Ai career A WO wre
er ee ee oe
Helland, special
ites wounded by
| i
S8O~)
and ranst men
he. was ean by
<
eet ae og
$80"a
agaq Vemneratic Candidate Says”
‘vthat; ‘Taft, Baghes asd Reet Took
Sten; Part in Framing Covenant. |
quotes PURE Ce ate a
stigna! ad - anemteite iF abo .
‘mary ‘Wviate. eink:
WALLA WALLA, Wash., Sept
cayity,| 10.—Defense of the Inague of na-
tons charred with tha iecussion
‘of repuSiiean campulgn methedés
ihe attention of tiovernor. Cox,
{oroeratie candidate for’.ibe
aywidency, in his address. here
| idlay evening. ELD ah OS TE
Governor Cox declared that the
lexgue of nations festead of being
a “British league’ or a “Wilson
league,’ ag he said the repabil-
- cams have charge, “ts certainly
‘the protect of not less tues $00
sever! of the leaders In the re
pubticoa party dad an activa part
iti ita formation, mentiontug in
this consection forrser Presicent
Toft. former United States Jun
tica of Supreme Conrt Kushes
and Elihu Root.
“My.presigent Taft offered four
"amendments, all of which were
2” he seciared, “Judge
j aiughes offered seven amend-
imnis, five of which were adopt-
“charg-} 00. Elihu Root sugested six
iauer) #Bendments and the substance of
MSUSE 4 ove of these ound their way into
: date. | the final covenant, ia several in-
viagra | PEBees My. Root'’s exact words
*CGR28 i Leing introduced. *
{ Root even approved the
n of Article 10 for a per-
setatic
tities
{
j ’,
! Ineinsig
:¢ ‘fod of five years. Does any re
: ‘onblican honestly think that {f
oth 1 Mr. Root believed Article 19
oS eagy | WOUlA ‘sacrifices our sovereignty’
OT ne would have agitated that we
ical} onrselt into political peonags
a ‘tor any perted, however brief?”
} jemands that perjury be pun-
ished were reitersted here by the
sey feancicate in discussing testl- |
~~. itiony bafora the senatorial came)
is | paign enyeatinating commitice
\Tinwdew ISerhih Hamme
sea
s of the United States, who
¥ee Geow Friday,
‘Tid Cheyesine, atending the local
lof the best micda fia all ihe <ivi-}
fined uations.” He declared that, POUSS*.,
‘agent of the department of
was shot and perhaps mor-,
is one of the best}
ef Cheyenne. John S. Feder-;
ip necenpe tng eit toes bE ain
£ Tom™ Holland was reared
founded the Cheyenne Leiectiv6|
Ageney about tweive years ago!
terprine, For several years past)
he has boem<am agent of the de-'
partment of féstice, charged wit)
the duty of here investigating
haan ect, Harrison act ond immi-
‘gration cages. It was wiile en-
gaged on a case cf- the iatter
-ebsvaster.that he was shot down.
The La _otficn and St.
‘John's
under.a
jand‘s cendition. Hundreds of
expreasions of indignation against
the murderer, ‘aad. of sy:apathy,
for’ tis victimes; wera expressed.
“Big fom’ is an affectionate
nicknarae weed by Mr. Holland's
friends Weenuse of his great size.
He i@ one cf the longest men in
ithe ity, “weighing sbout 230
Formeriy he tipped the
$40 pounds, but during
tthe last year or two has been los-
fog Mesh.
}- John S. Federhen had been a
, resident of Cheyenne for a num-|
‘ber of years aad enjoyed 4 wide:
| sequaintance fn the city. He was}
a member of the fire department!
when the United States entered)
the war against Germany, and}
was among the first men from!
this city to go overseas, where he}
‘gaw hard sarvice with the “Rain-'
Dow’ division and was caveral|
times in the front linea. tia re.
sumed hig situation with the f're'
department after his discharge!
from the army. He waa about 20!
years of age. i
No relative of Mr. ederhen!
resides hore. <A brother, Josepn}
Federhen, resides at Springiieid,,
illinois. He was notified by tele-i
graph of his brother's tragic cient)
and is expected *9 come io ihe
city to make arrancementr for)
the funeral. <A eister of tna de-}
j consed had pot >een communi-!
leated with up to this mormng 0%}
lecause her address war unkao«c}
‘ bere,
Gompers Announces
i Committce ang:
a a TAS od |
an oe) ee ee |
were;
‘cody of Federhen will begin at 10
o’eloeck this morning at the Zarly-
DQrieker irea. “mortuary. Jus-
tice of the Peace W. H. Edwarca
will act far Corener Clyde Early,
who is expected to return tonight
from the vsat.
Mansfieid, who is
fmmissation fnevector for this
dietrict: arrfved from Denver
Theredsy. Yesterday he and
Holland, . ent of'-the de-
poet ae as Ts tons
periodically,
the chief
thavrounds of
local Chinese cxtablishments -for
‘the purpese of checkicg up the
inmates, At a Chinese laundry
on PMidneer a. near Linooin
ay, they found Geow, a youth-
ful Chinese
tions thet they assumed him to be
merely a boy, ard Mansfield made
ingniries regarding.him ef the!
other Chinese present. One of:
these informed him that the:
stranger was a cocusin cf Yee}
Dow. who is a kind of head mai}
}
j
:
¢
i
made Geow, who previousiy had
derstood what. Ma eld ‘was
talking about, suddealy ivaped io
his feet and fied into an adjain-
ing room. Mansstfield gave chase
and after pessing through two;
rooms cornered the Chinese in ai
toilet. Geow for a time dcciined:
to leave the toilet, but eventually
aid go.
In the meantime Yee Dow ap-
peared on the gcene, denied that
Geow was related to him aad in-
formed Mansfield that the youth
was wit*uct capers snowing him
to be entitled to be in the United:
States. Dow expressed the opin-:
fon that Geow was in this country}
tiogally.
Geow at thf manifested a
knowledge of Engiish and as-|
eerted that he rightfully was in}
tho United States. Ha madé 20
protest when informed ‘hat he
must accompany the oiliicers (Oj
the sheriit's office for investics-
tien. His appearance was 4;
youthful and his” demeanor 80
meek that it does appear to have,
oecurred to either Mansfield or
Holland to search him for weap-
ons.
Mansfield, Holland and
prisoner sturted for the sheriffs
office, Dow accompanying them.
'
the
hind Holland aad
of sach slight propor-; oS"
+1
when the Ploneer
station was reached.
Toast north of the «
Nelid stated, he wha
the sound of asi
area, he saw’ Hella
‘stocping position, w
Hraaned agwaimet his
Chinese backing awa
hand. At that mar
made a taunge at. the
the inter fired a sac
turned and made
Mansfield, firing 1
The hullet missed !
the officer, who w
‘leaped Into the ope:
tation and ra
. Geow pursue
fiold ran past the
machinery and into
room where Fe
Charles Kisselback,
the fire department,
cards while James |
fireman, looked on.
Mansfield states i
fire 8
‘through ihe room
warning that he wr
and since kas donducted thia en-; piven no intimation that he nn- 9% man who was |
shoot him. The thr
appears [rom the s
flicting aceounts oO
place, attempted to
one door, inte ihe
the fire station, !
took refuge in a sr
jacent to that in w
game Lad been tn 7
ming tae door
Geow ran throug
tha room where ¢
been in progress, ca
having lost sight +
fired and Federhen
the door’s threshold
ctumbled over the
friend and that
saved his life. a |
him by ‘hs Chines
body as hs stumble
Geow,. bolding hi
readiness, walked
trate federhen and
front deors of
Newell Bell, veteral
wan at tle rear of
ehen the shocting 2
had hastened inaivte
was the cause of t
¥
»
/eepyved the Chinese 4
Lim:
‘Continued on i
MURDERER SAYS
TO ATLL aN
2
&
HE Erp
Bio
lon
“ee
r¢
}
¥
a
54
mntere
d United States Surrept
January and Always Carried G
it
1tic?}
a
«
Apprehension of Arrest.
— ae ee
x
i
JA
snot down
"ea (leow, Chinese ton7m
; } rman
ear hey ‘ 2" 1 me froaikt
S rriadas MiyL UF
mie *
Nd «il
Liricaes
an, coor
aamutt
remeditaled mu
t wrt
{ «4 OY wo. etal
>" t? q
Sh Sa ere fe a 2 ofa ith |
ws need Be re ftom ages bee? Bb dns
at eG spy ag € ay AY
it
be. and once to
ie oe ge =
F aN ee
bale si vered ‘to Fire
-Aarhed it over to t
sors contaita’ aix discha)
a fine weapon, 4.
Se zon of .3$ calibre
Hie pelie butt." :
hh
a : ay more.or A * aka
the: wwas jynchin Ese small
ijteain ligatéaily ‘ent ors od in front of the
be
nee
tees
2
tor the
% iad aren, e hese
CS - may have beéa
‘4 where: mob, bit the mob d
=i And ‘there: Was no
elas hia, ‘ward the idee Er
A oat ae hetessary preca
lately gave tection of the row
tat- early in the evening
‘ y hoapttat and: maamoch as the
ry) he operated, SU jag of the fail ter
et had triet-court it will m
bocg 10 sive the prieoncr
hearing ;
~~
—
Ht
y poh
quae. mironet the. tree ee en eee at 4
which’ ft) infiteted Bars prisoner firet will
fnedapsaten tial th. ‘the district, ecotrt. |:
with that tifough the bodse the 7 Geow ia so alle
Boeri was an. extremely pr ae and so mild -6f:
a . beCatSe. of the nbestty ficers , interrogrtin;
4 @ patient and Setlond’ mek ‘hight hed dlfficait
On the opattaing ‘tabin “aantoet. iag & man of suc
4; mately. two hours, He emerged: awith the crime he}
"4Ooutinnea: ‘trom. Page One.) ia ‘thy
a Xe ate
3 p ct S *
thodist nese” a Darsull of samstioe wa
wae of expiains4 bis gtetemes? to the oe:
xvenus: sreutcitiue tenes that he rte} oA
efting | sented the attitade: of the Smom'- ant ch
8 ete! tioning at the laundry and deter) ives on the are ana ‘also sige BST A Bee gees EO eon es, See
} zon mises to kith him... During the grasped the Chinese, Mansffata |] be eta -
esting [walk up Pfeneer ’ hveate, the omerged ‘from the room tn whiea be es + .
vy hour: prisonet asserted, he watched tor, he had taken yafuge and he and et, 2 ft)
sodial'an oppertuaity to draw hia reé-| Kammorer , fhmedfately riashed)f - 2% ‘
served | volver, which was in a hotstor| the prisoner to the sheriff's office,
lover hia stomach and heneath his! two. biccks. &latant, this Prom pt}
behirt- and shoot Mansfield, but! action possibly preventing the)
j “fae pone was frustrated by ence mae ee semMes 7 shi a. it 4 oo bete
‘ tithe fact that the immigration of- géante from ends 9 8 slain Joe
veuuw., ficer Cell behing during the con-{ fireman and. wounded officer. . 2 Your new fall sho
: should Iook’as we:
A ERR ER
on the street.
SENNNT'S NOCNIOTINN BCOADAING — ANNITINON I
‘wing.
»jesgnue” or ua “Wiison:
sineed. = : $geays of age. | Yt:
ot even approved th No relative of Wr. Federhea
+ Article 10 tor a perl resides here, A brother, Joseph
»
’ spte political peonage
.
a
+
A
*
mouner cor "Homme reserves were called to the Can) PSssl va
uth—-he wailoped cat tral Opera Louse eat midnight to) ‘tow was questioned OF 5 Tnee-
«eighth houwe-rum of ‘aight to suppress & Aisturdahcs | cnuing Attorney \ . &. sae =A ae~
sin the openios which followed announcement by ficid. United states Marsha) Dan
’ the Cleveiand-New | Sauivel Gomperz of the names of; fiudson and the members of 152:
mame here today. the committee appointed to draft; eaeriff's force at lexgth several,
wted with cae [aA eonstitation for the sewly ore; {ivasa Sotwren (oe. time of his:
i ¢ curves and /ganized Contra! Trade asd Labor) arrest and i 9:39 o'cloek (ast
in ecleme cup of the oj Council of Greater New York andinight. vs te ¢ rosecn ting aLtore |
tyr ledietion, ty. joey the srisomer stated tet O°
‘ighth Home
COEF Bs weary eres oom cis ie
tareeebip than bit, sor .is there
acy residemi.of the city whose
cirote of tart. friends is
Dating the wat égsen Or more:
engnuged tay
:
?
SUF. i ;
SERB AWAY |
*-
oa FiOmeer avenue, 26
"Wary. they found Geow, 5
{nl Chinese of such siight propor-: (S*F.
tions that they assumed him to be
morely a hoy, and Mansfield a
the
ESPaCTIT: LengeeeeT sere be bse ee Ss jnguiries regarding.him of the
iF “HP ; Poe nolies departures & TSS oteer Chinese preveat. Oae ci
&b E RgEL (et tue police department, e privateltnoss informed him that the
lAyteetiva or am sa@eut of the d=! stranger, wan a cousin of Yee
inettias.,
ie SEaudidate *
‘ghes and Reo. [ook
Vraming Covenant.
eeirre eres ot
' prtment. of
Save ronnded the Cheyenne Detective |
fat Gac?s 4
liery
ioe pag Bouts au agent of the ce-|
partment of justice, charged ‘vila
lime duty * pate merationting
sa of tha league of oa- Mane uct, Harrison ect and tmmi-
with the discession <ration cases.” Tt was, walle em
waged ca sn caso of. tha latter
am campeign methods cygracter that be waa shot. down.
on ef Governor, Cox,; Tiss eee tees or St.
@andidsia for’. the John’s om! t night were
ta hia address hore U2der & constaat fire of tele-
rhonie inquiries regarding Hol-
liand’s condition, Hundreds of
“ox declared that tho! expressions of indignation against
ations instead ut veing| tue murderer, and of aympathy
ian Tem”. is affectionat
; oe ; ’. . RR C)
fhe maid tks raga bl} nickname ‘used by Mr. Holiand’s
charge. “is certainiy: Triends’
2 of not leas than 640) Ke ia cee
minds fa.ail the eivi-{ 1° etty about :
ty be tipped
td
e¢,° Ha orclared ehat scales at 846 pounds, . duriag
ihe leaders i ih® FO", the last yaar oF Seatae nome
arty had as active oer ing feah.- mae ae ee
sation, :oenucniag fa. Federhen had bern
ron former orewitent! regent of Cheyenne for a ree
-¢ United States Jue! per of years and enjoyed a wide
rene Cours ush6S| gequ nee in the city. He was
‘dame Taft offered four wien oe etek Bates entered
WALA, Wisk., sept.
4
of which Wer? ine war against Germauy,
declared. “Iud@e wag among the first men” from
fered seran amend- ¢xig city te co overseas, where he
of which were adopt~' saw hard service with the “Rain-
Root suggested si% jew” division and was several
‘3 amd the scbotance Of times In the front fises. He re-
s@ found (oer way [5t0’ sumed hie situation, with the fire
covenant, la saveral in- gepartment after> his discharge
-. Root’s exact words from the army. He was about 50
» years. ener aby ro-; Pederhen, resides at Springfield,
-onestiy think that fi tiineis. He waa notified by tele-
pelierad Article 1%) graph of hie brother’s tragic death
-ifies our sovereiguty’|and ta expected to come to the
“ave agitated that we! city to make arrangements for
the funeral. <A. eister of tho d4-
srisd, however brief?" | ceaged hed not been conmmesi-!
tha: poriury be purl eated. with ap to this merniug be-
reiternte:! bare bY (b¢@ cause her xddress waa ankaows
is «6 G iueusaing testl-| hore,
°% tLe senatorial came ;
sisating committee. |Gompers Announces
| Labor Committee and
|. Riot First Resul
f
t §
|. Police |
i
for Babe Ruth
SLAND, O., Sept. 10.
NEW YORK, Sant. 11—
vicini
> eS ads
ana} °**
} e
5. After 8€T\ Dow, who is a kind of head man
.wiee im ihe poHece department RG! of the iocal Thinese colony.
While the inquiries were being
bout twee pears @£O' made Geow, who previously Lad warning
ond siace. bai conducted tla €R-| given uo intimation tat he un- & "an who was atiempiing to
rigs, Bor sevarul years 988€ 1 deratoed
what. Masstield was
QF Lancair,
youth-| UT? station and ran io
Tew 6° wr 3 4ne
ward the
Coow pursned ant Mana-
field ran past the (fire-fighting
machinery and into ‘a lotnging
;room where Federben and
i‘Charies Hisselback, membera of
the fire department, were playing
cards while James Cole, siso a
i: fireman, looked os.
| Mapefield states that as he ran
'threveh the room he chouted a
thet he was pureaed by
we eee gene f+
$
shoot him. The three flreman, it
talking aboat, anddenly leaped to anpears ‘rom the somewhat. con-
bis feet and fied Into an
ing ycom. Mansfield gave chase
ang after passing through two
roems cornered the Chinese in a
toilet. . Geow for a time declined
ta leave the toilet, but eventually
Gid so.
In the meantime Yee Dow ap-
en the geene, denied that
Geow was related to him and in-
formed Mansfield that the youth
was without papers showing him
fo be entitied to be in the Unité
States. Dow expresaed the opin-)the door’s threshcid.
jon that Geow was in this country
iliegally.
Geow at thfs manifested a
knowledge of Enslish and as-
gserted that he rightfully was in
the United States. He made ao
protest when informed that he
Taust accompany the officers to
thea sheriff's office for investiza-
tien. His aprearanca .was 59
youthfal and iis .demeanor #0
‘ypeek that it does appear to havea
oecurred to either Mansfield or
Hotland to scarch him for weep-
i
Mansfield, Holland and ~re
prisoner siarted ‘or (he eheriff3
office, Dow acrompanying them.
‘trate Federhen and
adjoin- flieting accounts of what tock
piace, attempted to get through
jone door, into the msin room of
‘the fire station, while Mansfield
itosk refuge fn a small room ad-
jacent to that in which the card
game had been ia progress, siam-
ming the door YYskind him.
Geow ran through the door into
the room where the game had
been in progress, gun in had, and,
hating lost sight of Maxsfield,
| tired and Federhen droppet at
uisrel(back
ttumbled over the body of his
friend and that fact perhaps
saved his life, a bullet fired at
him by the Chinese grazing his
body as he atumbied.
Geow. holding his revolver in
readiness, walked past the pros-
iowaed ize
front ccors. of the bvilding.
Newell Bell, veteran driver, who
wes at the rear of the Sufiding
whon the shocting began and who
had hastened inside to see. what
waa the cause of the noise, ob-
ST the Chinese and shoated at
m™m:
(Continued on Page Three.)
> s
‘ee 4
ft
TO WILL
RDERER SAYS HE DECIDED
MIGRATION AGENT
Entered United States Surreptitiously Last
January and Always Carried Gun in
Apprehension of Arrest.
Yee Geow, Chinese tengman, ¢ooly admutted at the coun-
ty jail Friday night that he premeditatea m
shot down Thomas Holland ard John 38. Federhen,
sroused by W. R. Mansfield.
his lust to slay was
i Holland, he stated, mercly because it
in order to get at Mansficid.
on of the pursuit of Afansfield.
murder Defore he
hut that
He shot
was necessary to so
Federhen was murdered in the
had eatried a rovolver ever since
he entered the United states sar-
replitiousie last Jaovary and thst
he hed ‘rade ep hie mind ty na8
the weapon suould an atiegipt br
mace to arromt him.
The determination of the Chis
‘
Continued pa Page TR1Ie) ¢
SE SLAYER'S DEED GIVES:
SUSPICION HE M AY Es
lm) ELSEWHERE FOR CXIMES |
iow, vicious Chinese eaniin: who yester-
ved John-Pedernen and wounded “Rig Tom
anted elrewhere for a erine so serious that ‘be
oag kil, ape to be killed, rether than sub-”
st2
nieation hag been raised in the riinds of the
«Hp authorities by.the marderous acts e
| fter ke had been taken into eustody ay naeale
zation regarding his. 1 Sake! to be in the Umi
‘¢ ddr dsgion that he was a fugitive under the
miawe, whieh merely plated hiz in Jeopardy
he should he be captaurad, ia not secapted
pa hi aah costed of the let :
masig in. é
rching investigation of his Syst wi be made.
‘eRe — ‘ead
ics OM ec
= Re Sh *
i? Bolla na, Now Fighting for Life an
net Eff ects of Bullet, One.
.
‘for Last Dozen Years.
fiottand, special agent of the siveaine of
« United States, who was ahot ang partes mcr
_ by Yee Geow Friday, is: one the best
adet Popular men of Cheyenne. . foun S. Feder-
i“ glain by the vicious Chinese, was a veteran
warwith a fine military record, and on? of the
S omenbers of the city Tre deparement. Be
wAarinence end popularity of his victims, feel-
chattitasiorer is‘ fitter, er emertens! > cmowdienew
— sig “Big Tom” Holland ens roared
iin Cheyeane, atending the tocal
if i public schools, and no man in thet
t¢ ty perhapa has a wider acqiain-
iNotand, lecal,
Yee Geow, Youke Tongman, Deadly With 8
volver After Taken Into Custody Be-
| ‘Sanne Megally in United ssa
he
seh S. Federhen, 30, veteran of the world war and
member of the Cheyenne fire department, waa raurdered, and.
}Thomes Holland, 48, agent of the department of justice, was
perhaps mortally wounded, by Yee Geow, 23. Chinese, £4 740.
[o'clock Froday afternoon. The murderer was captured im
tiediately and is in the Laramie'county jail The shooting -
of ‘Holiand took place on Pioneer avenue, just north of the
‘icity fire station, and that of Federhen inside the station, *
into which Geow pursued W. R. Mansfield, inspector for the -
iramigration service, with the intention of murdering him.
Mansfield escaped unharmed snd assisted [ire Lieutenant
Charies Kammerer in arresting the Chinese.
Dy. 7. FH. Comway sctated | Helland walked ahead with the
hats lass night thet Ficliand | prisoner and Mansfield, who ¥as
eonvareinue with Dow resardins
ic oow aad loesl Chinese matters,
| gradually fait beck wantil he and
i» Geer \ coroner’s ‘tnquiaitien on the Dow perhaps were ttirty fret be-
hind Holland and
when the Pioneer
ftationw was reached.
Jnst north of the station, Mans
field stated, he wes startied by
the sound of a shot. Looking
areed, he saw Holland ip a half-
siooning rositteg, with one band
Dreased epaincet Bis lta, aad ihe
Chinese backing awey, revoiver in
hand, At that momeut Holland
made a lange atthe Chinesa sad
theater fired a secend shot, then
tarned and made sitrsight for
Manstield, firing at tha ‘tatter.
The bitliet missed Manefield and
the officar, who was unarmed,
leaned into the Rie ncor of the
the prisener
body of Federhen will Begin at 1°
avenus fire
o’elock this niorning af the Earty-
) Bricker Broa. - mertuary., Jus-
tee ot the Peace W. FH. Edwards
will act for Coroner Ciyde Karly,
iwho is cspecited to reiurn tonight
from the eazt.
Mansfield, who
fragivration fsagcctsr
ee oom peor ove tm
dtetrict, arrive? from Denver
Thhrrsiday. Vexterfay he and
fone of-the de-
partment 6t fu¥tics, as “Is” done
pertodicaliy, jhade thevrounds of
local Chinese estabiiahments -for
the purpose of checking up the
(inmates. At @ Cuinese jiaundry
on Pioneer avenue, near ore
ia the chiet
enum
Kin ALA ay lany, resident of the city Wh086: 4) Chinese of sach slight propor-; ‘rear, Geow eames and “Tame
aii * ade leireta of warm, triends is wider.| tions that they atsamed him to he! field ran past the fire-fiehting
whee) MP7 GE | uring the lass dozen Of MOT} mereiy a boy, und Mansfield made ™Acainery and into 4 ‘ounging
ee eeeeme pee yore ro has been engaged 1A) inquiries rerarding him of the Troeem ‘bere Kederhen and
AL He wou! *t. police work, either 34 a member | other Chineas present. One of { Bartes Kisse:oack, vee of
7 i, (UN lef the police department, a private! tress istormed “im that the, ‘20 fire department. were playing
tne ‘detective or an agent of the d®-! strarc -ar waa a consin of Yee! cards while James Cole, iso a
ad partment cf justices, After fet bow, who is a kind of head man fireman, iooked on.
[vice in the police department be’ ce ¢1,. local Chiness colony. { “Mansffeld states that as he ran
Candidate Says founded the Cheyenne Detective le tha inanirics were beines ‘rough tha recom ha shouted a
<= and Root Took Asency about anaes a this ey. made UEOY, aoe previously had warning that A+ was pursued by
wire Ne . Pr and since has conduct (iS ERs eiven no inti nration that te onn- man “AQ As tfemoting te
wing Covenant, tterprise. For several years aes derstood what funatiold root A! The tare ir Gen, it
—«~me ~F bie te Ow . * * -
1 ED
tt oe
Rov tg To
©
r tre &
98 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
were crossed into Utah and Utah cattle brought back; and
the Payne family, which lived there, soon found their peace-
ful ranch the hold-out of train robbers and other criminals.
At one time eleven men with rewards of $10,000 or more
on their heads were gathered at this spot; and the sheriff,
valuing his life, kept away.
In the cedar brakes to the north of Coon Hole, Matt Rash
had concealed the 800 fat steers which he had branded into
his R Heart iron; and shortly after he rode away the posse
at the round-up saw a huge cloud of dust on his trail. They
followed and, to escape them, Rash rushed his herd across
Coon Hole and thence along the old Robbers Trail which
led across the river into Utah. But the posse crowded them
close, and at the Green River Crossing the cattle were all
shot and their bodies sent down the Grand Canyon.
After destroying all the evidence against him, Matt Rash
boldly returned and met the posse, with the whole Coon
Hole gang at his back. It was as desperate a bunch of out-
laws as ever assembled in the West and the posse was glad
to let them pass. No arrests were attempted, the Hole filled
up with criminals; and that winter Rash and his men ran
off thousands of cattle from all the neighboring ranges. The
officer did not live who dared enter their rendezvous and
reclaim the stolen stock, and at last Tom Horn was engaged
to go in and join the gang.
_ During that summer the famous Robbers Trail had been
punched through, from the Hole-In-The-Wall country in
the north across the desert to the Mexican Line; and to
make the situation doubly dangerous Butch Cassidy’s Wild
Bunch and the Powder Spring Gang of train robbers had
both made the Payne Ranch their hold-out. When a big
posse of Express Company detectives came hot on their trail
TOM HORN | 99
after a robbery, they discovered a detective who had been
sent in as a spy, strung up by the neck at the gate. Only
men with criminal records, or known to be on the dodge,
were admitted to this outlaw fraternity, but Tom Horn
found a way.
He was a cowboy, one of the best either at roping or
riding; and, getting a job on a neighboring ranch, he soon
won great renown by riding bronks. To the cowboys he
was only a jolly puncher, game to fork any horse that wore
hair. No one knew that, out in the hills, he had hidden a
rifle to shoot down the men marked for death. So the Coon
Hole Gang, hearing his fame through one of their scouts,
invited him in to ride their prize bronk. He rode it, a big
drunk followed, and at its end the cowboy detective found
himself a member of the gang.
For such work as this, only a man like Tom Horn could
qualify. He was inured to dangers, his wits sharpened by
Indian warfare, his nerves cold as steel under fire; and for
six months, never once reporting back, he lived the life of
an outlaw. Then he met by appointment the man who
directed him and told him he would not kill Matt Rash.
It was part of his code that he would never kill a man
unless he was satisfied he deserved such a fate, and already
Rash was his friend. They got drunk together, he knew
him intimately, and he refused to be a party to his death.
In vain his boss argued—the best Horn would do was to
agree to go back into the Hole.
But a month later he returned and said he had changed
his mind. A quarrel had sprung up between the cowboy
dandy and his faithful negro, Isham Dart. Dart had stolen
forty head of fat steers for his master, but after they were
sold Rash had tried to pay him days wages instead of the
94 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
Once more Sieber and Horn were sent on ahead to locate
the enemy camp and just at sunup they sighted the fleeing
Apaches as they turned up a big, rocky canyon. Then sud-
denly they heard the noise of many rifles being fired and
saw a terrific dust. The Indians had run into a whole regi-
ment of Mexican Cavalry which, having seen them, had lain
in ambush. Hiding his men along the canyon, the Mexican
Colonel allowed all the Apache warriors to pass by. Then
he struck the rear of the column, where the women and
children were, and cut every one of them off. One hundred
and twenty-seven were killed outright by the time the Amer-
icans came up, and fifty-two more taken prisoner.
It had been a terrific blow to the unsuspecting Chirica-
huas, who had lost most of their horses to boot; but now
the Americans were called upon to explain their presence
across the Line. The Mexican commander informed Colonel
Forsythe that he and his men were under arrest for violating
the international agreement; but Forsythe boldly refused to
surrender and led his troops back towards the Line. Colonel
Garcia did not attempt to interfere with their retreat as they
had driven the Apaches right into his arms, and it was
many years before the Chiricahuas learned that it had all
come about by accident.
This was Tom Horn’s initiation into the perils of Indian
war and for years, with Al Sieber, he was kept busy fighting
the Hostiles under the leadership of crafty old Geronimo.
Then Sieber fell ill and General Crook promoted Horn to
fill his place as Chief of Scouts. During a terrific battle
with the Chiricahuas in Old Mexico the Americans were
treacherously attacked by Mexican troops. Captain Craw-
ford was slain, Lieutenant Maus taken prisoner while help-
ing the Mexican wounded, and then in the three-cornered
TOM HORN 95
fight that followed Geronimo finally joined the Americans
against the Mexicans. For his strategy in getting Lieutenant
Maus released, Tom Horn was highly commended, and in
the end the Americans marched back to the Line with the
renegade Apaches their prisoners.
But in 1886, Geronimo and all his Chiricahuas were sum-
marily deported to Florida and the long years of war were
over. Tom Horn was discharged from the Government
service and soon after became a deputy sheriff. He later
developed a mine he had been working and sold it for
$8,000, but the call of danger still lured him on and he
joined the Pinkerton Agency. In 1890, with C. W. Shores,
a famous detective, he pursued a gang of train robbers over
several States until they were captured in Indian Territory.
In 1894, Horn quit the Pinkerton service and set up for him-
self, but here his written narrative abruptly stops.
Had he told what he knew of the stock detective busi-
ness, giving the names of the cattlemen who hired him and
the rustlers he was engaged to kill, he could have blasted
the reputation of many a man high in power and shaken the
foundations of the State. But, though he threatened to
expose them unless they saved him from the gallows, their
names never passed his lips. A few weeks before his death
he became converted to Christianity and on the day of his
execution, while his enemies sweat blood, he forgave them
and died like a man.
THE MAn-HunrER
The first job, so far as known, which Horn took as a cattle
detective was one of the most desperate character. He was
dealing with men nearly all of whom were fugitives from
justice; and before the case was over the country where he
go FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
worked was invaded by the famous Wild Bunch, of which
Butch Cassidy was the leader. For several years most of
southwestern Wyoming was under the sway of these out-
laws and rustlers, but the two men he was hired to kill were
Matt Rash and Isham Dart.
Those were the names they gave when they came into the
country from Texas—a tall and elegant cowboy and his
negro companion or servant. Matt Rash was a cowboy
dandy, a man who always wore gloves to keep his hands
white and carried a large stock of cosmetics and perfumes.
He wore the finest clothes that money could buy and rode
the finest horses, but despite his vanity he was an Ar cow-
hand and got a job with the Lazy B CQ) outfit. Isham
Dart, his colored compa tion, was considered the best bronco
rider that ever threw a leg over a horse, and he too got a job.
This of course is not the real brand of the outfit, though
nothing was ever said against the company, which was the
loser from beginning to end. It was owned by a rich man
not a resident of the State, who left it in charge of a man-
ager. But shortly after Rash took on as a hand he began to
pick a quarrel with different cowboys, and inside of six
months all the old men had quit and the Texans were run-
ning the outfit. It turned out later that Rash had sent word
to different Texans on whom he could depend, and shortly
after they arrived the foreman quit and Rash himself was
made wagon-boss.
After this all was quiet on the Lazy B range and the
manager, who lived in town, was well pleased. It was not
till three years later, when his steer shipments fell off alarm-
ingly, that he realized he was being robbed. He hired an
old wolf-trapper to act as a spy and find out what had hap-
pened to the steers, but Rash would not allow him on the
Sa EE ee
2 ait” hy "
afin a afar:
A Company of Apache Scouts.
TOM HORN | 97
range. He told the manager that the wolfers made more
trouble than the varmints, so the owner took a hand. But
every time he slipped in a detective the Rash gang ran
him out. |
It was known however that out of 2000 steers which had
been shipped in two years before from Utah only 1200
could be found; and that Rash and his men were spending
money over the bar much faster than honest cowboys should.
Here was a situation that called for desperate measures if
the owner was not to go bankrupt, and it was finaily agreed
that a fake sale should be announced in order to have a
range tally. But someone had tipped off the rustlers, and
when the round-up posse came they ail quit.
By this time the method by which the brands had been
altered had been discovered, although the whereabouts of
the stolen steers was still a mystery. Matt Rash and his
men had gone to Utah to receive the cattle, and had put a
Lazy B CQ on the ribs. But in running the B the bar
had been hair-branded, (2 so that it would disappear
when they shed the next spring. Rash then registered in
Colorado a brand of his own, R Heart, ROY? and the 800
misbranded steers were shoved close to the Colorado line.
When spring came and the bar shed, the curves of the B
were extended into a Heart, an R was burned on the
shoulder, RO and the cattle pushed over the line.
Just south of the Colorado line, in a great basin called
Coon Hole, another gang of cow-thieves had been formed
which stood in with Rash and his men. Coon Hole was a
famous rendezvous for old-time trappers and Indian traders,
and as it was close to the boundaries of three States it soon
became a rustlers’ paradise. Colorado and Wyoming cattle
104 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
making a fight for it and Tom Horn was understood to be
their man. All he had to do was ride along this line and,
with his reputation as a killer, he had no difficulty in turn-
ing back venturesome sheep-herders.
But now from the East a swarm of settlers came pouring
in, each taking up a homestead along some stream and trying
to make a living by farming. They fenced off the water so
the cattle could not drink; and many, driven by hunger,
began butchering beef, even peddling the meat in town. It
was one of these “nesters” named Yaples who brought Tom
Horn to his doom.
On first entering the country Yaples had taken up land
in the middle of the lower range; but, being poor and
already in debt, he had no money to buy wire for a fence.
The foreman of the big company for which Tom Horn rode,
after trying to buy him out, had finally bunched a herd of
cattle around Yaples’ homestead and fed the grass down to
the ground. Yaples then, out of revenge, had waylaid the
superintendent, whom he held responsible for his wrongs,
and attempted to kill him with a jackknife. After slashing
his hand he had then abandoned his prairie claim and moved
up on Thunder Mountain.
Here he soon became embroiled with a neighboring
family, besides being accused of stealing cows; and in a final
endeavor to get rid of him the big company bought all his
stock. It was particularly specified, to keep him from claim-
ing calves, that Yaples should run no more cattle on the
range; but shortly after the sale he sprung his joker by
bringing in six hundred sheep. This established a precedent
which the watchful Laramie sheepmen would not be slow
to note, and as soon as the news spread a big posse of cattle-
men came riding to “move the sheep.”
TOM HORN 105
But once more the crafty Yaples had an ace in the hole.
With a rifle in his hand he met the posse at his gate and
informed them the sheep were pastured on his homestead—
they were not on the public domain. As he was therefore
within his rights the cattlemen left, after warning him to
keep off their range; but Yaples’ neighbor soon took up the
quarrel, for the sheep had drifted into his pasture. About a
~ week later Yaples was shot from ambush and only escaped
by playing ‘possum. He immediately went to the sheriff and
claimed he had seen Tom Horn, riding away from the scene
of the shooting. ,
The bringing in of the sheep, the neighborhood quarrel
and this attempt upon Yaples’ life had thrown the whole
country into a furore, and shortly afterwards the excitement
became white hot when Yaples’ fourteen-year-old son wa
found dead. Wearing his father’s coat and hat and riding
his horse he had apparently been killed by mistake, but a
stone had been placéd under his head and this was con-
sidered to fasten the murder on Tom Horn. It was charged
that this stone pillow was the sign used by him to identify
the rustlers he had killed, but there were others who pointed
out that anybody could lay a stone and thus throw suspicion
upon him. A thousand dollars reward was offered, the
country was scoured for the murderer; and finally, while
drunk, Horn was tricked into a confession by a detective
who had been his friend. Men hidden in a closet recorded
his boastful words, after which he was thrown into jail.
Immediately upon his arrest Wyoming split into two
parties—the cattlemen who had hired Horn or were in
sympathy with his work and those who demanded his death.
His trial was attended by charges of jury-fixing, and the
validity of the confession was questioned, but when Horn
100 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
promised half. In the argument that followed Dart had
drawn his knife and nearly cut off Rash’s hand. But it was
not as the champion of a defrauded cow-thief that Horn
agreed to shoot down his man. There was a young girl at
the ranch, almost a child in years and a great favorite with
all those rough men; and it was because of certain sinister
attentions to her that Tom Horn had agreed to kill Rash.
No longer was Horn the care-free, laughing cowboy who
had ridden his way into Coon Hole. He was stern and grim,
and for so much a head he agreed to wipe out six men. But
first he would warn them to leave. Back at the Hole, Tom
Horn wrote out the warnings and dropped one on each of
their beds—brief notes done in pencil on a cigarette-paper,
and he wrote one for himself.
