A legend is defined as..."A story coming down from the past which many people believe and have believed."  It is usually based on fact but becomes distorted or changed as the story continues to be told.
 History, on the other hand, is defined as..."A statement of what has happened.  A systematic written account, and the recording and explaining of past events."  Such statements and written accounts must be based on verified facts in order to be presented to the reader in the most authentic manner possible.
  Although based on fact, many of the happenings described in this story have been altered or changed over the years as the story has been told and retold.  Of particular interest is the tale of the shooting that occurred in Midvale, involving a Midvale marshal named Colclough and the holdup of the Golden Gate Saloon on Christmas Eve.  Three bandits were said to have entered the saloon and asked if the brave marshal was in the room.  Colclough was reported to have said, "I'm right here" and went for his gun.  Before he could get the gun from holster he was dead."
 Later, a second marshal was said to have been appointed by the name of Billie Nelson, and on New Year's Eve, the same bandits were reported to have come back to the Golden Gate Saloon and Billie Nelson was also shot and killed.  All three bandits were later captured and sent to prison according to the information that was passed down to members of the family and believed to be both accurate and true.
 As a member of the committee to seek out and verify the deaths of Officers Killed in the Line of Duty for the Peace Officers' Memorial at the State Capitol, I was assigned this particular case to determine if and when this shooting took place.  Following are the results of this investigation.

