Old West Gunmen

[Slow Elk 45/70]

Yup , Mr. Gibson,,,I am enjoying your post...more is in order....Jim

[Gibson]

For the next week in temperatures running near 50 below Albert Johnson moved constantly. It was over a week after he had left before the group of RCMP and their Indian guides caught a glimpse of his posible trail. The doggedly followed it and caught up with Albert on January 30, 1932.

From the account by Neary:

"On January 28th, with a temperature of 47 below and a slight headwind, Hersey and a native, each with a heavy load of supplies, set out for the base now located "somewhere on the Rat River. "
The following day it was 49 below, again with wind, and on Saturday, the 30th, when they passed the old base site, it was 36 below. They continued a further 25 miles up the Rat to the new camp established by the four who had remained behind.

In the meantime, Riddell, Millen, Garland and Verville had roamed and combed the timber along the Rat during every minute of daylight, trying to find some trace of Johnson. They found two caches, one containing about half-a-ton of grub. These were left untouched as a possible bait, and examined daily through field glasses in the hope that he would endeavour to reach them and thus leave a trail -but no luck. The party was now out of dog-feed and their supplies consisted of a little tea, hard tack and bacon only. They had been working in pairs, joining up at dusk on their way back to the base. While waiting for the tea to boil, Riddell went wandering around and coming upon a faint trail crossing glare ice followed it to the top of ridge where he lost it. He circled for a while and came across it again in a small creek. It appeared to be one or two days old so he returned to notify the others. Next morning the party set off on this trail, but as it was over hard, windswept ground, it was often lost and picked up again only in the sheltered spots. Thus they traced him through two or three old camps before finally losing the trail altogether.

Verville and Riddell now headed in one direction and Millen and Garland in another. By this time, Johnson's habits had become fairly well known to them, that is, he was slowly but surely heading in the direction of the Divide. He never crossed a creek unless on glare ice. Invariably, he travelled the ridges which were hard-packed and where the slightest wind erased his tracks. At times he even used his pursuers' trail. When he was ready to camp he would strike a creek at the head, continue down it until he reached timber and having selected his camping place, would continue on in a circle, back-tracking far enough so he could watch and see anyone on his trail without being seen himself.

The party was forced to extend and travel continually in half circles, trying to pick up his trail, and it was thus that Riddell and Verville came upon a fresh trail leading up a small creek heading for the "Bald" Hills. Here and there they came upon old quarters of caribou, and reasoned he was short of grub and was away in search of caribou. They divided, one on each side of the trail, fully expecting to meet him returning, but after following the trail for some few miles, it became obvious that he was making a huge circle and heading in the general direction of his starting point.

They then cut across the hills and picked up his trail again, only to lose it shortly afterwards. The half-circle method of travel had once more to be adopted in the hope of picking up the trail. Shortly afterwards, they came to a deep canyon and for the first time saw the smoke from his campfire. Expert musher, trapper and outdoor man, as Johnson proved to be, it is hardly necessary to say he was using only poplar and willows for his fire, thus carefully eliminating anything but a very thin haze of smoke. They drew level, and from the top of the canyon could see his fire and tarpaulin. While they could see these, though they watched carefully for two hours, they caught not the slightest sign of Johnson himself. Their travel had been strenuous and frost had gathered inside their fur clothing. With dusk coming on they were frozen out and forced to return to their camp. "

On Saturday morning in a severs blizzard this man who could not shoot his rifle to kill game for food nor could he even build a fire was caught in his camp by several of the constables. He ended up exchanging fire with them and Constable Millen was shot through the heart by Johnson weilding his 30-30 Savage rifle. Stone dead. Again in a driving blizzard and the temperature sitting at 47 below. Albert Johnson slipped away.

The posse now grew by leaps and bounds! Next comes the famed WW1 fighter pilot "Wop" May into the chase. Yep, they used a plane. A solitary man was eluding 100+ pursuers and now they called in air help.

It appears Johnson was headed for the Yukon Territory. The mounties with all of their manpower had managed to flank Johnson during the chase, and block two of the escape rout passes. If the passes are blocked, what would Johnson do?

This is where one of the greatest feats of survival that I am aware of occurred. In a driving blizzard at night with absolutely no climbing gear whatsoever, no food and a white out, Johnson climbed a 7,000 feet sheer rock peak and walked away. It took the Wop May to see what he had done, well after the fact because May did not arrive until February 5. The height allowed him to spot his tracks moving away from the top of the cliff. UNBELIEVABLE!

"With visibility during the blizzard at near zero, trying to cling to sheer cliffs of slippery ice and numbing cold, the mountain men of the area told the Mounties it would be impossible to do at this time of the year even with the proper gear and food."

From wiki:

"On February 14, [May] discovered the tactic Johnson had been using to elude his followers. He noticed a set of footprints leading off the centre of the frozen surface of the Eagle River to the bank. Johnson had been following the caribou tracks in the middle of the river, where they walked in order to give them better visibility of approaching predators. Walking in their tracks had hidden his footprints and allowed him to travel quickly on the compacted snow without having to use his snowshoes. He left the trail only at night to make camp on the river bank, which is the track May had spotted. May radioed back his findings and the RCMP gave chase up the river, eventually being directed to Johnson by February 17."

It was now February 17, and the end of the trail for Johnson. The mounties semi-surrounded the area pointed out to them by May. And a firefight ensued. Johnson was game to the end and immediately cut down Hersey. Finally he made a break for the far bank of the frozen Eagle River but halted and buried up in the snow. It was then decided to call on him to surrender. He responded with a Savage 30-30 doing the talking. Finally he was silenced. He was dead, hit nine times.

"On Johnson’s person were found 32 kidney pills, $2, 410 dollars in large bills, both Canadian and American (worth approximately $60, 000 today), and two glass jars, one containing five pearls, and the other, seven gold pieces of dental work. He was also found with a .22 Winchester rifle, a model 99 Savage, a .30-30 rifle, 39 .30-30 ammunition shells, 84 .22 shells, four shotgun shells, a pocket compass, a razor, a knife, fish hooks, nails, a dead squirrel, and a dead bird."

I think he two rifles but according to the above he had three, evidently he had abandoned the .38 Auto mentioned above.

Here is a wonderful description of him [Albert is referenced as Arthur Nelson but he was not Arthur Nelson, however the mixup may be I suspect that this is the "mad trapper"] and his .22 and 30-30 from the book I mentioned at the beginning:


"The man was five feet nine inches tall. He had blond hair and pale blue eyes. He weighed 175 pounds, with legs like tree stumps; his neck and shoulders were as powerful as a caribou bull’s. His name was Arthur Nelson. He unslung the two rifles he carried over his two-hundred-pound pack. He put one rifle into the snow. It was a Winchester .22. He hefted the other rifle in his hands and quietly racked a shell into the breech. It was a 30-30 Model 99 Featherweight "take-down" Savage, and made up in muzzle velocity what is lacked in size. Slowly, the rugged, clear-eyed man knelt down into the snow. Unseen, he eyed the figure of a man following him here, above McQuesten Flats fifteen miles north of Keno, Yukon Territory. It was May 7, 1931, and he was heading to the Beaver River, and then across the Wernecke Mountains to the Arctic slope, and from there down north to the Porcupine country. He wanted to be alone and was ready to ensure that he would be. Slowly, he raised the rifle to his shoulder. Ten more steps and the man would be close enough. Nelson put his index finder through the trigger-guard of the rifle. He counted nine, eight, seven, six, five - suddenly the stranger stopped, looked around briefly, and then turned and started back the way he had come. Nelson brought the Savage down from his shoulder. He had seen that the man wore the chocolate brown drill parka of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Nelson shrugged his shoulders and slung the two rifles over his pack and continued north. He was never seen again."

Nothing, to my knowledge compares to his feats of endurance. Two full on blizzards and a temperature of near 50 below and he survived with no fire and on raw food.

"In his attempt to flee, Johnson led the RCMP, as well as civilian and military volunteers, over 240 kilometres of Richardson Mountains, from the Northwest Territories into the Yukon. In the cold and dark arctic winter of 1932, the chase went on for 48 days. It ended with one Mountie dead and the mysterious trapper dead. And policing in northern Canada would never be the same."







Effects:

[Gibson]

Thanks Slow Elk!

I hope everyone enjoyed the "Mad Trapper of Rat River".

Maybe not, I don't know. BUT I found the whole thing fascinating. The Discovery channel even funded DNA tests fairly recently done.

The story itself with the exception of the ancient airplane is mostly right out of our "Old West".

Scaling that 7,000 foot peak in 50 below with a blizzard and likely at night with zero climbing equipment is possibly the most amazing thing I have ever heard.

After some looking, it appears that King was shot with a jacketed .38 auto bullet. It also seems clear that Johnson carried three long guns, a Winchester Model 58 in .22, a Savage Model 99 in .30-30, and an Ivor Johnson scattergun in 16 gauge (sawed off, of course).

Tomorrow another. . .

[Gibson]

If your heart is set on learning all you can about Tom Horn, read Monaghan, Krakel, Carlson. All three writers have dug much more deeply into the subject matter. In another place one ******* acted as if a sketch is supposed to somehow contain the data that full accounts do. This account is what it is. . . Offers up some commonly accepted bits and some quoted newspaper accounts as well chunks of Horn's appeal quoted verbatim. One of the most striking things to me is Nate Champion's death.


Ain't this a spectacle? We haven't scratched the surface. I hope to get to some Indian Wars stories and some mountain man tales. I also won't to do some stories on Cassidy and the Wild Bunch concerning individual robberies. Same with Jesse James. There is just an almost never ending supply of material.

