OUTLAWS Ep. 3 | “Dirty Dave Rudabaugh: Rustler and Robber”

Summary

Legends of the Old West: OUTLAWS Ep. 3 | “Dirty Dave Rudabaugh: Rustler and Robber” – Detailed Summary

In the third episode of "Legends of the Old West" by Black Barrel Media, host Chris Wimmer delves deep into the tumultuous life of David "Dirty Dave" Rudabaugh, a notorious outlaw whose escapades left an indelible mark on the American frontier. Released on April 2, 2025, this episode meticulously chronicles Rudabaugh's transformation from a struggling cowboy to a feared rustler and robber, intertwining his story with legendary figures like Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson.

1. Setting the Stage: Dodge City, Kansas (01:14 – 02:22)

The episode opens in the summer of 1877 in Dodge City, Kansas, a burgeoning hub for Texas cattle. Known variably as the "Queen of the Cow Towns" and the "wickedest town in the West," Dodge City was a haven for both lawmen and outlaws. Wimmer introduces key figures such as Wyatt Earp and Bat Masterson, who worked tirelessly to maintain peace amidst the chaos of booming cattle seasons.

Chris Wimmer ([02:22]): "Wyatt Earp... had been given a temporary appointment as a Deputy U.S. marshal... for the express purpose of arresting one man, David Rudabaugh."

2. The Rise of Dirty Dave Rudabaugh (05:29 – 07:56)

Rudabaugh's early life is painted against the backdrop of post-Civil War America. Born in Fulton County, Illinois, in the summer of 1854, the loss of his father during the war forced the Rudabaugh family into a nomadic existence. Seeking stability, Dave ventured west in the early 1870s, initially finding work as a cowboy, message carrier, bartender, and even a buffalo hunter. However, disillusioned with honest labor, he succumbed to a life of crime.

Chris Wimmer ([05:48]): "In short order, he teamed up with two more shady characters, Milton Yarberry and Dave Mather. Yarberry was a native of Arkansas and a known killer... Dave Mather, also called Mysterious Dave Mather, was a shadowy figure who was a gunman and a con man as well as a rustler."

3. Formation and Expansion of the Rudabaugh Rourke Gang (09:12 – 09:52)

Rudabaugh's initial foray into cattle rustling in Dodge City led to the formation of the Trio, comprising himself, Mike Roark, and Dan Demmitt. Their aggressive rustling tactics soon attracted attention, prompting the gang to evolve into the Rudabaugh Rourke Gang as they expanded their operations to include armed robbery.

Chris Wimmer ([09:12]): "Dave assumed the leadership role... The Trio gained reputations as hard cases... When the gang grew in size, it had to drop the nickname the Trio."

4. The Pursuit by Wyatt Earp and the Failed Kinsley Train Robbery (12:21 – 18:22)

The gang's audacious robbery of a Santa Fe Railroad construction camp in October 1877 triggered a relentless pursuit by Wyatt Earp, who was appointed specifically to capture Rudabaugh. Earp's investigation led him to Fort Griffin, Texas, where he encountered John Henry Holliday (later famously known as Doc Holliday). Despite gathering crucial information from Holliday, Rudabaugh orchestrated a botched train robbery in Kinsley, Kansas, resulting in no stolen goods and heightened law enforcement efforts.

Chris Wimmer ([17:56]): "The shot missed the station operator, but it drew the attention of some of the brake men on the train."

5. The Chase Intensifies: Bat Masterson Takes the Helm (20:19 – 21:28)

With Rudabaugh evading capture, Bat Masterson was assigned to the case, bringing his own brand of determination to the hunt. Despite the sparse law enforcement in Edwards County, Masterson's expertise led him to Crooked Creek, where Rudabaugh and his accomplice, Edgar West, were finally apprehended after a grueling pursuit through a blizzard.

Chris Wimmer ([21:28]): "The effort of the lawmen and their grueling journey through the blizzard paid off."

6. Life in Las Vegas, New Mexico: The Dodge City Gang's Reign (28:23 – 32:34)

Following his release from custody, Rudabaugh became entwined with the Dodge City Gang in Las Vegas, New Mexico, a town flourishing thanks to the Santa Fe Railroad. Under the leadership of Hyman Neal "Hoodoo Brown", the gang wielded significant power, often manipulating local law enforcement to shield their illicit activities. Rudabaugh's alliance with seasoned criminals like Dave Mather and Dutchy Schunderberger solidified his status within the outlaw community.

Chris Wimmer ([29:12]): "Most of the members, like Dave Rudabaugh, had strong ties to the Kansas cow town in Las Vegas."

