Sidney in a bar fight. He was arrested but he escaped as a lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
mob gathered.
He was eventually wanted by Wyoming Stock Growers Association
Wyoming Stock Growers Association
The Wyoming Stock Growers Association is a historic American cattle organization created in 1873. The Association was started among Wyoming cattle ranchers to standardize and organize the cattle industry, but quickly grew into a political force that has been called "the de facto territorial...
and the Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
, which offered rewards for his capture. Army officer William H.H. Llewellyn, seeking to protect pony herds on the Pine Ridge Reservation, was dispatched to capture him. Llewellyn along with an army from detachment under George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
lured him to a meeting with a promise of a pardon from the governor. In a melee two of Doc's gang were killed and a lawman was shot but Middleton was captured and was taken to Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...
where he was convicted of Grand larceny
Grand Larceny
Grand Larceny is a 1987 thriller film directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starring Marilu Henner, Ian McShane, Omar Sharif and Louis Jourdan.-Plot summary:...
and served a prison sentence from September 18, 1879 and released on June, 18 1883.
In 1884 he and his third bride (a 16-year-old girl) moved to Gordon, Nebraska
Gordon, Nebraska
Gordon is a city in Sheridan County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,612 at the 2010 census.- Geography :Gordon is located at ....
where he operated a saloon and was briefly a deputy sheriff.
In 1893 Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
William Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
, as a stunt for the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, enlisted him to participate in the 1,000 Mile Chadron, Nebraska
Chadron, Nebraska
Chadron is a city in Dawes County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,851 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Dawes County. Chadron is the home of Chadron State College....
to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
horse race. He completed the race and rode most of the way, although he was transported part of the way by train.
He later moved to Ardmore, South Dakota
Ardmore, South Dakota
Ardmore is a ghost town in Fall River County, South Dakota, United States. The town was founded in 1889. In 1927, President Calvin Coolidge stopped in Ardmore. The town survived the Great Depression without one family on welfare. Rough times eventually fell on Ardmore, and by 2004 it was an...
and in 1913 he moved to Orin Junction, Wyoming where he opened a saloon. After getting in a knife fight at the bar he was arrested for dispensing liquor illegally. While in jail he contracted erysipelas
Erysipelas
Erysipelas is an acute streptococcus bacterial infection of the deep epidermis with lymphatic spread.-Risk factors:...
and died. He is buried in Douglas Park Cemetery in Douglas, Wyoming
Douglas, Wyoming
Douglas is a city in Converse County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,288 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Converse County...
.
Media about his life
In 1974, Swallow Press, Inc, Chicago, published a biography of Doc Middleton,"Doc Middleton Life and Legends of the Notorious Plains Outlaw," by Harold Hutton. Now out of print, some copies can be found on the internet.According to Hutton, Doc Middleton became best friends with one Zack Light, an equally desperate and offensive outlaw. Zack Light married Doc's sister Margaret Riley, but after a couple of years with the ruffian, marriage proved impossible and Margaret Riley moved to South Texas with her two children, Minnie Light and Zack Light, Jr.
In the biography of Juan Light Salinas, "Tio Cowboy--Juan Salinas Rodeo Performer and Horseman," (Texas A & M Press, 2007,) author Ricardo D. Palacios relates that Margaret Riley was his great grand mother. Minnie Light married Antonio G. Salinas, later Sheriff of Webb County, Texas. Together, Antonio and Minnie had five children, Juan Light Salinas, Jose Maria Salinas, Mucia Salinas (the author's mother), Margarita Salinas, and Antonio Light Salinas.
Palacios explains in "Tio Cowboy" that the eldest and the youngest of the children, Juan Light Salinas and Antonio Light Salinas, grandnephews of Doc Middleton, became prolific rodeo performers in the tie down calf roping event, eventually joining the national circuit and making every rodeo they could from about 1936 to 1949. They attended every finals rodeo at Madison Square Garden from 1936 to 1946. They were never world champions but they won their share and earned a very comfortable living in their sport.
Juan Light Salinas was inducted into the National Cowboy Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in 1992. Juan Salinas and Doc Middleton never met each other, but coincidentally, decades apart of course, both performed at the rodeo at Frontier Days, Cheyenne, Wyoming, "The Grandaddy of them all, (rodeos)."