I'm going to try to get together something on Tom Horn. A fascinating character, a true westerner by his lifestyle. Left his Missouri home at 14 and never looked back. He was indeed, as I have typed of many of these folks, the REAL thing. From a scout under Al Seiber- interpreting for Geronimo and scouting during the Apache War, to a Pinkerton detective, to enlisting in the Army to fight in the Spanish-American War (just as ship was leaving from Tampa heading to Cuba, Horn contracted malaria and was not sent). Finally a range detective. . .

I will never find the book in which I read this, but I believe it was from, Al Seiber's report on an outlaw they captured. [THIS IS NOT THE CASE] He told of how they had the killer's cabin surrounded at daybreak on a bitterly cold morning in the mountains and how that the outlaw refused to come out and then how that Horn threw his Winchester into the crook of his arm and walked right out in front of the cabin oblivious to fire and then brought the man out. Exact words, as I recall were, "It took cold courage to do what Horn did, that day." [YEARS BACK I READ THIS AND STILL HAVE NO IDEA WHERE I GOT IT. PEG LEG WATSON IS THE OUTLAW BUT SEIBER WASN'T INVOLVED.]

Indeed.

Make no mistake he was a SPOOKY kind of fellow there was some darkness there. He was kind of like that friend that we all have who is good as gold to us but we always know he has a darkness about him. This was Tom Horn.

[Gibson]

We are going to examine whether Horn murdered the 14 year old son of Kels Nickell, Willie.

Some of Horn's testimony during his trial for his life in the Willie Nickell murder case. . . the exchange here is between Tom and prosecutor Stoll:

STOLL. State your name, occupation and residence.
HORN. My name is Tom Horn; I suppose my occupation is that of a detective, as near as I can get at it. When I am at home I reside at Mr. Coble’s ranch in Albany County; that has been my home for a number of years.
STOLL. Mr. Horn, we understand that you have been up around this section of the country a good deal and have laid around the hills a good deal of the time and have had an opportunity to observe people, things etc. We would like know if there is anything you can tell us about the killing of Willie Nickell. If you saw anything or recollect around there at that time?
HORN: I was in the country just prior to the killing of that kid a day or two.
STOLL. Do you know what day he was killed?
HORN: No, I do not.
STOLL. It was Thursday the eighteenth of July?
HORN. Now, I will tell you I don’t know about the dates, but I know on Monday of the week on which he was killed, on Monday morning, whatever date that was, I left Billy Clay’s....
I went over to Miller’s ranch.... I went to the head of a hay valley this Monday and went to Miller’s ranch Monday night.

“...my business was ended...”

I was there all day Tuesday, and on Tuesday I went up [i.e., to the west] to the head of the creek that Miller lives on. Passed down to where Nickell [might have] had his sheep in Johnny Coble’s pasture. I went up there and found they hadn’t [the sheep had not gone into Coble’s pasture] and my business was ended. I went back to the Miller’s ranch and stayed there again that night. That was Tuesday night; I left there Wednesday morning.
STOLL. The kid was killed Thursday, did you say?
HORN. Yes, sir. I left there Wednesday morning; it was along before the middle of the forenoon after I got breakfast.
STOLL. Up to this time did you see any stranger in that locality, anybody riding along?
HORN. No, sir.
STOLL. Did you know Willie Nickell yourself?
HORN. I don’t believe I ever saw him. I know Nick [Kels] very well himself but I don’t think I ever saw any member of his family, only at a distance.
STOLL. Are you acquainted with the Miller family?
HORN. The family I do not know at all, only as I met them that night. I met Jim Miller before over on the [Laramie] Plains. I met him one evening, he and Whitman. Coble and myself got there in the springtime ?? the river was up pretty well ?? and went over to the Bosler Station to get a barrel of beer. We got it and came back. That was the first time I ever see him. He invited me to visit if I ever come through that part of the country. I happened to have a little business in there and I called....STOLL. When you went away Wednesday, which way did you go?
HORN. I went down the river [toward the southeast] and up to what we call Colcord Place [a pasture owned by the Two Bar, one?half mile east of Nickell’s land]. I thought maybe the sheep might be in there. I pulled across through the hills over on the head of the Sybille. This is the time [of year] you shift the cows outside.... I have been doing that except six or seven days. I was [going] in[to] Laramie to see Colonel Bill [sic]….

That ends the snippet.

Here is another snippet with fair commentary from the wyomingtailsandtrails.com site:

"Horn took the stand in his own defense. The cross-examination by the prosecutor, Walter Stoll, was devasting. Statement by statement, Horn admitted making the various statements testified to by LeFors, Snow and Ohnhaus with the exception of one statement which Horn did not remember but conceded he might have made. Stoll asked Horn relating to some alleged statements made in Denver:

Q. At that time, I am not asking to reflect on you in anyway, were you in a condition to remember whether you had these conversations with these men or not?

A. I remember everthing [sic] that occurred to me in my life.

Q. You have never been so much under the influence of liquor as to not remember what you said?

A. Not if I could talk.

Yet, in addition to the statement he could not remember, time and time again, Horn could not remember things:

Q. Did you have on your straw hat in riding from Coble's ranch down to Laramie City on July 20th, or do you remember how you were dressed?

A. I don't remember.

Q. You do remember distinctly that you did not see anyone on the way down?

A. I don't remember distinctly that I didn't see anyone; I don't remember of seeing anyone.

Witnesses had testified that they saw Horn on the road to Laramie City.

Horn contended that his confession was a "josh;" it was merely an exchange of wild tales. Slowly and inexorably through a plethora of witnesses, Stoll seemingly destroyed Horn's defenses and alibis. But not really. [Very often through the use of Tom's own statements, this however is not saying much, as there was not much of a case put up to defend against. It was thin. Very thin. It's like a witness alibiing Tom as being a long distance from the crime scene and then Tom turning around saying that he could have made the long ride to the crime scene. Proves nothing but it does sort of shootdown the witness.]] 1901 Frontier Day Bronco Champion 24-year old Otto Plaga testified that an hour after the time of the killing, Horn was 17 or 18 miles miles from the Nickell Ranch. Horn destroyed this alibi by admitting that he could easily have made it to where Plaga said he was following the killing. The witnesses admitted that although Horn had been drinking, Horn was in control of himself. Dr. Barber admitted he could not say that the wounds were not inflicted with a 30-30.

Other alibi witnesses placed Horn in a different location from that where Horn said he was. And yet others placed Horn at the Miller Ranch 3 or 4 miles from the Nickell Ranch for several days before the killing and at the William Clay Ranch just to the north of the Nickell spread. The owner of the Elkhorn Barn admitted that the time of check-in of Pacer at the livery in Laramie City was filled out on the registration form when Horn checked out. Horn could have made it to Laramie City following the killing. Various witnesses testified that Horn's horse was in a lather, covered with sweat, as if ridden hard. Further doubt as to the "Pacer" defense was created by testimony that in addition to Pacer Horn was also riding a CAP brand horse named "Cap." Witnesses were adduced that Horn left a sweater in a shoe store in Laramie City which was covered with dirt. The owner and the clerk were so sure that the individual leaving the sweater was Horn that they mailed it to Horn at the Laramie County Jail care-of Sheriff Smalley.

At the conclusion of the two-week trial, on October 24, 1902, at 4:20 p.m., the jury foreman called to the bailiff telling him that the jury had reached a verdict. Seventeen minutes later, with the jury in the box, the verdict was read."

I have read the entirety of Horn's testimony and it seems to me that he was a bit arrogant but was often a bit too honest as well. A guy puts me 17-18 from the scene of the crime, I'm not going to contradict him, you know?

Let us get Tom's confession out on the table or at least an agreed on characterization of it with some of the more infamous quotes:

"On Saturday, January 11, 1902, Horn met with LeFors in Cheyenne and the two engaged in conversation. Unbeknownst to Horn, two witnesses were secreted in the next room: a short hand stenographer, Charles Olnhaus, and Laramie County Deputy Sheriff, Leslie Snow. Olnhaus would later serve as Clerk of the United States District Court. During the course of conversations over two days, Horn allegedly admitted that he killed Nickell with his Winchester Model 1894 30-30 rifle and placed a stone under Nickell's head as his "sign." Horn told LeFors that he, Horn, had been paid in advance and received $2,100 for killing three men and taking five shots at another. He told LeFors that the reason there were no footprints is that he was barefoot. LeFors asked whether Horn had carried the shells away, to which Horn responded: "You bet your [expletive deleted] life I did." Additionally, Horn admitted to the unsolved murder of William Lewis and Fred Powell near Iron Mountain in 1895. On Monday, January 13, Horn was arrested in the bar of the Inter-Ocean Hotel by Laramie County Sheriff Edwin J. Smalley, accompanied by Deputy Sheriff Richard A. Proctor and Chyenne Chief of Police Sandy McNeil. Deputy United States Marshal Joe LeFors watched."

Further:

"He also calmly told LeFors how he shot the Nickell boy at three hundred yards and called it "the best shot that I ever made and the dirtiest trick I have ever done ... killing is my specialty ... I look on it as a business ..."

Now, upon what was this "confession" or confession predicated?

Greed? Likely

Alcohol? YES

And plenty of chewing tobacco Not sure that affected the outcome but it's true.

