Frank And McUgly's Fight: Death In Sweetwater

Howdy folks and greetings from the Great Plains of North Texas!

We're in a series about one of the best Texas Rangers to ever wear the badge, the great Frank Hamer, who was brought out of retirement to take down Bonnie and Clyde.

Recap

In the last post Frank ran into Gee McMeans (or McUgly as I call him) and was shot twice trying to get the pistol away from him.

The fight wasn't exactly going the way he wanted it to. McUgly also had his hired man, Red, to help with the killing.

Actually, it's amazing he was still on his feet after being shot twice with a Colt .45. The semi-auto .45 was the U.S. Army's standard issue sidearm and one major reason is because the force of the bullet would knock a man down.

Here's a standard issue Colt .45 Model 1911 which Frank was shot with:

source

Frank was shot twice and was still standing and fighting! He was shot in the leg and the chest.

Remember he was a big guy though, 6ft 2 and 200+.

source

Today's story

Frank had grabbed the pistol when the shot to his chest was fired and his hand was around the barrel which stopped the gun from ejecting the empty casing and that casing got jammed in the chamber.

Now the gun couldn't be fired as McUgly soon found out when he pulled the trigger again.

Stunned and in great pain with blood everywhere, Frank ripped the pistol from McUgly's hand and gave him an open palm slap to the side of his head, which was his signature move to knock down and stun an opponent.

He had two guns on him, a Smith & Wesson .44 revolver in a shoulder holster and his favorite six shooter, his Colt 45 which he called Old Lucky, in his belt.

Here's Old Lucky:

source

McUgly wasn't knocked out by the slap to the head and the two kept grappling, I'm surprised Frank didn't pull one of his pistols instead of slapping him.

Gladys was holding off Red

In the meantime, outside in the car Gladys saw McUgly's car and saw Red Philips get out with a shotgun so she started firing her pistol at him. She had him pinned down behind the car and shot every time she saw his head pop up.

Tip: Always carry extra ammo

Inside, McUgly kept yelling for Red. When Gladys ran out of ammo, Red fired the shotgun a couple of times at the Cadillac, putting holes in the fender and radiator before rushing in to help McUgly.

When Red finally got to where McUgly and Frank were still grappling, McUgly shoved himself away so Red could shoot Frank.

As Frank tells it, "The man I was clinched with jerked loose from me and the other man fired at my head with the shotgun, the muzzle of the gun being about three feet from my head, cutting my hat brim off."

Red was a terrible shot

Frank was stunned by the concussion of the blast and dropped down on his knees, shaking his head to clear his vision. Red shouted, "I got him, I got him!" But McUgly, seeing that Frank was still alive, ran to his car to grab a shotgun.

By the time he grabbed the shotgun from the seat and turned around, Frank had staggered to his feet, reached across his bloody chest with his right hand and gripped his .44 in his shoulder holster.

As Frank describes it..."I then pulled my pistol and shot him through the heart, killing him instantly. I staggered to the front door, and the stranger who had shot my hat brim off with his shotgun was hunkered down by the side of the dead man with his shotgun across his lap.

I invited him to get up and fight me face to face, but he immediately broke down and ran down the sidewalk with his shotgun in his hand. I called for him to turn around, not caring to shoot him in the back, regardless of the fact that they had tried to murder me."

We'll continue with the Sweetwater incident in the next post.

Thanks for reading folks, God bless you all!
-jonboy
Texas

Of course I found more cool vending machines today! lol...They both look like they're from the 60's is my guess. This first one is ladies nylon hose, looks like in France maybe?

source

I can see that. Back in the day when women always wore dresses. Like in case of emergency if you got a run in your hose? Ok, maybe.

This next one is more practical right? In case you run out of potatoes you just run down to the vending machine late in the evening. Right? In case you need 20 pounds of potatoes! Can anyone tell the price?

source