Written by W.B. (Bat) Masterson
SUMMARY:
Written by Old West lawman-turned-journalist William Barclay “Bat” Masterson in 1907, these biographical profiles for Human Life Magazine contemplate Luke Short, Ben Thompson, John “Doc” Holliday, Bill Tilghman, and Wyatt Earp. His articles were subsequently compiled in book form for the first time in 1957. This 112-page Dover Books reprint was released in 2016. Half of this book is Masterson’s content.
Advisory: Quoting Holliday, Masterson repeatedly uses the ‘n-word’ in that particular profile. In his Earp profile, Masterson casually uses a racial slur dismissing Florentino Cruz (who was killed during Earp’s ‘Vendetta Ride’).
The other half is a black-and-white gallery courtesy of the Noah H. Rose Photograph Collection from the University of Oklahoma Libraries’ Western History Collections. Including some recreations, photos include:
- Masterson; Earp; Thompson; the Tom McLaury-Frank McLaury-Billy Clanton coffin display; Tilghman; Holliday; an artistic reproduction of Short; Dodge City (Kansas); John Wesley Hardin; “Wild” Bill Hickok; Jack Harris; Billy Thompson; Billy Breckenridge; King Fisher; Morgan Earp; the building where Jack Harris’ variety theater was located (San Antonio, TX); & a subpoena from a Texas court case against Ben Thompson;
- James Earp, Virgil Earp; Jim McIntyre; Tombstone (Arizona); Jim Courtright; Shanghai Pierce; Hardin’s revolver that he was carrying at the time of his death; an artistic reproduction of ‘The Dodge City Peace Commission;’ Sheriff John Slaughter; Tilghman & C.F. Celeard; Arizona old-timers; Ed McGivern’s trick shot; Judge Roy Bean’s “court;” Bill Raidler; Shakespeare (New Mexico); and a faded post-mortem image of “Tulsa” Jack Blake’s face.
Advisory: Included are grisly, post-mortem (upper body) close-ups of Hardin and Bill Doolin.
Historical Note: Both Tilghman and Earp outlived Masterson, who died in 1921. Tilghman was subsequently killed in the line of duty in 1924. Earp passed away in early 1929.
REVIEW:
As articulate and witty as Masterson often is, it’s no surprise that Earp, Thompson, and Short receive a wide pass on their historical misdeeds and/or shady behavior. Case in point: Masterson notes that, yes, Short illegally peddled low-grade whiskey to Native Americans. Yet, he doesn’t chastise him for swindling his clientele out of their far more valuable buffalo robes.
Masterson doesn’t even bother criticizing Thompson’s propensity for dangerous bullying antics to later justify ‘self-defense.’ Still, Thompson is his intriguing pick to prevail in hypothetical shootouts with the Old West’s other ‘top guns,’ including Earp, Clay Allison, and “Wild” Bill Hickok. Staying objective, Masterson contributes welcome insight into the attributes necessary for survival among the best gunmen (beyond getting the drop on one’s adversary).
Note: One name that Masterson doesn’t consider re: how he would have likely matched up against Thompson is the notorious John Wesley Hardin. As they were supposedly friendly in 1870 Abilene, Kansas, Hardin once declined Thompson’s request to kill Hickok (the town marshal) for him as a personal favor.
Masterson’s temper rips only when discussing his long-standing dislike of Holliday, in spite of rendering some occasional favors. For instance, Masterson once finagled a legal ruse, at Earp’s behest, for the fugitive dentist to evade an Arizona murder warrant. As for his own golden assessment of Earp, Masterson rightly acknowledges that several derogatory stories belittling his long-time friend are spiteful fiction. Perhaps as a counter-measure, his Earp profile comes off as excessively sanitized, including some inaccurate details describing the O.K. Corral gunfight’s ramifications.
Re: Bill Tilghman, to some degree, Masterson evidently shared his mutual disdain for Native Americans. It’s head-shaking that Tilghman’s retaliatory ambush/multiple-homicides of a Native American band for plundering his campsite doesn’t merit even a mild condemnation. Masterson, in that sense, consistently doesn’t balk at Earp and Tilghman’s lethal use of vigilante tactics, legally justified or not.
Ultimately, it’s a unique read to explore Masterson’s take on these five Old West legends. One just has to remember that at least three of them were among Bat’s favorite old cronies.
The photo section is extensive padding (yes, it’s exactly half this book’s length). This imagery is worth perusing, though autopsy photos of John Wesley Hardin and Bill Doolin (aside from their grim realism) could have been substituted out for something classier. Overall, Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier isn’t the best go-to source, but it’s an intriguing supplement for more in-depth analysis of Old West gunslinging found elsewhere.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
A table-of-contents is included. There’s a two-page introduction on the author by an unidentified Time-Life editor.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