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 On Wednesday, August 7, 1912, Midvale Marshal, Frank Colclough, walked into the Vienna saloon in Midvale and approached his friend, bartender Paul Scherich, who was busy washing glasses and polishing the bar.  The time was about 9:45 p.m. and business was slow.  There were two other patrons in the establishment, a Martin Keysach and Mike Lomich, who were at one end of the bar, while Marshal Colclough and the bartender were engaged in conversation not far away.  They were discussing the recent hold-up of Vincent's saloon in Murray on the night of July 29, which had been accomplished by two armed men.  Willis Vincent, the owner, had described the bandits as one being short and one being tall with their faces covered by blue bandanas.
 "If I had been there, I would have got one of those fellows or died trying" the marshal is reported to have said, just as two masked men came charging through the front door shouting, "Hold up your hands!"
 What happened next is not quite clear, as both newspapers who covered the story write conflicting reports as to the gunplay that followed.  One report is as follows:
 "I'll die first," the marshal is believed to have said, as he reached in the sling beneath his coat for the revolver.  Then it was-- so went the confused story of the distraught bartender in the excited little town last night--that one of the thugs recognized Colclough as an officer of the law.
 "It's the marshal," he whispered to his pal, and both of them fired point blank at Colclough.
 Before a criminal's bullet had pierced his breast, the marshal had drawn his weapon and fired twice at the taller of the two assailants.  Both shots when home.  The third bullet which struck the wounded bandit was fired by the bartender, who unlimbered a revolver as soon as Colclough did.  A fourth also found its mark in the highwayman."
 The newspaper report continues...
 "Colclough dropped dead in his tracks, one bullet through the breast bone just at the heart, another in his left wrist, and a third at the back of his head.
 For all the fifteen shots fired, Bartender Scherich came out of the fray unscathed, as did his two frightened, and almost unnoticed, patrons--Martin Keysach and Mike Lomich, who, with the booming of revolvers, got down the venerable rifle and wounded two bystanders out in front."  (The article indicates that Keysach and Lomich had gotten hold of an old rifle that was handing in the room and opened fire on the he bandits but only succeeded in shooting two men in the legs who were about to enter the saloon."
 The report continues...
 "As the taller of the two robbers sank wounded to a sitting position on the floor beside the dead marshal, the smaller one sped for the front door in full retreat.  As he passed the screen, the bartender fired at the fleeing form.  Whether that shot or the others aimed at the missing highwayman found its mark, Scherich was unable to say."
 "Once in the street, the squat desperado ran north, almost knocking down William Done, who was passing on Main Street as he went.  There was no one to halt him.  He made good his escape.  Sheriff J. C. Sharp and several deputies who arrived a short time after the shooting have been unable, at a late hour this morning, to apprehend him."
 "Behind, at the saloon and its grim tragedy, William Kasprinakis and his brother Jim, Greeks employed at the United States smelter, were writhing with pain at the entrance.  Bullets from the old rifle discharged by the saloon patrons had come through the thin boards and struck them in the legs, just as they were about to burst in upon the riotous scene within.  Bones were broken in both men's legs, and they were but semiconscious for some time afterward.  Their wounds are not fatal."
 A second newspaper related the story in this manner...
 "If I had been there, I would have got one of those fellows or died trying," Colclough had just exclaimed.  On the heels of his remark came the sharp command, "Hands up everybody, and keep them there."
 "Colclough wheeled with his gun half drawn, but finding himself looking down the barrel of a revolver, he slowly put up his hands.  The bartender and two patrons already had their palms high over their heads."
 "Now where is this town marshal?  We're going to kill him," exclaimed one of the robbers."
 "I'm the marshal," yelled Colclough, and the report of his gun and those of the highwaymen speaking together, drowned out the exclamation."
 "Colclough and the larger of the robbers went down together, each with a fatal wound.  The other robber backed towards the rear of the room, firing at every step.  The marshal staggered to his knees, clinging to the edge of the bar, his gun still in his hand.  The stricken robber struggled to a sitting posture.  Thus, already dying, the two men fired at each other at a range of but a few feet."
 "Colclough fell again with a bullet through his head, and was dead.  The robber toppled over on his back with a bullet through high right eye, piercing the brain."
 "Paralyzed with terror, the bartender and the two Austrians stood rooted to the floor, their hands still high in the air.  The remaining robber, as yet unhurt, started toward the front door. A rush of footsteps were heard on the pavement outside.  It awakened the bartender from his spell of horror."
 "Rushing to a corner of the bar, he seized a rifle and began firing at the retreating robber who wheeled and returned the fire with a fury that drove the bartender to cover.  The robber reloaded his gun and dashed out onto the street.  Scherich rushed after him and fired again.  These shots struck William and James Kasprinakis, brothers, as they rushed toward the saloon."
 The stories end with the following report from one of the newspapers:
 "Charles Gammett, shot during the battle at the Vienna saloon Wednesday night by Frank A. Colclough, and the bartender, Paul Scherich, was still alive at St. Mark's hospital at a late hour last night, although unconscious.  Dr. A. N. Hansen, who attended him, said he has a small chance for his life."
 "Gammett's identity, a mystery for some time, was established through articles in his pocket.  It was also learned that he had been a patient last July at the Judge Mercy hospital, where he went for treatment for a minor ailment.  His home in this city has not been found, although it is known that he lived with a private family."
 Sheriff Sharp said last night that he had a vague clue as to the name and address of Gammett's companion and intended to follow it out.  This man is thought to be the one whose bullet killed the marshal."
 "Two of the four bullets that lodged in Gammett's body were fired by the bartender at the Vienna saloon."
 A final paragraph in this account is as follows:
 "One of the heart-wrenching incidents in Midvale following the tragedy came shortly after 11 o'clock last night, when Mrs. Colclough, wife of the marshal, and one of her three daughters, alighted from a street car from Salt Lake and were told of the tragedy.  Mrs. Colclough and Miss Agnes Colclough had been in the city shopping."
 "Unconscious of the shock that awaited, they rode on the same car with the reporters sent to get grim details of the battle at the Vienna.  They were unknown to the reporters then.  Both women collapsed when they learned of the murder.  Mrs. Colclough and her daughters are prostrated at the family home in Midvale."
 "As the body of the dead marshal lay at the Taylor undertaking establishment in Midvale, citizens of that center of that locality bowed their heads in sorrow."
 "He was a good officer and a fine brave man, was their comment."

This page, along with the State Memorial at Utah's Capitol, is maintained by the Utah Peace Officers Association in behalf of Utah's Fallen Officers - may we never forget their ultimate sacrifice

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