Bat Masterson

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Cowboy, Sheriff Masterson, Dodge City War, Wyatt Earp

 

Bat Masterson
With his bowler hat in place and his moustache combed, Bat Masterson was a traveling cowboy who made his mark in Kansas. In 1877, his “cool, decisive, and a bad man with a pistol” personality got him elected as Sheriff of Ford County in Kansas, home to Dodge City, Kan., also known as the ‘wicked city in the nation’ at the time. During his time as sheriff, he dealt with train robberies, murders and lawless men. After losing a reelection to an anti-gang leader, tensions grew with Masterson and newly elected mayor when the mayor tried to shut down the wicked Long Branch Saloon that Masterson’s brother owned. Thus, the great Dodge City war started.  Masterson called in favors to his fellow men of the Wild West, such as Wyatt Earp and ‘Shotgun’ John Collins, to help protest the closure. The mayor had no choice but to open the saloon and the ‘war’ ended without a bullet shot.