Copyright 2023 by Gary L. Pullman
Bat Masterson. This image is in the public domain.
Collecting Money Due
Hired, along with his brother Ed and their friend Theodore Raymond, to grade a five-mile stretch of railroad bed, Bat Masterson collected the $300 pay overdue to them at gunpoint when he encountered Raymond Ritter, the man who'd hired them before skipping out aboard a Santa Fe-bound train that stopped in Dodge City, Kansas. Reportedly, a crowd cheered.
Royal Gorge. This image is in the public domain.
Recruiting Mercenaries
Masterson also recruited a small army of fighting men to oppose the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad's mercenaries, who sought to prevent the Santa Fe Railroad from using the Royal Gorge near Pueblo, Colorado. The latter company claimed that it held an exclusive right-of-way to the gorge and that the former company had no legal access to it. When guns weren't sufficient to end the situation, the “Royal Gorge War” was resolved in an out-of-court settlement.
Committing Election Fraud
During elections in Denver, Colorado, presumably drunken saloon patrons were escorted to the polls, and “mobs” were paid $2 each for voting for the candidate of the payer's choice, i. e., the city's “liquor dealers” who fronted the money for such payments. Police and bartenders did their part to ensure “the flow of ballots for mayoral candidate Wolfe Londoner,” including those of the town's soiled doves. As a not-so-surprising result, Londoner handily defeated his opponent, Elias Barton. During Londoner's tenure, cronyism reigned, with the mayor's favorites filling so many municipal offices that the city was on the verge of bankruptcy. During a trial, it was determined that Bat Masterson and his pal, infamous con man Soapy Smith, had had a hand in the shenanigans, “compiling voter registration lists” that included names of the dead and out-of-towners.
George Gould, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad executive. This image is in the public domain.
Acting as a Bodyguard
After moving to New York City in 1895, Masterson served, briefly, as a bodyguard for George Gould, an executive for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, the same company that was involved in the 1878-1880 Royal Gorge War. It seems the stint was more pleasurable than arduous, including, as Masterson wrote to friends, fishing from aboard Gould's yacht.
Writing a Newspaper Column
After this employment, Masterson became a columnist for the New York Telegraph, writing “Masterson's Views on Timely Topics.” He also penned some fanciful biographical sketches of men he'd known during his days in the Wild West: Ben Thompson, Wyatt Earp, Luke Short, Doc Holliday, and Bill Tilghman, and Buffalo Bill Cody, which appeared in Human Life: The Magazine About People Edited by Alfred Henry Lewis.
Serving as a U.S. Marshal
Masterson was fast friends with President Theodore Roosevelt, who paved the way for Bat's appointment as deputy U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York, a position that paid $2,000 per year, which Masterson held until 1908, when William Howard Taft, who was not a fan of the Wild West lawman, “abolished” Masterson's “position.”
Bat Masterson in New York City. This image is in the public domain.
Having a Massive Funeral
Masterson died at his desk in the office of the Morning Telegraph, after suffering a heart attack. He had just finished his final column for the newspaper, His funeral service was attended by nearly 500 mourners.
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