An infamous gunfight between law enforcement officers occurred on December 9, 1893. Bad blood had been boiling between the two for months. At a sheriffs’ convention in Houston, Childress County Sheriff Jonathan Pearce Matthews (1837-1893) had disrespected then-Governor James Hogg. A witness, Texas Ranger Captain William Jesse “Bill” McDonald (1852-1918), verbally reprimanded Matthews. Matthews took great offense to this and began making comments to others that one day he would kill McDonald. Later, Matthews’ resentment grew over an instance in which Texas Ranger Bob McClure, an associate of McDonald, refused to turn over a prisoner to Matthews and instead escorted the prisoner to a different county where he could face stronger charges. With McDonald’s usual men out of town on the prisoner escort, Matthews and three men rode the train from Childress to Quanah, where McDonald headquartered. Their purpose was clear: they were going to kill the ranger. McDonald, never one to back down from a fight, was at the depot when Matthews and his gang arrived. He met them south of the train platform, halfway between the depot and the opera house. McDonald called out Matthews for making threats. Matthews responded, “No. I didn’t say that, but I’ll tell you what I did say,” and then a hail of bullets erupted from both sides. Who shot first is a mystery. In a matter of minutes, the whole affair ended, with Matthews being shot three times and McDonald twice. Matthews ultimately succumbed to his wounds on December 30, leaving behind a wife and one-year-old child. Men of both parties were arrested and tried, but none were convicted. Ranger McDonald lived on to become one of the “four great captains” of the Texas Rangers, dying in 1918 from natural causes. (2022)