7. Conflict and Downfall: Shootouts and Betrayals (30:39 – 34:19)

The episode culminates in escalating tensions within Las Vegas, where Rudabaugh's involvement in criminal escapades led to violent confrontations. A pivotal shootout at Close and Patterson's Variety Hall resulted in the death of Marshal Joe Carson, further entrenching Rudabaugh in the outlaw persona. Attempts to rescue his friend, Josh Webb, from a jail breakout ended disastrously, foreshadowing Rudabaugh's inevitable downfall.

Chris Wimmer ([33:25]): "Dave Rudabaugh did not want his friend to face the drop, so Dave started organizing a breakout. Like most things in Dave's criminal career, it went wrong."

8. Conclusion: A Legacy of Outlawry and Unfinished Business (34:19 – End)

As the episode draws to a close, Rudabaugh's story is poised on the brink of further turmoil. The intricate web of alliances and betrayals within the Dodge City Gang sets the stage for subsequent confrontations, hinting at Rudabaugh's eventual clash with figures like Billy the Kid and Sheriff Pat Garrett. The episode promises continued exploration of Rudabaugh's tumultuous journey in the forthcoming installments.

Chris Wimmer ([34:19]): "Next time on Legends of the Old West, Dave Rudabaugh orchestrates a jailbreak that ends in murder... Dave goes to Lincoln county, where he teams up with Billy the Kid just in time to be chased by Sheriff Pat Garrett."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Chris Wimmer ([02:22]): "Wyatt Earp... had been given a temporary appointment as a Deputy U.S. marshal... for the express purpose of arresting one man, David Rudabaugh."

• Chris Wimmer ([09:12]): "Dave assumed the leadership role... The Trio gained reputations as hard cases... When the gang grew in size, it had to drop the nickname the Trio."

• Chris Wimmer ([17:56]): "The shot missed the station operator, but it drew the attention of some of the brake men on the train."

• Chris Wimmer ([21:28]): "The effort of the lawmen and their grueling journey through the blizzard paid off."

• Chris Wimmer ([29:12]): "Most of the members, like Dave Rudabaugh, had strong ties to the Kansas cow town in Las Vegas."

• Chris Wimmer ([33:25]): "Dave Rudabaugh did not want his friend to face the drop, so Dave started organizing a breakout. Like most things in Dave's criminal career, it went wrong."

• Chris Wimmer ([34:19]): "Next time on Legends of the Old West, Dave Rudabaugh orchestrates a jailbreak that ends in murder... Dave goes to Lincoln county, where he teams up with Billy the Kid just in time to be chased by Sheriff Pat Garrett."

Final Thoughts

"Dirty Dave Rudabaugh: Rustler and Robber" offers a captivating glimpse into the life of one of the Old West's most infamous outlaws. Through meticulous research and engaging storytelling, Chris Wimmer brings to life the complexities of Rudabaugh's character and the volatile environment of the American frontier. Listeners are left eagerly anticipating the continuation of Rudabaugh's saga in the next episode.

Transcript

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[Chris Wimmer]

The summer of 1877 came and went in Dodge City, Kansas. It was the second major cattle season in the newest hub for Texas cattle.

[Narrator]

On the Southern Plains, a town that.

[Chris Wimmer]

Was sometimes called the Queen of the Cow Towns and sometimes called the wickedest.

[Narrator]

Town in the West.

[Chris Wimmer]

Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and a collection.

[Narrator]

Of other now famous lawmen kept the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Peace as best they could, and when the season reached its traditional end in September or early October, the town quieted down substantially. It wasn't uncommon for the lawmen to venture out on other opportunities, whether it was judicial business or just trying to make a personal fortune in the gold fields of Deadwood. Wyatt Earp's adventure during the early winter months was to hunt an outlaw. He certainly wasn't opposed to chasing a fortune. After two more seasons in Dodge, he would turn in his badge and head to Tombstone to try to get rich mining the miners. But in early November 1877, he had been given a temporary appointment as a Deputy U.S. marshal in addition to his.

[Narrator]

Regular duties as a lawman and Dodge.

[Chris Wimmer]

For the express purpose of arresting one man, David Rudabaugh. Dirty Dave Rudabaugh, as he would be known, had robbed a railroad camp in Kansas a month earlier, and the Santa Fe Railroad wanted him caught and punished. Wyatt had now tracked the desperado hundreds.

[Narrator]

Of miles south to the raucous town of Fort Griffin, Texas. Like many communities in Texas, a town had grown up around a military outpost that had been constructed to protect settlers from the Comanche and Kiowa attacks on the western frontier.

