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The killing of Jeff Dunbar
July 24, 1898
Pen and ink drawing by Bob Meldrum, 1914 depicting bartender
James W.
Davis shooting and killing Jeff Dunbar.
Meldrum did not actually witness the shooting.
Courtesy of the Wyoming State
Museum |
(Click image to enlarge)
ad man Jeff Dunbar
first appears as a member of the Soap Gang in October 1892. Page 257 of Alias Soapy Smith contains the following.
According to the News, “Jeff Dunbar, one of Soapy’s steerers, and a general all around athlete in the art of heeling,” was fleecing a Miss Flossie Leigh of her money. On October 15, 1892, less than a week after the Sparks killing, Dunbar asked Flossie to meet him at the Tivoli Club [Denver, Colorado]. The purpose of the meeting was never determined, but it seems likely to have involved a “sure thing” transaction. A detail to emerge was that when it came time for Flossie to produce money, she refused.
He became abusive and the woman got up to leave, when Dunbar pulled out his gun and struck her violently over the top of the head with it. As she staggered to the floor he struck her a second blow on the forehead, and she sank bleeding and senseless to the floor.
Dunbar immediately fled out the side door and the men in the saloon, attracted by the noise of the assault, ran in and found the woman senseless on the floor, her scalp torn and bleeding from the blows. A doctor was summoned and the wounds dressed as hastily as possible. Miss Leigh was placed in a hack and driven to her home. Her skull is thought to be fractured near the base and it is not certain that she will live.
A warrant for the arrest of Dunbar was sworn out … and is now in the hands of the constable for service whenever he can find Dunbar.
This is the first attempt in Soapy’s new blood-letting establishment. It is just possible that the next woman who ventures into the death trap will be instantly killed.
Dunbar appears never to have answered for his assault.
Six months later, April 24, 1893 Dunbar was arrested, along with seven other bunco steerers from the Soap Gang, including famed gangsters John L. "Reverend" Bowers and George Wilder, for swindling a visitor from Salt Lake City, Utah, once again within the Tivoli Club. The story is covered in the Rocky Mountain News.
Detectives Ordered to Round Up the Entire Fraternity.—
H. Slade of Salt Lake complained to the police yesterday afternoon that he had been buncoed out of $150 in a gambling house at Seventeenth and Market streets. The game was friendly poker, but there were odds of 2 to 1. Several complaints of late have come into the police station against the class of gamblers known as “sure thing” men, so Chief Veatch, after hearing Slade’s story, ordered Chief Howe to land in jail all the sharps found on the streets. As a result, Detective Carberry, Connors and Carrier soon had George Wilder, Frank Weldon, George Beck, Jeff Dunbar, A. B. Smith, John Bowers, James Jenks and Handsome Casey all behind the bars.
The is the last known time Dunbar appears in connection with the Soap Gang, but not with history. Apparently this bad man went on to make an interesting history all his own, even becoming the leader of the outlaw Wild Bunch gang of train and bank robbers. I came across his name on the Old West Rogues forum and they supplied me with some additional information that I share with you now.
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Drawing of "Jef" Dunbar
Possibly published in the Rawllns Republican 1897 or 98
Courtesy of Vince Garcia |
(Click image to enlarge)
(From historian Daniel Buck — Old West Rogues)
Jeff Dunbar seems to have first made his mark, using the word "mark"
loosely, in 1887, when he was "acquitted of the charge of shooting" in
Sheridan, Wyoming, though fined for carrying "a concealed deadly
weapon." He upped the ante in 1892, when he killed a man in a bar room
brawl in Casper, Wyoming. He was tried for murder and acquitted.
A newspaper clipping I located, dated April 14, 1892 in the Evansville Courier and Press (Evansville, In.).
INSTANTLY KILLED.
Cheyenne, Wyo., April 13.—At Casper last night Jeff Dunbar shot a negro named Lewis Adams. They got into a dispute over a game of cards. Dunbar shot four times, three of the shots taking effect. The negro was instantly killed. Dunbar was arrested.
Note: It was after his acquittal in September 1892 that he came to Denver and joined the Soap Gang. His last known association with the Soap Gang is reported in April 1893.
In
1894, he stole $15 in a Silverton, Colorado, faro game, and relieved at
gun point a fellow sporting man of $200 at "Mid's Hell," a Fort
Duchesne, Utah, gambling den. (His accomplice in the latter crime, one
William Hughes, was killed the following year in yet another bar room
fight.)
