Boot Hill & Old Town of Tascosa, TX
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 35° 31.884 W 102° 15.368
13S E 748784 N 3935439
This county seat, now the site of Cal Farley's Boys Ranch, was once the site many movies were made about, and legends created. This one is called The Duck Fight.
Waymark Code: WMTF1K
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/14/2016
Views: 6
County of site: Oldham County
Location of site: TX-233, E. off US-385, Tascosa
"It started over a duck.
"Caleb Berg (Cape) Willingham, first sheriff of newly-organized Oldham County, was in the Equity Bar, Tascosa’s oldest saloon, when he heard a commotion outside. Suddenly one of the town’s few ladies did something most ladies of the era would not – she ran into the drinking establishment.
“He killed my duck!” she yelled, pointing to a man outside. “Shot it just now.”
"Willingham saw that the woman was referring to Fred Leigh, foreman on the LS Ranch. Leigh was known for his drinking and had been warned before about carrying a pistol in town.
“He did, did he?” the sheriff asked. “Well, now, don’t you worry. I’ll see that the gentleman pays you for your duck.”
"Armed with a double-barreled shotgun, the big sheriff walked out and approached the cowboy to discuss the fair market value of domesticated migratory waterfowl.
“You’re in debt to this woman for that duck you shot just now,” the sheriff said. “You going to pay for it?”
“Hell, no, I ain’t going to pay for no duck,” the cowboy replied.
"Willingham was in the process of reminding the cowboy that he was sheriff when he saw the drover’s hand moving toward the six-shooter on his hip. That ended the talking. The sheriff let loose with both barrels of his scattergun. With 18 pieces of buckshot in his body, the cowboy tumbled from his horse, as dead as the duck he’d blasted a short time before.
"Not only had Leigh been killed on account of a duck, he had the added distinction of being the first person buried on a hill outside Tascosa that soon bore one of the most famous names in the Old West. Leigh having died with his boots on, saloon proprietor Jack Ryan thought it fitting that the new graveyard be called Boothill. (Dodge City also had a Boothill, but that was way off in Kansas.)" ~ Mike Cox on Texas Escapes