Tascosa Gunfight
Encyclopedia
The Tascosa Gunfight, also known as the Big Fight or the Gunfight at the Jenkins Saloon, was an incident that took place in the Old West town of Tascosa
, Texas
on 21 March 1886, between members of two Texas Panhandle
ranch factions: the LS Ranch's Home Rangers and a group of small ranchers and cattle rustlers known as "The System".
came to the Texas Panhandle as newly appointed captain of the Texas Ranger Division
. He was tasked by the Texas State government and by the big ranchers of the Canadian River
with organizing a company of Texas Rangers to put a stop to the rampant rustling and re-branding of cattle in the area. He set up his headquarters at the LS Ranch and petitioned the government for official papers so that he could go to work. In the following months, he and his men, known locally as the 'LS Rangers' were successful in policing the area and preventing the same kind of feud that resulted in New Mexico's Lincoln County War
just eight years earlier. In the spring of 1885, the rangers were disbanded and Garrett returned to New Mexico. The rest of Garrett's men continued to work for the LS Ranch as rangers, but since they were no longer officially Texas Rangers, their hard-drinking and arrogant ways began to stir local resentment. Ex- Texas Ranger Ed King was particularly troublesome, as he was known to be especially arrogant, quarrelsome when drunk and quick to draw his gun at any excuse. In Tascosa, the rangers became known as 'barroom gladiators'.
The final straw came when Sally Emory, who worked at the Jenkins Saloon, dumped her boyfriend, bartender Len Woodruff (who the rangers suspected to be a System man), and took up with Ed King. In the days preceding the fight, a drunken Ed King would taunt Woodruff, calling him 'Pretty Len' and endeavoring to humiliate him.
Seeing his friend shot down, John Lang rushed down Main Street to the Equity Bar. Finding his friends there, he demanded extra weapons from the bartender. The three remaining LS ranch hands rushed out towards the Jenkins Saloon. They went around the back, just as Len Woodruff, Louis Bousman, Charley and Tom Emory, John Gough (AKA the Catfish Kid) and others were exiting from the back door of the saloon. Gunfire erupted immediately. Woodruff and Charley Emory were shot first. Frank Valley ran towards the back door of the saloon and was shot in the head as he opened the door. Chilton shot Jesse Sheets, a local restaurant owner, in the face, and he fell dead. Chilton was then shot in the chest by someone shooting from a woodpile outside the saloon. Dying, he handed his gun to Lang.
John Lang found himself alone and being fired at in a crossfire from the saloon and from gunmen shooting from behind the woodpile. He retreated up Spring Street, firing as he went, while bullets tore into the ground and through the air around him. His fight ended as he turned a corner and was joined by friends from the Equity Bar. The men made their way back to the western part of Main Street. Soon afterwards, Sherriff Jim East and his deputy arrived on the scene. Lang offered his services as a deputy and the men went back towards the Jenkins Saloon. When they got there, the Catfish Kid ran from the woodpile and was shot at. He fell, groaning and choking. But it was a ruse: as soon as he was unnoticed, he ran off, unhurt.
Murder charges were filed against Woodruff, Bousman, Emory, Lang and the Catfish Kid. The first trial ended in a hung jury. In the second, all the men were acquitted. The Catfish Kid died in prison after killing an unarmed man in another incident in Tascosa.
The gunfight at Tascosa is little-known today, but at the time it rivaled the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
, having similar causes and involving more fatalities than the Tombstone fight.
Tascosa, Texas
Tascosa was once the capital of ten counties and a rival of Dodge City, but it is now a Ghost Town. It is located in Oldham County in the Texas Panhandle....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on 21 March 1886, between members of two Texas Panhandle
Texas Panhandle
The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a rectangular area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east...
ranch factions: the LS Ranch's Home Rangers and a group of small ranchers and cattle rustlers known as "The System".
Background
In the spring of 1884, Pat GarrettPat Garrett
Patrick Floyd "Pat" Garrett was an American Old West lawman, bartender, and customs agent who was best known for killing Billy the Kid...
came to the Texas Panhandle as newly appointed captain of the Texas Ranger Division
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
. He was tasked by the Texas State government and by the big ranchers of the Canadian River
Canadian River
The Canadian River is the longest tributary of the Arkansas River. It is about long, starting in Colorado and traveling through New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle, and most of Oklahoma....
with organizing a company of Texas Rangers to put a stop to the rampant rustling and re-branding of cattle in the area. He set up his headquarters at the LS Ranch and petitioned the government for official papers so that he could go to work. In the following months, he and his men, known locally as the 'LS Rangers' were successful in policing the area and preventing the same kind of feud that resulted in New Mexico's Lincoln County War
Lincoln County War
The Lincoln County War was a 19th-century range war between two factions during the Old West period. Numerous notable figures of the American West were involved, including Billy the Kid, aka William Henry McCarty; sheriffs William Brady and Pat Garrett; cattle rancher John Chisum, lawyer and...
just eight years earlier. In the spring of 1885, the rangers were disbanded and Garrett returned to New Mexico. The rest of Garrett's men continued to work for the LS Ranch as rangers, but since they were no longer officially Texas Rangers, their hard-drinking and arrogant ways began to stir local resentment. Ex- Texas Ranger Ed King was particularly troublesome, as he was known to be especially arrogant, quarrelsome when drunk and quick to draw his gun at any excuse. In Tascosa, the rangers became known as 'barroom gladiators'.
The final straw came when Sally Emory, who worked at the Jenkins Saloon, dumped her boyfriend, bartender Len Woodruff (who the rangers suspected to be a System man), and took up with Ed King. In the days preceding the fight, a drunken Ed King would taunt Woodruff, calling him 'Pretty Len' and endeavoring to humiliate him.
The Big Fight
On the evening of 20 March 1886, Ed King, his friend John Lang, and two other LS ranch hands, Frank Valley and Fred Chilton, rode into Tascosa to participate in a local dance. In the early hours of the 21st, the four men left the dance and headed into town, where Ed King was hoping to meet Sally Emory. Valley and Chilton entered the Equity Bar while Lang tied up the group's horses. Meanwhile, Ed King and Sally met outside the Jenkins Saloon at the corner of Spring and Main Streets. There, King was hailed by someone in the shadow of the saloon. Stepping up onto the porch, King was shot in the face. Len Woodruff rushed out and shot King in the neck. King died immediately. Sally Emory ran away down Spring Street.Seeing his friend shot down, John Lang rushed down Main Street to the Equity Bar. Finding his friends there, he demanded extra weapons from the bartender. The three remaining LS ranch hands rushed out towards the Jenkins Saloon. They went around the back, just as Len Woodruff, Louis Bousman, Charley and Tom Emory, John Gough (AKA the Catfish Kid) and others were exiting from the back door of the saloon. Gunfire erupted immediately. Woodruff and Charley Emory were shot first. Frank Valley ran towards the back door of the saloon and was shot in the head as he opened the door. Chilton shot Jesse Sheets, a local restaurant owner, in the face, and he fell dead. Chilton was then shot in the chest by someone shooting from a woodpile outside the saloon. Dying, he handed his gun to Lang.
John Lang found himself alone and being fired at in a crossfire from the saloon and from gunmen shooting from behind the woodpile. He retreated up Spring Street, firing as he went, while bullets tore into the ground and through the air around him. His fight ended as he turned a corner and was joined by friends from the Equity Bar. The men made their way back to the western part of Main Street. Soon afterwards, Sherriff Jim East and his deputy arrived on the scene. Lang offered his services as a deputy and the men went back towards the Jenkins Saloon. When they got there, the Catfish Kid ran from the woodpile and was shot at. He fell, groaning and choking. But it was a ruse: as soon as he was unnoticed, he ran off, unhurt.
Aftermath
The fight had left John Lang with a bullet through his coat, but without a scratch. His three friends were not so lucky. They lay dead where they had been shot, as did Jesse Sheets. Lem Woodruff survived, even though he had been badly wounded in the abdomen. Charley Emory also survived.Murder charges were filed against Woodruff, Bousman, Emory, Lang and the Catfish Kid. The first trial ended in a hung jury. In the second, all the men were acquitted. The Catfish Kid died in prison after killing an unarmed man in another incident in Tascosa.
The gunfight at Tascosa is little-known today, but at the time it rivaled the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a roughly 30-second gunfight that took place at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, October 26, 1881, in Tombstone, Cochise County, Arizona Territory, of the United States. Outlaw Cowboys Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne ran from the fight, unharmed, but Ike's brother...
, having similar causes and involving more fatalities than the Tombstone fight.