Four Dead in Five Seconds
Who doesn't love a good Old West movie? And what's a cowboy story without a proper gun fight? When we think of the American 1800's we envision men on horseback wearing bandanas and racing alongside a train with intentions of robbery at gunpoint. We think of saloons where inebriated bravado ended in gun fire. The reality, however, is that more times than not, Old West guns were used for hunting. Only a few very notorious gunfights created our current understanding of life in the American Old West. One of the most notable was an incident that occurred on April 11, 1881.
Located in El Paso, Mr. Dallas Stoudemire was the sixth man in eight months to hold office as city marshal. Dallas was known as being quite the gunman on both sides of the justice system and his time in El Paso would only add to his motley reputation. Just three days after taking office, Stoudemire would be involved in one of El Paso's most notorious gunfights.
On that fateful day, approximately 75 Mexican men rode into El Paso, looking for two young vaqueros who had been killed trying to reclaim their stolen cattle. Constable Gus Krempkau held an inquest where the Camino Real stands today, and the Mexicans were allowed to take the vaqueros' bodies back to their country much to the dismay of George Campbell, former city marshal. Words were exchanged between Campbell and Krempkau as a crowd gathered. John Hale, friend of Campbell was alongside his friend. As tensions flared, Hale grabbed Campbell's gun and fired the first shot killing Krempkau. Stoudemire, who was eating lunch at a nearby saloon, pulled both his guns and ran firing toward the scene. One of his shots hit an innocent Mexican bystander. The next two shots hit Hale and then Campbell, thus ended the "Four dead in five seconds" gunfight of El Paso.
Collectors and storytellers alike are sure to appreciate Denny Karchner's pencil rendition of these historical firearms in his piece called The Three Ubertis. An Italian gun manufacturer, Uberti is internationally known for their fine Western vintage firearms. Buffalo Trader Online has made it possible for you to own an artistic piece of 'smoking barrel' history!
The legend lives!
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