on january 7, 1874, colbert and allison entered the clifton house, an inn in colfax county, new mexico. they had finished a friendly quarter-mile horse race. nevertheless, there was distrust between the men, since allison was said to have mistreated colbert's uncle, zachary colbert, a ferryman who had tried to overcharge allison's family when they crossed the brazos river. in the middle of their meal, colbert suddenly tried to draw his revolver. however, the barrel struck the table. allison quickly drew and fired, striking colbert in the head. asked why he had accepted a dinner invitation from someone likely try to kill him, allison replied: "because i didn't want to send a man to hell on an empty stomach".