Nickell's ranch house/cabin:



Looking from the Iron Mountain Post Office toward the Nickell's ranch:






Sixteenth Street in downtown Cheyenne, around 1902. The U.S. marshal's office was inside the second-story bay window in the building at the left. From, Wyoming Tales and Trails:



Greed:

Horn had been on a various drinking sprees as was his custom, Deputy U.S. Marshal Joe LeFors was well aware of this. The two men had met up and discussed the murder on at least two occasions prior to Horn meeting with him for the last time, the the two day "interview". It was really two days of drunken bragging baited on by LeFors.

Horn did some short cattle drives/cowboying during the late summer. But, from late September to late December Horn had stayed with his great friend John Coble a rancher of some means at the time. Coble very much admired Tom for his frontiersman toughness.

At that time Coble was asked to present the following letter to Tom, by LeFors:

Miles City, Montana
Dec. 28th 1901

Joe LeFors Esq.
Cheyenne
Friend Joe

I want a good man to do some secret work. And want a man that I can trust. And he will have to be a man not known in this country. The nature of this, there is a gang over on the Big Moon River that are stealing cattle and we purpose [propose] to fit the man out as a wolfer and let him go into that country (and wolf).

And if he is the right kind of man he can soon get in with the gang. He will have to be a man that can take care of himself in any kind of country.

The pay will be $125.00 per month and I believe a man can make good wages besides.
Joe if you know of anyone who you think will fill the place let me know. There will be several months work.

Yours Truly
W. D. Smith

P.S. Man will have to report in Helena.

Horn responded immediately:

Iron Mountain Ranch Company
Bosler Wyoming
Jan. 1st 1902

Joe LeFors Esq.
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Dear Joe,

Recd yours from W. D. Smith Miles City Mont. by Johnny Coble today. I would like to take up that work and I feel sure I can give Mr. Smith satisfaction. I don’t care how big or bad his men are or how many of them there are, I can handle them. They can scarcely be any worse than the Brown’s Hole Gang and I stopped cow stealing there in one summer. If Mr. Smith cares to give me the work I would like to meet them as soon as commencement so as to get into the country and get located before Summer.

The wages $125.00 per month will be all satisfactory to me. Put me in communication with Mr. Smith whom I know well by reputation and I can guarantee him the recommendation of every cow man in the State of Wyoming in this line of work.

You may write Mr. Smith for me that I can handle his work and do it with less expense in the shape of lawyer and witness fees than any man in the business.

Joe you yourself know what my reputation is although we have never been out together.

Yours truly
Tom Horn

So, the trap was baited and Tom took the bait. Greed and a desire to get away from it all were motivations for Tom. His letters of the time make it clear that he sees the old ways as being phased out and his own extinction nearing.

How'd you like to own those two letters presented above!?

LeFors was the guy in Butch Cassidy's (Paul Newman's) question, "Who are those guys?"

Horn was a full on cowboy/scout/killer legend. I haven't mentioned this but evidently he was a rodeo champ as well. . .

With Arizona Charlie a showman and rodeo fellow. Arizona stood 6' 4 1/2" tall, Horn was a huge for the time 6'2", this photo is not 100% but it is believed to be a likeness of Tom Horn from around 1886:



Arizona Charlie at show/rodeo:



It seems a reasonable place to mention a few things about Tom Horn to give some more of a backdrop. Stay tuned. We'll go through some background information and then review the sparse but fairly powerful circumstantial evidence. After that, we'll look at the case in a semi-analytic way and leave it to your own speculation as to guilt or innocence, and I'll tell you what became of Tom's loyal friend John Coble.

[Gibson]

Okay, tonight I'm going to post up some flash quotes and recollections from folks who were there; folks who knew Tom Horn.

The Governor of Wyoming via Mr. Irvine, via Mr. Penrose's "Recollections":

In 1914, Philadelphia physician Charles Penrose, who briefly accompanied the 1892 invasion of Johnson County but left before the killing began, wrote his recollections. Penrose included a vivid description of Horn as he was in 1895, as told to him by W. C. “Billy” Irvine, president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association during the 1890s.

At the time, Wyoming Governor W.A. Richards was experiencing cattle thefts on his own ranges in northwest Wyoming. As Penrose recounts Irvine’s story, Richards and Irvine encountered each other walking toward the Capitol, where both the governor and the S[t]ock Growers Association had offices at the time:

When we reached the building he said, “Come into my office; I want to see you.” He immediately laid his troubles at the ranch before me [Irvine told Penrose], and we discussed the situation quite fully.

He finally said he would like to meet Tom Horn, but hesitated to have him come to the Governor’s office. I said, “Stroll in my office at the other end of the hall at three o’clock this afternoon, and I will have him there….” [At the meeting] the Governor was quite nervous, so was I, Horn perfectly cool. He talked generally, was careful of his ground; he told the Governor he would either drive every rustler out of Big Horn County, or take no pay other than $350 advanced to buy two horses and a pack outfit. When he had finished the job to the Governor’s satisfaction, he should receive $5,000, because, he said in conclusion, “whenever everything else fails, I have a system which never does.” He placed no limit on the number of men to be gotten rid of. This almost stunned the Governor. He immediately showed an inclination to shorten the interview.... [After Horn left] the Governor said to me, “So that is Tom Horn! A very different man from what I expected to meet. Why, he is not bad‑looking, and is quite intelligent; but a cool devil, ain’t he?”

Tom awaits death. . . handbraided "twisted horsehair lead rope"



The end of the world for "Texas Matt" Rash and "****** Isom" Dart:

"In Brown's Hole a former Texas cowboy, Matt Rash established a small ranch. Rash left Texas at age of 12. He later worked for the Middlesex Cattle Co. After it failed, he worked for the Circle K. Rash then established his own Ranch in Brown's Hole. where his initial stock came from is unknown, but his credit was good enough that he was able to borrow sufficient funds from the First National Bank of Rock Springs to expand his herds. Later he purchased additional lands. Bovine Kings and small settlers do not mix. One year along the Yampa, large ranches had placed so many cattle that they ground the grass to dust. Nevertheless large numbers of Two Bar cattle attempted to overwhelm the valley. Later, Haley in one effort to drive out the settlers, drove 5,000 head into Brown's Hole. In retaliation, some of Haley's cattle were driven off a cliff over the Green River to drown below. Others in the valley attempted to resolve the problem by doing away with grass by raising sheep. Nevertheless, Haley's cattle persisted in their efforts to be absorbed into local herds. Haley on roundups would not, contrary to usual practice, provide food for reps of other outfits or allow their bedrolls to be carried on his hoodlum wagons.

Soon, warnings similar to those which had previously appeared along the Upper Chug began to appear advising various individuals to leave the area.

On July 8, 1900, a tall stanger going by the name of "James Hicks," shared a meal with Matt Rash at his cabin in Brown's Hole. Hicks earlier in the year had worked for Rash on the spring roundup. After participating in Rash's hospitality, Hicks arose from the supper table and left Rash's cabin. Shortly thereafter Rash emerged from his cabin and was killed with a single shot. Rash's mare was also killed. Rash had managed to crawl back into the cabin and his bunk. There before dying, he unsuccessfully attempted to write a massage on the back of an enveloe using his own blood as ink. Rash was engaged to be married a nearby rancher, Ann Bassett. Bassett accused Hicks to his face of having murdered Rash. Hicks and neighbors laughed the accusation off. The murder went unsolved.

Three months later on October 4, 1900, Isom Dart (also spelled "Isham"), emerged from a cabin he was sharing with six others. A shot rang out, and Dart fell dead. The culprit was never seen by the occupants of the cabin. The next day, two 30-30 shells were found at the base of a tree where it was believed that the murderer had lain in wait. Hicks was the only one in the area to use a 30-30. Dart was popularly believed to be a rustler named Ned Huddleston, the sole survivor of the "Tip Gault" gang. The gang, which had rustled cattle in the Saratoga area, was wiped out in a gun battle. Huddleston had survived only because he was out of camp that night. Dart was also suspected of rustling, having had three indictments returned against him in Sweetwater County. No conviction, however, ever resulted. It is believed that Dart used a method of wet branding to obscure prior brands. Wet branding involved putting a wet gunny sack on a branding iron over the prior brand. The previous brand will then be scalded and when the scab forms, the ridges from the prior brand will come off with the scab."

James Hicks=Tom Horn, of course.

EXACTLY how Horn worked: He moved in, got the lay of the land, and surveyed people and their routine movement over that land. He then issued warnings anonymously to the rustlers and after they ignored them, he executed them. That is just a prominent example. He did the same OFTEN. The seminal "Wild Bunch" historian, Charles Kelly, entitled his chapter on Horn, "One Man Army". Indeed.

During his years with the Pinkertons, multiple sources claim he killed 17 men. Maybe so; likely so. He left the Pinkertons after being accused of being involved in a robbery. "Toms separation from the Pinkerton’s was not due to his use of deadly force, but rather that he was accused of committing a robbery in Nevada, while in the agency’s employment. In a book by a Charlie Siringo’s he quotes “William A. Pinkerton told me that Tom Horn was guilty of the crime, but that his people could not allow him to go to prison while in their employ.” Tom Horn’s tracking abilities and the fact that he was a very talented agent could not hide the fact he ha a dark side that could be easily accessed."

Adios rustlers, Rash left; Dart center:



Dart's Cabin:



Read this VERY carefully! These are the exact words of Tom Horn discussing chasing some bandits, one of which was the NOTORIOUS outlaw known as "Peg-Leg" Watson.

"Eventually all the sheriffs posses quit and then Mr.
W. A. Pinkerton and Mr. McParland told Shores and me
to go at em. We took up the trail where I had left it
several days before and we never left it till we got the
robbers.

