Information AboutDodge City Gang |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DODGE CITY GANG | |
| history of the american west | |
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The gang was composed largely of fighters from the recent Railroad Wars of Raton, New Mexico , and Royal Gorge , Colorado . These included John Joshua Webb , Arkansas Dave Rudabaugh , and Mysterious Dave Mather . The gang was a loose-knit association and it's putative leader was Hyman Neill, better known as Hoodoo Brown who had secured the position of justice of the peace. Doc Holliday was in town and was friendly with gang members, though he is not generally listed as a member. The gang managed to get members or friends into local law enforcement posiitons. For the most part their actions were to control the gambling establishments and rake in huge profits. Some members, notable Dave Rudabaugh, seemed unsatidsfied with this and were suspected of severla Stagecoach robberies and other outrages. The twon's rough reputation drew a number of lawless characters. Billy The Kid passed through in 1879, as did Jesse James , though neither was ever a part of the gang. A local legend has the two famous outlaws meeting for dinner in the Old Adobe Hotel in nearby Hot Springs, New Mexico . Supposedly Jesse invited Billy to come to Missouri and join his gang but the Kid declined. By the beginning of 1880 the tide of public opinion had turned against the gang. Webb and Rudabaugh were jailed and many others left town. The power of the gang lasted only a matter of months. It was doomed by the greed and excesses of its members. The phrase "Dodge City Gang" can also be used to describe the informal group who dominated Dodge City, Kansas in the 1870's. At one time or another this group included Wyatt Earp , Bat Masterson , Doc Holliday , and Luke Short . |
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