They say the only man who Billy the kid ever truly feared was Dave Roodabaw.

And for good reason.

After all, legend has it that it was Ruda Ball who schooled Doc Holliday on how to use a gun.

But then again, there's lots of stories about Dave Routabal.

Some true and others, well, not so much.

Join me today as we attempt to separate fact from fiction.

We'll examine Dave's short-lived career as a train robber and find out what caused Wyatt Earp to describe him as the most notorious outlaw in the range country. While we're at it, we'll discuss Ruta Ball's Times a hired gun for the railroad. His association with Billy the Kid, what it was like being arrested by both Pat Garrett and Batmasterson, his alleged

involvement in the shootings of Morgan and Virgil Earp, and a ton more. We got a lot of

ground to cover today. Hell, we'll even take a look at his various nicknames. Was it Arkansas

Dave or Dirty Dave? Is it true he killed 65 men, not counting Mexicans and Indians? Whose gang

was it anyway? And did Dave really lose his head

down in Old Mexico? Trust me, on this one, you're going to want to stick around to the very end.

You may think you know who Dave Rudabal was, but I guarantee you've never heard a story told

quite like this. My name's Josh, and you're listening to the Wild West extravaganza.

David Rudabal was born in Illinois on July 14, 1854.

His father James served with a Union Army but disappeared shortly after mustering out in 1863,

after which the remainder of the family would move to Kansas by way of Iowa.

And that's about the extent of our knowledge when it comes to Dave's early life.

You'll often read that he got his start as a bandit over in Arkansas, and he, along with fellow

outlaws, Mysterious Daveather, and Milton Yarberry,

had to flee the state after killing a rancher.

Story goes that Routabal then drifted north to the Black Hills where he began robbing stagecoaches,

...