Mysterious Dave Mather - Variety Hall Shootout

Variety Hall Shootout

On January 22, 1880, Las Vegas Marshal Joe Carson was shot and killed by four cowboys in the Close and Patterson's Variety Hall during a shootout. Whether or not Mather was actually deputized has never been confirmed. The account told most often has him going in with Carson, with some accounts listing him as Carson's deputy, while others simply say they were together that day. Cowboys T.J. House, James West, John Dorsey, and William Randall had been going around town that day, in and out of saloons, generally making trouble. A "no guns in town limits" rule was in effect, and Marshal Carson demanded that the cowboys relinquish their weapons, to which they refused. A shootout between Carson and the cowboys started, with the marshall falling dead. Dave Mather drew his gun and returned fire. When the gunfire died down Mather was still standing. William "Big" Randall was mortally wounded, and James West was too badly injured to escape. The other two men, John Dorsey and also wounded T.J. House, managed to make their way to the stable and escape.

House and Dorsey were captured two weeks later, and brought to the Las Vegas jail to await trial. An angry mob broke into the jail and pulled House, Dorsey, and West from their cell, and took them to the windmill on the Plaza to hang, Mrs. Carson opened fire on the men, denying the mob their opportunity to lynch them. The gunfight, which became known as the Variety Hall Shootout, was the first substantiated account to which Mather's name could be attached, and it launched him into western fame as a gunman.