Death Comes for Texas Dick: A Frontier Tale of Justice and Revenge

Wild West Podcast

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20d ago 25:17

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Step back in time to autumn 1877, where the whispers of history echo beneath the branches of an oak tree at Sawlog Creek. Frank Buskirk and his fellow drovers have just completed their cattle drive from Texas, setting up camp near Dodge City when a stranger named Bob Shaw rides into their midst. What begins as a chilling campfire tale about two men—one guilty, one innocent—hanged from the very oak tree above their heads, becomes a haunting prelude to violence that will soon unfold.
Shaw's story of frontier justice gone wrong serves as a dark foreshadowing when the cowboys venture into Dodge City the following day. Inside the bustling Lone Star Saloon, past grievances collide with present tensions as Shaw confronts Texas Dick in a display of frontier fury that erupts into a shootout. Deputy Marshal Ed Masterson intervenes, but not before bullets fly and blood is spilled, leaving multiple men wounded and forever changed by the encounter.
Through Buskirk's firsthand account, we witness not only the violent reality of Western life but also how these stories were recorded and sometimes distorted in the pages of frontier newspapers. The Dodge City Times reports the incident with errors and omissions, highlighting the gap between lived experience and published history—a reminder that the Wild West we think we know may be built on incomplete truths.
This gripping narrative excavates the complex nature of frontier justice, the bonds formed between men on cattle drives, and the thin line between order and chaos in places where law was still taking root. Beyond the gunsmoke and bloodshed lies a meditation on how stories shape our understanding of history and ourselves.
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"Edward Masterson and the Texas Cowboys," penned by Michael King, takes readers on an exhilarating ride through the American West, focusing on the lively and gritty cattle town of Dodge City, Kansas. This thrilling dime novel plunges into the action-packed year of Ed Masterson's life as a lawman, set against the backdrop of the chaotic cattle trade, filled with fierce conflicts, shifting loyalties, and rampant lawlessness. You can order the book on Amazon.

Chapters

1. Death Comes for Texas Dick: A Frontier Tale of Justice and Revenge (00:00:00)

2. The Sacred Place of Sawlog Creek (00:00:13)

3. A Mysterious Rider Enters Camp (00:02:12)

4. The Tale of the Hanging Tree (00:05:00)

5. Searching for Texas Dick (00:10:22)

6. Gunfight at the Lone Star (00:13:42)

7. Getting Out of Dodge (00:22:13)

8. Wild West Podcast Announcements (00:23:15)

282 episodes

#Conversations #Michael King #History #Society #Dodge City Kansas #True West Stories #Podcasting Education #Old West Novels