"Four Dead in Five Seconds"

[Gibson]

Coming up:

Contemporary view of where our next blazing sixgun incident occurred.



A Tough Hombe:




El Paso. . . April 14, 1881. Grab some Iced Tea and Cornbread, and get ready!

FOUR DEAD IN FIVE SECONDS

[Gibson]

VAQUEROS

Dallas Stoudenmire stood close to 6' 3" was athletic and fast. He was at times a good man and at times a bad man. He was smart. He was always well dressed. But above all he was tough and he had a mean streak.

Stoudenmire had been born in Alabama in 1845 and had entered the civil war as a 16 year old. Stoudenmire was rumored to have killed at least two men in gunfights during the 1870s. He moved to Texas and even did a stint with The Texas Rangers. He landed in El Paso. . .

In late 1880 a Kentuckian named George Campbell was given the job as El Paso City Marshal. A man noted for bravery and honesty in prior law enforcement work. However, he resigned in January 1881 over a pay dispute. However, he stuck around El Paso as he liked the place. . . On April 11, 1881 Dallas Stoudenmire took over the position of City Marshal. George Campbell would soon wish he left El Paso.

The newest Marshal took over a rowdy town replete with pimps, gamblers gunmen, lots of rustlers, plenty of whiskey and plenty of "soiled doves". He would within a short time make a great ways toward both cleaning it up and slightly contributing to it. Texas was a tough place and El Paso was a darned tough place. But Stoudenmire literally cast a giant shadow and a town full of gunmen, and outlaws watched him very carefully.

A civil war veteran with more than one gunshot wound and having likely three dead men to his credit. Dallas Stoudenmire knew that all eyes were on him from the outset. In three days he would deliver an object lesson.

Bosques, dark and foreboding, lined the Rio Grande and those along with briar encrusted thickets and scruff provided cover for the ever plentiful rustlers mostly but the occasional murderer/robber. Contemporary newspapers have stories of screams echoing from the area. Dead men that originated here were rarely identified. The rustlers were bold here and operated rather openly. Posses if small met with shotgun blasts when they entered this area and if large the outlaws just hid and waited. The biggest outfit of rustlers was run by the Manning brothers, Frank, John, and James. An adjacent ranch, that of John Hale, together with the Manning spread was the center of rustling operations. Hale was a tree tall man of English parentage and evidently also a hard case. The rustling enterprise had numerous gunmen associated with it, it seems George Campbell may have been one of them. An ironic twist. . .

The germ for what was to become known as "Four Dead in Five Seconds" involved two vaqueros. No! Not those kind. But hardworking Mexican cow-hands. To wit, "Sanchez and Juarique". These men had come across the border in search of 30 head of rustled cattle. They had involved the authorities and everyone knew where to begin the search. They had gone almost directly to the Hale ranch and within a short time had located three head of the stolen cattle at which time Hale began a vitriolic defense saying he had purchased the cattle from Don Ynocente Ochoa. A blatant lie. The couple of officers who had accompanied Sanchez and Juarique, eventually turned back since only three of the missing thirty head were located along with Hale's vociferous defense. The two vaqueros stayed to search further. Long story short they were ambushed and slain by two of the Hale/Manning men, Stevenson and Peveler. Shortly a contingent of 80 Mexican cowboys come across to get their friends bodies. The men asked one George Krempkau to accompany them to the ranch where they already knew they were. They located the bodies, loaded them in a buckboard and drove them back, this was long about daylight on the 14th of April. A private Fitch seems to have seen clearly that the vaqueros were ambushed and the Stevenson and Peveler were the culprits, he probably had inside information. Fitch went out straight away and arrested the two and put them in jail and released them under bond.

Now in a two room adobe shack with Krempkau acting as interpreter the men of both races gathered, both inside and outside, for an inquest. . .

[Gibson]

The Mexicans are riled up and the rustlers are too. It is easy to see why the Mexicans are upset when the bullet riddled bodies of the two vaqueros are viewed. Krempkau is at the Inquest and is vigorously advocating the indictment of Stevenson and Peveler, as it has become clear that they are the most responsible parties. The situation was becoming ugly, quick. Our Marshal turned outlaw, George Campbell sat in on the Inquest watching his friend, Hale vociferously protest that his two men are innocent. This back and forth proceeded until the authorities were made aware of the snarling and cursing going on in the street . The Inquest was unceremoniously adjourned.

Dallas Stoudenmire walked out of the Inquest and into legend. Strangely, shortly after the Inquest was adjourned the Mexicans took their two friends back across the border, Stoudenmire went to lunch and Krempkau was left there with the wrath of the rustlers. Poste haste, George Campbell began to heavily pound down whiskey. Campbell had stated publicly that he would dispatch with Marshal Stoudenmire within five days of his taking office. With Stoudenmire leisurely enjoying a meal, Krempkau finally left the Inquest and headed over to where he had left his arms. A rifle, a revolver, and holster and belt. Campbell shouted at Mr. Krempkau with epithets and accusing him of falsely interpreting what had been said by the English speakers to his Spanish interlocutors. He then yells, according to the outstanding El Paso area historian, Leon Metz, "hey, any American who is a friend of Mexicans ought to be hanged." Krempkau, embarrassed asks if he mean him, he replies, "if the shoe fits, wear it!" Thinking his witty reply is the end he turns and walks away. But now an also drunken Hale shows up. He sprints over to where Campbell is is attempting to mount his ride and yells to him that he has Krempkau as he grabs a heavy .45 caliber revolver from George Campbell, one of the two which he had strapped on. At the very same instant he squeezes the trigger hitting Krempkau in the chest near his heart, the big bullet crashed through his lung and out the other side of his body. He fell trying bravely to pull his own .45. Dead. Enter Dallas Stoudenmire. . .

The big Marshal jumps up and sprints through the door, Hale immediately sees him and ducks behind an adobe support pillar. Stoudenmire seeing Hale heading for cover snaps off a shot from one of his .45 revolvers, he is in a dead run and at a range of 90 feet, the bullets just passes over Hale's shoulder. Bad luck for a Mexican bystander as the bag of peanuts he just purchased will be his last action on planet earth. He is hit and killed. Two dead. Stoudenmire is still moving forward and re-cocks his revolver and fires just as Hale has peaked out from his blind. The bullet tears through the rustlers brain pan. He hits the ground dead. Three dead.

Now Mr. Big Talk AKA George Campbell decides it's just not his fight and reckons he had better take his leave. As Hale is falling he runs to the middle of the street with his second revolver in hand and wildly proclaims it's not his fight. But Krempkau who lays dying grits his teeth and cuts drive on him striking him once in the foot and once in the hand tearing up his gun hand. Now old George is in desperate straights, he grabs his revolver in his left hand just as Krempkau's three other rounds go astray. Enter Stoudenmire. He turns from the dead Hale and opens up on Campbell, as all he sees is a man with a gun. The spinning shot hits it mark dead in the breadbox. Campbell hit his knees and yells, “you big son-a-bitch, you murdered me." He dies later that evening. Death number four.

This entire event, in actuality, took more or less 30 seconds.

Leon Metz relates a funny story that occurred at the end. Paraphrased:

George Campbell had a partner named Pat Shea. Pat could see George laying there in a river of his own blood, dying. Now ole Pat, being a great friend quickly assesses the situation and because he covets George's sixshooter, cries out, "hey George?"You want your gun?" He is running over toward George when two sixshooters with that fresh smell of burning powder are jammed under his nose by Stoudenmire. LOL! Nevertheless at around 2 am Campbell, dying, requests that his second sixgun be given Shea.

Stoudenmire, tough!

[Pete44ru]

Thanks -

Thet reminds me of when, as a young kid in the 40's, I used to sneak/awake @ night, listening to a "Western" on my bedside radio (turned REAL "low" ).


.

[Gibson]

Thanks -

Thet reminds me of when, as a young kid in the 40's, I used to sneak/awake @ night, listening to a "Western" on my bedside radio (turned REAL "low" ).


.

Glad you enjoyed it! I noticed that when I wrote it, I invited everyone to grab some iced tea and cornbread.

[John in MS]

Great read! Thanks very much for posting this!

John

[Gibson]

Great read! Thanks very much for posting this!

John

Glad you enjoyed it, John!

[piller]

Some of the very real incidents in the old west were so amaxing as to sound like hollywood legend. Billy Dixon being run out of town by a man with a Sharps rifle. Billy Dixon later using a sharps rifle to hit a Comanche at 1 mile. Luke Short's gunfight at close range in Ft Worth with Jim Courtright. The shooting of the Dalton brothers in Coffeyville, KS. The failed raid on Northfield Minnesota by Jesse James and company. The raid on Lawrence, Kansas by Quantrill which was very quick due to the fact that the townsfolk started waking up and shooting back. The battle of Westport. The battle of Wilson's Creek. And the Battle of the Little Big Horn. These are just a few incidents, but there were some very real and larger than life men in our nation's history.

