Tragedy in Durango
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On a cold January morning in 1906, Durango residents witnessed one of the most tragic events in the city's history - a shootout between the county sheriff and the acting city marshal. What circumstances could possibly have led to a gunfight between these two prominent Durango lawmen?
Durango, like most western towns, had always had its share of saloons, gambling halls and sporting houses. Many in the community despised these institutions for the image they projected and the bad effects they had on husbands and fathers. Nevertheless, drinking, gambling and prostitution were tolerated for the revenue they brought to city coffers.
As the Progressive Era gained strength in the early 1900s, drinking and gambling faced increasing opposition. No doubt these issues were important when Jesse Stansel ran against William Thompson for county sheriff in 1904. Stansel, a democrat who had been a saloon owner in Durango, lost to Thompson, the republican candidate. Though Stansel later claimed there were no hard feelings after the election, animosity between the two probably lingered.
Soon after the election, Thompson took a strong stance against gambling and accused the city police force of being soft on enforcement of gambling laws. On the night before the shooting, Thompson had raided the El Moro saloon, breaking up a poker game and confiscating a roulette wheel.
On the morning of January 9, both men were in the saloons early. Several witnesses reported seeing Thompson drinking at several establishments, while few, if any saw Stansel drinking. A little before noon, Thompson came out of the El Moro and confronted Stansel, who was talking to Jim Asher near an electric pole by the sidewalk.
Most witnesses agreed that Thompson pulled his gun and shot first. A total of six to eleven shots were fired by various accounts. Thompson took four bullets, while Stansel only took one. A bystander, John Accord, was accidentally shot in the arm and had to have it amputated. After both men emptied their guns, they proceeded to beat each other over the head with their revolvers.
Thompson, having taken four or five bullets, was mortally wounded and took the worst of the blows. Losing consciousness, he fell into the entry of Helm's barbershop and died in horse-drawn ambulance on the way to the Ochsner Hospital. Stansel had gone after another gun in the El Moro, but surrendered to Mayor Charles McConnell after Thompson fell. Stansel was taken to Mercy hospital and treated for a bullet wound in the chest, then arrested for murder by Undersheriff John Smelcer and put under guard until his preliminary trial in late January.
When news reached the sheriff's home, his wife and two daughters "were prostrated and the efforts of the sons to reconcile them have been without avail." The following day, Mayor McConnell decreed that all business should cease and all stores and offices close from 1 to 3 p.m. Thursday, January 11 for the sheriff's funeral.
Six hundred chairs were set up at the Red Men hall for the funeral and they were reportedly full, with 200 more standing. The Durango Evening Herald said it was the largest turnout ever witnessed for a funeral in Durango. Thompson was originally laid to rest in the Animas City Cemetery, but was exhumed and reburied next to his wife in Durango's Greenmount Cemetery.
