Ben Thompson, Gunfighter

When Ben first entered the bar-room he took a hasty survey of the surroundings but saw nothing to cause alarm.

Continuing Gunfighters of the Old West,
our selection from an article in Human Life Magazine by Bat Masterson published in 1907. The selection is presented in four easy 5 minute installments. For works benefiting from the latest research see the “More information” section at the bottom of these pages.

Previously in Gunfighters of the Old West.

He was more resourceful and a better general under trying conditions than any of that great army of desperate men who flourished on our frontier thirty years ago. He was absolutely without fear and his nerves were those of the finest steel. He shot at an adversary with the same precision and deliberation that he shot at a target. He was a past master in the use of the pistol and his aim was as true, as his nerves were strong and steady. He had during his career more deadly encounters with the pistol than any man living and won out in every single instance. The very name of Ben Thompson was enough to cause the general run of “man killers,” even those who had never seen him, to seek safety in instant flight. Thompson killed many men during his career, but always in an open and manly way. He scorned the man who was known to have committed murder, and looked with contempt on the man who sought for unfair advantages in a fight.

The men whom he shot and killed were without exception men who had tried to kill him; and an unarmed man or one who was known to be a non-combatant, was far safer in his company than he would be right here on Broadway at this time. He was what could be properly termed a thoroughly game man, and like all men of that sort never committed murder. He stood about five feet nine inches in height and weighed in later years, in the neighborhood of 180 pounds.

Wore Silk Hat and Prince Albert

His face was pleasant to look upon and his head was round and well-shaped. He was what could be called a handsome man. He was always neat in his dress but never loud, and wore little if any jewelry at any time. He was often seen on the streets of Austin, especially on a Sunday, wearing a silk hat and dressed in a Prince Albert suit of the finest material. While he was not given to taking any unnecessary chances with his life, he would unhesitatingly do so if he felt that occasion demanded it. For example: He had a falling out one day with the proprietor of a vaudeville house in Austin and that night, just at the busiest hour, went over to the place and fired a shot from his pistol into one of the big chandeliers that was hanging from the ceiling, which broke some of the glass shades and scattered the pieces of broken glass in all directions over the audience.

This, as might be expected, caused an immediate stampede of the patrons who rushed pell-mell for the street. Thompson, when things quieted down somewhat, left the place without offering to do any further mischief. That seemed to satisfy Ben and in all probability the trouble would have ended then and there had the proprietor let the matter rest where it was; but he refused to listen to the advice of his friends and openly declared that he intended to get even with Thompson. As a matter of course everything he said about Ben was instantly carried to him and, as is generally the way in such cases, some things he did not say were added to the story by the tale-bearers.

The Threat of the Vaudeville Man

At any rate it got noised about town that the Vaudeville man was thoroughly organized for Ben and intended to kill him the first time he ever stepped inside his house. Of course Ben was told what was being said about him by the hurdy-gurdy manager, but only laughed and said that he guessed if he didn’t die until he got killed by the showman, he would live a long time. But reports of the threats that were being made against his life by the vaudeville proprietor kept reaching him with such regularity, that he finally began to think that perhaps there might be something in them. At any rate be made up his mind to see for himself how much there really was in those threats that he had been hearing about for so long. So one night while the show was in full blast he told a very warm personal friend of his by the name of Zeno Hemphill that he had made up his mind to go over to the show and look over the arrangements he understood had been made for his removal from this vale of tears.

“Zeno,” said Ben’ ‘just fall in a few feet behind me and’ holler’ if you see anything that doesn’t look exactly right to you when I get inside that ‘Honky-tonk.’ “Remember, Zeno, I only want you along for a witness in case anything happens,” remarked Ben, as he started to cross the street to the variety theater that was soon to witness a terrible tragedy within its walls. Ben entered a door that led to the bar-room from the street. This bar-room was a part of the theater, although the stage upon which the performance appeared was in another part of the building.

In order to reach that part of the building in which a performance was being given it was necessary for Ben to pass along the entire length of the bar, then through a pair of swinging doors located about ten feet further on, through which it was necessary to pass before a view of the stage could be obtained. When Ben first entered the bar-room he took a hasty survey of the surroundings but saw nothing to cause alarm. In fact he did not expect the attack to come from that part of the house, if indeed an attack was made at all, but was looking for it to occur after he had reached the theatre proper, which would not be until after he had passed the swinging doors.

More information here and here, and below.

We want to take this site to the next level but we need money to do that. Please contribute directly by signing up at https://www.patreon.com/history