Dallas Stoudenmire (December 11, 1845 – September 18, 1882) was an American Old West gunfighter and lawman who gained fame for a brief gunfight that was later dubbed the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight." Stoudenmire had a deadly reputation in his day and was involved in several gunfights.
Early life
Dallas Stoudenmire was born in Aberfoil, Bullock County, Alabama. He was one of the nine children of Lewis and Elizabeth Stoudenmire. Shortly after the American Civil War began, Stoudenmire enlisted in the Army of the Confederacy, even though he was only 15 years old. Although he was six feet tall, his officers discovered his age and discharged him. He re-enlisted twice more and eventually was allowed to serve as a private in Company F, 45th Alabama Infantry Regiment. According to surviving records, he stood 6'4" (1.94 m) tall by the war's end and was wounded numerous times. He carried two bullets in his body for the remainder of his life.
Following the war, Stoudenmire drifted west and served for at least three years with the Texas Rangers. He had a reputation for being handsome, a sharp dresser and a gentleman around ladies. But when intoxicated, he could be extremely dangerous and had a quick temper. He was known for his habit of wearing two guns and being equally accurate with either hand. He disappeared from the records between 1874 and 1878, possibly residing in Mexico for a time. He was able to speak Spanish fairly well, and is known to have worked during the years immediately after the war as a sheep farmer, wheelwright, proprietor, merchandiser, and carpenter.
Career as a lawman
He resurfaced when he served as a town marshal for Socorro, New Mexico. While employed there, his brother-in-law and El Paso, Texas resident, Stanley "Doc" Cummings, convinced him to take up a job as town marshal in El Paso. The city was seeking to hire an outsider with a "rough reputation". At that time, El Paso was a remote, lawless boomtown. Stoudenmire traveled to El Paso by stagecoach and was soon hired. This was the beginning of the end of a wild and violent El Paso and the beginning of his fame.
Marshal Stoudenmire started his tenure in El Paso on Monday, April 11, 1881. He was the sixth town marshal in eight months. The City Council asked him to take the city jail keys from deputy marshal and town drunkard, Bill Johnson. Witnesses alleged that Stoudenmire approached an intoxicated Johnson asking for the jail keys. Johnson mumbled that he would go home and figure out which keys were his and which were the city's. Stoudenmire became impatient and demanded he hand over the keys right away. When Johnson demurred, the marshal is said to have physically turned Johnson upside down, grabbed the keys, and then to have thrown him to the ground. Johnson was publicly humiliated.
Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight
On Thursday, April 14, 1881, only three days into his new job, Stoudenmire became involved in one of the most famous gunfights in Old West history, called the "Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight." This gunfight was well publicized in newspapers in cities as far away as San Francisco and New York City. The events began a mile (1.6 km) south, at the Rio Grande which divided the U.S. and Mexico. Roughly 75 heavily armed Mexican cowboys galloped into El Paso, looking for two missing young Mexican cowboys, Sánchez and Jauregui, plus thirty cattle stolen from a ranch just across the river. The missing animals belonged to a wealthy Mexican who hired an armed posse to recover them. El Paso County Constable Gus Krempkau was asked by the Mexican leader to lead them to a possible location. Krempkau agreed. The bodies of the two missing Mexicans were discovered near Johnny Hale's ranch about northwest of El Paso. Hale was a ranch owner and cattle rustler.
The bodies were taken back to town. Records indicated that the young Mexican cowboys were searching for the stolen cattle. Two American cattle rustlers, Peveler and Stevenson, were accused of the murders after they were overheard bragging about killing the two cowboys when they found them trailing the herd to Hale's ranch.