After The Gunfight
This gunfight made Stoudenmire a legend, but it eventually had deadly consequences. Although his reputation as a gunman would continue to grow with later gunfights, he had few friends in El Paso, whereas both Campbell and Hale had many. Eventually, Stoudenmire would stand alone in his own defense of his actions. As often was the case, a shooting being justified meant very little in towns of the Old West, and vendettas were common.
Three days after the gunfight, on April 17, 1881, James Manning (he and his brothers were friends to Hale and Campbell) convinced former Deputy Marshal Bill Johnson to assassinate Stoudenmire. Johnson was known to have a profound hatred and grudge against Stoudenmire for publicly humiliating him. That same night, Johnson, heavily intoxicated, squatted behind a large pillar of bricks with a loaded double-barreled shotgun and waited. When he heard the voices of Stoudenmire and Stoudenmire's brother-in-law, Stanley "Doc" Cummings, his legs started to wobble and he fell backward, accidentally firing both shells into the air. Stoudenmire quickly pulled out his pistols and fired at Johnson eight times, severing his testicles. Johnson quickly bled to death within a few minutes.
This started a feud between Stoudenmire and the Mannings. Within six days of his having started his job as town marshal, Stoudenmire had killed four men, one accidentally. Between the killing of Johnson and the following February, Stoudenmire killed another six men in shootouts during arrests and the city's crime rate dropped dramatically. His reputation, as both a lawman and a gunman, increased his legendary status.
On February 14, 1882, James Manning killed "Doc" Cummings, supposedly while acting in self-defense after an earlier argument that evening had escalated. Manning claimed that Cummings had pulled his pistol and verbally threatened to kill him outside the saloon when an innocent bystander walked by. Cummings whirled and growled, "Now, are you not one of his friends?" The bystander squealed his innocence, but Cummings allowed him to go provided that he walked with his arms up in the air into the darkness of night. Cummings then turned and realized that Manning had gone back inside the saloon. Cummings entered and again verbally threatened to kill him. Manning left the bar briefly and appeared in the hallway. Armed with his pistols, Manning snapped, "We will settle this for now and all." In an instant, gunfire erupted from both sides. Hit, Cummings staggered out across a wooden sidewalk toppling backward onto the dusty street as he screamed in agony then died.
Manning was acquitted in a trial attended by a large number of local residents who were friends of the Mannings. This enraged Stoudenmire. Unfortunately for El Paso, Cummings had been the only man able to confront or control Stoudenmire's fierce temper. He began to publicly confront those responsible for James Manning's acquittal and caused many to avoid coming into town or visiting saloons for fear of running into an enraged Stoudenmire.
Despite his prowess and expertise with handguns, and his effectiveness as a lawman, Stoudenmire was still an outsider. He was well respected by the Texas Rangers and the U.S. Marshals. However, locally, he had several things against him. He was not from El Paso, had no family there other than his own family and his now deceased brother-in-law; the Mannings had been in El Paso longer and had many friends in the general population as well as in high places in the city government. Stoudenmire had only two things in his favor; he had dramatically lowered El Paso's violent crime rate more than any who came before him, and people truly feared him.
On May 27, 1882, the town council announced the firing of Stoudenmire. He walked into the council hall, drunk, and dared them to take his guns or his job. He pulled and twirled his guns and threatened, "I can straddle every God-damned alderman on this council!" They attempted to calm him by telling him he could keep his job. However, after sobering up, he resigned on his own on May 29, 1882 and became a proprietor of the Globe Restaurant, which had formerly belonged to Cummings. He was then appointed Deputy U.S. Marshal for Western Texas and New Mexico Territory.
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