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both men walked up the street one block, until they were in front of bar and brothel owner Ella
Blackwell's Shooting Gallery, the two men facing one another three to four feet apart. Words were passed, and evidently Courtright, who had been drinking considerably, had made some indication about Short having a gun. Short assured Courtright he was not armed, although he was. Courtright then said loudly "Don't you pull a gun on me." With that statement, Courtright drew his pistol and in that second Short produced his pistol and fired one shot, which took off Courtright's thumb on his shooting hand. As Courtright attempted to shift his pistol to his other hand, Short fired four more shots in quick succession. Courtright fell backward and died shortly thereafter.
271:. Moore led the posse directly to the ranch headquarters in American Valley and the next day they looked for Gilmore's cowboys, ending the day at a line cabin about 8 miles (13 km) from Grossetete's and Elsinger's homes. The next day Moore took five of the posse and rode towards their homes. Moore told the party that their job was to get rid of the two "squatters." He said all six would fire into their bodies so all six would be equally guilty. They found the men, took their weapons, marched them to a narrow ravine, and killed them both.
267:, to manage a large herd. He started in 1877 but during 1881 they discovered that he was siphoning off a good portion of the stock for his own herd and they fired him. Moore sold his Adobe Walls Ranch for $ 75,000 (or about $ 2,400,000 in today's dollars) and used $ 25,000 of the proceeds to buy a one-third interest in Casey's American Valley Cattle Company. Courtright may have initially believed he was only hired to pursue cattle rustlers. He was told by Moore that they were pursuing a former employee of Casey's named D. L. Gilmore near
278:, had been until a few days before the manager of Casey's ranch. When he learned of the murders, he informed the authorities, who promptly called for Moore and his fellow posse members' arrest. Courtright and McIntire initially acted as lawmen and arrested the others who had taken part in the murders, but when the grand jury convened, they learned that the two men had also taken part. Moore escaped arrest, and before Courtright and McIntire could be apprehended, they took off for Mexico on horseback, finally ending up on June 1 in
223:). At that time, Fort Worth was a very dangerous place, with altercations between unruly drunks and lawmen being commonplace. Few people dared to cross him, and he killed several who did. On August 25, 1877, Deputy Marshal Columbus Fitzgerald was shot and killed while attempting to break up a street fight. Courtright shot and killed the suspect that same night. During his tenure as Ft. Worth Marshal, it was reported that he killed at least four other men during altercations and shootouts.
40:
282:, where they found safety among a number of former Texas Rangers who knew them both. Courtright sent for his wife and children who had been in Los Angeles. McIntire also summoned his wife and the two families headed to Ft. Worth, where they successfully fought extradition to New Mexico, claiming the two men were "Mexicans" and they had been performing their duties as lawmen.
364:, who was with Luke Short at that time. In 1907 Masterson published his own, more neutral account of the events that unfold, in which he stated that it was Jim Courtright, who called for Luke Short to meet him in the street for a confrontation, while carrying a "brace of pistols" of his own. Masterson described what followed:
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grazing land. They had already forced about 90 residents of the small community of Rito off their land. But Alexis
Grossetete and Robert Elsinger, partners in a ranch at Gallo Springs were resistant to Moore's threats. They had claimed their land under preemption rights that guaranteed settlers the right to file a
452:. In the episode entitled "Long Odds", Swenson plays a grandfather visiting his 10-year-old grandson Billy, played by child actor Paul Engle. Billy has told his friends of his grandfather's prowess with a gun, but the elderly Courtright now shuns a confrontation with the gunfighter Cherry Lane, played by
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was interested in purchasing the
American Valley Cattle Company in New Mexico. The company controlled a vast tract of land about 66 by 72 miles (106 by 116 km) wide. Maintaining that he was concerned about ongoing cattle rustling that was decimating herds, U.S. Marshal A. L. Morisson invited his
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No time was wasted in the exchange of words once the men faced each other. Both drew their pistols at the same time, but, as usual, Short's spoke first and a bullet from a Colt's 45-calibre pistol went crashing through
Courtright's body. The shock caused him to reel backward; then he got another and
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But the current owner John P. Casey and his partners W. C. Moore and Henry M. Atkison had bigger ambitions: they wanted ownership of an additional 3,400 acres (1,400 ha) acres with water rights that would allow them to gain control of an additional 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) of quality
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He served as Ft. Worth's
Marshal until 1879, when he lost his third election. He left his family behind, he moved to New Mexico and obtained appointment as the Marshal of Lake Valley, and after that as a hired guard for a mining operation. Sometime later, while working as a ranch foreman, he and his
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On
February 8, 1887, at about 8:00 p.m., Courtright called out Luke Short, carrying a pair of pistols, and challenging him to come out of the White Elephant, but a friend Jake Johnson managed to calm him down and told him that they should talk about the affair instead. In Short's own accounts,
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Investigations on the gunfight concluded that while it was
Courtright who went for his pistol first, it was Short who ultimately outdrew and killed him. Courtright's inability to fire off a shot was due to a number of possible scenarios; one was that his pistol got caught on his watch chain for a
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Courtright and his wife arrived in Ft. Worth in 1876. He ran for office as the first elected city marshal against four other men, and won by three votes. He liked to wear his hair long and wore two revolvers with their butts facing forward. He became known for his long hair and his reputation for
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second as he drew it, and another was that his pistol broke when one of Short's bullets struck it and his thumb. Another is that
Courtright's .45 Colt in his right hand had jammed because a bullet prevented the gun chamber from moving.
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Secure in Ft. Worth, in 1884 Courtright tried once again to form a detective agency. In New Mexico, two men were tried and acquitted of the murders, and authorities renewed their effort to bring
Courtright to justice.
164:, in the spring of 1845, the son of Daniel Courtright. He had four older sisters and one younger brother. He was reported to have practiced shooting frequently. Allegedly, he lied about his age and enlisted in the
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Marshal
Courtright was running a protection racket at the time, and needed to make an example of Short, who also had a sizable reputation as a gunfighter mostly due to an 1881 gunfight with gunslinger
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on unsurveyed land. Both had brought their families onto the land and made it evident they intended to stay. Casey accused them of being squatters and was determined to evict them.
230:. Most met his demand to avoid the risk of becoming the target of his anger and gun. Some who declined were killed, and those who survived usually made the payments demanded.
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148:. Before his death, people feared Courtright's reputation as a gunman, and he reduced Ft. Worth's murder rate by more than half, while reportedly extracting
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He married Sarah Weeks and taught her how to shoot. They held shooting exhibitions for which they charged admission, and later performed as part of
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144:, was an American Deputy Sheriff in Fort Worth, Texas from 1876 to 1879. In 1887, he was killed in a shootout with gambler and gunfighter
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for whom he once took a bullet and thus earned Logan's admiration. He was rootless and traveled around often until he finally settled in
389:, and the charges were dismissed. The gunfight gained notoriety due to the reputation of both men. Unfortunately for Courtright, that
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310:. While in Dodge City, Short had dabbled in gambling, and became friends with several other noted Old West figures, such as
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Casey's partner W. C. Moore had a dark past. He was hired by D. T. Beals and W. H. Bates, owners of the LX Ranch in the
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still another, and by the time his lifeless form had reached the floor, Luke had succeeded in shooting him five times.
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It was generally believed that he murdered several unwilling business owners who would not pay into his
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Courtright was shot three times: Once in the thumb; once in the right shoulder, and once in the heart.
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As marshal, he was in charge of keeping the peace in the notorious "Hells Half Acre" (the town's
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to the White Elephant and that Short informed him that he did not need his protection.
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friend Jim McIntire shot and killed two squatters who had refused to leave the ranch.
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was a gunfighter, gambler and bar owner who had drifted down to Fort Worth from
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as railroad detective Matt Clark, aired the Jim Courtright story, with
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was cast in an historically inaccurate portrayal of Courtright on the
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506:"Jim Courtright of Fort Worth: His Life and Legend (Book Review)"
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Luke Short - A Dandy Gunfighter by W.R. (Bat) Masterson in 1907
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deputies Courtright and Jim McIntire to help secure the land.
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In 2021, the character of Jim Courtright was played by actor
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Short was tried for the shooting, but it was ruled justified
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episode, Swenson was fifty when he portrayed Courtright.
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The showdown was also witnessed by fellow gunfighter
689:Jim Courtright of Fort Worth: His Life and Legend
349:. Most historians believe that Courtright offered
637:Jim Courtright of Fort Worth: His Life and Legend
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608:. Fort Worth: TCU Press.
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775:March 12, 2007, at the
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791:Stories of the Century
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411:Stories of the Century
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286:Forms detective agency
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666:. Legends of America.
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869:Police appointments
687:DeArment, Robert K.
664:"Gunfighters Part 4"
635:DeArment, Robert K.
381:Aftermath and legacy
234:Life after Ft. Worth
142:"Big Jim" Courtright
793:: "Jim Courtright""
295:Courtright vs Short
269:Socorro, New Mexico
80:Cause of death
952:American duellists
770:tchj.com Bad Blood
742:. Field and Stream
465:Billy Bob Thornton
401:In popular culture
221:red-light district
170:American Civil War
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819:, April 11, 1958"
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876:New office
850:. ctva.biz
799:August 30,
483:References
395:posthumous
351:protection
320:Wyatt Earp
304:Dodge City
300:Luke Short
178:Fort Worth
166:Union Army
156:Early life
146:Luke Short
118:Gunfighter
746:April 14,
566:March 27,
448:starring
429:In 1958,
416:Jim Davis
343:Tombstone
198:racketeer
180:in north
846:Colt .45
817:Colt .45
795:. tv.com
773:Archived
714:Archived
584:Archived
458:Colt .45
444:Colt .45
512:May 10,
347:Arizona
337:at the
186:marshal
114:Gambler
102:marshal
53:c. 1845
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