Now the Coon Hole Gang knew a spy was in their midst—
a killer, hired to slay them—and dissension and suspicion ran
riot. Every man was suspected except laughing Tom Horn,
who had drawn a warning himself. He talked it over with
Rash and advised him to leave, but the cowboy refused to
be bluffed. He said he had too much property to be run
out of the country—he would stick and shoot it out. Rash
thereupon gave warning that he was going to Lookout
Mountain and that any man, friend or enemy, who followed
him would be shot on sight. Horn said he was leaving for
Montana, himself, and would ride with him as far as the
cabin.
For the last time he pleaded with the man he was pledged
to kill to be reasonable and leave the country. Rash refused
and they parted, Horn to get his hidden gun, the outlaw to
watch the trails. But in their last talk together Rash had
revealed to Tom Horn that in four days the girl would bring
him food—and right there he signed his death warrant.
Apache Scouts.
r
TOM HORN me 101
On the morning of that fourth day a man crept through
the quaking aspens that stood not far from his cabin and
peered in through the door. Rash had hung his pocket
mirror on the inside of the frame and was preparing for
another kind of visitor. First he shaved and perfumed him-
self and put lotion on his white hands; but while he was
waving up his moustache Tom Horn shot him between the
eyes, and left him with a cartridge on his breast.
That cartridge was from a rifle never seen in that coun-
try—a .30-30 Winchester, just out—and for every man found
killed by one of these Horn was paid $600. It was his marker
in Coon Hole—just as later, on Thunder Mountain, he placed
a rock under their heads. A very sinister sign, which put
the fear of a hereafter into many a rustler’s heart.
At his summer camp on Cold Spring Mountain, where he
had gone to hide out, Isham Dart was going out to ride a
bronk when a bullet struck him fairly between the shoulders
and he dropped dead. On the reef of rocks from which the
shot came another .30-30 shell was found. The boy who
was with Dart, thinking himself marked for death, ran
dodging for more than a mile; but his name was not on the
list. He hurried back to the Payne Ranch and gave the
alarm and a posse of outlaws took the trail. At the scene of
both killings they found the same strange cartridge—this
being the first of the new, high-powered guns—and, know-
ing that none of them had such a rifle, they decided it was
some outside man.
_ A rustler rode to the railroad to find out if any strangers
had left town; but as he was coming back down a canyon
a bullet tore the front out of his shirt, passing just above
his heart. He raked his horse from ear to tail and swung
low in his saddle, just as a second bullet went through the
102 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
cantle and wounded him in the hip. The third shot passed
through the horn, breaking his horse’s neck and piling it up
on top of him. Being stunned by the fall he lay still and
was left for dead, while the man-hunter started out of the
country. But on the way he found two men branding calves
in a weaning corral, and killed them both with his six-
shooter. |
The death of these four men and the close shooting at the
fifth created a reign of terror in the country. The Coon
Hole Gang scattered in every direction, and suddenly the
cattlemen took heart. Every cowboy suspected of being a
tustler spy was given notice to leave, but the majority of the
outlaws were so frightened that they did not wait to be told.
Stealing stopped abruptly, the criminal element fled, and
Coon Hole was left deserted. Ever since that time the valley
has been empty, like a land laid under a curse.
Horn fled with the rest of the rustlers and no one even
suspected him, but six months later he came back into the
country with a .30-30 Winchester on his saddle. As they
were then something new a crowd gathered to look and
someone innocently enquired if it would shoot straight.
“It sure will,” he answered; and then he added: “That’s
the gun that killed the nigger.”
After this, of course, he was suspected of being the killer;
but nothing ever came of it and the cattle-stealing industry
fell off. Especially on any range where Tom Horn rode the
line with his .30-30 under his knee. He worked for several
big cattle companies which were having trouble with
rustlers and the results exceeded all expectations. But so far
as is known, Horn did no more killing until after the Span-
ish American War, in which he took a hero’s part. General
Maus, the same man he had saved from the Mexicans, sent
TOM HORN aN,
him word to come and organize a pack train, and in 1898
Horn was ordered to Tampa to become Chief Pack Master
of General Shafter’s Army.
They embarked for Cuba in the wake of the famous
Rough Riders, only to find that the Army transports could
not be brought up to the wharfs but had to anchor a mile
off shore. In the face of this emergency, with the troops
going into battle and no transportation for their supplies,
Colonel Horn as he was now rated, went to General Shafter
and asked permission to land his pack train.
“But you can’t get your transports up to the wharf!”
objected Shafter.
“Just give me the order and I will land the mules,” said
Horn; and at the word he began heaving them overboard.
Over 500 mules were swam ashore that day and by day-
light they were all packed and on their way to the front,
where the supplies arrived barely in time. But for the loads
of ammunition rushed in to the Rough Riders the battle of
San Juan Hill, so gallantly won at last, might easily have
been turned into a rout. Colonel Roosevelt and Colonel
Wood both commended him highly for his help in turning
the tide—and, if a bullet had mercifully killed him just then,
Tom Horn would have come down a hero. Instead he got
the Cuban fever and returned to meet a felon’s death.
The war was over, Othello’s occupation was gone and,
taking a job as a stock detective, Horn began to ride the
deadline. On the broad Laramie Plains, hundreds of thou-
sands of sheep held sway; and, to protect their range from
a threatened invasion, the cattlemen in the mountains to
the east had drawn an arbitrary line. They had no legal
right to bar the sheepmen, for it was for the most part
public domain; but having settled there first they were
The Photo of “The Wild Bunch” as described in the N. H. Rose Collection.
“This photo shows the main leaders of ‘The Wild Bunch,’ or Hole in the Wall gang, and wus taken in
It. Worth, Texas, during the winter of 1go0-1, Bill Carver, alias G. W. Franks, was killed at Sonora, Texas,
April 2, 1901, by Sheriff Ed Briant, of Sutton county, Texas. Carver at one time was a leading member of
Tom Ketchum, alias Black Jack gang, and was in all but the last train robberies of the Ketchum gang. He
was also in the big fight of July 16, 1899, near Cimorron, N. M., at which time Sheriff Ed Farr was killed.
At the break-up of the Ketchum gang, August, 1899, Carver joined the Butch Cassidy crowd, and was in the
bank robbery at Winnemucca, Nevada, Sept. 19, 1900, when $32,640, all in gold coin, was taken. Carver
killed Mr. Oliver M. Thornton, near Eden, ‘Texas, Concho county, just two or three days before he was
killed at Sonora, and it was believed that his pals who appear in this photograph, was with him at the time.
George Kilpatrick, a brother to Ben, was with Carver when he was killed, and was badly wounded, but
recovered, It is said that Carver’s first wife, not being true to him, was the cause of him turning outlaw.
He then left home, and joined Tom and Sam Ketchum in the train robbing business, Ben Kilpatrick was killed
near Sanderson, Texas, March 13, 1912, during an attempted hold-up of a Southern Pacific train. He-was
hit in the head with an ice mallet in the hands of an express messenger. (Ole Beck was also killed in this
same hold-up. He and Beck had been cell-mates in the penitentiary.) Ben Kilpatrick had been out of the
Federal Penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga., just one month, where he served from November, 1901, to February,
1912, being in the Wagner-Montana train robbery July 3, 1901, on the Great Northern Pacific. He was
captured at St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 5, 1901, with a large amount of unsigned bank notes in his grip, or suit
case. Laura Bullion, a woman who had been Bill Carver’s common-law wife in Texas, was captured with
Kilpatrick at the time. She came from Knickerbocker, Texas, and was given five years in prison. Harvey
Logan, alias Kid Curry, was the most blood-thirsty member of the Cassidy gang. He was given credit for
killing George Scarborough near Sam Simon, Arizona, April 4, 1900. George Parker, Harry Longbaugh and
Harvey Logan are said to be in the Argentine Republic, South America, along with many other American
outlaws.”
1. * ( a ss ’ pe }
*
7
vy ee eee,
Butch Cassidy and his “Wild Bunch” after one of their train robberies. They ranged from the
: : aon ” :
Hole-in-the-Wall country to “Coon-Hole,
s — . ee es a sig aera SS EE Pe ee See a ae
Pa a get ge en Re oe ee Rn a rete ET an ee ee > ae = = a -
6 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
saw his friend take the stand against him he knew his doom
was sealed. Even then he might have escaped if he had not
perversely denied he was drunk. The jury was hung all
night, but when a hostile mob appeared in the street they
brought in a verdict of guilty.
A new trial was denied, as well as an appeal, and Tom
Horn saw the handwriting on the wall. But a death by
hanging stirred his soul to fierce revolt and he made two
attempts to escape. The first was balked by a yegg, whom
he had hired to dynamite the jail wall; and in the second,
on the Sunday before his execution, he professed to see the
hand of God. Before, in proud defiance, he had sent word
to those who had used him to get him out or he would talk.
Cheyenne was full of reporters, waiting to catch the impend-
ing confession, and the men who had hired him were panic-
stricken. Some sought at any expense to get him pardoned
or released, and others fought still more desperately to hang
him.
To prevent an escape, Horn was placed in a steel cell, the
key to which was held by one man—his deathwatch, and
_ the man who would hang him; but so desperate was Horn’s
courage that, despite all precautions, he overcame his jailer
and escaped. There was a second cell in the tank where he
was confined and on the Saturday before his execution a
prisoner in transit was locked up there. He was a train
robber, under sentence for life; and the following morning,
after laying their plot, he told Hardigan, the jailer, he was
sick. He then asked for a pitcher of hot water and, when
the jailer brought it, both men leapt upon him in the « cor-
ridor.
It was Sunday and the sheriff’s office was empty. No one
heard the terrific battle in the tanks except the common
TOM HORN 107
prisoners below. Tom Horn smashed against his door, which
the jailer had neglected to lock before he trusted himseif
inside the corridor, and jammed Hardigan against the wall.
The next instant the train robber had joined in the battle,
which lasted till they fell down the stairs. Hardigan fought
with all his strength until they choked him into subjection,
and then he resorted to guile.
“Get his keys,” directed Horn; but as the train robber
reached for his pockets Hardigan spoke. 7
“It’s no use, boys,” he said, “they’re locked up in the
safe.”
“Then open it up!” they ordered and hustled him out,
still struggling and playing for ime. When at last he opened
the safe he snatched out, not the keys, but a Browning auto-
matic pistol. But, before he could shoot, the train robber
struck him over the head; and when Horn rode the jailer
to the floor the keys fell out of his pockets. Leaving Tom
Horn to fight it out with Hardigan, the train robber snatched
them up and was gone. But at the outer door he ran into
a deputy sheriff who fled and gave the alarm.
Locked in battle on the floor, Horn and Hardigan strug-
gled for the pistol and Hardigan shot it off. Then, pushing
up the safety catch, he suddenly released it and made a dash
to escape. Horn pointed the gun straight at him and puiled
the trigger twice, but the pistol failed to explode.
“Damn the hog’s leg!” he cursed and rushed out the door,
for the firebell was ringing furiously. He was just in time
to see Sheriff Smalley shoot the train robber off of his horse.
Then, dodging out the back way, he started up the street
on the run.
When an excited man stopped him he shouted:
“Tom Horn is out!” and kept on the other way. He was
Eh EN EEA
TOM HORN 109
well out of the riot when the engineer of a little merry-go-
round held him up with a cheap pocket pistol. Three times
the dreaded man-killer who had been the terror of the hills
pulled the trigger of his locked automatic. It was a new
gun—just out like his old .30-30—and he did aot under-
stand the catch. And then the engineer fired back. The
small-calibered bullet just grazed Horn’s scaip, but he fell
forward like a dead man. All his strength was gone, from
running and fighting, and as he lay there the engineer beat
him. When he recovered he was back in his death ceil and
Hardigan was standing over him.
That was the end, for Tom Horn. A profound conviction
came over him that his death had been destined from the
first. When he stepped out on the gallows and the reporters
waited expectantly he said he had no statement to make.
“I did have,” he said, “but I’ve changed my mind. I’m
trying to act like a Christian. I forgive all my enemies and
I want to thank my friends. That’s all, Mr. Sheriffi—go
ahead.”
_ Every man in that dark jail was crying—except one. Even
his enemies shed a tear. But Hardigan, the burly jailer
whom he had handled so roughly, had planned a belated
revenge. He had agreed to spring the trap and all that
morning, to break Horn’s nerve, he had been trying out the
drop with a sand-bag. Now he stepped forward briskly, a
red sack in his hand, and adjusted the hangman’s straps.
Then he slipped the noose over the prisoner’s neck and
dropped the black cap over his head. When all was readv
he released the spring—but the trapdoor did not drop.
There was a sound of running water and Hardigan stepped
back smiling, for this water-release was a special invention
of his own. A tank beneath the platform was being filled .
IIo FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
little by little, and its weight would set off the trap. For
ten seconds, for twenty seconds, the water rushed and
gurgled, and the hangman waited for Horn’s nerve to break.
But he stood unmoved until the forty-ninth second, when
the trapdoor sent him to his death.
“He sure died game,” said the sheriff. And that was the
last requiem of Tom Horn. ; |
V
COMMODORE PERRY OWENS—A LONG-HAIRED
SHERIFF
Tickets/Discount Packages
For Locations and Schedules, See Other Side 2 & res ve
3 = BE &S |\co Tom Horn
Friday, Historical Talk, Slide Presentation and 5 w J e & wy RI R 5 GR OWL .
September 20 Tom Horn/Schoolmarm Look-Alike Contests. g al be] 5 g oO
$5.00 ($4.00 Seniors 55+ and Students). 5 wo ) ie i) G3.
7 \ eae
Saturday, (A) Breakfast, Old Timers’ Yarnery w/ the Pioneers’ Descendants. Peel s 2 op se Walk Through Cheyenne's
September 21 $8.00 ($7.00 Seniors 55+ and Students). a. Ba ran Most Vivid History i
B) THREE FREE EVENTS -- Funeral Procession & Cemetery Tours, : a 2 am
Historic Downtown Walking Tours, Re-enactment of the Jailbreak. Qo = Friday, Saturday & Sunday
=-" September 20-22, 1991
C) Re-enactment of "State of Wyoming vs. Tom Horn." P
Note: The first 100 tickets sold allow purchasers to be on the jury,
with special seating. Re-enactment of
$8.00 ($7.00 Seniors 55+ and Students) Tom Horn's Trial
D) Grand Beefeaters' Bash & Stomp and Old Fashioned Social. »
$2.00 ($1.00 Seniors) % Tour to the Site
Senda ~ Tour to the Site of Willie Nickell's Murder ~ of the Murder
September 22 LIMITED TO 150 PERSONS. NOT SCHEDULED TO BE
REPEATED AFTER 1991. Art fe
Meet at the Staging Area, Hwy 34 at Mule Creek Road, 20 miles west of I-25, Show & Boe Exhibits,
10:00 a.m. Caravan departs Old West Museum at 8:30 a.m.; allow 75 minutes Including Tom Horn's Winchester
for the drive. Car-pooling from Cheyenne can be arranged, with advance notice.
One price only, $10, which includes lunch.
Gunfights and Holdups
$$$ Discount Packages. Two or more Friday/Saturday events get Senior/Student prices. : : :
Historical Talks & Slide
Ticket Outlets [P] = Phone order outlet.**
[P] AAA Wyoming, Del Range Boulevard/P.O. Box 1228, Cheyenne, WY 82003. 634-8861 Presentations
Corral West, Del Range Boulevard, Cheyenne.
{[P] Cheyenne Frontier Days Ticket Office, Frontier Park, Cheyenne, WY 82001. 778-7222
Cheyenne Outfitters or The Wrangler, West 16th Street, Cheyenne. Free Tours of the Cemetery
[P] Cheyenne Civic Center, 20th & O'Neil, Cheyenne, WY 82001. 637-6363 & Historic Downtown Cheyenne
** Do not send cash through the mails; there are still too many stage and train robbers around. For mail orders, send check
or M.O. to the address below. We will hold your tickets in your name at the first event you attend.
Meet the Descendants of
© AAA Wyoming, Del Range Boulevard/P.O. Box 1228, Cheyenne, WY 82003. La y The Pioneering Families
a Toll-free in Wyoming: (800) 442-4338. Out-of-state: (307) 634-8861
ay ead
For More Information
TOM HORN KICK & GROWL, Cheyenne Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 309 West 16th Street
Cheyenne, WY 82001. WY: 778-3133. Outside Wyoming: 1-800-426-5009.
@ | e
Second Friday--Sunday
Annual Sept. 20-22, 1991
Tom Horn
KICK & GROWL.
Walk Through Cheyenne's Most Vivid History.
--EXHIBITS, INCLUDING TOM HORN'S WINCHESTER--
——-WESTERN ART sHOoOWwW-——
Continuous, Old West Museum, Frontier Park, late August-October.
- Mock Holdups and Gunfights -
FRIoAyY, SErTEMBENn 2b, 1801
- Slide Presentation and Historical Talk: "Tom Horn - Anachronism and Enigma" -
- Tom Horn and Schoolmarm Look-Alike Contests -
8:00 p.m., Holiday Inn, Central Avenue & I-80
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER ail, lui
Continental Breakfast
- Old Timers' Yarnery-Reminiscences of the Descendants of the Pioneers -
8:30 a.m., Holiday Inn, Central Avenue & I-80
- Free! Funeral Procession and Cemetery Tours -
10:30 a.m. departure from the Holiday Inn, I-80 at Central Avenue
Continuous Cemetery Tours, 10:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Lakeview Cemetery, 25th & Seymour
- Free! Guided Walking Tours Of Historic Downtown Cheyenne -
1:00 & 2:00 p.m. departing from Old Town Square, 16th and Carey
- Free! Re-enactment of Tom Horn's Jailbreak of August 9, 1903 -
3:45 p.m., at the Site of the Old Courthouse, 19th and Carey
- "State of Wyoming vs. Tom Horn" -
(The first 100 Tickets Sold Entitle Holders to be on the Jury, with Special Seating)
7:15 p.m., Civic Center, 20th & O'Neil
- Grand Beefeaters' Bash & Stomp and Old Fashioned Social -
9:00 p.m., Old West Museum, Frontier Park
SWNDAY, SErTeMBdEen ae, ial
- Tour To The Site Of Willie Nickell's Murder, With Catered Lunch -
(Limited to 150 persons. Not scheduled to repeat after 1991.)
Meet at staging area, Hwy. 34 at Mule Creek Road, 10:00a.m.
Hwy 34 is north of Cheyenne, approximately 50 miles. Allow 75 minutes for the trip.
FOR TICKET INFORMATION AND MORE DETAILS, SEE REVERSE Side
a LOSWEST’ RETURN
GS
ok, COMMUNICATIONS ©) W SHE
WYOM ING sn Cored Making the most of your time.’ NY E, he i .
* Courtesy of Cheyenne Frontier Davs
American National Bank M‘GLADREY & PULLEN
Cheyenne i a Certified Public
CHEYENNE OUTFITTERS | “WRANGLER _ CHEYENNE
Typesetting courtesy of Shippy's Copy Shop, bribe -_ | by elope &®
HORN. Tom, white, hanged
¥ DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY / WESTERN HISTORY DEPARTMENT
. Over *
Wyoming November 20, 1903.
Mike Flanagan
“Do you know how raggedy-ass and ter-
rible the Old West really was?”
- Steve McQueen as Tom Horn
MURDER WAS a way of life for the
legendary Tom Horn. His reputation
as a scout and top ranch hand preceded
his arrival in Wyoming in the latter
part of the nineteenth century. He had
come to do his part to put down the
dreaded cattle and horse rustlers. His
way was simple, his justice complete:
He “terminated them with prejudice.”
The times were closing in on his way
of doing business, though; the rope that
hanged Tom Horn would be the same
rope that would draw the curtain on
the Old West...” ithe
Born into troubled times on a farm
near Memphis, Missouri, on Novem-
ber 21, 1860, Horn learned to hunt and
shoot accurately at an early age. Fol-
lowing a bullwhip beating by his father
that left him unconscious, the boy left
home for Kansas City at fifteen. There
he found work as a railroad laborer.
the” next >-few—menths._ he
cowboyed in Texas, drove a stagecoach
ain Arizona, and mined in ap eadville,
Colorado. 22228. ye 2H
Drifting south, he larned to speak
fluent Apache and soon got a job as an
interpreter at the San Carlos Indian
Reservation. In his autobiography,
Horn claims to have arranged the sur-
render of Geronimo to General Nel-
son A. Miles in 1886. This was his first
step to notoriety. :
That surrender led to Horn’s unem-
ployment as an Apache scout, and he
was forced to go from one odd job to
another, sometimes participating in ro-
deos (He won the steer-roping event in
Phoenix in 1891) to supplement his in-
come. nH a ;
Horn turned down a request to join
Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show,
though. He preferred the role of a
Pinkerton agent. Chasing badmen
proved a worthy vocation for the prai-
rie-wise Horn, and he held this position
from 1890 to 1894. His next big as-
signment came as a mule packer in
Cuba in the Spanish-American War.
Three weeks after his arrival, though,
Tom Horn awaits he Seat sentence
in his jail cell in voetalbaese mi
he contracted sit he He was s shipped |
home without firing a shot. -”
Following his recovery in New
York City, Horn left on the first train
heading Out West. A series.of secret
meetings with wealthy members of the
Wyoming Cattlemen’s Association
promised to make him ¢ rich man -— or
at the least better off than he could be-
come cowpunching. Nesters, squatters,
and rustlers were a dangerous hin-
drance to the stockmen, and Horn’s |
bloody assignment was made absolute-
ly clear during these meetings.
To the offenders, Horn was a ruth-
less combination of judge, jury, and ex-
ecutioner. Parking himself a great dis-
tance from the infraction and using a
scope on his carbine, he could send a
rustler to Kingdom Come at a distance |
of 300 yards. His invoice ($600) be- ,
came his trademark: He placed a’ rock |
under the head of each victim. Horn’ S|
mere presence in an area soon caused a
sharp decline in thieving.
Kels Nickell, a disagreeable cuss
f
t
S
ing his sheep to feed in cattle country,
was one of Horn’s marked men. On
the morning of July 18, 1901, his four-
‘teen-year-old son Willie put on his fa-
- ther’s coat and hat to do some work in
; their pasture, located in the Iron
“Mountain Discrict of southern Wyo-
-ming. The first shot hit him as he
“dismounted to open the gate. Stagger-
ing to seek shelter from the ambush, he
was finished off by another blast from a
Winchester .30:.30. He was found
with his head resting on a cold : stone
pillow. . :
Local folks were sickened over the
cold-blooded deed, though speculation
had it that Horn might have been
framed. Deputy U.S. Marshal Joseph
LeFors began snooping while the
prime suspect proceeded with every-
day life, even competing openly in the
Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo. Horn
celebrated with his winnings in Den-
ver,
LeFors lured Horn back to Chey-
-as a business proposition, and | think I
‘who’ d done the unforgivable by bring-
_ serve as executioner), cattleman John
enne, promising that some- Montana
ranchers had a job for a pest extermina-
tor. On January 12, 1902, the two met,
presumably to discuss Horn’s resume.
During the conversation, Horn boasted
about the clean job he’d done in the
Nickell assassination, remarking that
“killing men is my specialty. I look at it
have a corner on this market.”
Tom Horn was arrested the next
morning by Sheriff Edward J. Smalley.
While the prisoner awaited trial, he
braided ropes and worked on his auto-
biography. On the witness stanc, Le-
Fors recounted the “confession,” and
on October 24, 1902, despite the ef-
forts of a_half-million-dollar anony-
mously funded legal team, Horn was
found guilty. :
Appeals kept Horn fois being
“Serked to Jesus,” as one editor put it,
but after eighteen captive months he
wrote, “To hell with my lawyers, I
must get out of here, or I will be
hung.” His escape attempt was aborted
when he couldn’r release his stolen pis-
tol’s safety mechanism. Ses
“As a team of carpenters rived to
build a specially designed scaffold with
a trap door that could be released by
flowing water (No one would agree to
Coble and Horn’s girlfriend,
schoolteacher Glendolene Kimmel,
pleaded with the unsympathetic gover-
nor. Horn remained steadfast and si-
lent, refusing to name his employers.
Meanwhile, outside in a hard frost,
Cheyenne was like a circus Betting
ready for the hanging. soja
On the morning of Nessiaer 20,
1903, Tom Horn stood strapped and
noosed, trying to wisecrack while lis-
tening to the trickling water. After a
cruel forty-seven seconds he dropped.
His neck did not snap, but the knot on
the rope knocked him ‘unconscious.
Sixteen minutes later he was pro-
nounced dead. dos
A brother laid him to rest in Boul-
der, Colorado, but the controversy
over his entrapment never died. Tom
Horn. remains an enigma, an enforcer
who failed to change with the times.
NATION Fre. :
LiF.
The Fresno Bee e Sunday, June 27, 1993 A7
Cheyenne court will retry Western |
By Kurt J. Repanshek
pe ae cond hag
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A man hanged
90 years ago for the murder of a 14-
year-old boy — some said he called the
crime “the dirtiest trick I ever done” —
will be retried posthumously this fall in
an effort to clear him.
Joseph W. Moch, a Michigan lawyer
fascinated by the case, persuaded a state
judge in Cheyenne to order the retrial
for Tom Horn on several grounds, in-
cluding a claim that Horn’s confession
was coerced.
“I think this is one of those cases in
American history that long has needed
to be put straight, and it has been
waiting a long time,” Moch said last
week from his Grand Rapids office.
Through the years controversy has
swirled around the case, in which Horn,
hired by cattle barons to halt rustling,
was convicted of shooting Willie Nickell
on July 18, 1901.
Nickell was killed with a single shot
as he rode to open a gate about a mile
from his family’s homestead. There was
speculation that the boy was mistaken
for his father.
The trail led to Horn because a flat
rock had been placed under the boy’s
head — a symbol Horn used to identify
his victims so his employers would pay
him for ridding them of another rustler.
The court overlooked that Horn’s gun
was not the same caliber as the one that
killed the boy, Moch said.
In 1902, while drinking in Denver,
Horn allegedly boasted of killing Nick-
ell. U.S. Deputy Marshal Joe LeFors got
Horn to repeat the story over drinks in
Cheyenne while a stenographer hid in
the next room.
“It was the best shot I ever made, and
the dirtiest trick I ever done,” Horn was
quoted as saying.
Horn was hanged in Cheyenne on
Nov. 20, 1903. Several movies, including
egend in 90-year-old case
the 1980 film “Tom Horn” starring the
late Steve McQueen, recounted the tale
that made Horn a Western legend.
Moch claims that the jury was intimi-
dated, wasn’t properly sequestered and
that the judge conducted the cross-ex-
amination.
But Laramie County District Attorney
Tom Carroll, who will represent the
state, said, “The state’s case in 1902 was
a strong one. I anticipate the same re-
sults this year.”
EE Eee
STRANGE STORIES, AMAZING FACTS
OF AMERICAS PAST
: The acknowledgments and credits that appear on pages #/#+-408
are hereby made a part of this copyright page.
“It's a Crime” was excerpted from The Trenton Pick °»uinance, by Dick Hyman.
Copyright © 1976 by Dick Hyman. All rights reserved. Reprinted ty permission of
The Stephen Greene Press, a wholly owned subsidiary of Viking Penguin Inc.
, “Eisenhower at Ease” was condensed from At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends, by
Dwight D. Eisenhower. Copyright © 1967 by Dwight D. Eisenhower. Used by permission
-s Of Doubleday, a Division of the Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc.
Copvright © 1989 The Reader's Digest Association, Inc.
.c Copyright © 1989 The Reader’s Digest Association (Canada) Ltd,
’- Copyright © 1989 Reader's fst Association Far East Ltd.
Philippine Copyright 198+ =: ~«.» s Digest Association Far East Ltd.
“All rights reserved. Unaut?- «roduction, in any manner, is prohibited.
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* ' Strange stories, amazing facts of America’s past.
7 At head of title: Reader's digest.
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5. Pocahontas—pp.116-117
6. Hernando de Soto—p.262
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8. Theodore Roosevelt—pp.390-391 Bix. R
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HORN, Tom, b ated wanged HE eyenne, Wyoming, ll- 20 -~1903,
ik. i
bf
wi.
| HLING PLATE
i
ia. Lads Caused Adolph
imidt’s Death While Play-
NVan Raalte, ing “Buffalo Bill.”
Unnamed
nespaver
sent by
«rr
Li
|
a)
5
“™o0YS Were playing
(By Star Special Service.}
BSVILLE, November
ind Olile Sinith, the two fourteen-
J schoulbovs who are charged with
Adolphus Schmidt. an etght-year-
panion, at the Frenchtown sehool-
in Harrison county, several weeks
ere given a preliminary hearing
Justice Morrig, at Corydon,
were bound over to
a the sum of $500 each.
“Buffalo Bill,”
“ope was thrown around Schmidt's
nd he wos dragged around the
aard until the teacher made the |
esixt.
gy Schmidt complained of hia head
‘him, and he died the next day of
Yon of the brain.
—— IE —
DLERS MADE BELIEVE
THEY HAD TAPPED WIRE
York Business Man Parted with
8 Roll In an Attenpt to Beat
the Bookmakers.
ty Star
i [Dy Sfpectal
YORK,
November
Service, j
20.—District
'y Jerome was visited today by a
man Who told him how he had
windled out of $4,900 by a fake
gapping game.
aid that a week ago he met a
- Aula. who told hinn of a scheme
f the races by tapping wires,
Ess taken to a house on West
Wi ogtreet und after several
© dropped $4,900,
“Bla the bance men he
Fa friend with plenty of coln and
+) against the gaume. de afd. tut
ds were detectives from Jerome's
‘hey bet a marked fifty dollar bf!
n At a kiven signal seized the ble
Money one of the
Crane. Fred) Graham, Benjamin
und James Bradev were the four
Tested The owire which
lapped the Western
VWhir-
Visits
would bring
ne a.
PROVE HE IS ALIVE.
Congressman WIiil ,\ssist a Mexi-
can War Veteran.
(4y Star Specsal Sertace.]
INGTON, November 20.—-James
of Bullivan, Ind, wants to prove
“ension Bureau that he is not dead.
sman Holladay willintroduce a bill
wet Watson's military reeord so
@ill khew he fs still alive,
Mo owas a Bolder dm the
le beoame separated from
yoand wus reported dead
ed for a penston recently he
ed with the charge that he
erodm the flesh He ja old,
Tepit and needs a pension.
PRICE FOR BOTTLES.
Associated Press.)
IBURG, November
of the Mint bottle
Washington
. Was decided
elljnnag fist feo
t dnto effet
year
ewoprices it is raid,
fom othe st now in foree, except
hey Lave eonfileted and dn these
e higher rites will | be used
ee ee mane
OIL- GOES uP.
[By Associated Press.)
AIRIi"' Ri; November ®n wm. «2
his
WHS
Wis
poor
[R:
20-—-At oa
manufacturers,
on Thesday of this
to make one umni-
al) blown ware and
on January 1 of the
will not vary
20.--Chartes |
the Cirgult |
swindlers had. ;
they |
Union race |
Oply ran to uw battery on the next |
Mexfean |
When j
Me 1. ¥ ysre akea
rendered shot after 9 o'clock. Mrs
Johns was the only woman present and
| She was overcome with joy. a
Chief PostoMoe Inspector Cochran, Mr.
Robb, Aassistant Attorney-General for the
PostofMce Department, and others from
Washington who had assisted District At
torney McPherson and assistants Moull-
nier and Darby {tn the prosecution, left
for the Kast before the verdict was ren-
dered, as did attorney Bpaan of Indiann-
polis and others from Indiana but most
of the contingents from Verre tinute and
Rockville remained for the shouting that
followed the verdtet
Among the cries of the Jollifiers was
that of ‘‘'Wheye ts John J. R Ryan?
Ryan had been the ceatral figure during
' the two long triajs, but he was not pree-
jent tonight.
| It fs understood that a majority of the
, Jurors Were for pequittal from the start
) and that {t then took rahout fice hours to
' go over all the cena that had heen
submiltted
; mous
| erally
tas
fn eviderse befor
verdict Was reached. It 18) gen-
understood that there was doutt
; #8 to Miiler’s connection with the trana-
; actlons between Johns and Ayan
The Federal officiale acknowledge their
Gigappointment in the final outcome
Miller and Johns were accused of having
solicited a Burn of mtoney from John J
Ryan, operator of a “wet-rich-quick'' con-
fern, fn return for which they are at-
‘iesed to have promised a favorable dect-
| Ston from the Postofftee Departinest.
} ee ene A mR I come a
| WIRED FOR $10,000. THEN
| JUMPED UNDER’ TRAIN
Young Man Commits Sulehde After Send-
Ing Measage to His Family
for Money.
& Unant-
[Ry Assovsated Press.J
BAN DINGO, Cal, November 20.—-A
young mnun rushed into the telegrapi of-
fee at Lakeside station today, sent a
telegrain ¢o a relative in Albany, N. ¥.,
ashing for $10,000, and then threw himnnelt
In front of @ train that was passing and
was hitled.
His hame waa E. Frebondall,
een
ARISTOCRATS IN WRECK.
(BY BPRECIAT, CAHLE }
LISBON, November 20.--An neridont
occurred today on the railway between
| Cuscaes and Lisbon in which several per-
sons are reported to have been kililed. A
|
phumber of aristocratic passe ngers, in-
1 cluding the Duchess of Palmetta, the
|; Queen's chief lady in waltlig. were
severely injured
SENATOR WILL SURRENDER.
(By Assoctated Press}
WASHINGTON, November 20.-~lIntted
States Senator Charles Dietrich will start
for Omaha tomorrow morning to sure
render to the nauthorftles in that city be-
ui dis willy
WAY TO Ch
Ke Denies to the Last That He
Killed Fourtcen-Year-Old
Willie Nickell,
ene SONG MAKES
Vien ALL gut HORN WEEP |
His Last Wo ords ‘Ask Man Assist:
ing Him tf He Is Losing
His Nerve.
Asorsited Press}
Wao, November 20.-—
indlan fighter and cat-
sinilingg today to the
exitated the murder of
m Samsenad
“¢ ~
(hy
CHEYENNH,
Tom Horn, seout,
tle detective,
Kallows, where he
Went
Wilile Nickell, age fourteen, who Was
shot and killed on Jaly 18, 19@1, at Tron
Mountain, The trap dropped at 13.02.
Horn’s neck wos broxen and sixteen min-
utes later he was pronounced dead by the
Physickens With iinost his last words,
j spoken to his jiitimnete friend, Charles
| Irwin, a spectator ot the execution, Morn
confessecd to the mut-
wis (0 die. He made no
i speech on the seatold. The condemned
; nan Was Kune to ne fast, Ten mninutes
i before going to the Kellows he smoked @
denied thut he had
| der for which he
cigar.
After the spectators, about forty In
number, had been idmitted to the jall
and Morn hed coms out of hils cell the
execution was delas od while the Rev
George Ti. after piuvéed and Charles and
| Frank Jrwin sang the cowboys’ old ratl-
ij road song. UReep Your Hand Upon the
Throttle and Your t.ye {pon the Rell,’
bringing tears to the eyes of all the Iis-
his assistant to adjust the straps.
ang black cap. lila
spoken to County (Clerk Joseph Cahill,
who assisted him to mount the trap door.
They were: “Ain't Josing your nerve, are
you, Joe?”
MURDERER OFFICIALLY SHOT.
Romana, the Itallun who murdered wWich-
teners except those of Horn himself. At
f the conelusion of the 8o0ng Came an tn- ;
terview between Jiorn and Irwin
“Be game’ xgajd trwin.
“You bet J] will.’ repiled Horn, who
then assisted Cnder Sherif! Penctor and
NOGBeea j
last words were :
de ee
pe eee SS Le. Le a .
cause of his fndictment on a charge of
; conspiracy in connection with postoftice | Slayer of James RP. Hay Preferred That
| Patronage. i Method to Hanging.
_— ree i ‘
\ [hy Assocsted Press}
ACTORS FAVOR THE BILL. BALT LAKE. tah, November 20-—
| eens Peter Mortensen. the slayer of James R.
| [Ry Star Special Service} Hay, who, when given his chotee, ac-
| WASHINGTON, November 20.--Jamen | cepted death by shooting rather than
| Paxton Voorhees, son of the late Daniel hanging, was offchilly Milled by the
|W Voorhees, has secured promises from h prinon guards today
muny leading sectors that they will Join | Maintaining hin innocence to the last,
ini promoting the bill tntroduced by CGon- | he walked to the chase, placed against
gressman Miers. at Mr Voorhees's re. | the heavy stone wall of the prison yard,
quest, appropriating half a milion dol- | Without weakentig. and bid the guards
lars for 4 national theater in ~ ashington, , 89d deputy sheriffs gvod-by with no:
— ri tremor in his volee Mortensen was |
killed Instantly, four bullets from. the
STRIKING GIRLS MARCH. rifles of the executing squad concealed
behind a thick eustiin in the door of
the blacksmith shop. twelve yards dts-
[By Adsscwtse Press} tant, plereing the white target pinned
| HAZLETON, Pa, Noveinber 20.--Near- | oVer his heart. Mortensen refused to see
1 ly two hundred and fifty of the 400 girls | ministers, either of his own beltef. the
| loyed in tt ] i : | Mormons, or of anv other denomination,
| employed | - .) Jupl n silk mill etruck } and wlso refused stimulants, saying ne
| today because of a reduction in WaKeX. | needed neither
Tne girls marched around the bullding | ee
i shouting and carrying a l'nited Rtutes ,
fag and a portrait of Join Mitchel CONFESSES AT LAST MOMENT.
| _—
NINETY-ACRE ONION FARM. [By Assoctoted Press}
GENEVA, Il, November 20.—Aitonta
}
[By Star Special Service}
ee ani
Re ee | *
-
og 03
=) 2
___LOS ANGELES TIMES
(tn
W lonley ae a y /7¢3 National Perspective
Wyoming mock retrial stirs up gall
Was notorious assassin Tom Horn
hung unjustly in 1903? Then who
railroaded him? Who shot the kid?
