The original BATMAN
William Bartholomew/Barclay “Bat” Masterson
The pen is mightier than the gun…
Born on Sat 26 November 1853 in Quebec, Canada
Buffalo Hunter, US Army Scout, Indian Fighter, Lawman, US Marshal, Gambler, Adventurer, Journalist extraordinaire and true-blue Renaissance man.
Bat and his BEST Friend Forever, Wyatt Earp, kept the peace as law enforcement officers in the “wickedest cow town” of the Wild West, Dodge City, where danger and death lurked in every dark corner and back alley.
When guns speak, death settles dispute…
Bat Masterson preferred a compact Colt revolver with a hair trigger for close work and a high wide front sight for precise aimed fire. Compact for concealabilty. Gutta percha handles for a non slip good grip, much like Hogue grips preferred by professionals today.
The inscription “Bat Masterson” on the backstrap was typical of guns ordered by Masterson from Colt’s.
One of Eight
During the course of his career as a lawman and gambler, Bat ordered a total of eight single-action revolvers from Colt’s. The most notable was an order made from Dodge City and written on Opera House Saloon stationary in July 1885 which stated:
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Gents
Please send Me one of your nickel plated short .45 calibre revolvers. It is for my own use and for that reason I would like to have a little Extra pains taken with it. I am willing to pay Extra for Extra work. Make it very Easy on the trigger and have the front Sight a little higher and thicker than the ordinary pistol of this Kind. Put on a gutta percha handle and send it as soon as possible, have the barrel about the same length that the ejector rod is.
Truly Yours
W B Masterson
P.S. Duplicate the above order by sending 2
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The figure “8” is a very lucky and auspicious number in Chinese mythology.
West meets EAST…
The unsettled west that Bat and Ed Masterson had ventured into in the 1870s as young men was all but gone by the turn of the century, as was Bat’s enthusiasm for the life. In the summer of 1902 be boarded a train in Denver bound for New York City and began a career as a sports writer, journalist and author, penning the series of articles in 1907 about his life that would become the foundation for his book Famous Gunfighters of the Western Frontier.
Lawman and gunfighter William Barclay Masterson turned out to be one of the finest sports writers of the early 20th century, working as a journalist and sports editor at the Morning Telegraph up until his death, still at his desk the morning of October 25, 1921 when his heart gave out and he passed into the pages of immortality at age 67.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/almanac-bat-masterson/
There is an old adage that “there are bold gunfighters and there are old gunfighters, but that there are no old, bold gunfighters.” Bat Masterson was one of the few exceptions. Long after Dodge City was behind him Bat kept the legend alive, not as a gunfighter or lawman…but as a journalist; proof perhaps, that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, or the gun! One of the few gunfighters who died peacefully with his boots off. TRUTH is often-times the best author of all. John 8:32
I was born on Saturday 26 November too.
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#wildwest #genebarry #dodgecity #wyattearp #coltfirearms #coltpeacemaker #colt45
The Travelling Gourmet 