Original subtitles

If you don't already Know the name bat masterson,

You should,

Because in my day, I was one of the most feared

And respected men On the frontier.

Give me that.

Certainly, bat masterson Is the most famous

Of all the western lawmen.

Bat masterson Was an adventurer.

He always wanted to see what Was around the next corner.

I came of age during one of The most exciting and dangerous

Eras of the old west --

The great slaughter Of the buffalo.

I fought for my life against The fearsome comanche indians.

Billy dixon called bat A chunk of steel,

And anything That struck him drew fire.

And I prevailed in gunfights Against deadly outlaws.

Well, bat masterson is of that Brand of man that's not

Afraid to mix it up, Got style, a gambler.

Come here, darlin'! I earned my reputation

Beside men like wyatt earp, Keeping the peace

In the roughest town the west Would ever know...

My name's masterson, mister.

...That pit of vice and danger Known as dodge city.

He's accustomed to violence. He doesn't shrink from it.

And that's just the kind of man You want to keep order

In a very violent place.

Masterson, without really Knowing it,

Changed the west forever.

[ gunshot ]

-- captions by vitac -- www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

[ gunshot ]

At the age of 49, I'd already Experienced a lifetime of danger

In the old west, but the Frontier had vanished long ago.

That morning in new york, I wished only

To go about my business As a private citizen.

Bat had just arrived in new york City, was thinking about

Going off to europe...

What's the headline? Miners are still on strike, sir.

...When he was, of all things, Arrested on a bunco charge.

Hold on. What's this about?

Mr. Masterson, we're with The metropolitan police.

We have a warrant For your arrest.

Arrest? Why in god's name?

Gamblin' fraud.

A very prominent man from utah Claimed that masterson

Had been part of a gang That had defrauded him.

That's preposterous.

Bat: I could only chuckle At the irony.

In my day, men would die At the hands of lawmen

Rather than give up Their weapons.

But by 1902, the nation Had changed, and so had I.

Careful with that piece, boy.

He was furious because They confiscated his gun.

This was actually his real Pistol, the one he had carried

Throughout all of his western Adventures.

That's the most famous gun You'll ever touch.

Right this way, sir.

[ laughter, chattering ]

Oh, he was a reprobate.

Bat: the charges against me Were quickly dropped,

But news of my arrest Spread around town.

I thought my years of notoriety As a gunfighter

Were forgotten long ago.

Doc holliday Was a notorious drunk.

But reporters were eager to hear My tales once more.

I bailed him out of jail One time in denver.

He never even bought me a drink. Horse's ass.

And I'll admit, I've never been Shy about tellin' 'em.

Eastman: After bat is arrested,

Everything's been put In the newspapers.

They remember bat masterson.

They now have a true living Gunfighter in their presence.

Is it true you killed 26 men, Mr. Masterson?

Never killed a man I remember.

Maybe pointed my gun At one or two.

[ laughter ]

Really?

What about melvin king?

Or the night your brother Ed was killed?

What happened then?

You must've shot Someone, bat,

If dodge city truly was As wild as they say.

What you gentlemen should know

About what we now call The old west

Is that under certain Circumstances,

A man's reputation was more Vital to his safety

Than any skill with a pistol Or propensity for violence.

I hope you'll keep that in mind As I recount my story,

Which is well worth the hearing.

All right.

Where does it start?

It starts with something none Of you pups have ever seen

Nor ever will --

Herds of buffalo,

Vast, unaccountable herds.

Back then, They'd darken the prairie

All the way to the horizon.

I was born in canada in 1853

And, as a teenager, moved with My parents to the united states.

My family eventually took up Farming in sedgwick, kansas.

But I felt the call of the west,

Where any man could choose A destiny of his own.

By my 20th year, I was living on the frontier,

Earning my keep As a buffalo hunter.

Eastman: the western atmosphere Of kansas, nebraska,

It's pretty much the way It is today.