[Chris Wimmer]

Wyatt had been in the saddle for the better part of a month and when he stepped down to the dirt street of Fort Griffin, he headed for the biggest joint in town, the Beehive Saloon. Dave Rudabaugh was an avid gambler, and if he was in Fort Griffin, there was a good chance he was in the Beehive. Earp had known the saloon's owner, John Shancy, for years. Shancy had been a professional boxer and Wyatt had officiated some of his matches. The saloon keeper told Wyatt that the outlaw had been in his saloon, but the stern and serious looking fugitive had left town earlier that week and Shancy had no clue where he went. Beyond that, Chancey could only direct Wyatt to a lean gambler in the saloon who had played cards with Rudabaugh on a few occasions. The gambler was also a dentist and an impressive drinker and reportedly a hell of a pistol shot. He had drifted west from his home state of Georgia after running into some trouble with the law and he also hoped the drier climate would help his tuberculosis. Wyatt strolled over to the gambler who gave us salutation and introduced himself as John Henry Holliday. Holliday would pass along a little bit of information about the fugitive. But the more important development, though neither man knew it at the time, of course, was that the lawman and this sickly hard drinking, hard gambling dentist had just formed one of the legendary friendships in American history. All because of a two bit thief named Dirty Dave Rudabaugh. From Black Barrel Media, this is Legends of the Old West. I'm your host Chris Wimmer and this season we're telling the stories of infamous outlaws. Charlie Bowles, better known as Black Bart, Dirty Dave Rudabaugh and the Doolin Dalton Gang. This is episode 3 Dirty Dave Rudabaugh part 1 of 2 Rustler and Robber Most everything about David Rudabaugh, even his nickname, is shrouded in a degree of mystery. The most common story about his nickname was that it was literal and obvious. He didn't bathe very often and he wore nasty clothes that had never been to a laundry in their existence.

[Narrator]

A few newspapers put forward that claim.

[Chris Wimmer]

But whether it's true or accurate is anyone's guess. He was also known as Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh, which was a much easier nickname to track based on upcoming events. Regardless, he was a cowboy turned outlaw who seemed to hit every hot spot.

[Narrator]

In the west during his short Life.

[Chris Wimmer]

It's generally believed that Dave Rudabaugh was born in Fulton County, Illinois, in the summer of 1854. He would have turned seven years old when the Civil War started, and the war hit his family hard, like it did many others. His father was killed during the fighting, and as a result, the Rudabaugh family drifted from place to place to survive. As soon as Dave was able, he started working odd jobs to bring in money. And like many young men of the era, when he reached his teenage years, he left home and headed west. It was the early 1870s, and Dave joined throngs of young men in Kansas who worked on the cattle trails. He was a decent cowboy, but he quickly tired of the challenging labor. He worked as a message carrier, but.

[Narrator]

That job required hours in the saddle. Just like a cowboy.

[Chris Wimmer]

Rudabaugh tried his hand at bartending in some of the rowdy saloons in the cow towns of Kansas, but that didn't suit him either. He had some mild success as a.

[Narrator]

Buffalo hunter like Bat Masterson.

[Chris Wimmer]

But by the mid-1870s, Dave Rudabaugh was officially done with honest work. He decided a life of crime would pay much better in Arkansas. Rudabaugh dove into the cattle rustling business. From western Arkansas. He could quickly drive cattle to Texas, Missouri, Kansas, or Indian Territory, the future state of Oklahoma. The buyers either didn't know or didn't care that the animals were stolen, and Dave could make relatively fast money. In short order, he teamed up with two more shady characters, Milton Yarberry and Dave Mather. Yarberry was a native of Arkansas and a known killer. He gunned down his first man at the age of 24. Dave Mather, also called Mysterious Dave Mather.

[Narrator]

Was a shadowy figure who was a gunman and a con man as well as a rustler. Dirty Dave and his companions became a.

[Chris Wimmer]

Notorious squad of rustlers, but their time together was brief. It ended when the authorities believed they shot and killed a local rancher who was protecting his herd.

[Narrator]

The three men scattered, and it appears as though Dave headed north to Deadwood during its earliest days as an outlaw mining town.

[Chris Wimmer]

In 1876, it's believed that Dirty Dave tried to become a stagecoach robber, but he was far less successful than a masked bandit in northern California who had robbed his first stagecoach the previous year.

[Narrator]

Unlike Charlie Bowles, also known as Black.

