The gun battle at the end of this book was known as “Too Much Blood” and “The Battle of the Plaza.” It did not happen exactly as I have depicted here. I changed it to fit Butler into the mix. The other principals—except Ruger and his men, who are my creations—actually were in Dodge City at the time.
Ben Thompson spent a lot of time in Dodge, maybe just not when I had him there.
Henry Plummer, as far as anyone knows, was hung in 1864 for his crimes against the towns of Bannock and Virginia City, Montana—committed while he was sheriff. There is a rumor he escaped hanging and went into hiding, but no one knows for sure.
The telegram sent to Bat Masterson in Tombstone was real, and has always been attributed to an anonymous source. That just made it easy for me to give the credit to my character, Butler. The telegram was part of the reason Bat Masterson was not in Tombstone during the O.K. Corral.
But he had his own Battle of the Plaza.
About the Author
ROBERT J. RANDISI is the creator and writer of the popular series The Gunsmith, under the pseudonym “J.R. Roberts.” He is the author of The Sons of Daniel Shaye series and many other western novels written under his own name.
Books by Robert J. Randisi
THE GAMBLERS
THE SONS OF DANIEL SHAYE