They had crossed the Sangre de Cristo range, come
down by the Villa Grove iron mines, and crossed back
to the east side of the Sangre de Cristos at Mosca pass,
then on down through the Huerfano Canon, out by Cu-
charas, thence down east of Trinidad. They had dropped
into Clayton, N. M., and got into a shooting scrape there
in a gin mill. They then turned east again toward the
"Neutral Strip" and close to Beaver City, then across
into the "Pan Handle" by a place in Texas called Ochil-
tree, the county seat of Ochiltree county. They then
headed toward the Indian Territory, and crossed into it
below Canadian City. They then swung in on the head
of the Wa****a River in the Territory, and kept down
this river for a long distance.

We finally saw that we were getting close to them,
as we got in the neighborhood of Paul s Valley. At
Wa****a station we located one of them in the house of
a man by the name of Wolfe. The robber s name was
Burt Curtis. Shores took this one and came on back to
Denver, leaving me to get the other one if ever he came
back to Wolfe s.

After several days of waiting on my part, he did
come back, and as he came riding up to the house I
stepped out and told him some one had come! He was
"Peg Leg" Watson, and considered by every one in Colo
rado as a very desperate character. I had no trouble
with him. "

Did you read that last sentence? "I had no trouble with him." Well, here's the truth.

"In one noted encounter with in the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall bastion, Horn single-handedly captured a bandit known as Peg Leg Watson (alias McCoy). Watson had robbed a mail train with his gang and Horn had discovered him [after days of tracking that defied belief! Horn could track a snake across pine needles! See above in his account where his partner had taken one outlaw back, already.] living [hiding] in a lonely cabin high in the hills."

At first light, Horn yelled for Peg Leg to give up. Peg Leg reportedly laughed and swung open the door with two sixshooters cocked and primed, he stepped into the doorway. Horn as cool as any man who ever lived, emerged from behind a boulder with his Winchester in the crook of his arm but clearly ready to rain death if need be. The man never missed a step, walked steady toward the two cannons and never lost eye contact with Peg Leg. It froze him. Peg Leg later told others that Horn's courage shook him. Horn disarmed him and took him in. ******!

One of Tom's earlier tasks was that of civilian tracker and interpreter for the US Army: Here is an image of talks with General Crook and Geronimo in Mexico. Horn was there. Some say it is Horn's foot:



General Crook's Staff:



"That's Tom Horn, third from left, kneeling, in what appears to be the same white shirt! Notice how cowboy he looks for that time. most of the other guys look like Victorian packers, but Horn is dang cowboy lookin'."

Tom Horn was also prominent in the "Johnson County War" where cattle barons/bullies and homesteaders/rustlers, faced off, as usual. This occurred in April 1892 in Johnson County, Wyoming. The "Wyoming Stock Growers Association" brought in a group of "regulators" to take out 70 ranchers or rustlers, depending on your point of view. Horn is generally credited with being one of the four shooters who took out the very popular and well liked Nate Champion. There were several men who fired heavily on the small group of ranchers, upwards of 50. Four "ranchers" were present at Champion's place; the BRAVE Nate Champion kept a journal during the battle, here are the words of a real cowboy who knew how to use a sixgun, as a matter of fact I have read that he alone killed four of the "regulators":

"Me and Nick was getting breakfast when the attack took place. Two men was with us- Bill Jones and another man. The old man went after water and did not come back. His friend went to see what was the matter and he did not come back. Nick started out and I told him to look out, that I thought there was someone at the stable and would not let them come back.

"Nick is shot but not dead yet. He is awful sick. I must go and wait on him.

"It is now about two hours since the first shot. Nick is still alive.

"Boys, there is bullets coming like hail.

"Them fellows is in such shape I can"t get at them.

"They are shooting from the stable and river and back of the house. Nick is dead, he died about 9 o'clock. I see a smoke down at the stable. I think they have fired it. I don't think they intend to let me get away this time.

"Boys, I feel pretty lonesome just now, I wish there was someone here with me so we could watch all sides at once.

"I heard them splitting wood. I guess they are going to fire the house to-night.

"I think I will make a break when night comes if alive." The regulators then took a wagon and loaded it with flammables and shoved it into the cabin. Champion's final message written in the notebook:

"The house is all fired. Goodbye boys, if I never see you again."

—Nathan D. Champion

With that, Nate charged out the back door sixshooter barking in one hand and his blade in the other. It took 28 rounds to satisfactorily dispatch this brave cowboy. A helluva man.




Cool image, eh? Nothing like looking dead into the past.

This ends the background. Let me add this. Tom's weapon of choice was the Winchester rifle. In later years his caliber of choice was the "30-30 Winchester".

[Wasn't Nate Champion a helluva man? Those journal entries are just jaw dropping cool to me. Written in frontier lingo by a truly desperate man. He haf his jaw set and his chin to the wind, I'll tell ya. Tough, tough, tough man.

In this image posted above, Nate is in the center. Note the sixgun riding on his hip? I think it's ivory handled. Total guesses on my part as it may be something else. Damn cool, image if ya ask me. . . another:



Bar C hands, Nate Champion is number (1).

[Gibson]

The best of the circumstantial evidence was this:

"Witnesses were adduced that Horn left a sweater in a shoe store in Laramie City which was covered with dirt. The owner and the clerk were so sure that the individual leaving the sweater was Horn that they mailed it to Horn at the Laramie County Jail care-of Sheriff Smalley."



Thin? Well, it went to how the body was found. Now for some more cool stuff.

I FOUND HORN'S APPEAL!

Willie Nickell had left Thursday morning but as I guess was the standards of the time, no one worried when he didn't arrive home that night! Odd to me, but I guess things were different in the old days. Anyway, his mother said he left about 6:30 or 6:40 am and he was shortly thereafter seen at the corral by his father, he was readying to go on an errand for his dad to employ a sheepherder. I suppose they thought he'd taken longer than thought and had camped for the night to ride in in the morning.

Shortly Kels Nickell and his companion, Mr. Apperson heard three shots coming from the general direction of the corral. A little odd but not alarming to them. They ignored it.



Here are the words written by Justice Potter, Horn v. State, Wyoming Reports, Apr. 1903:

"The following morning Friday July 19 1901 at about 8 o clock Fred a younger brother took the cows out going in the direction and as we understand along the road traveled by Villie the day before and he soon returned crying and stated that illie was killed at the gate Mr Nickell and Mr Apperson started innnediately for the gate and they were shortly followed by the brother in law aforesaid and Mrs Nickell The body was found lying on its back in the road with the head turned toward the house The theory of the prosecution is that the boy had fallen on his face and that the body had been turned over owing to its situation and the fact that the clothing was saturated with blood and gravel was sticking to the face and clothing and that was the opinion of the witnesses who discovered the body and seems also to have been the opinion of at least some of the physicians called to give expert testimony Under the head of the body was a small stone or a little rock as expressed in the testimony which appeared to have been placed there by someone The body was found at a point sixty five feet from the gate which was open and lying down Near the body was a pool of blood and another pool was found at or very close to the gate and between the gate and the body patches or spots of blood were found in the road Ve conceive it to be an undisputed theory in the case at least every indication seems to point to it that the boy was shot when he was standing at or very near the gate and that he ran toward the house falling where his body was discovered or close to that spot The missiles entered the body on the left side passing entirely through it The wounds upon the body were described with accuracy by the physicians who conducted the post mortem examination ne wound penetrated the chest approximately on the axillary line striking the fifth rib taking an inward forward and slightly downward course producing a large wound of exit at the juncture of the sixth rib with the sternum and the point of entrance of the other wound was three inches posterior to the left axillary line and two inches above the ileum taking an inward and slightly downward course penetrating the abdominal viscera making a wound of exit one inch above the crest of the ileum and two inches anterior to the right axillary line."

Can you believe this? The real record from the appeal. Here's the full "confession":

