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Marshall

Town marshal in Whiskey Flats,[1] Nebraska, in 1877. (November 17, 1827 – May 25, 1897)[2]

A strict disciplinarian,[1] he was appointed as town marshal by the settlers of Whiskey Flats in early 1877.[2] He worked closely with the town's justice of the peace and kept regular hours, promptly opening his jail at 6:00 every morning and closing it at 9:00 every night.[2]

Following a map to buried Wells Fargo gold dust[1] in March of 1877,[2] Dandy Jim Buckley discovered the Whiskey Flats jail had been built directly over the buried loot. Upon returning[1] in April[2] with Bret Maverick, Buckley planted his pocket watch in Bret's coat and reported the "theft" to the marshal. After a hearing with the justice of the peace, the marshal jailed Bret for pickpocketing. At 9:00 on Bret's first night in jail, the marshal locked up for the night, telling Bret he would start earning his keep the next morning by felling trees and sawing them up for winter fuel. Once the marshal left, Buckley passed the tools for digging up the Wells Fargo gold dust through the bars of Bret's cell. The marshal returned the next morning to find a hole dug out from under the jail wall and Bret gone, never the wiser as to the existence of stolen gold buried under his jail.[1]

See: Stampede