By DAN WHIPPLE
SPECIAL TO THE TIMES
HEYENNE, Wyo.—When they hanged
Tom Horn here 90 years ago, there
weren’t too many tears. After all, he was the
“==y"’ most notorious assassin and range detective
- — in the employ of the Wyoming cattle barons.
xk. After being convicted of ambushing and
TTT
>
killing a 14-year-old boy who was part of a
sheep-herding family, he was led to the
gallows in January, 1903.
But now Horn is getting a second chance: A
group of Horn aficionados say they believe ~
that a recent mock retrial of the murder case
shows that their man was wrongly convicted.
In the crime in question, Willie Nickell was |
shot twice through the chest and left on a
road in the Iron Mountain country of south-
east Wyoming in July, 1901.
The murdered boy’s head rested on a flat
rock, and legend has it that was Horn’s -
message to his employers that he had com-
mitted the crime, so they would know he
should be paid for it.
For years, many students of the case
-argued that Horn was railroaded. Their
suspicions were directed primarily at the
Millers, a nearby family with whom the
Nickells had carried on a feud for many years. -
The Tom Horn Kick and Growl—a group of
Horn buffs who have gathered for the last six
years in Cheyenne to debate the legend (and
maybe to party a little)—decided to stage a
retrial last month. .
7 AMERICAN ALBUM
—
WS rumMOT
Local people who had studied the. tran-
scripts of the original trial took the parts of
the witnesses. Spectators and ‘participants
dressed in period costumes, one even walking
to the stand with silver spurs. clattering at
‘each step.
Ken Rolfness, who won a Tom Horn
look-alike contest in 1990, portrayed the
defendant.
Michigan product-liability
attorney Joseph Moch took
up Horn’s defense, saying
“it’s a chance to rewrite
history, to see what should
have been done.”
The original defense team,
he added, “was outrageously
ill-prepared.”
In the retrial, however, it
was the prosecution that
came up short when it came
WYOMING
Cheyenne
e
to preparation time. The
Denver attorneys who had originally agreed
to represent the state backed out at the last
minute, so Moch’s assistant for the mock case,
Wyoming lawyer Robert Skar, stepped in as
prosecutor.
Cheyenne had been in an uproar over the
first trial in 1902. More than a hundred
witnesses were subpoenaed, and the court-
room was filled every day. The courtroom
was again standing-room-only for the retrial.
Retired Wyoming Supreme Court Justice
—— — C. Stuart Brown presided
over the trial. The most
damning evidence at the
‘original trial—presented
again at the retrial—was a
confession that Horn made to
Deputy Marshal Joe LeFors
in 1902. LeFors is best
known as the tracker who
led a posse in pursuit of
Butch Cassidy and the Sund-
ance Kid.
Lefors lured Horn to his
office with a promise of a:job as a range
detective—Horn’s nominal line of work—in
Montana. LeFors asked Horn: “How far was
Willie Nickell killed?” And Horn answered:
“About 300 yards. It was the best shot I ever
made, and the dirtiest trick I ever done.”
And at the end of the confession, Horn said:
“Killing is my specialty. I look at it as a
business proposition, and I think I have a
corner on the market.” That was not an idle
Kels Nickell, played by William Hopkiss at mock trial, points accusing finger at Tom Horn.
boast. Horn almost certainly killed several
other men, some of whom may or may not
have been rustlers.
But in the retrial, Moch cast considerable
suspicion on Jim Miller and his son, Victor,
who had feuded with the Nickells for years,
leading to several fights, whippings and
stabbings. ,
The 18-person jury returned a not-guilty
verdict. Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan de-
clined to pardon Horn posthumously, but the
Horn Kick and Growl nevertheless seemed
pleased to have added a postscript to history.
“Justice is timeless,” Moch said.
Guy or innocent, Horn’s execution
marked the end of the rule of the cattle
barons in the Rockies. Throughout his incar-
ceration while awaiting hanging, Horn never
revealed the names of his employers, believ-
ing their influence would be strong enough to
save him.
Chip Carlson, who wrote a book about Horn
and who was the inspiration behind the
retrial, noted that the cattle barons often
acted in a high-handed manner.
Once, informed by a range detective of the
activities of some rustlers, the secretary of
the Wyoming Stockgrowers Assn. sent this
message: “I can understand how serious the
problem is. Kill them first, and then arrest
them.”
mouswn Unronicie
odlurday, Oop. 10, 1yY¥d
Tom Horn is found not guilty — but it’s 90 years too late
Reuters News Service
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Tom Horn
was found innocent Friday of kill-
ing a 14-year-old boy — 90 years
after being hanged for the crime.
Horn’s posthumous two-day re-
trial ‘concluded Friday and a.vol-
unteer jury found Horn not guilty,
something his many supporters
have claimed-to be the truth for
almost a century.
Horn, a former Army scout,
worked as a detective for Wyo-
ming cattle ranchers when the
Wild West was plagued by cattle
rustling. His life was portrayed by
actor Steve McQueen in the film
Tom Horn.
According to legend, Horn killed
a number of rustlers’before he was
accused of the 1901 murder of
Willie Nickell.
Horn, the defense and prosecut-
ing attorneys and jurors were por-
trayed in the retrial by actors
dressed in turn-of-the-céntury
garb.
Through the years history buffs .
have argued Horn was too smart
to have confessed to the murder
within earshot of a sheriff's deputy
and a court stenographer, a piece
of compelling evidence used in the
original trial.
- Horn was hanged Nov. 20, 1903,
at the age of 44.
\
a
a FT
EE ot a amamaaas
+ Most outfits had two. wagons,
‘
eum) TOM, gnits panged in oe on H=20=1703«
_ MY DAY ©
_ WITH —
HORN
Photos courtesy of Author
92 YEAR BED: TIMER RECALLS THE REAL OUTLAW
by Marion Speers
As told to Bill Kelly
I was born in a dugout at Sedan,
Kansas. Dad had taken up
homesteading there.
I have seen herds moving along,
especially in the Pan Handle of Texas
and what is now western Oklahoma.
but
some only one. One was the chuck
wagon with a mess box and table built
into the rear end. The cook was in
supreme command of the chuck
wagon. You were welcome to a cup of
coffee, but nothing else until “Come
and get it”’ time.
The second wagon was known as
the hoodlum wagon. On this wagon
were all the bedrolls of the cowboys
which were hauled from camp to
camp. Repairs for saddles, harness and
wagon parts were in the hoodlum
wagon. The chuck wagon was loaded
with canned goods, pots and pans. The
cook drove his own team and selected
campsites at the end of the days drive.
Ten miles was an average days drive,
but many times it was much less.
Weather, feed and country conditions
had much to do with this for there
were no roads. Swinging under the
chuck wagon was a buffalo hide where
in the cook kept dry wood in case of
rain — this was needed many times;
there were many rains and other
storms encountered on the long trail.
Now that I am 92, the question
put to me the most is ‘‘Who was the
fastest gun you ever saw.”’ Well, I’ll tell
you about such a man.
Most miners were drifting lot in
my early days like around the gold and
silver camps of Colorado. Many would
16 WESTERNER/ Winter, 1976
go south for the winter and spring and
summer would find them back in
cooler climate of the. Colorado
Rockies. I well remember one sunny
day in the spring of 1905 at the
Sunnyside bunk house at the mine.
Some of the miners were trying their
luck at shooting at targets with a new
man who came to Sunnyside for the
“ summer from Arizona. His name was
Henry Wheeler. He did not stay long,
but in some manner, the story of his
life got into the gossip of the miners,
and here it is:
There have been many good rifle
and pistol shots in the history of
America, particularly in the west of
frontier days, but the title of the best
of all of them is given to Harry
Wheeler of the Arizona Rangers. Tom
Rynning, one time a Captain of the
Rangers, and himself a good shot, said,
~“T never saw the equal of Harry ©
Wheeler with pistol or rifle.’”? Rynning
knew most of them such as Garcias,
Slaughter, Wilton, Owens, O’Neill,
Gabriel, Breckenridge, White, Hickok,
Earp and others. He amazed us when
he would toss five empty cartridges
into the air and spin them all in rapid
/ succession before they hit the ground.
He could drive a ten penny nail with
- ease at twenty steps.”
Burton Mossman, also ‘of the
Rangers, told me that Wheeler was
the keenest eyed and fastest man oh
the trigger that ever sat in a saddle.
Harry Wheeler came from a
soldier family. His father was a
Colonel in the U.S. Army. He wanted
Harry to go to West Point, but the son
could:not make the grade because of
the Spanish-American War,
his height.. However, he lived a life of
glamour and excitement nevertheless.
He became a scout, then a private in
then a
peace officer in the adventurous West
and lastly a. Captain in the Arizona
Rangers and Captain in World War I.
It was as a member of the famous
Rangers that he made history and
became known as a man who did not
know the meaning of fear and a dead
shot. He feared no man, but boldly
stepped-up, quietly unassuming and
“made many a dangerous boaster back
down without a gun. Of all the men I
have ever seen in action, Harry
Wheeler was the bravest and the
fastest.
But I had a closer association
with Tom Horn. Let me tell you about
- that. I have a good story to tell you
about Tom Horn and what I tell you is
the truth. I remember it was in July,
about noon, we were sitting in the
dining room at the Tomboy Mine at
Teluride, Colorado. There was an eight
foot hallway sealed over double bigget
sealing. I was sitting with Tom Horn
eating. He had no mustache when I
knew him. He weighed about 150
pounds. We were just talking when a
big burly man came in, weighed about
250 pounds. The waiter goes over and
tells this man that he could not eat in
the dinner house without a dinner
jacket on. Now the waiter was a small
fellow, about 100 pounds I guess, and
‘when he insisted that this man go out
and get a dinner jacket, the big man
ups and knocks him cold.
Well, Tom Horn wiped his
mouth, put down his napkin and
or arent
ee ee
si doe
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was also displayed in Cahill’s home.
After T. Joe’s death, his daughter-in-
law shipped over 2,000 pounds of law-
men’s badges and other relics to the St.
Joseph’s Orphanage at Torrington, Wyo-
ming. In the shipment was the first City
Marshal’s badge for the City of Cheyenne.
The limb from which Cattle Kate was
hanged was on display in the Cheyenne
City Library in 1967.
The author was very fortunate to ac-
quire one lawman’s badge from the fa-
mous Cahill collection, a Deputy U.S.
Marshal’s, which was worn by Leslie E.
Snow. Snow, along with Joe Lefors, was
instrumental in the conviction and hang-
ing of Tom Horn. ca
REVELRY & REVOLUTION
' (Continued from page 15)
particularly, on the Sheldon Hotel. Swept
along by the anti-reelection preachings
and books of idealist Francisco I. Madero,
the poor people of the Mexican popula-
tion were rebelling and rioting. President
Diaz, disturbed by the mounting popular-
ity of the revolt, imprisoned Madero at
San Luis Potosi, but he soon escaped and
| made his way across the border to San
Antonio, Texas. American officials forc-
ed Madero to move on, however, and he
and his ragtag army straggled in to Peace
Grove, Mexico, situated on the banks of
the Rio Grande and a few miles north of
El] Paso. Here in a small adobe house Ma-
dero set up the “Little White House of
Diaz for peace. Many people flocked to
join the “Little Messiah,” ranging from en-
tire families whose women fought along-
side their men, to half-naked Indian run-
ners.
Foreign and American adventurers al-
so came to help. Among these were Gui-
seppe Garibaldi, grandson of Italy’s red-
shirt liberator, Sam Drebban, the Fight-
ing Jew, and Tom Mix, cowboy. Several
of Madero’s staff gathered at Peace
Grove, too, including Orozco, Gustavo
and Raoul Madero and a little-known ex-
bandit chief, Pancho Villa. It was indeed
an odd army.
It was the Sheldon, at this time called
the “Little Capital of Mexico,” that be-
came the hub of border activities. Every
room was crammed with all sorts of thrill
seekers. Giggling college girls took pic-
tures of every person that seemed impor-
tant, little old ladies asked for autographs,
drummers with bulging suitcases corner-
ed likely buyers, spies spied on each oth-
er, there were even a few Mata Hari types
around. Famous reporters such as Budd
Fisher, Norman Walker and Floyd Gib-
bons were constantly taking notes, often
writing their goriest war stories in the bar.
Negotiators argued and shouted in smoke-
filled rooms. Even the Madero clan
gathered to give aid to Francisco, al-
42
though they had previously disowned him
Mexico” and began negotiations with -
as a “fool.” Gay adventurers, given free ~
rooms at the Sheldon because they were.
such good drawing cards, were inclined to
take the situation lightly and they indulg-
ed in much drinking, horseplay and laugh- z :
ter.
played to a full house. Colonel Emilie
Kosterlitsky, a Russian adventurer who
Day and night the drama at the Sheldon :
for a time headed the Mexican Rurales, i
sat down in a leather upholstered chair
in the lobby, then sprang to his feet, white- 7
faced, on discovering he was sitting in a
rocking chair. When quéried as to what.
he had against rockers he replied a friend
of his had fallen from such a chair and
broken his neck. This from a man known ©)
to be utterly fearless. Some sources said | ~%
he was responsible for the capture of the =
Indian Geronimo.
In another incident, Villa and Garibal- :
di, sworn enemies, stirred up excitement
in the hotel bar. Villa did not care for.
Garibaldi’s slurring remarks and threaten- "-
ed to “make hash out of the Italiano.” It
was only when Mayor Kelley forced his
way between the two and told them to
calm down that the tension eased. The an-
tagonists were escorted to the Interna-
tional Bridge and told to stay in Mexico.
Things were not always so grim. There
was laughter over the story the bass drum-
mer in the hotel band told of an incident ss -—
he experienced, although at the time he
failed to see the humor of it. The rebels
had hired the band to play for a party they — : i,
were giving. Along about five in the morn-, | tee
ing the weary drummer nodded over his
instrument but awakened quickly when a
couple of bullets whizzed over his head.
It was Pancho Villa firing at the musician
to warn him to stay awake. It is plain to
see the Sheldon was not only the stage for
intrigue but also of horseplay and per- te
sonality conflicts!
Negotiation between the rebels and the
federals dragged on, and despite urging -
from his staff Madero refused to attack ..
Juarez, just across the Rio Grande. Final-
ly Orozco and Villa, along with a few of
their men, crept up a dry drainage ditch
almost to the center of Juarez before they
were fired upon. On hearing the shots Ma- ~
dero had no choice but to order a full,
scale attack. te:
Despite pleas from Mayor Kelley, E
Pasoans crowded to the river bank, stood .
on box cars and filled the windows and ~
the roof of the Sheldon for a close look at ~
the battle. After three days of heavy fight- ©
ing Juarez fell to the rebels, with dead and
dying in the streets and buildings suffer-
ing much destruction from shelling.
Almost as soon as the last shot was fired he dhe
the Americans swarmed across the bridge ~ ea a
to see the damaged village. ae
One official was heard to remark in dis- 2, cae
gust, “these are people who would spank 2 Soe 3
their children for pulling wings off flies, — ©
but they flock over to sightsee death and «—
devastation.” © ‘ inae%
THE WEST
world’s first rodeo announcer!
Joe Cahill knew and worked with all
of the early rodeo greats— Thad Sowder,
Harry Brennan, Sam Scobey, Clayton
Danks, and the great Negro cowboy, Bill
Pickett, who invented bulldogging.
Commenting on those early day rodeos,
T. Joe said, “There were no 10-second
riders in those days with a ride out of the
chute. They saddled their horses in a cor-
ral and they mounted and they rode until
they or the bronc was winner!”
T. Joe Cahill served on the Frontier
Days Committee for 26 years and attend-
ed every Frontier Days Show until his
death on February 26, 1965. He induced
the great and near great to attend his
show and perform for the throngs who at-
tended. Joe brought many of his Indian
friends into the rodeo camp as well as his
old friend, Buffalo Bill Cody. He quickly
made friends with another famous rodeo
performer with the Zack Miller 101 Ranch
Show, Oklahoma’s Will Rogers. Rogers
later went on to become a star roper and
story teller with the Zeigfield Follies, and
also became a movie star. With the ap-
pearance of Will Rogers, more big-timers
began to appear at the Frontier Days Cel-
ebration.
T. Joe had many friends working on the
Denver papers and persuaded them to
join in the fun and learn rodeo lingo. Such
famous men as Gene Fowler, Courtney
Riley Cooper, Damon Runyon, Bide Dud-
ley and Arthur Chapman, all learned ro-
deo talk with the help of T. Joe Cahill!
Early day movie personalities such as
Tom Mix (and his horse Tony), Ken May-
nard, Hoot Gibson and Tim McCoy made
appearances at the Cheyenne celebra-
tions. T. Joe brought baseball’s famed
Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig to Cheyenne
for the “big show.” He brought presidents,
business tycoons and the little guy who
was thrilled by the early western lore.
In 1934, T. Joe’s varied life once more
carried him back into law enforcement.
He became Cheyenne’s Chief of Police
and for the next decade served in that
position. Cahill became acquainted with
all of the famous lawmen of the past and
present, world-wide.
N. one had a greater love for children
than T. Joe Cahill. In 1927 he saw the need
for an orphanage in Wyoming. With a
guiding hand he helped found the St. Jo-
seph’s Orphanage at Torrington. The or-
phanage still exists today on donations
sent to the T. Joe Cahill Foundation. Joe
played Santa Claus for the children each
Christmas, a tradition that he began in
1930 and continued until his death.
Like his father, T. Joe Cahill was a Re-
publican. He once admitted having voted
for two Democrats, Franklin Roosevelt
and John F. Kennedy. With his wide ac-
quaintanceship in Wyoming, he became:
a very important man in Wvoming Re-
publican politics. Joe never ran for a ma-
jor office because he was just too busy
with hundreds of other activities.
At the time of his death in 1965, T. Joe
Cahill was 88 years old and the oldest liv-
ing native of Cheyenne, Wyoming. He
held life memberships in the Elks, Eagles,
Footprinters and the Knights of Colum-
bus. He was also Wyoming’s only Knight
of St. Gregory, a honor conferred on him
by the late Pope Pius XII.
During his later years T. Joe kept alive
‘the throngs of friends by sending them
cards on their birthdays, at Christmas, on
wedding anniversaries and on St. Patrick’s
Day! Mrs. Jack Cahill, T. Joe’s daughter-
in-law, once told the author that she per-
sonally addressed over 10,000 cards for
T. Joe in one year!
Cahill’s 88 years had allowed him to col- .
lect many mementoes of the “Old West”
and early Wyoming. In the basement den
of his Cheyenne home, Joe had gathered
over 2,000 peace officers’ badges, many
fire arms, and much fire department
equipment. The most famous artifact
housed there was the rope used in the
Tom Horn hanging. The limb from which
Cattle Kate Averill was lynched in 1893
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PLATTS AMONG THE PAWNEES
_ (Continued from page 39)
write of a peculiar custom of that people.
“When a man appeared among them to
be entertained as a guest for any length
of time, their expressions of hospitality
were not complete until a respectable
woman was presented him to share his
bed... Woman, in the view of a savage
Indian, is made to serve man and though
the Pawnees demanded the strictest loyal-
ty from their wives, and would not allow
their daughters, as they approached
young womanhood, to appear in public
without a blanket or shawl drawn over
their heads, yet if a man chose to give (to
a guest) any woman to serve as proof of
his hospitality, it was a public act. And I.
think it was often looked upon by the
woman as an honor. ;
“One woman had, in her young life,
been taken by an army officer at Grand
Island to live with him. Of her days spent
with him she often spoke with much satis-
faction—said he dressed her well and was
not ashamed of her but kept her by him in
his tent when he had visitors. When he
was ordered away—as he could not take
her with him—he ‘left a sum of money
with a friend to supply her future needs.”
Penaps Mrs. Platt’s most vivid memory
was that of Le-Shar-O Pit-ko (Twice a
Chief). She first met him in 1846.
“He was in the prime of his young man-
hood, and his piercing eyes, his mass of
black, glossy hair, his regal air and his
elastic movements as he mounted his
pony and galloped away, all marked him
as worthy of being called Twice a Chief,
and he seemed very sincere in his friend-
ship.”
But, in 1861, when Mrs. Platt returned
to the land of the Pawnees, she wrote that:
“A sad change had come to this fine ap-
pearing, agile chief. Through some acci-
dent he had become lame and was known
to the whites as Lame Chief. His former
cheerful face wore a pained and rather
sullen expression, and his dress was that
of one in mourning, faded and worn.
“When Grant’s ‘Quaker Policy’ was to
be established among the Pawnees, I re-
ceived a letter asking that a council of
chiefs be called to inform them of the
change which, it was promised, would
greatly benefit the Pawnees. I invited the
chiefs to my room and gave them the in-
formation.
“It was received in silent dignity. At
last, Twice a Chief quietly answered for
the company. ‘We will wait and see what
comes to us.’ Knowing as I did how often
they had been bitterly disappointed and
shamefully abused by the failure on the
part of our government to keep treaty
promises, that answer spoke volume to
me and I suddenly knew the reason for
Twice a Chief's great sadness.
“My last interview with this chief was
. face of from ten to 14 inches. He wished
to me the most memorable. Sitting in my tee
school room one morning during recess, >
the scholars came running to say the chief
called for me. Going into the hall I found” ~~
Pit-ko surrounded by the children. He was
holding his blanket tightly over some ob-*
ject he held in his arms. He wished to 20 eee
to my room and, motioning the crowd ~
away, he followed me down the long hall.
When we had entered the room and the
door was closed, he drew from under his
blanket a tablet of red pipestone about
one-half inch in thickness, having a sur-
to give it into my possession until he sx
should call for it, and he said that the eye
of no common person might fall upon it;
that it was his Too-war-ux-ly stone, and I
could not know what wonderful things he
saw when, gathered for their religious ser-.
vices, he, with blackened face, looked
down upon that stone. He was going to” ™
the territory and I was to keep the pre-
cious miracle worker until he called for it, —
The tablet was in my possession for nearly se
two years and, having heard that its owner
was near death, I began to call it mine.
“But one morning as I sat in my sitting
room listening to the musical water of the
nearby river, a stalwart Pawnee stood sud-
denly in my presence. I had scarcely time
to greet my former friend, Big George,
before he demanded the Too-war-ux-ly
stone left with me by Twice a Chief. 1.
pleaded that, as the chief was dead, I.
thought the stone should be mine.
“No! said Big George quickly and firm- as
ly. ‘I must get a horse and deliver it safely e
to the Medicine Lodge.’ ‘.
“And so,” wrote Mrs. Platt sadly, “I.
parted with the coveted treasure.” @ _
‘ HE HANGED TOM HORN
(Continued from page 30)
and Sheriff of Fremont County.) It was
during the first Wild West shows and ro-
deos, called Cheyenne Frontier Days, that
Tom Horn performed as a cowboy. ~~
During those early years around Chey
oi
enne, almost all ranches boasted of the ae
greatness of their hands and whenever ~~
possible would meet for small riding and
roping tournaments. Bets were made, and
these activities soon attracted ranchers
from all over Wyoming. he
T. Joe’s idea grew and finally Chey-
enne Frontier Days came into being— *
“The daddy of all Wild West shows and
rodeos!” The first show was a one-day :
event and was staged on September 23, .
1897. T. Joe had no stock entered and did
no riding. ate
T. Joe once jokingly said, “I tried rid-
ing the water wagon once, and it bucked
me off. I’ve stayed away ever since.” *
At the first Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Show, Cahill worked as an usher and pass-
ed out programs. However, the next year. }
he engineered and mounted a megaphone
over the judges stand and became the ~
THE WEST 9)
b Say
ot
for Wyoming and its people because
he knew the “lay of the land,” the
best direction for development.
He was a fluent orator. This came,
in part, from his habit of organizing
v= and practicing speeches while riding
long and lonely distances. Often
prairie dogs and sage hens were his
only audience. His choice of words
and mode of speaking were, by
today’s standards of rhetoric, some-
what florid and bombastic. But the
era was a more leisurely one; people -
had time to enjoy long speeches. :
When the chaff of excess verbiage is
sifted out, his speeches show a lot of
basic truth and well-reasoned com-
mon sense.
He did not shirk hard duties, and
made regular trips to inspect hospi-
tals, penitentiaries and insane asy-
lums. Where neglect or mismanage-
ment was evident, he speedily acted
to assure corrections. He had also to
supervise the handling and leasing
of 4,137,000 acres of state-owned
land. Disputes were an ever-present
facet of his job.
Governor Richards and Secretary
Chatterton determined that mineral
production should be subject to tax-
ation. This was a forerunner of the
modern severance tax.
Over the objection of a fighting- oe
mad Union Pacific Railroad and its
Wyoming attorney, John W. Lacey,
legislation was enacted whereby the
state’s institutions, schools and peo-
ple would benefit from the develop-
‘ ment of oil, natural gas, coal, iron,
uranium and other mineral re-
sources.
Unknowingly, Chatterton was
preparing for Wyoming’s highest of-
i fice. It came to him on April 28, 1903.
pentane On that date Governor Richards
died. Chatterton succeeded him in
wat
| office. He asked all appointive state
' officials to continue at their posts.
{ Among these was a man from a town
; far upstate. He stood leanly erect
: and had long, flowing white hair. His
“¢ post was judge advocate. His name =}
. was William F. Cody — Buffalo Zi
Bill. anf
Wyoming has long been fortunate o
in the choice of men available for ;
2 public office. This was evident upon ie
oivs->.) the death of State Engineer Fred A
Seos=> Bond. Chatterton could appoint
: os Clarence T. Johnson. Johnson had
--->| long been an assistant to Elwood
: Mead, who had authored Wyoming's
irrigation law. Mead also had served
as the first state engineer. Later, he
sl Mien pails ig Caines, Ht
aT
was chief engineer for construction
' of Hoover Dam. Lake Mead on the
' Colorado River is named in his py
honor.
e 2 eh usual may 256 ae
During this eventful spring of
1903, President Theodore Roosevelt
spent Memorial Day at Cheyenne,
eae =6©60rriding into the capital city from na
Laramie. The president spoke to ;
10,000 people, then was presented a
with a handsome gaited horse. Roo- Bae
Lirias sevelt and Chatterton rode onto the
~- plains south of Cheyenne — even
into Colorado. Teddy Roosevelt pro-
ceeded to jump his new mount over :
was" = every available fence. And each
The Denver Post @ March 27, 1977 @ 57
*
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the Wyoming Bar upon motion of
Clarence D. Clark, who later became
a member of the U.S. Senate. It was
an honor he felt he must justify by
furthering his education. In Sep-
tember 1891, he enrolled at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. He mastered the
entire four-year course in one year.
In 1892, he returned to Rawlins with
an LLBdegree — and one dollar in
his pocket.
He gave the dollar to a painter in
payment for a sign: F. CHATTER-
TON, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. A
partnership with David H. Craig,
Carbon County's prosecuting attor-
ney, led to a law practice that was
soon prosperous enough to have a
three-room office.
It was a time and place when po-
litical ambitions could be furthered
greatly. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming
had become the 44th state. Capable
men were needed for the new posi-
tions — executive, legislative. judi-
cial. Chatterton had much to offer
this new state of which he was vastly
proud. —
Chatterton was realistic enough to
know that the game of politics must
ay
be played in order to gain public of-
fice. But he believed that after elec-
tion any worthy official must rise in
stature through statesmanship. A
surprising number of Wyoming’s
early-day officials left a record of
distinguished service, of hard and
skilled work. The young state had
attracted many young men after
their graduation from Eastern col-
leges. Their skills went into building
every facet of Wyoming’s economic
life. A powerful political figure from
Pennsylvania once commented
wryly to Chatterton that the State of
Wyv.aing, a fledgling political unit
outin the desert, held more power in
the American Congress than did his
own state. Surprisingly, in 1890,
Wyoming had a population of only
60,700. The state’s total property
evaluation was $30,700,000; it was
subject to a levy of four mills.
Chatterton’s tenure as probate
judge and county treasurer was
short. At the first election of state
officers, in September 1890. he was
elected a state senator to represent
Carbon and Natrona Counties. The
first session of the legislature lasted
90 days — and Chatterton intro-
duced 18 constructive measures.
Several of them became law.
As a staunch Republican, Chatter-
ton in 1893 was chosen to lead an
effort to defeat the well-entrenched
Francis E. Warren for U.S. senator.
The effort failed. and there was little
mutual liking between Warren and
Chatterton thereafter.
Chatterton never forgot his alle-
giance to Carbon County. As a state
senator, he was instrumental in hav-
ing the Wyoming Penitentiary
moved from Laramie to Rawlins. He
busied himself making sure that his
county got its full share of funds for
roads and for utilities and that it was
assured equitable treatment by the
powerful Union Pacific Railroad.
Late in 1897, he was a contender
for an appointment to the Wyoming
Supreme Court. He lost to his former
law partner, David H. Craig — and
blamed his defeat on opposition by
the railroad’s chief attorney, Judge
John W. Lacey.
Perhaps this defeat of his bid fora
place on the judicial bench was
foreordained. Chatterton, who had
come to Wyomimg'broke and hungry,
was on the thmeshold of statewide
responsibility. Axt the urging of De-
Forest Richardkés, soon ‘to be Wyom-
ing’s governor,, Clattterton’s name
was placed in nwmimation for secre-
tary of state.
He quickly wam/hissparty nomina-
tion. But now ‘began the arduous
task of “wildkerness” campaigning.
Those who today iflit.across a state
by airplane in sesarch of votes can
hardly visualize: tthe difficulty of a
1,500-mile trip aanound frontier
Wyoming witm mules hitched to a
buckboard. At testiinus trek. Rough,
rutted wagon roaztis. Gumbo flats.
Rock-strewn dessert reaches. Moun:
tain barriers.
Necessities imaliurtestl a grub box,
water bag, sack wfoats, lantern, buf-
falo robe and atbetroll to be shared
by Chattertom amd Richards.
The route leditmilander and South
Pass City, themcon through dust and
mud. A weary arrival at evening
often must be: fidllowed by a public
dinner and the mecessity of dancing
all night with loced!.women who were
starved for news: aynd sociability.
eameiniial
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*
CHATTERTON continued
fence was (unknown to him) an ille-
gal fence enclosing government
land.
Chatterton’s esteem for the presi-
dent certainly did not extend to
Roosevelt’s tennis partner, Gifford
Pinchot, national forester. The
Wyoming governor believed, and
firmly said, that Pinchot knew less
than nothing about what he was
doing as he sat in Washington and
arbitrarily drew lines on a map.
These lines would become the
boundaries of several Western na-
tional forests; they would also, -as
«Governor Chatterton saw it, bring
confusion — if not ruin — to Wyom-
ing’s livestock-growing economy.
They were sure to bankrupt many
sheep and cattle growers using the
same land.
Chatterton chose to fight Pinchot
and the newly organized Forest Ser-
vice. The federal forest preserves
still came into being, but many a
boundary was modified so as not to
enclose vast areas on which no trees
had ever grown. Part of the gover-
nor’s success stemmed: from a
Shrewd maneuver. Pinchot sent
Word he intended to hold hearings in
Cheyenne. Chatterton saw to it that
leading ranchers and businessmen
from every Wyoming county were on
hand to resist and rebuke the na-
tional! forester.
The governor had engineered at
least a partial victory for states’
Tights. He emerged happy — and
ready again to fight federal bureau-
cracy.
o governor is apt to be confront-
ed with a harder decision than was
put before Chatterton on Nov. 1,
1903. On that date he received a plea
for commutation of the death sen-
tence handed down in the historic
Tom Horn case. The wisdom of
Governor Chatterton’s decision is
Still discussed, debated and disput-
ed.
The case resulted from the slaying
’ of Willie Nickel, a young ranch boy,
on the morning of July 18, 1901. Tom
Horn was suspected — and arrested;
he had long been suspected of work-
ing for the cattle industry as a detec-
tive to ferret out rustlers, harass
sheepmen and do away with home-
steaders.
Formidable legal talent was en-
gaged for Horn’s defense. However,
he was found guilty of first-degree
murder and sentenced to hang. The
Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the
verdict. The pressure brought upon
Governor Chatterton to commute
Tom Horn’s death sentence was ap-
Palling. But after thorough study of
all available evidence, Chatterton
ruled:
“I do not believe, in the absence of
extenuating circumstances, and
there are none in this case, the com-
mutation, reprieve or pardon power
was given to the governor for the
Purpose of enabling him to reverse
the judgment of the courts: 43°) .”
On the morning of November 20,
1903, Tom Horn was executed.
The governor soon was able to
turn to an exciting development.
Ever since his “wagon box” swing
about the state with Richards, Chat-
terton had hoped to reclaim and set-
tle vast acreages of land in the Riv-
erton area. He sensed the moment of
opportunity in February 1904, when
French capitalists asked him to sug-
gest ammeans of transporting to mar-
ket the oil from a field near Lander.
Chattention :advised extension of the
Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
from Casper ‘to Lander.
The ifinanciers asked him person-
ally te wndertake the building of
such @ railroad. He accepted the
offer witth alacrity; this would bring
rail trwnsportation close to those
fertile acres surrounding Riverton.
Althousih the Proposed railroad
extensiam was not an official Wyom-
ing projeet:, tthere was apparently no
cry of “tconflict of interest.” Things
were thappening now that would
greatly iinfluence Chatterton’s fu-
ture, thatiwould move him from his
Status: axs:a statesman to one of agri-
cultural! developer.
Throwgh ‘his Policies, his beliefs
and his: -actions, Chatterton had be-
come pepular among Wyoming
voters.. Biowever, Chatterton had not
curriedicar achieved the favor of cor-
poratioms or those he termed “spe-
cial intemests.” They reminded him
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of it in elections in November 1904.
Bryant B. Brooks of Casper be-
came Wyoming’s governor-elect.
Chatterton later commented, .
wryly, that the qualified voters who
worked for the Union Pacific
Railroad seemed to have been ad-
vised not to vote, while the defran-
chised military men of Fort D. A.
Russell (now Warren Air Force
Base) were bundled into town to vote
for Brooks.
Chatterton at once turned to his
old dream, to create an agricultural
mecca in Fremont County. In June
1905, his application for water rights
to irrigate 335,905 acres was ap-
proved. Within a month New York
City capitalists agreed to invest
$5,000,000 in the project.
The U.S. secretary of interior re-
fused to issue the necessary permits.
Chatterton later stated his belief that
this resulted from a note written by a
well-known U.S. Senator: Don’t ex-
tend any favors to Chatterton! Chat-
terton reacted by quickly asking the
Wyoming. state- engineer to-seek a
permit in the name of the state. The
62 OE ene
es
Soest ape Ribera, $e
ei haga eS aed Ny
Department of the Interior could
hardly deny this!
Thus the first phases of the huge
irrigation system at Riverton got
under way. Chatterton moved to this
northern city to manage the project.
He lived in the Riverton Vicinity for
the next 20 years. He established a
demonstration farm; he made sure
that local crop exhibits went to state
fairs. Arrangement was made for
the town of Riverton to have a per-
petual free water right, in order that
ample trees might be planted along
its streets. With the Passing of time,
he saw Riverton, his town, become a
solid agricultural and commercial
center. Added developments came
because the area was rich in oil, nat-
ural gas, timber and recreational
and scenic possibilities.
In March 1933, when he was 73
years old, Chatterton reluctantly left
Riverton to resume the practice of
law in Cheyenne.
Though aging, he was determined
to remain for a time in midstream of
‘Wyoming’s-legal-and political
events.
He left Wyoming in 1937, retiring
with Mrs. Chatterton to a 24-acre
plot near Arvada, Colo. He delighted
in the somewhat warmer climate
and in his sizable flower garden.
Most of all, he thrilled to his view of
the Rocky Mountains, stretching
from Pikes Peak northward to his
well-remembered Wyoming hills.
His health continued quite good.
He maintained ties with the Masonic
Lodge, in which he had been award-
ed the highest possible honors. He
kept avidly in touch with national
events, those of Colorado and espe-
cially day-to-day happenings in
Wyoming.
In 1954, his wife, Stella Chatterton
died, at the age of 85. He continued to
reside in Arvada, where his daugh-
ter, Mrs. M.G. Kennedy, looked after
him.
He was 97 years old in 1957 when
his autobiography, Yesterday’s
Wyoming, was published. It stands
now as a memorial to Chatterton’s
sense of decency, duty and honor.
He died. at.98, on May 9, 1958, at the
home of his daughter, Mrs. Con-
stance Spears, in Shreveport, La. His
burial was at Lakeside Cemetery, in
Cheyenne, where rest so many illus-
trious or unknown Wyoming pio-
neers.
On Dec. 31, 1976, the last remain-
ing buildings of Fort Steele, the
ghost fort astride the North Platte
River, vanished ina fury of senseless
fire. They were among the few re-
maining links with a day when pen-
niless but alertly ambitious young
Fenimore C. Chatterton came to
Wyoming.
He will be remembered. Remem-
bered for his implicit faith in the_
far-vistaed and wind-swept state he*
came to love, for the many means by
which he acted to further his state’s
development.
He was always proud to recall
those busy and adventuresome
Wyoming days. For, as he often Said,
“To look back at one’s life, as a-
whole, with pleasure, is to indeed
double it.” 8
- The author of. this free-lance_article
is a resident of Greeley, Colo.
and addressed Sieber and Horn. “I am glad to see these old
people and widows leave; they will be safer and more comfort-
able on the reservation.” Then he turned to Horn and said,
“You are a young man, and young Americans will always be at
war with me and mine. If you have further word from the
officials of your country, come to me with them. You will not
be harmed.”
The Indians from Geronimo’s camp were brought back to
San Carlos without incident, and camped near the fork of the
San Carlos and Gila Rivers. Several days later word reached
the reservation that other Indians were ready to return from
Mexico. Sieber was laid up from an old wound so Tom Horn
was instructed to go with some troops to escort them in.
There were about fifty Indians in the group, and they
were herding about 500 head of horses and mules. Horn saw
through their plan they wanted to bring the stolen Mexican
animals into America where they could dispose of them at a
high profit. It was a ticklish situation to say the least. For
months Tom Horn went back and forth from San Carlos to the
Mexican line, each time bringing back a number of Indians
and a much greater number of stolen stock.
Vv
In June of 1879 the scouts and interpreters were again
dismissed due to lack of funds provided by the Government.
Again, Tom and his counterparts went back to Tucson.
Horn’s next job was that of providing beef for the Indians
at San Carlos at a salary of $150.00 a month. It was a difficult
job for Tom in trying to handle some 5,000 head of cattle,
horses, and mules, with no help from the army since Major
Chaffee had been relieved of his command there. The agency
was under control of an Indian Agent named Tiffany. Instead
of much-needed soldiers to control the agency, there was only
a small force of Indian policemen under Chief Albert Stirling.
Although the chief was a fearless and brave man, he could not
cope with thousands of Indians with a police force fo about
fifteen men.
102
Besides, the agent was i
, so busy selling Indian suppli
aera ome the like, thus making a forte for
» that he cared little about the Indi
Oe nee e Indian affairs at San
. ; » however, he was arrested
with selling government > ee
ropert i
nerbing ae came of the mater Tye, PON Saheb
n the spring of 1880 renegad i
| gade Indians from i
apbeave A ee intent on taking Chief Loco wate
ack with them. On the morni f
Horn heard a lot of firing j cane
ing in the direction of the Chirj
ticah
Ei Aa came aerly thereafter that the Indians ae
re go on the war path. Chief Stirlj :
firing at the same tim i Geant wn
e Horn did, and, mounting hi
accompanied by one Indian police: 7 pee
hey te ee | policeman, he rode right into the
3 tirling reached the bank
of th
Carlos River he was shot and killed, but his co : a
managed to escape. ete
— y igs a most of the people of San Carlos, including
; aken retuge across the Gila Ri
ground, well fortified with natu oe and ee
tal rock barriers
mab where all the action was taking place. From chat
; smieac Point gem saw ied of the Indian policemen follow
short distance, stopping onl
after several of the officers had been killed Se
7 gl oe oe spot Chiricahua had passed Horn’s
elter, the group left and returned to
, the
one was in an uproar. Those people who had iecined
ie: is were dishing out rifles and ammunition to anyone who
: e TY of them Indian bucks. It was thought that a
g = mari was taking place, but such was not the case
a ae orn, realizing that it was most important that the
2 " : 4 . a of events, om i up a fast horse and started
) 1homas, some thirty miles dist Crossi
swollen Gila River at San Carl ed tage Ca
Tom raced
Thomas ener at arlos, ed toward Camp
; g it just as the two troops of cav
. alr
hie Betting deed hoe commandant had learned fore indies
at something was wrong at San Carl
: ! ! os, but
aetaile were lacking, since (contrary to common belief by the
ites and shown in movies) such information cannot be
103
”
sundown. _ | |
Tom Horn spent the day visiting various places in the
Indian camp, making friends at every turn. - geen .
beads and other trinkets endeared him to the ahs fe)
Indians as a whole. Sieber spent his day at t eir camp,
working on what he would tell Geronomo that evening. —
A fire of tremendous size marked the i pn
place, and it was surrounded by hundreds of warriors dressed in
so tAL Sieber stepped into the center of the gathering,
looked around carefully, then began his speech ef ae
“This morning you asked for many things, ey - ea
I could not give you many of the things you 7 or. ; : ie
that you asked for the most of them because you ny i rey
and not because I could or would do as you soe ‘a
Anything | promise, ie — ane 4s you we Bat : isa
r found me as | said I would be. | at
el that you are, neither do I put in my a“ asking for or
trying to get that which | know I can never o tain. ido
“Now, this I do say to you: Go to the mnlgents an ‘|
as you will be advised to do by the Government, ane you ha
get all that the Government can give you, for coat ave i
there and drawn your rations, as many Indians are one a
You will also be given a blanket for each of you an a a
things just as you have received before. I can Promise yon »
more, for it is spoken by my Government that you will g
Aerts I have no idea you will do as I say, for you do
not love peace. You are a man of war and battle. so
would not be war chief of the Chiricahua tribe. You re g
to the reservation and stay maybe one season, more e Dey
one moon. But within this camp may be some wt ) - r 5
want to come up and settle down to a peaceful life. wl hat
all such I will take back safely, and most of your peop e a
what you will get. Twice already have | feren yo t mane
twice have you become uneasy and left. Never “ comp nt
come to the Government aed you = oe ies pala i x As
not having clothing an :
ee a ibe a row petwicén this tribe and some of the other
100
tribes, or someone would sell you a lot of whiskey and you
would all, or a great many of you, get drunk and away you
would go; and until now you have not complained of not
getting what the Government promised you.
“This thing cannot last. The white men are as the leaves
upon the trees. There are hundreds and hundreds of white
men to every Apache. It is true many of the white men cannot
protect themselves from such warriors as there are here, for it
is my opinion in the world there are none better. Still, all the
Chiricahua and Aqua Caliente in existence, or nearly all, are
within hearing of the words I am saying now, arid they cannot
stay on the war path and not be exterminated. Slowly, of
course, but one by one you will be killed or captured, and who
will replace you?
“True, you can say the Americans cannot and will not be
allowed to come armed and in force into this, a Mexican
country, to fight you. Such have been the conditions so far,
and I know that you have no fear of the Mexican soldiers, and
many a time have I heard your women say they could whip the
Mexican army, and that the Mexicans were poorer than the
Apaches. To that I will say that within a short time, a year or
two, or maybe three, a peace talk will be held by the Mexican
and American Governments, and arrangements will be made
to allow American soldiers and scouts to enter these moun-
tains in force and in pursuit of you, and then you will be
doomed to capture, or will be exterminated. As I said before,
the American troops are without number, | have never spoken
words of advice to you in council. Never have I told you one
lie, and not a warrior here now will say he thinks I talk two
ways.
“Consider well what I have said to you. I leave in four
days for San Carlos.”
Without further comment, Sieber turned and left the
council.
When Sieber and Horn were set to leave for San Carlos,
some sixty Indians were ready to accompany them, among
them the chiefs Nana and Loco, the latter now more than
eighty years old.
When the party was about to leave, Geronimo walked up
101
Sieber rode all that night until reaching San Simon Valley,
where they found they were only a few miles behind the
Indians. The Indians went into camp on Turkey Creek,
remaining there all day. At 11 AM the following morning the
dust of the troops could be seen in the distance beyond San
Simon Valley, at least thirty miles away.
Late that same evening the troops pulled in and made
camp a few miles below that of the Indians. The hostiles were
_ swarming the hills about the soldiers in such a manner as to
make believe they were going to attack.
“Don’t let that fool you,” said Sieber. “That’s just a
diversion. They’re breaking camp and pulling out at this very
moment.”
Sieber, Horn, Free, and the soldiers continued to follow
the Indians, and daylight found them near Cloverdale, just
south of the Mexican border. There the Indians also camped.
There was nothing Sieber and his men could do but watch
what was going on.
Late in the afternoon the Indians began to cross into
Mexico. Some went through San Luis Pass; some through
Aqua Blanco, all with one purpose in mind ... heading
straight for the Mexican Sierra Madre Mountains.
Disgusted, Al Sieber turned and led his men back to
Cloverdale. There he met Major Tupper, an old Civil War
veteran, with about fifty men. He was anxious to tangle with
the fleeing Indians.
“By golly, old Tup ain’t afraid to go right into Mexico
after them varmints,” declared one of the troopers.
Al Sieber raised an eyebrow. “That so, Major?”
Major Tupper pulled Sieber aside for a discussion. Some
time later the major returned and cried, “Mount up, men,
we're going to Mexico!”
It was early morning when Tom ventured a question at
Al.
“Does Tupper think he can whip hundreds of Apaches
with less than a hundred men, including our scouts?”
Sieber grinned. “Well, Tom, he’s itching for the chance,
so we should do all we can to help him scratch a little.”
VI
106
Once i ;
seemed to be - fough high country of Mexico, Sieber
sont t0 tak running a show. He cautioned his Apache
e certain the soldiers we
: r ‘
and noise kept at a minimum, e hidden all the time
“If they surprise us, j
, instead isi ;
all goners for certain,” he ad ee APE ns wep
4 a ne sake old telescope from Major Tupper.
; orn with him, ascended a point j
, point in th i
range, from which they could keep watch on a s ing anche
west side of the mountain. ee
“They ee — a will head for theré,” said Al.~
ink we’d dare to c fan li ig
“ue, =~ can surprise ‘em and ie eae
pe wee } awe ee oe looked through the scope and
said, ! There t
¥ hey ha tac sg ae are, peaceful and content, as
leber gave instructions to have Maj
ajor Tuppe
<a sae 2 the point where they now were with ie
. cope. 1his accomplished, Sieber told the major h :
a ing 7 check the Indian camp, alone. On his ce ie
sta 7 ° did not feel that the Indians would break camel :
ight ah e planned the attack for daylight ee:
leber assigned nine troo
. pers to Horn, and j
ot ve Indians came toward the waiting ae
: wel F on! These five braves were killed before they could
east ae ve about them, so great was their surprise up o
ore s soldiers. Pack did not get into the fight oa
» later stating that if more th i i
ite che | an the five Indians w
» they never knew of it. One soldier h he
v of it. ad been slain.
ey — by milling animals, barking dogs peti
ee “a c seh plus the firing of rifles and revelliées led
a ans is elieve that a much larger force of soldiers w
piri : eign to out flank them if they gave a Fidelkal
lebers party. Lucky for the whi
think fee raise € whites that they di
as ise Sieb
have Hesficie eke eber and his whole group would
oe a nai oe Sieber and his men were joined by the
nee 5 ) we A. Forsyth, who had found the
orse Shoe Canyon, only to have them escape
107
i by signals.
ae Al Sieber was there, and he made arrangements for the
soldiers to advance toward Ash Creek. There Al ~ ip
swam the river, proceeding to Ash Flats, about ten miles ie
Camp Thomas. Tom was stunned as he observed the long line
of Indians marching toward the Mexican ie . ee
“Great Scott! I’ve never seen so many hostiles in my
spot.” he es
“ oreYou'l probably never again see such a sight, said Al.
“They’re cagey, too,” Al continued, “they'll break up
into small groups and then regroup for the crossing into
Mexico.” . . —
Just then Horn pointed toward six Indian bucks riding in
their direction. ats
“They are side guards,” muttered Sieber. “J
: ably pass us by.” |
nth he betes ote to use the high ——
as a lookout point, but on seeing the two white re 7
and rode back toward the main body of Indians. 7 Ay
immediately high-tailed it to where the troops =~ : oat af
men, and informed o officer in charge, Lieut. ar ;
t conditions were. . .
mas Ten them and give them a good fight, eign
Gatewood. “We may not eo ec ae ol to do too
ll give them a good scare. .
ee re aed Le ° what a stupid decision to
make. But the lieutenant was firm in his foolish spe Ber
his trouble six soldiers were killed the next morning a en ft
little group of ea rali ae : far has hac eras
imself was shot in the s : 0
coat Thomas with several other wounded pili
“Gatewood,” said Sieber, “These warriors atta ig :
your men any day of the week; it’s suicide to try another dum
i st one. . .
sn Loe a further combat with the ee
Gatewood and his men rounded up several ee" 7 ot
horses abandoned by the Indians, then striking out sie ale
Creek for Fort Thomas. Horn, Sieber, and ere er rane
named Free, continued to trail the Indians as they rea
104
more troops from Fort Bayard, Bliss, and other points, would
hasten to the affected area.
The three scouts followed the Indians all day until they
reached the Blue River. They switched their trail and headed
for Clifton, where they learned that most of the settlers had
come into the various towns to escape the Indians. Sieber also
learned that soldiers were camped at Ash Springs, so Sieber
ordered Horn to ride there and tell the soldiers to ride to
Cottonwood and Indian Springs.
On reaching Ash Springs, Horn found the troops in a
womout condition. The following mornifig Horn noticed
Indians approaching the spot where they were watering ‘their
mounts. No doubt the Indians wanted control of the water-
hole for the time being. Horn heard the warriors as they
deployed their braves, advising them to attack and wipe out
the soldiers. He informed the office in charge, stating it would
be suicide to remain there. The lieutenant did not know what
to do, so Horn suggested they follow the Indians, hopefully
they would run into Sieber with more soldiers.
Horn and the soldiers followed the Indians until they
turned into the Stein Mountains, from which point it was
clear sailing to the Mexican line. At that point they heard
intense firing coming from the east side of the mountains. The
besieged group turned out to be Al Sieber and several groups of
soldiers who also had been on the trail of the Indians. On
reaching the crest of a high mountain, Horn and his men
could see the soldiers fighting other groups of Indians who had
branched off from the main column.
At full speed they raced their mounts toward the
besieged soldiers. It was sundown when they dashed into
Sieber’s camp. About midnight Sieber awoke Horn and told
him he was ready to follow the Indians.
“What are you talking about, Al? We cannot do any-
thing against that bunch, alone, or with this bunch of
bedraggled soldiers we have on our hands.”
“Dammit, I’m past fifty years old, half-crippled and
heaven knows what else. You and Free comin’ or not? If not,
I'll go it alone.”
It was no use. . . Al won his point. Horn, Free, and
105
The Legend Makers
_ military, the Rangers, and other peace officers, including men who
had formerly scouted for the Army, lost track of the Kid alto-
gether.
Down in the Catalina Mountains, some twenty-five miles north-
east of Tucson, Wallapai Clarke and John Scanlon, former scouts
and old compafieros of Tom Horn, were working on some mining
claims they had been developing for several years. On a November
evening in 1889, Clarke walked down to the corral to make sure
that the horses were safe for the night. It was moonlight. When he
saw two Indians moving stealthily up the arroyo, he raised his rifle
and fired. One of the Apaches toppled over dead, the other turned
and ran. Clarke fired a second time and knocked him down. In the
morning Clarke followed a bloody trail for a hundred yards or
more before he lost it.
The amount of blood the Indian had lost convinced Clarke that
the Apache was mortally wounded. But his body was not found.
The horse proved to be one that had been stolen from Clarke dur-
ing the past year. He and his partner Scanlon buried the other
Apache. She was a young squaw. It was enough to convince Clarke
and his partner that the one who had got away was the Apache
Kid. That was the way he often traveled—with a woman at his side.
He was never seen again. Among Arizonians, Wallapai Clarke is
credited with killing him.
Grubstaked by Al Sieber, Horn had located a mining claim on
Cherry Creek in Gila County. It placed him on the fringe of the
Pleasant Valley war, which was still being pursued. ‘There is noth-
ing in the record to indicate that he took part in it; although Earle
Forrest, its most authentic historian, refers to him as a Graham sup-
porter.
In the mining boom of 1889, Horn and Sieber sold their claim.
Horn’s share of the proceeds amounted to $8,000, more money
than he had ever possessed at one time. He was twenty-nine and
still a young man. Foolishly, he began cutting a splurge in Globe:
200
The Tom Horn Trail
the wolves were waiting for him. To quote the old song, “whiskey,
wimmen and card-playin’” threatened to be his undoing. When
Globe became too small a pond for him to swim in, he left Arizona
and headed for Denver, then the boom-town capital of the West.
201
i 4
a
;
i
i
fe
i
i
i
i
4
XS] Os
On the Evidence—True or False
—the Verdict Was Guilty
Or Tom Horn’s first months in Denver we know very little. By
his own admission, made some years later, he went on benders,
periods of drunkenness lasting four or five days. I have read that
he found temporary employment in one or another of the Larimer
Street gambling houses as a “lookout.” Perhaps he did, but I have
found no hard evidence to confirm the story. His diminishing funds
were becoming a problem, and in January, 1890, he went to work
for the Pinkerton Detective Agency."
James McPartland, famous for breaking up the Molly Maguire
terrorists, was director of the Denver office. He assigned Horn to
work with Doc Shores, one of his best operatives. When a Denver
and Rio Grande express was robbed at Cotopaxi, between Salida
and Canon City, Colorado, Shores and Horn distinguished them-
selves by tracking down the three guilty bandits and taking them
into custody after a chase that took them across Colorado and the
Texas Panhandle to Washita, Oklahoma.
Horn found his role as a Pinkerton operative at first both dan-
gerous and exciting, but eventually it became boring. After riding
the steamcars back and forth between Salt Lake City and Denver
202
«
On the Evidence—the Verdict Was Guilty
for thousands of miles, he turned in his shield. He &, north for
Cheyenne, instead of returning to Arizona, where he was widely
and favorably known. It is fair to presume that as a Pinkerton oper-
ative he had been in Wyoming on more than one occasion and had
some acquaintance with it.
In an attempt to supply a reason for his presence in W yoming,
some commentators have attempted to connect him with the far-
cical Johnson County Invasion as a hired gunman. As a matter of
fact, the so-called invasion had occurred long before he left the
Pinkertons. But the problem that had been responsible for it re-
mained—the rustling of range cattle.’
The homesteaders who had settled in Johnson, Natrona, and
other eastern counties had become so numerous that they elected
judges and other officials who could be depended upon to oppose
the powerful Stock Growers’ Association, which made it almost im-
possible to convict a man of stealing cattle, no matter what evi-
dence was against him. Big owners, unquestionably supported by
the association, were fighting back by hiring so-called stock, or
range, detectives to rid Wyoming of rustlers.
It was highly paid but dangerous work, calculated to appeal to
a man of Tom Horn’s demonstrated fearlessness and intelligence.
His days as an Army scout had established him as an expert tracker.
That he had the qualifications the cattlemen of Wyoming were
seeking in the men they were hiring to curb the rustling that was
plaguing them appears undeniable, It is likely that he had come to
terms with them prior to leaving the Pinkerton Agency in 1894.
That the deployment of a handful of stock detectives, each
working independently of the others, was not going to put down
range thievery soon became apparent. They were a deterrent, but
the branding of mavericks and the disappearance of branded cattle
continued. Some known rustlers left the country for safer ranges,
after finding in some lonely canyon the dead body of a man who
had refused to heed the warning.
Tom Horn, Charley Siringo, the self-styled “cowboy detec-
203
The Legend Makers
@..... the military was watching Geronimo closely, he got
away from San Carlos again with half a hundred followers. Re-
lentlessly pursued, the renegades left a trail of burnings and killings
behind them before they faded away below the line into the Sierra
Madre.
Miles became as devious as the old Apache, causing reports to
be circulated to the effect that the chief and his adherents would
be granted amnesty if they returned to the reservation and sur-
rendered their arms. Miles was ready to promise almost anything if
it enabled him to get his hands on them. Geronimo listened, but he
was not fooled; no man appreciated more than he the value of his
freedom as a bargaining point.
As soon as the trails had dried out in the spring of 1886, Cap-
tain (later Major General) Henry Lawton took to the field with
a small force of troopers and scouts. Al Sieber was his chief of
scouts. The purpose of the expedition was to contact Geronimo
and induce him to agree to parley with General Miles.
A few days later, and for the same purpose, Captain Emmett
Crawford and a smaller force, consisting of a pack train and scouts,
among whom was Tom Horn, followed Lawton across the border.
They encountered a troop of Mexican cavalry and were fired upon.
Crawford was killed. Horn and Lieutenant Maus brought Craw-
ford’s body back to Fort Apache.
A third expedition, commanded by Lieutenant Charles Gate-
wood, consisting of two friendly White Mountain Apaches and
himself, crossed the border to confer with the shrewd old chief.
Gatewood met with Captain Lawton’s party. His request that Horn
be transferred to his command as interpreter having been granted,
they parted.
The Army makes light of the part Horn played in the con-
ferences with Geronimo that followed. But that was standard milj-
tary practice. It cannot be doubted, however, that Horn was re-
sponsible in large measure for the successful conclusion of those
talks, the chief agreeing to meet General Miles in Skeleton Canyon.
196
@
When the hostiles returned to the San Carlos Reservation, Gen-
eral Miles bundled them and hundreds of other Apaches aboard
trains at San Carlos Station and shipped them across the United
States to the old Seminole Reservation near St. Augustine, Florida.
It marked the end of Apache tribal violence in Arizona.?
With the ending of Apache hostilities, the Army dismissed the
corps of scouts who had contributed so much to the successful
conclusion of the campaign. Cut adrift with the others, Horn di-
vided his time between prospecting—at which he was unsuccessful—
and contesting in the rodeos that were becoming increasingly pop-
ular throughout the Territory. Men who knew him as he was then
—the year was 1887—describe him as a bronzed, burly, fearless six-
footer. He was twenty-six,
There is nothing in the record to indicate that he was more
than casually acquainted with Sheriff William (Bucky) O’Neil of
Yavapai County. Bucky was already well known throughout Ari-
zona, but the career that was to make him famous was still ahead
of him. Horn must have impressed him, for he had him appointed
deputy sheriff.
The Mogollon Rim (pronounced Moyan) had long been the
recognized deadline beyond which sheep could not be grazed,
shutting them out of the Tonto Basin and particularly that part of
it known as Pleasant Valley. In the late fall of 1887, that ban was
put to the test when Daggs Brothers of Flagstaff, the most im-
portant sheep outfit in the Territory, drove a band of a thousand
head over the Rim into Pleasant Valley.
The three pastores who accompanied the sheep were young
Navajos. Certainly they must have expected to be stopped, turned
back, or killed. That was the overwhelming sentiment of the crowd
that had gathered hurriedly at Charlie Perkins’ store in Pleasant
Valley. If that didn’t happen at once, it was due to the coolheaded-
ness of Tom Graham, the leader of the cattlemen. So the first sheep
came into Pleasant Valley unopposed. When they were put on
197
The Tom Horn Trail
The Legend Makers
range claimed by the fighting Tewksbury clan, it became obvious
that the latter had betrayed their neighbors and sold out to the
Flagstaff sheepmen.
Thus the celebrated Pleasant Valley war, or Graham-Tewks-
bury feud, which was to be fought to the last man and take the
lives of a reported twenty-six men (I can account for only nine-
teen), began.
Doubting his ability to remain a neutral, Bucky O’Neil, who
was friendly with the Grahams, resigned his commission. Bill Mul-
venon, a good man, succeeded him. Horn, disgruntled at being
passed over, turned in his badge and moved to the booming copper
town of Globe, the county seat of newly organized Gila County.
The notorious Apache Kid, scourge of southern Arizona and
reputed killer of a score of men and women, both white and In-
dian, was taken into custody in 1888 and lodged in the Gila County
jail. Sheriff Glenn Reynolds made Horn a special deputy and in-
terpreter, charged with preventing any attempt at escape by the
famous prisoner. Horn was given time off to enable him to par-
ticipate in Globe’s first annual Fourth-of-July celebration and
cowboy stampede. He won the steer-roping contest handily. A
few months later he was in Phoenix, competing in the Phoenix Fair
contest and was again a winner.
The Apache Kid had been tried, convicted, and sentenced to
life imprisonment in the penitentiary at Yuma. The Territory was
shocked by the news that, as he and five other convicted Indians
were being taken to Yuma, they had gotten the upper hand of
Sheriff Reynolds and his deputy Hunky Dory Holmes, had killed
the two officers, and escaped.
Horn was shocked by the news and blamed himself for the
killing of his friend Glenn Reynolds and Deputy Sheriff Holmes.
“It wouldn’t have happened if I’d been there,” he told friends.
“The Kid and those devils evidently talked over their plans as the
stage in which they were riding bumped over the road near Flor-
198
The Tom Horn Trail
ence. Speaking no Apache, Glenn and Holmes couldn’t understand
what they were saying. I would have understood and been ready
for them.”
News of the killing of Reynolds and Holmes and the escape of
the prisoners had been brought into Florence by Gene Livingston,
the driver of the stage, himself seriously wounded. On the morning
of November 1, after crossing the Gila, the sand was so deep on
the uphill climb that Reynolds ordered everybody out to ease the
load on the horses. The prisoners were handcuffed and shackled
in pairs. Reynolds carried a shotgun loaded with buckshot, Holmes
was armed with a rifle. In addition, both officers carried .45 caliber
pistols. But it being a raw, cold morning, both men were wearing
heavy sheep-lined coats, which made it impossible to reach their
short guns quickly.
Prisoners and officers had taken only a step or two when the
Apache Kid leaped at Reynolds and brought his handcuffs down
on Reynolds’ head, knocking him unconscious. Two of the other
prisoners felled Holmes in similar fashion. Snatching up Holmes’s
rifle, the Apache Kid knocked driver Livingston off the box. Be-
lieving he had killed him, he paid no further attention to him.
Whipping around, he sent a bullet crashing through Reynolds’
head.
From where he lay, Livingston saw them find the keys and
remove the shackles and cuffs. Pulling the harness off the horses,
they mounted bareback and struck off down the slope and disap-
peared after crossing the river.
The Kid’s companions were captured a few months later, were
tried, convicted, and hanged. But not the Apache Kid. For two
years he was the object of the greatest manhunt in Arizona history.
He was first in one place and then in another, leaving a red trail
behind him. Both as a special deputy and in his private capacity,
Tom Horn took part in the long search for the Apache Kid. It was
his opinion—and events confirm it—that the Kid spent the winters
in Mexico. Certainly there were long stretches of time when the
199
si
a
o-
Peer er er ere aman
During the year between Horn’s
trial and execution, the
atmosphere in Cheyenne was a
combination of siege and circus.
Miles City, his old Chief Inspector from his range detective
days. Smith was looking for a *‘good man to do some secret
work,”’ involving rustling on the Big Moon River. The letter
gave LeFors the beginnings of an idea. He forwarded it to John
Coble’s Iron Mountain Ranch, where Horn had returned,
offering him the job. Horn was enthusiastic. Addressing
LeFors as ‘*Friend Joe,’’ Horn wrote back that he ‘would like
to take up that work.’’ He continued:
I don’t care how big or bad his [W. D. Smith’s] men
are or how many of them there are, I can handle them.
_. . Put me in communication with Mr. Smith whom I
know well by reputation and I can garantee him the
recommendation of every cow man in the state of
Wyoming in this line of work. . . . ] can handle his work
_. . 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.
It was the response—and the opportunity —LeFors had
been hoping for. On Sunday, January 12, he met Horn at the
Cheyenne railroad station, and from there the two cordial
acquaintances went to LeFors’s office for a final interview by
LeFors on behalf of W. D. Smith. Parts of their conversation
went this way:
Horn: 1 don’t want to be making reports to anybody at
any time. If a man has to make reports all the time, they
will catch the wisest S.O.B. on earth. These people are
not afraid of shooting, are they?
LeFors: No, they are not afraid of shooting.
Horn: | shoot too much I know. You know me when it
comes to shooting.
* * *
Horn: The only thing I was ever afraid of was that I
LeFors: 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.
The two men went downstairs for a drink. They returned in
fifteen minutes to finish the interview.
Horn: The first man I killed was when I was only
twenty-six years old [presumably Horn was not counting
Indians]. He was a coarse S.O.B.
LeFors: 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. [William Lewis and Fred Powell were Iron Moun-
tain ranchers whose 1895 slayings remained officially
unsolved. }
Horn: He was the scaredest S.O.B. you ever saw. How
did you come to know that, Joe?
LeFors: | have known everything you have done, Tom,
for a great many years. I know where you were paid this
money on the train between Cheyenne and Denver. Why
did you put the rock under the kid’s head after you killed
him? This is one of your marks, isn’t it?
Horn: Yes, that is the way I hang out my sign to collect
money for a job of this kind.
LeFors: Have you got your money yet for the killing of
Nickell?
Horn: | got that before I did the job.
LeFors: You got $500 for that. Why did you cut the
price?
Horn: 1 got $2,100.
LeFors: How much is that a man?
Horn: That is for three dead men, and one man shot at
five times. Killing is my specialty. I look at it as a
business proposition, and I think I have a corner on the
market.
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.
* * *
(Horn told LeFors that he had lain in wait for Willie
Nickell for at least three days, with nothing to eat except
a little raw bacon.] Horn: I get so hungry that I could kill
my mother for some grub, but I never quit a job until I get
my man.
A connecting door behind LeFors’s desk led to a
storeroom, and in preparation LeFors had removed the door,
planed off the bottom two inches, and rehung it. Behind the
gimmicked door, Deputy Sheriff Leslie Snow and district
court stenographer Charles Ornhaus were eavesdropping. As
soon as LeFors and Horn went downstairs for another drink,
Ornhaus, who had taken down the entire interview in short-
hand, hurried out to have his notes typed up. A warrant was
issued the next morning, and Horn was arrested by the sheriff,
a deputy, and Sandy McKneal in the lobby of the Inter-Ocean
Hotel, while Joe LeFors looked on.
4a
deterrent to others with the same idea. Tom Horn combatted
Professional rustlers, too, but a significant part of his job was
to intimidate and sometimes drive out nesters and sheepmen.
Further, LeFors and Horn brought different points of view
to their work. LeFors believed in an honest day’s work and the
sanctity of property rights. He was a meticulous detective with
an eye for detail, and his Successful cases are marked by
. doggedness rather than brilliant deductive leaps of faith. He
concentrated on the professional bunches and was with the
g small army that finally breached Hole-in-the-Wall in 1897.
Later, LeFors was a member of the posse that trailed Butch
Cassidy’s Wild Bunch after it blew up the express car on the
“ Overland Flyer. Around 1900, LeFors accepted a commission
_ as a Deputy United States Marshal. His Superior, Frank A.
Hadsell, was a Federal appointee who spent most of his time
on his sheep ranch near Rawlins; so, the day-to-day marshal-
ling fell to LeFors. In his first year he successfully ap-
Prehended a train robber and a counterfeiter.
Tom Horn, on the other hand, believed that life was a mean
game with few rules, in which the deadliest son of a bitch with
the most guns won. Horn saw himself as that son of a bitch.
€ Army had paid him to hunt down Apaches, and the
Inkertons had paid him to hunt down anyone for whom
money was offered. In either case, the employer rarely cared
whether the Prey came in breathing or stiff. If Capitalist
ranchers were willing to pay to fight rustlers or rivals—or to
stop them dead— Horn saw it as about the same job. ‘I’m an
exterminatin’ son of a bitch,’’ he once proclaimed.
Hired guns were nothing new to the West when Horn sold
his to the stock growers of Wyoming in 1894. They dated from
the years immediately after the Civil War, when a lot of men
with killing experience were out of work. Before the nester
troubles began in the West in the mid-1880s, gunslingers
worked for mining magnates with labor trouble and railroads
- bothered by road agents. Historian Paul Trachtman writes:
Of all the gunfighters, these mercenaries were the
~ hardest to Classify. As a group, they were neither out-
laws nor lawmen, though many had pursued both careers
in the past. In their role as vigilantes, they usually
operated not so much in defiance of the law as simply
beyond its reach.
. A . . ° COURTESY ARCHIVES— AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
After abortive service in the cause of the Spanish-American
War (Horn caught malaria and was mustered out in Florida),
Horn killed two alleged rustlers, Dart Isham and Matt Rash, in His pallor reflecting his months of confinement, Tom Horn
a er notorious outlaw stronghold, Brown’s Park, near the stands in the hallway of the Laramie County Jail in
oe border. Then, in the spring of 1901, Cheyenne during his trial for the murder of Willie Nickell.
39
Saas
As Marshal, LeFors considered
it his duty to pursue the killer.
After a time he became
convinced it was Tom Horn.
Horn went to work for John Coble, scion ofa wealthy
Pennsylvania family who had given up an appointment to the
U.S. Naval Academy to horse-ranch at Iron Mountain,
Wyoming. Coble was attracted to the romantic figure of Horn
as an embodiment of the just-finished century and the Old
West, and put him to work searching out rustlers and other
troublemakers in the neighborhood. It was Horn’s perhaps
overzealous execution of this assignment that led to that first
meeting with Marshal Joe LeFors.
LENDOLENE MYRTLE KIMMELL WAS A_ MINOR
(5 though catalytic character in the drama to come. A
strange little woman with almond-eyed, vaguely Ori-
ental features who had left her Missouri home to teach at the
Iron Mountain School, she idolized Horn and was his occa-
sional lover. To a reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer, she
swore that Tom Horn was ‘‘a man who embodied the charac-
teristics, the experiences and the code of the old frontiers-
man.’’
Glendolene Kimmel! boarded with the homesteading fam-
ily of Victor Miller, neighbors to the family of Kels P. Nickell.
Nickell had outraged nesters and big cattlemen alike by bring-
ing in sheep; in the spring of 1901, Nickell and Miller were
also feuding over a fist-fight between two of their sons at a
dance. On the morning of July 18, 1901, fourteen-year-old
Willie Nickell was found at the corral gate, shot dead. He was
a big lad and was wearing a low-brimmed hat and an overcoat
against the early-morning high-country chill, and the murderer
may have mistaken him for his father.
Tom Horn, whose reputation as a killer was so potent by
now that he usually needed only to. be seen riding the range to
stop rustling in an area, was accused of the murder, as was
Victor Miller. Horn claimed that he was on a train between
Cheyenne and Laramie the day of the killing. Miller was,
ironically, alibied by schoolteacher Kimmell, who testified to
a coroner’s jury that Miller was at his home when the killing
occurred.
Seventeen days after Willie Nickell was killed, his father
was shot in the arm, hip, and side from ambush, and while he
was in the hospital several masked men fired into his flock,
killing a couple dozen sheep. Kels Nickell finally saw the
bloody handwriting on the wall and removed to Cheyenne to
work as a night watchman for the Union Pacific.
Enter Joe LeFors.
Partially through pressure from the cattlemen of the
Cheyenne Club, the investigation into the Nickell shooting
was eventually dropped by local lawmen, but as U.S. Marshal,
LeFors considered it his duty to pursue the killer. After a time
he became convinced it was Tom Horn. He knew that Horn had
killed men for money; anyone who had heard Horn’s barroom
crowing knew that. There was a wealth of circumstantial
evidence as well, although it is notable that LeFors was unable
ever to prove Horn’s guilt through evidence or witnesses.
LeFors later admitted to Horn, ‘‘In the Willie Nickell killing I
could never find your trail, and I pride myself on being a
trailer.’’
Still, LeFors had no motive for hounding Tom Horn besides
a belief in his guilt and a sense of justice. Even if LeFors had
been under any external pressure, it would have come from
stockmen’s allies, from the governor, himself (who had once
almost hired Horn as a regulator), on down, and it would have
pressed LeFors to drop the case.
LeFors’s investigation began while Kels Nickell was still in
the hospital, when he interviewed Mrs. Mary Mahoney Nick-
ell at the family’s Iron Mountain ranch. After eliminating as
suspects a half-breed barn-painter and family-enemy Miller,
LeFors settled on Horn. At about this point, LeFors asked
Police Chief Sandy McKneal for an introduction when they
spotted Horn in Meanea’s saddlery.
Not long afterwards, an informant told LeFors that Horn
had arrived in Laramie the day of the killing on a “‘steamy
shaken horse’’ and had left a bloodstained sweater at a cob-
bler’s shop. Still, all LeFors’s *tevidence’’ remained anec-
dotal, hearsay, or circumstantial. Even by the investigative
standards of the time, LeFors could not convict on the basis of
what he had, and knew it.
Meanwhile, Tom Horn was in Denver, drinking heavily
and avoiding Wyoming for atime. Denver was a cosmopolitan
city by the turn of the century, and Horn a charming anach-
ronism who blew loud about himself, especially when drunk.
Although the faithful Glendolene Kimmel] wrote to warn him
that LeFors would not let the Nickell matter lie, Horn went on
accepting free drinks from amused bankers and petty politi-
cians in the Denver public houses.
At the very least, Tom Horn was a bad drunk. At worst, he
may have been losing touch with reality and his own mortality.
He apparently made dangerous but less than damning allusions
to his role in the Nickell killing before several witnesses,
despite Glendolene’s warning. On another occasion, Horn
abused for sport a compact citified dude who had the nerve to
take the spot at the bar rail next to Horn. The dude turned out to
be a nationally ranked prizefighter known as **Young’’ Cor-
bett. Corbett broke Horn’s jaw and battered him into uncon-
sciousness.
40
‘Be itepn eg a ah Fa ear aa ag one ta et ap
Pa)
HILE HORN WAS DRINKING HIS MEALS THROUGH
a straw in Denver, a woman Pinkerton working
undercover with LeFors got Glendolene Kimmell
liquored up. Glendolene shared Horn’s fancy for hootch,
braggadocio, and the confusion of reality and might-have-
been, because she told the woman agent that she had brought
Tom Horn sandwiches while he lay in ambush for Kels Nick-
ell, Willie’s father.
On sobering up the next morning, Glendolene must have
had an inkling that she had mouthed off too much, because she
sent word that she wished to see LeFors in her hotel room.
There she asked point-blank if Horn was a suspect. LeFors
evaded the question, assuring her only that everything would
turn out all right. According to LeFors, the interview ended
this way:
I said, ‘‘Well, forget our talk.’’
She laughed and said, ‘‘When I sent for you I fully
ke PATSE, Cow’
Monthnies.
i et oe ae
lis i i tot he he So
Made up of men who knew and understood the West that Tom
Horn operated in, the jury that decided his fate poses with
Bailiff George Proctor.
intended to kill you but I believe you are all right now.”’
While she was talking she shook a keen-edged dagger
out of her sleeve.
‘IT didn’t know what you wanted,’’ I told her, ‘‘or
who I was going to meet with you when I was coming
upstairs,’’ and I shook an automatic [pistol] out of my
Sleeve. She laughed and we shook hands and declared
we would be friends.
The woman was just about as dangerous as Horn
himself. I think she was about one-half Spanish or
something, not entirely all-American.
Then, about the first of the year 1902, six months after
Willie Nickell died, LeFors got a letter from W. D. Smith of
COURTESY WYOMING STATE ARCHIVES, MUSEUMS AND HISTORICAL DEPARTMENT
41
?)
ed
Ea Sy PE i...
OH
(
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aa
=
&
Gs
l
9
ye Suos, © NR
t
BY
DANE COOLIDGE
uey faq
5
weAj, UT pes
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY THE AUTHOR
SUT
N uo
f
i
*CO6T fog Tequiaac
ILLUSTRATED WITH HALFTONES
Essay Index Reprint Series
)
BOOKS FOR LIBRARIES PRESS
FREEPORT, NEW YORK
\
Copyright, 1932 by E..P. Dutton € Co., Inc:
Renewal, ©, 1960, by Coit Coolidge.
This edition published 1968 by arrangement
WIth EB. Po Dutton & Co. Inc-
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER:
68-24846
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .
E
VII.
VII.
XI.
XII.
COLONEL CHARLES GOODNIGHT —
TRAIL-MAKER
JOHN CHISUM—THE CATTLE KING
CLAY ALLISON—MAN-KILLER
TOM HORN—SCOUT ann MAN-HUNTER
COMMODORE PERRY OWENS—A LONG-
HAIRED SHERIFF oo
CAPTAIN JOHN R. HUGHES— TEXAS
RANGER .
BURT ALVORD— OFFICER AND OUT-
LAW an
COLONEL BILL GREENE— GAMBLER
AND MINING MAN
COLONEL EMILIO KOSTERLITZKY —A
MEXICAN COSSACK
CAPTAIN BURTON C. MOSSMAN —
ARIZONA RANGER .
CAPTAIN HARRY C. WHEELER — SOL-
DIER AND RANGER
DEATH VALLEY SCOTTY — PROSPEC-
TOR AND SHOWMAN | ,
INDEX
Ps
339
—————
-.
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ormer Arizona Indian Scout and lawman,
Top illustration: Tom Horn’s grave in Boulder, Colorado. Below: T. Joe Cahill;
as Ae Cierk of Laramie Sen he got to be Tom’s hangman.
LAWS AND OUTLAWS
Murder Was His Business
Working for the law or against it, Tom Horn was the best at what he did
"He was no Jesse Jamies or Billy the
Kid. Unlike those legendary des-
peradoes, Tom Horn did not kill
for robbery or revenge; he was a
hired assassin who saw himself as
a businessman. “Killing is my spe-
cialty,” he boasted. “I look at it as a
business proposition, and I think _
I have a corner on the market.” -
From lawman...
Horn believed that when men in
authority (including the govern-
ment) had use for a murderer,
they. would keep him from the
clutches of the law. And, for the
most part, that’s just the way it
worked out.
At various times in his career,
le worked as a scout for the U.S.
Army, as a deputy sheriff in Colo-
rado, and asa detective for the
noted Pinkerton Agency. When
Gen. Nelson A. Miles needed a
super-scout to track down Geroni-
mo, the renegade Apache chief,
he turned to Tom Horn. Some
even credit Horn with arranging
the Indian's surrender.
With his piercing eyes and seri-
ous manner, Horn wasn’t taken
lightly. While working for Pinker-
ton, he reputedly killed 17 men.
He was so effective, so the story
goes, that once he simply walked
up to a man accused of murder
and robbery, announced that he
had come for him, and the man
surrendered. “I had little trouble
with him,” Horn recalled.
--. to hired killer
After four years of detective work,
he quit. “It was too tame for me,”
Tom Hom (right), hired gunman,
spent his time-in jail braiding ropes
out of horsehair. Legend has it—
but it’s probably untrue—that he
was hanged with one of them.
180
-he claimed. He wasn't out of a job
for long. In 1894 Horn was hired
as a range detective by an associ-
ation of Wyoming cattle barons
who wanted to make use of his
special skills in fighting a range
war against small ranchers and
homesteaders. Ostensibly, he
was to find rustlers and turn them
over to the authorities.
But, in fact, Tom Horn was the
cattlemen’s law, judge, jury, and
executioner. His price per hit
ranged from $300 to $600. He nev-
er engaged in gunfights or fancy
fast draws. His style was simple:
he waited in ambush and killed
his target. Then, as a calling card,
he would place a rock beneath
the victim's head.
Ray
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2
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In 1902 Horn was arrested fo
killing the 14-year-old son of
settler. The trial created a sensa,
tion in Cheyenne. Many towns-
off—the cattle barons were pay-¥
ing for Horn’s defense, after all 3
and he had enough information’#
to bring them all down with him
To nearly everyone’s surprise#
Horn was found guilty. (He had
confessed to the crime while drink-3
ing with a sheriff.) He broke out #
of jail but was quickly recaptured;
and the National Guard was%
called out to prevent another es-
cape. On November 20, 1903
Tom Horn ‘went to the gallows,
According tc onlookers, he die
without a whimper. ¥
tT AM gs
pon NG aad
a) ma NE ae ene Be oh
ANAT F284 Fert 5 Wie gu mnt ci alaanga bide Nhe SR 0 a his feo a
Poe Teh aS Mek
a
Py)
The lynching of
Cattle Kate Watson
and Jim Averill
brought national at-
tention to the war
between the cattle
barons and small
ranchers of Wyoming.
Witnesses were
killed or simply
disappeared, pre-
venting legal action
against those be-
hind the lynching.
The case led to
the “Johnson County
War” of 1892, in
which the US. Cavalry
was called in to
restore order.
Cattle Kate Watson
Her “story is an awful one...” 78
Born in 1866 with far too restless a spirit for the Kansas plains,
Ella Watson ran away from home to become a dance-hall girl and
changed her name to Kate. According to her father, she was “a
fine girl of handsome form” and “robust physique” who weighed
“between 160 and 180 pounds.”
In 1888 she received a business proposition from Jim Averill to
Come to Sweetwater Valley, Wyoming. There she set up a home-
Stead about a mile from Jim's saloon and went into the business of
entertaining” his customers. Now, Averill was no ordinary saloon-
€eper. An articulate man, he was the leader of the area’s small
ranchers and homesteaders and had written to the local newspapers
denouncing the greed of the cattle barons.
A savage winter had intensified the bitter range war that raged
*Ound Sweetwater Valley. As small ranchers struggled to survive,
fa, Openly rustled cattle from the barons’ vast herds to feed their
ne Kate made it known that she would accept livestock in re-
™ for her favors, thus earning the nickname Cattle Kate. More
<n! a few of her growing herd bore a baron’s brand.
his €n an angry cattleman confronted Kate, claiming that 20 of
Stolen steers were in her pen, she insisted she had bought them.
it cones Proof. She produced a rifle, and the mere sight of
range ep the argument. Then a spy was sent to watch Kate's
my: € reported that she had at least 50 stolen steers.
and J; uly 20, 1889, a vigilante party of 20 men abducted Kate
fro
= Averill, took them to a nearby canyon, and hanged them
é rged ottonwood tree. Although four prominent barons were
with the murders, they never stood trial. “We didn’t mean
to ha
"8 'em,” said one, “only scare ‘em a little.”
Justice Field
Beats the Rap
The gun wasn’t even in his hand
In 1861, when Stephen J. Field was
chief justice of the California Su-
preme Court, he sent President
Abraham Lincoln the first transcon-
tinental telegram. Lincoln later ap-
pointed him to the U.S. Supreme
Court, and in 1889 he became the
only member of that body ever to
be arrested for murder.
The arrest grew out of a divorce
appeal: In September 1888 Field
ruled that the marriage contract
between Sarah Althea Hill and a
wealthy mine owner was invalid
and that she had no claim to his
money. The ruling angered her
attorney and current husband,
Judge David Terry (also a former
chief justice of the California Su-
preme Court). A courtroom brawl
erupted, and Field jailed them
both for contempt. They publicly
vowed revenge.
The following summer Field
and his bodyguard, U.S. Marshal
David Neagle, were on the same
train as the Terrys, bound for San
Francisco. At a stop near Stock-
ton, the Terrys entered the station
dining room and saw Field. Sarah
rushed back to the train. Judge Ter-
.ty slapped Field’s face. Neagle,
pulling a gun, shouted, “Stop! | am
an officer!” When Terry began fum-
bling in his coat, Neagle fired, and
Terry slumped to the floor. Then
Sarah returned, carrying a satchel
with a loaded revolver in it.
Field and Neagle were arrested
for murder. Unruffled, Field said:
“I recognize your authority, sir,
and submit to the arrest.”
The governor of California or-
dered Justice Field freed. Neagle’s
case led to a landmark decision:
the Supreme Court ruled in 1890
that because he was acting under
federal authority, he was not sub-
ject to the laws of California.
181
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It was a good day for a hanging and all of Che
Indian Scout, bounty hunter, lawman—Tom Horn.
It was here that T. Joe’s father served as
a rough and ready quartermaster who
handled horses for the U.S. Cavalry. In
1866 he was running a remount station
furnishing horsepower to the Cavalry,
handling the rolling freighters which roil-
ed into the old outposts of early Wyoming
—Fort Saunders, Fort Laramie, Fort
Steele, Sunderland and Russell.
When T. Joe was about seven, the Ca-
hill family moved into Cheyenne. It was
about this time that the family began call-
ing Joe Jr., T. Joe, to distinguish him from
his father. The name, T. Joe, stuck, and
became one of the most familiar in Wyo-
ming law enforcement circles. : \
Thomas Senior maintained a freight-
ing station in Cheyenne and a year after
Wyoming became a state (1890) T. Joe
helped his father’s teams dig the excava-
tion for the first Wyoming Statehouse.
Two years later Thomas Senior was elect-
ed to the second Wyoming Legislature.
When T. Joe wasn’t employed by his
father in the freighting business, he earn-
ed money shooting varmints, mainly go-
phers, for the Territorial government at
a bounty of a nickel a head. He also work-
ed as a janitor at St. John’s Catholic
Church, an altar boy, a bellringer for the
church, and he also pumped the hand bel- -
lows for the old church organ. After com-
pletion of eighth grade, there were no
-more schools to attend on this frontier,
so young Joe Cahill worked for his father
hauling coal and timbers which were sold
to ranchers and the local merchants.
At the turn of the century T. Joe was
doing an outstanding job coaching Che-
_yenne’s first baseball team, the Cheyenne
Indians. Along with coaching, Joe sold
30
°
insurance for the Union Pacific Railroad
up.and down the main line and served as
Duputy Sheriff in Cheyenne and Laramie
County. It was during this period, 1900-
1906, that T. Joe married Susan Brady, "to
whom he remained married until his
death in 1965, served as County Clerk of
Laramie County and acted as hangman at
the Tom Horn hanging.
T. Joe spoke of the Tom Horn hanging
during an interview several years before
his death.
“It was a shaking experience,” T. Joe
recalled. “I took Tom to the scaffold and
blindfolded him and attached the hang-
man’s noose. He thanked me.
“You're a married man now aren't you,
T. Joe?” he said. “Take care of the family
and God bless you.”
And shortly after that he was dead.
T. Joe Cahill inaugurated Cheyenne’s
first Fire Department. During the first ten
_ years of this century, he organized the
Alert Hose Company, Cheyenne’s first
volunteer fire department. He worked
with the volunteer company until 1910
or, until he and the mayor didn’t see eye
to eye. In retaliation T. Joe removed all
fire fighting equipment, which was his
personal property. This action did get the
city administration’s attention and fast!
The City of Cheyenne was without any
fire protection! The following week the
mayor was thrown out of office and the
citizens of Cheyenne authorized T. Joe to
Organize the first paid Fire Department
‘for the City of Cheyenne!
Back in the year 1897, Joe Cahill had a
great idea! Along with other leading citi-
zens of Cheyenne he worked at organiz-
ing and staging a Wild West show and
yenne was there, including that
ey
oa
Another photo of Tom Horn in jail at
Cheyenne. ie
rodeo. T. Joe knew just about all of the: is
great Wyoming cowboys, especially those
of the 2-Bar Warren Ranch at Chugwater, >
the Y Cross at Horse Creek, and Charlie.
Irwin’s Y-6. He also knew the Danks boys,
(Clayton Danks later went on to be the.
first cowboy to ride the great bucking
horse, Steamboat, and further distinguish-
ed himself as the Chief of Police at Parco.
_iff Dick Proctor were making prepara-
1892. Julian’s theory was one of self des-
places, and in turn held down a spring. |
_ The spring operated a valve which allow- ©
_ it caused a weight to slip off the cross
execution could be regulated according —
_. ted. The time needed for the springing 2
_ of the trap coor was regulated by a valve _
in the water can. The entire cycle would
- more than one minute.
oo mounted the Julian Gallows. T. Joe Ca-
hill helped Under Sheriff Dick Proctor
_ attach the conventional hangman’s knot,
13 wraps, to Tom Horn’s neck, and then
placed the black hood over the condemn-
ed man’s head. With Sheriff Ed Smalley’s
ed man onto the gallows trap. Instantly
__trated the deathly stillness; the instrument
fe death had begun to operate. ae the
Liside the Laramie County Jail, Depu-_
ty Sheriff and County Clerk T. Joe Ca-
hill, Sheriff Ed Smalley and Under Sher-
tions for the hanging. Outside, the gal-
lows stood menacingly, as if specifically
awaiting the arrival of the condemned,
Tom Horn. The gallows was a classic in
imaginative creation. It was designed by
James P. Julian, a Cheyenne architect, in
truction. When the condemned man step--
ped on the trap door, his weight pressed
down on a 4x4 post which supported the
ed water to drain from a container bal-
anced on a cross arm. When just the right -
amount of water trickled from the can,
arm. This knocked the 4x4 support from _
under the trap door, allowing the victim
to drop to his death. The fall required for
to the height and weight of the commit-
be completed in seconds; certainly no
‘Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tom Ho:
assistance, T. Joe Cahill lifted the doom-
the hissing sound of running water pene- #
now. I hoe you’ re doin well. Treat her
right!”
Tom Horn. The sinister sound of the un-
‘onds when the leaves of the trap parted —
‘flung into a twilight state between life and -
ley and Dick Proctor, waited seventeen
‘minutes as a physician, with fingers on
‘Thomas Joseph Cahill, a
from Tipperary, Ireland, and Mary
the remote camp of Carlin, Wyoming.
Camp Carlin (U.S. Cavalry) was located
ning water had continued for just 31 sec-
with a crash and Tom Horn’s body was ©
death: T. Joe, along with Sheriff Ed Smal-
Horn’s pulse, felt the mighty heart labor
on. Finally, after what seemed an eternity
om Horn was pronounced dead.
: Those: Joseph Cahill, Jr. was born to
“Roarin’ Tip”
O'Neill, from Cork, on August 7, 1877, in -
about three miles northwest of Cheyenne, ©
: HORN, Tom, white, hanged Wy@ming, Novem ber 20, 1903
9 *
5 le abla dase gps adi won
action-packed true tales
of early Arizona
by
Marshall Trimble
ill
prominent role in bringing Geronimos’s band to the famous parley with
General Crook at Canon de los Embudos. Unfortunately, some Ameri-
can whiskey peddlers sneaked into the chieftain’s camp and convinced
the Apaches they should continue their restive ways. (Certain business
interests were reaping a harvest of profits from the war and didn’t want to
see it end.)
The renegade Apaches slipped off during the night, leaving General
Crook in an embarrassing position. He was relieved of his command for
putting what some Washington officials called “too much trust in the
Apaches,” and replaced by General Nelson Miles. One of Miles first acts
was to disband the Apache scouts. This put Horn out of a job temporarily.
His talents as an interpreter, scout, and packer made him too valuable to
keep on the sidelines for long. Soon, Miles put him back on the govern-
ment payroll and the scout played an integral part in the final subjugation
of Geronimo in September, 1886. Officers who had served with the scout
considered him to be both honorable and brave. Years later, during his
trial, his opponents would portray him as a conspirator among the
renegades.
Following the conclusion of the Apache Wars, Tom Horn prospected
and ranched in the Globe area. During this time he established a reputa-
tion as a champion-class calf roper. When the Pleasant Valley War or
Graham-Tewksbury feud broke out in 1887, Horn found himself caught
in the middle of the conflict. In his memoirs, Horn denies taking sides
despite pressure from both factions. Others have said Horn was a partici-
pant. Certainly a man of his reputation would be much sought after.
During these years Horn was a deputy in Yavapai County under
Buckey O’Neill and in Gila County with Glen Reynolds. During his
tenure with the latter, one ol Arcos most famous murders occurred.
One of Sieber’s scouts called “Kid” (later Apache Kid) was arrested for
murder after he took vengeance upon another Apache who killed his
father. The Kid was following Apache custom whereby the oldest son
vindicates the transgression. He and some friends made a run for it and in
making their escape shot and wounded AI Sieber. A bullet shattered the
old scout’s leg, crippling him for life. The Kid and his gang were captured
after a brief spree and sentenced to long terms at the Yuma Territorial
Prison. Tom Horn was to be one of the escort guards for the long ride
from Globe to the train station at Casa Grande before fate intervened.
Earlier, Horn had wona rodeo contest at Globe qualifying him for the
Territorial Fair at Phoenix. The rodeo was held the same time the
prisoners were to be taken to the train. Horn went to Phoenix and Sheriff
Reynolds and deputy “Hunky Dory” Holmes left Globe with the prison-
ers. On the way to Casa Grande, the Kid and his gang plotted their
escape. Neither Reynolds nor Holmes could savvy Apache lingo and
were unaware of the scheme. Had Horn been present, it was likely he
would have understood what the Apaches were saying and thwarted the
escape. Reynolds and Holmes were both brutally murdered, something
130 TOM HORN
Tom Horn portrait (left) and
prison photo (above)
Horn never forgot. The championship steer roping prize was of little
consolation.
Tom Horn left Arizona in 1890 for Wyoming where he went to work as
a range inspector with a commission as deputy U.S. Marshal. His talents
as a tracker and gunman were much in demand during those turbulent
times of range country feuds. The Pinkerton Detective Agency hired him
to help solve a train robbery near Denver. Horn tracked ‘\¢ bandits
several hundred miles, taking a notorious outlaw named Peg Leg”
McCoy singlehandedly.
He quit the agency soon after because he found the job tc» dull. The
West was changing. More and more Horn became a man out ‘ place and
time.
When the war came with Spain in 1898, Tom Horn sough: sut his old
friends in the military, Marion Maus, Henry Lawton, Leo: 1rd Wood
and Nelson Miles and offered his services. He was commiss' »ned Chief
Packmaster for General William Shafter. In his new position, |!orn skill-
fully managed to transport more than 500 pack mules to Cu! just prior
to the battle of San Juan Hill. Horn’s pack trains delivered m: *h-needed
supplies and ammunition for the military, especially the Ro: ~h Riders.
Had Horn not accomplished this near-impossible task, ther night not
have been a Teddy Roosevelt-Rough Rider charge up that nr »-famous
hill. Before the war’s end, Tom Horn caught the fever and w:_ sent back
to a friend’s ranch in Iron Mountain, Wyoming, to recuper:'‘:.
The range wars were going strong in Wyoming and He 1 quickly
found employment asa “regulator” for the large cattle interest. Again his
unique talents as a tracker and gunman were much in dem “id. These
were many-sided feuds—large cattlemen against small- sheepmen
against cattlemen—politicians vs. politicians. Local politics; syed such
a role in the courts that a cow thief caught red-handed usu ly got off
TON iORN 131
lightly. Also, public sympathy was decidedly against big business and
large cattle ranchers were considered big business. The big cattle ranches Horn’s attorneys searched vigorousiy for some kind of legal loophole to p
retaliated by hiring range detectives or regulators. These range detectives gain a new trial for their client. Horn “rew restless in his cell and became
generally acted as judge, jury and executioner to cow thieves. The mere determined to gain his freedom—one ‘vay or another. One plot to escape
presence of a man like Horn was enough to strike fear in the heart of the failed. On another attempt, Horn and « cellmate made a successful break,
toughest of men. It was said the ruthless Horn stalked his victim Apache- but were recaptured a few minutes | ter. These incidents did little to
style for several days, sometimes waiting in the rain for hours for just the improve Horn’s public image.
right shot. Horn’s reputation was such that the suggestion to a suspected Glendolene Kimmell, a school tea: ‘er who had taught at the Miller-
rustler that Horn was stalking him was enough to send the frightened Nickell school and lived at times wi"! both feuding families, made a
man scurrying from the territory. In effect, the cunning regulator became courageous plea on Horn’s behalf. }\iss Kimmell testified that young
the “rustler’s bogyman.” Through it all, Horn did nothing to discourage Victor Miller confessed to her the W;"' Nickell murder. Her testimony
this kind of legend-making. On the contrary, he encouraged it. Killing is was discounted, however, because vas believed the pretty, young
my “stock and trade” he would say mild-mannerly. teacher was deeply infatuated with | m,
A brief feud broke out between two small ranch families, the Millers On October 1, 1903,the State Supre 1c Court issued an opinion affirm-
and the Nickells, when the latter began running sheep in the area. Since ing the lower court’s decision. Tom »as scheduled to be executed on
the Nickell’s sheep were running on the Miller's range and Horn wasn’t November 20, 1903.
employed by either, he took no interest in the matter, When 13-year old During the final hectic days, Cheyenne took ona fervid atmosphere.
Willie Nickell’s body was found, circumstantial evidence indicated a The amount of alcohol consumed was awesome. Rumors of another
Miller did the killing. However, the matter was dropped when not enough escape ran rampant. Horn’s friends added fuel to the fire by vowing to
evidence could be gathered, and the case was added to the growing list of spring him. A machine gun was Placed atop the county courthouse in
unsolved murders in the region. case they decided to Carry out their bold threat.
U.S. Marshal Joe Lafors, himself a former range detective who would His last months had been occupied writing, in pencil, his memoirs
later gain fame for his relentless pursuit of Butch Cassidy and the Sun- which were released in book form the following year. The work was sub-
dance Kid, became convinced that the killer of 13-year old Willie Nickell titled “A Vindication.” It was really no vindication, but was instead, a
was Tom Horn. Horn was a temperate man when on a job but went on history of his years spent in Arizona. Horn’s experiences in Arizona were
tremendous drinking bouts in between. Lafors caught Horn ona binge written from memory. Some of the details are ina d misleading.
and tricked him into “confessing” to the crime. Lafors had concealed a There is also a bit of ya history of the
deputy and a stenographer to eavesdrop in the next room while he Apache Wars is one of al documents
swapped yarns with Horn. Lafors skillfully led Horn into a conversation t tell all” in the story, preferring to
about the Nickell’s murder where implications and innuendos were made ow mployers. Horn went to the grave
concerning Horn’s role in which Horn seemingly confessed. The next day , i i doubt, adds to the enigma and
Tom Horn was placed under arrest for the murder of Willie Nickell, romance of this western legend.
The trial in Cheyenne was inundated with politics. Several members of The hanging of Tom Horn ushered in a new period in American history
the jury were men who had reason to hate Horn. He had recovered stolen —the closing of the frontier and the dawning of the 20th century—the
cattle from their ranches. Newspapers in Denver and Cheyenne pictured old ways superseded by the new. Tom Horn was a product of the old—a
Horn as a heinous murderer of children. Large ranchers feared Horn misfit in the new.
might reveal his employers. The most damaging testimony was the The curtain rang down on the gunfighter era, passing into the realm of
“confession” to Lafors. Throughout the trial and later Horn insisted the romance —and into the hands of novelists and mythmakers.
conversation with Lafors was a set up and the stenographer twisted facts Tom Horn saw himself as the embodiment of a knight in dusty leather
and filled in the missing parts. maintaining law and order as he defined it—by a means known as “Win-
Still the odds were better than even that Horn would be found inno- chester litigation.”
cent. (The “confession would be thrown out in today’s courts, but was And, there were those who believed Tom Horn did not hang that
ruled admissible in the carnival atmosphere of Cheyenne in 1903.) November day in 1903, but instead, rode off into the “great and glowing
On October 25, 1902, the jury returned a verdict of guilty and Tom west” from whence he came, in search of some new adventure.
Horn was sentenced to hang. Thus began the long process of appeals.
132. TOM HORN
TOM HORN 133
ese/
Git TOM HORN:
legends die hard
F It was a brisk, dreary November morning in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in
the year 1903. A few people were stirring about, dogs were barking here
and there, but otherwise there was a quietness in the air, casting an
ominous pall over the town. Off in the distance was heard the shrill, lone-
some whistle of a freight train locomotive as it gathered steam to make its
run up Sherman Hill. A chilly wind was blowing the grey smoke from the
city out into the plains. 5
At the Laramie County Courthouse, Tom Horn, legendary govern-
ment scout, Pinkerton detective, champion rodeo cowboy, and range
regulator was taken from his cell and led into the courtyard and up the
scaffolding steps to the gallows platform where a hangman’s noose was
waiting. He paused momentarily to speak briefly with friends and looked
placidly at the crowd of witnesses. The group, composed mostly of law-
men, journalists and friends, waited nervously. Horn looked at Sheriff
Ed Smalley and commented dryly, “Ed, that’s the sickest looking lot of
damned sheriffs I ever seen.”
While Horn stood patiently, the straps that bound his arms and legs
were fastened. He gazed off towards the distant mountains while two
close friends, Charlie and Frank Irwin, sang a doleful, but popular tune
of the day, “Life is Like a Mountain Railroad,” then listened quietly while
an elderly Episcopal clergyman prayed for his soul. Finally, the con-
demned man was asked if he would care to make any final remarks. “No,”
was the crisp reply. The conventional noose with its 13 wraps was placed
over Horn’s head. The knot was adjusted in such a way as to break his
neck when his body dropped through the trapdoor. When the black hood
was placed over his head, Horn.concealed whatever emotion he might :
have felt. No one in the crowd was more composed than he on that fateful soldiers and scouts for Prolonged per
morning. Tom Horn was facing death in the same manner he faced life— During the Apache camp
without a trace of fear. of scouts. He i
A few seconds later, the trap door fell open with a crash and the body
of Tom Horn plunged through the opening. The massive hangman’s knot
slammed against the side of Horn’s head knocking him unconscious.
Horn remained suspended for 17 minutes before attending physicians
pronounced him dead.
Tom Horn had gone to the grave unconfessed —accused and convicted
of a crime he didn’t commit.
Tom Horn’s remarkable life began in Scotland, Missouri, in 1861.
Almost from the beginning, the restless youth was filled with wanderlust.
At 14 he ran away from home and headed for the “great and glowing
West.” From that time on, his life reads like something out of a Louis
L’Amour or Zane Grey novel. No Hollywood script writer could conjure
128 TOM HORN
TOM LADN tan
CHAPTER III
a
THE SAGA OF TOM HORN
|
Tom Horn first saw the light of day on November 21,
1860, in Scotland County, Missouri, near Memphis. Tom had
three brothers and four sisters, and he lived the normal life of a
frontier lad of the time, hating to attend school or church as
most kids did then.
The lad loved to hunt the abundant deer, quail, rabbits,
and other wild game, often spending weekends doing so,
returning home late on Sunday to the whipping he knew he
would get for skipping Sunday school.
“Son, this hurts me worse’n it does you,” said Mrs.
87
hipped Tom until he cried.
nee ae end. Tom once told friends, his mother
was first to call for his help and that of his dog, Shadrick,
when some night prowler would kill some of her chickens.
“I remember as a boy,” said Tom one day, “that Pa would
take Shad to some auction or shooting match or something,
and the dog would get into fights with other ee
usually getting whupped bad. He would come back loo ms :
mess and would never leave my side until his wounds ha
eo day a neighbor boy named Sam Griggs and Tom
went ‘coon hunting, both boys bringing their dogs. ea
brought a mutt named Sandy; Tom brought Shad. Usually the
hunt ended up in a fight between the boys and the dogs.
“T recall one amusing incident,” laughed Tom. “One day
we treed a ‘coon so Sam Griggs shinnied up the tree, lost his
hold and fell. Funny thing, his dog, Sandy, must have pay
he was a ‘coon since he ey a in the arm. My dog wou
nse than to think I was a ‘coon.
Bie One rough frontier of Missouri most kids worked the
farms in the summertime and went to school in the winter-
time. So it was with Tom Horn, although he admitted he
hated school, much preferring tracking or trapping the fur-
bearing animals of the forest. Many days Tom sone ie
school, more intent on Cree the trail of some animal,
he had noted in the snow.
a: forget my cousin Ken Markley,” Tom re-
marked one day. “He was a sissified kid who came to live with
us, and he didn’t know the difference between a singletree or a
hames. But he made an impression on my parents because he
was refined and always combed his hair properly and kept a
clothing and shoes neat. He was a great hit with the
ee he hit Shad with a stick so I jumped him. He
was 17 and I was 13, but I whupped him proper. This I did
before the women were able to pull me of’n him. After that we
istance between us.”
ae Gas some folks moving west passed near the farm of
Tom’s dad. One of the young men walking behind the wagon
88
stopped to talk with Tom. Tom noted the young man was
carrying an old, single barrel shotgun.”
“What do you do with that thing?” asked Tom.
“T shoot game with it, why?”
Tom, who was an expert marksman and always shot his
squirrels through the eye, replied, “Well, anyone who shoots
game with such a gun isn’t much good.”
“T can shoot as good as anyone,” bragged the passerby.
“Wanny bet?” asked Tom.
“All right, get your rifle and we'll see.”
“We'll use that little bird up there on that limb fora
target,” suggested Tom, returning with his rifle.
“You’re crazy, kid; that’s ninety yards away or more.”
“All right, we’ll call off the bet,” said Tom, as he started
to walk toward his home. :
“Let’s put it this way, farmer boy. You hit that target, and
Pll give you a dollar. If not, you give me the rifle.”
“Fair ‘nuf,” smiled Tom; “I'll just take that bet. He fired,
and the bird fell to the ground.
“TIl bet also that I hit the bird in the head,” said Tom.
“Hell with that.”
Tom knew by the way the bird floated to the ground with
wings outstretched that it had been hit in the head, and such
proved to be the case.
The situation ended up with Tom and the stranger on
the ground, hammering away at each other with clenched
fists. Just then an older brother of the bet challenger sprang to
assist his brother. It was a bad mistake. Old Shad snarled,
grabbing him first by the arm and then biting him in the leg.
Tom thought it was time to stop so he got up and walked over
to see that Shad did no further damage to the boy.
“Damn that cur dog!” cried the older boy, grabbing his
shotgun and blasting away at Shad. With that both strangers
leaped up and raced ahead to catch up with their wagon.
Poor Tom! He carried Shad home, and that evening the
dog died. Horn later stated that he felt it was the first and only
real sorrow he had known throughout his eventful life.
Tom Horn was fourteen years old now. He wanted to go
out on his own, but did not know just how to do it. The
89
chance came shortly. Some minor disagreement caused Tom
and his dad to come to blows one day. The boy, of course,
came out second best.
“That’s the last time you’ll whup me. I’m leaving home
for good!” said Tom, tears streaming down his cheeks, unable
to rise from the pile of hay in the barn where he had fallen.
“Good, you'll be back when you get hungry.”
The elder Horn had done his beating job well. Tom’s
mother and several of his brothers and sisters carried the boy
into the house. There he lay for a week in his bed, unable to
move. He asked his mother to sell his old rifle for him as he
was going to leave.
“Well, mother, the time has come,” said Tom several
days later, “I’ll miss you and the kids, but this had to be.”
“Yes, son, I well know that. Here’s $15.00 I got for the
rifle, and some food to tide you a while on the trail.”
The young lad kissed his mother and his sisters and
brothers for the last time, paused a moment at Shad’s grave,
then without a glance backward Tom Horn headed for Kansas
City.
II
Tom covered the seventy-five miles from his home to
Kansas City in three days, often stopping off at the homes of
friendly farmers along the way for food and drink. Some
women even packed food for Tom to take along;“others gave
him clean clothing to wear.
At that time, 1874, Kansas City no longer was the
boom-town of tent saloons, and gunfighting frontiersmen; it
had lost some of its wildness in the transition from stage-stop
to railroad terminus. Tom remained there several days and
then went to Newton, Kansas, employed to work on the Santa
Fe Railroad.
Railroad work did not appeal to the likes of Tom Horn,
now nearly six feet tall, lanky, tough, and adaptable to any
situation. Besides, the Indians contested every mile of the
railroad, making life miserable and dangerous for the laborers.
90
So, after back-breaking work for about a month, Tom drew his
pay of $30.00 and went with a man and his two teams toward
Santa Fe. It was Christmas, 1874, when the frazzled lad
entered the capital city of New Mexico.
Tom’s next stop was Las Vegas, New Mexico. There he
was to meet another young fellow, quite arrogant, and
boasting of his prowess with the sixgun. He was Billy the Kid,
about the same age as Tom Horn, but not as tall and lanky as
Tom.
At the Main Plaza in Las Vegas, the two youngsters met
and hit it off to a bad start. Horn tried to be friendly. ~
“Name’s Horn, hail from Memphis, Missouri.” sf
“Too bad, that’s Jesse James country. Does that make you
tough or something? You're pretty damned big, I’Il say, but can
you shoot?”
“Name your weapon,” smiled Horn back at the leering
buck-toothed Kid. Tom had done extensive hunting and
trapping while just a mere punk, and was considered quite an
expert with the rifle as well as with the revolver.
“Well now, ain’t you a smart cuss, how’d you like to try
some big gun, say a buffalo rifle or the like,” grinned the Kid.
“Don’t have no rifle with me; how about pistols?”
“That’s all right with me, buster, but did I tell you I was
William Bonney, otherwise, Billy the Kid?”
“Don’t recall you did, friend, what difference does that
make anyhow?”
If the Kid thought his name was going to impress Horn,
he had another thought coming. Tom decided that he was
going to play the game cool and level-headed; he could easily
see the resentment and hatred glowing in the eyes of the Kid.
Half the battle is won if you keep your wits about you, he’d
been told by experts.
The two lads decided to use a card for a target, the trick
being to split the card.
Tom Horn backed off the required distance, took aim
and fired, cutting the card neatly in two. The Kid did not take
his time. He whirled like a striking rattler and his pistol
boomed. The card jumped from the ground.
“Good, quick shooting, friend, easy to hit a man that
91
a
ea,
ee
HORN, Tom, white, hanged Cheyenne, Wyo. November 20, 1903.
GUNSLINGERS
by
Carl W. Brethan
Introduction by
Harold Preece
Published by
Leather Stocking Books
Pine Mountain Press, Inc. Publishing Group
P.O. Box 13604
Wauwatosa, WI 53226
|
it
ie
A
it
if x
Mexicans had struck again. Horn summoned several men and
went in pursuit, concluding the outlaws would emerge from
the canyon close to Turkey Creek. At the top of the
mountains was a place called Turkey Springs, and the rustlers
would have an easy trail from that point, if they made it. Horn
and his men took a cutoff route and arrived at the springs
before the Mexicans. There were four of them. When ordered
to surrender, they chose to fight, and all were killed.
Horn’s companions, all Indians, refused to bury the dead
outlaws, stating their bodies would be a grim warning to all
other Mexicans who had the idea of stealing Indian ponies.
Tom shrugged. At the same time a group of cavalry soldiers,
escorting an army vehicle, drove by on the government road.
The occupant of the vehicle was General Wilcox, making his
rounds of the government posts with the department inspec-
tor.
“Good morning, General Wilcox. | suppose you remem-
ber me, Scout Tom Horn?”
“Yes, yes, but what is the meaning of these dead men?”
Horn tried to explain the situation but to no avail. The
general told him it was no wonder such actions occurred when
they were apparently sponsored by such men as Horn himself.
One word led to another, until Tom was so mad that he
told the general in no gentle words what he thought about the
whole thing.
Taken back, General Wilcox sputtered, “I ought to arrest
you and throw you in the guardhouse.”
Anyway, it all worked out all right, for the general soon
forgot about the matter, but Al Sieber got a real boot out of
the whole affair.
“Dammit, Tom, you take the cake; they want to give you
a medal one day; then throw you in the pokey the next.”
Things were idle for Tom and Sieber for a time, until
news came that some Apache bucks had made raids into
Arizona from Mexico, killing several families and driving off a
lot of horses. The two scouts were ordered to report at Fort
Bowie as quickly as they could. .
Orders came down from General George Crook that Al
Sieber and Tom Horn were to remain at Fort Bowie, since his
114
Tom i
Horn as he appeared without a moustache
Union Pacific Railroad Museum
115
across the Mexican border, joining forces with those Sieber
had been trailing.. With the compliment of Col. Forsyth’s five
troops, added to his own group, Sieber felt they now had a
striking force that could cope with the Apaches.
As Fate would decree, another helping hand entered the
picture. For many years the Apaches had laughed in the faces
of the Mexicans. The redskins occupied the mountains of
northern Mexico with no molestation whatever. But at this
particular time, things proved to be different. Colonel
Gorenzo Garcia, of the 6th Mexican Infantry, with nearly
three hundred men, learned that the Chiricahuas under
Chato and Nachite had crossed the Mexican border to raid in
Arizona. His plans were to ambush the Indians after they had
entered Mexican territory.
Late in April Garcia’s scouts near the Janos Plain,
informed him that a very large party of fast-traveling Apaches
was coming up the Carretas Canon from the north. Garcia
correctly assumed these were marauding Indians returning to
Mexico.
Colonel Garcia laid an ambush which took the Indians
completely by surprise. He felt that his group would be a
match for the strength of the Indians. On came the Indians,
women and children at the front, warriors to the rear,
watching the dust clouds made by Forsyth, Sieber and their
men.
Garcia gave the signal to fire, and the following roar of
gunfire must have sounded like the Battle of Gettysburg to
Col. Forsyth and company. The Mexican volley hit the
Apache column full force, dropping Indian after Indian. . .
women, children, old people, and some bucks. A thick cluster
of bodies showed where the lethal bullets had done their
deadly work.
When the smoke cleared, close to two hundred Indians
had been killed, many of them non-combatants. The real
killers, Loco, Chato, and Nachite, had escaped into the wilds
of the Mexican underbrush, never to be heard from again.
Colonel Garcia had lost 22 men dead; fifteen wounded. It had
been a crushing blow to the Apaches.
Colonel Forsyth and his men, anxious to learn what had
108
“T
am Colonel Lorenz
0, 6th Mexican Inf.
a
you, and what are you doing in Mexico?” ntry. Who are
After explanations i
h were given, Garcia told Forsyt
in to accompany him to EI] Valle, the ee e
remain there with his men until Mexico and sie
question of the “invasion of
: n~
command. I will now bid you good day.”
The soldiers left Mexico without further j
eber, Horn, and Free going to San Carlos. ies
109
There Nan-tia-tish prepared his ambush. Markamen
awaited along the side of the canyon in such a ie ae 7 *
the soldiers descended into it, as they would if i ey fo i
the trail left for that purpose by the Indians, they wou
sa eae aioe that Chaffee send five men with Pat
Kehoe to go below; Tom Horn among them. As the men ve
to the banks of the canyon the Indians were just atin P
the other side. On the opposite side of the canyon, the ha
would have to turn on a wide bench for some peer o
an opening in the bench to allow the Indians to bass t ey
The distance was about six hundred yards, a good distance
mee 5 the Indians an hour or more to amy we
particular spot on the trail — it was the only way t ey nae
now get out of the canyon. Not one horse oe a -
however, for the lead horse was shot and killed, bloc i “
narrow trail. The Indians tried frantically to ee ; e =
animal, but could not. At the same time a rifle we = :
progress between the troops and the Apaches across the $0 g _
The Indians were so busy shooting at Captain Georg
Converse’s men across the gulch that they did not cane
flanking detachments are in on Eee. gaat ae
i red a steep pathway by w |
. heapiciba of even and then climb the other ie
Captain Abbott, meanwhile, detoured around * rim aaa
canyon, engaging the surprised Apaches at the same
Ne ee ee o'clock that afternoon a violent hailstorm
burst upon the scene, sending cold rain and hanes ae
to drive any man to . After the storm all signs o
indies lone a alig a wounded squaw came into
camp and told Chaffee that there had been fifty-four caer
in the fighting force. Tom Horn and Al ee me
battlefield and found wn gee er ah u ing _
- i n-ta-tish. One rep
wel ote ios in the brush and were disposed of by the
scout named Free.
112
Nothing further was ever learned of the Indians who had
escaped the fight at Chevelon’s Fork. Major Chaffee returned
to Fort Verde and Tom Horn went back to Fort Apache, where
he disbanded his scouts. At the fort the commanding officer
asked Horn to bring in the four Indians who had been wanted
at the time of Hentig’s death. Horn sent a message to Jon
Dazen on Canyon Creek, telling him that if the four badmen
were not surrendered to him, he would go to Chief Pedro for
warriors to force him to give up the men.
Of course, Danzen did not want that so he brought the
four men into Fort Apache for trial. This end had beem
arranged for by Chief Pedro, as Horn later learned. °
Al Sieber retired to San Carlos for the winter, while
Horn remained to look after matters on the reservation.
During the winter Tom received a letter from General Wilcox,
Department Commander, stating he was submitting Tom’s
name to have a medal presented to him for bravery on the field
and for his strategy against the Indians. When asked about the
medal later on, Tom grinned, “That was the last I ever heard
of it. I don’t believe I even got the letter anymore.”
VII
Just before Christmas a delegation of Army officers came
to see Al Sieber and Tom Horn in regard to their participation
in the raid into Mexico. Several of the officers were identified
as Mexicans, one being the famous Colonel Emilio
Kosterlitsky, known as the Mexican Cossack, feared and
revered throughout Mexico. Although many questions were
posed to Sieber and Horn, nothing ever came of the investiga-
tion, and it was soon forgotten by all concerned.
Early the next year Horn received complaints from
Indians around San Carlos that Mexicans were stealing their
horses, and they wanted him to do something about it. Horn
contacted the chiefs at the reservation, learning that Mexican
tustlers were indeed stealing the best Indian ponies in the lot,
heading them on all occasions toward Turkey Creek.
About the middle of February word came that the
113
were not really bad. Fortunately for the party, the officer
insisted that fifty men accompany Sieber and his small group.
At Canyon Creek Captain E. C. Hentig, 6th Calalry,
whom General E. A. Carr had placed in command of the
expedition, found a number of Indians, but they caused no
trouble. Sieber suggested they make camp on that spot for the
night. During the night a young Indian girl, daughter of
Suneriano, crawled into Horn’s blanket and whispered that
they were headed for a trap; that there were over sixty warriors
waiting for them in the hills. The girl then slid away as quietly
as she had come.
In the morning Horn imparted this information to Al
Sieber, who immediately suggested to Captain Hentig that
they return to the fort.
“If you and your men are afraid, leave now,” said the
captain, “we can handle this matter. I know where one of the
troublemakers is, and I want him. He is Nok-e-da-klinne, the
medicine man.”
“We are not afraid, captain,” said Al, “but we don’t
want to have to bury all your soldiers on the slope.”
Dead Shot and Dandy Jim knew they would now be
watched constantly by Horn and Sieber so they wanted the
soldiers to go down the canyon, but Sieber swung up the side
of the canyon, later arresting the medicine man at his hut.
The entire command marched about five miles back
toward Fort Apache and camped. Suddenly scores of Apaches
from Nok-e-da-klinne’s camp appeared on the scene, ready to
spring the trap. Then the firing began increasing, and to make
matters worse, the Indian scouts turned against Captain
Hentig. Captain Hentig and Privates Bird, Sullivan, Miller,
Livingston, Amick, and Sondergrass were killed by the first
volley.
Dead Shot and Dandy Jim made an effort to release the
medicine man, but a soldier named Ahrens fired three shots
into Nok-e-da-klinne’s head. But he was not dead. Late that
night Sergeant John A. Smith saw the old Indian, more dead
than alive, crawling toward a place of safety. Not wanting to
create alarm by firing a shot at Nok-e-da-klinne, the sergeant
picked up an ax and cut off the Indian’s head.
110
ber on iyo e ay. Dead Shot and Dandy Jim were
amp Grant for their part in the muti
uti
army ea Two others were sent to Alcatraz Island, of the
ye e aaa Apaches became so frustrated in not killing
pie Roles : pee, and pe . the soldiers that they fired
| € before Lieut. W. H. Cart h
rota a ok arter, who succeeded
g in command, was able ¢ ke hi
General Carr. This me ae
: ant an all out Indian war, and
telling of the event were sent to Forts Théanes " Gra
As soon as the attacki
ing Indians left thé area of FR
faethe, ate ee a to Chief Pedro’s camp for advice
eturned with sixty well-a ighti
the = of the crop, so to ek lia Sak i
“Tom Horn,” said General Carr,“
: t, “take your m
find these renegades; destroy them or send ee woe ate
come with my men to assi
St you 1 i
small force.” you if the task is too great for your
men — — approaching the camp.
t must Iry,” sai .
cic = nck ry, said Tom. “I can tell by the sound
The group proved to be Maj
jor Chaffee, Al Sieb
Pat Kehoe. Horn was glad to see them, and told Chaffee ine
he intend
dead ed to strike the Indians the following day. Sieber
ca rie toward Crook’s Springs. There before them was a
anyon known as Chevelon’s Fork of the Canyon Diablo
_which cut its way through the Mogollons, seven hundred yards
exp sks sca rey ul a thousand feet dep
; ual'y Overhung in places, wi j
growing wherever they could gain a foothold. Pine trees
111
charged that the Apache had killed and robbed joariiey i
and laid waste to the land; ee ante wee
agreeing with the charges and arguing hada hier a
driving the Indians to what they were doing. 7 :
i thrown in by Al Sieber and Tom Horn,
cae ge to take ia people to the reservation; at
nted to go. .
a ee Lekthe aie camped at Fort Bowie for
some time, causing no trouble, but in the > ie ac
wanted his people moved to Turkey Creek, ed ort Ap
and the Government complied with his a ree
At this time, Sieber became ill as a result o <H - mee
and was placed in the army hospital. He sent a cal a PA
him that he had made arrangements for him to ecom
of Scouts. Al Sieber had gone on his last eer trip. ~
Chief of Scouts Tom Horn had Christmas =
Captains Crawford and Gatewood at the Chirica 7 one:
and it was about that time that Horn also meinen a si =
of counting the Indians each day so some hs em ed Do
slip away. Of course, Geronimo did nee a this setup
atter was ;
eae ces aE to check the Mexican border for
crossing renegades. He rode into Mexico to see able oe
find, leaving his oe ae in Sagi a padi bi
on the Arizona side of the border. Mo roe THE
Indian signals that they planned to cross over os Zoe in
s. He raced his mount and the next ay rode i
riigire ge John Slaughter, on the San pong gne en
where he obtained a fresh mount. Slaughter was
become the famous sheriff of Cochise County. Be tie
At day light the next morning Horn ge is pert
Tex Spring, where he ae . aaa Ma a ee
: out the same time Lieut. .
een ace into camp, sent by General Crook to assist Horn
along re bei morning Horn and his men, one
by the soldiers, started for the Chiricahua Mountains to pick a
spot where they could command a view of the ei —
for miles distant. Tom’s group was later joined by
128
cowboys from the Slaughter ranch.
Tom and Lieut. Wilder figured all the next day as to
which way the Indians would come.
“Well, I figure they’ll come from the Pillares and then by
way of the Wild Bull Hills; then they'll probably make for the
southern point of the mountains,” said Horn.
However, the Indians did neither that nor come by way
of Dry Gulch, as some others had thought; they kept on the
ground at the foot of the mountains in the open.
Horn deployed his men. Lieut. Wilder and his troops
were to strike the Indians at the rear, while tte cowboys,Ned
by Free, would strike from the front. Horn kept his scouts with
him. Struck from three sides, the renegades were demoralized.
The fight lasted for about five minutes, and when it was over,
not one of the renegade Indians was alive. . . twelve lay dead
on the ground. The horses which had been with the Indians
were turned over to Slaughter’s men, to be used as best he saw
fit.
Five days after the fight Horn and his scouts reached Fort
Bowie. There he met Major John Burke, a member of General
Crook’s staff, who commended Tom for a job well done.
Several days later Horn visited Geronimo at his camp.
“Your people have been misbehaving and causing heaps
of trouble,” Tom told the Apache. “Are they not satisfied
here? Are you satisfied, Geronimo?”
“No,” replied the chief, “my people want to return to
Mexico, as do I.”
“If you do this General Crook will follow with a large
army of soldiers and wipe out your entire people. I know you
hate peace and never favored coming onto the reservation;
why you did it is beyond me.”
That ended the conversation. Tom went to San Carlos
and told Sieber of his talk with Geronimo.
“I’m afraid that means a bitter war, Tom. That old wily
Geronimo was only stalling for time by coming here. That
gave his braves time enough to build up a reserve of horses and
whatever else they need for an all-out attack on the whites.
We'd best see Burke at Fort Bowie and discuss this matter.”
Major Burke informed them that General Crook was in
129
" om i
Washington and would be delayed some time. About all that
Horn and his scouts could do was to continue their search tor
hostiles until orders came through. He later learned that all
the Indians were to meet near Sonora, Mexico, near a
mountain called El Duranillo.
Horn immediately made tracks for Fort Bowie, where he
notified Major Burke of the present conditions, and sent a
wire to Colonel Louis E. Torres, the Mexican Governor at
Sonora.
General Crook did not arrive for two months, but when
he did, he was prepared for war. He ordered Horn and Sieber
to San Carlos to enlist Apache scouts to go into Mexico. Over
a hundred scouts were enlisted for a six months’ tour of duty.
After Crook had made all the necessary preparations, the
group started out for Mexico . . . it was June.
It was decided to have the army headquarters at Nacon,
with Tom Horn given the task of setting up a line ot
heliograph stations so that word could reach Fort Bowie in a
short time as to what was taking place in Mexico. Most of the
summer of 1885 was spent in preparing for the upcoming
campaign against the Apaches. Camps and soldier outposts
had to be established, the heliograph system completed, as
well as posting guards at all water holes.
One day a message flashed to their camp that Horn was
to report to Fort Bowie. This he did and met General Crook,
who introduced him to Captain Emmett Crawford and Liecu-
tenants Marion P. Maus and W. E. Shipp. These officers were
in charge of a battalion of Apache scouts who were going into
Mexico with them.
On November I1th the group left Fort Bowie, arriving a
few days later at Fronteras, Mexico. Tom missed Al Sieber,
who was unable to go along because of his illness.
To taunt the soldiers somewhat Ulzana slipped across the
lines early in November, avoiding the water holes as he knew
they were well guarded. With ten warriors he raced into
Arizona, creating havoc wherever he went. On November
24th, he and his men killed William Waldo and William
Harrison on Turkey Creek. On November 26th his little band
surprised the friendly White Mountain Apache Village, kill-
130
ing fifteen of them and losing only one of his ow b
Ulzana then decided to return to Mexico and took
route toward the Gila River, killing several more ae
Solomnville on the way. This band is the same sae hich
Horn had been notified to be on the alert for their r n ag
usual route back into Mexico was the valle ‘ ers
between the Dragoon and the Whetstone py aes oo
naturally Horn figured the renegades would use th a
Ulzana laughed at the planned ambushes fie eee
and riding up the Gila Valley, entering New hericg. ‘He
seemed not to fear the pursuit of the soldiats. sto ce ae
enough to kill several more ranchers. Once a aa iat
rea vn small following scattering like so nine lect ih
e “ : coring. no trace whatsoever. It was an amazing feat
= a seat é Ulzana and his ten braves traveled some
a kast hirrppetions, and captain eee en? Elling
sons, g hundreds of horses.
bee cr men had headed for Car-Cai, Mexico in
pes of ushing Ulzana there. Across the Haros River
ofcattle a a place where the Indiana oud nothing bu a lo
lans apparently had camped.
ec ~ the troops camped all night, breaking
noe = groups in the morning. Horn would take
ps oe : : het nd Lieut. Shipp the west side.
pat patrolled the Roeside ep ez =—
ae WA seats piece echoed to the rifle fire as the
oe i ndians having been forewarned by their
et — €ronimo was yelling for the women and
n to the river. Lieut. Shipp lay j cea
renegades raced toward the ri Fen hey oak oe
titteen feet from them Shi ee ame i Aya
saa slaughter to the abionithed aig re
ec i
rence a women, children, and old people;
neha to do so meant nothing to them. Abo
m Horn heard the yell of Geronimo: “ oer
miiston or o: “Scatter, flee, and
On .
kmed sie! ne prisoners was old Nana, age ninety, once
ief. All he did was laugh and mutter that the
131
Tom Horn’s grave marker in Columbia Cemetery, Boulder,
i
Colora "Baits Daily Camera Library
124
3rd Cavalry was coming into Arizona Territory and the 6th
Cavalry was moving on to New Mexico. Nothing of any
significance occurred during that winter, but early in spring a
number of Indians crossed over into the United States at Dog
Springs, raiding within a few miles of Deming, New Mexico.
Sieber and Horn again got into trouble when they
crossed into Mexico, killed an Indian at Hot Springs, and
captured a squaw whom they held prisoner. The scouts told
the authorities they had captured the woman in the United
States, but her story and the finding of the dead Indian at Hot
Springs disproved that. > *
: : *
Horn and Sieber were ordered to report to Fort Bowie to
be investigated. Al was madder than a wet hen; Horn just
laughed about it. The adjutant of the post ordered the two
scouts to be brought before him.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “the officers who are making this
investigation have found that you, Al Sieber, Chief of Scouts,
and you, Tom Horn, scout and interpreter for the Department
of War of these United States, did, as an armed body of men,
cross this so-called international line between the United
States and the Republic of Mexico, and that you did this
without the order or sanction of the military commander of
this district, of which Fort Bowie is headquarters. The order of
the commission that made this investigation is, that you be
censured for the violation. Now that this is over, let’s have a
drink.”
After that, Sieber and Horn were ordered to report to
San Carlos, where General Crook stated he was going to
reorganize the entire department. When General Crook
arrived he was followed by large crowds of Indians, all eager to
hear his plans. Crook set out his plans patiently and skillfully,
consulting with such leaders as Cha-lipun, Eskimo-tzin, San-
tos, Chiquito, Huan-klishe, and others of importance. After a
week of long talks, General Crook returned to Fort Whipple,
while Sieber and Horn were ordered to return to Fort Bowie.
The records indicate that on October 5, 1882, General
Crook issued his general orders regarding his policy toward the
Indians . . . it read as follows:
The commanding general, after making a thorough and
125
exhaustive examination among the Indians . .. Tegrets to say a
he finds among them a general feeling of ceria mio 2s of
confidence in the whites, especially the soldiery; and also t a
dissatisfaction, dangerous to the peace of the country, exists among
them. Officers and soldiers . .. are reminded that one of the
fundamental principles of the military character is justice as all . ss
Indians as well as white men. . . and that a cee F
principle is likely to bring about hostilities, and cause a at 4
the very persons they are here to protect. In all their dea ings wit
the Indians, officers must be careful not only to observe the me
fidelity, but to make no promises not in their power to carry ont
grievances arising in their jurisdiction should be redressed, so that an
accumulation of them may not cause an outbreak.
He accomplished another important matter ae to this
by encouraging cooperation of the American an —
Governments to work together for a common cause again
the Indian marauders. So, on July 29, 1882, a aed was
signed between both countries, permitting oe of either
cross the borders of the other in pursuit of hostiles.
Vill
Early in 1883 a Chiricahua courier from Mexica came to
San Carlos asking for a talk with General Crook. ae es
sent to Crook at Fort Whipple, and he, in turn, nee :
Sieber at Fort Bowie to report at San Carlos within t 2 wee
Tom Horn and Sieber later took this warrior to Denes
Crook’s camp for a pow-wow. In essence, this is : at is e
Indian said, “My talk is from Geronimo alone . . . he wis 7
to return to the United States and to ah pipeauge e
wants Crook and a big army to come to Mexico to escort 7
and his people back. He knows your soldiers now can com
. e ”
me Cece Crook wired Washington as to the nature of i
developments, receiving an immediate reply to report at oy
capitol city at once. Pee-Chee, the Indian courier, was tu om
loose after being told he would be contracted again whe
126
General Crook returned from Washington.
“Tell Geronimo I will give him my answer on my
return,” said Crook. “We'll have Tom Horn meet you in two
moons at a place in Mexican San Luis Mountains.”
On his return from Washington, General Crook sum-
moned Al Sieber and Tom Horn to Fort Bowie. Horn was
instructed to meet Pee-Chee and bring him to the conference
table, and this was done.
“Go tell Geronomo that | will gather a large outfit to
escort all the Indians from Mexico who want to come to the
reservation. We will meet him at Rio Viej3 in the Sierra
Madres. I would like to talk with all the Chiricahuas.”
Pee-Chee was again taken by Horn to the Mexican
border, being advised to carry the general’s message to
Geronimo as quickly as possible.
General Crook supervised the proceedings at the fort as
things were made ready for the trip into Mexico. Rations for
two months were ordered, and the cavalry compliment con-
sisted of three troops of seasoned men. Five pack trains and
some fifty Apache scouts also accompanied the column.
General Crook and his men crossed the Sierra Madre to
Yaqui River; then by way of Bavispe and Nacori, they crossed
over to Rio Viejo. There they met Pee-Chee, as agreed, and
he stated it would take another five days to reach the Indian
camp.
In due time the camp of the hostiles was reached. There
the soldiers camped in as beautiful a spot as one could ever
see, Horn later stated. The talks were to commence the
following day.
Geronomo did not like the idea that Mexicans named
Antonio Dias and Jose Montoyo had been chosen to interpret
the talks. Geronimo stated he wanted a man they could trust,
not the two mentioned. The old chief was adamant in his
stand, stating that Sieber had trained Tom Horn long and
well, and that the Indians trusted him. He would listen to no
other interpreter than Tom Horn. Thus it happened that the
youthful Tom sat in as official interpreter for the talks between
General Crook and Geronimo.
There were talks for days on end. The Americans
127
braves of the day’ran like rabbits instead of fighting.
That night an Indian squaw came into Horn’s camp,
advising him that Geronimo and Nachite wanted a con-
ference with him and Captain Crawford. But the talks were
never to be held.
At daylight Horn saw a group of Mexican rurales under
Major Corredor, coming toward them. “Looks like they mean
to fight us for some reason or another,” warned Horn, “so be
on the alert.”
“My God!” cried Crawford. “They must think we are
renegade Indians.”
The Mexican major yelled to his men to charge, and
" they came at a fast pace across the little basin, straight toward
Horn and his entrenched men. The Mexicans fired, wounding
three of Horn’s detachment.
Tom Horn ran toward the advancing Mexicans shouting
to stop the shooting. The Mexican major, also eager to
prevent further bloodshed, yelled to his men to cease firing.
Meanwhile, Captain Emmett Crawford had leaped upon
a high rock, yelling and waving a white handkerchief. At that
moment a single shot rang out, and as the report echoed from
the rocks, Captain Crawford fell, killed by a glancing shot.
Horn yelled to his scouts to open fire. They did so with
devastating effect. Major Corredor fell, shot through the
heart, while Lieut. Juan de la Cruz was riddled by thirteen
bullets. One can only guess how many actually were killed or
wounded since the Mexicans scooped up their comrades and
fled the field.
Tom Horn tried to rescue the body of Crawford from in
front of a pile of boulders, but the Mexicans kept firing at him.
Tom then realized that he, too, had been wounded. . . in the
arm. Finally Tom was able to drag Crawford to the shelter of
some rocks, not knowing that the brave captain was already
dead. It was January 11, 1886.
Captain Lawton asked Horn if there was anything he
could do. “Yes, I can go into Geronimo’s camp and speak with
him alone, and I'll have it no other way.”
“But General Miles does not trust you,” objected Law-
ton.
132
“Pll go alone or not at all.”
About that time an
e an old squaw came i :
; e into view i
Lawton that Geronimo wanted to speak to Tom Ho ceiling
Captain Lawton refused to i
| act until he h
rears Miles. The next day word came ris. aig Sapa
orn and Gatewood should talk to the Apache chief. ;
a | °
still cannot go until
| il I have
Geronimo,” said Tom Horn. a ee ee”
ics 4
Tell him what you want,” said Lawto
agree to meet with General Miles.”
“No! I can j ; oe
leah oft 1 ar ia him a lie for he’d kill me as soon as he
go until Miles ;
that he will meet Geronimo.” allows me to fix a date
General Miles agreed.
Gatewood wanted to accom
permission by Lawton,
danger in it.
Rives met Horn and Gatewood on the Bavispe
ra ep where : ong he held. Arrangements were made
O to go to Skeleton Canyon, in the Uni
and meet General Miles in wi Adele ee
twelve days. As Gatew
; ) : ood
ee we nen with Horn, he returned to eae
n to tell him of the arrangement
s that had been m
anid Me books rag and his group at the mouth pa
» where Horn would be with the r
enegades.
Fe ngcaplhoes Horn he explained that he had sent
Ee iles a dispatch to meet them as agreed. Horn
ape e information to Geronimo, who few into a ra
id he send you the message?” ™
ics
“No, he sent it to Captain Lawton.”
ft we will not talk.”
ek oe te —— to send a dispatch personally to the
ah ee ere now getting serious. Geronimo was
aay | - The return reply read, “See Captain Lawton.
le is in command in the field. I can’t do any busi i
oar: y business with a
n: “Just get Ittm to
pany Horn, and was given
Horn also agreeing there would be no
133
discharged them and resigned from the service. He then
returned to his mine, where he worked all winter.
In 1887 Tom Horn became involved in the “Tonto Basin
War” which was a death struggle between Paul and William
Daggs, sheepmen, the Graham family, the Tewksbury family,
and the men of the giant Hash Knife Ranch. Tom was not a
member of these factions but was a deputy sheriff under Buck
O'Neill of Yavapai County, acting as the mediator for the
warring factions. He also was a deputy sheriff under the
famous Sheriff Commodore Perry Owens of Apache County,
and later under Glenn Reynolds of Gila County, Arizona.
The Pleasant Valley War coming to an end, Tom Horn
returned to his mining interests, but the work was slow and
unappealing to the adventurous Horn. One night when
leaving the spring which provided Tom with necessary water,
he discovered a number of moccasin prints in the soft dirt.
Quickly he dashed to his house, mounted another horse, and
rode to the Indian Agency, some thirty miles distant.
At the agency Tom learned that the Indian police had
mutinied; that a San Carlos Apache named Chief Toga had
been killed by an Indian named Rip over some old disagree-
ment of years before. The Apache Kid was the son of ‘Toga,
and he vowed revenge for the death of his father. Horn advised
the young Indian against it.
Later, while Horn and Sieber were at Camp Apache, the
Apache Kid, with five of his men, went to Rip’s place and
killed him. Captain Pierce, the agent at San Carlos, quickly
returned to the agency with Sieber. Sieber told the Kid to
come into the agency. This he did, accompanied by a number
of his braves. In an ensuing fight to keep the Kid out of the
guard house, the braves shot Sieber in the leg. They all
escaped escept one, whom Sieber had killed.
When Tom Horn arrived at the agency he learned what
had happened, and he was mad as a wet hen.
“Dammit, Al, that crazy Kid stole my horse to boot.”
Lieutenant Johnson already was on the trail of the
Apache Kid, following him up through the San Pedro country,
then down the Sonoita River, where it was learned the
Indians had killed several white men. In the Rincon Moun-
136
eles Apache Kid was trapped afoot, but gave a fight, in
i oo of in a were killed. After being captured
was carted by Lieut. Johnson back to th be.
He was later tried for his cri hao ee
crimes and given a long term j
ps aia but he was pardoned by President Clev l ‘d
after Nl only a short time. ok
en the Apache Kid returned to
the agenc
ii hers = murder of a freighter who had bed alas
id and his men prior to his first is cri
ee or arrest. For this crime
y the civil authorities of Gj
Ae es of Gila County,
tied ong the arresting officers was Deputy Sheriff Tom
e os July 4, 1888, Horn won the prize at Globe, Arizona
ee ae ee and there was a friendly rivalry among
oys of the Territory as to who was the b
trade. Charlie Meadows made a big b he culae
Tee ee a big brag that he could beat
to be held at the Territori ir i
Phoenix. Tom’s friends i ted
; urged him to take the d
though Horn knew he would h i trial oF
, ave to miss the trial of t
ee at which he was supposed to act as oa
O it! declared Horn. “They can get some oth
man to be interpreter.” a
The trial took pl ith si
place, with six Indians being convi
. b} . .
the freighter’s killing, and they were all iene pags
ee at oe Hel Hole” Territorial Prison at Yuma
olmes an eriff Reynolds were to e :
scort
i om to Yuma, together with a Mexican horse thief ne
es : re) been sentenced to life. The Indians were coupled
ic €r in two groups of three each. The Mexican wa
andcuffed and placed in the stagecoach.
ae Re sree road Pan Olebe to Casa Grande crossed the
at a steep grade, unable to be negoti
gotiated b
sees due to the number of occupants in the vchitle. The
an was left inside the stage, while Holmes and Reynolds
alighted with the six Indians, each officer in charge of
group, who walked behind the coach. ° —
PROCLAMATION OF REWARD
137
he was told of the message. In less than five minutes, things
changed.
“We are ready to go,” said Geronimo, mounting his
horse. He was followed by his people, about one hundred and
fifty in number.
Horn rode back to Lawton’s camp, several miles distant,
and gave him the news, telling him that if General Miles ever
agreed to handle the surrender through him, he would be
available.
“Oh yes, I forgot to tell you; Geronimo and his people
are gone.”
Riding to John Slaughter’s ranch, Horn stopped for a
meal and a much-needed rest. Also camped at the ranch were
a detachment of soldiers. About noon the officer in charge
asked if Horn were around.
“Yes, he’s asleep. He did not get here until daylight.”
“Good heavens, man, wake him up’ I’ve a message for
him from General Miles.
The dispatch read, “Make any arrangements you want to
for me to meet Geronimo. I will go where and when you say to
meet him.”
“By damn, read that, John,” muttered Horn, handing
the message to Slaughter. “And here I am, forty miles north
and Geronimo riding south all night!”
Horn sent a message by way of the heliograph, stating
that all troops should lie still; that he would track down the
renegades as soon as he could do so. It took Horn over a week
to catch up with Geronimo. He then sent word to General
Miles to meet him in four days at Skeleton Canyon. The
general was there on time!
Horn met Miles with Geronimo and Natchez. Miles had
brought several interpreters with him, but Geronimo refused
to do any business without Horn being the official interpreter.
“But he’s not an official sworn interpreter,” objected
General Miles.
“That means nothing to me. To trust a man is more
important. This boy and I speak the truth to each other, but
you do not like him. I do not know why; you must have some
reason. What is it? Sieber, the man of iron, taught him well.
134
M ro
tf hit ae fighting with Sieber for thirty years, yet
d to us. You sent him word
poming to do with him; I say I will not work rea. a
i ork with anyone but
So young Tom H i
m Torn again acted a
the army. There is no doubt that he
in Geronimo’s giving himself up. He could have roamed th
the
a . °
e a a aa eles my people. We are tired of war
a 8; we are all tired out,” said the old
Troops met the Indi
ndians at Fort Bowie, wh
placed under guard on the parade grounds. Gencial Ara ae
wired for a special trai
train of the S fj
as fast as possible. outhern Pacific to come there
two thousand miles aw
ay. Thus the dr iri
terror of Mexico and all the athoee pier
0 their native land. ee:
eneral Miles did not k i
hb ¢ eep his promise t
all ae families would remain together. Vs ha
ye ms P Ic sentiment in favor of the Indians ca d hid
sibee “f : me removed from Florida to Aloka 3 7
pais es : re oa — a0 to ples that number was
ee me the transfer to Alabam
er, they were taken to Fort Sill, Ohh a
: re
never to
. Nearly
fifty A
paches were permitt
ed to return t ;
settling on the Mescalero reletvetiog o New Mexico,
It had indeed been a vale of tears for the Indians!
X
Tom Horn 1
mM returned to the reservation with his scouts
’
135
Office of the Governor
Executive Department
Greetings:
hom these presents may come, |
: fog cme to my knowledge, that on the morning of
ber second, that Glenn Reynolds, Shem a sera
mee A. Holmes, acting as deputy, or guar eae sp
me enroute from Rint: to Reser, “ reap > Bo
he highway, and 1
Se ee feiving in their custody — eg moses
i | erritor
| conveying to the
cog re Se abel by these said Indian prisoners, and that
uma,
id Indians thereupon fled, and made their escape, See ae
sa
liberty. Governor of Arizona, by
Now Te ved delet offer and proclaim a
virtue of the power within me veste
he
d in the sum of five hundred ( $500) dollars, to be bee Y vi
reward In f Arizona, upon the conviction of one, or a al :
thus detbiped Indians of the oe Pad haiti
live, or upon ev
Se Poon ww killed, by any officer or person,
0
1 apture or arreast.
lawfully atrembting ~_ hese I have hereunto set my
d the Great Seal of the Territory
ie sicet Dee at Phoenix the Capital, this
Fifth day of November, A.D. 1889.
Lewis Wolfley
By the Governor.
Nathan DH
Secretary of the lerr. —
At a turn near the top of the grade the Ee
é “ked their guards, killing Holmes almost 7 es
oe cacting Reynolds, who was trying to use
the
dians
However, as the In
ineffective. The other three rushed uP: —_
moved the shackle keys from his vest p a
. Gene Livingston, the stage driver, c
the coach.
used the shooting, peered around the corner of
ca
138
inned down, he was
tel Pulled Reynolds, and
to what
Immediately he was shot, the bullet creasing his head,
stunning him. He lived to tell the story later on.
The Apache Kid remained an outlaw from then on, and
it was reported that he had died a few years later from
consumption, although his body never was recovered.
When Tom Horn learned of the news he was greatly
disturbed.
“Had I been along, I don’t think that would have
happened. I won the prize at the fair, but the cost for so doing
was too great.”
Of course, Tom’s notoriety had spread a* great deal~by
that time, and he was greeted by most everyone in the local
hotels and bars. One evening he was entertaining a beautiful
girl when a Mexican officer came into the room. It happened
at a local dance. The Mexican acused Horn of stealing his girl,
going for his gun at the same time. Horn did not move a
muscle. The Mexican fired one shot and missed . . . Tom did
not miss. The man dropped dead where he stood, victim of his
own jealousy. There were many witnesses present who stood
up for Tom, telling the authorities that it had been a clear case
of self defense.
“Even so, Tom,” warned the sheriff, “this Mexican
comes from a prominent family, here on official business. |
would suggest you leave the Territory as fast as possible . . .”
Tom said he would do so within a few days.
Horn returned to his old home place for the winter,
working his mine as best he could. Early in 1890 Tom sold the
mine to a bunch of New York investors. It is said that he was
paid $10,000 for it.
Now thirty years old, tough and seasoned, one of the
best men with a gun on the frontier, Tom decided to go to
work for the Pinkerton Detective Agency at their Denver
office. It was there that he met Sheriff C. W. Shores of
Gunnison County, the man who helped Tom make up his
mind that working for the Pinkertons would be a good way to
earn a living. The sheriff also was on the payroll of that
agency, working on special assignments for them.
James McParland, Superintendent of the Denver office
of the Pinkertons, talked with Tom in his office.
139
to investigate a train robbery
& Rio Grande Road, between
“Horn, how would you like
which occurred on the Denver
Texas Creek and Cotopaxi?”
“That’s fine, when do I start?”
“At once, and Sheriff Shores will meet you in Salem,
Oregon, in a few days.”
When Shores arrived in Oregon he was surprised to find
Tom Horn in jail.
“Dammit, Shores, this is a hellova place to come to.
There are so many lawmen after the robbers that everybody is
arresting every else for one thing or another.
“What you here for, Tom?”
“They suspect me of robbing the Palace Saloon. It’s just a
matter of mistaken identity, but these guys won't believe a
word | say.”
Although Shores did his best in trying to convince the
law that there had been a mistake, Tom was arraigned on
April lth. At the trial two victims of the Saloon robbery
declared they thought Tom to be one of the two masked men
who had robbed them. Tom’s record book of his activities with
the Pinkertons in checking railroad employees who were
robbing the line blind did not set too well either with the jury.
In his own defense Horn explained his duties with
Generals Crook and Miles; also reporting his sale of the mine,
adding that he had more money than he’d ever need, and had
no reason to stage a robbery.
Even so, the jury was split in its decision, so the trial was
reset for September. After months of waiting in the jail, Tom
was finally acquitted when a letter from General Miles
arrived, attesting to Horn’s character and to his honesty.
“Well, Shores, at least we can go after the train robbers
now without being accused of being one of them. I see where
all the posses and lawmen have been pulled off the case.”
The two lawmen finally learned that the robbers had
crossed the Sangre de Cristos range, passed near the Villa
Grove iron mines, and backtracked to the east side of the
Sange de Cristos Mosca Pass, then through the Huerfano
Canyon and down to Trinidad. Tom and Shores kept on their
trail. From Clayton, New Mexico, the train robbers went to
140
Ochiltree, Ti
, Texas, headed fo
on to Canada. — r the Indian Territory,
At Washit i
a Station they |
Ge tune y located one of the ro
whom Shows took tS Wolfe. This man was Berne
oO Denver, leaving Ti ,
return of t , ng tom to wai
ria _ — robber. After several days of es
tavanhhe ae. ‘tae when the other outlaw cath Hiding
eveey Lawak ain € was Peg Leg Watson, wanted by ne ot
Tt he dae atau officer in Colorado. Tom met W. ad
tr, gun in hand ae atson
resistance. , and the surprised outlaw offered no
asked Tom
of the prisoner. “We have reason to believe it
was
Joe McCoy. It.a
- It.appears he h é
— Bi knows where to.” as left his home in Cotopaxi and
shat neat tt Sa es refused to talk. Watson well kn
in‘ the def y ha robbed the train to obtain money t =
Fremont Coun of his father, who was held for foubder ia
oan t ounty, Colorado. Joe had also been arrest df ere
- ut at managed to escape ed for this
orn delivered his prisoner toD
; enver,
maui ee Stewart of Fremont Cotnk: a“ an fends
Hoe ds : cCoy. From Rifle, Colorado, the sheriff é
sete ae to Meeker, where they learned that a Ee
several ie ral cescriggion had left for Ashley Uh:
: . an . , ’
Christmas festivities. y people were going there for the
Sheriff Stewart, T.
W, » tom Horn, and Deput
blearh tb re Ashley in the middle of nie aac oad
MaCov we per ay Next morning Horn learned tee
peemaiae 3 = is meals so he walked into the eatin Ks et
il. Hane ne. ouse and arrested McCoy with no pal: s,
his con aa grace man outside, disarmed him and ed
Thee rhe eeney were ready to return to Colorada..
ree lawmen took their pri
Duchesne, Utah elr prisoner by way of
, and y of Fort
Station: caught the D. & R. G. train at Price
Peg Leg Watso
, n and Burt Curti
ing the United States mails, and were scriteneedl eae
ife
then went
141
Juan Hill, July Ist. Tom Horn later stated that 241 soldiers had
been killed up to that time. The total United States casualties
in the war, which lasted only from April, 1898 to December
10, 1898, were 279 soldiers killed and 1465 wounded; and 16
sailors killed and 68 wounded.
The real killer of the American soldiers was the fever.
