Raising Hell in Hunnewell

Drunken cowboys versus lawmen in Kansas.

Cowboys Oscar Halsell and Clem Barfoot were hurrahing Hanley’s Saloon in Hunnewell, Kansas on October 5, 1884. Two lawmen walked into the saloon and tried to quiet the disturbance—and a gunfight broke out. It’s unclear who fired first, but Barfoot may have been the culprit. When the smoke cleared, Barfoot was dead and Deputy Sheriff Ed Scotten mortally wounded. No one was ever prosecuted, and the gunfight was soon forgotten. Oscar Halsell would go on to be a prosperous rancher in Oklahoma.