Were the western cattle towns of the late 1800’s filled with the only the law and the lawless? Most people depict the western town as a place of gun slinging cowboys packed into an over crowed saloon, where the whiskey and the women flow freely. The truth of the matter is, that even though there were violent areas of the west they were fewer and farther in between than most people realize. Some recent scholars believe that the west was no more violent than the average American city of today. (1) The towns that had higher rates of crime were only violent because in the early years of their origin they were full of men, poor conditions, and alcohol and lacked a government and a qualified justice system. One of the most infamous of these violent towns was Dodge City, Kansas.
Before Dodge City existed there was Fort Dodge, a helpful stop along the Santa Fe Trail. It was closed then rebuilt as a town along the transcontinental railway. At first, Dodge City was a stop for buffalo hunters as place to trade and ship their goods. Within a three year period it quickly changed into a thriving cattle town due to the mass slaughter of the American bison. Dodge City promptly became known as the “Queen of the Cattle Townsâ€. (2) The main business in Dodge City was the cattle trade and shipping but the entertainment industry was a close second. (3)
The early years of Dodge were run by the Dodge City Gang, or the Gang, who were merchants, saloonkeepers, and gamblers who in favor of a “free range cowboy†type of city so they promoted the debauchery of its citizens. “During the beginning years, there was initially no law enforcement and Dodge City quickly acquired its infamous stamp of lawlessness and gun slinging. As the many buffalo hunters, railroad workers, drifters and soldiers streamed into the town after long excursions on the prairie, they quickly found the saloons and the inevitable fights ensued.†(3)
After about a decade of immorality spreading across Dodge City like an ethical plague, the city started to invoke laws and a more strict penal system. The first steps toward a safer community was made in 1878 when the city council passed a law that made gambling and prostitution illegal within the city limits. (3) This law did not make an impact on the crime because the people charged with the crime were usually fined and released. As more people from the east moved to the west they brought not only their families but a sense of Victorian society. As time moved on Dodge City was losing its rough edges and started taking the shape of a more functional society. The press and the tabloids still raved that the city was just as lawless as ever. “It is the desire of the better class of citizens and business… who expect to make their homes here for an indefinite time, to counteract these exaggerated reports of the total depravity of Dodge city…â€(3). As the cowboys saddled up their horses and road off into the sun set they waved good bye to the merchant, farmers, and the law enforcement that took their place.
Author: Katie Cahill
Bibliography:
(1) Haywood, C. R. Victorian West. Kansas City: University of Kansas, 1991. Print.
(2) “The Dodge City War,”. History.net. Weider History Group. Web. 02 Nov. 2009.
(3) Johnson, Marilynn S. Violence in the West. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.
