This postage stamp-size tintype is believed to be a Civil War-era photo of Mark Short and Washington Short. Courtesy photo | Starla cody
Sam Denson, son of Sheriff Shadrack T. Denson, walked into a saloon, shot and killed Mark Short in 1876. Courtesy photo | Nancy Sparks Lawrence and Alice C. Matheny
Shadrack T. Denson was appointed Lampasas County sheriff in 1869 and kept that office until the end of 1873. The San Antonio Daily Herald incorrectly reported he had been fatally wounded by one of the Short brothers. Denson died in 1892 and is buried in the Sparks Cemetery just east of Lampasas. courtesy photo | mrs. howard bowman
EDITOR’S NOTE: Lampasas historian Jeff Jackson has researched numerous local history topics. The following story is about problems with firearms in early-day Lampasas, as well as some legends about their use and misuse.
The right to bear arms is OK most of the time, as long as the people carrying firearms behave in a civilized manner.
By the 1870s, the fronti...
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