About this episode

The episode recounts the violent rivalry between two El Paso madams over a young prostitute in 1886.

In the spring of 1886, two El Paso madams went to war over a young prostitute named Bessie Colvin, and by the time the smoke cleared, one of them was shot in her privates and the other was under arrest for attempted murder. This is the story of Alice Abbott, the six-foot-tall brothel operator known as Fat Alice, and her rival across the street, Etta Clark, better known as Etta the Grasshopper. We cover how prostitution actually worked in the Old West, from the crib girls at the bottom to the saloon girls and the high-end parlor houses, along with the $10 weekly fine that conveniently went straight into the pockets of the El Paso police department.   Wild West Quiz - https://wildwestquiz.com/   Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/   Buy Me A Coffee!  https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest   Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra   Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: The Wild West Extravaganza

Topics covered

• prostitution in the Old West
• El Paso history
• brothel wars
• female madams
• crime and punishment

Keywords

• Fat Alice
• Etta the Grasshopper
• Bessie Colvin
• brothels
• Old West
• El Paso
• madams
• prostitution
• crime

Mentioned in this episode

Places: El Paso

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• A Short History of Dodge City · August 13, 2026 · 30 min
• Calamity Jane · August 6, 2026 · 25 min
• Drugs in the Old West · July 30, 2026 · 20 min
• Sheriff John Larn & the Tin Hat Brigade · July 23, 2026 · 20 min

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