(From the Dry Gulch Bugle) Small time gambler Shady McCoy was hanged last week in Cow Spring. The drifter and ne’er-do-well shot Hopkins Magle on December 10, during a card game at the Sunrise Saloon & Hotel. In the card game was Mr. McCoy, Mr. Magle, Weldon Showers, esquire, and an unnamed Asian Gentleman. There were plenty of witnesses and Shady was caught dead to rights.
The gunfight broke out after an hour of playing. It’s unclear who shot first. But the bartender saw Mr. McCoy shoot Hopkins. Weldon Showers confirmed the basic facts. The mysterious man of Chinese ancestry could not be found for questioning.
Men and women from throughout the state traveled to town for the public event. Hotels were at full occupancy, as were the town’s two saloons. A viewing area before was the gallows was erected by Hal Pharis and Mayberry Faye. When Mr. Pharis was selling tickets to enter the viewing area, he did so saying, “This is a once in his lifetime opportunity to see Shady McCoy die.”
For additional support during the hanging, crowd control, five men were deputized. For the most part, there was no trouble. McCoy was kept in jail, behind bars and under guard. The prisoner visited with townspeople and out-of-towners until his fateful day.
Mr. McCoy’s sentence was carried out December 21, 1876 in the town square. Sheriff Tex Springmeier oversaw the hanging. Before McCoy was brought out, the Sheriff said the following to the crowd:
“Per a jury of his peers, Shady McCoy has shot and killed Hopkins Magle and must now be hanged to death. He was born under a tree and must die under one. The sun has set on Shady’s life. May God help his soul.”
The noose was applied. The crowd grew silent. The prisoner looked into the crowd and shrugged. A lever, pulled. A trapdoor, released. A life, ended. The body hung from the rope, gently swaying from the sudden weight put upon it.
The body was taken down and was to be buried behind the church. However, it was ultimately claimed by Ezra Greely, distant cousin to Mr. McCoy. Ezra took the body to be buried at the McCoy plot out of town.
Dry Gulch Bugle 