Luke Short

39
Luke Short bigraphy, stories - American busnessman

Luke Short : biography

1854 – September 8, 1893

Luke L. Short (1854-September 8, 1893) was an American Old West gunfighter, who had worked as a farmer, cowboy, whiskey peddler, army scout, dispatch rider, gambler, and saloon keeper at various times during his almost four decades life.

Early life

Short was born in Mississippi; his family having moved to Texas when he was two years of age. As a teenager he left home after it was rumored that he had killed another youth with a pair of scissors. He became a cowboy, working herds north to the Kansas railheads. He traveled to Abilene, Kansas, in 1870, and attempted to make a living as a professional gambler.

In 1876, he arrived in Sidney, Nebraska, where he obtained employment as a whiskey peddler. During this time he sold whiskey illegally to Sioux Indians from a trading post far north of Sidney. This was a federal offense. Short later admitted to killing a half dozen inebriated Sioux natives on various occasions during this venture. Despite this, Short was hired as a scout for the United States Army and worked in that capacity from 1878 to 1879.

According to Ed Lemmon in "Boss Cowman," he was in Ogallala, Nebraska, the northern point of the Texas Trail, from 1877 to 1878. During this time, he gambled at Cowboy’s Rest Saloon, sometimes in the company of Bat Masterson. James Cook, in "40 Years…" said that he had watched Short practicing drawing his gun on the banks of South Platte River. Cook claimed that he had never seen anyone faster than Short.

Short versus Courtright gunfight

In Fort Worth, Short was involved in another of the most famous historical gunfights. Short had developed an invested interest in the White Elephant Saloon. "Longhair" Jim Courtright, a former marshal of Fort Worth, reportedly ran a protection racket in which he offered his "protection" to saloon and gambling house owners. Short told Courtright that he would protect his own place. This irritated Courtright, and many now believe that Courtright felt it was necessary for his other protection interests to make an example of Short as to what could happen if his services were declined.

On a cold night of February 8, 1887, Courtright called Short out of the White Elephant saloon. Courtright reportedly had been drinking, some words were passed, and the two men walked down the street about one block. There, facing one another, Courtright said something in reference to Short’s gun, apparently to give the impression that the inevitable gunfight was "in self-defense." Short stated he was not armed, although he was. Short then indicated that Courtright could check for himself, and walking toward Courtright, he opened his vest. When he did so, Courtright said loudly "Don’t you pull a gun on me.", and quickly drew his pistol.

However, Courtright’s pistol hung on his watch-chain for a brief second, at which time Short pulled his pistol and fired one shot. The bullet tore off Courtright’s right thumb, rendering him incapable of firing his single-action revolver. As he tried to switch the pistol to his left hand, Short fired at least four more times and killed Courtright.

The gunfight became a well known because of the notoriety of both men. Courtright was given a grand funeral with hundreds in attendance. Despite his corruption, he had lowered Fort Worth’s murder rate by more than half during his time as town marshal. No blame was held toward Short however, and although he was brought to trial for the shooting, it was ruled justifiable self-defense.

In popular culture

Luke Short is featured in the Activision video game Gun. He was also an inspiration for the French/Belgium comic book series, Lucky Luke!

Short was played by the actor Wally Cassell in a 1955 episode of the syndicated television series, Stories of the Century, with Jim Davis in the starring role of railroad detective Matt Clark. The part of rival Jim Courtright was portrayed by Robert Knapp.