Dallas Stoudenmire

Dallas Stoudenmire

Dallas Stoudenmire (born December 11, 1845 in Aberfoll, Alabama , † September 18, 1882 in El Paso , Texas ) was an American gunslinger , Texas ranger and US marshal . Dallas Stoudenmire was a legendary figure of the Wild West .

Life

Dallas Stoudenmire was born on December 11, 1845, in Aberfoil, Alabama, as one of nine children of Lewis and Elizabeth Stoudenmire. In 1862 he joined the Confederate Army and served in the 45th Alabama Infantry. He was wounded several times during the Civil War and kept two bullets in his body for the rest of his life. When the war was over, he moved to Columbus , Texas around 1867 . At that time he worked as a sheep farmer, carpenter , wagon builder and merchant . Some time later, Dallas joined the Texas Rangers and served as a second sergeant in JR Wallers Company in 1874. He then lived briefly in the Texas PanhandleRegion and during Maximilian's reign in Mexico , he also served as Marshal in Socorro , New Mexico .

Town-Marshal in El Paso

While Dallas Stoudenmire was in Socorro, his brother-in-law Stanley Cummings, who lived in El Paso , Texas , convinced him to come and take the position of marshal. El Paso had a bad reputation as a city where violence was the order of the day. The city fathers hoped to hire someone to restore law and order to the city. In early April 1881 he traveled to El Paso and was sworn in on April 11th. Stoudenmire was the sixth town marshal in just eight months.

His first assignment was to get the city jail keys from Deputy Marshal and "city drunkard" Bill Johnson. When Stoudenmire asked the drunken deputy for the keys, he said that he first had to find out which keys were his own and which were those of the city. However, Stoudenmire became impatient and when Johnson did not comply with Stoudenmire's request, Dallas turned the man on his head, took the keys and threw him to the ground.

Four Dead in Five Seconds

Three days later, Stoudenmire was embroiled in one of the most famous shootings in Texan history, also known as the " Four Dead in Five Seconds ". On April 14, 1881, Constable Gustav Krempkau stayed in Keating's Saloon and got into an argument with the former town marshal George Campell. John Hale, one of Campell's friends, drew one of Campell's pistols and shouted, "George, I'll protect you!" Hale shot Krempkau, who fell wounded against the saloon door. Then, just as Stoudenmire appeared with his pistols drawn, he ran behind a post to hide. Stoudenmire fired at Hale, but the bullet ricocheted off the post and fatally hit an innocent, uninvolved Mexican. When Hale peeked out from behind the post, Stoudenmire shot him between the eyes, which killed him instantly. When Campell saw Hale fall, he left the saloon and shouted: "Gentlemen, this is not my fight!" The badly injured Krempkau heard this and shot Campell. At the same time, Stoudenmire whirled around and shot three bullets into his stomach. Campell collapsed in the street. In less than five seconds, four men were exhausted. This shootout was featured in many newspapers between New York City and San Francisco and made Dallas Stoudenmire a legend.

Feud with the Manning brothers

Just three days later, on April 17th, the violence in El Paso was to break out again. The Manning brothers George Felix, James and Frank, friends of Hale and Campell, convinced Bill Johnson to assassinate the Town Marshal Stoudenmire. Still suffering from the humiliation Stoudenmire had inflicted on him, Johnson accepted the assignment. Johnson hid behind a brick wall with his shotgun and waited. Hearing the voices of Stoudenmire and Stanley Cummings, he aimed at Stoudenmire and pulled the trigger. Johnson fell forward over the wall and shot twice in the air. Stoudenmire did not hesitate, fired a few shots in the direction of Johnson and left him dead on the street. This made the Manning brothers even more angry and they decided to avenge Johnson's death. Meanwhile, Stoudenmire continued his relentless enforcement of law and order against the El Paso outlaws, killing six more men in shootings between April 1881 and February 1882. The city's crime rate began to decline.

In February 1882, Dallas returned briefly to Columbus, Texas, where he married Isabella Sherrington. In his absence, James Manning killed Stanley Cummings on February 14, 1882. While Manning and Cummings were in the Coliseum Saloon, which Manning owned, the two men began to argue violently. The argument escalated and Cummings was then dead in front of the saloon. Manning was arrested. The investigation into the incident revealed that he acted in self-defense and Manning was acquitted. The jury, made up of residents of the town, including many friends of the Mannings, enraged Stoudenmire. The city fathers tried to bring Stoudenmire to his senses by passing a law making alcohol consumption a criminal offense. It was Stoudenmire who collected the fines and continued to indulge in alcohol. For example, while patrolling the streets of El Paso, he hosted a target shooting at the bell of St. Clements Church. The list of his enemies grew day by day, including El Paso Times editor George Washington Carrico, who claimed that the city's crime rate was inversely proportional to the marshal's degree of sobriety.

Finally, the city fathers had had enough, and the city council announced on May 27, 1882 that they were about to fire the marshal. When Stoudenmire came up to them drunk, guns in hand, the council backed down. Two days later the sober Stoudenmire submitted his resignation as town marshal. He took over the management of the Globe Restaurant, which was formerly owned by Cummings.

In July he accepted the appointment as US Deputy Marshal. However, this did not stop him from continuing his feud with the Manning brothers. The feud was now so deep that the residents of the town of Stoudenmire and the Manning brothers persuaded them to sign a peace agreement, which was printed in the El Paso Herald. On September 18, 1882, Dallas Stoudenmire and the Manning brothers George, Frank and James met in one of the Manning saloons to sign another peace accord. However, George Manning and Stoudenmire began to argue about the first peace deal and suddenly both had their pistols in their hands. Manning was the first to fire. The projectile shattered Stoudenmire's left arm, forcing him to drop his weapon. Manning pushed him through the saloon door into the street. With the other hand, Stoudenmire drew his second weapon and shot Manning in the arm. James Manning followed and fired two shots at Stoudenmire. One missed, the second shot Stoudenmire in the head and killed him on the spot. Felix Manning, who was in a rage, hit the dead man several times on the head with the Colt. James and George Manning were arrested and acquitted after the jury unanimously agreed that they had acted in self-defense.

Dallas Stourenmire is buried in Alleyton Cemetery in Colorado County , Texas. The Manning brothers continued to live in El Paso for the time being and later died in Los Angeles , Flagstaff and Phoenix .

Web links

• Dallas Stoudenmire Dallas Stoudenmire
• Dallas Stoudenmire Dallas Stoudenmire (English)
• Find a Grave Dalles Stoudenmire at findagrave.com