[Chris Wimmer]

Bart, Dave Rudabaugh quickly gave up on robbing stages. He returned to Kansas, where the newest jewel on the plains was Dodge City. There, south of the informal dividing line between the respectable part of town and the disreputable part of town known as the Front Street Deadline. He found plenty of drinking, cursing, carousing and fighting dirty. Dave Rudabaugh assembled a new group of cattle rustlers in Dodge City shortly after his arrival. Nicknamed the Trio, the gang consisted of Dave and two veteran criminals, Mike Roark and Dan Demmitt. Dave assumed the leadership role as he.

[Narrator]

Had ample experience in cattle rustling and he could boast that he had killed a man in Arkansas if anyone second guessed him.

[Chris Wimmer]

The Trio gained reputations as hard cases. In 1876 and 1877 they preyed on the huge cattle herds which were driven up from Texas, and they quickly rallied other rustlers to their banner. When the gang grew in size, it had to drop the nickname the Trio. They became the Rudabaugh Rourke Gang, and they decided to expand their criminal enterprise from cattle rustling to armed robbery. Their first target was a camp of workers for the Santa Fe Railroad.

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[Chris Wimmer]

In October 1877, Dirty Dave and his gang rushed into a construction camp outside Dodge City that belonged to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe.

[Narrator]

Railway, otherwise known as the Santa Fe Railroad.

[Chris Wimmer]

In a somewhat strange quirk of the times, no one knows exactly what the gang stole.

[Narrator]

The obvious assumption is that it was money, but it could have been other assorted valuables. Either way, they took a lot of it and enraged the railroad in the process.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dodge City Mayor James Kelly requested a temporary appointment from the US Marshal for local lawman Wyatt Earp. Wyatt became a deputy U.S. marshal for.

[Narrator]

The express purpose of tracking down the Rudabaugh Rourke gang, specifically Dave Rudabaugh. As Wyatt went out on the hunt, Dave and his cronies scattered. Dave fled to Texas. His first stop was a hamlet called Clear Fork, which was probably west of Fort Worth. After that, he rode to Fort Griffin and spent some amount of time playing cards with Doc Holliday. Meanwhile, Wyatt Earp doggedly tracked the outlaw.

[Chris Wimmer]

Through Kansas, Indian Territory and then down into Texas. According to some sources, Wyatt was paid.

[Narrator]

$10 a day during his pursuit of Dave Rudabaugh. To many folks in Kansas, that was not nearly enough money to justify the effort. But Wyatt did it anyway.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave Rudabaugh escaped Fort Griffin within a week of Wyatt Earp arriving. When Wyatt talked to Doc Holliday, the dentist and shootist told him that he had played cards with the fugitive and depending on the count, you believe they made a deal. Doc taught Dave tricks to improve his poker skills, and Dave shared some tricks for how to be better with a pistol. Doc told Wyatt that he believed Dave took off northward from Fort Griffin and that he was going back to Dodge City. Wyatt thanked Doc for the information, and he went to the local telegraph office to wire his friend and fellow lawman.

[Narrator]

Bat Masterson to be on the lookout for Dirty Dave.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave took a long time to get back to Kansas, and when he did, it was late December or early January. Winters on the open prairie were harsh, with freezing temperatures, constant wind and plenty of snow There were no cattle to rustle. So Dave proposed an idea that some of his friends loved and others hated. Instead of robbing a railroad camp, they.

[Narrator]

Would rob a train.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave's partner, Mike Roark, didn't like the idea. The gang had caught hell for stealing from a construction site. What would the railroad do if they robbed an actual train? Besides, if the train had money worth stealing, it would be in a safe and protected by armed guards. Rourke thought it was a ridiculous idea. Rudabaugh argued that they needed money, and most of the gang agreed with him. But they conceded that they would need to steer clear of Dodge City. The town was packed with lawmen, and if the gang successfully pulled this off, they would need a good head start to get away. Dave and the gang decided the ideal.

[Narrator]

Spot was the tiny railroad town of.

[Chris Wimmer]

Kinsley, Kansas, roughly 36 miles northeast of Dodge City. On January 27, 1878, Dave Rudabaugh led.

[Narrator]

Five gang members to Kinsley. It appears as though Mike Roark went along despite his protests, probably because the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Robbery was going to happen anyway and he might as well try to get.

[Narrator]

Something out of it.

[Chris Wimmer]

The goal was to rob the train.

[Narrator]

When it stopped at the water tank east of town.

[Chris Wimmer]

Since trains were propelled by steam, a locomotive needed water as well as coal to push itself down the tracks.

[Narrator]

But the plan relied on a pivotal assumption that every train on the line would stop at the water tank.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave's crew set up near the water tank and watched as the next train.

