John Wesley Hardin

For the Bob Dylan album, see John Wesley Harding (album).
John Wesley Hardin

This ferrotype photograph is a mirror image of John Wesley Hardin.
Born (1853-05-26)May 26, 1853
Bonham, Texas, U.S.[1]
Died August 19, 1895(1895-08-19) (aged 42)
El Paso, Texas, U.S.
Other names
  • "Little Arkansas"
  • "Wesley Clements"
  • "J.H. Swain"
Occupation gambling/card sharp, cowboy, cattle rustler, lawyer
Known for very young outlaw and prolific gunfighter
Spouse(s)
  • Jane Bowen
  • Carolyn Jane "Callie" Lewis
Parent(s) James Gibson "Gip" Hardin
Mary Elizabeth Dixson

John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. From an early age, Hardin often got himself into trouble with the law. Pursued by lawmen for most of his life, he was finally sentenced to 25 years in prison for murder in 1877. When he was sentenced, Hardin claimed to have killed 42 men[2] but newspapers of the day attributed only 27 murders to him.[3][4] While in prison, Hardin wrote a biased autobiography and studied law. He was released in 1894. In August 1895, Hardin was shot to death by Constable John Selman, Sr. in an El Paso saloon.

Early life

Hardin was born in 1853 near Bonham, Texas, to a Methodist preacher and circuit rider, James "Gip" Hardin, and Mary Elizabeth Dixson.[1][5]:108–100 He was named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist denomination of the Christian church.[6]:238 In his autobiography, Hardin described his mother as "blond, highly cultured... [while] charity predominated in her disposition."[7]:5 Hardin's father traveled over much of central Texas on his preaching circuit until he and his family settled in Sumpter in Trinity County, Texas in 1859. There, Joseph Hardin established and taught the school that John Hardin and his siblings attended.

Hardin was the second surviving son of ten children.[8]:1

Later in life, Hardin wrote an autobiography – while in prison – which is the source for many stories about him. He was well known for wildly exaggerating or completely making up stories about his life, however. In a number of his stories, he claimed to have been involved in events which cannot be confirmed. For example, Hardin wrote that he was first exposed to violence in 1861 when he saw a man named Turner Evans stabbed by John Ruff. Evans died of his injuries and Ruff was jailed. Hardin wrote, "...Readers you see what drink and passion will do. If you wish to be successful in life, be temperate and control your passions; if you don't, ruin and death is the result."[7]:10–11

In 1862, at age nine, Hardin tried to run away and join the Confederate army.[7]:10–11

Trouble at school

In 1867[7]:7 while attending his father's school, Hardin was taunted by another student, Charles Sloter. Sloter accused Hardin of being the author of graffiti on the schoolhouse wall that insulted a girl in his class. Hardin denied writing the poetry, claiming in turn that Sloter was the author.[8] Sloter charged at Hardin with a knife but Hardin stabbed him with a knife of his own, almost killing him.[5][9] Hardin was nearly expelled over the incident.[8]

First killing

In November 1868, when he was 15, Hardin challenged his uncle Holshousen's former slave, Major "Maje" Holshousen, to a wrestling match, which Hardin won.[2] According to Hardin, the following day, Maje "ambushed" him as he rode past {i.e. shouting at Hardin and waving a stick}. Hardin drew his revolver and shot Maje five times. Hardin wrote in his autobiography that he rode to get help for the wounded man, but he died three days later.[7]:13[notes 1][10] Hardin further wrote that his father did not believe he would receive a fair hearing in the Union-occupied state (where more than a third of the state police were former slaves), so his father ordered him into hiding.[2] Hardin claimed that the authorities eventually discovered his location and three Union soldiers were sent to arrest him, at which time he "chose to confront his pursuers" despite having been warned of their approach by an older brother, Joseph:[11][12]

...I waylaid them, as I had no mercy on men whom I knew only wanted to get my body to torture and kill. It was war to the knife for me, and I brought it on by opening the fight with a double-barreled shotgun and ended it with a cap and ball six-shooter. Thus it was by the fall of 1868 I had killed four men and was myself wounded in the arm.[7]:14

Fugitive from justice

Hardin knew he could not return home. As a fugitive, he initially traveled with outlaw Frank Polk in the Pisgah area of Navarro County, Texas. Polk had killed a man named Tom Brady and a detachment of soldiers sent from Corsicana, Texas, pursued the duo.[13] Hardin escaped the troops but Polk was captured.[7]:16 Hardin also briefly taught school in Pisgah. While there, he claimed he shot a man's eye out to win a bottle of whiskey in a bet.[7]:16 Hardin also claimed that he and his cousin, "Simp" Dixon, encountered a group of soldiers and each killed a man.[7]:17 Allegedly, Hardin killed a black man in Leon County, Texas.[14] On January 5, 1870, Hardin was playing cards with Benjamin Bradley in Towash, Hill County, Texas. Hardin was winning almost every hand, which angered Bradley so he threatened to "cut out his liver" if he won again. Bradley drew a knife and a six-shooter. Hardin said he was unarmed and excused himself but claims that later that night, Bradley came looking for him. Bradley allegedly fired a shot at Hardin and missed; Hardin drew both his pistols and returned fire, one shot striking Bradley in the head and the other in his chest.[7]:20 Dozens of people saw this fight, and from them there is a good record of how Hardin had used his guns. His holsters were sewn into his vest so that the butts of his pistols pointed inward across his chest. He crossed his arms to draw. Hardin claimed this was the fastest way to draw, and he practiced every day. A man called "Judge Moore", who held Hardin's stakes of money and a pistol, but refused to give them up without Bradley's consent, later "vanished".[7]:20[14][15] Hardin eventually admitted killing two men in Hill County.[16]

