Brothers and Ben Thompson

Outside of Bodie, California one my favorite Old West locations is Ellsworth, Kansas. At one time is was known as the “wickedest cattletown in Kansas.” Ellsworth was a bustling cattle town for a time during the late 1860s but its cattle trade had dwindled down by the mid-1880s. The town was the setting for numerous killings following shootouts between drunken cowboys, and the town sported numerous saloons, brothels and gambling halls, with prostitution being rampant. Wild Bill Hickok ran for Sheriff there in 1868, but was defeated by former soldier E.W. Kingsbury. Kingsbury was an extremely effective lawman, but had to have the help of the local police to control Ellsworth itself, as he also had the county to deal with. Violence inside Ellsworth was commonplace. More than 137 years ago on this day, violence erupted at the one of the watering holes there and lawman Happy Jack Morco was shot and killed. Thompson would eventually become a lawman himself, but on August 16, 1873, he was deadly gunman and gambler arguing with another card player about how much they owed him. The argument got pretty heated and Ben’s brother Billie decided to settle the dispute. Billie drew his gun and fired on the card player giving his brother a hard time. His aim wasn’t true however because popular sheriff C.B. Whitney got the bullet. Ben came to his brother’s rescue and quickly sent him out of town before the law descended upon him. Wyatt Earp was the Sheriff at the time. Ben eventually turned himself into Earp. Whitney exonerated Billy Thompson on his deathbed and told Earp the shooting was an accident. When Billy was tried in 1877, he was acquitted. I like the fact that the brothers were willing to protect one another. I’m grateful to have four brothers that would all back one another’s play. A poem dating back to the early 1850s sums that dedication up nicely. “I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three.” In 1881, Thompson was elected marshal of Austin, Texas. He was a highly effective lawman but gave the job up the following the year after killing Jack Harris, the owner of the Vaudeville Variety Theatre in San Antonio. On March 11, 1884, fourteen months after he was acquitted of Harris’ murder, Thompson and his friend, John “King” Fisher, were watching show at the Vaudeville Theatre in San Antonio when Jack Harris’ two partners, Joe Foster and William Simms, started a gunfight in which Thompson was killed and Foster and Fisher were mortally wounded.