[GoatGuy]

Some of the very real incidents in the old west were so amaxing as to sound like hollywood legend. Billy Dixon being run out of town by a man with a Sharps rifle. Billy Dixon later using a sharps rifle to hit a Comanche at 1 mile. Luke Short's gunfight at close range in Ft Worth with Jim Courtright. The shooting of the Dalton brothers in Coffeyville, KS. The failed raid on Northfield Minnesota by Jesse James and company. The raid on Lawrence, Kansas by Quantrill which was very quick due to the fact that the townsfolk started waking up and shooting back. The battle of Westport. The battle of Wilson's Creek. And the Battle of the Little Big Horn. These are just a few incidents, but there were some very real and larger than life men in our nation's history.

Huh? Yankees still refer to it as the Lawrence Massacre for very obvious reasons.

[Gibson]

Some of the very real incidents in the old west were so amaxing as to sound like hollywood legend. Billy Dixon being run out of town by a man with a Sharps rifle. Billy Dixon later using a sharps rifle to hit a Comanche at 1 mile. Luke Short's gunfight at close range in Ft Worth with Jim Courtright. The shooting of the Dalton brothers in Coffeyville, KS. The failed raid on Northfield Minnesota by Jesse James and company. The raid on Lawrence, Kansas by Quantrill which was very quick due to the fact that the townsfolk started waking up and shooting back. The battle of Westport. The battle of Wilson's Creek. And the Battle of the Little Big Horn. These are just a few incidents, but there were some very real and larger than life men in our nation's history.

Huh? Yankees still refer to it as the Lawrence Massacre for very obvious reasons.

I have a long sketch on that. It's about the partisans, the lead-up, and the raid. But it finds every bit as much fault with guys like Jim Lane and refers to John brown as a vile psychopath. It lays out the atrocities on BOTH sides.

It's entitled: "They Called Him Bloody Bill".

Better not post it here as I'm new and do not want to debate or upset anyone. I'm sure I'm a bit biased as my people always leaned toward the southerners. . .

[piller]

Go ahead and post it. There are always 2 sides to any incident, and history seems to be a much appreciated subject here. Even though I was born in Kansas, I find John Brown's methods to be unacceptable. The end does not always justify the means.

[Charles]

When I was a student at Sul Ross State College (Alpine, Texas) in 1961-64, the Big Bend Museum was located on campus. There was a pair of Colt revolvers in the museum labled as belonging to Stoudenmire. They were cartridge conversions of cap and ball sixguns. At the time I thought they were Mason-Richards, but don't remember clearly enough to state that with any certainity. The barrels had been bobed back pretty short. Seems like the grips were old ivory, but again I could be wrong on that.

I don't know if these are the sixguns he used in the famous shoot out or not. I also don't know where they are today.

I spent a lot of time in that museum because a girl I was interested in worked there. Most of the time there was spent with her in the space between the mummy case and the wall. They had a case with a dried up indian mummy in there.

[Charles]

Leon Metz is one heck of a guy and is a spell binding story teller. Bobby McNellis (deceased), owner of El Paso Saddlery was a serious historian of the old west in that area and had a collection of historic guns, including Wes Hardin's Smith and Wesson.

After closing time, some of us history buffs and gun nuts would gather in the saddlery and Leon would spin yarns. He liked whisky allot and as the evening wore on, he got more interesting. Then there was the time Wes Hardin's tombstone got stolen.......

Pat Garrett's son, Jarvis would stop by from time to time when he was in El Paso. He always had with him a 7.5" Colt SA that he said was the pistol his father used to kill Billy the Kid. Garrett sold a number of pistols to folks claiming they were the gun, but according to his son, the one he had was the real deal. I never shot it, but got it handle it once.

[shooter]

I love Old West history, as well as the myth and legend aspect. You know, the stuff that isn't quite provable, but is interesting as heck to speculate about. Stuff like hidden treasure, outlaw hangouts, etc. A good friend of mine in New Mexico has a couple acres on the Pecos river. His land was once owned by Pat Garrett, and his "garage" is one of the original buildings. Rumor has it that Garrett used to hold card games in that building, and whenever Billy the Kid was in the area he's stop by and play. Don't know if that's true, but it's interesting to think about.