"After Lafors and Horn entered the marshal's office the former handed the latter a letter remarking Here is your letter of introduction to Mr Vt G Pruitt which reads as follows and he proceeded to read it aloud Then Horn said I want to go on the Union Pacific I know the route and I don t know the others Joe meaning Lafors said It is about as near one way as the 0ther and you will get there about the same time After one or two remarks on this line Horn said Well Joe do you _ know anything about the nature of the work I will have to do up there Joe said Tom they are good people I have worked for them five or six years you will have to get right in among them and gain their confidence and show them you are all right Horn said I don t want to be making reports to anybody at any time I will simply have one report to make and that will be my final report If a man has to make reports all the time they will catch the wisest on earth These people are not afraid of shooting are they Joe said No they are not afraid of shooting Horn said I shoot too much I know you know me when it comes to shooting I will protect the people I am working for but I have never got my employers into trouble yet over anything I have done A man can t be too careful because you don t want any officers to know what you are doing Joe said Tom I know you are a good man for the place You are the best man to cover up your trail I ever saw In the Willie ickell killing I could never find your trail and I pride n1yself 0n being a trailer Horn said No I left no trail The only way to cover up your trail is to go barefooted Joe said Vhere was your horse Horn replied He was a long ways off Lafors said I would be afraid to leave my horse so far away you might get cut off from him to which Horn replied You don t take much chances These people are unorganized and anyway I depend on this gun of mine The only thing I was ever afraid of was that I would be compelled to kill an officer or a man I didn t want to but I would do everything to keep from being seen but if he kept after me I would certainly kill him The conversation then continued as follows: Lafors I never knew why Villie Nickell was killed Was it because he was one of the victims named or was it compulsory Horn I think it was this way Suppose a man was in the big draw to the right of the gate you know where it is the draw that comes into the main creek below ickell's house where ickell was shot Well I suppose a man was in that and the kid came riding up 0n him from this way and suppose the kid started to run for the house and the fellow headed him off at the gate and killed him to keep him from going to the house and raising a hell of commotion That is the way I think it occurred Lafors T o1n you had your boots on when you ran across there to cut the kid off didn t you Horn No I was barefooted Lafors You didn t run across there barefooted Horn Yes I did Lafors How did you get your boots 0n after cutting up your feet I Iorn I generally have tcn days to rest after a job of that kind Joe do you remember the little girl Lafors Who do you mean Horn The school marm She was sure smooth people She wrote 1ne a letter as long as thc Governor's message telling n10 in detail everything asked by Stoll_ the prosecuting attorney Stoll thought I was going to prove an alibi but I fooled him I had a man on the outside keeping me in touch before I showed up with everything that was going 0n I got this letter from the girl the same day l got my summons to appear before the coroner's inquest Lafors Did the school marm tell everything she knew Horn Yes she did I would not tell an individual like her anything not me She told me to look out for you She said look out for Joe Lafors he is not all right look out for him he is trying to find out something I said what is there in this Lafors matter She said Miller didn t like him and said he would kill the if God would spare him long enough There is nothing to those Millers They are ignorant old jays They can t even appreciate a good joke The first time I met the girl was just before the killing of the kid Everything you know dates from the killing of the kid Lafors How many days was it before the killing of the kid Horn Three or four days maybe damned if I want to remember the dates She was there and of course we soon paired ourselves off Lafors Vhat nationality was she Horn She was one quarter Jap one half Korean and the other German She talks almost every language on earth Lafors Tom didn t Jim Dixon carry you grub Horn No no one carried me grub _ Lafors Tom how can a man that weighs 204 pounds go without eating anything so long. Tom Well I do For some times I go for some days without a mouthful Sometimes I have a little bacon along Lafors You must get terribly hungry Tom Horn Yes sometimes I get so hungry that I could kill my mother for some grub but I never quit a job until I get my man Lafors What kind of a gun have you got Horn I used a 30 30 Winchester Lafors Tom do you think that will hold up as well as a 30 40 Horn No but I like to get close to my man The closer the better Lafors How far was Willie Nickell killed Horn About 300 yards It was the best shot that I ever made and the dirtiest trick I ever done I thought at one time he would get away Lafors How about the shells Did you carry them away Horn You bet your life I did Lafors Tom do you need any more money for this n tr1p Horn No If I get a pass I will not need any more money If I have to buy a ticket I must have a little more money but today is Sunday and I will have to wait until tomorrow Lafors ell it is after noon and I will go home and see you again this afternoon or this evening when we can talk this matter over Horn All right I will be back I want to know all about these people before I go up there Lafors Tom let us go down stairs and get a drink I could always see your work clear but I want you to tell me why you killed the kid as it a mistake Horn ell I will tell you all about that when I come back from Montana It is too new yet Horn and Lafors then left the office but they returned in the afternoon when the conversation was continued as follows Horn Joe we have only been together about fifteen minutes and I will bet there is some people saying VI hat are these planning now and who are they going to kill next We have come up here because there is no other place to go If you go to the Inter Ocean Hotel to sit down and talk a few minutes someone comes in and says Let us have a drink and before you know it you are standing up talking and my feet get so tired it almost kills me I am 44 years 3 months and 27 days old and if I get killed now I have the satisfaction of knowing I have lived about fifteen ordinary lives I would like to have had somebody who saw my past and could picture it to the public It would be the most interesting reading in the country and if we could describe to the author our feelings at different times it would l e better still The experience of my life or the first man I killed was when I was only 26 years old He was a coarse son Lafors How much did you get for killing these fellows In the Powell and Lewis case you got $600 apiece You killed Lewis in the corral with a six shooter I would like to have seen the expression on his face when you shot him Horn He zi 1s the scaredest son saw How did you come to know that Joe Lafors I have known everything you have done Tom for a great many years I know where you were paid this money Horn Yes I was paid this money on the train between Cheyenne and Denver Lafors Why did you put the rock under the kid's head after you killed him That is one of your marks isn t it Horn Yes that is the way I hang out my sign to collect my money for a job of this kind Lafors Have you got your money yet for the killing of Nickell Horn I got that before I did the job Lafors You got $500 for that Why did you cut the price Horn I got $2,100 Lafors How much is that a man Horn That is for three dead men and one man shot at five times Killing men is my specialty I look at it as a business proposition and I think I have a corner on the market.

It appears that when they returned to the office in the afternoon the conversation at first consisted of stories told by each about various troubles they had been connected with and such stories concerned the killing of people, but nothing relevant to the case at hand.

Joe LeFors:



Amazing stuff, eh? You'll have to piece it together a bit as punctuation is lacking. My copy and paste skills are poor.

So what do you guys make of all this? To me, it is awesome. Suffice it to say this hung Horn. Guilty? Innocent? Not Guilty? Shot the kid by mistake? You call it. I have decided against analyzing the evidence and giving my opinion. You decide.

One thing I'll add there was a STRONG debate as to weapon, defense expert claimed it was a 45/90 and prosecution expert said it was a 30-30. Go figure.

Tom after a short escape from his cell, quickly grabbed. He is near center. Bicycles abound!:

[Gibson]

LIFE IS LIKE A MOUNTAIN RAILROAD

"The following eyewitness account of the hanging of Tom Horn was writen by John Charles Thompson, a reporter. His account was originally published in the Denver, Colorado, Posse of Westeners. Horn was executed with a new, and supposedly, more humane, method of hanging that relied on the emptying of a bucket of water to trigger the release of the trap door upon which the condemned man was standing:

"We newspapermen were crammed into a little space at the edge of the platform adjoining Horn's cell; the visiting sheriffs were marshaled on the first-tier level below. The Irwin brothers, flanked by guards, stood beside them. The executioners and a venerable Episcopal clergyman, Dr. George C. Rafter, an acquaintance of Horn, were on the gangway at the opposite edge of the platform. Beside the Irwins stood two physicians, Dr. George P. Johnston and Dr. John H. Conway. They were gentlemen of the highest integrity whom nothing could have induced to contribute to a criminal conspiracy.

Horn, his back against the cell grill, was half-reclining on his narrow bed, puffing a cigar. He was perfectly composed. His soft shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, this exposing the scar of the wound he had suffered in a fight at Dixon.

'Ready Tom,' said Proctor.

Horn arose, carefully placed his cigar on a cross reinforcement of the grill, strode firmly the few steps required to take him to the side of the gallows platform.

He nodded to the Irwins; sardonically scanned the peace officers below.

Ed,' he commented to Smalley, 'That's the sickest looking lot of damned sheriffs I ever seen.

'Would you like us to sing, Tom?' asked Charlie Irwin. ‘Yes, I'd like that,' responded Horn.

So, while Proctor buckled straps that bound Horn's arms and legs, the Irwins, each in a rich tenor, sang a rather lugubrious song popular on the range, Life Is Like a Mountain Railroad.

The clergyman read his church's prayer for the dying Horn, standing relaxed, listened without a tremor.

‘Would you like to say anything?' asked Smalley.‘No,' replied Horn.

‘Tom,' spoke up Charlie Irwin, ‘did you confess to the preacher?

No,' was the reply.

Proctor adjusted the noose, formed with the conventional knot of 13 wraps, to Horn's neck; drew a black hood over his head. Smal¬ley on one side and a friend of Horn, T. Joe Cahill, on the other, lifted the doomed man onto the trap.

Instantly the sibilant sound of running water permeated the breathless stillness; the instrument of death had begun to operate. To the straining ears of the listeners that little sound had the magnitude of that of a rushing torrent.

Smalley, his face buried in the crook of an arm resting against the gallows tree, was trembling.

‘What's the matter,' came in a calm tone through the black cap, getting nervous I might tip over?’

Seemingly interminable, the sound of escaping water ran on.

‘Joe,' said Horn, addressing Cahill, ‘they tell me you're married now. I hope you're doing well. Treat her right.'

Indubitably, he was the best composed man in that chamber of death.

Still the sinister sound of running water; then mercifully, the leaves of the trap parted with a crash and Horn's body hung through the opening.

Thirty-one seconds had elapsed since he had been lifted onto the trap!

He fell only four and one-half feet; his head and shoulders projected above the gallows floor. This drop was not sufficient; his neck was not broken. Proctor had feared to arrange a longer drop, apprehensive that stoppage of the fall of a body so heavy as Horn's might tear the head off. The slam of the massive hangman's knot against the side of Horn's skull knocked him into unconsciousness, however, and he did not suffer. For seventeen minutes the physicians with fingers on his pulse, felt impulses as a mighty heart labored on; then the pulse ceased.

Tom Horn was dead – unconfessed!"

John C. Coble lived only 11 years after Tom was hanged. He wrote the following to his wife and then shot himself:

"Elko, Nev., Dec. 4, 1914.

Dear Elise:

Believe me, I have tried to pull through. I am ALL IN, I AM ALL IN. Believe me - I am yours until the end, and I cannot make good.

Lovingly,

SIGNATURE (Illegible)"

"Coble then took his Smith and Wesson .32 revolver, walked into the ladies bathroom at the Commercial Hotel/Casino in Elko, Nevada, put the revolver to his head and pulled the trigger."

