Frederick J. Dodge (August 29, 1854 — December 16, 1938) was an undercover

Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United States and intern ...

detective, a

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Tombstone, Arizona Tombstone is a historic city in Cochise County, Arizona, United States, founded in 1877 by prospector Ed Schieffelin in what was then Pima County, Arizona Territory. It became one of the last boomtowns in the American frontier. The town gr ...

, and a Texas cattleman. He was born in Spring Valley in northern

Butte County, California Butte County () is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. In the 2020 census, its population was 211,632. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County comprises the Chico, CA metropolitan statistical area. It is ...

and was raised in Sacramento. As a young man, Dodge learned to drive two-, four-, and six-horse hitches, and "fast freight handling fruit into the mining camps." He kept a store and managed a railroad eatery for his parents, but he was "lonesome for the mountains and the excitement of the mining camps", he later wrote. Dodge moved around, including him to

Pioche, Nevada Pioche is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, approximately northeast of Las Vegas. U.S. Route 93 is the main route to Pioche and bypasses the town center just to the east, with Nevada State Route 321 and Nevada ...

, and

Bodie, California Bodie ( ) is a ghost town in the Bodie Hills east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Mono County, California, United States. It is about southeast of Lake Tahoe, and east-southeast of Bridgeport, at an elevation of 8,379 feet (2554 m ...

, and met notable individuals in the mining camps, including Dave Neagle, Pat Holland, and

Nellie Cashman Ellen Cashman (1845 – 4 January 1925) was an Irish nurse, restaurateur, businesswoman and philanthropist in Arizona, Alaska, British Columbia and Yukon. Cashman led a rescue party to miners to the Cassiar Country gold mine in the Cassi ...

. He worked as undercover agent for Wells Fargo in California, Nevada and Arizona. In December 1879, he was working in Tombstone, Arizona and recommended that

Wyatt Earp Wyatt Berry Stapp Earp (March 19, 1848 – January 13, 1929) was an American lawman and gambler in the American West, including Dodge City, Deadwood, and Tombstone. Earp took part in the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, during which law ...

be hired as a guard and messenger for the stage line. The two quickly became good friends and Dodge supported Wyatt and his brothers in their troubles in Tombstone that led up to the

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral The gunfight at the O.K. Corral was a thirty-second shootout between law enforcement officer, lawmen led by Virgil Earp and members of a loosely organized group of outlaws called the Cochise County Cowboys, Cowboys that occurred at about 3: ...

and afterward. He was a personal friend of Wyatt and Virgil Earp and remained friends with them the rest of their lives. He was also a friend of lawman Heck Thomas. He was personally involved in the investigations that led to the demise of the

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in i ...

and

Dalton Gang The Dalton Gang was a group of outlaws in the American Old West during 1890–1892. It was also known as The Dalton Brothers because four of its members were brothers. The gang specialized in bank and train robberies. During an attempted double ...

s.Photographic Archive of Fred Dodge, Wells Fargo Secret Agent
/ref> During the Earp Vendetta Ride, Earp borrowed a short, 22-inch, 10-gauge, double barrel percussion

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

from Dodge. Earp used it to kill

Curly Bill Brocius William Brocius (c. 1845 – March 24, 1882), better known as Curly Bill Brocius, was an American gunman, rustler and an outlaw Cowboy in the Cochise County area of the Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His name is like ...

in a shootout at Iron Springs on March 24, 1882. Some Cowboy confederates disputed Brocius' death, and Dodge interviewed three participants afterward, confirming that Earp had killed Brocius. Dodge used the shotgun throughout his 40-year career and the gun was also registered to U.S. Marshal Heck Thomas. It passed through several owners. It was sold at auction in February, 2020, for $375,000.00. He kept a daily diary of his life, a total of 27 diaries, which he used as the basis for the book on the "Life and Times of Wyatt Earp". A book about the unvarnished recollections of Fred Dodge titled "Undercover for Wells Fargo" was edited by Carolyn Lake, who discovered Dodge's journals among

Stuart N. Lake Stuart Nathaniel Lake (September 23, 1889 in Rome, New York – January 27, 1964 in San Diego, California) was an American writer, professional wrestling promoter, and press aide who focused on the American Old West. Professional career Lake w ...

's papers. His diaries describe dozens of his cases, including stage robberies, train holdups, long pursuits across the badlands, even a lawsuit against Wells Fargo for "delay to a corpse". Fred Dodge and Morgan Earp looked alike, and when he first arrived on the stagecoach in Tombstone in 1879, Wyatt and Virgil promptly introduced themselves to the stranger who looked so much like their brother. Dodge posed as a gambler and none of the Earps initially knew he was a Wells Fargo agent. Dodge later teamed up with Heck Thomas to hunt down outlaws in Kansas and Oklahoma, and was personally involved in the investigations that led to the end of the

and

s.Undercover for Wells Fargo: The Unvarnished Recollections of Fred Dodge
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dodge, Fred J. 1854 births 1907 deaths American deputy sheriffs People from Butte County, California