In the mid-1890s, Dunbar was said to be
terrorizing the citizens of Dixon, Wyoming. (Will Kane must have been
out of town.) Both Jeff and his brother were in the saloon business
there. From the tone of the articles, Jeff Dunbar was one mean drunk.
A newspaper clipping I located, dated October 28, 1895 in the Omaha World Herald]
TERROR OF TWO TOWNS.
Rawlins, Wyo., Oct. 27.———Reports have been received that Jeff Dunbar, a notorious "bad man," has been terrorizing the towns of Dixon and Baggs for the last week. At the saloons in both places he has shot the bars full of holes and has broken up the stoves and lamps. There are no officers in either town to take him into custody.
In
1897, the same year he marries and settles in Dixon, Jeff Dunbar's name
surfaces in the national press, Boston Globe, November 5, 1897, as an
associate of Butch Cassidy. The story is accompanied by a sketch an
Alfred E. Neuman looking Butch Cassidy. From there on out, Dunbar enjoys
a brief national notoriety as a mass murderer and leader of a gang of
upwards of 500 outlaws.
In July 1898, a drunk and
ornery Dunbar is shot dead in a bar room fight in Dixon. Best I can
tell: Notches on Dunbar's gun, 1; total take from his crimes, $215. Jack
Stroud undoubtedly can tell us more, as well as correct the errors in
my account. Dan
PS Most of the above info from the usual digitized newspaper vaults.
—————
(from Jack Stroud — Old West Rogues)
The Jeff Dunbar articles were probably all penned by Willis George Emerson, who was known for sensationalizing.
I’ve heard a lot of stories about Jeff Dunbar, none were positive. As far as I’m concerned, Jeff Dunbar was nothing more than a low life bushwhacking crook. After the Lewis Adams affair at Casper in 1892, which clearly sounds like self defense, brother William “Mike” Dunbar relocated to Dixon, Wyoming, brother Jeff, joined him shortly thereafter. Jeff Dunbar organized a loosely knit group of locals, who were already in the area. In the early days they were mostly into rustling stock in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. It was only after Cassidy showed up about 1897, that they hit the big time, most likely without the assistance of Jeff Dunbar. William Arthur “Mike” Dunbar did have a close relationship with Cassidy long after the demise of Jeff Dunbar. William “Mike” Dunbar’s 1925 Utah death certificate by suicide shows his residence as Rock River, Wyoming, he is buried in Utah.
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Jack found the following in the Vernal Express, Aug. 16, 1894.
Sheriff Geo. Searle received a telephone message from Fort Duchesne, Tuesday morning stating that Geo. Huse and Jeff Dunbar had robbed Wm. Nichols, of $200. A warrant was sworn out for their arrest and the sheriff and a posse of deputies are on their trail.
————
In the Vernal Express, Sept. 20, 1894
Jeff Dunbar, the man wanted for robbing Wm. Nichols on this side of the Post has been terrorizing the citizens of Dixon, on Snake river, in Wyoming. Our sheriff has telegraphed to the sheriff of Rawlins to arrest him.
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EARLY DAY HISTORY OF THE LITTLE SNAKE RIVER VALLEY
BY JOHN F. GOOLDY
Jeff Dunbar, who was in contact with the toughest people, including train and bank robbers, lived in this area for a number of years. John Ledford, of Craig, Colorado, told me Jeff Dunbar came into his saloon one day when there were two warrants out for him, one in Colorado, and one in Utah. He said, "Jeff, do you know there are two warrants out for you?" Jeff said, "Yes, but I can't stay in the cedars all the time". He was in Ledfords Saloon for several days, when the Sheriff came to John Ledford and said, "Is Jeff Dunbar in your place?" Ledford said, "Yes, though I am not upholding him." The Sheriff said, "Does he know there are two warrants out for him?" John Ledford said, "Yes, he knows."
