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March 12, 1882
The stranger rode into town on an otherwise ordinary Wednesday, March 12. Contrary to most Westerns, nobody in the town paid him a second thought. The town was on the frontier and all manner of trappers, cowboys, miners, and runaways passed through on their way. So, when the plain, unassuming stranger rode in, nobody gave him another look.
The stranger headed first for the town saloon. Looking through a side window, he confirmed that it was indeed open and doing business. Entering, he found himself a table. A waitress approached him and with a charming smile, the stranger ordered “the works”. Being that this was a frontier town, “the works” was a platter of eggs and a shot of whiskey.
While he was waiting for his eggs, he was approached by a group of local men who wanted to know his purpose in town. The stranger just smiled and told them that he sought what everyone sought: “Fame, Fortune, and Glory”. However, lacking in all three, he was currently no more than a simple trapper.
He invited the men to sit down and converse. The stranger brought news. The famous Luke Short had been forced out of Dodge City following the murder of Charlie Storms. He had been found innocent in the shooting, but a “peace commission” led by Wyatt Earp ran him out of town. As the locals, who hadn’t received this particular news, listened with rapt attention, the stranger paused to ask where his eggs were.
At that moment, a group of 2 men arrived in town. They were clearly harried and windswept, having been riding non-stop for many hours. The locals noticed their distress and upon approaching them, learned that they were lawmen in search of an outlaw.
Upon further questioning, the lawmen produced a wanted poster with the stranger’s face on it. Below that face was the text: “David Walker Jr. Wanted: Dead or Alive”. The reward given for his arrest was $5000, a princely sum that could buy the whole town twice over. His crime was murder, several times over. The locals quickly directed the lawmen to the town saloon.
At the saloon, Walker’s eggs arrived just as the lawmen burst through the doors. With the quickness of a rattlesnake, Walker was on his feet, six shooter drawn. The similarly quick lawmen had their arms at the ready to meet his.
The lawmen revealed Walker’s name and identity to the local group surrounding him. As comradery turned to distrust and disdain, one particularly brave or stupid local made a decision. Jason Moore had long been the laughingstock of town and he was determined to change that.
With Walker’s back turned as he was occupied by the lawmen, Moore made his move. He lunged for Walker’s arm holding his six shooter. However, Walker didn’t acquire his reputation and his massive bounty by being slow.
Quicker than you’ve ever seen, Walker spun on his heel and put two bullets into Moore’s sinking soul.
The lawmen chose that moment to make their move. With Walker distracted, they fired. One bullet went into Walker’s shoulder of the arm holding his gun. With Walker no longer able to fire, the lawmen quickly arrested him.
After a short trial, a full 9-man jury convicted him of murder and the town judge announced that Walker would face execution in the town square the next day. When asked for his last words, Walker just laughed and proclaimed that he had escaped from prisons before and he would escape again.
The lawmen assured the townsfolk that justice had finally caught up to Walker and that he would be punished for his crimes. The lawmen searched Walker and took his gun, his knife, and anything else he could use to escape. The only thing they spared him was his coat so they could ensure that he wouldn’t die of hypothermia before his execution.
Unknown to the lawmen, Walker was counting on that. Once the lawmen had locked him in a cell in the sheriff’s office, they went to rest for the night and coordinate the logistics for Walker’s hanging.
When Walker saw that he was alone, he took out the lock pick that he had sewn in the lining of his coat. That same pick had allowed him to escape certain death in Tombstone, Dodge City, and Fort Sumner. As he had promised, he slipped out of the jail cell.
Under the cover of night, Walker retrieved his horse and his six shooter and fled from town. However, unlike his past miraculous escapes, he had something weighing him down this time. His injured right shoulder rendered his shooting arm useless. Furthermore, his wound had not been treated as it was expected that he would be executed the next morning.
As he rode on, his shoulder began to get worse and worse. Every time his horse moved, it seemed to send shooting pain all the way up the right side of Walker’s body. The wound reopened sometime around 5 miles from town.
Luckily for Walker, all hope wasn’t lost yet. He figured that he could make it to the next town over, get treatment, and restart the cycle of his life all over again.
As dawn approached, the supposed day of Walker’s execution arrived, and Walker grinned with the knowledge that he had escaped certain death once again.
In the early hours of the morning, he finally glimpsed the next town over. Ready to do what he had always done, he rode into town, once again a stranger.
This time, there were no locals. There were only two people waiting for him. The two lawmen had taken a shortcut and uninjured as they were, arrived well before Walker did.
As Walker locked eyes with them, he knew it was over. The lawmen weren’t taking prisoners this time. He tried to reach across his body with his uninjured arm, but the lawmen were quicker. Two bullets pierced his upper torso, knocking him off his horse and into the dirt.
As the sun finally dawned and the cover of night vanished, David Walker Jr. finally met the justice that he had escaped for so long.