Levi Richardson had been around Dodge City from its very inception. Like so many who came to this western country, Richardson made a living at whatever came his way.

For several years, he cowboyed for Henry L. Sitler. Sitler’s ranch headquarters was on the rise overlooking the Arkansas River, the very rise that would become Boot Hill cemetery.

In 1876, Richardson helped Ellis County Sheriff George Bardsley capture a gang of horse thieves led by the notorious Big Ike. He had tracked stolen horses to their camp, but could not take them alone.

Fortunately, Richardson happened upon the posse in the Republican River country, a region where few men were known to travel. With the help of the posse, he could get the horses back. Sheriff Bardsley promptly enlisted Richardson in a plan to lure the notorious Big Ike into a trap.

Big Ike was alone and in the open when Richardson approached the camp. Ike was unaware that Bardsley and his posse were just out of sight as he rode toward Richardson. Once the outlaw was exposed and unprotected, the lawmen charged out of hiding with a shout of “Surrender!” Big Ike instantly drew his gun and fired. Ike missed, but Sheriff Bardsley’s shot was true. Horses whirled about and Big Ike fell from the saddle.

William Sternberg, Kansas Pacific railroad agent at Buffalo Station (present-day Park), reported the result.

“Four prisoners are sitting on the platform while I write — they are manacled and are moodily thinking of prison bars I presume, while they wait for the train to carry them to Hays, and justice, we hope; while Big Ike lays in a tent a few yards away, proving, by his suffering, that the way of the transgressor is hard.”

By 1878, Levi Richardson was freighting goods along the Jones and Plummer Trail to Fort Elliott, Texas. His outfit consisted of a principle wagon and a trail wagon connected together and drawn by a sixhorse team. Beyond horses and wagons, it really did not take much to be a freighter.

Richardson’s belongings included the harness and rigging for the horses, blankets, a saddle, an ax, a small oven, cooking utensils and the clothes on his back. His name was mentioned in newspapers a couple of times for coming into Dodge City from the south with other freighters.

When the Cheyenne broke from their reservation at the Darlington Agency near Fort Reno, Indian Territory, on Sept. 10, 1878, several cow camps were raided on the cattle range south of Dodge City. Seven cowboys were killed in various fights.

Richardson joined 50 Dodge City cowboys who volunteered as scouts for the army in their futile attempt to capture the determined Cheyenne. In the end, the Cheyenne outran the cavalry to make it all the way to Fort Robinson, Neb.

The Cheyenne were but a memory when Richardson stepped into Dodge City’s Long Branch Saloon the evening of Saturday, April 5, 1879. Richardson was looking for “Cockeyed” Frank Loving. As was so often the case, Richardson and Loving were at odds over a woman.

Cockeyed Frank was a cowboy turned gambler. The April 8, 1879, Ford County Globe described him as 25 years of age, “not much of a roudy (sic), but more of the cool and desperate order when he has a killing on hand.”

Richardson expected to find Cockeyed Frank at the Long Branch. The Long Branch was a favorite hangout of cattlemen and gamblers, and since gambling was Cockeyed Frank’s business, he had made the place his headquarters.

Richardson nearly missed his man that Saturday evening. By mid-evening, Cockeyed Frank had not made his usual appearance, prompting Richardson to head for the door. But as fate would have it, Cockeyed Frank chose that moment to enter the bar.

Pistols were drawn as the men faced off near the stove. Guns blazed as Richardson boldly charged his adversary.

Edward Davies testified, “I saw ... Levi Richardson with a pistol in his hand. He was chasing Loving around the stove.”

Davies said that as he was ducking for cover, he saw Richardson reach around the stove and fire at Cockeyed Frank.

The gunfighters ducked and dodged their way around a billiard table.

“The two were so close together that their pistols almost touched.”

Richardson emptied five shots from his Remington .44. Cockeyed Frank had all six cylinders loaded and emptied them as well. Richardson’s coat caught fire from the discharge of weapons. In the eerie murkiness of suspended gun smoke, Cockeyed Frank fell to the floor.

Richardson stepped toward the billiard table and fell to his hands and knees, shot through the chest, the right side and the right arm. Cockeyed Frank had only tripped, causing the fall. Except for a graze on the hand, he was unharmed. Richardson was not so fortunate. He breathed his last breath moments later.

Levi Richardson was buried on Boot Hill near the old Sitler headquarters the next day, Sunday, April 6, 1879. Meantime, Cockeyed Frank Loving was released on a plea of self-defense to continue his precarious sporting ways, on “The Way West.”