CLOSING

One should never discount the consequences of having powerful men who seek to disassociate themselves with you. In a way, Horn and Coble both are object lessons.

[Gibson]

Could you smell that acrid smell of gunpowder wafting by or the scent of old worn leather or the sound of a riata cutting the air or the jingle of Mexican spurs?



Horn, of course, was in possession of a Winchester model 94 .30-30 (WCF). But indeed had owned a .45-60 and judging from the photo below likely still had one. The .30-30 eventually went to the crooners at Tom's necktie party. Evidently, after spending some time in a museum, it went back to the heirs of the singing brothers.

Cartridges found in Horn's pocket after his arrest:



"Tom Horn had a Winchester model 1894 .30-30 caliber in his possession when was arrested for the crime. However, there was a .45-60 cartridge in his pockets, along with a .30-40 Government cartridge and a .38-40 cartridge"

One hears a lot about the .38 WCF sixgun Tom had but I found this .45 DA that is in a private collection, that is supposed to have belonged to Tom. Hm.

[scattershot]

Interesting stuff. I have been to Matt Rash's cabin (or what's left of it) and it was pretty spooky to imagine Ol' Tom drawing a bead from a small rock outcrop about 40 yards from the front door.

Isom Dart's grave is not too far away, in a grove of aspen trees, with his name carved into the trunk of a tree.

All this is on Cold Spring Mountain, Colorado.

[Gibson]

Interesting stuff. I have been to Matt Rash's cabin (or what's left of it) and it was pretty spooky to imagine Ol' Tom drawing a bead from a small rock outcrop about 40 yards from the front door.

Isom Dart's grave is not too far away, in a grove of aspen trees, with his name carved into the trunk of a tree.

All this is on Cold Spring Mountain, Colorado.

Hi, scattershot:

It would be great if you had an image of the cabin, as well as Isom's grave/tree you could upload.

Thanks for the post. I appreciate the addition. Might not be as much interest as I originally thought. I'm glad you chimed in as it let's me know there are folks interested.

[Gibson]

For all of our left coast brethren, I am thinking of trying to work up something Jaoquin Murrieta.

If I can flesh out enough material, I'll give it a go.

[scattershot]

Hi, scattershot:

It would be great if you had an image of the cabin, as well as Isom's grave/tree you could upload.

Thanks for the post. I appreciate the addition. Might not be as much interest as I originally thought. I'm glad you chimed in as it let's me know there are folks interested.

I'll have to see if I can find it. It was quite a few years ago. I'll look for it and see if I can post it.

[Gibson]

Well, as most of you know Murrieta's life is so shrouded by legend and politically motivated demagoguery as to make it tough to flesh out the truth. We shall make an effort to see what we can see, I make no promises as to absolutely accuracy. I will winnow what I can from from the legendary exploits. Of course, flair will be kept, if possible



So what can we nail down? Not much.

To begin at the beginning seems reasonable. We know that Joaquin Murrieta (Murrietta) was born in 1830 near Caborca, in the pueblo of Trincheras, Sonora. A group of his descendants is working to correct what they see as historical inaccuracies regarding his legacy, and are also doing charitable works in his name. His parents were Joaquin and Rosalia Murrieta. (His mother had a prior marriage to a man named Carrillo.) Joaquin would, later in life, refer to himself as Joaquin Carrillo, leading much confusion among historians.

Misplaced hero.

To give some backdrop to account for the "hero" legend that has grown up around Murrieta- and indeed many of the old time badmen who "represented" their own constituent group, whether appropriated or representing themselves, as such- we have this from The Overland Monthly of November, 1895:

"Right or wrong, many of the Spaniards and Mexicans of California after the conquest refused to accept the fact that the war was over, and believed that it was no crime to kill an American in open conflict. This mistaken patriotism easily led to brigandage, and bands of from half a dozen to fifty and one hundred were organized and terrorized the people for nearly a generation. At times Murrieta had several " divisions " in the field, each numbering ten, twenty, or more, according to the territory to be covered. His immediate command sometimes aggregated a hundred men, and this, with several detachments under fearless lieutenants, formed a formidable army in those days, when the country was sparsely settled, and had no telegraph or other means of rapid communication."

Such numbers as 100 members of his brigand (read gang) are dubious but one can get a sense of how he is revered by the Hispanics. Nonsense on stilts. But they created what they needed and indeed they had a very rough existence in the area at the time.

William Mero article from cocohistory.com:

"The young Joaquin eventually married Rosa Feliz of Vayoreca. They, along with Jesus Murrieta and Rosa’s three brothers, went to California upon news of the gold strike. Rosa’s brother, Claudio Feliz, began gold mining with Anglo partners near Sonora while Joaquin and his bride eventually moved to Niles Canyon, then part of Contra Costa County. In these early years there is evidence that Joaquin worked as a vaquero near Oakley and Brentwood in 1850 and as a mestenero (mustang catcher).

From court records and newspaper accounts, the first we hear of the Murrieta - Feliz clan’s brush with the law was in 1849 when Claudio was arrested for stealing another miner’s gold. The evidence of his guilt proved overwhelming. However Claudio was able to escape from the Stockton jail and launch a new career. By 1850 he was the leader of one of the most vicious bands of outlaws to have ever preyed upon the Anglo, Oriental and Hispanic inhabitants of California.

The first known attack by Claudio Feliz’s gang occurred in Contra Costa County at the John Marsh Rancho (Los Meganos) during the night of December 5, 1850. Under the cover of darkness, twelve armed men sacked the Marsh rancho. William Harrington, an unarmed Anglo visitor, was run down, shot and then lanced to death. Surprised by the sudden onslaught Marsh and his servants were quickly subdued and robbed.

Ten days later the ranch of Digby Smith near San Jose was hit. After everyone was tied up, Digby’s skull was crushed, another settler had his head split open by an axe and the cook’s head was severed. The ranch house was burned to the ground. In the ashes were found the blackened corpses of his victims. Over twelve desperadoes including seven Anglos formed this band of vicious killers."

Joaquin shortly joined this outfit of bloodthirsty murderers. But after a short period, he left the gang in the late summer of 1851. Not before participating in at least one robbery and several murders. He went to Los Angeles and immediately began warming the bed of Ana Benitz who had come from New Mexico.

In the meantime Claudio Feliz and his gang had robbed a fellow Hispanic named Agapito and with that his countrymen turned on him. They ran him to ground and shot him to pieces.

The remnants of his gang went back to Joaquin Murrieta and sought leadership. It was now his gang.

Image of the raid on John Marsh's Ranch December 5, 1850:

[Gibson]

[An aside, from 1852, found in Miners & Business Men's Directory 1856: The notorious robber and murderer, Joaquin (Murieta, age 20 [sic]), had his head quarters here, and was well known to many of our citizens as a desperate and dangerous man. At this time, he had not commenced his career of wholesale murder and robbery, but was a "monte dealer" and had a number of villainous scamps connected with him in fleecing his less informed countrymen and others out of their daily earnings.]

Joined in Los Angeles by Reyes, brother of Claudio Feliz, the gang set about the business of robbing settlers, wagon trains and any gold shipments they could locate. It has been stated that they killed upwards of "22 Chinamen" and 10-15 Anglo-Americans. It seems one of the first Anglo-Americans was a rather prominent citizen, State Militia Major General Joshua Bean, Murrieta and Reyes Feliz both shot him to death. Outrages, the Los Angeleans formed a vigilance committee and soon captured Reyes, who was summarily hanged much to the delight of all God fearing citizens of Los Angeles. Now Joaquin Murrieta began his bloody crime spree that would leave his name infamous among the citizenry.

William Mero:

"Because they tended to be unarmed and docile, Chinese miners were a favorite target of Joaquin’s gang. There also appears to have been racial hatred associated with many of these crimes. Many Chinese were killed; apparently just for the pleasure it gave the outlaws. Usually the Asians had their throats slit. Protected by the large Hispanic population, the Mexican bandits killed 22 men in two months, most of them Chinese. By now Joaquin’s face was too well known in the mining camps for his personal safety. During March 1853 the gang vanished into the wilderness of the remote San Joaquin Valley. "

[Gibson]

A final example of the bravado exemplified by these bandits is quoted from a comment by True West Magazine editor Bob Boze Bell:

"Yes, I just read a similar incident (or, perhaps it's the one you mention) where Joaquin and his gang are robbing some Chinese they have waylaid on the roadway. A posse approaches and the leader of the lawmen said they continued robbing the Chinese miners until the posse, coming at a gallop, was within 400 yards, then they casually mounted up on their splendid horses and easily outran the attackers. The lawman later reported: "'They were so well mounted that they beat us running all to hell."'

"On May 11, 1853, Governor of California John Bigler signed a legislative act creating the "California State Rangers," led by Captain Harry Love (a former Texas Ranger). The California Rangers were paid $150 a month and stood a chance to share the $1,000 governor's reward. On July 25, 1853, a group of Rangers encountered a band of armed Mexican men near Pacheco Pass in San Benito County, 50 miles (80 km) from Monterey. A confrontation took place, and two of the Mexicans were killed. One was claimed to be Murrieta, and the other was thought to be Manuel Garcia, also known as Three-Fingered Jack, one of Joaquin's most notorious associates."