It's still rolling hills. It's very wide-open.

[ gunshot ]

Bat: from dawn until dusk, The prairie echoed

With rifle shots...

How many is that? Third one, boss.

Pick it up, son.

...As hundreds of buffalo Hunters plied their trade.

My brother ed and I Were among 'em.

Yo, bat, I heard dixon Got 44 yesterday.

I'm up 12 on ya. Ain't no excuse now.

We'd come west together, Eager to find fortunes

Of our own.

I'd have 12 too if I was using A shotgun, big brother.

O'neal: ed masterson was the First born of seven children.

He was bat's older brother.

But something about bat's Personality,

You'd think the oldest child Would be type a.

But instead, bat sort of Called the shots.

Bat: buffalo hunting was An industry, not a sport.

Looks like we're makin' money Today, ed.

Hundreds of thousands of buffalo Were killed and skinned

Each season.

Hunters became so efficient that The year 1873 became known

As the great slaughter.

Smalley: Bat masterson was a shooter.

He was too good to be A stinker or a skinner.

A hunter could stand there And blast away for 40 minutes

And kill 150 buffalo.

O'neal: a hunter like bat would Finance a wagon,

A couple of skinners would Come with him,

And he would go out and try To find a herd.

The buffalo hunt was on, And these men were making money

Hand over fist.

The great slaughter really Didn't come about until

The federal government wanted to Eradicate the american indian,

And the federal government Decided, "Well, if we kill off

Their food supply, we'll get rid Of the american indians."

The wagon were pulling into Town, right?

All these kids were running out, Thinking...

Bat: I learned more about life In one year of buffalo hunting

Than I could have ever learned In school.

I became an expert with a pistol And a rifle,

Learned to track beasts And men from the best guides

In the west, and forged Life-long bonds with men

I could depend upon With my life.

[ shouting ]

That's where bat's gonna Cut his teeth.

He's gonna learn to drink.

He's gonna learn to shoot, All skills that you'll need

When you wind up in dodge city.

[ gunshot ] Come on! Giddup!

Bat masterson and the other Buffalo hunters that were

Working in the dodge city area, It didn't take long

Before they pretty much killed All of the buffalo in the area.

But they got wind of the fact That, in the texas panhandle,

They still roamed large And free.

The texas panhandle was ruled by The comanches

And the kiowa indians.

So there was a risk,

But he and several others Just couldn't resist.

They made their way to a place Called adobe walls.

Years before, adobe walls Had served as a trading post

For other hunters who were Trading with the indians.

They had gotten run out by The kiowa and the comanche.

But bat masterson and several Others decided they were gonna

Try it again.

Isn't this where kit carson Got in trouble

About 10 years back? That's right.

About 300 or 400 kiowa And comanche

Ran him right out of town.

[ distant shouting ]

Smalley: While at adobe walls,

These men were highly on edge.

Reports of indian killings In the surrounding area

Were starting to come in With increasing frequency.

They knew that the indians Were on an uprising,

And they knew that they were Right in the center of it.

Hutton: comanches had decided To rid the country

Of this pestilence once and For all and protect their herd.

[ shouting, gunshots ]

Bat: the dawn's light revealed That we were surrounded

By ferocious comanche warriors.

It's not worth it. Shut it!

You'll thank me later. [ groaning ]

Hutton: They attacked at dawn.

Fortunately, The men were awake.

And while two were killed Instantly because they were

Sleeping in wagons outside,

The rest were immediately At the portholes and the windows

And the doorways blazing away.

And, of course, This was a tough crowd.

[ bullets whizzing ]

Not only was Bat masterson there,

But billy dixon, One of the greatest

Of the western plainsmen Was there.

[ cocks rifle, Shouting continues ]

Bat: we were 200 miles From fort dodge

And, though we were well armed And supplied,

We knew it was only A matter of time

Before we were scalped alive.

¶

¶

[ gunshot ]

[ men shouting, gunshots ]

Bat: the buffalo hunting Expedition I had joined in texas

Had turned into a grim battle For survival.

The fearsome comanche And kiowa indians,

Whose lands we'd violated,

Had surrounded our camp and were Eager to take our scalps.

Gomber: bat was at the second Battle of adobe walls

In the texas panhandle, which Was quite a battle, actually.

[ gunshot, bullet whizzes ]

Weiser-alexander: As bat masterson

And the other members Of the buffalo hunting camp

Were enclosed Within adobe walls,

A group of comanche and kiowa Warriors surrounded the camp.

[ gunshot ] I say we wait 'em out.

Each time those heathens rush Us, we knock off 10 more.

The sheer numbers of the kiowa And the comanche,

There's no way that they could Possibly win.

Best bet, we wait till dark.

Then, me, billy and one Other will slip out.

With any luck, one of us Will make it.

I don't need to tell you what They do to captureds, do I?

Not me, you don't. I've seen it myself.

Bat's right, boys. Some of us go for help.

The rest stay here And keep 'em occupied.

Billy dixon, who is a legendary Marksman in his own time,

Fired what has become known As the shot of the century.

I believe they're Out of range, billy.

Maybe.

Ferguson: When the smoke cleared,

The indian falls off the horse Up there on that hill.

Of course, the rest of 'em dash Back down behind the hill.

That was the last they saw Of the indians.

[ exhales ] Damn, billy.

The u.S. Army corps of engineers In later years went out

And measured that shot At 7/10 of a mile.

Billy dixon Knew the importance

Of deliberation And of accuracy.

After that, everybody who was Anybody in the west claimed

To have been at adobe walls.

But in the case of masterson, It was actually true.

[ laughter ]

To billy dixon! Billy dixon!

And to bat masterson!

And bat masterson!

Bat: after adobe walls, I'd had Enough of the buffalo trade.

Cheers.

So I spent a year working As a scout

And teamster for the army.

It was hard labor, But it paid well.

And soon, I found myself In sweetwater, texas.

Now, you just sit right here On my knee, darlin',

And give me a kiss When I win this hand.

And what if you don't win?

I had money in my pocket, A colt on my hip,

And the world at my feet,

But no idea at all that I would soon face death

At the hands of a murderous Frontier thug.

Smalley: during his years In the buffalo camps,

Bat had gotten to know his way Around a deck of cards.

He'd endeared himself to the -- The rougher men

As a man who could hold His liquor.

Sweetwater, texas, had both.

See, monte's a game of skill And nerve, two qualities

I possess in abundance. And luck, dummy.

It's all luck.

Most men who play this game Go home with empty pockets.

About that time, in walks a man By the name of melvin king.

There were a lot of dastardly Folks out there

In buffalo country at that time,

And he just happened To be one of them.

Smalley: melvin king was A soldier essentially

Because he needed a job when He was getting in trouble.

It's cold out there. Somebody pour me a drink.

It was a relatively steady Paycheck,

At least until he got drunk, got In trouble and was kicked out.

Melvin, ain't that your girl?

He also happened to be In love with mollie brennan,

Who bat was Outrageously flirting with.

Mollie!

Who the hell is that?

Damn whore!

My name's masterson, mister,

And you're taking your life In your own hands

Talkin' that way to my friend.

And I suggest you turn around And walk away.

He immediately saw red.

He was a very, very jealous man, And he pulled out his gun.

Next thing you know, Bullets are flying.

[ bystanders screaming ]

Hey!

Anyone wanna meet their maker Here and now?

Unfortunately, the very first One hits his love,

Mollie brennan. Back up.

Get back! The second one hits

Bat masterson in his pelvis.

But bat is quick, pulls his gun,

And sends a deadly bullet Into melvin king.

Bat: I remember every detail Of that moment --

The bitter taste of The cheap whiskey we drank,

The winning hand of monte I was holding,

The deafening crack Of king's pistol,

But most vividly,

The look in mollie brennan's eye

As she fell to a bullet Intended for me.

