b"DID YOU KNOW, IN THE OLD WEST.By Lee Anderson, Old West Living Historian, Award Winning Author, and Old School HorsemanLee Anderson and his horse, Concho, are well known around the state doing presentations in schools, corporate events,and civic events. Learn more about them and his book on his website. historicaloldwest.orgD odge City,In 1881 the Kansas Legislature passed aThey were very liberal with their money and would often Kansas wasmeasure making the manufacture or salespend $50 to $100 before leaving a saloon. Professional and thanks toof alcohol illegal. One unhappy Kansasgamblers made fortunes by getting them intoxicated and the TV series Gunsmoke still is, one of thenewspaper published this notice. We havetaking all their money. Sometimes, when a gambler most recognizable names of an Old Westthe statement upon reliable authority,would strip the boys and there was a large pot, city in the United States. Here are just athat the twelve saloon keepers of Dodgethey would simply point their six-shooters at the few interesting facts about that city duringCity have made up a purse of $1200gambler's head and pull in the pile. Numbers of its 1871 to 1887 cowtown heyday.and deposited it in a bank with thecow-boys were constantly going in and out and endorsement on the certificate that it isthere were whole dens of gamblers and prostitutes A.A. Robinson, the chief engineer of theto be paid to the widow of the s-n of awho were only there for the cow-boys money.Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway,b-h who informs on the saloon men. It laid out the town in July of 1871. Thesounds to me like it was an opportunity forDodge City was only one of a dozen or more town site was located five miles west of Fort Dodge and itan enterprising woman who wanted to get rid ofcowtowns in the late 1800s and nearly all of them was Colonel Richard I. Dodge and several of his officersher man to cash in. were wide-open, rowdy, and wicked. Most of these that then developed the town. It wasnt till September oftowns permanent residents didnt like the cowboys 1872 that the Atchison, TopekaIn 1883 Dodge City, Kansas had 1500but they sure didnt hesitate to take their money. & Santa Fe Railroad reachedpermanent residents and roughlySorta sounds a little bit like Sturgis, South Dakota, the town. It quickly became a15 saloons, hotels, and restaurants whereand the annual biker rally doesnt it? supply center for buffalo hunterswhiskey could be procured despite and traders. It was also wherethe Prohibition laws. Since most Texas cattle trails ended andof the patent medicines of that rowdy cowboys let loose. Dodgetime were little more than whiskey City catered to a pretty roughwith a few herbs and flavoring and tough bunch of characters. added, many of the saloons were magically transformed into drug stores.A Topeka Times newspaper article stated that in 1873 Dodge City was, a perfect paradise for gamblers, cut- In George Romsperts book, The Western throats, and girls. (I think the term girls was probablyEcho, he recalls the behavior of the cow-boys used rather loosely.)(his spelling) at the end of a four-month-long, 800-mile cattle drive. He tells that, GROUNDBREAKINGFROM THEGROUND UP.Versatile. Durable. Dependable. Our tractorsare in their element in every element. WELL QUIT WHEN YOU QUIT.www.masseyferguson.usBLYTHE, CA CASA GRANDE, AZ IMPERIAL, CA SHOW LOW, AZ190 S. Intake Blvd. 8901 W. Hwy 287 3393 Highway 86 1501 E. Thornton St.760-921-9500 520-251-2087 760-355-2443 928-532-2098BUCKEYE, AZ THATCHER, AZ PRESCOTT, AZ YUMA, AZ26403 W. US Hwy 85 2574 US-70 3060 Centerpointe E. 3885 E. Gila Ridge Rd.623-925-3083 928-899-6137 928-499-6001 928-941-7997 Serving Arizona and Southwestern California2020 AGCO Corporation. Massey Ferguson is a worldwide brand of AGCO Corporation. AGCO and Massey Ferguson are trademarks of AGCO. All rights reserved. www.empireag.comArizonaRealCountry.com January 2022 9Empire_AZRealCntryMag_Ad_071420.indd 1 7/14/2020 9:30:00 AM"