So now we have Captain Love of the NEWLY formed California Rangers and a group of his men, to include the noted, Captain Bill Burns on the hunt. And indeed they hunted. They found Murrieta and his band encamped here:



Dworkin book review:

"Love has been called a "drunken brute," a lying braggart, and a fraud, but Secrest portrays a complex and multi-dimensional pioneer figure. Love came to California as early as 1839, and returned to stay during the gold rush. This followed his stalwart service as a volunteer and employee of the U. S. Army along the Rio Grande during the tumultuous 1840s. Love was an imposing figure who could organize a hunt with purpose and tenacity. Yet he was capable of appallingly bad choices in many aspects of his personal life, particularly in his glory-less final years. He made poor business decisions in later life while attempting to prosper at his sawmill and farm, and he especially erred in his choice to settle down with the `wife from hell.' This last poor choice cost him his life, when he provoked his own killing by the mysterious Christian "Fred" Eiversen. "

DEATH OF MURRIETA?

Pendergast article from an internet blog:

Throughout June and most of July they searched the gold country and the San Joaquin Valley in vain, capturing a few horse thieves who had nothing to do with the gang they were supposed to find. They went as far west as San Juan Bautista, then south into the coastal mountain range. Riding east through that range, they reached the edge of the Tulare plains on the morning of July 25, in an area called Arroyo Cantua, more or less southwest of Fresno, where they spied the smoke of a campfire about three miles out on the plain unfolding before them.

An August 4 letter from Love to Bigler details his version of the encounter that followed as they rode up to the Mexican’s camp:

'“Joaquin was immediately recognized and on his being aware of the fact, immediately sprang to his horse and endeavored to escape. He was closely pursued ... and his horse shot from under him. When he took flight on foot and he being wounded, some of the men shot him dead before going far ... the remaining part of the band, who fought bravely while retreating, each of them being armed with two six shooters and three of their numbers killed, while the remainder escaped, some badly wounded. Immediately after returning from the pursuit we beheaded Joaquin and one of his principal men, and I dispatched Captain Burns and John Sylvester to Fort Miller (being the nearest point) with the heads, in order to be put in liquor for preservation.”'

How about this account from the Milwaukee Daily Sentinel (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) on Sept. 16, 1853:

Capture and Death of Joaquin—
Interesting Particulars

Stockton, August 11, 1853.

Capt. Love arrived here yesterday, and last evening we listened with much interest to a detail of his scout after the celebrated robber, Joaquin Murietta. The Rangers, headed by the Captain, passed through San Jose, and to throw any spies of the outlaw’s band on the wrong scent, he talked as if he had certain information that Joaquin was at Los Angeles, and that he expected to catch him there, also; that after his capture, he would scour the plains below for his band. These plans were disclosed to some that they suspected, and were no doubt conveyed to Joaquin. It is Capt. L.’s opinion that the report of these spies threw the robber into his hands.

...Making their way secretly through San Jose, and by San Juan, until entirely clear of observation, the Rangers struck then, under cover of night, for the Contra Costa range of mountains, and entered their defiles. Here for a number of days, they threaded the numerous passes, now crossing a ridge, and again cautiously traversing its valleys. In many places they found corrals, and bands of horses bearing all description of brands. The third day before the capture of their chief, the Rangers came upon a band of Mexicans in the mountains, numbering seventy men, whom they have no doubt was Joaquin’s principal band.

These campers in the mountains had with them about six hundred head of fine horses. To the Captain’s inquiry of what they were doing there, some replied that they were hunting mustangs and other cattle. Love had with him a facsimile of several brands of missing horses, known to have been stolen, and on passing among the stock of this party, he found ten horses bearing the marks in his possession. A portion of them no member of the gang of seventy would own; they said they were strays that had in some manner got in with their caballada; the other portion of the stolen animals they said they had received from Mexicans going to the lower country. It should be remembered that the Ranger party thus boldly searching this robber band’s herd only numbered fourteen.

Early in the morning, three days after meeting the large party above mentioned, Capt. L. and his men saddled up to visit an arroyo where there was water, and on approaching it observed smoke, which made them move with caution. They got close upon a sentry guarding a camp before he discovered them, and as he gave the alarm, Joaquin, who was lying down, leaped up, leaving his pistol in his blanket, and ran for his horse, threw a noose over the animal’s nose with a lariat and mounted him bare-backed. The Rangers had them surrounded. A parley was held for a few moments, during which Joaquin dictated to two of his men answers to Love’s questions. Capt. Burns, who was familiar with the robber’s countenance, immediately pointed him out and the fight commenced.

Joaquin, while fleeing to avoid the shots aimed at him, would drop, Comanche-like, upon the side of his horse, showing only one limb, and the ball having passed, he would resume his seat with the activity of a cat. He made a dash for a perpendicular bluff some fifteen feet high, which overlooked an arroyo, and leaped his horse down upon its dry bed, thinking that none would follow his dangerous jump. But a young Ranger named Henderson followed him, firing his pistol into the robber’s horse as he leaped. The outlaw’s gallant animal had been wounded several times, and after the leap, he made a few ineffectual attempts to run, but at length sank down. Joaquin then fled a few yards on foot; he like his horse had received several wounds, and before he had run thirty yards, two of the Rangers who had cut him off from a ravine fired again into his body, when he fell. Holding up his right hand through which a ball had passed, he said “No tiro mas—yo los muerto.” Shoot no more—I am dead.

Certainly it has been asserted that the head belonged to another of "the five Joaquins" that were mentioned in the order by Governor Bigler. It is not mentioned in the above quotation BUT it is very clear that there was more than one bandit roaming the area name "Joaquin". But it seems clear that the real issue was one Joaquin Murrieta. Thus I have given rather short shrift to the number of "Joaquins".

Bob Boze Bells depicts Murrieta's daring escape attempt:



Let no chance to bring politics into an issue go undone. Read this from Pedergast's article, he quotes the Los Angeles Star from August 18, 1853:

"As early as July 30, newspapers hostile to Bigler began attacking the claim. One of the most skeptical was the Los Angeles Star, which dropped a bombshell on August 18 :

“A few weeks ago a party of native Californians and Sonorans started for the Tulare Valley, for the express and avowed purpose of running mustangs. Three of the party have since returned and report that they were attacked by a party of Americans, and that the balance of their party, four in number, had been killed; that Joaquin Valenzuela, one of them, was killed as he was endeavoring to escape and that his head was cut off by his captors as a trophy. It is too well known that Joaquin Murieta is not the person killed by Capt. Harry Love’s company. ... The head recently exhibited in Stockton bears no resemblance to that individual and this is positively asserted by those who have seen the real Murieta and the spurious head.”

Harry Love:



Handwritten muster of California Rangers:



Wording of statue (starting at "Section 1") creating CR:

"By 1853, his plundering and countless murders had reached such alarming proportions, that citizens from all parts of the State petitioned Governor Bigler to organize a military company to capture Murietta and his gang of marauding outlaws. The State Legislature on May 17, 1853, passed the following act which authorized the raising of a company of Rangers:

"The people of the State of California represented in Senate and Assembly do enact as follows:

Section 1: Captain Harry S. Love is hereby authorized and empowered to raise a company of mounted Rangers, not to exceed twenty men, and muster them into the service of the State for the period of three months unless sooner disbanded by order of the Governor, for the purpose of capture the party or gang of robbers commanded by the five Joaquin whose names are, Joaquin Murietta, Joaquin O'Comorenia, Joaquin Valenzuela, Joaquin Betellier, and Joaquin Carrillo, and their banded associates.

Section 2: Said Rangers shall furnish at their own expense the necessary horses, arms, and equipment, and ammunition for the purpose named in the first section and shall receive from the State of California the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars each month while in actual service during these said tree months, which shall be in full payment for all services rendered under the provisions of this act.

Section 3: The Comptroller troller of State is hereby directed to audit the account of said Rangers for their services upon the certificate of their commander and shall draw his warrant upon the Treasurer of State, who is directed to pay out the same out of any monies in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

Section 4: It shall be the duty of the said Rangers upon taking any prisoners to deliver them safely to the County authorities for trial, and upon making recovery of any stolen cattle, horses or other property to deliver the same to the authorities of the County within which they may have been taken, and public notice shall be given as required by law. (1)

On May 28, 1853, in Quartsburg, Mariposa County, Captain Love organized the California State Rangers. This company was composed of twenty men all of whom had served under Captain Love in the Mexican War."

An anecdote:



"Autograph Letter Signed “Jos(eph) G. Eastland, on Donahue’s Union Iron and Brass Foundry letterhead, San Francisco, Cal., July 31st, 1853, to Edward Hicks, 4pp., with original cover. After two paragraphs of social comments, Eastland describes an incredible event, “As regards news here, there is always some fresh topic of conversation, it is this time, but then you so far removed from this faroff land, would take little interest in any of them ... The last topic of the day is the capture of the celebrated robber Joaquin who for the last eight or ten months has committed so many daring murders in all part of the state - the story runs that the company raised for the purpose of ferreting out these desperadoes encountered them near the Manaposa (sp?) and after a running fight at length took several prisoners, and killed both Joaquin and another deep-eyed villain called ‘three fingered Jack’ - Joaquin’s head was cut off and preserved in spirits, in order I suppose that the reward offered for him ‘dead or alive’ may be obtained.” Very Good.Joaquin Carrillo Murrieta (1829-1853), also called the Mexican Robin Hood or the Robin Hood of El Dorado, was a semi-legendary figure in California during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s. Murrieta was partly the inspiration for the fictional character of Zorro.The Rangers severed Murrieta's head and Three-Fingered Jack's hand as proof of the outlaws' deaths, and preserved them in a jar of alcohol.The jar was displayed in Mariposa County, Stockton, and San Francisco, and later traveled throughout California. Spectators could pay $1 to see them. Seventeen people, including a Catholic priest, signed affidavits identifying the head as Murrieta's, alias Carrillo, enabling Love and his Rangers accordingly received the reward money.Joseph G. Eastland was born in Nashville, Tenn., in 1S31, and came to California in 1849 with his father, who entered business in San Francisco under the name of Thomas B. Eastland and son. They founded the town of Oro on Bear river, and took part in the Gold lake excitement. In 1851 young Joseph Eastland entered the Union foundry, under the direction of James Donahue, and in 1856 became Sec. of the S. F. Gas co., with interests in the gas companies of neighboring cities. Ultimately these early companies became Pacific Gas and Electric."

