UTAH'S TOUGH IRISH LAWMAN

by Kerry Ross Boren

Following the terrible "potato famine" which swept Ireland in 1845-46, during which more than a million people starved to death, Irish immigrants arrived in America in droves. Many of these became policemen in the tough tenderloin sections of eastern cities, beginning a tradition of the rugged Irish cop that soon spread West with the expanding frontier.

Irish lawmen were soon establishing firm reputations in wild western towns: Tom Cunningham, Sheriff of San Joaquin County, California; Michael and John Meagher, Kansas lawmen; and Martin J. Duggan, city marshal of Leadville, Colorado, all earned tough reputations as lawmen, Mike Meagher and Martin Duggan, among others, also met sudden death in the performance of their duty.

However, the Irish frontier lawman who most personified the image of the hard-drinking, hard-fighting, fearless "son of the auld sod" was Patrick J Desmond. Desmond was born in January, 1842 at County Cork, Ireland, and emigrated to the United States in 1865 at the age of 23, while the nation was embroiled in the Civil War.

Desmond had no desire to involve himself in a war for which he had no passion. He went instead to Chicago and then to the booming copper and iron ore mining camps of Michigan's Upper Peninsula for about a year He spent another year at Oil City, in Pennsylvania's recently discovered petroleum fields During this period, Desmond became involved in a "fracas" for which he had a passion. The Fenians were Irish revolutionaries determined to overthrow British rule in Ireland and establish an Irish republic. This group had been gathering strength in the United States for many years, with the aid of contributions from wealthy Irish-Americans. 

In May, 1866, Fenian General John O'Neill launched an invasion of Canada from Buffalo, New York, and Desmond was in his command, participating in the Battle of Ridgeway on June 1. The Fenians were victorious in that battle, but not long after were surrounded by American gunboats under the command of General George G. Meade and arrested, but soon released.

 

Desmond went directly to Chicago and became a bridge contractor for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. Then, in 1867, he departed Council Bluffs, Iowa, with a wagon train bound for Fort McPherson, Nebraska. Some forty miles from the ranch of the celebrated Jack Morrow, the wagon train was attacked by Indians, and barely saved by the timely arrival of a troop of cavalry. For the next two years Desmond freighted for the government between the military posts of Sedgwick, Sanders, Laramie, and Fetterman, and was a government hunter, Pat Desmond later worked for Wells Fargo and Company as a freight watchman between North Platte and Julesburg. At about the same time, he became a detective for the Union Pacific Railroad during construction of the transcontinental railroad. He was present at the historic linkup with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah, on May 10, 1869, which was perhaps his first visit to Utah.

 At Fort Hays, Kansas, Desmond hired out as foreman on the Kansas Pacific Railroad building into Colorado. In April, 1870, the railroad built into the little town of Kit Carson, Colorado, and within ten days he camp followers gamblers, saloon-men, and harlots - arrived, swelling the population of the little hamlet to more than 1,500..

Desmond, who had earned a firm reputation for fearlessness after being in a number of Indian fights and for his detective work, was hired as constable of Kit Carson and deputy sheriff of newly formed Greenwood County. He had often
demonstrated, according to one newspaper, that "he was a good man with his fists and could knock out almost anyone. " For his assistant, Desmond selected another Irishman, a former New York City policeman named Thomas J. Smith. Smith had
earned the sobriquet "Bear River Tom" after cleaning up the hell-raising camp of Bear River City, Wyoming, near Evanston, on the Union Pacific line in 1868 Smith had also served briefly as a Salt Lake City policeman.

By late April 1870, Desmond and Smith had "tamed" Kit Carson and moved on Bear River Tom Smith went to Abilene, Kansas, where he succeeded Wild Bill Hickok as city marshal and became a legend for taming the town without a gun, only to be shot down in November, 1870, while attempting to serve a warrant.

Pat Desmond drifted, briefly operating a saloon at Georgetown and restaurant at Golden. He hired on again as grading crew foreman for the Denver & Rio Grande building south from Denver. When that line reached Pueblo n 1872 Desmond, now married with a family, built a fine home on a mesa across he river from Pueblo proper, in South Pueblo. Over the succeeding years, he would return to Pueblo frequently, operating successively a hotel, saloons, a liver various real estate. During the 1870's he was also almost constantly a lawman, serving as constable of South Pueblo and a deputy under Pueblo County Sheriffs Abe Ellis and Henly R. Price.

