Hoodoo Brown – Dodge City Gang Leader
Hyman G. Neill, a name perhaps unfamiliar to many, is far better known by his alias: Hoodoo Brown. This figure etched his name into the annals of the Wild West, not as a lawman or a gunslinger of renown, but as the leader of the Dodge City Gang, a notorious group that held sway over Las Vegas, New Mexico, during 1879 and the early months of 1880. His story is one of unexpected turns, moral ambiguity, and a descent into a life of crime that belied his seemingly respectable origins.
Neill’s beginnings were far removed from the dusty streets and saloons of the frontier town he would later dominate. He was born into a respected family in Lexington, Missouri, a town steeped in Southern tradition. His father, a lawyer by profession, hailed from Lee County, Virginia, arriving in Lexington in the 1830s. The outbreak of the Civil War presented the elder Neill with a profound moral dilemma. Despite his Southern roots, he found himself unable to betray his oath to uphold the Constitution. This conviction led him to side with the Union, ultimately rising to the rank of major. This decision, coupled with the tragic loss of his wife, prompted him to relocate his family to Warrensburg, Missouri, in the aftermath of the war, seeking a fresh start.
Young Hyman’s formative years were spent in Warrensburg. As a teenager, he found employment as a "printer’s devil," an apprentice in a newspaper office. This occupation, though seemingly unremarkable, offered a glimpse into the world of communication and information, perhaps planting the seeds of ambition and a desire for something more. One fateful day, while tasked with procuring rags for the printing press, Hyman impulsively jumped aboard a passing freight train, bidding farewell to his mundane existence with a flippant remark about fetching the "durn rags." This impulsive act marked the beginning of his transformation from a printer’s apprentice into the figure known as Hoodoo Brown.
The years following his departure from Warrensburg were a period of restless wandering and self-discovery. In 1872, he found himself in Kansas, engaged in the dual pursuits of buffalo hunting and lumber hauling between Russell and Dodge City. Descriptions of him from this era paint a picture of a tall, slender man with light hair, a thin mustache, and a somewhat roguish air. He was known to dabble in small-time gambling and confidence schemes, suggesting a knack for deception and a willingness to bend the rules. His travels eventually led him to Colorado, where he toiled in the silver mines alongside a friend. Restless as ever, he then ventured south into Mexico, where he and his companion formed a makeshift opera company, bringing a touch of theatricality to the remote villages they encountered.
It was in Las Vegas, New Mexico, that Hyman G. Neill would truly leave his mark, solidifying his identity as Hoodoo Brown. By the time he arrived, the town was rapidly gaining a reputation as a haven for lawlessness, attracting outlaws, con artists, murderers, and thieves. In 1879, with the support of newly arrived residents, he was elected Justice of the Peace for East Las Vegas, a pivotal moment that would shape the town’s destiny. In addition to his judicial duties, he also served as coroner and even mayor, effectively consolidating power in his hands.
Recognizing the need for law enforcement, Hoodoo Brown assembled a police force composed of former gunfighters from Kansas. This group, known as the Dodge City Gang, was tasked with policing the new arrivals pouring into the town via the railroad. However, the very individuals entrusted with upholding the law were themselves as lawless as those they were meant to control. The Dodge City Gang included notorious figures such as J.J. Webb (the town marshal), the enigmatic "Mysterious Dave Mather," Joe Carson, and the infamous "Dirty Dave" Rudabaugh, all men with checkered pasts and a penchant for violence.
From 1879 to 1880, Hoodoo Brown presided over an era of unprecedented corruption and criminality in Las Vegas. Under his leadership, the Dodge City Gang engaged in a litany of offenses, including stagecoach and train robberies, murder, theft, and widespread municipal corruption. As coroner, Hoodoo Brown manipulated the "Coroner’s Jury," ensuring that his gang members were shielded from prosecution. The jury, packed with his cronies, routinely ruled killings as either justifiable homicide or self-defense, effectively providing legal cover for their crimes.
The brazenness of Hoodoo Brown and his gang did not go unnoticed. In March 1880, the Chicago Times described Brown as "one of the worst class of low gamblers," highlighting the growing public awareness of his nefarious activities.
By the summer of 1880, the citizens of Las Vegas had reached their breaking point. Fed up with the rampant lawlessness and corruption, they formed a vigilante group and took matters into their own hands. Eventually, the vigilantes succeeded in driving Hoodoo Brown and the remaining members of his gang out of the state.
Rumors circulated that Hoodoo Brown had stolen money from a deceased man before fleeing to Houston, Texas. His stay in Houston was short-lived, as he was soon arrested and incarcerated. While in jail, he received an unexpected visit from the widow of a former Las Vegas deputy who had been murdered two months prior.
The Parsons Sun reported that the meeting between Brown and the widow was "affecting in the extreme, and rather more affectionate than would be expected under the circumstances," fueling speculation about a romantic entanglement.
Adding further intrigue, the Parsons Eclipse suggested that the offenses committed in Las Vegas involved not only murder and robbery but also "the lesser crime of seduction and adultery," hinting at a deeper level of depravity.
Despite the accusations, Hoodoo Brown hired two local attorneys and was eventually released when the Texas authorities failed to establish sufficient charges against him.
The Chicago Times later reported that Brown and the widow who had visited him "have been skylarking through some of the interior towns of Kansas ever since," suggesting a continuation of their alleged affair.
According to accounts from a descendant, Hyman G. Neill, the man known as Hoodoo Brown, ultimately met his end in Torreon, Mexico. There, he reportedly fathered a son with a common-law wife. Two of his brothers later traveled to Mexico and repatriated his remains. His son, who was raised in Lexington, Missouri, also accompanied the body. Hyman G. Neill was finally laid to rest in the family plot in Lexington, under his given name, forever concealing the outlaw persona he had adopted in the Wild West.
Intriguingly, records indicate that a "Mrs. Hoodoo Brown" resided in Leadville, Colorado, some years later. This Elizabeth Brown was described as a heavy drinker and a practitioner of the black arts. She was also said to have been married to a gambler named Hoodoo Brown who was killed in a gambling dispute. Whether this was indeed Hoodoo Brown‘s common-law wife remains a mystery, adding another layer of intrigue to his already enigmatic life.
As Harold Thatcher, Director Curator of the Rough Rider Museum in Las Vegas, New Mexico, aptly stated, "The baddest cowboy of them all was Hoodoo Brown." His legacy remains a complex and controversial one, a reminder of the blurred lines between law and lawlessness in the turbulent era of the Wild West.