Mysterious Dave Mather

Mysterious Dave Mather
David Allen "Mysterious Dave"Mather posed for his only known photograph sometime during his term as Assistant Marshal of Dodge City (June 1, 1883 – April 10, 1884)
Born	August 10, 1851 Saybrook, Connecticut, USA
Died	c. May 1886 Dallas, Texas
Occupation(s)	Lawman Buffalo Hunter Hired Gun
Years active	1870s – 1885

David Allen Mather, known as "Mysterious Dave" Mather was an American lawman and gunfighter in the American Old West. His taciturn personality may have been what earned him the sobriquet "Mysterious Dave. " Historical records show that he was a lawman in Dodge City, Kansas, and Las Vegas, New Mexico

A Connecticut Yankee

Twenty-five year-old father, Ulysses W. Mather, married 17 year-old Lydia E. Wright in Westbrook, Connecticut on July 16, 1848. They were married in the Westbrook Congregational Church by Rev. William A. Hyde. The couple shortly moved to the nearby town of Saybrook, Connecticut.

Their first son, David Allen Mather, was born on August 10, 1851. Josiah Wright Mather was born on October 11, 1854 and George Conway Mather was born in 1855 but died the following year. After Dave was born, the portion of Saybrook that his family lived in was subdivided to create Essex, Connecticut. Essex was distinguished by the large number of sea captains who made the town their home port, among them Dave's father, Captain Ulysses W. Mather.

Shortly after their third son died in 1856, Ulysses Mather left his wife and two surviving sons, telling them, "I'm not coming back." He made the perilous voyage around Cape Horn and called San Francisco his home port for the rest of his life. His family later heard rumors that Ulysses had remarried in San Francisco, but no documentation of the marriage has been found.

On Tuesday, September 13, 1864, Captain Ulysses W. Mather was murdered aboard his ship the Ellen while it was docked in Shanghai, China. The family didn't learn of his death for more than two months. The brief newspaper account provided few details. Josiah Wright Mather later said that their father had been stabbed in the back by his Chinese cook.

Dave thought he might be descended from Cotton Mather, but Horace E. Mather researched the topic and found this was not true.

All persons in this country by the name of Mather, who descended from the New England Mathers, can be traced directly to Timothy Mather, as the names cease in all other lines with Samuel Mather, the grandson of Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather. Samuel Mather died in 1818. Many Mathers in this country claim descent from Rev. Dr. Cotton Mather, but they are mistaken.

Lydia Wright Mather vs. Lydia Mather Randle

The woman who was Mysterious Dave's mother was born Lydia E. Wright on May 19, 1830 in Westbrook, Connecticut. She was the tenth, and last, child born to Josiah Wright (1784-1881) and Fanny Frances Dibble (1786-1858). She has often been confused with another Connecticut woman also named "Lydia Mather, " leading to the erroneous conclusion that Dave's mother married a man named George H. Randle, following her divorce from Captain Ulysses Mather.

The woman who wasn't Mysterious Dave's mother was born as Lydia Mather on January 6, 1831. She was the daughter of Epaphras Mather (1795-1875 ) and Lydia King (1793-1871) This woman married George Hyatt Randall on September 23, 1856 in Norwalk, Connecticut. Lydia Mather Randle died in Norwalk on August 6, 1868 at the age of 37.

The Boyhood of Dave Mather

The first time that Dave Mather was enumerated on a census record was on June 14, 1860, in Westbrook, Connecticut. He was listed as "David E. [sic] Mather, " age 8 and was living with his maternal grandfather Josiah Wright, age 76, and Josiah's second wife Miranda Wright, age 66. There was no mention of his mother, Lydia Wright Mather (who would have been thirty on the date this census was taken ) or her other son Josiah Wright Mather (who would have been five ) as being members of this household. The second time that Dave Mather was enumerated on a census was on June 23, 1870, in Westbrook, Connecticut. He was listed as "David Mather age 20" [sic] and was identified as a "laborer. " He was listed as a boarder in the household of his cousin Giles K. Dibble, age 22, and his wife Emily along with their two young children. Dave Mather was identified as being twenty at the time of this 1870 census – but he would have still been forty-eight days shy of turning nineteen on the date this census was enumerated. There is also an 1870 New Haven, Connecticut census record for "Lydia Mather age 40" who was identified as having been born in Connecticut and was then employed as a "Machine stitcher. " This would appear to Dave's mother, Lydia Wright Mather, who would have turned forty just 53 days before this census was taken on July 11, 1870.

An 1870 census record for Josiah Wright Mather still hasn't been located, but there is no doubt that he was in close proximity to his brother. During the late summer of 1870 Dave Mather, who had just turned nineteen, and Josiah, who was still fifteen, joined the crew of a cargo ship. According to the account Josiah told his son, the two teenagers went to the town of Clinton, Connecticut – which was located off Long Island Sound next to the town of Westbrook – and signed on for the voyage.Dave signed on as a deck hand, while Josiah was made a cabin boy. According to Josiah, the boys jumped ship in New Orleans. No longer Connecticut Yankees, their voyage from Connecticut to New Orleans was the first step that would allow each of them to play their roles in Wild West history.

Buffalo Chips

Josiah told his children that he remained in Louisiana for some time. Dave drifted on to Arkansas, where he was alleged to have become a member of an outlaw band that also included his his future New Mexico associates Dave Rudabaugh and Milton J. Yarberry. So far, no evidence had been found that would support the claim that Mather, Rudabaugh or Yarberry were part of an Arkansas outlaw gang.

During 1872-73 Dave and Josiah Mather reunited and tried their luck hunting buffalo. According to Josiah's recollections, Dave did the shooting while Josiah did the skinning.

Both Dave and Josiah drifted to the brand-new town of Dodge City, which then served as the headquarters for the buffalo hunting trade. According to local lore, Dave was knifed there, by an unnamed gambler, at the Great Western Hotel. Supposedly he was sewn up by Dr. Thomas L. McCarty. The story goes that Dave was slashed across the stomach by a knife-wielding gambler, carried to the lobby of the Great Western Hotel, placed on a table, and was operated on by Dr. McCarty "with the only anesthetic available - whiskey."

Gold Bricks

Yet another legend concerning Mysterious Dave involves his allegedly teaming up with Wyatt Earp to sell phony gold bricks to the unwary at Mobeetie, Texas. The popular story can be traced to a single source - Jim McIntire, who authored a privately printed volume in 1902 called Early Days in Texas. In his book, McIntire wrote:

"The next party to come along and disturb the peace of Mobeetie was Wyatt Earp and "Mysterious Dave" Mathers [sic], who had a lot of gold bricks they were anxious to sell to the good people in that vicinity. Three of my friends wanted to invest in their bricks, but I advised against it, and removed the temptation by ordering the brick-dealers out of town. This move on my part came near causing serious trouble, as they were both desperate men, and had reputations all over the West. They finally left town, going to the Southern part of the State, where they were afterwards arrested while in the act of 'roping in' some of Uncle Sam's good coin for a bogus brick."

In his 1959 study of Dave Mather, historian Colin Rickards provided addition details that McIntire didn't. Rickards fixed the date as being September 3, 1878 when "Mather appeared in Modeetie, Texas as a conman trying to sell phony gold bricks." Dave purportedly "represented the bricks as having come from a gold mine, hidden by priests in the days of the Spanish Conquest ... and claimed he was only selling them to raise funds to finance an expedition to bring back the rest of the treasure." Mather's "steerer" in the scam "was none other than Wyatt Earp." Given the actual whereabouts of McIntire at the time of the alleged gold brick incident, Rickards date of September 3, 1878 was quite improbable. McIntire had been mustered out of the Texas Rangers, only four days earlier at a location some 300 miles from Mobeetie. Considering the lack of high-speed transportation between McIntire's location and Mobeetie, it would have been impossible for him to cover the 300 miles between the two points in just four days. There simply wasn't enough time for McIntire to cover that distance, secure an appointment as city marshal, make three easily flim-flamed friends and run both Earp and Mather out of town - all within the space of four days.

The Railroad War

The adult Dave Enter didn't enter the pages of documented history until 1879, when the celebrated "Royal Gorge Railroad War" broke out. On March 20, 1879 Bat Masterson was asked by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to raise a force of gunfighters. Bat's men were to combat the force of gunmen employed by the rival Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. The local press reported that Bat "had enrolled a force of thirty-three men," all of whom were "armed to the teeth." Among the better-known gunfighters in Masterson's group were Ben Thompson, Doc Holliday, Dave Rudabaugh, John Joshua Webb and Mysterious Dave Mather. In late June, 1879 the nearly bloodless "Railroad War" ended nearly as fast as it began when the two rival factions agreed to settle.

East Las Vegas, New Mexico

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe continued its progress from Colorado, across the border into New Mexico. Among the bored veterans of the late "Railroad War" who saw opportunity at the end of track was Dave Mather. The first Santa Fe train charged into East Las Vegas, New Mexico on July 1, 1879. Following it came a loosely-knit confederation of con men and killers who would become known as the "Dodge City Gang." The leader of the gang was Hyman G. Neill, who was better known as "Hoodoo Brown." Dave Mather would be closely associated with the "Dodge City Gang" during his tenure in East Las Vegas. On August 18, 1879 a stagecoach was robbed near East Las Vegas. Dave Mather had just been sworn in as a Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Territory of New Mexico. His first arrest was of a suspect that was charged with complicity in the robbery - a 6'10" giant of a gunfighter name James H. "Big Jim" Dunagan.

On October 14, 1879 a train was robbed in the East Las Vegas area. Deputy U.S. Marshal Dave Mather was arraigned on a charge of being an accessory to the train holdup. The charge against Dave was immediately dismissed. The Las Vegas Daily Optic commented that "we are glad to learn that David A. Mather has been exonerated from all complicity in the recent robbery of the train. Everybody knew ... his recent arrest was only a little piece of malice on the part of another." In addition to serving as a deputy U.S. Marshal, Dave Mather also served as a policeman on the East Las Vegas police force. It was as a policeman that Mather became involved in his earliest reported shooting scrape. The victim was a drunken soldier that Mather wounded in the thumb on November 20, 1879.

The Shootout at Close & Patterson's Variety Hall

Hyman G. "Hoodoo Brown" Neill cemented his control of East Las Vegas with a hand-picked police force. His most trusted lieutenant, Joe Carson, was named town marshal while another favorite, Dave Mather was awarded the position of assistant marshal. On the evening of Thursday, January 22, 1880, City Marshal Joe Carson was shot to pieces in a gunfight with four men at Close & Patterson's Variety Hall on Main Street. As Carson fell to the floor - still firing his pistol, but not scoring any hits - Assistant marshal Dave Mather sprang into action, Mather managed to kill William Randall, put two bullets in the groin of James West (alias "James Lowe") and inflict minor wounds upon Thomas Jefferson House (alias "Tom Henry") and John Dorsey. Somehow House ("Henry") and Dorsey managed to escape. In their report of the shootout, the Las Vegas Daily Optic noted that "Dave Mather is bullet proof! A ball passed through both coats he has onat the shooting affair Thursday night."

The Killing of Joseph Castello

The smoke had hardly cleared from the gunfight at Close & Patterson's Variety Hall when Dave Mather killed another man in East Las Vegas. The victim was 22 year-old Joseph Castello. On January 25, 1880 Castello was trying to break up a quarrel between two men who worked for him. At this point Acting City Marshal Dave Mather came upon the scene and found three men with drawn pistols. Mather ordered the three men to put up their weapons. The Daily Optic reported what happened next:

"Instead of complying with this request, Castello suddenly pointed his murderous weapon at Dave Mather, and with a cocked pistol in his hand, threatened to shoot the officer if he advanced another step. Dave knew his duty and knew the consequences that would result from a delay of action, so he advanced, and in the twinkling of an eye, almost before the breathless bystanders had time to see movement on his part, he drew his trusty revolver from its place and fired one shot at the determined man, the ball taking effect in Castello's left side, below the ribs, penetrating the lung, and ranging downward, passing through the stomach and liver. Of course the man could not live."

The coroner's jury ruled that Acting Marshal Mather's "shooting was justifiable and in self protection."

Mob Violence in East Las Vegas

On February 5, 1880 a posse captured the wounded Thomas Jefferson House ( "Tom Henry') and John Dorsey. The two men were brought back to East Las Vegas and lodged in the San Miguel County Jail, where the more seriously wounded James West ("James Lowe") was also being held.Despite assurances that the prisoners would be protected from mob violence, the vigilantes of East Las Vegas felt otherwise.During the early morning hours of February 8 Dorsey, House ("Henry") and West ("Lowe") were taken from the jail by an armed mob.West was lynched, while House and Dorsey were shot to pieces by the mob. Supposedly, the first shot was fired by the widow of Marshal Joe Carson.

Two Murders on the Same Day

The power of the "Dodge City Gang" in East Las Vegas was now absolute. "Hoodoo Brown controlled the judiciary, such as it was, along with every other aspect of municipal government. The seemingly impotent citizenry of East Las Vegas was finally roused into action by two separate acts of murder, committed by two separate members of the "Dodge City Gang" on the same day - March 2, 1880. The first man to die was Michael Kelliher who was killed by John Joshua Webb at Goodlet & Roberts Saloon. Within six hours of the Kelliher killing, James Morehead, a St. Louis liquor salesman,was killed by gang member James Allen. City Marshal Dave Mather came in for a lot of criticism over the two killings. The Santa Fe Daily New Mexican pointed an unmistakable finger of suspicion by asking: "Where was Mysterious Dave Mather when the gleeful crack of the pistol was tickling the ears of Las Vegas people yesterday morning?"

On the same day that this item appeared, Dave Mather resigned as City Marshal of East Las Vegas. Later that day, a grand jury indicted John Joshua Webb for murder and named Hyman G. "Hoodoo Brown" Neill as an accomplice. Webb was arrested by Sheriff Desiderio Romero, while "Hoodoo Brown" skipped town. Dave Mather was one member of the "Dodge City Gang" who did not skip out on that date. Indeed, Dave would remain in East Las Vegas for more than two weeks after Webb's arrest. On March 10 the jury returned a guilty verdict against John Joshua Webb, and he was sentenced to hang. Then on March 19, 1880 a motion was made by Webb's attorneys for a new trial. A supporting affidavit was sworn out on the same date by Dave Mather and three other friends of Webb.

Troubles in Texas

Dave seems to have stayed out of the news for the next eleven months. When he did surface again, it was in Texas. According to the Las Vegas Daily Optic: "It is given out as a fact that Mysterious Dave, who operated in Las Vegas a year ago, is in the pen in Texas. He shoved too much of the queer." The word "queer" in this instance, refers to counterfeit money. All attempts to locate an 1881 prison record for Dave Mather in Texas have proven unsuccessful. Only two months later, the same newspaper that claimed Dave was serving time in Texas, reported that he was an apparently free man. The editor of the Las Vegas Daily Optic still couldn't resist taking a pot shot at Mather, by claiming that Dave left an East Las Vegas restaurant owner with an unpaid bill:

"We have been shown a letter from 'Mysterious Dave' Mathers [sic], who is now in San Antonio, Texas. In it he sends regards to all his friends except George Burton, who probably regretted his departure from Las Vegas (in dollars and cents) more than anybody."

Georgia Morgan

By December, 1881 Dave Mather was in Dallas where he had formed a partnership with a light-skinned black woman, named Georgia Morgan, in a brothel called the "Long Branch." Whether their partnership extended beyond business, to pleasure, isn't known. As 1881 drew to a close, Dave ended whatever his relationship was with Georgia. He headed for Fort Worth, where he found employment as a policeman under City Marshal Samuel Farmer.Georgia Morgan arrived in Fort Worth on January 25, 1882 - armed with a butcher knife and a pistol - in search of Mysterious Dave. Georgia claimed that Dave had stolen several items of clothing and jewelry that belonged to her. She was arrested and lodged in the Fort Worth jail. Following Georgia's arrest, Mysterious Dave boarded an evening train. He was closely followed by two officers named Neely and Sands, who arrested him as the train was pulling out of the station. Dave was then placed in the same jail where Georgia Morgan was spending the night - presumably not in the same cell. On the following morning, Georgia was brought before a "Mayor's Court" and fined $8.25 "for having been disorderly."

While Georgia was making her court appearance, Mysterious Dave was released from the Fort Worth jail by order of the authorities. He was quickly re-arrested by Sheriff Jones of dallas County and City Marshal James C. Arold of Dallas. On January 27, 1882 the lawmen brought Dave back to Dallas, where he was unable to raise his $500 bail. Mysterious Dave would spend the next three months confined in the Dallas jail - marking a rare stretch in his slippery career where his exact whereabouts can be proven. On March 20, 1882 Mysterious Dave was indicted for the theft of a $100 silk dress belonging to Georgia Morgan. He was found not guilty of stealing and pawning the dress on April 13. In three separate counts, Dave was also charged with the theft of two diamond rings and a watch from Georgia Morgan. Dave was acquitted of all three charges on April 19, 1882.

Following his acquittal, Dave drifted to El Paso, where he remained for some time. By March, 1883 he was in the vicinity of Austin, Texas. While there, a bounty hunter named J.C. Martin wrote the governor of Kansas asking if there was any reward for Mather. Martin claimed that "I can get him at any time." This belief would have terminated Martin's career on the spot - had he followed through on it. Fotunately for Martin, the Kansas governor replied that there was no reward, or outstanding warrants for Mysterious Dave.

Assistant Marshal of Dodge City

On June 1, 1883 Dave Mather was in Kansas and was appointed assistant marshal of Dodge City. Dave served under City Marshal Jack Bridges at a salary of $75 a month. On July 6, both Mather and Bridges were given salary increases. A local paper observed that "Dodge City pays her marshal $150 per month and the assistant marshal $125 a month. Besides this, each of them is entitled to kill a cowboy or two each season." An attempted train robbery on September 29, 1883 gave Assistant Marshal Dave Mather an opportunity to lead a posse. Working in concert with other lawmen the posse captured three men suspected of being the robbers. The charges against these men were later dropped "for want of evidence." When George M. Hoover was elected as the new mayor of Dodge City he decided to replace City Marshal Bridges and Assistant Marshal Mather with men of his own choosing. On April 10, 1884 William Matthew Tilghman, Jr. was appointed as the new city marshal, while Thomas Clayton Nixon replaced Dave Mather as Dodge City's assistant marshal. Mather's replacement as assistant marshal caused obvious bitterness between Mather and his successor, Tom Nixon. The first spark had been set off in an explosive feud that would reach flash point in less than four months.

The Opera House Saloon

During May 1884, Dave Mather and a Texas acquaintance named David Black became co-owners of the Opera House Saloon in Dodge City. Mather and Black immediately announced their intention of transforming their newly-acquired watering hole into a more lucrative "dance hall." In a situation highly reminiscent of Luke Short's "Dodge City War' of 1883, Mayor Hoover and his city council met in "emergency session" on May 22, 1884 and squelched the ambitions of Mather and Black by passing "Ordinance No. 83," which made it unlawful to "maintain in the city of Dodge City, Kansas, what is commonly known as a dance hall, or any other place where lewd women and men congregate." Dave Mather became annoyed when the recently-passed "Ordinance No. 83 was used exclusively against his Opera House Saloon - but was not enforced against Assistant Marshal Thomas Clayton Nixon's Lady Gay Saloon, which was allowed to operate openly as a "dance hall."

The Price of Beer

Out of spite, the firm of Mather & Black began selling beer at a nickle a glass at their Opera House Saloon - which was half the price charged by other Dodge City saloons. It didn't take long for a contingent of saloon keepers, led by Thomas Clayton Nixon, to put the pressure on beer wholesalers, who immediately dried up Mather & Black's source of discount suds. Mysterious Dave's replacement by Nixon as assistant marshal, "Ordinance No. 83," and finally what was termed the "Beer War," were all primary causes of the Mather-Nixon feud. Another factor might have been Dave's alleged affair with Cornelia Houston Nixon, the estranged wife of Tom Nixon. The situation reached flash point on July 18, 1884 when Nixon attempted to kill Mather at very close range. Nixon missed his target - although just barely. One Dodge City paper said that "the bullet went wild, and struck in the woodwork of the porch. Mather's face was considerably powder burned, and the little finger of his left hand was injured by a splinter." The same paper went on to say that "Nixon gave bonds before Judge (Rufus G.) Cook, in the sum of $800 for his appearance at the next term of court. The charge is assault with intent to kill."

The Killing of Tom Nixon

When Dave Mather shot and killed Tom Nixon on the evening of Monday, July 21, 1884, the two protagonists met at exactly the same location outside of the Opera House Saloon where they had stood three nights earlier. This time the positions they had been standing in, when Nixon attempted to kill Mather, were reversed. The outcome was also reversed, inasmuch as Dave Mather, unlike Tom Nixon, succeeded in his objective. Mather surrendered to Sheriff Patrick Sughrue. The preliminary examination of Dave Mather began on July 30, 1884 at the Ford County Courthouse. Mather was represented by attorneys Michael W. Sutton, Thomas S. Haun and E.D. Swan. The first witness, Dr. C.A. Milton, detailed the examination he made of Nixon's body. In describing Nixon's bullet wounds, Dr. Milton said "I found there were four entrances and three exits and one ball under the skin." The eye-witnesses who testified were Fred W. Boyd, Andrew Faulkner, H.V. Cook and Archie Franklin. The inquest concluded with the testimony of Bat Masterson and Sheriff Patrick Sughrue. An attempt to have Mather released on bail was denied. Dave was returned to jail to await trial on the charge of first-degree murder.

Did Dave Mather Have a Wife?

On August 16, 1884 habeas corpus proceedings were held at Garrick's Hall in Larned, Kansas. The Larned Optic provided an account that contained a few words that continue to confound Mather researchers. According to the Larned Optic "The occasion brought quite a number of Dodge City celebrities down here among whom we noticed 'Bat' Masterson, Pat Sughrue, Mike Sutton, Jim Whitelaw, Fred Wenie, Tom Haun, Doc Galland, Nels Cary, Frank Mitchell, Dave Mathers [sic] and his brother-in-law, Dave Black." The reference to Dave Mather's business partner, in the Opera House Saloon, being "his brother-in-law," is interesting to say the least. Since Mather had no sisters, the only way this would have been possible is if Mather had married a sister of Dave Black. Dave's brother, Josiah Wright Mather, told his children that their "Uncle Dave" had a wife - but Josiah's children knew nothing about her, including her name. Nothing further has been uncovered that would confirm or deny the story that Dave Mather had a wife.

At the conclusion of the habeas corpus proceedings, Judge Jeremiah C. Strang ordered that Mather be released on $6,000 bond. Lawrence E. Deger, George J. Emerson, Saul A. Bullard, Thomas S. Haun and Michael W. Sutton posted the bond for Mather. According to one report the bondsmen were "of the best, most solid and substantial men of Ford County, representing a capital of more that $100,000."