[Narrator]

On the tracks chugged right past them.

[Chris Wimmer]

The six outlaws waited for another train to come along, but. But none did. And the frigid weather forced them to make a decision. They would take over the town's train station and wait indoors for their chance at a big robbery. Or if worse came to worst, they would rob the train station and at least get something out of the deal.

[Narrator]

As it happened, they did both.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dirty Dave barged through the station's doors.

[Narrator]

And found the night operator with guns drawn.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave and his men demanded that the station operator fork over all the money in the station office. Even with a gun in his face, the man said there was no money in the safe and he also had.

[Narrator]

No way of opening it.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave apparently believed the operator, who must have been a decent liar because there was, in fact, more than $2,000 in the safe. As the outlaws began to curse their situation, they heard the shrill whistle of a train. The gang dragged the operator out onto the train platform and waited for the westbound train to pull into the station. Six outlaws and one hostage stood on the platform at kinsley station and watched the train roll toward them with plumes of smoke spewing from the smokestack on the locomotive. And then the operator ran. He broke away from the bandits and ran toward the train to warn the engineer.

[Narrator]

He rushed across the tracks, waving his arms and shouting, and one of the gang members fired a shot.

[Chris Wimmer]

The shot missed the station operator, but it drew the attention of some of.

[Narrator]

The brake men on the train.

[Chris Wimmer]

They pulled some of the brakes, and the train glided past the outlaws and stopped roughly 100 yards beyond the station's platform. The robbery mission certainly wasn't going according.

[Narrator]

To plan, but the outlaws adapted quickly.

[Chris Wimmer]

They ran toward the train, and the.

[Narrator]

Two in the lead climbed into the locomotive.

[Chris Wimmer]

They ordered the engineer to move the train farther out of the station so the outlaws could take what they wanted. In the remote landscape of kansas, the engineer claimed he didn't have enough steam, and they had to wait. Meanwhile, two robbers went to the express car, and two more boarded the passenger cars. The bandits who went to the express car Found the side door already open. The guard inside was holding a lantern. When he saw the outlaws coming, he tossed the lantern out of the car in order to darken his position. Then he opened fire. The outlaws fired back, but no one could see clearly in the darkness, and the bullets ricocheted all around them as the two outlaws started to shoot it out with the express guard. The pair of bandits who boarded the.

[Narrator]

Passenger cars Were about to start robbing the travelers.

[Chris Wimmer]

But when the outlaws heard the gunshots, they scrambled out of the passenger car.

[Narrator]

And ran down the platform to see what was happening.

[Chris Wimmer]

Likewise, the two bandits in the locomotive heard the gunfire, jumped off the train and ran to the express car. The engineer, who may have had plenty of steam and had been bluffing, the bandits cranked up the engine, and the train started rolling out of kinsley. The two outlaws who had exchanged gunfire with the express guard Jumped off the.

[Narrator]

Train as it started to lurch out of town.

[Chris Wimmer]

Dave and his men ran to their horses, and if they'd had fleeting thoughts about chasing the train, they quickly abandoned the idea. The train chugged out of town and into the flat, dark landscape of western kansas. When the engineer felt they were out of danger, he stopped the train and checked on the passengers and the express car.

[Narrator]

To his surprise, and probably his delight.

[Chris Wimmer]

No one was injured and not a single item was stolen. Dirty Dave rudabaugh and his men had completely botched their heist. Dave's second foray into serious crime in Kansas meant he was now going to be chased by Bat Masterson. That would put the outlaw in an elite club of men who had been chased by Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. Although the attempted robbery happened in Edwards County, Kansas, Ford County Sheriff Bat Masterson was tasked with capturing the thieves.

[Narrator]

The two counties are right next to each other.

[Chris Wimmer]

Edwards county was sparsely populated and and.

[Narrator]

Had comparatively little in the way of law enforcement.

[Chris Wimmer]

While Ford county, where Dodge City was located, was overflowing with top notch lawmen.

[Narrator]

The gang naturally had a head start on Bat. But the outlaws would not have known, at least not right away, that Bat.

[Chris Wimmer]

Was assigned to their case. Regardless of what they knew or didn't, they made the curious decision to ride toward Dodge City instead of scattering into.

[Narrator]

The wilds of the southern plains.

[Chris Wimmer]

A few of the robbers went straight into Dodge, but Dave Rudabaugh and Edgar west wisely bypassed the town.

[Narrator]

They rode 30 miles south of Dodge.

[Chris Wimmer]

Through the worsening weather. When they made it to a village called crooked creek, about 25 miles from.