[jmort]

And...or ... next please

[Gibson]

PINK HIGGINS, A TEXAS HARDCASE

Another tough Texan today. There little to nothing mentioned about this man as a gunman but he was more of a gunman than MANY of them. Funny how it works but often you see guys of great renown such as Wyatt Earp who was also a rough customer of the era. But the fellow we are about to look at was FAR more dangerous and killed far more men than Earp and many others. This does not make them any less desperate/tough it just demonstrates that "Pink" Higgins was indeed Hell With The Lid Off!



A little background on John "Pink" Higgins

[Gibson]

John Calhoun Pin(c)kney Higgins. We'll just call him "Pink" It seems to have been what he was known by. I just found an old Lampases Dispatch from November, 1877 which had a mention of Pink heading to his ranch. He was truly a no BS kinda guy! It appears that Pink neither gave nor asked for any quarter in his entire life. The man was death on a cracker for rustlers. A great quote from Higgins, at the end of the following, sums up his career:

"He killed at least 14 men in gunfights and once said that there might have been more. He wasn´t sure, but it had gotten to the point that if anyone was found shot or had disappeared, everyone said: "Pink Higgins did it." Once, looking at an indictment stating he killed 14 men, Higgins said: 'I didn´t kill all them men - but then again I got some that wasn´t on the bill, so I guess it just about evens up.'"

Indeed.

Let's take a look a his killing of Merritt Higgins in early 1877 and his killing of Bill Standifer in late 1903.

First a bit of background and a note about Pink's weapon/s of choice. In a sidearm it seems clear. He used a .44 caliber in a .45 caliber frame sixgun. Am I certain what that entails? Nope. He is the quote from the source that I get this from: "Higgins was more accurate than fast with the pistol he carried, a .44 in a .45 caliber frame. Once he cleared leather with it, though, the offender´s chances of survival were lessened considerable. His favorite weapon, however, was a Winchester 30-30, and his speed and accuracy with it were legendary. Old-time ranchers around Spur still recall that Higgins could hit an erratic jackrabbit dead center at 100 yards. He always pulled the trigger with his thumb, which was opposite the trigger when the lever was thrown." So that begs another question, BUT maybe not! Since the Winchester 30-30 cartridge did not exist until 1895 and the article from which the quote is taken addresses Pink's 1903 fight maybe that explains it. I know that the contemporary newspapers say he used a "Winchester" in his 1877 killing of Horrell so I suppose it was a good old Winchester Model 1873 in .44-40. Maybe.

The Horrell brood was a group of brothers with some allies. These brothers were granite hard. In January of 1873 the boys took out Lampasas County Sheriff, Shadrick T. Denson and sent his posse running. Two months later, on March 19th, the Horrell brothers ran across Texas State Police Officers in a saloon, who had in their custody, Bill Bowen, their brother-in-law. The Horrells killed 4 State Policeman that day, including Captain Thomas Williams. A massacre. But these old boys hadn't run up solidly yet against Pink Higgins. The Horrells, later in 1873 went into New Mexico where they engaged in a general war with the law and the Hispanic community. At least 17 dead, total. They returned to Texas.

Mr. Higgins has gone from cowboy to rancher. He was a die hard hater of rustling and rustlers. He was involved with pseudo-policing the range, evidently hanging more than one cattle thief. He ran many head of cattle by 1876. Our trouble begins in this year. Higgins evidently was not much impressed by the Horrell body count.

"Higgins' road to becoming a gunfighter began the day he found one of his cattle tied to a tree in the Lampasas town square. Having not tied the cow himself, he set out to find who did and was told that Merritt Horrell had sold the calf to Jim Grizzel, who owned a meat market on the square. Higgins had a warrant sworn out but a jury found Horrell not guilty. Higgins assured Horrell that if an incident of this sort happened again, a jury would not be required."

The Horrell's were not the sharpest implements around and so they shorty made off with some more of Higgans' stock and sold it to Jim Cooksey. Higgins spotted one of his cows in Cooksey's herd. Jim showed him a bill of sale from Merritt Horrell. This was January 18, 1877. Merritt had less than three days to live.



Lampasas:

[Gibson]

January 22, 1877 dawned wet and cold. Pink, Bob Mitchell, Mabe Lovejoy, Sam Hess, Pat Arnold, Bill Tinker, and George Ware set off for town and to set things "aright". It was agreed that Pink would settle his score and the others would make sure there was no interference. Their second stop, Jerry Scott's saloon or The Gem Saloon, was a hit. There seated in the back area of the place was Merritt Horrell. Pink Higgins walked right up to him, Winchester in hand, and saying as he approached, "Mr. Horrell, this is to settle some cow business." As Merritt went for a shoulder holstered sixshooter Pink shot him in the chest. As he attempted to regain his feet the Winchester sounded off again. Higgins then calmly walked over and delivered two more rounds. Here is another account:

"Pink wasn't one to wait around. He acted. Against the advice of his wife´s father, then sheriff in Lampasas, Pink rode into town and up to Dead Man´s Saloon, where he expected to find one or more of the Horrells. He slipped his Winchester out of the boot and walked into the saloon. Merritt Horrell was sitting with his back quartering to the door. Higgins saw him and kept walking straight toward him, rifle ready. The bartender headed for the door and two customers jumped out the window.

Merritt went for his six-shooter in a holster under his arm. His shot went into the ceiling when HIggins´ bullet hit him in the chest. Pink shot him three times more to make sure. Any one of the four bullets would have killed Merritt.

Higgins then stepped to the door and called to the bartender to "set them up" and he drank to his success in "getting the rest of the Horrells."

It does make a compelling picture! The bartender running for the door and two customers diving out the windows. Amusing.

The war continued but we will stop here and go forward in Pinks life to a duel he fought with Bill Standifer in 1903. Suffice it to say, Pink killed more men in the intervening years. Men who very likely needed killing. . .

At this point in time, it is almost impossible discern the origin of the muitual hatred between the two men. I have read accounts where they say it was because Pink's son represented Standifer's wife in a divorce. Standifer gave Higgin's son a very rough time and Pink sent word he'd get the guy. Other stories tell of mutual employment with the Spur Ranch as "detectives" and some disagreement in that capacity caused the duel. Still others say that Higgins found an issue with cattle rustling and a friend of Standifer's named Bill McComas. These stories indicate that Standifer may have also been involved. Anyway, some sort of altercation occurred and Higgins was warned to watch his back after he informed McComas and Standifer to stay clear of cattle that weren't their own It appears that there was a multitude of attempts to ambush Pink. All failed. What happened next is well told by Mr. Jerry Sinise in his January, 1972 article:

"Spur oldtimers vow that Higgins never wanted to fight Standifer and made every effort to avoid it. But enough was enough, and when Higgins saw Standifer in the distance one morning riding toward the house, he saddled up his favorite horse, Sandy, stuck his Winchester in the boot and rode out to meet him.
They approached each other at an angle. Standifer was on Higgins´ right. Higgins told the story:

"I was sure he wouldn´t get off his horse on my side, but would try to use his horse for protection. So I made up my mind to keep my eye on his left foot, and the minute that foot left the stirrup I would get off and go for my gun. When we were less than 100 yards apart and getting closer every step our horses took, he slipped her out and off I went. My rifle sorter hung in the saddle scabbard, and as I got it out Standifer shot, hitting old Sandy. He jumped against me and made me shoot wild - I always hated to lose the first shot.

Standifer was shooting, but he was jumping around like a Comanche and his shots were going wild. He was sideways to me, and so I knew I had to shoot mighty accurate to get him. I knew he couldn´t do any good with his gun till he stopped jumping. So I dropped on my knee, trying to get a bead on him, and when he slowed down I let him have it. I knew I had got him when the dust flew out of his sleeve above the elbow and he started to buckle. He dropped his gun into the crook of his other arm and tried to trot off. I called to him, saying if he had had enough I wouldn´t shoot again and would come to him, but he fell face forward, his feet flopped up and he didn´t speak.

I was afraid to go to him, fearing he was playing possum after being shot, so I got on my horse and started home. I got another horse and rode to a telephone and told the sheriff at Clairemont I thought I had killed Standifer. He said if I wasn´t sure I had better go back and finish it."

One thing everyone knew about Higgins. He was a man of unusual nerve. His moves were deliberate, his demeanor cold. He´d been smoking a pipe when he rode out to do combat, and when his horse was hit and had gone down, Higgins calmly put the pipe on the ground before reaching for his rifle - this while Standifer was shooting away.

When Standifer fell, he jammed his rifle barrel-first into the ground. The bullet that killed him went through an elbow and into his heart. The late George Underwood of Spur stepped off the distance between Higgins and Standifer, counting 60 paces. This was verified by others who rode to the scene later. A light rain had fallen that morning and signs of the battle were quite clear in the red dirt of the range."

Pink Higgins one heckuva man.

Standifer in group shot to the left at top: