Fire Arms Prohibited

​Only after the cattle and cattlemen began arriving in large numbers did the attitude of law enforcement officers become important. During the season for shipping cattle there were the usual problems of keeping order. Each evening fistfights, or gunfights would break loose in a saloon or on the streets of Dodge City. To keep the violence down the town officials would prohibit firearms within the city limits. 

Hartman Short Shootout

On the evening of Saturday, April 28, 1883 Luke Short encounters Louis C. Hartman a city clerk who was hired as a policeman. Hartman was one of the policemen who had arrested Luke Shorts singers earlier that evening at the Long Branch Saloon. The two exchanged gunfire but neither was hit. Hartman then swore out a complaint against Short, Marshal Bridges arrested him, and Short had to post a $2,000.00 bond. 

The Robbery

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