Hoodoo Brown – Dodge City Gang Leader
The annals of the American West are replete with figures who straddled the line between law and lawlessness, individuals whose actions shaped the burgeoning towns and territories of the era. Among these figures stands Hyman G. Neill, a man better known by his alias, Hoodoo Brown. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Dodge City Gang in Las Vegas, New Mexico, during the tumultuous years of 1879 and 1880. His story is one of ambition, corruption, and ultimately, a downfall precipitated by the very lawlessness he cultivated.
Hyman G. Neill’s origins were surprisingly respectable. Born into a traditional Southern family in Lexington, Missouri, he was a far cry from the outlaw persona he would later adopt. His father, a lawyer originally from Lee County, Virginia, was a man of principle. Despite his Southern roots, he chose to side with the Union during the Civil War, believing he could not betray his oath to uphold the Constitution. This decision, coupled with the loss of his wife, led him to relocate his family to Warrensburg, Missouri, after the war’s conclusion.
As a youth, Hoodoo Brown gained his first taste of the working world as a printer’s devil for a local newspaper in Warrensburg. However, the constraints of this occupation proved too restrictive for his adventurous spirit. As the story goes, one day, while tasked with fetching rags for printing, he impulsively hopped aboard a passing freight train, declaring his departure "to get your durn rags." This marked the beginning of his journey into the Wild West and away from his family’s expectations.
The early 1870s found him in Kansas, where he engaged in buffalo hunting and hauling lumber from Russell to Dodge City. Descriptions of him from this period paint a picture of a tall, thin man with light hair, a small mustache, and a decidedly rakish demeanor. He was also known to dabble in gambling and confidence schemes, hinting at the opportunistic nature that would later define his leadership. He then drifted into Colorado, seeking fortune in the silver mines alongside a friend. Their wanderlust eventually led them south to Mexico, where they formed a makeshift opera company, bringing entertainment to the remote villages.
By the time Hoodoo Brown arrived in Las Vegas, New Mexico, the town was rapidly gaining notoriety as a haven for outlaws, swindlers, murderers, and thieves. The existing law enforcement was weak, and the town was ripe for exploitation. In 1879, capitalizing on the support of recent immigrants and perhaps exploiting the chaos, he was elected Justice of the Peace for East Las Vegas. This position, which also encompassed the roles of coroner and mayor, provided him with the power base he needed to consolidate his control.
One of his first acts was to assemble a police force comprised of former gunfighters from Kansas. This group, dubbed the Dodge City Gang, was ostensibly formed to maintain order and police new arrivals on the railroad. However, the reality was far different. The members of the Dodge City Gang, including figures like J.J. Webb, "Mysterious Dave" Mather, Joe Carson, and "Dirty Dave" Rudabaugh, were as lawless as the individuals they were supposed to police. They were handpicked by Hoodoo Brown, and were loyal to him.
From 1879 through 1880, Hoodoo Brown presided over a period of rampant corruption and criminal activity in Las Vegas. Under his leadership, the Dodge City Gang engaged in stagecoach and train robberies, murder, theft, and widespread municipal corruption. The position of coroner proved particularly useful in covering up their crimes. Hoodoo Brown populated the "Coroner’s Jury" with members of his gang, allowing them to conveniently rule killings as self-defense, regardless of the actual circumstances.
The brazen nature of their activities did not go unnoticed. In March 1880, the Chicago Times published an article that described Hoodoo Brown as "one of the worst class of low gamblers," further solidifying his negative reputation. The citizens of Las Vegas, weary of the lawlessness and corruption, eventually reached a breaking point.
By the summer of 1880, a group of vigilantes had formed, determined to rid the town of Brown and his gang. Their actions eventually forced Brown and the remaining members of the Dodge City Gang to flee the state. Before departing, Hoodoo was said to have stolen money from a dead man, illustrating his continued disregard for morality and the law.
His flight took him to Houston, Texas, where he was soon arrested and jailed. While incarcerated, he received a visit from the widow of a former Las Vegas deputy who had been murdered two months prior. Contemporary newspaper accounts suggest that the meeting was surprisingly affectionate, fueling speculation about the nature of their relationship.
The Parsons Sun reported that the encounter was "affecting in the extreme, and rather more affectionate than would be expected under the circumstances." The Parsons Eclipse went further, adding, "The offense committed at Las Vegas, as near as we can gather the facts relating to it, was murder and robbery, and the circumstances connected with the arrest here would indicate that the lesser crime of seduction and adultery was connected with it."
Despite the accusations and the public scrutiny, Hoodoo Brown managed to secure the services of two local attorneys. He was eventually released when the Texas authorities were unable to establish sufficient charges against him. The Chicago Times later reported that Brown and the widow who had visited him in jail were "skylarking through some of the interior towns of Kansas ever since."
The later years of Hyman G. Neill’s life remain somewhat shrouded in mystery. According to reports from a descendant, he eventually died in Torreon, Mexico, where he had a common-law wife and a son. Two of his brothers traveled to Mexico to retrieve his remains, and his son, who was raised in Lexington, Missouri, accompanied them. Hoodoo was ultimately buried in the family plot in Lexington under his given name, Henry G. Neill.
Adding another layer of intrigue to his story, records indicate that a Mrs. Hoodoo Brown resided in Leadville, Colorado, some years later. This Elizabeth Brown was described as a hard 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 Hyman G. Neill’s common-law wife remains an unanswered question, lost to the passage of time.
The legacy of Hoodoo Brown is complex and contradictory. He was a man who came from a respectable background but chose a path of lawlessness and corruption. He rose to power in a turbulent time and place, exploiting the weaknesses of the existing system for his own gain. While his reign was ultimately short-lived, it left a lasting mark on the history of Las Vegas, New Mexico, and the broader narrative of the American West. He remains a figure of fascination, a testament to the blurred lines between order and chaos that defined the era.
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."