[Narrator]

The Oklahoma border, a blizzard slammed into southern Kansas.

[Chris Wimmer]

The bandits holed up in Crooked Creek.

[Narrator]

To wait out the storm, but Bat Masterson and three deputies pushed through the dangerous conditions.

[Chris Wimmer]

One of those deputies was Josh Webb.

[Narrator]

Who would undergo a transformation over the next couple years while he worked with both Bat Masterson and Dave Rudabaugh. Somehow, the lawmen tracked Dave and Edgar through the storm and ended up in Crooked Creek. The tiny town was built on the site of an old Comanche buffalo hunting camp. But by 1878 the Comanche and the buffalo were gone. The effort of the lawmen and their grueling journey through the blizzard paid off. When the lawmen arrived in Crooked Creek, they spotted Dirty Dave and Edgar west with ease. There are no details of the arrest, but it would stand to reason that the posse found the fugitives keeping warm in a saloon or a boarding house. Wherever it happened. Masterson arrested the robbers and dragged them.

[Chris Wimmer]

Back to Dodge as soon as the weather cleared. The other robbers were eventually arrested and it appears as though two of them made it easy on the authorities by being overly rowdy in a dance hall in Dodge. They were arrested for a minor charge.

[Narrator]

Which then became more serious after Bat Masterson interrogated Dirty Dave Rudabaugh. As Masterson pressured Rudabaugh. Rudabaugh agreed to reveal the names of his confederates as well as testify against them in court if he could go free. The deal was done. Everyone went to jail except Dave. And ironically, Dave went to work for the railroad that he had just tried to Rob. A year later, in the early spring of 1879, the Santa Fe Railroad hired Bat Masterson in an effort to win a tense contest that became known as the Royal Gorge War. Two railroads, the Santa Fe and the Denver and Rio Grande Western, were competing to lay tracks to the silver mining boom town of Leadville in the Rocky Mountains south of Denver.

[Chris Wimmer]

The Santa Fe hired Masterson to recruit.

[Narrator]

A group of gunfighters to help secure.

[Chris Wimmer]

Exclusive passage to the silver mines. Masterson brought in several notable figures from.

[Narrator]

Western Doc Holliday, who had been living.

[Chris Wimmer]

In Dodge City Ben Thompson, who had saved Batt's life in Texas after Batt.

[Narrator]

Had been shot in a saloon Josh Webb, Batt's colleague in Kansas Mysterious Dave Mather, Dave Rudabaugh's former partner and Dirty Dave Rudabaugh himself. The goal of both railroads was to.

[Chris Wimmer]

Be the exclusion exclusive line to Leadville. The best way to get to Leadville was to follow the Arkansas river up into the mountains. The key to controlling a path along the Arkansas river was a canyon called royal gorge, about 30 miles outside of the city of Pueblo.

[Narrator]

Royal Gorge was the prize, but the famous conflict of the struggle was in Pueblo.

[Chris Wimmer]

Gunmen roamed the rail lines in southeastern.

[Narrator]

Colorado and braced for a fight while.

[Chris Wimmer]

Lawyers representing the competing railroads filed lawsuits in court. The Denver and Rio Grande Railroad had its crews build small forts out of stone in strategic locations to make it difficult for the Santa Fe Railroad to move in on them. There were smaller clashes in those areas, but but the big one happened in June 1879 in Pueblo.

[Narrator]

Masterson and his 60 hired gunmen, including Rudabaugh, Holliday, Thompson, Mather and Webb, went.

[Chris Wimmer]

To Pueblo and took up defensive positions in the roundhouse of the Santa Fe Railroad station. At the same time, upwards of 100 men from the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad arrived in town. Besides having more men, the Denver and.

[Narrator]

Rio Grande recruited the county sheriff and the town marshal to its side.

[Chris Wimmer]

The lawmen were willing to give the Denver and Rio Grande a cannon from a nearby armory to dislodge the gunmen in the roundhouse. The problem was that Masterson had already taken the cannon from the armory. It was in the roundhouse with Dirty Dave and the gunslingers who worked for.

[Narrator]

The Santa Fe Railroad.

[Chris Wimmer]

The loss of the cannon was disappointing to the Denver and Rio Grande faction, but they still had plenty of rifles and ammunition.

[Narrator]

The most common story is that the Denver and Rio Grande faction stormed the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Santa Fe Railroad station. Both sides opened fire. The DRG faction charged into the telegraph office of the Santa Fe station and.

[Narrator]

Forced Masterson's men from their positions.