I'd learned much about Living in the eye of danger

In those early days.

That scoundrel melvin king Taught me a lesson

I have not forgotten To this very day.

Skill and vigilance aren't Enough to win a gunfight.

A man needs luck as well.

I'd survived My first gunfight -- barely.

I was still recovering from The nearly fatal wound

When I took a job Even more dangerous

Than scouting for the army. [ men whooping, shouting ]

As soon as I was able to walk, I put on a lawman's badge

Alongside a good friend from My buffalo huntin' days.

You look like hell Warmed over, bat.

You sure You're up for a scrape?

Smalley: wyatt earp -- What else can be said?

The man is the quintessential Legend of the american west.

I'd give a silver dollar For each of you!

[ laughing ]

By force of reputation alone,

Wyatt's name to this very day Defines the west.

Eastman: when bat went back To dodge city,

At this time, wyatt earp was one Of the assistant marshals

For dodge city, And he convinced bat

To come on And work with him there.

[ laughs ] I swear, I can't Take you boys anywhere!

If you soften up for me, I'll jump in when I'm ready.

[ laughter ]

That's not good, boy!

Come on back here now. Ha ha!

Bat: wyatt earp was a man I could trust with my life.

Together, we set out to tackle A tough assignment --

Look at this.

Keepin' the peace in the wildest Town the west would ever know.

Go bunk up and sleep it off.

Dodge city was an incredibly Violent and dangerous town.

Yeah?

[ spits ]

What if we don't want to?

¶

[ gunshot ]

Woo-hoo, boys!

I tell you what, it's been One hell of a ride.

In 1876, I, bat masterson, Had become dodge city's

Assistant marshal, alongside My good friend wyatt earp.

Even better, my brother jim Had come back out

From the family farm,

Eager to win his own reputation As a lawman.

Jim combined The greatest qualities

Of his two older brothers,

And he was just as tough, If not tougher, than bat.

[ laughing ] Woo, man.

So, what about that cane?

Do you really need it?

Ah, that famous cane.

You see, of course, I still carry it.

Came in handy On more than one occasion.

How you doing, boys?

All right, boys. You've had Enough sport for today.

Get to whip up On another marshal.

Bell: the cowboys coming out From texas

Who had been on the trail

For three months, They all got paid,

And they were gonna Spend it all in one night,

As they usually did.

And so for bat masterson And wyatt earp to be

Essentially bouncers in a biker Bar, it was really intense.

Go bunk up and sleep it off.

Yeah?

[ spits, snorts ]

What if we don't want to?

Wyatt was the type of person Who would use

Any means necessary To subdue a criminal.

Well, then, we'll try it This way.

[ laughter ]

There's another one, boys.

He was in no way ashamed To use his fists

Or any other blunt object To get his point across.

Ten dollars on wyatt.

Against who? All of 'em.

[ grunting ]

Earp was apparently really Well-coordinated

Because he was Good at fisticuffs.

After bat masterson was injured,

He utilized a cane For the rest of his life.

You act up in his territory, He might just beat you

Over the head with it.

Smalley: the cane came in Awful handy as a weapon.

A smack from a hickory stick Will get anybody's point across,

And bat used it to full effect.

How 'bout it, boys?

We're game if you are.

Come on. Get up.

Get up!

Have you had enough? Come on. Let's go.

Just funnin', marshal. Get up!

He's drunk.

Bat: dodge city was lucky To have wyatt earp

And the masterson brothers Keeping the peace.

And that brawl was merely A taste of what was to come.

Dodge city was only just Becoming queen of the cow towns.

Dodge city was one of the first Communities in western kansas.

Smalley: it starts with The santa fe trail.

Even during the years of the Civil war while north and south

Were being torn apart, East and west were

Being drawn together Through the immigrant trails,

And three-quarters of it went

Right through The state of kansas.

That was the economic highway For the entire united states

At that time.

Ferguson: by the time The railroad had gotten here

In september of 1872,

There was reportedly already 40,000 buffalo hides

Layin' beside The railroad track.

And, of course, dodge city Sprung up almost overnight.

Gomber: well, tombstone And deadwood

Were boomtowns, Mining towns.

Dodge city was a cattle town, And that's why it boomed.

And boom it did.

So when the season was on For cattle being driven up

From texas, it was the wildest Town in the country.

They needed to put on all sorts Of extra policemen

And everything else to just keep The lid on the place.

Lots of folks In this town

Think you ought to stand For sheriff.

Well, what's it pay?

I don't know. Probably not enough.

Another one?

Bat throws his hat In the ring

In the county sheriff election

After a rather bitter enemy Announces his candidacy

For the same position.

No, this one's on me, bat.

Thanks, hank.

If you run for sheriff, You got my vote.

When he ran for sheriff, he Promised people that they would

Not be disappointed In his behavior.

He only won it by three votes, But he still won it.

He was the youngest sheriff At that time.

Hutton: by the time Bat masterson

Is sheriff of ford county,

Even though he's still Very young,

He's an experienced Frontiersman.

He's grown up on the frontier. He's been a buffalo hunter.

He's run with the toughest Of the hombres of the west.

Bat: as sheriff, I found myself Chasing fugitives

And horse thieves from one end Of ford county to the other.

My days as a frontier scout And guide paid off.

I knew every trail and track In western kansas.

Heard it's supposed to Rain all night.

You wanna come in And bunk up?

Very few desperadoes escaped me Once I'd taken up the chase.

Hands up through the bar, Or so help me,

I'll put a bullet In your chest.

[ gun cocks ]

Seems like you're beggin' To get killed here, dave.

Much as I'd like to, I can't oblige.

So if you're done playin',

I suggest you have Some coffee.

You're required in dodge city Tomorrow morning.

We'll be riding all night.

Bat became known all over The territory

As a man not to be trifled with In regards to law enforcement.

If he set out to get ya, He was gonna get ya.

Bat: old dodge.

There was never a place like it,

Nor will we ever see one again.

It was american's bastion of Vice, danger and wickedness.

Its outrageous reputation Drew the curious

And the wicked in droves.

Smalley: april 9, 1878, The time is 10 p.M.

How are you?

City marshal ed masterson is Patrolling the streets of dodge,

Looking into all the saloons.

[ laughter, chattering ]

Weiser-alexander: And there's two cowboys

That are carrying on and Living it up like cowboys do

When they come off Those cattle drives.

And he steps over to them, And they're armed.

Dodge city has a law.

You cannot be armed In dodge city.

He approaches jack wagner, Informs him of the law.

Listen, fella. You can't have That shootin' iron in here.

We have an ordinance about Carrying firearms in this town.

Bat: my brother ed was now Working as a lawman

In dodge city.

We enforce it.

He and I often encountered Ruffians with little respect

For the law.

We made sure they understood That we were in charge

Of dodge city, not them.

Jack wagner, though drunk, Agrees to turn over his gun.

All right, marshal. He didn't know.

I'm his trail boss.

I'll check it with the barkeep, If that'll do.

We weren't stupid. We didn't want

6,000 drunk cowboys with guns.

You stay out of trouble, Okay?

So ed goes back outside And meets up with his deputy,

And they're standing out there Talking when out comes

Those two very same men.

Bat: ed had earned a reputation As a fair and honest marshal,

And I was proud of my brother,

But also worried that his status Might place him in danger.

Didn't I just tell you You can't be carrying

That gun in town?

Don't you see this badge?

It had started off As a normal evening,

At least by dodge city Standards.

But that night, I would see My worst fears come to pass.

Badge or no badge, You can go to hell.

Give me that.

[ gunshot ]

¶

[ gunshot ]

In 1878, I, bat masterson,

Had become a respected lawman In dodge city,

As had my brother, ed.

We both faced off against dozens Of unruly cowboys

And drunken thugs.

And at first, these two Seemed no different.

Eastman: Walker comes walking out.

Ed happens to look over And sees that walker now has

The gun back in his holster.

Didn't I just tell you You can't be carrying

That gun in town?

Like a lot of western towns,

You weren't allowed to Carry a gun.

Don't you see this badge? It says marshal.

Ed masterson is the town lawman,

And he's enforcing The ordinance.

Badge or no badge, You can go to hell.

You son of a bitch, Give me that.

Ed goes to reach for the gun.

Give me that. Give -- Give me that.

As ed attempted to disarm Jack wagner,

A single shot was fired. [ gunshot, screaming ]

The bullet entered Masterson's gut.

The powder burns were so close That his shirt, in fact,

Caught fire.

Weiser-alexander: In the distance,

Bat masterson sees him...

...And comes running Towards him.

Bat: my everlasting regret,

I took no counsel of my fears.

I felt assured ed's cool head And agreeable ways

Would always Keep him from harm.

[ distant screaming ] [ grunts ]

I'm of a mind to bury you Here and now.

Ed's shot real bad. You better come.

Stay with this one Till the surgeon comes.

If he moves, kill him.

My brother's end came swiftly.

Shot through the body At point-blank range,

He lingered for half an hour

And went to his reward.

Eastman: bat actually did Watch ed pass away.

He held ed's hand At the very end.

Bat: ed died keeping the peace In a lawless town.

His loss was keenly felt By many,

But by none so deeply as myself.

I had little time to mourn Ed's death

Before I was called back to duty

Because a vicious desperado Named james kenedy

Held a grudge against The mayor of dodge city.

James kenedy was born With an evil temper.

He was a troublemaker. He was a lout.

He had already been in more Than one shooting scrape.

He was arrested at one point Or another by both wyatt earp

And by jim masterson.

Kenedy begins to complain To the mayor

About the mistreatment That kenedy has had

By mayor dog kelley's Law enforcement people.

Kelley's not gonna have Any dealings with this.

Smalley: Kenedy's pride is damaged.

He made it known around town That mayor kelley

And the rest of the dodge city Lawmen were going to pay.

Bat: whether kenedy planned To kill the mayor of dodge

Or just scare him, We never found out.

But his bullets found An altogether different

And entirely innocent victim,

A beautiful showgirl Named dora hand.

Unbeknownst to kenedy, Kelley did not happen to be

In his home that evening.

Kelley had, for some time, Been renting the backroom

Of his house to both dora hand

And a fellow singer, Fannie garretson.

Make way.

Oh, my god! They shot dora!

Dora happened to be in kelley's Bed the fateful evening

When those bullets came Ricocheting through the door.

That's dora hand. Aw, hell.

Fannie, don't just Stand there gawkin'.

Go find a surgeon.

One of the bullets went Through the wall,

Punctured her heart, Killed her instantly.

Bat: no person I ever knew Was less deserving

Of her fate than dora.

I vowed then and there that Kenedy would face harsh justice,

Either at the end Of a hangman's rope

Or from the barrel of my rifle.

While the posse was forming, Word of the violence

Had gotten out someone had been Killed that night in dodge city.

Slowly, it became known That it was actually dora.

Bat: kenedy had 10 hours Head start on us,

So we had a lot of ground To make up.

But I had a hunch I knew Where he was going.

I was a gambler, and I knew Exactly what the odds would be.

Smalley: they rode south, Knowing full well

That kenedy was heading Back for home

To the ranch where his father And the ranch hands

Could protect him.

They supposed that kenedy Was going to try

To throw them off the trail.

Charlie bassett at that time Was city marshal,

Wyatt earp His assistant marshal.

Bat masterson, county sheriff,

Was not about to be Left out of this posse.

You know, bat, I bet you $10 He doesn't come this way.

