The Amcrican West of the 1800s produced
a number of lawmen who were as well known for their disruptions of law
and order as they were for their efforts to preserve it. William Barclay
"Bat" Masterson was at the center ot this element of American frontier
society.
He was born November 24, 1853, in Iroquois
County, Illinois, on the tamily farm. At 18, he left home with his brother
Edward, and the two went to work for the Santa Fe Railroad. After their
boss ran off with their wages one day, the brothers began roaming the western
ranges as buffalo hunters.
In 1876 Masterson settled down to run
a saloon in Dodge C ity, Kansas, and soon he was appointed a deputy sheriff
of Ford County, which included some of the roughest territory in the West.
Later that year Masterson was elected sheriff, and he kept busy chasing
horse thieves, capturing murderers, running desperadoes out of town, and
transporting dangerous criminals to far-off courts. All of these exploits
soon made the lawman famous. It was during this period that Masterson suffered
a leg injury and was forced to hobble about with a cane. He became notorious
for use of the cane during fights, and by one estimate he bashed some three
dozen skulls over the course of his recovery.When his leg improved, Masterson
threw away the cane, but his new nickname -`Bat"-stayed with him.
Despite his highly successful work as lawman,
however, Sheriff Masterson fell prey to local politics and lost his bid
for reelection. During the early 1880s he lived as a professional gambler.
At this time he also began to associate with some of the most famous gunslingers
and lawmen in Western history- Doc Holliday, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Wyatt
Earp among them. Later Masterson tried to go straight by establishing a
newspaper, and by taking a stand in favor ot prohibition. When this passion
for clean living abated, Masterson moved to Denver, Colorado, and continued
his life of gambling and drinking.
After being asked to leave Denver because
ot his rowdy behavior, Masterson headed east and settled in New York City.
There he began to write a series of articles about his famous and infamous
friends in the Wild West. Soon he was named sportswriter for the New York
Morning Telegraph, where he became well known for his articles on boxing.
He was on the job, on October 25, 1921, when he died of a heart attack
at the age of 67.
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