Gamblers & Gunfights

In the 1880s, Fort Worth, “the queen city of the prairies,” had good hotels, restaurants, theaters, banks, 60 saloons and 9 churches. Patrons dined at the elegant White Elephant Saloon with its 40-foot mahogany bar and climbed the broad carpeted stairs for a game of keno at Luke Short’s casino. Famous men of the West, including Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, “Doc” Holliday and “Longhair Jim” Courtright, often frequented the casino. On the evening of February 8, 1887, Courtright, unsteadied by alcohol, was feuding with Short over protection money. A sharpshooter and former law man, Courtright challenged Short to a gunfight, but his legendary draw failed him, and Courtright was buried with a procession of carriages 6 blocks long. A few years later, the mild-mannered 39 year-old Short was shot and was buried near Courtright at Oakwood Cemetery on the city’s north side.

Fort Worth, Texas · United States