I'll take that bet.

Each one of the men In this intrepid posse

Was a force of Nature unto himself.

Kenedy appears on the rise In the northern distance.

Bill! Charlie!

Bat, looks like It's your lucky day.

He's instantly recognizable As the man

That they've been Looking for.

One of the posse, Most likely bat, hails kenedy,

Makes their presence clear.

Kenedy, halt!

[ horse whinnies ]

[ gunfire ]

Bat masterson is rumored To be the one

Who fired the bullet

That shattered kenedy's Shoulder...

Let's go.

...Virtually down to his elbow.

It was a debilitating wound. Kenedy was done.

[ rifle cocks ]

Get up.

Get up.

You should've been a better shot And killed me here.

[ coughs ] That'd be too easy, spike.

See, I figured on giving you Some time to ponder your demise.

[ coughs ]

When you're danglin' From the hangman's rope,

I'll be watching From the front row.

Bat: when my term as sheriff Of ford county ended,

I ran for re-election,

But dodge city's Corrupt politicians

Ran a slanderous campaign Against me.

Rather than sink to their level,

I accepted my loss with dignity And took a job

At wyatt earp's oriental saloon In tombstone.

Bat arrived in town With quite the reputation.

All right, gentlemen. Place your bets.

O'neal: if you had a dealer With a reputation

Like bat masterson,

People would come just to say "I played with so-and-so."

He would be the house dealer At a faro game or something.

They attracted customers, Unlike some seedy character

Who nobody knows.

Bat: but I barely arrived Before a family crisis

Called me back to dodge.

Mr. Masterson, I have a telegram.

Bat received a telegram From an unsigned person

That told him that his brother Jim was in grave danger.

Wyatt, I got to go. Jim's in trouble up in dodge.

I'd already lost one brother to Dodge city's violent criminals.

As I rode the express back To dodge,

I promised myself I wouldn't Let that happen again.

¶

[ gunshot ]

Bat: in april 1881,

Three years to the month Since I'd lost my brother ed

In dodge city,

My other brother, jim, Faced mortal peril.

When a pair of dangerous men Threatened his safety,

I prepared to risk my life Without hesitation.

As soon as I got jim's telegram,

I caught the next train From tombstone to dodge.

His brother jim was having Trouble with a partner of his

In the lady gay saloon On the wrong side of the plaza.

Smalley: jim bought into The lady gay saloon.

His partner was a.J. Peacock,

A dodge city old-timer

Who'd been here Almost since day one.

Jim getting himself Into trouble in dodge

Led bat to leave tombstone

And thus miss strollin' down The street

To the o.K. Corral With the earps,

'cause you know He would have gone.

Peacock had hired His brother-in-law

To be a bartender.

Jim considered Updegraff to be a drunk

And attempted to have Him discharged.

It was a point of contention, And, of course,

Peacock was not about to fire His brother-in-law,

No matter his faults.

According to mr. Updegraff,

James had come into the saloon,

Leveled his gun and demanded That updegraff leave dodge.

Someone was gonna get hurt.

Bat: I knew jim had bad blood With his untrustworthy partners,

But until I read that telegram, I had no idea

Their dispute had turned deadly.

Smalley: april 16, 1881,

Bat masterson arrives Back in dodge city.

He has just traveled roughly 1,100 miles

From tombstone, arizona.

Bat is anticipating A confrontation.

He doesn't know what angle It's going to come from,

But he's here To have a confrontation.

And who does he see But peacock and updegraff,

And he hollers at 'em...

I've come a thousand miles To settle this.

I know you're heeled. Now fight!

A common phrase for being armed In the west was "Being heeled."

So if you're getting crossways With a guy, "Go heel yourself,"

Or, "You're heeled. Start shooting!"

Updegraff pulls his weapon And starts shooting.

The bullets are flying.

Smalley: two of bat's and jim's Friends ran up.