On October 13, 1877, Henry Thedie, a respected local butcher and father of three small children, was brutally murdered near Georgetown and robbed of eighty dollars. A man named Robert Schamle was the murderer, and when he left the area, he was pursued by the Rocky Mountain Detective Association, operated by General David J. Cook of Denver.

 

Schamle was spotted on an eastbound freight train out of Pueblo, and Sheriff Ellis - a member of Cook's association - sent his deputy Desmond in pursuit. Desmond caught the fugitive of West Las Animas in Bent County and returned him to Pueblo. Schamle was taken back to Georgetown where, on the early morning of December 15, he was taken from jail by a mob and hanged in a pigpen.

 

As constable of South Pueblo, most of Desmond's duties were mundane, such as cleaning up the streets, abating pig sties, and shooting unlicensed dogs THE COLORADO CHIEFTAIN of Pueblo, in April, 1879, reported: "Under the excellent supervision of our efficient town marshal, P.J. Desmond, Union Avenue is undergoing a thorough renovation which adds very materially towards its service and appearance."

 

As deputy sheriff, Desmond assisted Sheriff Henly R. Price in the hanging of Victor Nunez, the first legal execution in the county, in April of that same year. In the municipal elections that same month, he defeated his opponent in election as city marshal by a margin of three-to-one Earlier that same year, in February, Desmond had assisted Sheriff W.B Masterson of Ford County, Kansas, in the capture of George Holcomb, a cattle rustler and escapee from the Dodge City jail. However, in June, these two enigmatic lawmen found themselves looking at each other through the sights of guns, on opposing sides in the Royal Gorge War.

The Royal Gorge War was a battle waged between the Denver & Rio Grande and Sante Fe railroads for the right-of-way to a bustling silver camp at Leadville. While lawyers for both sides argued in courts, armed gunmen hired by the Sante Fe took control of Rio Grande stations from Denver to Cannon City. Bat Masterson commanded a group of about 150 men who held the roundhouse at Pueblo.

On June 11, 1879, R.F. Weitbrec, treasurer of the Rio Grande, huddled with Chief Engineer J.A. McMurtrie and Sheriff Henly R Price and his deputy, Pat Desmond, to discuss a means to drive Masterson and his men from the roundhouse Desmond suggested that they steal a cannon from the state armory, but it was discovered that Masterson had already appropriated it, and had it in the roundhouse, trained on the line of attackers.

McMurtrie, himself an Irishman, and Deputy Sheriff Pat Desmond assembled some fifty Rio Grande men in front of the Victoria Hotel at three o'clock that afternoon and issued them ammunition and rifles equipped with bayonets. Then they made an assault on the telegraph office on the station platform, forced the doors, and drove the defenders out through the rear windows the roundhouse in force, Then they moved on the roundhouse in force.

Weitbrec conferred with Pat Masterson, after which Bat ordered his men to surrender the roundhouse, and he confrontation was over Bat's battalion had suffered one casualty. Henry Jenkins, said a biased story in the DODGE CITY TIMES. "was shot in the back by a drunken guard of the Rio Grande force The unfortunate man was climbing out of the depot window." Josh Webb, another of Bat's men, lost a front tooth in close fighting, and a handsome gold one was inserted at Dodge gratis by J.H "Doc" Holliday, D.D.S. Also, according to Bat Masterson's biographer, Alfred Henry Lewis, Bat "smote a Pueblo railway policeman so grievously upon his skull with a six-shooter, that the latter officer, who had wrongfully assailed Mr Masterson with a bludgeon, must be furloughed to the hospital for a month.”

 

Charges were filed against Sheriff Price and Deputy Desmond. They were arrested by a Pueblo constable, but when the issue of the railroads was resolved in the courts, the charges were dropped.

 

In 1881 Pat Desmond attained sufficient stature as a lawman to have his biography included among hose of outstanding Arkansas Valley, Colorado, pioneers and businessman published in a history of the region that year.

 

In March, 1881, James McMillen, a Pueblo businessman, had a "blooded horse and a fine mule stallion" stolen by thieves, and offered a reward. Desmond set out on a nine-day-old trail and soon arrested the two thieves "at the mouth of a double barrel shot gun."

