There's a good chance you've never heard of Mart Dugan. Most people haven't, including history buffs.

But for a brief period in the 1870s, Dugan served as the lone vestige of law and order in the

violent boomtown of Leadville, Colorado. Originally from Ireland, Dugan got a start out west prospecting

for gold. Quickly garnered a deadly reputation, and by the time he got to Leadville, he had a total of

seven notches already on his gun. And when the town marshal was shot dead in April of 1878, it was

Dugan who took his spot. You know those old tropes in westerns where the sheriff or Marshall

holds off an entire mob of vigilantes all on their own? Well, Dugan actually did just that very thing, not once,

but twice. This guy just did not know the meaning of the word fear. Only problem was he

couldn't seem to adjust to an ever-changing landscape. As the West became more and more civilized,

Dugan fell to adapt. And it was this failure, along with his somewhat heavy-handed tactics,

that would ultimately lead to an early grave.

So without further ado, let's dive into the life and death of Ledville Marshall, Mark Dugan.

My name's Josh, and this is the Wild West extravaganza.

Yeah. Avaganza. Martin J. Dugan was born in Ireland on November 10, 1847.

His parents would migrate to the United States when he was still a child.

Spent a few years in the Irish slums in New York City before heading west, first in

Nebraska and then Colorado. I'm not entirely sure where they initially settled in Colorado,

but by the year 1870, they were farming just outside of Denver. You can actually find a 23-year-old

Martin on that year's census, still living there at the farm with his parents and siblings.

Now, real quick, let me just go ahead and toss out my usual disclaimer.

There's just not a lot of information out there regarding Dugan's early life.

And what little I was able to find is either patently false or just unverifiable.

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