Post by Doris McCraw aka Angela Raines
I've been reading "Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier" by W.B. (Bat) Masterson, written in 1907 as a series of articles for the 'Human Life Magazine'. One of the men he wrote about was Luke Short. Since Mr. Short had been in Colorado, I thought it might be interesting to share some of the articles the older newspapers shared about him. Below are three such pieces.
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| The Gunnison Daily New-Democrat Jan 21, 1882 (Gunnison, CO) |
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| The Meeker Herald July 3, 1886 (Meeker, CO) |
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| Luke Short photo from Wikipedia |
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| The Herald Democrat December 25, 1890 (Leadville, CO) |
What I find so fascinating is how these 'gunfighters' are portrayed. I can just imagine doing a biography and deciphering truth from fiction.
Luke Short, in fact, died in 1893 from what would now be called nephritis, a kidney disease, at the age of 39.
The one thing that is clear, Mr. Masterson seemed to think highly of Short and what he'd accomplished in his short lifetime. He was impressed with Short's change from a 'white Indian' as a young man to a well-educated, well-spoken man at the time of his passing.
Until next time, happy reading and writing.
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He was a handsome man, from his photo, and also reminds me of Wyatt Earp. Thanks for sharing, Doris, and for clearing the air surrounding his passing. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteOnce I started looking into Luke, I found so many conflicting stories. Masterson dismissed it as nothing in the fight where Short was 'dying'. Gotta love history. Doris
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