History or Myth: The Gunfight at Hide Park ~ D. K. Deters

I recently came across an interesting story about an infamous gunfight in Newton, Kansas, and the historical myths surrounding it. The location immediately drew my attention, as I am from Kansas.

On August 11, 1871, Newton assistant marshal Billy Bailey and former special policeman Mike McCluskie got into an argument over local politics at the Red Front Saloon. When the argument became a fight, McCluskie shot Bailey twice. Bailey died the following day.

McCluskie left Newton but returned on Saturday, August 19, apparently believing he would not be prosecuted because the shooting would be considered self-defense.

In the early morning of Sunday, August 20, at Perry Tuttle’s dance hall in Hide Park’s red-light district, Hugh Anderson, a friend of Bailey’s, confronted McCluskie. After a bitter exchange, Anderson shot McCluskie. McCluskie attempted to shoot, but his pistol misfired.

Hugh Anderson

Born: 1851

Died: 1873 or 1914 

A general gunfight began, and a young man, later identified as Riley, a friend of McCluskie, entered the fray. One local historian described him as about eighteen years old and dying of consumption. According to the later account of Judge R. W. P. Muse, Riley coolly locked the door and opened fire, emptying his revolvers. The accounts differ about what happened next, but after the chaos, Riley walked out of the dance hall and disappeared.

The Harvey County Historical Society emphasizes that the evidence isn’t as solid as the traditional Old West story makes it sound. The historical society concluded eight men were shot and five ultimately died. One of the three survivors, Hugh Anderson, was severely wounded and not expected to live.

Early newspaper accounts did not identify the shooter. Local historians have called him James Riley, but his first name hasn’t been confirmed by contemporary evidence. His identity is a mystery, but he may have changed his name, moved, or died elsewhere. It’s questionable whether Riley actually locked the door, as one of the wounded men made it to the street.

Anderson recovered from his wounds and in 1873 became a bartender in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. McCluskie’s brother, Arthur McCluskie, located Anderson and challenged him to a duel. Both men suffered gunshot and knife wounds. McCluskie died the following day, and it was said that Anderson passed soon after.

But the story of Anderson’s death appears to have been a newspaper fabrication. There were also reports that he survived and returned to live with his family. In fact, census records show Anderson alive and living in Texas. The 1880 Federal Census lists twenty-eight-year-old Hugh Anderson in McCulloch County, Texas, living with his young son and working as a stock raiser. In 1884, he married again and moved to New Mexico Territory. The 1900 U.S. Census listed him as a widower.

The Harvey County Historical Society’s research places Anderson’s death on June 9, 1914, at age sixty-two, in Lincoln County, New Mexico. He was herding cattle and was struck by lightning.

This story gave me pause because it reminds us that even in 1871, newspaper reports and later eyewitness recollections weren’t always reliable. Over time, facts became embellished, memories faded, and legends grew. As with so many stories from the Old West, you’ll have to decide for yourself what is history and what is myth.

Resources:

The Wild West by Bill O'Neal, James A. Crutchfield, and Dale L. Walker

Newton's Wild West Past by Joe Stumpe

Wikipedia