 

Desmond returned not only with the thieves but the recovered stock, two saddles, and a stolen dog. McMillen published a letter of high praise in THE CHIEFTAIN, saying of Desmond: "No where else can a man be found so keen of scent, so intrepid in danger and so firm in his convictions as Captain Desmond. Let Desmond stand at the head of detectives and fearless officers. (He) not only earned the reward but has earned the title of chief in his calling.”

 

The stagecoach which ran between Del Norte and Alamosa, Colorado, was held up on the night of June 28, 1881, nine miles outside of Alamosa. Deputy U.S Marshal M.W. Blain wired Desmond from Alamosa to be on the lookout for a suspect who was believed to have boarded the morning train bound for Pueblo. On the afternoon of June 29, Desmond arrested the suspect at Pueblo's Union Depot. A search of the man uncovered $478 in cash, a small bag of ore, and a silver watch believed to be part of the loot taken in the stage robbery.

 

An Arkansas officer came to the jail and identified the prisoner as a man named Henry W Burton who had robbed two coaches simultaneously near Fayetteville two weeks earlier. Desmond sent a telegram to L. Cass Carpenter, United States Postal Inspector at Denver:

 

South Pueblo, June 29 -

 

I have Burton, the Arkansas stage robber. He robbed the Alamosa stage night before last [sic]. What shall I do with him? P.J. Desmond, City

Marshal.

 

Desmond was instructed to escort his prisoner to Denver, and they boarded the northbound train for the hundred-mile trip on July 1. Enroute, Burton tried to bribe Desmond to release him. Failing this, he waited for Desmond to leave his seat for a drink of water as the train slowed on a grade near Castle Rock. Burton made a dash for the end of the car, evading Desmond's attempt to grab him, and leaped from the train. The emergency cord was pulled and the train stopped, but by the time Desmond leaped out, Burton was 700 yards away and running.

Burton suffered from an old injury and had been shaken by his fall from the train, and Desmond closed the gap between them, When he was within pistol range Desmond fired several times, one shot creasing Burton's head, bringing him down. As Burton was dragged bleeding back to the Rio Grande train, he remarked bitterly that it would have been better if he had been killed.

Not long after turning his prisoner over to Denver authorities, Desmond learned that Burton was actually Ham White, the most successful and daring stage government."

The loss of the reward money was a desperate setback to Desmond whose financial reverses continued throughout 1882 He began drinking heavily, which only increased his bitterness and irascibility.

On the morning of February 11, 1882, a party of black men and women reported to Marshal Desmond that they had been harassed and physically abused while walking near the Union Depot. Their antagonist, they said, was another police officer. Desmond accompanied the group back to the depot where they pointed out Patrolman John T. O'Connor, another Irishman, who had been drinking Desmond berated O'Connor severely, and O'Connor cursed him in kind. "Since have been on the force," said Officer Rube Gutshall, who was present "I have never heard such language used between two officers of the police department Other witnesses to the event were Deputy Sheriff Dave Abrams and Pinkerton Detective William Richardson.

 

Desmond demanded O'Connor's badge and reached out to remove it, but O'Connor struck him with his left hand and knocked him to the ground. A witness then reported that, "He (O'Connor) squatted, advanced his left leg, (and) dropped his right hand to his pocket." As O'Connor reached for his pistol, bystanders stumbled over each other to get out of the way. One witness, James Horn, late: stated: "When O'Connor put his hand down by his pocket, I started to travel!"

 

Desmond beat O'Connor to the draw and fired twice, both bullets striking O'Connor's extended left leg. O'Connor managed to fire three times, missing each and finally other officers stepped in and subdued them both, taking away their weapons.

 

"When I shot at him I meant to kill him, " Desmond said brazenly at a hearing. "I wouldn't have fired if I did not think my life was in danger... I meant to have the balls from the gun take effect in his breast."

 

O'Connor recovered and both men were soon back on duty. However, there soon emerged an internecine struggle within the Pueblo police department Policeman Rube Gutshall, was one of O'Connor's staunch defenders, for Desmond had suspended Gutshall after the shooting for not coming to his aid. The Pueblo papers publicized the feud daily under the headline, "The Police Muddle." Mayor Stephen Walley called a special meeting of the city council to resolve the issue, but was himself ejected from the chambers by the city council The council's decision was to fire Desmond.

