Monday, April 3, 2023

Can O' History - Long Branch Saloon gunfight

 


April 5, 1879. My Wiki rabbit hole recently was outlaws and gunfighters of the Old West. And mountain men was how it started.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Branch_Saloon_gunfight

On April 5, 1879, Richardson strode into the Long Branch Saloon specifically looking for Loving. Loving, however, was not there at that time. Richardson settled into a game of poker. Around 9:00 p.m., Loving entered the bar, this time armed. Loving took a seat at a long table, at which point Richardson moved over and sat across from him. The two men could be heard talking low to one another, but what was said could not be understood. Suddenly, Richardson said loudly "You wouldn't fight anything, you damned son of a bitch," to which Loving said calmly, "Try me and see."

Richardson stood and drew his gun, which prompted Loving to do the same. Both men fired their weapons repeatedly, with Richardson firing five rounds and Loving firing six. When the shooting stopped, Richardson had been shot in the chest, the side, and the arm. Loving was grazed on the hand by one bullet, but otherwise was uninjured. Town Marshal Charlie Bassett quickly responded, having heard the shots, but Deputy Marshal Duffey arrived first, and took hold of Richardson as he crumpled to the floor. No one else in the saloon was injured. Loving was arrested as was standard procedure in such a case. On April 7, 1879, a coroners inquest ruled the shooting self defense, and Loving was released without charges. The Globe newspaper said of the fight; "...it seemed strange that Loving was not hit, except for a slight scratch on the hand, as the two men were so close together that their pistols almost touched each other..."

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