It had only been a few years since they were married, but with the death of Warren Tubbs, Alice “Poker Alice” Tubbs’ life was growing ever more dreary. The blizzard that had engulfed their home in late December, 1909, was a perfect reflection of Alice’s own life.
According to his gravestone, Tubbs passed away on December 31, 1909. His cause of death was tuberculosis. Legend holds that Alice would venture out into the elements, her husband’s frozen corpse in the back of their wagon, and travel the nearly 50 miles from their home to Sturgis.
Once in town, Alice would get back to her old ways. Betting her wedding ring, she was able to make enough money in order to pay for the burial of her beloved. The death of Tubbs would end the peaceful life that Alice knew. Soon, she would explode into the national imagination.
The “Resort”
Three blocks from Main Street, Sturgis, on the north side of Bear Butte, a two-story house stood. The resort was operated by Alice. As with previous establishments of its kind, it would cause a great deal of trouble between Sturgis and Fort Meade.
Attracting soldiers from the fort, and relieving them of their money, tensions would soon rise between Alice and members of the Twelfth Cavalry and the Fourth Regiment of the South Dakota National Guard, who were stationed at Fort Meade.
On July 4, 1913, a member of the Twelfth Cavalry, set into motion a series of events that would ultimately lead to the death of Sergeant Fred Koetzle, and the near fatal shooting of Private Joseph Miner. Exactly what happened at Alice’s resort that night is a bit fuzzy, but 5 days later, the matter was escalated.
On July 14th, members of the Twelfth Cavalry and the Fourth Regiment were prepared to escalate the issue once again. As five cavalry members, accompanied by regiment members, approached the resort, Alice went on high alert, knowing that trouble would certainly follow.
The soldiers were intent on starting a “rough house.” Noting their language, and the fact they already appeared to be drunk, Alice refused them admittance into her resort. This refusal would only cause them to become angrier.
Surrounding the house, the soldiers began throwing stones through the house’s windows. And then they cut the wires to both the telephone and electricity. They were intent on getting into the resort, and fulfilling their vices.
Responding to the situation, and realizing the potential for serious damage being done, Alice armed herself with her Winchester automatic 22. Caliber, and began firing into the crowd. Five shots would land.
Koetzle was hit in the head, and around an hour and a half later, near midnight, would pass away from his wound. Miner would be struck in the lung, three inches above the heart, and wasn’t expected to recover, but eventually did. Three other men were also shot, one being a private citizen. It was enough to disperse the crowd.
Arrest
Shortly after the shots were fired, Alice’s resort was swarmed by local police, the sheriff and his deputies. Sheriff Collins, of Custer county, and the State’s Attorney Calude C. Gray would place not only Alice under arrest, but also six women who were found in the house; Jennie Palmer and Bessie Brundidge, both of Sturgis; Ann Carr and Birdie Harris, both of Lead; and Mabel Smith and Edith Brown, both of Deadwood.
They would be held in the county jail, where they would wait to be charged until after Miner’s condition was ascertained. One of the women who was arrested would later be identified as an “inmate” of Topic, a resort in Deadwood.
As Alice and her girls were sitting in county jail, Miner’s condition would rollercoaster. In the days that followed, it would at times appear as if he would stabilize, only later for him to drop back into a critical condition. On the day after the shooting, physicians were certain Miner would soon also pass away, giving him little hope to survive. Eventually though, he would pull through.
That same evening, July 15th, Alice and her girls would face Justice Marshal for a preliminary hearing. They would be charged with disorderly conduct, and held on bond for $3,000 each, until the next afternoon. It was excepted then that the state would increase the charges.
On the 16th, the State’s Attorney decided to file no complaint against Alice, in regards to the death of Koetzle. The investigation led to the conclusion that Alice was justified in the shooting. Since Koetzle and other members of both the calvary and state militia were attempting to destroy her personal property, and possibly harm her or her girls, the shooting was in self-defense, and Alice was defending her property.
However, Alice wasn’t off the hook. While murder wasn’t on the table, she was being charged with keeping a house of ill fame. Waiving her examination, she instead awaited trial that was set for December. Held on $1,000 bail, it wouldn’t take her long to be able to furnish such.
The six girls arrested with Alice would face fines of $15, and held under $200 bonds. Each were set to appear as witnesses against Alice.
Aftermath
The shooting would soon be forgotten, and things largely went back to normal. Alice would continue running her resort, and the soldiers at Fort Meade continued to support it. For the next three years, Alice would largely go unnoticed.
Brushes with the law would take place, but it was nothing that some money couldn’t take care of. And Alice had the money needed to keep the law at arm’s length.
That would change on October 9, 1915. Once again, tensions would boil over between Alice and the soldiers at Fort Meade. With the night getting out of hand, shots were fired, and several soldiers and one civilian were injured.
The most serious victim was Private Cadwell of Troop I, who was punctured in the abdominal region. However, Dr. Peck didn’t think the wound would require surgery. Another solider, Private Wood, was cut in the neck by a bullet, while the civilian was shot in the arm.
The shooting would be ruled as a “booze” fight, and nothing would come out of it. Such fights were so common that it hardly even made the news. It was just a blip.
In large part, Poker Alice would also be just a blip. For the next decade, she went virtually unnoticed. Fort Meade was on a down swing, and it would be semi-abandoned. Without a steady stream of soldiers to have their vices fulfilled, resorts like Alice’s would feel the pressure.
Alice would find other vices to fulfill, especially once prohibition took place. But her heyday was ending. The Wild West was over. Luckily for her, the fascination with the old west was just beginning to really take to fruition. Enough time had passed, and the time for reminiscing had begun.
In 1927, Alice would reap the benefits of that nostalgia, but that is a story for another article.