Bat Masterson, American Folk Hero

Bat Masterson, American Folk Hero

William Barclay "Bat" Masterson (November 26, 1853 - October 25, 1921) was a folk character of the American Old West. Though he was born in Canada, he grew up on a series of family farms in New York, Illinois and Kansas. In 1873, he left home and began working as a buffalo hunter and Indian scout in Dodge City, Kansas. Over the next decade, he worked intermittently as the Ford County sheriff (1877-79) and a deputy U.S. marshal (1879), but largely made his living as a saloonkeeper and gambler. In 1883, he participated in a bloodless conflict and gunfighter gathering later called the Dodge City War. He spent his later years in New York City. In 1905, President Roosevelt appointed him deputy U.S. marshal for the southern district of New York. His passion for boxing led him to become a feature writer for Human Life Magazine, a sports writer, and eventually the sports editor of the New York Morning Telegraph. He collapsed at his desk from a heart attack in 1921, at the age of 67, after writing what became his final column for the New York Morning Telegraph. His epitaph states that he was "Loved by Everyone." Undated, no photographer credited.

Album / Science Source / New York Public Library

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2869 x 4200 px | 34.5 MB

24.3 x 35.6 cm | 9.6 x 14.0 in (300 dpi)