 

Desmond was irate. He stated to a CHIEFTAIN reporter: "I have been a resident of this city for some time, and have been elected city marshal three times and appointed five times. I was also elected four times constable of the thirteenth precinct and have always attended to my duties in a faithful, independent, honest and honorable manner." He then announced that he intended to press a $25.000 damage suit against he city Desmond's Irish pride never recovered from the blow of his dismissal. Continuing to drink heavily, his temper was explosive, and he was hauled into court three times in April alone for assault with intent to inflict bodily injury,

 

THE CHIEFTAIN of April 19 reported that being "inclined to pugnacity. . ExMarshal Desmond... yesterday collided with City Attorney Wescott and several hard names were exchanged." Later, leading a hard-nosed group of disgruntled ex-policemen, Desmond pushed his way into the office of THE PUEBLO REPUBLICAN "for the purpose of chastising the managing editor, Mr George Kent." Not long after Alderman Slitt was accosted in the same fashion "All the party," reported THE CHIEFTAIN, "were under the influence of liquor when the breaks were made."

Desmond's life was falling, apart that April, contributing to his irrational behavior. An epidemic of diphtheria swept the town, and his four children contracted the disease On April 6, his eight-year-old daughter, Mamie, died and two weeks after his two-year-old son, Johnnie, also died of the horrible disease His remaining two boys nearly succumbed, but recovered.

It didn't end there. In July, THE CHIEFTAIN reported, "Pat Desmond is having a run of hard luck." A mule kicked him in the "off arm," which he was wearing in a sling at the Independence Day celebration when a Roman candle gone astray "took him just under the eye, peeling the bark off."

 

Desmond's wife, Annie, despondent over her husband's behavior and recent financial set-backs, packed up their two sons and abandoned him to live with relatives in Peoria, Illinois. Desmond, in a rage, went after hem and brought them back, but in November, Annie divorced him.

 

Desmond, pressed with staggering court fines and attorney fees, and having lost his hundred-dollar-a-month marshal's salary, was forced to sell his real estate holdings. In March he sold lots worth $12,000 opposite the South Pueblo National Bank, and in November, following his divorce, sold his livery, The ad read:

 

For sale or trade for real estate, the complete outfit of the South Pueblo

Livery Stables, corner Third and C Streets, comprising 17 head of livery horses, 14 rigs, double and single harness, bard, etc. The above outfit must be sold as the proprietor has other business to attend to P.J.

Desmond, proprietor.

The "other business" Desmond referred to was his recent establishment of "The Southern Colorado Detective Agency," an investigative and merchant's security force, affiliated with'General Cook's Rocky Mountain Detective Agency at Denver. As superintendent, Desmond hired former South Pueblo policemen who had remained loyal to him in the recent disputes: Emil Auspitz, John Pritchard, George Herold, and former Pinkerton operative, William L Richardson. The city' s new marshal, Henry Jameson, and Desmond's old enemies, Rube Gutshall (now a police Captain), Jack O'Connor, and R.A Caldwell, vehemently opposed the operation of Desmond's agency within the city.

 

On February 9, 1883, Desmond again got into a gun-fight with a policeman, allegedly over a woman, according to the papers, but Desmond claimed it arose over his private police agency. The trouble began in the Big Tree Saloon on Union Avenue where Desmond and Policeman Caldwell exchanged hot words. The two were separated by bystanders and Desmond left the saloon, but Caldwell followed him and the argument was continued in the street.

 

Caldwell suddenly pulled his pistol and struck Desmond on the head, and the weapon discharged. Desmond continued on down the street, perhaps dazed by the blow, and made no effort to retaliate, but Caldwell followed and provoked a further confrontation.

 

Desmond suddenly turned, having tolerated as much as he could stand, and both men pulled their revolvers at the same time. Both continued firing until the weapons were empty. Marshal Henry Jameson arrived on the scene, amazed to see both men still standing Desmond's only wound, probably occurred when Caldwell's gun discharged at the first blow, was a graze "cutting a swath through his raven locks." Caldwell had received a bullet through the right shoulder, but
still had enough strength o break out of Marsha Jameson's grip and strike Desmond another blow on the head, knocking him to the ground unconscious The most seriously wounded was an innocent bystander, George Wilson, who had been struck in the ankle by a stray bullet THE CHIEFTAIN reported that the telephone company should bring suit "to recover damages occasioned to one of their telephone poles, which was filled so full of lead that it has sunk into the ground four feet." Of course, the report was being facetious.

Officer Caldwell, feeling that he was more wronged than wrong file( criminal charges against Desmond, Jameson, and J.C. Lilly for assault with intent to kill. However, Justice F.H Shrock acquitted the defendants at a preliminary hearing.

On January 2, 1884, a fire broke out in Desmond' livery, and soon spread, destroying not only the stable, but an entire city block Total damages were $25,000, and $10,000 were Desmond's alone, but he wa: insured for the loss, and with the insurance money soon opened The Star Saloon on Union Avenue His detective agency, not overly successful, was quietly fading into oblivion.

occasionally he imbibed too freely of his saloon' stock of liquor and when he did, he most often ended up in police court. Desmond remarried in 1883, and his new wife, Eva, seemed o be a good match for him, sometimes joining him in his escapades.

Desmond's reputation as brawler often got him into trouble even though he was innocent In April, 885, "an aged wagon maker" named Thomas Mulready charged Desmond with assault, claiming that he had "lost his left eye-ball and had his' shoulder dislocated by blows." However, it was discovered at a hearing on the matter that Mulready, intoxicated, and fel. over a beer keg on the sidewalk in front of McHale's Saloon, Desmond had merely picked the man up and told him to go home. A doctor testified hat Mulready had lost his eye more than a year earlier, and all charges against Desmond were dismissed, 

Police reports were full of mentions of Desmond's wild escapades, and they were regularly reported in THE CHIEFTAIN. An example appeared on March 3, 1887: "Pat J. Desmond had his two trials for assault yesterday. The first before Justice (George T. Breed, he resisted, and it was taken under advisement until Monday In the other case, before Justice Sweet, he was fined $5 and cost."

 

Pat Desmond's last serious encounter at Pueblo occurred in December, 1888, when he tangled with a man named Frank Owenby, a self-styled "emigration agent" involved in transporting black laborers from the South to the Pacific Coast Owenby had once resided in Pueblo, but had moved to La Veta because of numerous indictments at the former place.

 

Owenby had borrowed $5 from Desmond which he had repaid with a bad check, Desmond spotted Owenby in A.C. Daniel's drugstore and confronted him, spouting, "You are the son-of-a-bitch I am looking for," and clubbed Owenby over the head with his cane. Owenby shoved Desmond to the floor The latter reached for his hind pocket, but realized that he didn't have a weapon. "If I had a gun," he snarled, "I'd kill you.”

 

Daniel, the druggist, blew his police whistle, and a trio of Irish policemen quickly appeared on the scene, consisting of O'Connor, O'Kelly, and Burke. The former was the same Of Connor with whom Desmond had had the shoot- out six years before No arrests were made and the matter appeared ended.

 

However, within an hour Desmond had returned, accompanied by his wife, and again encountered Owenby at the drug store. Again Desmond raised his cane in a threatening gesture towards Owenby, who drew a 38 revolver and fired twice. Desmond was struck once just below the breast bone, and a second time in the left shoulder. Eva jumped between the two men to prevent further shooting while Officers O’Connor and O’Kelly returned on the run and arrested Owenby.

 

Desmond was placed in a hack and taken to his home where doctors probed unsuccessfully to remove the bullets. They decided that neither wound was fatal, although the chest wound was severe. He eventually recovered. Owenby cleared. Years later he kept a curio shop in La Veta, supplemented by some bootlegging and railroad detective work. In his shop he displayed the .38 in a glass case and told anyone who would listen that he was the man who killed Marshal Pat Desmond of Pueblo.

 

Desmond was not only very much alive, but greatly disillusioned with Pueblo. In the spring of 1889 he toured Wyoming and Utah, looking for business opportunities. He found what he was looking for business opportunities He found what he was looking for at Ogden, Utah. Here he invested in several saloons, one of which was the Ogden River Resort, described as "one of the toughest dives in the city."

 

At about the same time, Pat Desmond found occasion to apply his experience as a lawman in Utah Ogden's infamous 25th Street was plagued by numerous houses of prostitution, and every effort by local lawmen o root them out were met failure Since the houses targeted railroad employees customers, the hierarchy of the Union Pacific put great pressure on local officials to close the houses down.