They started firing On the south side crowd

That was allied With peacock and updegraff.

So now this town is getting Involved, and now we've got

Gunshots Coming from everywhere.

You've could of had easily 100, 150 shots fired.

Updegraff took a bullet In his chest.

Now, he ultimately survived it,

But he took a bullet In the lung.

Weiser-alexander: Masterson and peacock

Had both taken cover, And the bullets

Continue to fly until both Of their pistols are empty.

[ clicking ]

Mayor a.B. Webster, Seeing the lull in the shooting,

Took the opportunity To grab his shotgun,

Run up, And demanded his surrender.

Easy, bat. I got to place you under arrest.

Is jim okay?

Jim's fine. You have my word.

And that was the famous battle Of the plaza in 1881.

Bat: through my life,

I've often felt the hand of Fortune keeping me from harm.

Certainly, I felt it that day, For even though the air

Was alive with bullets Fired by friend and foe alike,

I escaped unscathed.

[ indistinct conversations ]

There he is.

He was fined the maximum, At that time, fee

For disturbing The peace.

What'd they say?

Fined 8 bucks for disturbing The peace.

Man: eight dollars? [ crowd murmuring ]

Hey, now what?

Jim very quickly dissolved His partnership

With a.J. Peacock, And together,

He and bat masterson left town.

Bat: despite the fact That only updegraff

Had been injured In the shootout,

My reputation Had been shattered.

I was blamed for starting The biggest gunfight

Dodge had ever seen.

And I knew my days as A peacekeeper there were over.

[ inhales sharply ] Well, jim, I say it's about time

We get the hell out of dodge.

Weiser-alexander: Bat took that very hard.

Because of his code of conduct, It was important to him

That people respected him, And they respected him

For the right reasons,

Not so much because he was A good gunfighter,

But because he was An honest man.

Bat: after I left dodge, The years flew by.

I because well known as A gambler and a sporting man,

Promoting prizefights Across the country.

As my days in dodge Dwindled into the past,

My reputation as a gunfighter Grew more remarkable

Each time my story was told.

Eastman: bat's reputation Actually came about about 1881.

He was in gunnison, colorado.

There was a new york reporter

Who had come out west To live the wild west.

The new york reporter had heard That there was a gunfight

Every five minutes, Always at noon,

Showdowns in the street.

Dr. Cockrell, who was A friend of bat's,

Saw what was going on.

The reporter was getting very Discouraged, was ready to leave.

Cockrell called him over And said,

"See that man standing Over in the corner?

"That gentleman over there Is actually the person

"You want to write about, And the person that's actually

Killed at least 26 to 28 men."

Mr. Masterson, you've got quite A gift for telling stories.

He starts writing For the "New york telegraph,"

And he gets a very large Following because people are,

"Hey, this is a real Gunfighter."

Bat: and so I began My final career,

Working as a reporter In new york city.

I had ridden with or against Most of the famous gunfighters

Who shaped the lore of the west.

I had seen the last of The buffalo,

Fought the brave And deadly comanche.

I had done all that a free man On the frontier could do.

And in the end,

Well, I achieved a feat almost None of them accomplished.

I lived to see old age.

O'neal: bat was Working on his column,

And he died over his desk.

Mr. Masterson?

He was halfway through it,

And he had said something About how,

"Well, life, you know, really Equals out in some ways.

"The rich man gets his ice In the summer

And the poor man In the winter."

And then [pops] There he was, Slumped over that last message.

Masterson is a wonderful Transition figure between

The real wild west And sort of fantasy wild west

That takes on a whole new life In the 20th century

In novels and histories, And, especially, of course,

In motion pictures And then in television.

Bat was a fascinating character In his own right.

I think we remember bat The most because...

Over the years he's become The household name

He probably never dreamed He would have been at the time.

My name's masterson, mister.

I think the argument Could be made that bat masterson

Was the best lawman in the west.

I know you're heeled. Now, fight!

[ gunfire ]