[Chris Wimmer]

As the spray, sporadic gunfire continued.

[Narrator]

Masterson's men fell back. Masterson's crew had the cannon, but they didn't use it, possibly because of the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Speed of the assault or possibly because the use of the cannon would have led to excessive carnage. The battle, which might be a strong label, quickly fell apart for Masterson, Rudabaugh and the Santa Fe men.

[Narrator]

They scrambled out of the back of the roundhouse and the Santa Fe station and lived to handle the situation another way. Reportedly, Masterson and one of the leaders of the DRG faction met and called a truce after the action. Fighting was largely pointless as the argument could only be resolved by the bosses in court. The following year, in 1880, the two railroads reached a settlement which awarded the right of way to the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad, but required the DRG to pay the Santa Fe Railroad for all the work the Santa Fe had done up to that point. Dave Rudabaugh's participation was done and he, like many others, drifted south from Colorado to the bustling town of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Dave's new friend, Josh Webb had gone down to Las Vegas after the action in Pueblo, and Dave Webb's full name was John Joshua Webb, and like Dave Webb, had lived his life on both sides of the law In Las Vegas, Webb would do both at the same time. Las Vegas was a big town for the region, thanks to the Santa Fe Railroad, and it boasted some of the finest amenities of any town in the Southwest. It had a library, a college and.

[Chris Wimmer]

An opera, a house.

[Narrator]

And for those who preferred less refined entertainment, it had a bunch of saloons.

[Chris Wimmer]

In the late 1870s and early 1880s.

[Narrator]

It attracted every form of lawbreaker, from confidence men who ran scams on civilians.

[Chris Wimmer]

To crooked gamblers, to gunfighters, to rustlers and robbers of every stripe.

[Narrator]

Josh Webb opened a saloon with Doc Holliday as a partner.

[Chris Wimmer]

Doc Holliday and his girlfriend, Kate Elder.

[Narrator]

Set up shop in Las Vegas for a time while his friends, the Earp clan, left Dodge City for Tombstone, Arizona.

[Chris Wimmer]

By the time Dave Rudabaugh landed in.

[Narrator]

Las Vegas, the town was firmly controlled by a powerful crime syndicate called the Dodge City Gang.

[Chris Wimmer]

There was nothing especially clever about the.

[Narrator]

Nickname that Dodge City Gang.

[Chris Wimmer]

Most of its members, like Dave Rudabaugh, had strong ties to the Kansas cow town in Las Vegas. Many of the members held prominent roles.

[Narrator]

In town, and the gang's unquestioned leader was Hyman Neil, who was nicknamed Hoodoo Brown. Hoodoo Brown was a known Gambler and.

[Chris Wimmer]

Scam artist who had tried to strike.

[Narrator]

It rich in Colorado as a silver miner.

[Chris Wimmer]

He arrived in Las Vegas in the late 1870s and soon became the town.

[Narrator]

Coroner and then the mayor.

[Chris Wimmer]

When Dirty Dave rode into Las Vegas, probably in the summer or fall of.

[Narrator]

1879, Brown was the justice of the peace and other members of the gang ran the marshal's office.

[Chris Wimmer]

Crime was certainly punished in Las Vegas unless it was sanctioned by Hoodoo Brown.

[Narrator]

And the Dodge City Gang. The situation was similar to the one that was reported in Montana in the early 1860s. Henry Plummer was a county sheriff who definitely maintained law and order. But he was also accused of being the leader of an outlaw gang that.

[Chris Wimmer]

Robbed and killed all over the territory in Las Vegas. The Dodge City Gang's activities will always be disputed. But it was alleged that they could get away with anything, including murder.

[Narrator]

Most of the time, anyway.

[Chris Wimmer]

In late January 1880, about six months.

[Narrator]

After the gun battle in Pueblo, Colorado, Hyman Neal was the justice of the.

[Chris Wimmer]

Peace in Las Vegas. Joe Carson was the town marshal and.

[Narrator]

Josh Webb was a policeman.

[Chris Wimmer]

On January 22, four cowboys were acting overly rowdy. Marshal Joe Carson brought Rudabaugh's former partner, Dave Mather with him to confront the.

[Narrator]

Cowboys at a place called Close and Patterson's Variety Hall. There has never been confirmation on whether or not Dave Mather was an official.

[Chris Wimmer]

Deputy, but he supported the marshal regardless of his legal standing. The confrontation at the Variety hall led to a shootout and an escalating series of bloody events. Marshall Carson was killed shortly after the gunfire started. Dave Mather killed one of the cowboys and wounded at least one other. The injured man was thrown in jail.