However, this was easier said than done, for customers were often seen going into the houses, but when raids were conducted, the "Johns" could not be found No matter how careful the exits were guarded, the customers managed to escape or apparently disappeared.

Having served in the capacity of railroad detective in the past, Desmond was soon recruited to assist a force of select officers in solving the problem of the houses. Among the Union Pacific detectives with whom Desmond worked on this case was an enigmatic Utah lawman named Cleophas J, Dowd, controversial Irishman.

Desmond's services in this venture were exemplary. In a brief time, secret of the houses on 24th Street was discovered A series of tunnels had been dug beneath the houses, through which the customers had escaped undetected, tunnels had been constructed some years earlier by frightened Chinese laborers following the Chinese Massacre at Rock Springs, Wyoming.

Pat Desmond might have continued his career as a lawman in Utah had he not brought his taste of liquor and his explosive temper with him from Colorado. Before long he was embroiled in another barroom brawl which the OGDEN COMMERCIAL newspaper described as "a regular knock down and drag out.”

This fracas in the Ogden River Resort began on the night of July 18, 1889, with a trivial argument between Desmond, now forty-seven years of age, and Jack Williams, a much younger man. The argument escalated into a brawl when Williams broke a beer bottle over Desmond's head Desmond retaliated by doing the same, it soon became apparent hat Williams had the upper hand in he slug-fest. Eva Desmond then pushed through the crowd of spectators and slipped a revolver into her husband's hand. 

Desmond, bloodied and furious, shoved the barrel of the gun against Williams' chest and pulled the trigger However, just as he did so, one of Williams' friends jerked his gun arm upward and the bullet creased Williams' scalp. Bystanders took the gun away from Desmond, but the fight with fists continued until Desmond, whose "head was cut and beaten till he presented a dilapidated appearance," fell unconscious to the floor.

 

Following the Williams fight, Desmond closed the Ogden River Resort and returned with his wife to Pueblo. In February, 1890, a rumor reached Ogden that Desmond had been killed in Colorado. The OGDEN COMMERCIAL printed the story as fact, and the editor added that it was a fitting end to a desperado of Desmond's ilk. Desmond stormed back to Utah and immediately filed a $10,000 libel suit against the paper. His attorney, L.R, Rogers, was quite prominent locally While he awaited the suit to develop against the OGDEN COMMERCIAL Pat Desmond set about to settle accounts with a former employee, Thomas Todd. Todd, Missourian about thrity-eight years old, had first appeared in Pueblo as a lineman for the telephone company, but, in the words of a local paper, "work and he did not agree." He quit his job as a lineman and drifted from one local resort to another as a bartender and house gambler When he was fired from his job at a variety theater, he took a shot at Bert Reynolds, the proprietor, and served some time in jail.

 

At Pueblo, Todd went under the alias, "Tom Holmes, "and it was believed he had been implicated in the Blue Cut train robbery near Kansas City, and had skipped out on $1,000 bail THE CHIEFTAIN noted: "He is credited with a good many shady transactions while in Pueblo, and his reputation is not of the best even among his class."

 

Desmond had hired Todd as his bartender at the Ogden River Resort for three months in 1889 Upon closure of the saloon, Desmond blamed Todd for its failure, and the two parted on bad terms. The feud renewed when Desmond returned to Ogden from Pueblo.

 

A confrontation occurred when Desmond and Todd met in the Bear Saloon, operated by Gus Vogus, who had known Desmond twelve years. Desmond pulled his a pearl-handled "Colt's pattern of large caliber," and threatened to kill his former employee, Gus Vogus grabbed the gun from Desmond's hand and put it safely away in the cash drawer.

 

Todd, who admitted that he had a fear of Desmond, had "seen him in lots of rows," and had "seen him pull his gun several times," armed himself with a double-action 44 caliber "American Bulldog."

 

About midnight of February 28, 1890, Desmond ran into Todd and a man named Tom O'Neil in the Little King Saloon in Ogden. They decided to let bygones be bygones, had a few drinks together, and, at Desmond's suggestion, moved on to the Capitol Saloon After sharing a few more drinks, O'Neil departed,

Todd remained o drink more with Desmond, but he kept a wary eye on
who was becoming increasingly bellicose During the course of the early morning
hours, he saw Desmond whisper something to W. P Collier, the bartender saw Collier take something from the money drawer and slip it over the bar, and saw Desmond shove the object into his pocket.

