The American frontier was a crucible of character, often shaping men through hardship and opportunity. One such figure was ‘Sugar Foot’ Turner, a distinctive and highly recognized individual whose journey from an honest miner to a disgraced politician serves as a poignant tale of ambition, temptation, and ultimately, tragedy. This narrative, first chronicled in 1891, unveils the complex transformation of a man whose initial earnestness was slowly eroded by the allure of power and the vices of the card table.
Known throughout every mining camp in Nevada, Sugar Foot Turner was an unmistakable presence. The boys, his fellow miners, affectionately dubbed him ‘Sugar Foot’ within their inner circle, a name whose origins were rooted in his unique demeanor and perhaps his famously clumsy feet. To strangers, he was ‘Long Turner,’ a fitting moniker given his exceptionally tall and gawky frame, which made him stand out in any crowd. His physical appearance was striking, marked by a lean, lank build, a lantern jaw, and a nose so long it verged on caricature. To complete this singular facial landscape, he sported a perpetually open mouth, due to an inability to keep it shut, revealing just two remaining teeth — an eye tooth on his upper jaw and a stomach tooth on the opposite side of his lower jaw. These teeth, far from ornamental, constantly tangled his tongue, a source of quiet wonder among his peers who often questioned why he didn’t simply remove them with his miner’s tools.
The Paradox of Politeness: Sugar Foot’s Early Days
Despite his undeniably peculiar appearance, Sugar Foot Turner possessed an extraordinary civility, urbanity, and politeness that became his defining social characteristic. He instinctively understood that his looks could be a disadvantage, and he meticulously compensated by embodying the essence of courtesy. Although his movements were comically awkward, particularly his struggles on the dance floor where his large boots often found his partner’s heels, his genuine desire to please made him a favorite. Even those who harbored reservations found themselves tolerating his presence, answering his salutations with a cordial ‘Howdy, Turner’ or, for intimate friends, ‘Hello, Sugar Foot.’ Ladies, charmed by his good nature and willingness to contribute to charity, would often make a point of dancing with him, eventually helping him acquire an unexpected ease of manner that, ironically, stirred jealousy among his male companions.
As a miner, Sugar Foot was regarded as a good one, dedicated to honest toil. He was consistently found at the forefront of new camps, thoroughly familiar with all locations, and eventually became a foreman at a mine on Mt. Kearsarge, eight miles distant and an impressive 13,000 feet above sea level. His life was one of hard work and simple social graces, a testament to the resilience and camaraderie found within the rough-hewn world of frontier mining.
A Transformation of Appearance and Ambition
A pivotal moment in Sugar Foot’s life arrived with the serendipitous appearance of an itinerant dentist in camp. This dental entrepreneur displayed his wares – charts, diagrams, and full sets of gleaming porcelain teeth on bright red rubber plates – from a hotel window. Sugar Foot, keen to observe and undoubtedly to rectify his dental predicament, was seen inspecting these displays regularly. After meals, he would meticulously pick at his two solitary teeth, as if he possessed a full set, all while gazing intently at the dentist’s offerings. The boys eventually noticed him closeted in the dentist’s office, and then he disappeared from his usual haunts, leading them to ‘reckon’ he had simply returned to the mine at Mt. Kearsarge.
Weeks later, the former honest miner made a dramatic reappearance at his favorite saloon’s bar. With a broad, triumphant grin, he revealed a mouth full of brand-new porcelain teeth and promptly invited everyone to celebrate. His friends drank to his transformation, showered him with compliments, and Sugar Foot, now equipped with a dazzling smile, plunged back into society with renewed confidence and an even greater popularity. This newfound social capital, however, would prove to be both a blessing and a curse.
The Allure of Politics and the Shadow of Vice
The transformation wrought by his new teeth seemed to ignite a different kind of ambition within Sugar Foot. Teased by some of the boys about running for constable, he surprisingly consented – and to their astonishment, he was elected. This unexpected foray into public office marked a significant departure from his path of honest toil in the mines, leading him down a new and ultimately destructive road: the ‘filthy pool of politics,’ as the original account starkly put it. With less physically demanding duties, time began to hang heavy on his hands, and Sugar Foot, with his keen observational skills and burgeoning social confidence, quickly became an expert poker player.
His success at the card table provided him with an income that afforded an elegant life of leisure, far removed from the dirt and danger of the mines. During this period, he strategically accumulated significant debts from leading county men, including the judge and other officials who regularly played poker with him. This financial leverage transformed him into a man of considerable ‘influence.’ When the next election arrived, his support was crucial, and in exchange for his aid in electing the sheriff, Sugar Foot was appointed undersheriff. He not only secured many of the sureties for the sheriff’s bond but was also made custodian of the office, its books, safe, papers, and coin – a position of immense trust and, as it would tragically unfold, immense temptation. He continued to play poker, achieving even greater brilliance and success, or so it appeared to the casual observer.
The Tragic Downfall in Tehachapi
Despite his outward displays of continued prosperity and skill at poker, not all was well. As his duties as undersheriff frequently called him away, only Sugar Foot truly knew the extent of his losses at the gambling tables. Over several months, he was absent from the county seat for extended periods, and a noticeable seriousness began to settle upon him. His lips, once broadened by his new porcelain smile, now closed tightly over his store teeth, betraying a growing internal struggle.
The inevitable crisis arrived during a pursuit of stage robbers. The trail led him across the vast Mojave Desert into the Tehachapi Mountains. The reward for the capture was substantial, but fate had another twist in store. Before Sugar Foot could reach the culprits, the sheriff of an adjoining county successfully tracked and apprehended them. Sugar Foot arrived in Tehachapi at midnight, learning of his failed pursuit while having a drink with the barkeeper. He was shown to a room, and there, the following morning, he was discovered dead. A single bullet wound to his brain, his revolver still in his hand, and a brief, poignant note on the table to his principal confessing the amount of his embezzlement, marked the tragic end of ‘Sugar Foot’ Turner’s journey.
Conclusion: A Cautionary Tale of Frontier Ambition
The story of ‘Sugar Foot’ Turner remains a powerful and somber cautionary tale from the American frontier. It charts the descent of a man who, despite his physical peculiarities, cultivated immense goodwill through sheer politeness and a good nature born of necessity. His transformation, catalyzed by the simple acquisition of new teeth, led him from the respectable, if arduous, life of an honest miner into the intricate and morally perilous world of politics and high-stakes gambling. The initial surprise of his election, followed by the insidious creep of debt and the abuse of public trust, ultimately culminated in a desperate act of self-destruction. Turner’s narrative serves as a stark reminder that while the frontier offered boundless opportunities for self-reinvention, it also presented temptations capable of corrupting even the most earnest of souls, revealing the fragile line between ambition and ruin.