After killing Bradley, Hardin claimed that when a posse of fifteen men came after him, he captured two of them and took a shotgun, two six-shooters, a rifle, and two derringers from his captives. He then ordered the two men to join the other members of the posse at Jim Page's and wait for him to come along-"...I reckon they are waiting for me yet.."[7]:22

Later that month, on January 20, in Horn Hill, Limestone County, Texas, Hardin claimed he killed a man in a gunfight after an argument at the circus.[7]:23 Less than a week after this incident, in nearby Kosse, Hardin was accompanying a saloon girl home when they were accosted by her pimp, who demanded money. Hardin threw money on the ground and shot the would-be thief when he bent over to pick it up.[7]:24[11]

Arrest and escape

In January 1871, Hardin was arrested for the murder of the Waco, Texas city marshal, Laban John Hoffman. However he denied having committed this crime.[7]:30 Following his arrest, he was held temporarily in a log jail in the town of Marshall, awaiting transfer to Waco for trial. While locked up, he bought a revolver from another prisoner. Two Texas state policemen, Captain Edward T. Stakes and an officer named Jim Smalley,.[7]:30–31[17] were assigned to escort Hardin to Waco for trial. According to Hardin, they tied him on a horse with no saddle for the trip. While making camp along the way, Hardin escaped when Stakes went to procure fodder for the horses. He claims he was left alone with Smalley, who began to taunt and beat the then-17-year-old prisoner with the butt of a pistol. Hardin says he feigned crying and huddled against his pony's flank. Hidden by the animal, he pulled out a gun, fatally shot Smalley, and used his horse to escape. Hardin then claimed that on the run he was "arrested" by three men named Smith, Jones and Davis, but that in Bell County, Texas he killed all three with their own guns after they became drunken and careless and then escaped again.[7]:30–32

After this incident, Hardin found refuge with his cousins, the Clements, who were then living in Gonzales in south Texas. They suggested he could make money by driving cattle to Kansas as a cowboy. Thinking he could get out of Texas long enough for his pursuers to lose interest, Hardin worked with his cousins, rustling cattle for Jake Johnson and Columbus Carol.[18][19][notes 2] Hardin writes that he was made trail boss for the herd.

In February 1871, while the herd was being collected for the drive to Kansas, a freedman, Bob King, attempted to cut a beef cow out of the herd. When he refused to obey Hardin's demand to stop, Hardin hit him over the head with his pistol. That same month, Hardin may have wounded three Mexicans in an argument over a Three-card Monte card game, pistol-whipping one man over the head, shooting one man in the arm and the third man in the lung.[7]:33–34

While driving cattle on the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas, in the summer of 1871, Hardin is reputed to have fought Mexican vaqueros and cattle rustlers.[11] Towards the end of the drive, a Mexican herd crowded in behind Hardin's and there was some trouble keeping the two herds apart. Hardin exchanged words with the man in charge of the other herd; both men were on horseback. The Mexican fired his gun at Hardin, putting a hole through Hardin's hat. Hardin found that his own weapon, a worn out cap-and-ball pistol with a loose cylinder, would not fire. He dismounted and managed to discharge the gun by steadying the cylinder with one hand and pulling the trigger with the other. He hit the Mexican in the thigh. A truce was declared and both parties went their separate ways. However, Hardin borrowed a pistol from a friend and went looking for the Mexican, this time fatally shooting him through the head. A firefight between the rival camps ensued. Hardin claimed six vaqueros died in the exchanges (five of them reportedly shot by him)[6][7]:39–42[20] although this claim appears exaggerated—only three Mexican vaqueros were killed.[21][22] Hardin also claimed to have killed two Indians in separate gunfights on the same cattle drive. The first instance was when an Indian tried to shoot an arrow at him on the South Canadian River. Hardin shot him and then had the body buried to avoid retribution from the man's tribe. The second incident, at Bluff Creek, Kansas, was when Indians wanted to collect a "tax" on the cattle; Hardin hit an Indian over the head who Hardin claimed had stolen a silver bridle from him and then forced a war party to flee after Hardin shot a second Indian who killed a beef cow.[7]:28–37

After arriving in Abilene, Hardin claimed that he and a companion named Pain got into an argument in a restaurant with an anti-Texan, which left Pain wounded in one arm and the stranger shot in the mouth by Hardin's bullet. Hardin fled Abilene to the Cottonwood Trail.[7]:46

On July 4, 1871, a Texas trail boss named William Cohron,[23] was killed on the Cottonwood Trail (40 miles south of Abilene) by an unnamed Mexican, who "fled south"[24] and was subsequently killed by two cowboys in a Sumner County, Kansas, restaurant on July 20.[25][26] Hardin admitted to being involved in the shooting of the Mexican.[7]:46–49[notes 3]

A Texas Historical Marker notes that in the 1870s Hardin hid out in the vicinity of Pilgrim, Texas.[27]

Encounters with "Wild Bill" Hickok

Ben Thompson,as Austin City Marshal 1881–1882
J.B. "Wild Bill" Hickok

The Bull's Head Tavern, in Abilene, had been established as a partnership between ex-lawman Ben Thompson and gambler Phil Coe. The two entrepreneurs had painted a picture of a bull with a large erect penis on the side of their establishment as an advertisement. Citizens complained to town marshal "Wild Bill" Hickok. When Thompson and Coe refused his request to remove the bull, Hickok altered it himself. Infuriated, Thompson tried to incite his new acquaintance, Hardin, by exclaiming to him: "He's a damn Yankee. Picks on Rebels, especially Texans, to kill." Hardin, then under the assumed name "Wesley Clemmons" (but better known to the townspeople by the alias "Little Arkansaw"), seemed to have had respect for Hickok, and replied, "If Bill needs killing why don't you kill him yourself?"[7]:44 Later that night, Hardin was confronted by Hickok, who told him to hand over his guns, which he did.[28] Hickok had no knowledge that Hardin was a wanted man, and he advised Hardin to avoid problems while in Abilene.

Hardin again met up with Hickok while on a cattle drive in August 1871. This time, Hickok allowed Hardin to carry his pistols into town - something he had never allowed others to do. For his part, Hardin (still using his alias) was fascinated by Wild Bill and reveled at being seen on intimate terms with such a celebrated gunfighter.[7]:50–51 Hardin alleged that when his cousin, Mannen Clements, was jailed for the killing of two cowhands Joe and Dolph Shadden in July 1871, Hickok – at Hardin's request – arranged for his escape.[7]:pp.54–56[29]

Kills snoring man

Soon afterwards on August 6, 1871, Hardin, his cousin Gip Clements, and a rancher friend named Charles Couger put up for the night at the American House Hotel after an evening of gambling. Clements and Hardin shared one room, with Couger in the adjacent room. All three had been drinking heavily. Sometime during the evening, Hardin was awakened by loud snoring coming from Couger's room. He first shouted several times for the man to "roll over" and then, irritated by the lack of response, drunkenly fired several bullets through the shared wall in an apparent effort to awaken him. Couger was hit in the head by the second bullet as he lay in bed, and was killed instantly. Although Hardin may not have intended to kill Couger, he had violated an ordinance prohibiting firing a gun within the city limits. Half-dressed and still drunk, he and Clements exited through a second-story window onto the roof of the hotel. He saw Hickok arrive with four policemen. "Now, I believed," Hardin wrote, "that if Wild Bill found me in a defenseless condition he would take no explanation, but would kill me to add to his reputation."[7]:45–58[30]
A newspaper reported, "A man was killed in his bed at a hotel in Abilene, Monday night, by a desperado called 'Arkansas'. The murderer escaped. This was his sixth murder."[31] Hardin leapt from the roof into the street and hid in a haystack for the rest of the night. He then stole a horse and rode to the cow camp 35 miles outside town. Hardin claimed he ambushed lawman Tom Carson and two other deputies there. According to Hardin, he did not kill them but forced them to remove all their clothing and walk back to Abilene.[7]:60 Carson denied the incident ever took place. The next day, Hardin left for Texas, never to return to Abilene.

The incident earned Hardin a reputation as a man "so mean, he once shot a man for snoring".[32] Years later, Hardin made a casual reference to the episode: "They tell lots of lies about me," he complained. "They say I killed six or seven men for snoring. Well, it ain't true. I only killed one man for snoring."[6] Later, in his contradictory 1896 autobiography, Hardin completely omitted the "snoring man" from the story, as he related not only a wrong date (July 7 instead of August 6) but claimed the shooting was a case of self-defense, saying that the man he killed had first tried to stab him with a dirk[7]:58 and was a burglar who tried to make off with Hardin's pants.[33]

Gunfights 1871-1872

In October 1871, Hardin was involved in a gunfight with two Texas Special Policemen, Private Green Paramore and John Lackey, in which Paramore was killed and Lackey wounded. Following this, Hardin claimed he was involved in four gunfights:[7]:63–67

Sutton–Taylor feud

Main article: Sutton–Taylor feud

In early 1872, Hardin was in south-central Texas, in the area around Gonzales County. It was about this time that Hardin married Jane Bowen and started to keep regular company with her brother, cattle rustler Robert Bowen. While in the area, he also renewed acquaintance with some of his cousins who were allied with a local family, the Taylors (who had been feuding with the rival Sutton faction for several years).

On August 7, 1872, Hardin was wounded by a shotgun blast in a gambling dispute at the Gates Saloon in Trinity, Texas. He was shot by Phil Sublett, who had lost money to Hardin in a poker game. Two buckshot pellets penetrated Hardin's kidney and for a time it looked as if he would die.

While recuperating from his wounds, Hardin decided he wanted to settle down. After surrendering to Sheriff Reagan (brother of John Henninger Reagan) of Cherokee County, Texas, he was wounded in the right knee by an accidental gunshot from a nervous deputy. "[7]:73 Hardin made a sick-bed surrender to authorities, handing over his guns to Sheriff Reagan and asking to be tried for his past crimes in order "to clear the slate". When Hardin learned of how many murders Reagan was going to charge him with, however, he changed his mind. A relative smuggled a hacksaw to Hardin, who escaped after cutting through the bars of a prison window.[34] In November 1872 Hardin escaped from the Gonzales County, Texas jail despite a guard of six men; a $100 reward was offered for his arrest.

On May 15, 1873, Jim Cox and Jake Christman were killed by the Taylor faction at Tomlinson Creek. Hardin, having by then recovered from the injuries sustained in Sublett's attack, admitted that there were reports that he had led the fights in which these men were killed, but would neither confirm nor deny his involvement: "...but as I have never pleaded to that case, I will at this time have little to say."[7]:81

Yet Hardin's main notoriety in the Sutton–Taylor feud came from his part in the killing of two lawmen known to be Sutton family allies. In Cuero, Texas, on May 17, 1873, Hardin killed DeWitt County Deputy Sheriff J.B. Morgan, who served under County Sheriff Jack Helm (a former captain in the Texas State Police and leader of the Sutton force at that time).[7]:79[35]:30 Later that day, Hardin killed Helm in the town square of Albuquerque, Texas.[36][37][38] On the run again in June 1873 Hardin assisted in the escape of his brother-in-law Joshua Bowen from the Gonzales County, Texas jail where he was inprisoned on a 1872 murder charge-allegedly Hardin was also involved in this killing of Thomas Holderman.

The Sutton–Taylor feud intensified when Jim and Bill Taylor gunned down Billy Sutton and Gabriel Slaughter[39] as they waited on a steamboat platform in Indianola, Texas, on March 11, 1874. Tired of the feuding, the two were planning to leave the area for good. Hardin admitted that he and his brother, Joseph, had been involved (along with both Taylors) in the killings.[7]:86–87

After a brief visit to Florida where he claimed to have been involved in three incidents against Negroes, including a lynching, Hardin meet with his wife, Jane, and their young daughter, who he had relocated under the assumed name "Swain," Hardin then met up with his "gang" on May 26, 1874, in a Comanche saloon to celebrate his 21st birthday. Hardin spotted Brown County Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb entering the premises. He asked Webb if he had come to arrest him. When Webb replied he had not, Hardin invited him into the hotel for a drink. As he followed Hardin inside, Hardin claimed Webb drew his gun and one of Hardin's men yelled out a warning.[7]:92 In the ensuing gunfight, Webb was shot dead. It was reported at the time that Webb was shot as he was pulling out an arrest warrant for one of Hardin's group.[40] Two of Hardin's accomplices in the shooting were cousin Bud Dixon and Jim Taylor.[7]:92

The death of the popular Webb resulted in the quick formation of a lynch mob. Hardin's parents and wife were taken into protective custody, while his brother Joe and two cousins, brothers Bud and Tom Dixon, were arrested on outstanding warrants. A group of local men broke into the jail in July 1874 and hanged Joe, Bud, and Tom.[7]:101[41][notes 4] After this, Hardin and Jim Taylor parted ways for good. Hardin would claim that he twice drove away men connected to the feud who had come after him, killing a man in each encounter.[7]:105–107 [42] On November 18, 1875 the leader of the Suttons,[43] Ex-Cuero Texas town Marshal Reuben Brown was shot and killed by five men in Cuero along with a negro named Tom Freeman and another negro was wounded;[44] in his autobiography Hardin made only two references to Brown: that "Rube" Brown had arrested William Taylor before sending him to Galveston, Texas for trial[7]:87 and that Brown had been among the leaders of a Sutton "posse" that had been out to "get" Hardin in Gonzales County, Texas.[7]:106 It is unknown if Hardin was directly or indirectly involved in the killing of Reuben Brown as he makes no further mention of either being involved or denying any connection with Brown's death in his life story.

Captured and tried

John Barclay Armstrong

On January 20, 1875, the Texas Legislature authorized Governor Richard B. Hubbard to offer a $4,000 reward for Hardin's arrest.[45] An undercover Texas Ranger named Jack Duncan intercepted a letter sent to Hardin's father-in-law by his brother-in-law, Joshua Robert "Brown" Bowen. The letter mentioned that Hardin was hiding out on the Alabama-Florida border using the name "James W. Swain". (In his autobiography, Hardin admitted that he had "adopted" this alias from Brenham, Texas Town marshal Henry Swain who had married a cousin of Hardin's named Molly Parks) .[7]:109
In March 1876 Hardin wounded a man in Florida who had tried to mediate a quarrel between Hardin and another man. In November 1876 Hardin was briefly arrested for having marked cards in Mobile, Alabama. Two former slaves of his father's, "Jake" Menzel and Robert Borup, tried to capture Hardin in Gainesville, Florida in the middle of 1877. Hardin killed one and blinded the other.[46]

On August 24, 1877,[3] Rangers and local authorities confronted Hardin on a train in Pensacola, Florida. Hardin attempted to draw a .44 Colt cap-and-ball pistol but it got caught up in his suspenders. The officers knocked Hardin unconscious. They arrested two of his companions and Ranger John B. Armstrong killed a third, a man named Mann, who had a pistol in his hand.[47][48] Hardin wrote that he was captured while smoking his pipe and Duncan only found Hardin's pistol under his shirt after his arrest.[7]:119

Trial and imprisonment

Hardin was tried for the killing of Webb and on June 5, 1878, was sentenced to serve 25 years in Huntsville Prison. In 1879, Hardin and other convicts were stopped while attempting to steal guns from the prison armory.[49] Hardin also made several attempts to escape.[50] During his prison term, on February 14, 1892, he was convicted of another manslaughter charge for the earlier shooting of J.B. Morgan and given a two-year sentence to be served concurrently with his unexpired 25-year sentence.[7]:79[51]

Hardin eventually adapted to prison life. While there, he read theological books, becoming the superintendent of the prison Sunday School. He also studied law. He was plagued by recurring poor health in prison, especially when the wound he had received from Sublett became re-infected in 1883, causing Hardin to be bedridden for almost two years. In 1892, Hardin was described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall and 160 pounds, with a fair complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair, and wound scars on his right knee, left thigh, right side, hip, elbow, shoulder, and back. During Hardin's stay in prison, his first wife, Jane, died, on November 6, 1892.[52]

After prison

Hardin was released from prison on February 17, 1894, having served seventeen years of his twenty-five year sentence.[46] He was forty years old when he returned to Gonzales, Texas. Later that year, on March 16, Hardin was pardoned, and, on July 21, he passed the state's bar examination, obtaining his license to practice law.[8] According to a newspaper article in 1900, shortly after being released from prison, Hardin committed negligent homicide when he made a $5 bet that he could "at the first shot" knock a Mexican man off the soap box on which he was "sunning" himself, winning the bet and leaving the man dead from the fall and not the gunshot.[46]

On January 9, 1895, Hardin married a 15-year-old girl named Callie Lewis. The marriage ended quickly, although it was never legally dissolved.[8]:214–217 Afterward, Hardin moved to El Paso, Texas.

Death

Hardin's post mortem photo

An El Paso lawman, John Selman, Jr., arrested Hardin's acquaintance and part-time prostitute, the "widow" M'Rose (or Mroz), for "brandishing a gun in public". Hardin confronted Selman and the two men argued with some accounts stating that Hardin pistol-whipped the younger man. Selman's 56-year-old father, Constable John Selman, Sr. (himself a notorious gunman and former outlaw), approached Hardin on the afternoon of August 19, 1895, and the two men exchanged heated words.[46] That night, Hardin went to the Acme Saloon, where he began playing dice. Shortly before midnight, Selman Sr. entered the saloon, walked up to Hardin from behind, and shot him in the head, killing him instantly. As Hardin lay on the floor, Selman fired three more shots into him.[53] Selman Sr. was arrested for murder and stood trial. He claimed self-defense, stating that he witnessed Hardin attempting to draw his pistol upon seeing him enter the saloon, and a hung jury resulted in his being released on bond, pending retrial. However, before the retrial could be organized, Selman was killed in a shootout with US Marshal George Scarborough on April 6, 1896 during an argument following a card game.[54]

Hardin was buried the following day[55] in Concordia Cemetery, in El Paso.[56]

Reburial controversy

The grave of John Wesley Hardin

A century later, on August 27, 1995, there was a confrontation between two groups at the site of Hardin's grave. One group, representing several great-grandchildren of Hardin, sought to relocate Hardin's body to Nixon, Texas, to be interred next to the grave of Hardin's first wife, Jane. The other group, consisting of locals from El Paso, sought to prevent the move. At the cemetery, the group representing Hardin's descendants presented a disinterment permit for the body, while the El Pasoans presented a court order prohibiting its removal. Both sides accused the other parties of seeking the tourist revenue generated by the location of the body. A subsequent lawsuit ruled in favor of keeping the body in El Paso.[55]

Known contacts with the law

Hardin had numerous confirmed clashes with the law:

Confirmed claims

Unconfirmed claims

Hardin's auto biography is filled with statements which cannot be confirmed independently from his book:

Legacy

The memorable circumstances and sheer number of Hardin's life events, real or exaggerated, made him a legend of the Old West and an icon of American folklore. His autobiography was published posthumously in 1925 by Bandera publisher, historian, and journalist J. Marvin Hunter, founder of Frontier Times magazine and the Frontier Times Museum.[80]

Firearms and effects

Hardin's weapons of choice and several of his personal effects have been well documented and auctioned to private collectors. Court records show that John Wesley Hardin carried a Colt "Lightning" revolver at the time of his death.[notes 8] He also carried an Elgin watch[81] when he was shot and killed. The revolver and the watch had been presented to Hardin in appreciation for his legal efforts on behalf of Jim Miller at Miller's trial for the killing of ex-sheriff George "Bud" Frazer. The Colt (with a .38-caliber,  2 1⁄2" barrel) is nickel-plated, with blued hammer, trigger, and screws. It features mother-of-pearl grips, and the back-strap is hand-engraved "J.B.M. TO J.W.H.". This gun and its holster were once sold at auction for $168,000. Another Colt revolver (known as a .41-caliber "Thunderer"), which was owned by Hardin and used by him to rob the Gem Saloon, was sold at the same auction for $100,000.[68][82]

In 2002, an auction house in San Francisco, California, auctioned three lots of John Wesley Hardin's personal effects. One lot sold for $15,250, containing a deck of his playing cards, one of his business cards, and a contemporary newspaper account of his death. The bullet that killed Hardin sold for $80,000.[83]

References

  1. 1 2 1860 U S Census of Free Inhabitants; Subdivision No. 25-Sumpter, Trinity County, Texas; 12 June 1860; P.O. at Sumpter; p: 1; Dwelling 6, Family 6.
  2. 1 2 3 Marohn, Richard C. (Jun 1995). The Last Gunfighter: John Wesley Hardin (third printing). Creative Publishing Company; College Station, TX. ISBN 978-0-932702-99-9.
  3. 1 2 "Hardin credited with 27 killings";August 30, 1877 article; The Wichita City Eagle; p. 2, col 6 (in which his arrest was reported); Transcription: Whiting, Ala., August 21. To-day as a train was leaving Pensacola, the sheriff, with a posse, boarded the cars to assist Texan officers to arrest the notorious John Wesley Hardin, who is said to have committed twenty-seven murders, and for whose body $1,000 reward has been offered by an act of the Legislature of Texas. His last murder in Texas was the killing of the sheriff of Comanche county. He has lived in Florida for several years under the name of John Swain. About twenty shots were fired in making the arrest, and Hardin's companion, named Mann, who had a pistol in his hand, was killed.
  4. ↑ 1877 magazine The Illustrated Police News {.p.11} credited Hardin with 26 killings as well
  5. 1 2 Metz, Leon Claire (2003). The Encyclopedia of Lawmen, Outlaws, and Gunfighters. Checkmark Books. ISBN 0-8160-4543-7.
  6. 1 2 3 Trachtman, Paul (1974). Old West: The Gunfighters. New York: Time Life. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-8094-1481-9.; during the description of one book in the series, The Gunfighters, the well-known claim is made: "John Wesley Hardin, so mean, he once shot a man just for snoring too loud."
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 Hardin, John Wesley (1896). The Life of John Wesley Hardin: As Written By Himself. Seguin, Texas: Smith & Moore. ISBN 978-0-8061-1051-6. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Metz, Leon Claire (Sep 1996). John Wesley Hardin: Dark Angel of Texas. (First Edition), Mangan Books, El Paso, Texas. ISBN 0-930208-35-8. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  9. ↑ O'Neal, Bill (1979). Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 126–131. ISBN 0-8061-1508-4.
  10. ↑ Criminal Offenses; found at familysearch.org; Texas, Freedmen's Bureau ...Office Records, 1865-1870, Sumpter, Roll 26, Letters sent, vol (158), June-Dec 1867, Apr-Dec 1868; p.112 Image 60
  11. 1 2 3 James, Garry (1975). Guns of the Gunfighters. Peterson Textbook Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8227-0095-1.
  12. ↑ Pryor, Alton (2001). Outlaws and Gunslingers. Stagecoach Publishing. ISBN 0-9660053-6-8.
  13. ↑ Texas Historical Marker; Flickr submission; accessed ???.
  14. 1 2 3 Article name missing Dallas Morning News; August 31, 1895; p.1
  15. 1 2 Article name missing; Dallas Morning News; Match 6, 1892. p.3
  16. ↑ Article plate; August 30, 1877 article; Dallas Democratic Statesman; at Find a Grave; accessed Aug 2016
  17. ↑ Hardin misspells Stakes name as "Stokes" and Smalley name as "Smolly"
  18. ↑ Article plate; August 30, 1877 article; Dallas Democratic Statesman; at Find a Grave; no access date. The Statesman reported that Hardin rustled cattle to sell in Kansas, and that a brother in "Commanche" [sic] helped by preparing false bills of sale.
  19. ↑ The Texas Civil Appeals Reports: Cases Argued and Determined...; Volume 29; 1903; p. 352; accessed ?August 2016
  20. ↑ In Hardin's autobiographical version of the gunfight, he claims the first fatality was the Mexican he had previously wounded, "Hosea", and that he was the boss vaquero. He wrote that he and Jim Clements prevented the rest of the vaqueros – aside from those who were already killed – from firing on them by deliberately stampeding the Mexican herd.
  21. ↑ Article from The Wichita Tribune June 1, 1871, which reports 3 cattle herders killed at Park City, Shedgwick Co Kansas C/o researcher Tucker of the Wichita Public Library
  22. ↑ Article; from the Saline County Journal; June 8, 1871; p. 3, Col. 2; at Chronicling America; accessed May 2016. Report which confirms that the week before, three Mexican herders were killed at Park City, Shedgwick County, Kansas.
  23. ↑ William Cohron memorial
  24. ↑ "Article; July 20, 1871 article; Abilene–White Cloud–Kansas Chief newspaper; p. 3; col. 4; at Chronicling America; accessed .
  25. ↑ "Article; July 27, 1871 article; Abilene–White–Cloud, Kansas Chief; p. 2; col. 4; at Chronicling America; accessed .
  26. ↑ "Article image; August 17, 1871 article; Abilene Daily Chronicle; accessed .
  27. ↑ Marker; Texas Handbook online; accessed August 2015.
  28. ↑ Dallas Daily Statesmanplate; August 30, 1877
  29. ↑ John Wesley Hardin Collection Texas State University.
  30. ↑ Article; August 9, 1871 Kansas Daily Commonwealth
  31. ↑ Article; August 10, 1871; Saline County Journal; p. 3; col. 1
  32. ↑ Trachtman, Paul (1974). Old West: The Gunfighters. New York: Time Life. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-8094-1481-9.; During the description of one book in the series, The Gunfighters, the well-known claim is made.
  33. ↑ Metz, Leon Claire; The Encyclopedia of Lawmen, Outlaws, and Gunfighters; "Hardin, John Wesley"; p. 109; ISBN 0816045437
  34. ↑ Wesley Hardin & The Shootist Archetype; Legends of America; accessed August 2015.
  35. ↑ The Texas Vendetta, or, the Sutton–Taylor Feud. J.J. Little & Co. 1880. Retrieved 2011-03-30.
  36. ↑ Article; Handbook of Texas on-line; accessed September 2015.
  37. ↑ article; Texas State Historical Association on-line; accessed September 2015.
  38. ↑ Image 1; July 31, 1873 article; Weekly Democratic Statesman; pg. ; Chronicling America; Note: misspells Hardin's name as "Harden".
  39. ↑ Image 2; March 21, 1874 article; The Dallas Weekly Herald files at Library of Congress; Chronicling America; accessed ???.
  40. ↑ tribune Article image; October 14, 1900; P. 9; image [#39]; New York Tribune at the Library of Congress; from Chronicling America; accessed August 2015
  41. ↑ Joseph Hardin; June 9, 1874 article; The Waco Daily Examiner; p. 3, col.1; at Chronicling America; accessed August 2015
  42. ↑ Jim Taylor was shot and killed January 1, 1875; Bill Taylor was tried twice and acquitted-he reportedly died about 1890 in Sonora Texas
  43. ↑ The Texas Vendetta, Or, The Sutton-Taylor Feud published by J.J. Little Publishing co New York 1880 pp.52-53
  44. ↑ Memphis Daily Appeal November 19, 1875 Library of Congress
  45. ↑ Laws passed by the Legislature of Texas 1875; p. 189; accessed August 2015.
  46. 1 2 3 4 Article; October 14, 1900 article; New York Tribune; p. 39
  47. ↑ Wise, Ken (March 2012). Hunter, Michelle, ed. "The Trial of John Wesley Hardin". Texas Bar Journal. Austin, TX: State Bar of Texas. 75 (9): 202. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  48. ↑ Hardin; September 1, 1877 article; The Iola Register filed at the Library of Congress.
  49. ↑ San Marcos Free Press; January 18, 1879; Library of Congress (at Chronicling America online); p. 4; accessed December 2013.
  50. ↑ Brenhan Weekly Banner; December 27, 1878; Library of Congress (at Chronicling American onlin) e; p. 2; accessed December 2013.
  51. ↑ Texas Convict Ledgers and Conduct Registries, 1849-1970;
  52. ↑ Article; November 21, 1892 article; The Daily Herald News; p. 2 col. 2; at Chronicling America; accessed .
  53. ↑ Article; August 30, 1895 article; Graham Guardian; p. 1; accessed .
  54. ↑ Scarborough; April 6, 1896 article; Salt Lake Herald; p. 2; Chronicling America; accessed .
  55. 1 2 Billings v. Concordia Heritage Association, Inc.; Find Law online; accessed August 19, 2014.
  56. ↑ John W Hardin; 1853–1895; gravestone; Concordia Heritage Association online; accessed August 19, 2014.
  57. ↑ Texas State Police arrest reports for 1870—1871;he is listed as "Hardin, J.R."
  58. ↑ Dallas Herald March 11, 1871 {Library of Congress}
  59. 1 2 3 4 "Daily Democrat Statesman"; August 30, 1877 article; Find-a-Grave online
  60. ↑ "Abilene Daily Chronicle" August 10, 1871
  61. ↑ [19654-special-police-officer-green-paramore ODMP Memorial]
  62. ↑ Article; Handbook of Texas on-line; accessed .
  63. ↑ Brenham Weekly Banner; June 13, 1879; p. 1 col. 3; Chronicling America online
  64. ↑ Hardin vs The State Cases Argued and Adjudged in the Court of Appeals of the State of Texas..., Volume 4
  65. ↑ [Article "A Brace of Swindlers" Mobile Daily Register; November 12, 1876 p. 1 Col. 2;
  66. 1 2 "A Gunfighters Southern Vacation"; Wright, A.J.; National Association and Center for Outlaw History; vol VII, #3; Autumn 1982; quarterly; pp. 13–14; text shows difference between Hardin's version and contemporary accounts; accessed May 2016
  67. ↑ The Daily Herald; July 9, 1895; p. 4; at Chronicling America online
  68. 1 2 Herring, Hal (2008). Famous Firearms of the Old West: From Wild Bill Hickok's Colt Revolvers to Geronimo's Winchester, Twelve Guns That Shaped Our History. TwoDot. p. 224. ISBN 0-7627-4508-8.
  69. ↑ "Executive Documents Printed by order of the House of Representatives, 1868–1869"; Summary of Reports for the Fifth Military District, August 1867–September 1868; reporting four soldiers killed and four wounded from the U.S. 6th Cavalry Regiment
  70. ↑ Nogalus Prairie, Texas
  71. ↑ "Executive Documents Printed by order of the House of Representatives, 1868–1869"; Summary of Reports for the Fifth Military District, August 1867–September 1868, March 1868 supplement; a report against Lee's band.
  72. ↑ The Orton Brothers Circus; The New York Clipper; article; February 12, 1870; p.359, col. 4.
  73. ↑ Author Charles Adkins in his 1970 book "Texas, Guns & History" claimed the victium was named Alan Comstock; however he did not furnish any references to back up his claim.
  74. ↑ "Border Roll"
  75. ↑ Summary; Texas Document Center; p. 4; retrieved ]
  76. ↑ untitled; alachuasheriff.org website; p.22
  77. ↑ Article; Gainesville Sun October 12,1986 (quoting the Gainsville Times of September 1, 1877)]
  78. ↑ Article; Mobile Daily Register; November 12, 1876; retrieved
  79. ↑ History.net Longley letter; History Net website; accessed ???
  80. ↑ "Wayne Gard, "John Marvin Hunter"". Handbook of Texas On-line (tshaonline.com). Retrieved July 8, 2009.
  81. ↑ serial number 4069110
  82. ↑ Spangenberge, Phil; "Hardin’s Hardware: The Texas 'shootist' loved his Colts and Smith & Wessons"; True West Magazine; Vol. ; Number ; Retrieved 07/01/2006
  83. ↑ Nolte, Carl.(2002). Fastest draw at the auction house: Collectors snap up antique firearms, Old West memorabilia; San Francisco Chronicle; June 4, 2002

Notes

  1. ↑ On December 9, 1868, Lt Charles Schmidt, the Freeman's Bureau agent based in Sumpter, Texas reported Maje's death to the Assistant Adj. General of the Freeman's Bureau in a report the titled "Criminal offenses" : "John Hardin (white) – Major Holshousen (fr[eeman]), Murder." Quote: "Hardin, a mere lad shot him without cause as the latter did not like the abuse of Hardin. He shot him five times every wound dangerous. No action taken by civil authorities. Hardin left the county. He lived at Sumpter, Trinity Co ,Texas." Additional: In the margin under the date December 9, 1868 is written the following postscript: "Murder was committed in Polk Co, Texas about ten 10 miles from Moscow"
  2. ↑ Joseph Hardin was indeed found to have had State Seals in his possession after his lynching.
  3. ↑ In Hardin's version of the killing, he names the murdered cattleman as "Billy Coran" and the Mexican as "Bideno".
  4. ↑ It is reported that the hanging ropes were deliberately left too long (in order to cause death through slow strangulation), as grass was found between their toes.
  5. ↑ Hardin claimed that Dixon's mother, sisters, and brother had been tortured and killed by Union soldiers during the Civil War. In fact, Dixon's mother had been divorced in 1851. A brother was killed, but in 1868 during the Lee-Peacock feud.
  6. ↑ Although there are no contemporary newspaper reports of this shooting, this killing is mentioned in a 1924 account by Texas cattleman George N. Steen, who reported: While we were there one night, a man was drinking at a bar in a saloon, and somebody fired in from outside, the bullet striking him in the mouth and instantly killing him...; from The Trail Drivers of Texas, Part One; pub. 1924; Hunter, J. Marvin; p. 140.
  7. ↑ The Alachua county coroner afterward rendered the verdict that "Eli" had died after setting fire to the jail himself.
  8. ↑ The Colt's serial number was 84304: the gun was recorded in Colt factory ledgers as shipped on July 16, 1891, to Hartley & Graham, New York City. The Colt was accompanied by a tooled leather holster, marked with a barely visible stamp of an El Paso maker.

Sources

Further reading

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/18/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.