Close to 3,000 enlisted men and officers died of the malaria
after the fighting had ended. Tom Hom also was stricken, but
survived. When the troop ships landed in New York City, Tom
was very effective as a male nurse in caring for the malaria-
stricken men.
The congestion, noise, and constant rat-race of the big
city failed to appeal to Tom, and as soon as he had drawn his
accumulated pay from the army, he left for Wyoming, remain-
ing there at the home of John C. Coble until he had fully
recovered from the malaria. It is believed that the Coble ranch
also served as a base for his operations during the next several
years.
Next Tom’s itching feet took him to the Brown’s Hole
region, the reputed hideout of the famous Butch Cassidy gang,
as well as the Red Sash gang and others of like ilk. This area
surrounds the point where Utah’s eastern boundary and
Colorado’s western boundary join the southern boundry of
Wyoming. The Green Valley River flows through this valley
along the base of the Diamond Mountains, and it is as rough a
terrain as God put on this earth. The treacherous trails and
desolate hiding places made the area an ideal one for outlaws
and wanted men of all types. It was a place indeed where
lawmen and “angels feared to tread.”
Brown’s Hole consisted of but one street, and as Tom’s
horse plodded fetlock deep between the rows of ramshackle
buildings, speculative eyes followed his progress.
These people did not know Tom Horn by sight, although
most of them no doubt heard of his activities during the
Johnson County War and other such affairs. All they saw that
day was a tall man, riding straight in the saddle, the breeze
tugging at his long mustache, his thinning hair struggling to
find a place to land on his balding pate. Tom rode hatless
much of the time, especially when not “on duty.”
146
What the people did notice
haath most, however, were ‘
boa . had put well kept. The shiny-butted 45 Cole
aioe om his holster, ready for instant use: h 44
€ rifle nestled comfortably in the sadd] foal
Another gunman,” muttered sev. nas
was not a new sight for the
outside of the law, to see
of no questi
et C, questions aske
as strictly adhered to in that locality caecht strangers,
What the others di
top of the list, and they lived near Brow
a Ed and George Bassett, whose fa
= e: _ slightly acquainted with Ho
fecal . name of Tom Hicks, gunfighter. Tom quickl
sartree annie ee with the Bassett family, knowin t
— y y which to reach the men he warited ji
Rash rae — riding the range with Dart and
natline ae ne p cattle and discussing the local condition of
ot ee ah di iat ict his real motive. Horn was sta
Tee ime, and one day a note was found on Rash’s
a stall - on oe the country and never come Heal
eee te ha been pinned there by the Bassett bo i,
Wi baiharps F cats was supposed to marry Rash. Of coho
ence eg “i a not cotton up to this idea for they had
ne a ee ash. Tom’s plans now jelled perfectl
» he said one day, “I appreciate your Hakpiality
but I must
move on. I want to t
a
not too far from here.” ke a job at the Haley ranch
“Yes, I know the pl ‘
for the rodeo and pica 7
Mountain.” It was the las
Several days later as
to fetch a bucket of water
spat fire and lead, sendin
back into his cabin. Ho
n’s Hole.
mily lived in Brown’s
m, but only knew him
going to Rock Spri
on to my cabin on Cold. Sp are
t place he ever went. eis
Rash stood in his doorway, prepared
from a nearby spring, Tom’s carbine
g the unsuspecting victim crashing
m then calmly walked up to the
147
nt at the federal prison in Detroit. McCoy con-
involuntary manslaughter, and was
he Colorado State Prison at Canon
imprisonme
sented to plead guilty to
sentenced to six years in t
City.
Xl
Records indicate that Tom Horn stated he worked for the
Pinkertons until 1894, so it is possible that he participated in
the Powder River Invasion of Wyoming in 1892 although no
general agreement exists as to his participation. While some
say Tom Horn had a prominent part in this invasion, others
say that he was not involved at all. President Harrison was
involved, however. He threatened martial law in Wyoming if
things did not get better. Governor George Baxter was finally
removed from office by Presidential order for his activities in
the Johnson County War.
Evidently Frank Canton, former sheriff of Johnson
County and a Deputy United States Marshal, was suspected to
be the leader of the Wyoming raiders against the home-
steaders. Everyone knew that Canton was associated with the
powerful and ruthless Wyoming Stock Growers Association, a
group which was suffering great losses of stock at the hands of
rustlers. No doubt this suspicion caused his defeat at the polls
to “Red” Angus when he again ran for sheriff. While no
record exists to substantiate the idea, there is little doubt that
Tom Horn recruited gunfighters for the invaders. His former
experience against the Apaches would have made him a
formidable foe in any field. He could have hit and run without
anyone ever seeing him.
Tom Horn became known as the official assassin of the
rustlers. Whenever a killing occurred his name was whispered.
Every unsolved murder or the disappearance of known rustlers
was laid at the doorstep of Tom Hor. And, oddly enough,
Tom seem to enjoy basking in the limelight of his “reputa-
” His was now a life shrouded in mystery and legend. He
tion.
4 calibre rifle as his calling
fancied a speeding bullet from a .4
card.
142
small fines on the viol
bitten, ak ators. It was enough for Tom. . . he
fered ce later of Bosler, Wyoming
ine eee: " ve also tried to aid Horn at his later trial
sickle neact . iron Mountain Cattle Company. A spas
ak alba e illiam Lewis, had the gall to boast thar h.
warning to desiee peniine cattle from Coble. After a ae :
St, Lewis not onl . vere
ae is : is thieving toe efused to do so, but boasted
is body, riddled by three .44 cali
Sa -44 calibre b
pe a in August of 1895. Of course woe med
ever d hein Tom Horn, Coble’s friend, b nha
ver done about it. » but nothing was
It is said that H
om received $300 each FS
. not “He: : ac for h i
as much as Killing Jim Miller got for his eee
S
and a close
“For t
if ee Suan nen and Cattle Company.” It certainly would
. ring Sel ng who really paid Tom and wt reall
assignments, if such were committed “
re Rh eae oer of record before Tom left Wyomin
igen te . Powell, a squatter who lived a few sie
a tn P ace. He, too, had boasted of his ex loit in
Fs a tom the Coble place, as well as idk He
nae or an order for him to leave the cou peas
sha and mysterious message which he found ae
ac es to the front door of his home gia aire
nek: oer picrealter the spectre on the large h
Peat af the Powell camp. When he turned t est he
, cial Ff ot had been fired, and Fred Powell oak dead =
Om was next seen in Ch sD
spen| . eyenne, wh
oP ny of hn malik a powell killings. Whether hae
ni € killer or not, is not ”
the authorities refused to arrest him, iti oe ne
was no
143
a er
. . . . d
evidence to support their suspicions; besides, they considere
a dead rustler a good rustler.
XI
When the Spanish-American War broke | bn yen)
Roosevelt went west and organized his Rough Ri n Hany
outlaws, including the Butch ara nh ae si
’ i
i them for their services
f amnesty would be given a
Their niles was refused since too many serious crimes had bee
mitted by them.
ae Tom Hiatt enlisted as a scout, and found ae =
officers some of his old friends who had perme es be
Indian campaigns with him. Dr. Leonard ae Sa
Colonel (Fort Wood in Missouri was later name = ae a
i ton now were generals.
nd friends Maus and Law
ach and ready Adna Chaffee was mary general (an army
i on as well).
was named for him later |
cae Bat the kind of war to be fought in ey sererian
scouts so Tom Horn was appointed paces hae ah rs
i of colonel. Shortly thereafter,
rmy, with the rank and pay : . <
aie nis master of sa kan ee sau bom Pts
i i, with its 520 mules an pac
Louis, Missouri, with its ames ai
f embarkation for Cuba,
Tampa, Florida, the port o ber ft was ae
imals onto the transport ships. :
a chore to load the anima ae aed
i ke another ocean trip as
said that he’d never ta w
experience, one that he never barieik to go po a
the ships arrived a
Things were worse when ;
harbor. It ae discovered that the ena cons 8 a“
closer than a mile to the shore, a situation whic a =
grave consequences and one which Ae a fea
i in charge of the transports,
consulted the officers in ee he
i al Shafter about the p
ecided to speak to Gener | ep. The
ccna was personally known to Horn, so ieee big .
him to act in the matter since the Rough Riders w
need hive cannons get to the harbor,” sighed the general,
”
“what can we do?
144
“General, just give me the order to unload the animals.”
“You have it, do what you must.”
Disembarking the animals got under way quickly, in such
a manner as only the resourceful Tom Horn would think of.
Each animal was placed on the gangplank and simply pushed
into the water. The 520 mules were thus unloaded, and by
natural instinct they headed for the land, with only several of
them being drowned.
Except for the energy and ingenuity of Tom Horn, there
probably would have been no ammunition or supplies at the
Battle of Kettle Hill. Several hours before the fight, Colonel
Wood and Colonel Theo. Roosevelt met Horn as they tridged
toward the front in the mud.
“Colonel Roosevelt, I’d like you to meet a great scout
and a great fighter, also a good friend, Tom Horn,” said Dr.
Wood.
“Pleased to meet you, young man,” smiled the colonel,
his moustache dancing and his eyes twinkling behind his thick
glasses. “Now what we’d like to have are two of those fine
looking Missouri mules to ride.”
In later days Tom described the San Juan Hill affair as a
terrible fiasco, and asserted that the branding of the seventy-
first New Yorkers as cowards was grossly unfair. He said they
were not cowards, but were simply untrained and un-
disciplined. That was the only action Tom saw during the
Cuban campaign. The Spaniards were less organized than the
Americans, and casualties on the side of the Spaniards was
much greater than those on the American side.
The victory of Admiral Dewey at Manila Bay was a lop-
sided affair, to say the least. On May 1, 1898, Dewey’s batteries
destroyed the fleet of Admiral Montojo and silenced all the
fortifications at a cost of seven wounded Americans. The
Spaniards lost 634 killed and wounded. Rear-Admiral
Sampson and Commodore W. S. Schley blockaded another
Spanish fleet in the harbor at Santiago Bay, completely
destroying it on July 3rd, killing 353 men of Cereva’s com-
mand and wounding 151 more. Military forces under Maj.-
General Shafter landed near Santiago, and took the city on
July 16th, after a skirmish at Las Guasimas and a battle at San
145
doorway, looked in, and fired another _ into Rash pm
+ hen calmly returned to
his job was well done. He t ,
oat where he had tethered his mount, each into the ene
is alibi as to his “presence” a
and rode off. To complete his a oe ee
ranch at the time Rash was s ain,
wo reach the town of Baggs, near which the Haley ranch
ituated.
= *OF course no one around Brown’s Hole suspected Tom
Hicks as the slayer of Matthew ab aaa —_ mi
hat the killing appe
ts were made to the effect t 3
the handiwork of a hired assassin named Tom Horn from
bab iat next move was to take the two cea sponte
Isam Dart, where they found tha
with him to the home of SS ee
ing logs at the rear of his home. Ne y
TR tebe lighted from his horse,
Horn stopped, alighte
a he ge pet eae imed full d shot Dart in the
i i ully, and sho
took his .44 calibre rifle, aimed care ji
ili i tantly. The Bassett br
stomach, killing him almost ins | aig aon
ith a firm feeling they ha
fled the scene post haste, wit Didi | best
i inci question
ention the incident to anyone. It is a )
to ail Horn, always a loner in his ra permitted the two
im i first place.
to accompany him in the ur
- tae “Mr. Hicks” was identified by people who pe
seen him near the Dart place the day of the shooting, as Jom
from photos they had seen. |
ees oe Lars used the theory of speed to awe first
suspicions regarding his connection oe me nal ae an
ie i ch good time
raced all the way to Laramie in su pet ne ae
t the Dart ranch at the tim
said he could never have been a wi fern
illi ie also at such-and-such an
killing and be in Laramie a :
oh ae trick was used on occasion by the noted Missouri
esse James.
ia ta he the habit of stirring up trouble Poe
men he wanted out of the way. In this al oo wou ti
ther than to himself.
diverted to one of these men, ra . rece
f James Miller and Kels
happened in the matter o . a.
h other’s throats most of t ,
Both these men were at each other's | Fonecea tne
iming the other was infringing on is p |
they aim took the matter to court several times, sometimes
148
Miller winning; sometimes Nickell.
This see-saw feud was to Tom’s liking. At one time the
two neighbors met, and it appeared that Nickell or Miller
would be killed, but, as it turned out, only Miller received a
slight flesh wound with a knife.
On the morning of July 19; 1901, Willie Nickell, the
fourteen year-old son of Kels Nickell, was shot and killed near
his home. James Miller was instantly suspected of the foul
deed, but it was known that he always carried a shotgun and
did not possess a high-calibre rifle with which the killing had
been done. A search of the area revealed (a spent cartridge
about three hundred feet distance from the pasture gate, it was
the famous .44 calibre, now a trademark on the frontier.
Young Willie, wearing his father’s coat and hat, had ap-
paarently been mistaken for Kels Nickell, and killed because
of that error.
At the coroner’s inquest on July 22nd, strong evidence
tended to show that Victor (James) Miller was the killer, but
the evidence was not strong enough that a warrant was issued.
He had witnesses who stated he was at home entertaining
guests at the very time young Nickell had been killed, and
they all swore under oath that Miller could not have been at
the scene.
“T don’t care what they say,” Kels Nickel stated later, “I
believe they will try to pin this on Tom Horn, Coble’s friend,
but I am sure it was Miller,”
Sheriff Shafer of Laramie County made the best inves-
tigation he could, launching a severe search to see where Tom
Horn had been on that fateful day. Tom had witnesses that he
had been on a train enroute to Cheyenne when the killing
took place, so the case was left hanging.
Later Deputy United States Marshal Joe LaFors entered
the case at the request of Sheriff Shafer, who had taken ill. As
the summer wore on, things began to slacken; all the sheep
had left the area and there was little or no rustling going on.
Therefore, Tom was thrown out of his job. Through the efforts
of his friend Coble and Deputy Marshall LaFors, who claimed
to be Tom’s friend, it was arranged for Horn to take a job in
Montana.
149
irited horses, Tom left
ing a buckboard and a team of spirited
hee job. At Laramie he stopped and got ae
when he reached Cheyenne to talk with a pened al
j h still drunk. In the marshall’s office,
a ve \Shattle Les Snow and Charley Ohnhaus, eo “3
a rachel hiding in an adjoining room, with door slightly
a LaFors began to question Tom about various things. —
wee Naturally, LaFors skillfully channeled the conversation
to include the death of Willie Nickell. Tom’s habit of placing
himself in the midst of every and any conversation was one
i fatal. .
cas my ee an interesting life, Tom, especially re
the army, Al Sieber, and all; it is a shame that you wasted a
that by turning professional killer. It “ not a manly thing to
illing of young Willie Nickell.
_ a shifted . the captain’s chair, apparently ill at ease.
“Things changed, LaFors, and I’m not so sure I can trust
you, either. If I killed the Nickell kid it was a mistake. | never
t any kids in my life.” |
es tea Tom Horn had trapped himself. —
more conversation followed, saa cme abvaye sire
he Nickell murder. Before long, he had tom )
a Ted: sail killed the boy and practically had him
itting i ough.
ccs BOL a eacean was issued for the arrest
of Tom Horn, charging him with the eae eo
illiam Nickell, and the warrant was served by oher
eat his chief deputy Dick Proctor, and Sandy McKneal,
Geel ace which the alee eS not wee
held on May 10th. It was
public until the hearing was acon Aalee
disclosed that in an interview wit : os
d to the murder of Willie
witnesses, Tom Horn had confesse miu :
ken identity; he had meant
Nickell. It had been a case of mista eerie
i Nickell, the boy’s father. Many thought 1
ae an obtained under duress and fraud, yet the verdict
i d. .
ies oy Sie ‘a rendered on October 26th by a jury
consisting mostly of small ranchers, men who had no use for
150
the likes of a man such as Tom Horn. Many people knew that
members of the jury were known cattle rustlers, men who had
sworn to “get Horn” for his thinning of their ranks.
it this way, “Show me a cattleman who is against
and I’ll show you a rustler.”
Appeals were made to various courts and to the gover-
nor, to no avail. On the very day of his execution at Cheyenne
on November 20, 1903, Tom wrote the following letter to his
dear friend, John Coble.
Some put
Tom Horn,
Cheyenne, Wyo., November 20, 1903
’ ~~
.
John C. Coble, Esq.,
Cheyenne, Wyo.
As you have just requested, I will tell all m
know in regard to the killing of the Nickell boy.
The day I laid over at Miller’s ranch, he asked me to do so, so that I
could meet Billy McDonald.
Billy McDonald came up and Miller and I met him up the creek,
above Miller's house. Billy opened the conversation by saying that he and
Miller were going to kill off the Nickell outfit and wanted me to go in on it.
They said that Underwood and Jordon would pay me.
Miller and McDonald said they would do the work. | refused to have
anything to do with them, as I was not interested in any way. McDonald said
that the sheep were then on Coble’s land, and I got my horse and went up to
see, and they were not on Coble’s land.
I promised to stay all night again at Miller’s, as McDonald said he
would come up again the next morning.
He came back the next morning and asked me if I still felt the same as
I did the day before, and I told him I did.
“Well,”’ he said, ‘‘we have made up our minds to wipe up the whole
Nickell outfit.’’
I got my horse and left, and went on about my business. I went on as
John Brae and Otto Plaga said I did, and on to the ranch, where I arrived on
Saturday. I heard of the boy being killed. I felt I was well out of the mix up.
I was over in that part of the country six weeks or two months later
and saw McDonald and Miller, and they were laughing and blowing to me
about running and shooting the sheep of Nickell. I told them I did not want to
hear of it at all, for I could see that McDonald wanted to tell me the whole
scheme. They both gave me a laugh and said I was suspicioned of the whole
thing.
I knew there was some suspicion against me, but did not pay the
attention to it that I should.
That is all there is to it so far as I know.
Irwin, who swore I came into Laramie on the run on that Thursday,
Just simply lied.
All that supposed confession in the United States marshal’s office was
prearranged, and everything that was sworn by those fellows was a lie, made
y knowledge of everything I
151
up before I came to Cheyenne. Of course, there was talk of the killing of the
boy, but LaFors did all of it. I did not even make an admission, but allowed
LaFors to make some insinuations.
Ohnhaus, LaFors, and Snow, and also Irwin, of Laramie, all swore
to lies to fit the case.
Your name was not mentioned in the marshal’s office.
This is the truth, as I am going to die in ten minutes.
Thanking you for your kindness and continued goodness to me, I am
Sincerely yours,
TOM HORN
After the hanging, Tom’s body was taken to Boulder,
Colorado, by an older brother, Charley Horn, where it was
buried with a proper marker, with proper inscription.
Story Printed in the Wyoming State Tribune, 1927.
TOM HORN
November 20, 1927, marked the twenty-fourth anniversary of
the hanging in Cheyenne of Tom Horn, notorious character,
known as the ‘Wyoming Man Killer”. Horn was the last man
hanged in a Wyoming county seat.
Twenty-five ‘years ago, the Tom Hom murder trial at Cheyenne, was
attracting the attention of the West. Horn was placed on trial October
10, 1902, in district court at Cheyenne, and on October 24, the jury
found him guilty of murder in the first degree. He was sentenced to be
hanged.
Horn’s career is especially historically interesting because he was one of
the first paid assassins in Wyoming, performing killings as those now
undertaken by hired gunmen in the big cities.
He first came into prominence when he came to Wyoming as a
detective for the Stockgrowers’ Association. Learning that it was
difficult to secure the conviction of a cattle rustler or range cattle thief,
Horn adopted the policy of acting as detective, prosecutor, judge, jury
and executioner, applying the remedy of death by shooting.
Horn gained his name as the “Man Killer’ while in Texas in a similar
capacity, and his activities in this state substantiated the cognomen
attached to him by Texans.
The scaffold on which Horn was hanged is now at the state
penitentiary at Rawlins. It was designed in 1892 by James Julian, a
152
4
execution, and the trap was sprun
g. Horn was pro
minutes later. a eel
int eres and Matt Rash, ranchmen in Brown’s Park
be a = fers . Horn was known to have been in that vicinit ‘at
ee one oes © = nist gia We alan He encountered a frosse
J in t \ ]
of the posse but incurred knife Sa ik cee Se
s
: career.
ter Lewis and Powell, ranchmen i
well, in the H
killed, and Horn was cae ae ia
The climax of Horn’s ruthless v
Tuthless ventures was reached
pe Pa body of Willie Nickell, 1 6-year-old son ee. P. pine
i ae country ranchman, was found with a stone Flas d
and a ghastly pre hala telling the manner a his
Horn always placed a stone ke
the head of his victi
employed ba phones to inform his employers a ey a =
and that the $700 he charged for the killing was due.”
Horn had intended to kill the boy’
her. .
the youngster was wearing his Ge he ‘nd wae me on ck ed
the boy was Nickell. om
About a week later the father w
as sho ing i
his garden. One shot took effect in Si ie wes Rp va
Joseph LeFors, a deputy Uni
“ayn, devisted his os 3 aoe rae kegs eh :
ae a _ ne became an almost constant companion On
meaty ih while LeFors and Horn were drinking together in
mes | : now, a deputy sheriff, and C. J. Oldham, a clerk in te
pi re eo were in an adjoining room, hearing all that w
‘ m made a stenographic report of the conversation. :
It was at this meeting that Horn made what was an “‘inspired’’
confession.
LeFors skillfully led Horn to boas
t of his deeds
he listed the Nickell lls” “™€ which
Pree ays later Sheriff E. J. Smalley of Laramie County, now a
Plas seo im i we agent, arrested Hom at the bar of the Inter-
- KR. A. Proctor, a deputy sheriff, standing a few feet away
153
had instructions to shoot if Horn made a hostile move.
attempts to escape, one of which was successful, on
pies 1903, Hom and Jim McCloud of Thermopolis, another
killer, overpowered R. A. Proctor, the deputy sheriff, ess Soa oa
into the jail, and, after witnessing the struggle, ran from the bastile a
oe , fi tting out of the
cCloud fled in opposite directions after getting
ial sie oe het about one block from the jail by a merry-go-
round proprietor. Horn attempted to shoot him, but was in possession
of Proctor’s automatic pistol and did not a hs to ~ . Fi
lans for another escape in which friends on the outs
Ri yeep Ss role. His plans included a relay of sh for
his use in his dash to the Laramie plains country. To carry out his
plans, Horn was required to take into his confidence another prisoner.
He selected a young boy who was serving a short sentence for ‘ minor
crime. He wrote notes to the boy on toilet paper, instructing him to
take the notes to a rancher at Laramie.
ing released from jail, the boy deliberated on the wisdom of
ee in fa plans for freedom. He finally visited the office
on the Cheyenne State Tribune, revealed the plot and upon t ;
promises of the newspaper not to publish the story until he was out o
Wyoming. viet
+ the lad reached Ogden, Utah, the Tribune published the story,
pis a big scoop in those days. After Horn’s plan te aa ne
been exposed, a military guard was placed around the jail. guar
was maintained up to the time the scaffold trap was sprung.
154
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Baber, Daisy F., The Longest Rope, Caxton Printers, Ltd.,
Cadwell, Idaho, 1940.
Botkin, B. A., Treasury of Western Folklore, Crown
Publishers, New York, 1951.
Burt, Maxwell Struthers, Power River, Farrar, Rinehart,
Inc., New York, 1938.
Clay, John, Tragedy of Squaw Mountain, Maders Printing
Co., Chicago, Illinois, 1924. . 2
Coe, Charles H., Juggling a Rope, Hamley & Co.,*Pen-
dleton, Oregon, 1927.
Fowler, Gene, Timber Line, Covici, Friede, publishers, New
York, 1933.
Gann, Walter, Tread of the Longhorns, Naylor Co., San
Antonio, Texas, 1949.
Garst, Doris Shannon, The Story of Wyoming, Douglas
Enterprise Publishing Co., Douglas, Wyoming, 1938.
Horn, Tom, Life of Tom Horn, Louthan Book Co., Denver,
1904.
Kelly, Charles, The Outlaw Trail, Charles Kelly, Publisher,
Salt Lake City, Utah, 1938.
Leckenby, Charles H., Tread of the Pioneers, Pilot Press,
Steamboat Springs, Colo., 1945.
LeFors, Joe, Wyoming Peace Officer, Laramie Printing Co.,
Laramie, Wyoming, 1953.
Linford, Velma, Wyoming, Frontier State, Old West Pub-
lishing Co., Denver, Colo., 1947.
Mokler, Alfred James, History of Natrona County, Wyom-
ing, R. R. Donnelley & Co., Chicago, 1923.
Monaghan, Jay, Legend of Tom Horn, Bobbs-Merrill
Publishers, New York, 1946.
Oregon Trail, Compilation of WPA Project, Hastings House
Publishers, New York, 1939.
Rollinson, John K., Wyoming Cattle Trails, Caxton Print-
ers, Caldwell, Idaho, 1948.
Siringo, Charles A., A Cowboy Detective, W. B. Conkey Co.,
Chicago, Illinois, 1912.
155
aaa With, es ee Ne Sar Gs oF a Fe igs S49 j as wate
oe SW, AG SAO? “eld EE Te Rea oe pes Peek he igen tani ok GR oe re See hoe es sshepda nce ebianda's a
ae See ae Se eC ALS ad a se ites, Sak steak Fit Me ie brag he és ay 8 ay 4
at ae he s 3
Ch ne
Cheyen
HORN, Tom, white, hanged Wyoming, November 20, 1903
Historical Atlas
of the
Outlaw West
Richard Patterson
Johnson Books: Boulder
GC 1985
eee eee ae ec i
Legend Makers
@.. say. As the result of his loose talk, he suddenly found ric
without a job, the stockmen who had employed him fearing to
become involved in the numerous killings he spoke about so glibly.
The Cheyenne Leader’s suddenly revived interest in the Nickell
killing was another indication that something was afoot. In stinging
editorials it demanded that the mystery be solved and the guilty
party be brought to justice.
Laramie County prosecutor W. R. Stoll, under fire, got very
busy and reassembled the coroner’s jury that had sat on the Nickell
killing, for the announced purpose of discovering new evidence.
Nothing came of it. But Stoll had other weapons in his arsenal, and
he proceeded to use them.
Joe Lafors, former stock detective and now deputy United
States marshal, became his principal conspirator, From among the
three or four men, including Jim Miller and Tom Horn, they set-
tled on Horn as their most vulnerable target. Stoll, with his superior
intelligence, directed the attack, but court records reveal that La-
fors supplied the evidence required for a conviction.
Horn was in Cheyenne, out of work and drinking. Lafors got
him in tow by holding out the hope of getting him a job with a
Montana cattleman who was on his way to Cheyenne for the
purpose of hiring a reliable stock detective. Having won Horn’s
confidence, he proceeded to keep him drunk. And that brings us
to the celebrated “confession.”
On the pretext that he had more to say about the Montana job,
Lafors sat down with Horn in the United States marshal’s office in
the State House on the morning of January 12, 1902. In an adjoin-
ing office, unknown to Horn, were Deputy Sheriff Les Snow and
Ohnhaus, a court reporter, taking down in shorthand every word
that was said. Horn was drunk and, boastfully, made a number of
damaging statements.
Tom Horn was arrested the following day and charged with
the killing of Willie Nickell. John Coble and other friends put up
the money for his defense. The betting in Cheyenne was four to
206
* On the Evidence—the Verdict Was Quilty
one against his being found guilty. But as the D sci on, it
became apparent that his lawyers were handling the case ineptly.
Gwendolin Kimmell was prepared to testify that young Victor
Miller had once confessed to her that it was he who had killed
Willie Nickell. The court refused to hear her testimony on the
grounds that it was prejudiced.
The trial dragged on for several weeks. When the case finally
went to the jury, the jurors were so confused that it took six ballots
for them to agree on a verdict of guilty. The verdict carried with
it a mandatory sentence of death by hanging.
Horn languished in jail as his case was appealed to the State
Supreme Court. That august body was in no hurry to act. Weeks
passed. When one of his fellow prisoners, implicated in a train
robbery, broke jail, Horn walked out with him, only to be captured
before he could get out of Cheyenne.
Triggered into action by the incident, the High Court denied
Horn’s appeal and sustained the verdict rendered by the trial court.
So, at six o’clock on the morning of November 20, 1903, Tom
Horn was hanged in the Cheyenne jail yard.
Was he hanged for a crime he had not committed? No one
knows. Perhaps Prosecutor Stoll could have supplied the answer,
Perhaps he found it difficult to live with, for he died a drunkard
and a suicide.
207
The Legend Makers
tive,’ and Joe Lefors were loners. All three were riding the ranges
of Wyoming for the same purpose and drawing their wages from
the same men, But they had no good words to say about one an-
other. When Horn was drinking, he boasted of the number of men
he had killed or sent hightailing it out of Wyoming. So far as the
record is concerned, such tales were figments of his imagination.
Tom Horn had made some substantial friends, among them
John C. Coble of the Iron Mountain Ranch, forty miles north of
Cheyenne. He made his headquarters at the Iron Mountain.
On the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Horn some-
times saw in the newspapers the names of men he had known as
junior officers in Arizona, now risen to posts of command. They
included General Leonard Wood, whom he had known as Surgeon
Wood, and who, with General Shafter, was to lead the invasion of
Cuba. Horn wrote Wood and was rewarded by being appointed
chief packer of all pack trains that were to accompany the expedi-
tion.’
Horn went ashore in Cuba with the Rough Riders and was
giving an excellent account of himself when an attack of yellow
fever forced him to return to Wyoming and the Iron Mountain
Ranch. He was ten months recovering his health, after which he
went back to his role of stock detective.
Horn was well acquainted with both Kels Nickell and Jim
Miller, neighbors who had been at odds ever since they had home-
steaded their places back in the early 1880’s. Miller was the more
prosperous of the two. He had a small herd of cattle, honestly
come by, it appeared; Nickell depended on his hay crop for a
living.
Their smoldering feud broke into flame in the early summer
of 1901, when Kels Nickell brought in a flock of sheep and turned
them out to graze on his pasture. They were clubbed and a number
killed a night or two later.
It was a warning that Nickell did not heed. Instead of disposing
of his sheep, he and his son Willie began lying out at night, armed
204.
PREP wc
On the Evidence—the Verdict Was Guilty
with shotgun and rifle, guarding the flock. Nothing happened, and
after several weeks they relaxed their vigil.
On the evening of July 19, 1901, sometime after sunset, the
lifeless body of Willie Nickell was discovered a few feet inside the
pasture gate. He had been shot twice. Bloodstains on the grass and
the gravel adhering to the boy’s clothing convinced a coroner’s
jury that after being killed the body had been dragged inside the
gate to where it was found.
“It was the Millers,” charged Kels Nickell. “They mistook him
for me.” But he could produce no evidence to that effect.
Wyoming could take the killing of an adult male in stride and
quickly forget it; the slaying of a fourteen-year-old boy was an-
other matter. Certain newspapers kept the case alive as a circulation
booster. As speculation widened as to who might shed some light
on what had happened, new names entered the case. They included
Victor Miller, Jim Miller’s son, a boy of approximately the same
age as Willie Nickell. The two boys had often fought, with the
advantage usually going to the heftier Miller boy. Gossip widened
to include Gwendolin Kimmell, invariably referred to as “the
pretty young schoolteacher,” who was residing temporarily at the
Miller ranch as she moved about the district, the school board be-
ing obligated to provide her with bed and board. She was from
the East and undoubtedly had come to Wyoming seeking adven-
ture as well as a living.
She was the reason, it was said, that Tom Horn was so often
seen at the Miller ranch. Undoubtedly she was attracted to him.
And why not? He was big and handsome and had barely turned
forty. She was still in her twenties. She was to prove herself a
courageous young woman, stepping forth in his behalf despite the
slurs and innuendos leveled at her.
Although he always came to her sober, she was undoubtedly
aware of his drinking sprees. When he was liquored, he told hilari-
ous tales of the men he had gunned down and even hinted that
he knew more about the killing of Willie Nickell than he cared
205
a
a
‘
204
name had become a legend and he no doubt was issued
more than one challenge by barroom showoffs, but ap-
parently his stay was relatively quiet. There is speculation
that his eyesight had begun to fail him, either from
glaucoma or a gonorrhea infection and that he did his
best to avoid troublemakers.
The town was the scene of a classic gunfight on March
9, 1877. The participants were Charlie Harrison and
Jim Levy. Harrison was a sporting man from the East
who reportedly had put several former enemies in their
graves. Levy came from Nevada, where he gained a
reputation as a gunslinger in the early 1870s (see Pioche,
Nevada). In Cheyenne the two apparently locked horns
over a card game. Witnesses said remarks by Harrison
about the Irish brought Levy to a boil, and the two
agreed to meet later in the street. They did, in front of
Frenchy’s Saloon at the corner of 16th and Eddy, in
what apparently approached a Hollywood-type Western
showdown. Harrison fired first, possibly several times,
and missed. Levy carefully took aim and drilled Charlie
in the chest. Harrison went down, and Levy walked up
and put a second bullet in him as he lay helpless on the
ground. This second shot, deemed unsporting and un-
necessary by bystanders, turned much of the town
against Levy. However, any charges against Jim were
evidently dropped.
Cheyenne was also Tom Horn’s town. Between the
day Horn, as a lad of fourteen, ran away from his father’s
farm in Missouri and the day he died at the end of a
rope, his trail covered much of the West. But Tom Horn
“the outlaw” belonged to Wyoming. To this day in
some parts of the state, to lay in wait to kill a man is
to “Iom Horn” him. Around Cheyenne, Horn was
known as the “exterminator,” a title he often used him-
self and one he became quite proud of.
National Guard troops patroling downtown Cheyenne prior tq hang-
ing of Tom Horn. Rumors circulated that Horn’s friends might try
to free him. American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Wyoming
Joe LeFors, peace officer who engineered arrest of Tom Horn.
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.
Horn’s first trips through Wyoming were on the
Union Pacific as a Pinkerton agent out of Denver. But
Horn disliked the work and when he learned that several
Wyoming cattle ranchers were looking for a “stock de-
tective” to run down rustlers, he bade the Pinkertons
farewell. Horn’s first job with the cattlemen was with
the Swan Land and Cattle Company north of Cheyenne.
on Chugwater Creek. Officially he was hired to break
broncs; his real work, however, was to keep an eye out
for rustlers, especially among his fellow wranglers. He
did his work well, and during the late 1890s he moved
on to similar jobs with other cattle outfits. However,
sometime during those years Tom stepped over the line
that the law draws on such conduct, and he became an
exterminator. After tortuous weeks on the trail running
down a range thief, Horn frequently would see him
turned loose by a sympathetic jury. Tom pointed this
out to his employers and suggested that justice might
better be served if his prey never reached a courtroom.
Eventually Tom proved his point. Quietly, among the
cattlemen, he let it be known that he would lay a rustler
out cold for a price. To prove that he had done the job
he would leave a small rock under the victim’s head.
How many paid killings Horn was involved in will
never be known. The end came in July 1901 when a
rock was found under the body of a fourteen-year-old
boy, Willie Nickell, at the gate of his family’s ranch near
aaliemmeiee a 2
od
HE TRIAL OF TOM HORN FOR THE MURDER OF
Willie Nickell was held in the fall of 1902, be-
fore a jury of eight ranchers, a cowhand, a butcher, a
blacksmith, and a hotel bellhop. The head of Horn’s defense
team, engaged on his behalf by Horn’s cattle-baron
employers, was John W. Lacey, general counsel for the Union
Pacific Railroad and former state Supreme Court Chief Jus-
tice. The wealthy stock growers were anxious to help Horn in
every possible way, because he had the power to implicate
some of them as accessories to several — perhaps dozens — of
murders.
Parts of the prosecution’s argument were trivial: Horn’s
admission that he had been riding in the vicinity of the Nickell
ranch the day before Willie was shot; the introduction of the
record of a court hearing from eleven years earlier, in which
Kels Nickell was accused but never formally charged with
attacking John Coble, Horn’s friend and employer, with a
pocketknife. The weight of the state’s case rested solely upon
the damning, if possibly tainted, confession. Ornhaus’s tran-
script was admitted as evidence, and Joe LeFors attested to its
accuracy and the circumstances under which it had been ob-
tained. Both men, and witness Leslie Snow, declared that
Horn had been sober throughout the conversation.
Through attorney Lacey, Horn offered parallel defenses.
First, Horn claimed he was intoxicated and bragging during
the LeFors interview and introduced character witnesses to
testify that he was a surly, loud-mouthed, blustering drunk. In
the alternative, Horn insisted that he had been speaking
hypothetically, and only to impress a future employer with his
familiarity with the accepted methods of combatting rustlers.
According to Horn, portions of the transcript that would sup-
port this contention were edited out.
On October 23 Tom Horn was adjudged guilty and con-
demned to death; on appeal the state Supreme Court sustained
the conviction and sentence. But with the verdict, the suspense
over the Tom Horn case only tautened. Would Tom Horn
**peach’’ on his employers to save his skin? Would those who
sided with him—or those who feared what he knew—try to
break him out, or even assassinate him?
The answer to the first question was no. As one Wyoming
cattleman said after Horn was finally hanged, **He died with-
out ‘squealing,’ to the great relief of many very respectable
citizens of the West.’’ But during the year between trial and
execution, the atmosphere in Cheyenne was a combination of
siege and circus.
Before Thanksgiving, 1902, it was widely broadcast that
Butch Cassidy and the dreaded Wild Bunch were gathering to
ride to Tom Horn’s liberation. The fact that Butch and Sun-
RBTORIOUS .« ?
RE oo
COURTESY ARCHIVES— AMERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
Horn hand-braided this horsehair lariat during his
imprisonment in Laramie County Jail, completing it the day
he was hanged. The gunman kept quiet about his
co-conspirators to the end.
