On the night of February8, 1887, another argument broke out between Luke Short and Jim Courtright about the latter's persistence in demanding money from Luke's establishment for 'protection'. An infuriated Courtright stormed from the saloon, but later returned with two pistols visibly holstered in his pockets. He yelled for Luke Short to come out but Jake Johnson, a friend of both men, tried to calm Courtright down. Short met with the two men outside and talked about their dispute as they walked through the street. The group however, suddenly stopped at Ella Blackwell's Shooting Gallery. Luke Short was facing Courtright three to four feet away when the latter suddenly went for his pistol, making the former draw his own in return. In the celebrated gunfight that followed, Short was the last man standing. In his own words, Short described what happened: