Mike Meagher

Meagher came to the United States from Ireland about 1868.  He was about 24 years old at the time.  The family settled in Wichita, Kansas.  It wasn't long before the family was well integrated into community life.  They were so well respected that Mike Meagher was appointed city marshal in April 1871.  His twin brother John was named assistant marshal.  His brother didn't stick with it, but Mike remained a lawman for the rest of his short life.

In the Spring of 1872, the railhead came to Wichita.  The town became one of the wildest towns of the west because it was now the end of the trail for the Texas cattle drives.  Many outlaws and gunmen tried to shoot up the place.  To his credit Meagher kept good order and only had to kill one man, Sylvester Powell, the entire time he was marshal.  He had several good deputies that worked for him over the years including Billy Smith, Charles Bratton, and Wyatt Earp.

By the late 1870s, the cow business was dropping off.  The railhead had moved to Caldwell, Kansas.  The brothers moved there in the fall of 1879.  Caldwell seemed even wilder than Wichita had ever been.  Soon after his arrival, Mike was appointed mayor.  He appointed William Horseman, Dan Jones, and James Johnson to uphold the law.  He also took his share of the cowboy trade in a saloon he owned with Dave Jackson.

In 1881, he didn't not try for a second term, partly because of his alleged complicity in the death of George Flatt, the former city marshal.  He returned to private business, though he was asked several times to take the marshal's job.  He accepted the job for only one four-day stint while officials argued over who would by the new marshal.

In the meantime, one James Talbott, a.k.a. James Sherman, came to town.  Officially he was a cowboy, but realistically was a gambler and a drunk.  He and his cohorts spent their time drinking and raising hell.  On December 16, 1881, they disrupted a traveling road show.  They were blasted in the newspaper for their behavior.  Talbott and his man vowed to pay back the nosy newspaper editor.

One night they were drinking up a storm and becoming generally disorderly.  Comanche Bill Mankin tried to calm them down and get them home.  But they refused.  A couple of men fired their pistols into the saloon ceiling.  Meagher and the temporary marshal John Wilson ran to the disturbance.  Marshal tried to haul off Tom Love, one of those who had fired his gun.  The gang made a rush at the two men.  Fortunately Wilson got control of the situation, but there were hard feelings among the cowboys.

Later in the same day Wilson had to arrest a man named Jim Martin.  He was hauled off to court where he was assessed a fine for carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest.  He claimed that a nearby mercantile store was holding his money for him.  He was given permission to go get it while being escorted by assistant marshal W. D. Fossett.  While walking down the street, Talbott and two others approached and told Martin he didn't have to pay if he didn't want to.  Wilson heard this and told Talbot and his cohorts to turn over their weapons.  In response the cowboys started firing.

Men scattered up one street and down another.  Meagher was in his saloon when he saw Talbott run by carrying a rifle.  He figured he was up to no good and gave chase.  Wilson soon caught up with Meagher.  Before long the pair was engaged in a shoot-out with Talbott.  Then Talbott was joined by friends Doug Hill, Bob Bigtree, and another man.  Ed Rathbun and others joined the side of the lawmen.

During the fracas, Meagher was hit by a bullet from Talbott's gun.  Wilson and Rathbun quickly pulled him out of the line of fire while they attempted to get revenge.  In the meantime, six cowboys demanded that the livery man saddle up some horses for them.  Only four horses could be found.  One was double-saddled, so that five men could get away.  Talbott, Bob Bigtree, Bob Munson, Jim Martin, and Doug Hill quickly rode away, while leaving their compatriot Dick Eddleman behind.  Outside of town James Mathews shot the horse carrying Talbott, but he quickly jumped on with another rider and got away.

A posse immediately pursued the outlaws.  After a few miles, the outlaws realized they wouldn't be able to reach a ranch where they could get fresh horses.  Instead they holed up in a narrow canyon, that could be easily defended against the lawmen.  Shots were exchanged, but no serious damage was done.  Finally during the night the outlaws escaped.

It was several years before anyone was punished for Meagher's murder.  Love and Eddleman who had been left behind in Caldwell were acquitted.  It took 13 years before the law caught up with Talbott in Ukiah, California.  After standing trial there for another murder, he was extradited back to Kansas, in 1895.

As expected, it was difficult to prosecute a case that was so old because of the time that had passed.  Wilson was not there to testify, as he had been killed a few years earlier.  Others had moved way.  His defense put up a good show, bringing in character witnesses and mentioning his four years service as a deputy in California.  The April trial resulted in a hung jury.  The September re-trial resulted in acquittal.

Copyright 2002 by Beth Gibson

Source: "The Murder of Mike Meagher," Joseph W. Snell, The West Magazine, Freeport, NY:  Maverick Publications Inc., Volume 2, No. 2, January 1965, pgs 20-23, 50-52.

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Last updated: 2/17/02