[Narrator]

And the two remaining cowboys fled town.

[Chris Wimmer]

The fugitive cowboys were caught two weeks later and thrown in jail with their friend. But they didn't stay there for very long.

[Narrator]

A lynch mob dragged them out of jail and hanged all three cowboys boys. It was rumored that Dave Rudabaugh was.

[Chris Wimmer]

Part of the mob.

[Narrator]

Rudabaugh apparently committed all manner of crimes that were sanctioned by the gang.

[Chris Wimmer]

Working alongside seasoned criminals like Dutchy Schunderberger and quasi lawman Dave Mather, Rudabaugh participated.

[Narrator]

In robberies, stole horses, and possibly committed murder. Whenever honest citizens of Las Vegas complained about the killings. Hoodoo Brown placed men like Dave on the town coroner's jury.

[Chris Wimmer]

In most cases, shootings that were blamed on a member of the Dodge City.

[Narrator]

Gang were ruled as justifiable acts of self defense. So it's not surprising that Hyman Neal and Josh Webb thought the self defense tactic would work.

[Chris Wimmer]

In March 1880, after Marshal Joe Carson.

[Narrator]

Was killed in the VI Variety hall.

[Chris Wimmer]

Shootout, Josh Webb became the new marshal. On March 3, at 4:00 in the.

[Narrator]

Morning, according to the Las Vegas Daily.

[Chris Wimmer]

Optic newspaper, Marshall Webb and a couple deputies entered a saloon and confronted a.

[Narrator]

Group of three men.

[Chris Wimmer]

The apparent leader of the trio, Michael Kelleher, was wearing a gun. Like many towns in the west, it was illegal to carry guns in town. Though the Dodge City Gang, which controlled the law in Las Vegas, openly disregarded the ordinance. The newspaper said Webb told Kelleher to give up his gun. Kelleher refused and supposedly made a motion to draw. Webb shot Kelleher three times, and Kelleher.

[Narrator]

Fell dead on the saloon floor.

[Chris Wimmer]

Now, all of that is probably accurate, but the newspaper also noted that Kelleher.

[Narrator]

Had $1,900 on his person when he died.

[Chris Wimmer]

The deeper story was that at least some of that money was owed to Hoodoo Brown. So folks in Las Vegas started to believe that Brown had instructed Webb to kill Kelleher for the money. Marshal Josh Webb was arrested for murder.

[Narrator]

Likely by the county sheriff, which presumably was an office that was not controlled.

[Chris Wimmer]

By the Dodge City gang.

[Narrator]

Webb was thrown in the same jail from which three cowboys had been dragged six weeks earlier. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to hang. Dave Rudabaugh did not want his friend.

[Chris Wimmer]

To face the drop, so Dave started organizing a breakout. Like most things in Dave's criminal career, it went wrong.

[Narrator]

Fatally wrong this time. Next time on Legends of the Old West, Dave Rudabaugh orchestrates a jailbreak that ends in murder. The Dodge City gang implodes and Dave goes to Lincoln county, where he teams.

[Chris Wimmer]

Up with Billy the Kid just in time to be chased by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

[Narrator]

After another jailbreak, Dave heads down to Mexico for his last hurrah.

[Chris Wimmer]

That's next week on Legends of the Old West.

[Narrator]

Members of our Black Barrel plus program don't have to wait week to week to receive new episodes. They receive the entire season to binge all at once with no commercials. And they also receive exclusive bonus episodes. Sign up now through the link in the show notes or on our website blackberrymedia.com memberships are just $5 per month. The series was researched and written by Michael Meglish. The producer was Joe Garra. Original music by Rob Valier. I'm Chris Wimmer. Thanks for listening.

[Anne Foster]

Have you ever heard about the 19th century French actress with so many lovers that they formed a lovers union? Or what about the aboriginal Australian bandit who faked going into labor just to escape the police, which she did escape from them. It was a great plan. How about the French queen who murdered her rival with poison gloves? I'm Anne Foster, host of the feminist women's history comedy podcast Vulgar History. Every week I share the saga of a woman from history whose story you probably didn't already know and you will never forget after you hear it. Sometimes we re examine well known people like Cleopatra or Pocahontas, sharing the truth behind their legends. Sometimes we look at the scandalous women you'll never find in a history textbook. Listen to Vulgar History wherever you get podcasts. And if you're curious, the people I was talking about before the Australian woman is named Marianne Bug, and the French actress was named Rochelle, no less. Name just Rochelle. And the queen who poisoned her rival is Catherine de Medici. I have episodes about all of them.