Tiny Town In Utah Had An Authentic Old West Gunfight

You know about the outlaws that hid out in eastern Utah robbing trains and banks then disappearing into the rugged slot canyons in the area. Maybe you haven’t heard of the gunfight in Price that could have been straight out of a movie western. 

Lawman Met His End from in a Shootout in Broad Daylight 

A confederate soldier from Tennessee named Jack Watson became a Texas Ranger after the civil war ended. He eventually made his way to Colorado where he ran into some trouble when he was shot up the town of Montrose after drinking too much. 

He eventually cleared his name and was hired as a deputy in a Colorado mining town named Crystal. He continued as a lawman until 1890 when he was sent to Price, Utah to do some undercover work investigating horse and cattle thieves. 

Gunfight in the Streets of Price 

Here things took a turn for the worse with conflicts over award money and water. Watson served on a posse with a man named Warf where they captured some outlaws. These weren’t the men they were looking for and only a partial award was paid. 

This caused friction between the two and later they were involved in a scuffle involving irrigation water. Watson took a beating and was justifiably angry with Warf. Tensions remained high and it all boiled over in a saloon in Price. 

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This is the story from the Eastern Utah Advocate:  

About 5 o’clock on Saturday evening, July 23, a shooting occurred in the street between the Price Trading Company’s store and the Senate saloon, in which John Watson lost his life.  It appears that for some time past bitter feelings have existed between County Attorney J. W. Warf and Mr. Watson, and, the parties meeting on a Saturday night, some words passed between them, when both pulled a six shooter and a number of shots were fired.   

In the end Watson was dropped by a bullet and, as he crawled for cover, Warf finished him off with a second shot. It is a story straight out of the movies. Someone call Kevin Costner.