Almost immediately Desmond began needling Todd, trying to provoke him to action. He jerked a white silk handkerchief and a pair of leather gloves from Todd's pocket, and Todd demanded their return Todd later swore that Desmond responded by saying, "I will give you this!" and started to pull a pistol his pocket. Spectators, however, claimed that Desmond made no such move The room suddenly filled with gunshots and smoke.

 

E. T. Roach, a drummer from Saint Joseph, Missouri, later stated hat he was so close when the shooting began that Desmond's hand was resting on his shoulder. He heard shots and saw Desmond grab the railing around the bar and slide all the way to the end, then falling backward on the floor. Todd then stepped forward and fired again at Desmond's prone figure.

 

In a few moments night watchman Thomas Luty arrived on the scene and Todd surrendered his weapon to him. Dr. J. G. Bryant had left the saloon only minutes earlier, and now returned o examine Desmond; he declared him dead, with five bullet wounds in his body, One bullet had passed through his scrotum into his abdomen; another passed completely through his arm above the wrist a third shot struck, him in the mouth, knocking out a tooth as it went onward to his brain; a fourth wound was directly between his eyes These four shots had all ranged upward from the front. The fifth bullet, fired after he had fallen, entered the back of Desmond's head in a downward trajectory, also imbedding itself in the brain.

Thomas Todd stood trial on June 24, 1890, charged with first degree murder, He claimed self-defense, stating that Desmond had reached for his gun, but he had simply gotten his gun into action first When he saw the gun in Desmond's hand, Todd testified, "I said to myself then, 'Old boy, you've got to do something awful quick, I and so I got my gun out as quickly as I could and let him have it.”

Even back at Pueblo that story was accepted with skepticism. THE CHIEFTAIN commented: "Todd's story sounds improbable and altogether unlikely to those who know Desmond and his ability to handle a gun. No one will believe that Pat Desmond got the drop on an enemy and then permitted that enemy to shoot him five times without even returning the fire."

 

Evidence presented at a preliminary hearing substantiated the fact that Pat Desmond did not draw his weapon first. No weapon was found in Desmond's hand at the scene, but a loaded six-shooter was in his coat pocket Near his extended right hand was a freshly lit cigar, illustrating that he had not held a gun,

 

Following three days of testimony and argument , Todd's case went to the jury, which deliberated eleven hours before finding the defendant guilty of voluntary manslaughter. It was obviously a compromise verdict, and when Judge Henderson passed sentence on June 30, he pointed out that it was fortunate that he did not kill Desmond two weeks later - he Utah Territorial Legislature at that time extended the maximum sentence for the crime of voluntary manslaughter from five to ten years Todd was then sentenced to five years in the Utah State Prison.

Eva Desmond returned her husband's body to Pueblo for interment in the Northside Cemetery His estate was estimated at between $65,000 - $70,000 large fortune in 1890.

The Colorado and Utah newspapers had a field-day recounting Pat Desmond's life and character "Desmond was regarded as a desperado, and although he had some redeeming traits in his character, he was generally feared and hated," printed THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS. He was not exactly a desperado, but was known to be a man who would take a hand in any scuffle regardless of the consequences.”

THE DENVER REPUBLICAN noted that Desmond was "a thoroughly bad man and at the same time very smooth and pliant Brutal by instinct, he was one of those peculiar characters which all right minded people abhor, while at the same time they admire.”

THE COLORADO CHIEFTAIN said, "Those who know Pat best had long predicted that some day the brave and reckless fellow would die with his boots on."

THE OGDEN STANDARD perhaps summed him up best "He had hundreds of friends in business circles, and he had a great many enemies. He had a faculty for creating both. It appeared to be an ambition with him to reward the former and punish the latter. All men who knew him admired him for his ability to make money and his generous spending of it They disliked his indictiveness."

SOURCES
Newspapers: The Colorado Chieftain; The Rocky Mountain News; The Denver
Republican; The Ogden Standard; The Ogden Commercial.
Bat Masterson. The Man and the Legend, Robert K. DeArment,
University of Oklahoma Press, 1979, pp. 138, 153.
Colorado State Archives
Pinkerton Detective Agency Archives
Reminiscences of Charles G. Dowd
Western History Dept., Denver Public Library