William L. "Buffalo Bill" Brooks ( – July 29, 1874) was a western lawman and later
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...
.
Brooks was born in
Ohio around 1832 where he later became a buffalo hunter in the late-1840s or early-1850s whose success equaled fellow buffalo hunter
William F. Cody
William Frederick Cody (February 26, 1846January 10, 1917), known as "Buffalo Bill", was an American soldier, Bison hunting, bison hunter, and showman. He was born in Le Claire, Iowa, Le Claire, Iowa Territory (now the U.S. state of Iowa), but ...
earning the same nickname of ''Buffalo Bill''. During the late 1860s, Brooks had killed several men in various gunfights, and was briefly hired as a stage driver for the
Southwestern Stage Co., before becoming the marshal of
Newton, Kansas
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 18,602. Newton is located north of Wichita. The city of North Newton is located immediately north and e ...
in 1872. Although he was reported to have been around 40 years old, several biographers have claimed Brooks was in his 20s.
With Brooks success in Newton he was soon offered a position in
Dodge City as town marshal where he was later involved in 15 gunfights during his first month. In one case one of the men killed had four brothers who came after Brooks in revenge. As the brothers arrived in town Brooks was said to have killed all four men with four shots each. By the following year Brooks had cleared the city of most major criminals. Brooks however killed several men in questionable circumstances including one incident where he killed a man over an argument with a local dance hall girl. After backing down from gunfighter
Kirk Jordan
Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.
Basic meaning and etymology
As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
, Brooks left town shortly after.
According to legend, Brooks went to
Butte, Montana
Butte ( ) is a consolidated city-county and the county seat of Silver Bow County, Montana, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. The city covers , and, according to the ...
where he attempted to become the city marshal but, in part because of Brook's reputation, was instead passed over in favor of
Morgan Earp. Confronting Earp over his defeat, Brooks was shot in the stomach and Morgan was shot in the shoulder.
Records show however that, shortly after leaving Dodge City, Brooks returned to his old position as a stage driver for the Southwestern Stage Co. in early 1874. Several months later however the company had lost a mail contract to a rival company and Brooks lost his job. In June several mules and horses owned by the rival company had been stolen and Brooks, with two other men, were arrested the next month. It was charged that Brooks had apparently attempted to weaken the rival company and win back the mail contract for the Southwestern Stage Company. Brooks was lynched while awaiting trial on July 29, 1874.
Resources
Bibliography
*Sifakis, Carl. Encyclopedia of American Crime, New York, Facts on File Inc., 1982
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, William L.
Lawmen of the American Old West
Outlaws of the American Old West
1830s births
1874 deaths
Bison hunters
Gunslingers of the American Old West