The Sheriff put his head down for a little while and then said, "If those Mormon (blankety blanks) want him, let them come and get him." After leaving Craig, Jeff Dunbar went to Glenwood Springs, went broke gambling, and for several nights put on a mask, held up someone, then hid his mask and helped hunt for the stickup, so he later told Ledford. Once a number of robbers had a Dixon merchant take their measurements and order new suits. They were afraid to call for the clothes. A friend called for the clothes. Jeff Dunbar owned the only saloon in Dixon for a time. Drinks in the saloons those days were fifteen cents each, or two for twenty-five cents. "While Dunbar had the saloon, Emerson, a blacksmith, who was working for D. C. Jones, started a saloon in Dixon. After Emerson had been running his saloon for about a week, Dunbar went there one night, shot a number of times on both sides, and a number of times over Emerson's head. Emerson never opened his saloon after that night. He left Dixon the next morning early and has never been back to Dixon. Dunbar sold his saloon to James Davis, a very quiet man who always attended to his own business. Davis was known to be an expert pistol shot, one who could shoot sage chickens' heads off with a pistol as they walked along. Dunbar went to where there was a mining boom, Dexterville, near the head of the Savery. After being there for about a year, and the boom was over, Dunbar was back around Dixon. He went into James Davis' saloon and started shooting into the bar. Davis pulled his gun from under the bar and shot Dunbar in the chest three times. Dunbar shot Davis, and said he was not going to die in the blankety blank place, and staggered to the door where he fell dead.
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The following comes from a page called The Wild Bunch
Some
letters left behind by bandits fleeing from the Winnemucca bank robbery
and other recently discovered materials show that an obscure Dixon,
Wyoming bartender was a vital link in Wild Bunch operations. His name
was Mike Dunbar.
Dunbar had taken a one-year lease on an old bar in Dixon once owned by
Phil S. Lerler. He painted, varnished and redecorated the bar in much
the same manner as he was refurbishing his life. A newspaper report of
the grand opening of the new bar in Dixon said "the liquor sold over
this bar will transform very ordinary men into poets, orators, artists,
statesmen and millionaires." Was he being facetious?
Some
say the Wild Bunch gang got its name from hurrahing towns like Dixon
and its neighbor in south central Wyoming, Baggs. People would say there
goes that "Wild Bunch from Powder Springs." Powder Springs was the
outlaw hideout west of the towns. And that put Mike Dunbar right in the
middle of the action.
According
to census records, William "Mike" Dunbar was born in Illinois in
December, 1852. His family, including his brother, Jefferson, migrated
west, through Kansas into Wyoming, where the boys apparently began to
test the limits of the law.
On April 12,1892, Mike and Jeff were in the Carter and Brenham Saloon in
Casper, Wyoming, where Mike was running a poker game. Jeff and a black
man named Lewis Adams got into an argument which escalated with threats
and abuse until Jeff drew his revolver. Adams grabbed a nearby billiards
cue stick and advanced menacingly on Jeff, who fired three or four
warning shots before killing Adams.
Jeff
reholstered his gun and calmly walked out the rear of the saloon with
Mike. Sheriff Rice and his deputy found them at a nearby stable and Jeff
said, "I’m the one you want." At a preliminary hearing, Jeff was held
over without bail and taken to Douglas, Wyoming, to stand trial on a
charge of murder. He pleaded self-defense and was acquitted.
Mike
and Jeff relocated to Dixon, Wyoming. On July 28, 1893, Mike leased the
bar from Lefler, where in addition to liquor he sold supplies and ran a
billiards table. Mike appeared to have settled down. He married Louisa,
an immigrant from Norway, and they soon had a daughter, Ruth, born in
August, 1893.
However,
on December 31, Mike witnessed a shooting involving a man named Frank
Howard. It occurred near Mike's saloon. He was called to testify at the
trial, which began on January 1, 1894. Justice of the Peace and Acting
Coroner D.C. Jones presided. Jones was known to fear and hate Mike's
brother, Jeff, and therefore thought little of Mike's testimony.
Jeff,
meanwhile, had gone to Craig, Colorado, where he remained for the
duration of the trial. As much as Mike seemed to want to go straight,
Jeff apparently drew him to outlaw life. Suspected as a rustler, thief
and killer, his acquaintances were of questionable character. Jeff
became a full-time outlaw on August 14, 1894, when he and George Huse
robbed William Nichols of $200 on the Strip near Fort Duchesne, Utah. A
warrant was issued in Vernal and Sheriff George Searle and a posse began
searching for the culprits. Within a week Huse was captured and jailed
but Jeff had eluded the posse. Sheriff heard that Jeff was hiding out in
Dixon and notified the sheriff in Rawlins, Wyoming. However, there is
no record of Jeff's arrest and things quieted down for the brothers for
awhile.
A news item in the Craig Courier
next mentioned that Jeff arrived in Baggs on August 15, 1896, from the
Four Mile, a small gold-mining camp and a nest of rustlers and outlaws.
Two months later, the paper reported that Mike Dunbar of Dixon had
accidentally shot himself near the knee on the right leg while
"recklessly handling" his gun. Both Mike and Jeff were in the Baggs and
Dixon area at the same time that Harry Longabaugh, alias The Sundance
Kid, was working for the nearby Al Reader Ranch. The brothers and
Sundance became trusting friends and stayed in touch with each other
when Sundance left the area.
On
July 24, 1898, Jeff headed into Jim Davis' saloon in Dixon. An argument
ensued and Jeff drew his gun and shot Davis, wounding him. Davis
reached for his gun and fired four rounds, killing Jeff. According to
Dunbar's front-page obituary, Jeff had been the leader of the Robbers
Roost Gang, a band of 400 or so outlaws, which included Butch Cassidy,
Isom Dart, and Bert Charters, among others. The reporter speculated that
"Butch Cassidy will be Dunbar's successor as a leader, but it is
generally believed that there is not a single man in all the league
possessed of sufficient ability to hold the gang in line."
No
sooner had Jeff been buried up on Blue Mountain than Mike's wife gave
birth to a son, Charles. Mike no longer ran the saloon in Dixon but
moved his growing family into Baggs. His friendship with Sundance and
members of his brother's old gang continued, however. This resulted in
Mike coming under surveillance of the Pinkerton Detective Agency.The
Pinkertons dossier on Mike used the code name "Coyote" when referring to
him in correspondence with their field agents.
The
Pinkertons also were watching numerous other residents in the Snake
River Valley, an area they considered a hotbed of banditry. Charles F.
Tucker, a rancher in Dixon; Jack Ryan, Bert Charters, Sam Green, Jim
Hanson, Chippy Reid, and Jim Ferguson, all of Rawlins; and Robert
McIntosh, the postmaster at Slater, Colorado. All were under
surveillance by Charles Ayers and Bob Meldrum both of Dixon.
Ayers,
a rancher and stock association inspector from Dixon, was the first
person to identify and describe the Sundance Kid to the Pinkertons. That
description became well known on wanted posters and is found in the
Wild Bunch files today. Meldrum was another story, however.
According
to census records, Robert D. Meldrum was born in 1866 in England. The
census shows him working as farm laborer but Pinkerton records identify
him as a deputy sheriff in Dixon, with a code name "Cigar." Researcher
Dan Davidson says that Meldrums' position with the Pinkerton's with
similar to that of Tom Horn. Meldrum often walked a fine line between
gun-for-hire and law officer.
Meldrum
eventually crossed that line when he killed Chick Bowen in cold blood
on January 19, 1912. Sentenced to five to seven years in the Wyoming
State Penitentiary, Meldrum had plenty of time for his hobby, drawing.
Now stored in the Wyoming State Archives and Museum, one of the sketches
he made in 1914 was the saloon gunfight between Jim Davis and Jeff
Dunbar.
By
August 29, 1900, plans had been finalized for the Wild Bunch holdup of
the Union Pacific train at Tipton, Wyoming. Many of Jeff Dunbar's old
gang were being watched by Ayers and Meldrum and soon after were
questioned as to their knowledge of the crime. Nearly all of those
questioned had known some aspect of the robbery prior to the event. In
fact, the Pinkerton report on Tipton mentions that four of these men
should have been charged as accessories before and after the fact. Mike
also knew about the robbery in advance because he was the contact person
for correspondence between Sundance and the Wild Bunch lawyer Douglas
A. Preston. Mike knew that Sundance would not be at Tipton but instead
was headed for Nevada and the bank robbery in Winnemucca. He was helping
Preston and Sundance make arrangements to dispose of some blackened
gold and currency along the return trip from Nevada. On September 1,
1900, Mike had his wife, Louisa, addressed a letter to C.E. Rowe in
Golconda, Nevada. It read, "Dear Friend: Yours at hand this evening. We
are glad to know you are getting along well. In regard to sale enclosed
letters will explain everything. I am so glad that everything is
favorable. We have left Baggs so write us at Encampment, Wyoming. Hoping
to hear from you soon I am as ever, Your Friend, Mike." The letters
which Mike had enclosed were from Preston and indicated a deal could be
made to sell or trade "the black stuff." All arrangements had gone
through Mike Dunbar.
Soon
afterward, Mike dropped from sight. Through census records, we know
that he and his wife remained in Wyoming at least through 1902 when
their second son, Norman, was born. One report claims that Dunbar moved
to Montana but that has not been verified. Maybe Mike just tired of
being on the fringes of the lawless element and finally found a way to
go straight.
While Mike and Jeff Dunbar certainly knew many of the Wild Bunch members
and associates, they also made a mark of their own on the Snake River
Valley.
The death of Jeff Dunbar
From Jack Stroud — Old West Rogues
(August 1897 George R. Caldwell correspondent of the Denver News
wrote Bandits of the Border. Similar versions same article, November
1897 The Idaho Daily Statesman, "Organized Highwaymen Terrorize
Northwestern Colorado," December 1897 Wheatland World, "Great Robber
Gang.")
Publication: Steamboat Pilot (Steamboat Springs, Routt County); Date: Aug 10, 1898; Section: Front page; Page: 1
JEFF DUNBAR OUTLAW
Ending of a Career Notorious in Criminal Annals.
WAS AN OUTLAW BY INSTINCT
Said to Have Killed a Hundred Men, Jeff Dunbar Himself Dies With His Boots on.
Some Incidents of a Strange and Adventurous Career
Willis
George Emerson writes as follows to the Denver Times: the noted outlaw,
Jeff Dunbar, is dead. He lived by the sword and “died with his boots
on.” He was shot to death by Jim Davis, the saloon keeper at Dixon, Wyo.
He was one of the leaders of a marauding band of desperadoes known as
the “Robbers Roost” gang. For years the citizens of Utah, Wyoming, Idaho
and Colorado have been terrorized by this noted highwayman and his
associates, who without question constituted the greatest criminal
league that has ever existed in America. Jim Davis is one of the gang
and runs a saloon at Dixon. Last Sunday evening Jeff Dunbar came to the
Davis saloon and commenced abusing Davis for a fancied insult that
occurred a few weeks previous. It seems that Davis early in July refused
Jeff Dunbar, who was on a periodical drunk, any more liquor, and put
him out of his saloon late one night, shutting the door in his face. The
outlaw leader was humiliated and determined to have revenge. For weeks
Jim Davis has been on the alert expecting an encounter with the
notorious bandit. Last came last Sunday night. The first shot was fired
by Jeff Dunbar, which grazed the left temple of Jim Davis, cutting the
hair from his head. Quick as a flash Davis fired four shots into
Dunbar’s body, Killing him almost instantly. William B. Snyder, a
bystander, accidentally received a shot through his right forearm. A
coroner’s jury returned a verdict exonerating Jim Davis, alleging that
the killing was done in self defense. Among the members of the gang,
numbering some 400 men, probably more, there is much sorrow because of
their leader’s death, and mutterings of revenge are heard on every side.
They will probably kill Jim Davis.
Among the settlers
of the surrounding country there is a feeling of general relief that at
last the country is rid of this murderous outlaw. Jeff Dunbar was a
vicious character and it is said he has murdered more than 100 men in
his time; he has led raids of a score of bank robberies and a countless
number of highwayman stage robberies and murderous holdups. His band
consists of refugees from justice from nearly every state and territory
in the union. There rendezvous was amid the vastnesses of the Rocky
Mountains, many miles inland from railroad communication, and near the
intersection lines of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah. For a dozen years Jeff
Dunbar has been the high chief of this band of robbers. When not
raiding banks or playing the part of a “Claude Duval” highwayman, they
have busied themselves in stealing horses and cattle.
For
years the surrounding country has been plundered by this gang of
thieves until their boldness has made them the terror of every border
point for miles around. It is said that much of their stolen property,
such as cattle and horses, have found an outlet into the Utah and
Colorado markets through a tribe of Ute Indians, who are supposed to be
in league with the highwaymen. Among Jeff Dunbar’s “hundred slain” may
be mentioned Tom Owen, whom he killed in Fort Worth, Tex., over a game
of Mexican monte, and then “flew the country.” At Santa Fe. N. M., he
killed Jake Blevins, a policeman, who attempted to arrest him. In Denver
it is said that half a dozen murderous crimes are traceable direct to
his skill with a revolver and bowie knife. In Cheyenne, Bob Stewart’s
lamp of life went out because, forsooth, he crossed the track of Jeff
Dunbar. For years he has boasted of his ability to “shoot up” any town
that he planned throughout the country surrounding his mountain retreat.
Among his associates may be mentioned “Broncho” Johnson, Butch Cassidy,
Bert Charters, Jack Garland, Jim Stevens, Tom Turley, “Cherokee Buss,”
Isam Dart and a score of other less prominent but none the less
desperate characters, who have acted as captains and lieutenants for the
noted outlaw who now lies in cold death. A little over a year ago the
bank at Montpelier, Idaho, was raided with all the skill and boldness
that characterized the most daring exploits of the James boys in years
gone by. Over $20,000 was secured from the bank, and up to the present
time local authorities have been in bringing the perpetrators to
justice, although “Bud” Meeks, one of the gang has been arrested and
charged with being an accomplice in the robbery. The country will
perhaps breathe easier now that the leader is dead. In many particulars
he was a wonderful character. His ability to organize and hold in
subjection the lawless class of refugees from justice, who during the
last dozen years he has gathered about him, was quite remarkable. It is
thought in Dunbar’s death the beginning of the end is discernable. The
civil authorities of the states bordering the headquarters of these
outlaws are arranging a concert of action to rid the country, if
possible, of this terrorizing gang of desperadoes. Some say that Butch
Cassidy will be Dunbar’s successor as leader, but it is generally
believed that there is not a single man in all the league possessed of
sufficient ability to hold the gang in lone and keep them subject to the
dictatorship of any one man. The hope of the community is that half a
dozen leaders will spring up and the old adage will obtain: “when
thieves fall out just men get their dues.” Late Sunday night, after the
tragic death of the bandit, six masked men on fiery steeds came dashing
up to the Davis saloon. They had carbines swung to their saddle pommels
and a brace of revolvers strapped to their belts. The lifeless body of
Jeff Dunbar was thronged on the back of his favorite horse, that had
carried him in life through many a hairbreadth encounter, and now with
patient docility carried the dead chief away in the gathering twilight
to his lonely burial ground. High up on the rugged side of Blue
mountain, near the summit of the continental divide, amid crags and
peaks and torrents of waterfalls, Jeff Dunbar, the inordinate and wicked
desperado sleeps and waits in troubled slumber the coming of judgment.
—————
(from Jack Stroud — Old West Rogues)
The Carbon County Journal, July 30, 1898
DIED WITH HIS BOOTS ON.
Jeff Dunbar Falls From Bullets Fired By Jim Davis.
DIXON THE BLOODY SCENE.
Davis Full of Wounds But Will Probably Recover --- Another “Bad Man” Gone Forever.
Sunday night about 10 o'clock, Jeff Dunbar, Who for years has terrorized Dixon with his gun plays, attacked Jim Davis, a saloonkeeper at Dixon. and was killed a few moments after the proceedings opened. Davis was shot through the right thumb, the bullet making two wounds in the arm, entering the armpit thence into and through the body, lodging under or near the shoulder blade. Another bullet entered the thigh from the rear and came out of the right groin. Dunbar died in a few moments, while Davis is alive with fair prospects of recovery.
THE MEN CONCERNED.
Dunbar for a number of years ran a saloon in Dixon and periodically got a spree and taking six-shooter or Winchester shot up the town. Some time last fall or early this spring he sold his saloon business to Jim Davis and ran a joint near the Douglas mine on the Sandstone. Recently he came back to Dixon and had been staying near there for a few weeks past. Davis is a hunter and trapper and reported to be a quiet, peaceable man, running his saloon in an orderly manner and neither overbearing or quarrelsome, but nervy when aroused and a fighter to the end. Davis weighs 230 pounds and is a strong, fearless man.
PAST TROUBLES.
It seems that on July 4th Dunbar wanted to open a “crap” game in Davis’ saloon, but Davis objected, saying he would probably open one himself this fall. Jeff Dunbar rather took offense at this, but made no disturbance at the time. Once before, Davis, it is said, prevented a disturbance in the saloon in which Dunbar was implicated, and on that afternoon of the shooting, Dunbar, who had been drinking at Dixon, fired his revolver off once or twice there, then came up to east Dixon and entered Davis’ place. He sat in a game of poker and during the game tore up a deck of cards. To this Davis objected telling him he had a right to order a new deck but not to destroy his (Davis) property. After the game Dunbar cashed his checks, Davis paying him, when Dunbar challenged Davis to shake dice for the drinks. Davis shook and lost. While drawing beer for Dunbar, Dunbar remarked, “What do you think of the Irish?” Davis replied, “They may be alright or all wrong, he knew nothing about them.” Dunbar said, “I’m Irish, and you’ve been trying to put it on me.” Davis replied he had not, “that he didn’t run over any man.” Dunbar said he had and pulled his six-shooter and commenced firing, and according to John Grossheart’s testimony, who witnessed the fight, fired two shots at Davis while Davis was getting his revolver out of the drawer behind the bar. Then Davis opened up, both shooting. Davis’ wounds have been described. Dunbar was hit twice. One bullet struck him in the breastbone a few inches below the throat, and went out under the shoulder blade. The other struck within a couple of inches of the first bullet, but striking something was deflected and came out near the spine in a downward course. Dunbar staggered outside the door and died within a few moments.
WITNESSES.
John Grossheart, Dutch “Chris,” Willard Reynolds and J. P. Snyder were in the saloon and witnessed the affray. Snyder had one of the bullets go through his forearm, but no bones were broken. Dr. Weaver attended Dunbar, but could render no help. Davis, it is thought, will recover.
The coroner’s jury composed of J. C. Kane, D. Jones, Jack Strayber, W. Hays, West Lamb and John Wilkes, rendered a verdict after examining the witnesses, that the deceased came to his death from gunshot wounds inflicted by James Davis.
Jeff Dunbar was buried at Baggs, his brother, Mike Dunbar, superintending the disposition of the remains.
"Willard Reynolds" misidentified, he was actually Willard Runnells the grandson of Jim Baker and later partner of Bob Meldrum at Telluride, Colorado.
—————
(from Daniel Buck — Old West Rogues)
By the way, years later, December 23, 1915, the Encampment Record ran a short recollection on Dunbar and Davis, describing Dunbar as a "noted highwayman" who along with "his associates . . . constituted the greatest criminal league that ever existed in America," and Davis as "one of the gang." The reference to Davis as an outlaw prompted an old-timer to write in protest (December 30), saying that Davis "was one of the most honorable and upright citizens on Snake River."
The unnamed old timer could not resist, however his own exaggeration, saying that the "killing of Jeff Dunbar did more toward suppressing lawlessness in southern Wyoming than any ten agencies combined that were ever waged against the Hole in the Wall - Powder Springs - Robbers Roost gang of outlaws." Well, all right then.
Any thoughts on how Jeff Dunbar, a hard-drinking small-town tough, at best a marginal figure in the annals of Rocky Mountain crime, landed in nationally syndicated stories (and as well in the memory of at least one Wyoming old timer) as a major-league outlaw generalissimo?
—————
The Denver Post, August 14, 1898
Several of the state papers have expressed sympathy for the residents of Hades {Hell} since Outlaw Jeff Dunbar was pistoled and sent down there from his late residence at Dixon.
SOURCES:
Old West Rogues
Vince Garcia (Old West Rogues forum)
Daniel Buck (Old West Rogues forum)
Jack Stroud (Old West Rogues forum)
The Wild Bunch (web page)
Jeff Dunbar: pages 92, 257, 260, 264, 268.
Honest historians rarely try to shout down those they disagree with.
FEBRUARY 21
1842: John J. Greenough patents the sewing machine.
1858: The first electric burglar alarm is installed, Boston, Massachusetts.
1862: Texas Rangers fighting for the Confederacy win a victory in the Battle of Val Verde, New Mexico Territory.
1866: Lucy B. Hobbs becomes the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio.
1874: The Oakland Daily Tribune begins publication in Oakland, California.
1878: The first telephone directory in the U.S. is distributed to residents in New Haven, Connecticut. It is a single page of fifty names.
1896: Judge Roy Bean hosts the Maher-Fitzsimmons heavyweight boxing championship on an island in the Rio Grande, Texas.
1900: The U.S. government gives a full military funeral to chief Washakie, one of the few Indian chiefs who never warred against white settlers.
1904: The National Ski Association is formed in Ishpeming, Michigan.
1916: Outlaw Cole Younger dies at Lee's Summit, Missouri. He is best known as a member of the James-Younger gang of train and bank robbers.