The Murder Trial of Dave Mather

On October 23, 1884 a motion was made by Mather's attorneys for a change of venue. Judge Jeremiah C. Strang granted the motion, and venue was changed from Dodge City, in Ford County, to the town of Kinsley, in Edwards County. The murder trial of Dave Mather commenced in Kinsley, Kansas on December 29, 1884 and concluded on December 31. The jury was out a mere 27 minutes before returning a verdict of not guilty. Although some historians have maintained that Dave Mather got away with murder, his contemporaries - who knew both Nixon and Mather very well - had a different view. The Kinsley Mercury suggest that "the verdict was a proper one, as the weight of the testimony showed that Nixon was the aggressor in the affray and that Mather was justified in the shooting." What makes this report interesting is that it was published in the Kinsley Mercury - a newspaper owned by the murder trial's prosecuting attorney Robert McCanse. In addition, the Kinsley Mercury was edited by McCanse's legal partner, Samuel W. Vandivert. Both of these lawyer/journalists had done their best to convict Dave Mather and failed. If there was one paper in Kansas that might be expected to take a dim view of the not guilty verdict, the Kinsley Mercury would have been it. Back in Dodge City, it was noted that "the reading of the verdict, by the court, was interrupted by demonstrations of approval from the audience."

The Killing of David Barnes

The first four months of 1885 were quiet for Dave Mather. No mention of him has found concerning him in any of the various Dodge City newspapers. We know he was there, at least off and on, since he was enumerated on the Kansas State Census during March 1885. By this time, Dave's younger brother, Josiah Wright Mather had also settled in Dodge City and was recorded on the same census. The brothers had not seen each other since the early 1870's and had no idea of the other's whereabouts . This reunion was made possible because of the wide newspaper coverage given the Nixon killing. On May 10, 1885 both Mather brothers were in the Junction Saloon in Dodge City. Dave Mather was playing a card game called "Seven Up with a man named David Barnes. Dave suddenly got up, taking all the money that was on the table. Barnes followed Dave to the bar and demanded his share of the money back. Mysterious Dave then struck Barnes, and shooting erupted.

When the smoke cleared, David Barnes was dead, Dave Mather had a bullet graze across his forehead, John Wall was shot in one of his legs - while a certain C.C. Camp sustained bullet wounds in both legs. Sheriff Pat Sughrue arrested both Dave and Josiah Mather and lodged them in jail. Despite a statement from Sheriff Sughrue that Dave Mather's pistol "was loaded and had no empty shells in it," a coroner's jury still came to the conclusion that "the deceased D. Barnes came to his death ... from a gun shot wound received at the hands of David Mathers [sic] and Josiah Mathers [sic], by means of revolvers by them fired, and that the said shooting was feloniously done."

The preliminary examination of Dave and Josiah Mather began in Dodge City on May 22, 1885. Both brothers were bound over without bail. They immediately petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus. Their hearing came up on June 2, 1885. Judge Strang allowed each defendant to be discharged on a bond of $3,000. The attorneys for the Mather brothers managed to get their case postponed until the December, 1885 term of court. By that date, both Dave and Josiah Mather would be long gone from Ford County, Kansas.

Getting out of Dodge

Josiah Wright Mather left Dodge City first. Some forty years later, Josiah told the story to his children. He told them that Dave instructed him to 'get the hell out of town." Since Dave had been grazed during the affray, but was not seen to have done any shooting, he new his chances were good of beating a murder rap. Josiah's situation was far different. There were witnesses ready to testify that Josiah had done some shooting. There was a real possibility that Josiah might be convicted of murder. Josiah finally took Dave's advice and fled Dodge City. The two brothers would never see each other again.

Dave Mather followed Josiah's example and also fled Dodge - most likely only hours after Josiah departed. Exactly how Dave Mather left Dodge City for the final time remains the subject of debate. Bill Tilghman's widow wrote that Tilghman ran Dave Mather out of Dodge, with the assistance of Ben Daniels. The story doesn't add up for many reasons, not the least of which is: Why would City Marshal Bill Tilghman of Dodge City and Assistant Marshal Ben Daniels run an indicted man out of Dodge who was scheduled to stand trial there for murder later that year? While Mrs. Tilghman's story (written 64 years after the Dave's departure from Dodge) is certainly questionable, the historical record shows that Mysterious Dave did depart Dodge City under appropriately mysterious circumstances. According to the Kinsley Mercury:

"The murderer, Dave Mather, left Dodge City last Wednesday [July 29, 1885] night as Jeff Davis left the Southern Confederacy - in boots, petticoats and hoop skirts. It had come time to kill David, and not desiring to be present on that occasion, he disguised himself as 'Jeff Davis' and took his hoops in hand and walked. His whereabouts will probably be known when it comes time for his next killing."

A Dodge City paper reprinted this item, adding the postscript that "Dave did leave the city, but not in petticoats. The reports of his going, like others from this city, become wonderfully magnified as they travel from home." In whatever attire Mysterious Dave wore when departing Dodge City, his first destination was the Kansas state capitol. One Dodge city paper reported that "Fred Singer and Dave Mathers [sic], alias "Mysterious Dave," were registered at the Windsor Hotel on the 31st ult., while Mike Sutton was boarded at the Copeland. We failed to see any notice of either having been interviewed by a Topeka newspaper reporter." The question this item raises is why Topeka reporters should be interested in interviewing Dave Mather and his attorney Mike Sutton. Could Dave have been run out of Dodge like Short had been back in 1883? Was Mather in Topeka to present his case to the governor, as Luke Short had two years before? For now, it remains just another mystery, concerning Dave Mather, that remains to be solved.

New Trouble at New Kiowa

Within two weeks of being reported in Topeka, Dave Mather drifted into Barber County, Kansas - to the town of New Kiowa, which sat on the Oklahoma border. The first report of his being there was far from accurate: "Dave Mather, on Friday [August 14, 1885] last was appointed City Marshal of New Kiowa, and at once entered upon the duties of office. Dave was marshal at Dodge City, and also assistant marshal for a long time. Dave makes a good officer." This item was clearly in error when it stated that "Dave was marshal at Dodge City." He never held that office. It was also in error concerning his appointment as "City Marshal of New Kiowa." Thirteen days after Mather's alleged appointment a New Kiowa newspaper noted that "our efficient city marshal, Mike O'Shea, has been presented with a revolver which, for beauty and workmanship, cannot be excelled anywhere."

While he may not have not have been the city marshal, there is no doubt that Dave Mather was in New Kiowa. He was there with David Black, his former Dodge City business partner and alleged "brother-in-law." On August 26, 1885 David Black got into an argument with an infantryman named Julius Schmitz at a New Kiowa saloon. The local paper reported that "for some real or fancied insult, Black was knocked down by the soldier, and as soon as he recovered from the effects of the blow he drew his revolver and fired, the ball entering the groin, and, it is thought, penetrating the intestines." Julius Schmitz died at 10 o'clock on August 27, 1885. One report of the murder was printed from a town known to be hostile to Mather. They offered this interesting observation:

"A soldier belonging to a company stationed at New Kiowa was shot by a gambler named Dave Black on the night of the 26th of August. This is the same gambler Black who took part [author's italics] in the murder of [Assistant] Marshal Nixon on the night of 23d [sic] of July, 1884."

With the very real threat of of Black being lynched by the soldiers in Schmitz's company, the New Kiowa lawmen moved him to a nearby town for protection. It turned out to be a very prudent decision since "about 11 o'clock a raid was made on the prison, by a hundred or more soldiers, with the intention of executing summary justice upon the murderer of their comrade. The authorities having an inkling of their intentions, removed the prisoner to a place of safety, consequently they were balked in their design, and had all their trouble for nothing."

David Black was moved to the safety of a jail in Wellington, Kansas. Dave Mather remained in New Kiowa, where he began raising a defense fund for Black. On September 6, 1885 Dave Mather fled New Kiowa, taking with him the $300 defense fund that had been raised for Black. This date of Sunday, September 6, 1885, was the last time that Dave Mather was reported as still being alive. The New Kiowa Herald reported that "Sunday night the city officers received word from camp that the soldiers, enraged at not securing the murderer of their comrade, were coming to town for the purpose of wreaking their vengeance upon his partner,an alleged desperate character from Dodge City, who has taken charge of Black's defense. The man wanted left town as soon as he was informed of the intention of the soldiers. They did not come, however, as their officers prevented them from leaving camp."

The Said David Mather is Now Dead

At Dallas, Texas on May 17, 1886 "the mangled remains of an unknown man were found this morning on the Texas Central Railroad. He was thirty-five or forty-five years of age, with a long black mustache. Their is a hole in the side of his head, the nature of which can not be determined without a surgical examination, but it is believed to be a bullet wound. He had near him two bottles of whiskey and some cigars." Was the man found "mangled" on the railroad tracks in Dallas Dave Mather? If it was he ended being buried by the county in an unmarked grave. If it was Dave he would have been less than three months shy of his thirty-fifth birthday when his body was found. It would be another ten months before the first claim was made that Dave Mather was indeed dead. On March 16, 1887 the attorney for Ford County, Kansas brought suit against "David Mather, S. Galland, A.H. McCoy and T.S. Haun" for the Mather brothers default on their bond, following the David Barnes killing. Galland, McCoy and Haun presented an affidavit which read in part:

The said David Mather never made any default in bail. Defendants further say that the said David Mather was by an armed an insurrectionary Mob violently and forcibly driven from the city of Dodge City and County of Ford and was unable to return by reason of said Mob and that had the said David Mather returned to Dodge City at the Nov. 1885 Term of the District Court of Ford County Kansas and at all times afterward he would have been killed by said Armed Mob aforesaid... Defendants further answering say that the said David Mather is now dead as they have heard and believe and that they are unable to produce his body in court.

On November 9, 1887 Ford County Attorney H.H. Harrington made a motion to dismiss the charges against Mather's three bondsmen, stating that "the said County Attorney is of the opinion that the facts set forth are true and are a legal defense to dismiss said cause without further costs to the county." Judge Strang approved the motion. Mather's bondsmen were assessed only court costs and released. Unfortunately, whatever evidence that convinced the county attorney that Mysterious Dave was dead was not included in the Ford County District Court records. By November 9, 1887 as far as Ford County, Kansas was concerned, David Allen "Mysterious Dave " Mather was dead.

Mysterious Dave Rides Again ... and Again .. and Again

Sometime between his hasty departure from New Kiowa, Kansas on September 6, 1885 and being declared dead by the Ford County District Court on November 9, 1887, Mysterious Dave Mather died. Exactly when and where is unknown.

He may have been called Mysterious Dave, but there was no mystery about him from 1879 until 1885 when his activities in New Mexico, Texas and Kansas were reported on constantly. Then the newspaper coverage suddenly stopped after September 6, 1885—the last date that he was reported alive. There is no absence of accounts that suggest that Dave lived on to fight another day. Some are interesting, suggesting plausible alternative endings for Mysterious Dave—but the vast majority border on the ridiculous.

The earliest known article describing Mather's possible fate was published in the November 1902 issue of Everybody's Magazine. In that article, Edward Campbell Little claimed that Dave had gone to the British Northwest Territories where he "enlisted as one of the mounted police, looted the stage he was sent to guard, and escaped with twenty thousand pounds. His brother Cy reports that he was killed by moonshiners in the mountains of Tennessee."

Little's statement that Mather had served with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police is the first known such claim and has never been substantiated. But it was repeated by other writers who expanded on it in the decades that followed. Little also stated without attribution that Dave's "brother Cy reports that he [Dave] was killed by moonshiners in the mountains of Tennessee." Josiah Wright Mather told his children that he never saw his brother again after they left Dodge City in 1885, or learned what happened to him. Where the "killed by moonshiners" story comes from is anyone's guess.

The Unmysterious Mather

Following his flight from Dodge City during July, 1885, Josiah Wright Mather gambled in several Colorado mining camps and settled in Denver for a few years. During the late 1880's he moved to Seattle, Washington where he became a partner in a waterfront saloon. After his saloon burned down he moved to Bingham Canyon, Utah where he met and married a girl with the unusual name of Leo Cericia Scoville on September 18, 1891. The marriage produced one daughter, Myra Ellen Mather (1892-1977). The couple were divorced on December 12, 1896. Leo Cericia Mather took her 4 year-old daughter and moved to Leadville, Colorado where she married E. Delaney Gritman on March 21, 1898. This union lasted less than two years, ending on February 10, 1900. Just five days later, on February 15, 1900 at Lewiston, Idaho Leo Cericia Scoville and Josiah Wright Mather were married for a second time. They divorced a second time in 1903, at Lewiston, and this time Josiah was given custody of their eleven year-old daughter, Myra Ellen Mather.

Josiah married a third time, at Moscow, Idaho on September 18, 1905. His bride was Eva Gaiser (1872-1970). . They had four children: Josiah Wright Mather, Jr. (1907-1987), Mildred Eva Mather (1909-2006), Lydia Fredericka Mather (1912-1994) and David Allen Mather (1914-2004). That final child was born less than four months before Josiah turned sixty. He was named after Mysterious Dave - the brother that Josiah never saw again after they both fled Dodge City in 1885. Josiah Wright Mather passed away away at the age of seventy-seven at this home in Grangeville, Idaho on April 18, 1932.

Bibliography

• Horace E. Mather, Lineage of Rev. Richard Mather. Lockwood & Brainard, Hartford, Connecticut, 1890.
• Colin Rickards, Mysterious Dave Mather. The English Westerners Brand Book (Vol. 1, No. 3 ) January 1959
• Jack DeMattos, Mysterious Gunfighter: the Story of Dave Mather. Creative Publishing Company, College Station, TX 1992 ISBN 0-932702-95-3
• Jack DeMattos, Mysterious Dave Mather – A View from 1902. Wild West History Association Journal, Oct. 2011( Vol. IV, No. 5)
• Jack DeMattos, The Unmysterious Mather, Wild West History Association Journal, August 2012 (Vol. V, No. 4)
• Jack DeMattos The Boyhood of Mysterious Dave Mather. Wild West History Association Journal, April 2015 (Vol. VIII, No. 2)