Dodge City: Queen of Cowtowns : "the Wickedest Little City in America," 1872-1886

Stanley Vestal

U of Nebraska Press, Jan 1, 1998 - History - 285 pages

In Dodge City a man might break all ten commandments in one night, die with his boots on, and be buried on Boot Hill in the morning. In the 1870s and 1880s the town was known as the wickedest in the American West. But gunmen, horse thieves,øand desperadoes of every sort finally lost their bloody battle with vigilantes, troopers, railroad men, and heroic peace officers. Dodge City was as remarkable for the lawmen?Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, Bill Tilgham?as for the killers they finally tamed.

Contents

• Survey I: 1
• Pistol Practice: 7
• Boot Hill: 15
• The Bloody Woman: 23
• Vigilantes: 30
• The Buffalo: 38
• The Hide Hunters: 45
• Gamblers and Games: 56
• The Bulls: 63
• Pranks and Pranksters: 74
• The Longhorns: 86
• Wyatt Earp Takes a Hand: 99
• Train Robbers: 109
• Marshals for Breakfast: 120
• Wyatt Earp Shoots to Kill: 133
• Indian Scare: 146
• Killing of Dora Hand: 159
• Crime and Punishment: 167
• Famous Visitors: 181
• Cockeyed Frank Kills Richardson: 188
• Horsethieves: 196
• Bibulous Babylon: 209
• The Battle in the Plaza: 218
• Luke Short and the Peace Commission: 224
• Bullfight: 232
• Mysterious Dave: 247
• Fire and Ice: 258
• Holy Cowtown: 266
• Notes: 271
• Bibliography: 281
• Acknowledgments: 283

About the author

Stanley Vestal's books about the West include "Jim Bridger: Mountain Man," "The Old Santa Fe Trail," and "The Missouri," all available in Bison Books editions. Introducer Jim Hoy is a professor of English at Emporia State University and author of "Cowboys and Kansas: Stories from the Tallgrass Prairie."

Bibliographic information

• Title: Dodge City: Queen of Cowtowns : "the Wickedest Little City in America," 1872-1886; Bison book
• Author: Stanley Vestal
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: U of Nebraska Press, 1998
• ISBN: 0803296177, 9780803296176
• Length: 285 pages
• Subjects: History / United States / State & Local / General