43
Horn occupied his spare
moments with escape attempts,
plotting elaborate liberation
schemes with fellow prisoners.
doing time or dead did little to ruin this tall tale’s barroom
currency. Meanwhile, Horn occupied his spare moments with
escape attempts. He wrote to other prisoners in match-soot on
scraps of blanket and shirttail, plotting elaborate liberation
schemes. At various times he tried to fashion keys from
broom-wire, soupbones, a piece of wood, and shards of glass.
On one occasion, Under-Sheriff Richard Proctor took a table
knife from the prisoner; on another he found a length of lead
pipe hidden in Horn’s pant leg.
Then, on August 9, 1903, Horn and Jim McCloud, charged
with armed robbery and the only other prisoner on the jail’s top
floor, managed to overpower Proctor. Although Proctor had
the keys in his pocket, he insisted the ring was locked in the
safe. The prisoners marched Proctor to the strongbox, but
instead of the key he removed a revolver which he fired four
times, wounding McCloud slightly.
Horn and McCloud raced downstairs, but by now Proctor
was ringing the firebell to give the alarm, and a crowd was
converging on the jailhouse. McCloud jumped on the sheriff’s
horse and rode west, but was captured immediately. Horn ran
on foot in the other direction. Hatless and carrying Proctor’s
sneak-gun, Horn attracted the attention of a shopkeeper named
Eldrich, who pulled his own gun from under the counter,
stepped outside, and shot Horn in the neck, not seriously.
When Horn tried to return fire, he discovered he could not
work the modern automatic lock safety of Proctor’s pistol.
Merchant Eldrich disarmed the desperado, and officers arrived
in time to keep the mob from beating Horn to death. As a final
adventure, it was an ignominious coda to a notorious career.
Wyoming capital seemed moonstruck. Rumors persisted
that gangs of cowboys were massing outside town,
prepared to sack the town if necessary to free Tom Horn.
Governor Fenimore Chatterton, himself the object of death
threats, called out the state militia, and machine-gun nests
covered the jail. At least twenty-five sheriff’s deputies from all
over the state stood rifle guard in nearby buildings and at every
window of the courthouse. Sheriff Edward Smalley, a grocer
appointed a few weeks before Horn’s arrest to fill an unexpired
term, nervously warned citizens to approach the jail at their
own risk, while every arriving train brought fresh carloads of
morbid curiosity seekers.
On the street in front of the jail, Kels Nickell, father of the
victim, patrolled with a shotgun, buttonholing passersby like
Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner to declare his determination to
turn Horn into dogmeat should the killer attempt another
| N THE LAST DAYS BEFORE HORN’S EXECUTION, THE
dance were in Bolivia and at least half a dozen of the old gang -
jailbreak. Inside on the cellblock, a deathwatch detail stared
glumly as Horn completed a horsehair riata he’d been hand-
weaving for months. As he worked he could hear the crash and
thud from the jailhouse courtyard as 200-pound sandbags were
dropped through the trap over and over again to test the
gallows.
The execution, on November 20, 1903, the day before
Horn’s forty-third birthday, was anticlimactic, as it had to be.
On the way across the courtyard Horn paused to shake the
hands of two old rodeo pards, Charlie and Frank Irwin. Charlie
asked if Horn had confessed, and Horn answered, **No.”’
While Horn stood on the scaffold, the Irwin boys sang the old
railroad hymn, ‘‘Keep Your Hand upon the Throttle and Your
Eye upon the Rail,’’ which, according to an account in the
Chicago Record-Herald, brought ‘‘tears to the eyes of all
except Horn himself.’’ Horn’s last words, to County Clerk
Joseph Cahill as he adjusted Horn’s restraining straps, were,
‘*Ain’t losing your nerve are you, Joe?’’ The trap was sprung
at 11:08 in the morning, and sixteen minutes later Horn was
pronounced dead of a broken neck. The handpicked witnesses
congratulated Under-Sheriff Proctor on a flawless execution.
In parts of Wyoming today, smart-mouthing about the Tom
Horn case remains a fine way to incite barroom violence. A
colleague of ours who grew up in the Iron Mountain country,
and whose grandfather occasionally hosted Tom Horn when he
rode their part of the range, reports that sentiment in that
precinct remains nearly unanimous in Horn’s favor. Beyond
doubt, the confession upon which his conviction depended
would be summarily ruled inadmissible in a modern court-
room. In 1977, when In Wyoming magazine published a
biographical sketch of Kels Nickell by a nephew, Dennie
Trimble Nickell, even this admittedly biased writer did not
flatly state that Tom Horn murdered his cousin.
Joe LeFors’s role in Tom Horn’s downfall did not appreci-
ably affect his life or career. He remained with the U.S.
Marshal’s office until April of 1908, when he went to work for
the Wyoming Wool Growers Association. He was based in
Wyoming for another dozen years after that, although he
makes vague and tantalizing reference in his autobiography to
other adventures during this period, including a **hazardous
and thrilling’’ trip up an unnamed river in Central America; the
shipwreck of a native schooner in the Caribbean, ‘‘the closest
call I ever had;’’ and travel in Mexico and Argentina *‘as an
officer and also as a private citizen.’’ He moved to southern
California in 1921 but returned to Wyoming after a couple of
seasons. He was seventy-five when he died on October 1,
1940, in Buffalo, the town where he had settled at the end of
the cattle drive that had first brought him to Wyoming fifty-
44
——)
five years earlier.
Joe LeFors was a cop, private or public, for over thirty
years, during a period when law was scarcer and gunplay more
common than today. He appears to have done a good job. But
LeFors lacked the flair for publicity of a Wyatt Earp, the glib
good-fellowship of a Bat Masterson, or the tragic flaws of a
Wild Bill Hickok. The facts of his most noteworthy moment
will always be overshadowed by the legend of his adversary,
and Joe LeFors will remain a footnote to the last chapter of
Western history. Les
This essay, in slightly different form, appears as the A ifterword to the novel
Gunsmoke River by Owen Rountree (Ballantine Books, 1985).
BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE
On the day he died, Tom Horn gave John Coble a pencilled manuscript, which
Coble published the next year as Life of Tom Horn by Himself. It is a vividly
written description of Horn’s arrival in Wyoming in 1894. In/, Tom Horn. a
superb novel by Will Henry which purports to be a continuation of the
autobiography, Horn denies his guilt in the Nickell killing. In his biography
The Saga of Tom Horn, Dean Krakel also argues that Horn was innocent of the
Nickell killing, although Krakel acknowledges that Horn was a hired killer for
cattle interests. Another excellent Horn biography is The Last of the Badmen
by Jay Monaghan. A detailed treatment of Horn’s career as a hired gun appears
in The Gunfighters volume of the Time/Life series The Old West, with text by
Paul Trachtman. For reproductions of several contemporary newspaper ac-
counts of the Tom Horn affair, as well as photographs of the principals, see
The Authentic Wild West: The Gunfighters, by James D. Horan.
Joe LeFors wrote his autobiography, Wyoming Peace Officer, shortly
before his death, but it was not published until 1953. LeFors was also the
prototype of the title character of Whispering Smith, a best-selling novel by
Frank H. Spearman (1859— 1937) that was filmed in silent and sound ver-
sions.
William Kittredge will publish a book of essays, Redneck Secrets, with Gray
Wolf Press in 1986. Steven M. Krauzer writes Westerns and thrillers. He is
the author of the screenplay for the forthcoming film The Fine White Line. As
Owen Rountree, Kittredge and Krauzer write the Cord series of Western
novels.
(Above) Charles Horn claims his brother’s body after the
hanging in Cheyenne to take it to Boulder, Colorado, where
Tom’s funeral was held. (Ri ght) Dapper and respectable,
Marshal LeFors represented law and order ina lawless land.
He faded into relative obscurity after his triumph over
Horn, eclipsed by the better-known reputation of the
flamboyant killer.
BOTH PHOTOS COURTESY ARCHIVES
é x *
IERICAN HERITAGE CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING
45
Pa history of Tom Horn divides itself into two parts,
one page bright and fair, full of daring and high adven-
ture—the other dark and sinister, recording the career of a
professional man-hunter who killed rustlers for $600 a head.
As a scout in Arizona under the famous A! Sieber he was
repeatedly commended by his commanding officers for gal-
lantry under fire. But times changed, the Apaches were
conquered, and there was no place for a trained fighter
except in distant Wyoming, where a range war was going
on. Horn hired out as a cattle detective and ended up on
the gallows.
That the same man who chased the Apaches into Old
Mexico and became Chief of Scouts under Crook, could
have murdered a fourteen-year-old boy for money will never
be believed in Arizona. Nor is it believed by many friends
in Wyoming, despite the evidence against him. But if he
did, the blame can be placed on King Alcohol, who has got
away with many a good man. As a Scout he was always
sober but, riding the dead-line in the Northern range wars,
he often sought forgetfulness in drink. And while drunk
he made the much-disputed confession that brought him to
a shameful death.
The first part of his life was told by himself in a book
which he wrote while in jail.* The second was pieced to-
gether years after his death, from sources which cannot be
named. Even the brands of the outfits for which he worked
*Life of Tom Horn. Privately printed by John Coble, Denver, Colorado.
87
88 FIGHTING MEN OF -THE WEST
have been changed in the account that follows. For the
rustler wars are over and Tom Horn is hung; and the men
who hired, as well as those who sold him, will soon go
before a higher Judge.
THE Scout
Tom Horn was born in Missouri, a boy with a single
passion—to take his dog and gun and go hunting. Life
tor him was one whipping after the other to punish him
for running away; until, at the age of fourteen, he took his
last beating and started West.. A year later he was driving
stage out ot Prescott, Arizona, with a rifle to fight off the
Apaches and the wild joy of adventure in his heart. Another
year found him the proud companion of Al Sieber, Chief of
Scouts on the San Carlos Reservation, drawing $75 a month
as a Mexican interpreter and rapidly learning Apache. So
at the age of sixteen he had qualified as a Scout among
the fiercest Indians in America.
Sieber spoke Apache and Mexican both, but he had
adopted this boy to learn the Indians’ ways and follow in his
footsteps. To Horn, Al Sieber was the grandest man in the
world, “as kind as a school-ma’am,” and together they
travelled the Reservation, trying to keep the Apaches from
making “#zwin, getting drunk on it and starting a war.
But one day a sullen buck talked back to the Chief of Scouts,
_ calling him Jon-a-chay, a meddlesome old squaw, and Tom
saw his other side.
The Indian picked up his gun as he applied this epithet,
saying he had a notion to kill Sieber; but before he could
make a move Sieber grabbed him by the hair and almost
cut his head off with his knife. After the death of this buck
they did not sleep for two nights, never laying down their
Breversary
dtewadinn sh
TOM HORN | 89 .
guns for one minute; and then, still watching for the ex-
pected attack, they went up to see Chief Pedro.
This old Indian had always been tolerably friendly to-
wards Sieber and when the Scout told him what he was
trying to do Pedro said he would gladly help him. He did
not want his men either to make tzzwin or drink it, but
some of his warriors were as bad as a bad Apache could
be, and he could not do anything with them. They were
always making trouble, yet they never got killed. Nor did
they get good—or old, or disabled. They just remained,
being all bad and part devil, to join in on any trouble that
came up.
The old Chief ordered the women to feed his guests and
when he discovered that Horn was beginning to learn
Apache he suddenly took a great interest in him. A few
days later Sieber beckoned the boy aside and gave him a
long, fatherly talk.
“Tom,” he said, “Chief Pedro is a good man and he wants
you to come up and live with him. Now do you like this
kind of life, and do you calculate to follow it? Al! right,
here’s what I want you to do. In the morning take vour
horses and ride up to his camp. You are naturally born for
a life of this kind and are just at the right age to begin.
You are picking up the language very fast and in six months
will speak Apache like a native. You are an excellent shot,
a good hunter, and in a few years will become a valuable
man in the Indian wars that are bound to come.”
Horn agreed, and the next day he found himself alone
among hundreds of savage warriors. But he himself was
almost an Indian, being wild, and very dark-complected.
He stood over six feet, broad-shouldered, straight and sup-
ple, with keen eyes and a grim cast of countenance, though
90 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
he could always see a joke. The old Chief looked him over
approvingly, for he wanted a Government man in his camp,
and gave him a fatherly talk.
“Well, my son,” he said, “you are an Apache, now. My
camp is your camp, and my lodge will be your lodge till
you set up one for yourself. Here is my boy, Ramon, who
will always be a brother to you and I want you to call him
that: Chi-kis-in. There are many fine girls here, and I
know several that are waiting to get a chance to throw a
stick at you. That means they are willing for you to court
them. When you find one you like you can have your
own lodge, but now my camp is your home.”
So here, at the age of sixteen, Tom Horn found himself
a full-fledged Apache, with nothing to do but hunt, and
drawing $75 a month. With Chi-kis-in, his Indian brother,
he went everywhere, learning their ways—how to hide, how
to hunt, how to cover up his tracks, how to walk without
making a sound. With his pay he bought eight horses,
giving four to Chi-kis-in, with a fine saddle and bridle
thrown in to match those he had bought for himself. Then
he brought a beautiful blanket as a present to Chief Pedro,
the man who had taken him for his son, and all the Indians
made much of him.
He learned the language fast and went to San Carlos
often to report to the Chief of Scouts, but the next spring
there was no money in the Department to pay them and he
and all the scouts were ordered away. This was because,
under the rules, no white man could remain on the Reserva-
tion, unless he was in the employ of the Government.
Pedro’s band gave their young brother a big feast and dance
and when he left each one gave him a present of some kind,
such as hair-ropes, hackamores, moccasins and buckskin
TOM HORN gi
bags, to show him their good will. Then, with Sieber and
the rest of the discharged scouts and packers, Horn went
to Tucson where they joined the first rush to the new silver
camp of Tombstone.
Every man located a claim and Tom and Sieber made
good money killing deer to sell to the miners, but in Octo-
ber of the same year they received orders to return, as the
Indians were raising Cain. Some were making zzwin and |
tulapai, their potent corn whisky, and all of them were get-
ting drunk. They were raiding and robbing everywhere
and the new regiment of cavalry could not even catch up
with them. So the Scouts were reorganized and Horn was
made interpreter at $100 a month.
Of the different branches of the Apaches, the Cibiques
and Chiricahuas were always the great trouble-makers, and
all the young warriors who wanted to raid and fight left
their people and joined these two bands. The Chiricahuas,
under their war chief, Geronimo, had fled across the Line
into Mexico; but now they sent word that they wanted to
come back and live on the Reservation. It was a dangerous
mission to answer their invitation to a council, but Sieber
had no fear of the wily old Geronimo and with Horn he
rode to the Terras Mountains, where the hostiles had their
camp.
Only three white men were allowed to enter the camp
and there for the first time Tom Horn beheld Geronimo,
the most feared of all the Apaches. He was a grand-
looking war-chief, six feet tall and magnificently propor-
tioned, and his motions as easy and graceful as a panther’s.
But when he looked at Tom his eyes were so sharp and
piercing that they seemed fairly to stick into him. Or that
was the way they seemed, he being a little shaky, anyway.
92 FIGHTING MEN OF THE WEST
In the conference that followed, Horn acted as interpreter,
and how that old renegade did talk! He had more grievances
than a railroad switchman and, after he had asked for every-
thing he could think of, he paused for Sieber’s reply.
“Tom,” said Sieber, “tell Geronimo just what I say—no
more, no less. “You have asked for everything I know about,
except to have these mountains moved up into the Ameri-
can country for you to live in, and I will give you till sun-
down to talk to your people and see if they don’t want them
moved. If you are entitled, by your former conduct, to what
you have asked for, then you should have these mountains,
too.””
Sieber got up and left the council, and right there Horn
began to learn the secret of handling Indians. In the end
_ the older Apaches and many women whose husbands had
been killed decided to return to the Reservation, and as they
started Geronimo came over to bid the young interpreter
farewell. After telling him to come to his camp any time
he had word to bring, and not to be afraid, he said:
“You are a young man, and will always be at war with
me and mine; but war is one thing and talking business
another, and I will be just as pleased to meet you in battle
as in council.”
The war came the next year, after most of the Apaches
had drifted back from Mexico. The civilian agent at San
Carlos, according to Horn, was so busy selling the Indians’
rations to freighters, prospectors and merchants that Indian
troubles did not bother him in the least. That is, until the
Chiricahuas killed his Chief of Police and started with all
their people for Mexico. There was not a soldier at the post —
and Sieber and his scouts had to take to the high country to
keep from being killed. They tagged along behind the
Seo has — ee =, Saas Se
ae ‘pam 4s oie SS ee eS ee eee SE cE eager =
see 8 ee ~~ Sei = : “8 :
TOM HORN 93
Indians as they drove their horses towards Mexico, directing
the few soldiers that came up; but at the Line the scouts
met a fire-eating Major who was eager to get a lick at the
Indians.
According to international law, our soldiers could not
cross into Mexico—and the Apaches understood this per-
fectly; but Major Tupper, though he had only forty soldiers
and the Chiricahuas numbered three hundred, was game to
take a chance. And a big chance it was, for if they tried to
surprise the Chiricahuas and the Chiricahuas surprised them,
every man in the command would be killed.
With Major Tupper’s telescope, Sieber and Horn went
ahead to see where the Indians had camped and, having
located them at a big spring about twenty miles across the
Line, they returned to the Major and reported. That night,
with forty soldiers and twenty-five Apache scouts, they
crept up within a thousand yards of the Hostiles, who were
having an all-night dance. Just at dawn five Indians
blundered into their camp and were all killed before they
could escape. Then the battle was on, with horses running
in every direction, women and children screaming, and the
Hostiles badly rattled.
If the Apaches had realized what a small party had at-
tacked them they would have wiped out the whole com-
mand, but they thought that other soldiers were waiting to
ambush them and so declined to fight. Major Tupper had
been anxious to capture a pony for his little girl and when
the attack was over the scouts turned over two hundred and
sixty, besides keeping a few for themselves. That same day
Colonel Forsythe with five troops of cavalry came riding in
on their trail, and when he heard about the fight he decided
to try his luck.
walked over to the man and told him
to go outside and put on a dinner
jacket or he couldn’t eat in there. The
big man hits Tom and knocks him up
against the wall. Next thing I know,
they were fighting and Tom pulls out a
gun and shoots the man. He fell right
beside me; I could smell the blood. I
could hear the gurgling. I can see it
now as if it were yesterday, his foot
tapping against the wall,
pit ..... pit... pit... pit’: fest; then
slower and slower as the life went out
of him. They did not arrest, Tom; he
sat down and ate.”
Tom Horn (below) was a violent fighter.
In one incident, he attacked a bully
in a restaurant and when he couldn't
beat him with his fists, he shot him
with his pistol. Then he finished
eating his dinner while the man died
on the floor. At left is Marion Speers
who recalled these incidents for the author.
I will tell you more about Tom
Horn. He did not kill Willie Nickell!
Sheepmen money railroaded Tom
Horn. I well knew Joe Lefors, and I
know the entire story for what it is. I
am most likely the only one left who
truly knows the story. I went to see
Tom about a week before they hung
him. I asked him; “Tom, did you kill
the boy Willie Nickell?” “I did not
Marion,”’ he said, ‘“‘but that does not
matter anymore, I want you to see my
brother and ask him to stand beside
me on the execution day and sing my
favorite song; THE HOLY CITY.” I
told him I would, and I did, but for
some unkonwn reason Charlie never
fulfilled that request. The song sung
at the hanging was THE RAILROAD
TO HEAVEN, and Charlie sang like a
‘bird. Least so I later heard, for I
couldn’t bring myself to go to Tom’s
hanging. I went to the services, just as
I went to the services of Bob Ford, in
Creede, Colorado, and just as I went to
pay my last respects to Buffalo Bill.
But there was much sadness after Tom
was hung. At the time there was much
controversy in Wyoming about Tom’s
hanging but those who knew Tom as I
did were staunch in their belief in
defense of him.
He was framed, no doubt in my
mind. He was deserted by his friends
only because they were all to busy
worrying about themselves to come to
his defense. I have an old photograph
of Tom Horn, I have a letter,
somewhere. The photograph I asked
Charlie for it and he gave it to me. It
will be published with this story for
the first time in history.
I climbed the rocky mountain at
Boulder, Colorado and sat on the
mountain looking down at the grave of
Tom Horn. ‘Goodbye old friend,” I
said, “I'll see you in the next
world.’ I can tell you things about
Tom Horn. He left home at sixteen.
He went to work for the government
as an Indian Scout, how long he
remained at this job I don’t know. He
later worked as a stock detective,
before that asa soldier. He spoke
English, Spanish and Indian dialects.
While only 16 he drove for the
Overland mail. At 17, he worked
under Al Sieber, chief of the Indian
Scouts. Tom acted as interpreter at the
San Carlos agency.
Tom was so brave and true, that
Pedro the Apache Chief invited him to
live among them at the White River.
They dubbed him ‘Talking Boy”’
because of his fluency with the
Apache language.
Leaving the White River he ended
up in Tombstone, Arizona where he
didn’t find that country to his liking.
After a short stay he left. _
Continued on page 53
Joe LeFors - the mantracker who ©
swore that he would get Tom Horn
and see him convicted and executed.
& ssi enh Rain curiegdl 45.4 a dbl bhp iia ale
OTTO FRANC from page 45
“Listen, Mr. Franc,” Henry Spikens
said, “we’re cowboys! We didn’t plant
that damn sagebrush an’ By God we
ain’t goin’ t’ dig it up!”
Otto didn’t want to lose his cowboys
so hesgave up and hired a lot more
ranch hands. “Two years later,” Mer-
rill told us, “that two hundred acres
had timothy three feet high on it.”
It seems, though, Otto liked to sit on
his porch and let his eyes enjoy his
broad meadow and now that hill set
squarely in the center of it, cutting off
his view.
The more Otto viewed the hill the
more he detested it. The hill had to go!
Otto sent two men with four horse
teams and two wagons each to Cody
for heavy plows, “slips” and wheel-
scrapers and the outfit was soon ready
to start removing the hill.
“I want that hill dumped in the
river,” he said, “and not a stone left on
my meadows.” As the work proceeded
Otto would sit for hours on his porch
with field glasses to his eyes.
It was a Herculean job and no
rancher except the vain Franc would
have undertaken it. As indicated
before, Otto had the finest teams in
the country and doted on their being
handled with “kid gloves,” so to speak.
‘Then one afternoon, as the hill had
lowered to where he could see the
meadows beyond, Otto sat with his
field glasses when something oc-
curred that Otto or half of Wyoming
never forgot!
A plow man left his team to go to the
water barrel for a drink and the team
started moving away. Dropping his
dipper the driver raced to catch his
team but a scraper driver was already
on the run, yelling “Whoa!” but the
abandoned scraper team started, and
with others dropping their lines and
joining in’ the chase, the inevitable
happened.
Plow and scraper teams were
running in every direction with the
implements leaping in the air and
coming down on the teams’ rumps or
chopping hind legs to pieces. With
tendons cut, teams were falling in a
tangled mess. This was too much for
Otto and with a cry of “Mein Gott!” he
rushed in the house. Hearing the com-
motion, the cook went to Otto’s bed-
room and found his employer with his
head under the covers, sobbing.
Otto had a section of blue-grass
pasture on “Franc’s Fork,” named
after its owner, and still determined to
revolutionize cowboying he thought to
put the idle punchers doing granger
work. “Boys,” he said one day at noon,
beef prices are so low I may not ship
for a couple weeks and being as hay
hands are scarce I want you to ride
Continued on page 55
VERA CRUZ from paae 15
Berrie H. Jarrett, an orderly,
performed honorably, he rushed out
and dragged both wounded men to
safety. At the aftermath of battle,
Lieutenant Philip Seymour told how it
was to kill a man, offering this
explanation ....
“I was standing close to him, so
close, in fact, that I couldn’t raise my
gun to my shoulder. But I put it up as
far as I could and fired. The bullet
struck him right in the heart. There
was a gurgle, and I remember that he
‘stared at me in surprise and then he
fell back dead. It was the first man I
had ever shot and I felt queer inside,
mighty queer.”
All seemed hopeless for the
defenders as the American ships began
unloading their troops shortly before
dawn on April 22, 1914. Around 4:10
AM troops were disembarked from the
NEW HAMPSHIRE, followed by the
ARKANSAS and SOUTH CAROLINA
at 4:30. Minutes later came the fleet
Marines, then a battalion was unloaded
from the NEW JERSEY at 6:15, the
VERMONT disembarked at 6:45 AM.
The MINNESOTA and
HANCOCK slowly drifted in, the
ORION, a supply ship, arrived at 7:40,
the battleship MICHIGAN appeared at
8:40 and the SOLACE at 11:15 AM.
Before the beans were cold in
Boston it was impossible to locate any
Mexican soldiers, or any responsible
- authorities, or dignitaries to negotiate
a surrender.
Slowly the Americans took
possession of Veracruz, driving the few
scattered snipers far into the hills,
where they later joined with Pancho
Villa.
“The worst of it was that we
could see nothing to shoot at,” wrote
Lieutenant Ellyson. ‘‘Men were falling
now. Curses and screams of.. .““My
God! I’m hit! I’m hit!” rent the
air
‘Another wrote “A rifle cracked
and Ordinary Seaman Fried pitched
forward on his face. Fried was dead
before he could finish the word which
sprung to his lips. But the startled boy
behind him heard enough to know
that it was ‘‘Mother.”
When the smoke cleared, the
American flag- was raised over
Veracruz on April 27, 1914 at 2 PM
by Captain DeLano, United States
Marine Corps, and Ensign McDonnell,
United States Navy, assisted by a
quartermaster from the UTAH and a
sergeant of the Marine Corps as the
band played the “Star Spangled
Banner’? and the MINNESOTA
remembering the gallant heros on both
sides fired a twenty-one gun salute,
placing the lost battlers in the
pantheon for heroes. @
TOM HORN ‘
from page 17
Again he teamed up with Al
Sieber, acted as interpreter for
Geronimo at the Apache chief's
hideout. Tom was only 18, and
showed no fear for Geronimo. In all
his dealings Geronimo would have no
other interpreter. It was Tom who
officiated at the surrender of
Geronimo to General ‘Miles. Tom
contacted a bad case of Yellow Fever,
and this was the reason for his
discharge from the Army. He went to
the Iron Mountains in Wyoming and to
the ranch of John C. Cable.
While there he was hired by the
cattleman’s association who ‘were
being annoyed by sheepmen. Tom had
one bad fault. When he drank he liked
to brag. He tried to make himself look
like a killer, which he really wasn’t all
as bad.as he made out. He did take on
the job of killing for the price of $600
a man. Tom would shoot his man
usually from ambush, place a rock
under his head, so that his employer
would know he had done the job. But
not for the killing of Willie Nickell,
which Tom did not do.
I said I knew Joe LeFors, I did.
He was a tireless tracker of law
breakers and badmen. It was he alone
that set the trap that caught Tom
Horn into confessing he killed Nickell,
and this led to the dramatic hanging of
Tom Horn. They called Joe LeFors
‘“‘Whispering Smith’? in fact
Hollywood made a film of him with
the late Alan Ladd. ,
I spoke with LeFors many years
after the death of Horn, just before his
death on October 1, 1940. And I
asked him, “Joe, who killed Willie
Nickell, did you ever find out?”
Coldly he looked at me and said
“We hung the man that did it,
Marion.” He believed it, alright. He .
was a wonderful story teller, and this
is what he told me of the case, though
maybe not word for word: '
“It was in July of 1901 that I
heard of the shooting of the 14 year
old boy Willie Nickell in the Iron
Mountain country. And about how he
was shot and a rock placed under his
head. I was a U.S. Deputy marshal
assigned to another case.
I wrapped up the case and went
by train to Cheyenne. When I arrived
at the station I was met by two city
policemen, a deputy sheriff and an
office deputy. They at once informed.
me that Sheriff Shafer was very sick
and had asked that I go to investigate
the killing of little Will Nickell. I found
‘out now that the boy’s father, Kels P.
Nickell had been shot just hours
Continued on page 54
53
TOM HORN fom page a2
‘before my arrival. I had had no sleep
for almost 48 hours, and had a
counterfeiter chained to my _ leg.
Turning my prisoner over to the.
sheriff I hurried home and went to
bed. I met Peter Warlaumont at the
train station about 9:00 the following
morning and by 9:30 we were at Iron
Mountain where fresh mounts awaited
us. Mounting up soon we were at the
ranch of that poor unfortunate
woman.
“They have killed my little boy
— and now my husband, and I guess
I’m next,” she cried.
I told her that her husband was
still alive, and doing nicely. She was
talking through the screen door, she
moved back a few logs from the door
and let me in.
Tears were streaming down her
cheek. Three small children were
hanging to her skirts, all crying.
She showed me little Willie’s
blood soaked coat that he had on
when he was shot. She showed me her
husband’s jacket hanging beside it, he
had it on when he was shot, two days
before.
“My God, nothing is being done
to help us,”’ she screamed. I tried to
calm her down. “Who will help a poor
family that has nothing to pay for
help?” she weeped. All the time her
small ones clung to her. “‘T’ll help you,
Mrs. Nickell,’ I told her. ‘T’ll get that
cold blooded murderer for you.” That
seemed to give her courage, and she
stopped crying. A more pitiful sight I
have never seen.
She said he did not know who
did the killing, but that it was done
because of their sheep. It was a long
and trying case. But Tom Horn had let
it out that he was a dangerous man
with a gun. On a drinking spree he
took to talking about the Nickell case.
I summoned Tom to my office
and in the other room I planted a
stenographer Charlie Ohnhaus, along
with Snow. If you would like a copy
of the conversation, here!”
(At this point LeFors opened up
a desk drawer, ruffled through some
papers and handed me four sheets of
paper typewritten. Seems he had many
copies. It was the conversation
between him and Horn, as
follow ....)
Lefors: Tom, I know you have a
good man for the place. You are the
best man to cover up your trail I ever
saw. In the Willie Nickell killing I
could never find your trail and I pride
myself on being a trailer. ;
Horn: No — I left no trail. The
only way to cover up your trail is to
go barefooted.
Lefors: Where was your horse?
54 WESTERNER/ Winter, 1975
. where
Horn: He was a long ways off.
Lefors: I would be afraid to leave
my horse so far away; you might get
cut off from him. s
Hern: 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 kept after me, I would certainly
kill him. :
Lefors: I never knew why Willie
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 Nickell’s house
Nickell was shot. Well, I
suppose a man was in that, and the kid
came riding up on 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
from going to the house and raising a
hell of a commotion. That is the way I
think it occurred.
Lefors: Tom, you had your boots
on when you ran across there to cut
the kid off, didn’t you?
Horn: No, I was barefooted.
Lefors: You didn’t run across
there barefooted?
Horn: Yes, I did.
Lefors: How did you get your
boots on after cutting your feet?
Horn: I generally have ten days
to rest after ajob of that kind. Joe do
you remember the little girl?
Lefors: What do you mean?
Horn: The school marm. She was
sure smooth people. She wrote me a
letter as long as the Governor’s
message, telling me 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 my in
Now that the wagon trains are movin’
West, we don’t see why you all shouldn t
share our headaches!
touch before I showed up with
everything that was going on. I got this
letter from the girl the same day I got
my Summons to appear before the
coroner’s inquest.”
Lefors: Did the school marm tell
everything she knew? weit
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 Lefors; he
is not all right. Look out for him; he is
trying to find out something.” I said,
“What is there in this Lefors matter?
She said Miller didn’t like him, and
said he would. kill the SOB 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.” .
Lefores: 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. md
Lefors: What nationality was she?
Horn:' She was one-quarter Jap,
one-half Korean, and ‘the other
German. She talks almost every
language on earth.
Lefors: ‘Tom, didn’t Jim Dixon
carry you grub?
' Horn: No, no one carried me
grub. P
Lefors: Tom how can a man that
weighs 204 pounds go without eating
anything so long?
Horn: Well, I do. For sometimes I
‘ go for days without a mouthful.
Sometimes I have a little bacon along.
Lefors: You must get terribly
hungry, Tom.
Horn: Yes, sometimes I get so
hungry that I would kill my mother i
for some grub, but I never quit a job
until I get my man.
Lefors: What kind of a gun d
you have? .
Horn: I used a 30-30 Winchester.
. Lefors: 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.
_ Lefors:. How far was Willie
Nickell killed? . kas
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. =
Lefors: How about the shells?
Did you carry them away?
Horn: You bet your damn life I -
did. a a
The two men went out and had
lunch, returned to the office, talked
Continued on page 58
tp
amit ct in Sit
TOM HORN
Continued from page 54 i i
for a while more, and in part the
following conversation was recorded
by the stenographer.
Lefors: 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
l six-shooter. I would like to have seen
the expression on his face when you
shot him.
Horn: He was the scaredest SOB
you ever saw. How did you come to
know that, Joe?
Lefors: I have known everything
you have done, Tom, for a great many
years. I know you were paid this
money on the train between Cheyenne
and Denver. 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 money fora job
of this kind.
Lefors: Have you gotyour money
. yet for killing Willie Nickell?
Horn: I got that before I did the
job.
Lefors: You got $500 for that.
Why did you cut the price.
Horn: I got $2,100.
Lefors: How much is that a man?
Horn: That is for three dead men,
and one man shot at five times. Killing
is my specialty. I look at it as a
business proposition, and I think I
have a corner on the market.
Because he trusted Lefors, or
‘because he just liked to brag, Tom
Horn was hanged on November 19th,
1903. Judge Scott, who sentenced him
_ later killed himself. Maybe because he
knew Tom’s hanging was a miscarriage
of justice. :
Tom never thought anything
would ever come of it. He just plained
lied and it got him in a heapa trouble
that he couldn’t talk his way. out of. I
knew most of the Horn family, he had
a. niece that died with TB. And
Charlie, Tom’s brother told me he
received the news that Tom was
sentenced to hang while sitting at her
_ death bed. Tom’s body was shipped to
Charlie at Bounder where hundreds of
people inspite of police protection
stampeded the grounds.
NOTE: By Bill Kelly — Mr. Speer
is still alive and has just entered a
convalescent home in Huntington
Beach, Calif. being no longer able to
care for himself. I spoke to Mrs. Joe
Lefors sometime in the 1940’s and I
agree with her that Tom Horn DID kill
Willie Nickell. But no one will ever
convince Mr. Speer of this, or
hundreds of others for that matter. @
58 WESTERNER/ Winter, 1976
Continued from page 31 ‘4
COURAGEOUS CHRISTINA
”
Not all were captured and before long .
some escaped the reservation to hike
hundreds of miles back to the Rogue
country. Renegade Enos was one who
escaped capture by the army. He made
his way to the Washington territory
where he later was captured.
It was a period of revenge. No
Indians were allowed to remain in the
area. The government troops gathered
up scattered Indians and hired Captain
William Tichenor to transport them to
the reservation. The whites seeking
vengeance for that February attack
ambushed a group of Indians that
Tichenor was leading ona trail to his
ship. Nineteen Indians were slain in a
vicious musket barrage which took
place within sight of the ashes of the
Geisel home.
The healing ointment of time on
old wounds aided Christina to make a
new life for herself and her daughters. °
Mary married a prominent citizen of
the community, Harry Blake, who was
one of the first state legislators from
Curry County. Anne grew up to be a
pretty young lady interested in the
styles of the time. She opened the first
millinery shop in the. pioneer
community. But tragedy again came
into the family as she died a premature
death to bring more grief to her
mother who by now was married by
Frank Bugey.
Records do not reveal what
happened to this marriage but it is
recorded that she later was married to
Avery Edson. She and Edson ran a
small store on the banks of the Rogue >
River for several years until she was
widowed again by Edson’s natural
death. She then gave up the store but
continued to reside in Gold Beach
until her tragic death. A $75 pension
check and some small chainge led to
her murder.
Early on the morning of
September 20, 1899 it was discovered
that the Edson house had _ been
destroyed by fire. Investigation soon
disclosed that the body of the noble
pioneer partially consumed in the fire
had been murdered. The killer, a
young man of about 20, was captured
in Cottage Grove, Oregon after he had
cashed Mrs. Edson’s check. His name
was Coleman Gillespie.
' He was returned to Gold Beach
where in the presence of District ,
Attorney Brown and Sheriff Turner he
confessed how he entered the house
where he tortured the old lady until
she gave him her pension check and
some change. Then he choked her to
death, ate his supper from her tab
after which he poured kerosene o
the place then set it afire.
On Monday, August 20, 190:
the prisoner was brought before th
' bar of justice to answer for his fiendis
crime. The trial was concluded o
. Wednesday and within a few minute
the jury returned with a verdict c
guilty of murder in the first degree. A
ten o’clock on Thursday morning th
doomed man was brought into th
courtroom, and being asked if he ha
any reason to offer why. sentenc
should not be passed, began a ramblin
and senseless tirade against the entir
community. He was cut short b
Judge Hamilton who ordered thz
between the hours of 2 and 4 o’cloc
on the afternoon of Friday, October £
1900 “‘you be taken to a place to b
prepared by the Sheriff im the jailyar
of the county, and then and there, i
the presence of 12 bona fide electo
of the county, to be selected by th
. Sheriff of said county, you be hung b
the neck until you are dead, and ma
God have mercy on your soul.” |
The following men were called b:
the sheriff to be official witnesses t:
the only legal hanging to take place iv
Curry County. They were Delo
Woodruff, a rancher near Ophi:
William O. Lake, mail carrier; Willian
R. Miller, a rancher; Joseph Crockett
a commercial fisherman; C.S. Winsoi
manager of Hume estate; W.H. Crook
a rancher on Pistol River; Fran
Steward, an Ophir rancher; N.E
Moore, a rancher from Harbor; W.E
Burrow, a blacksmith from Ophir; an:
John -R. Miller, a Port orto
merchant.
The sheriff ordered the eallew
built back of the courthouse. After |
was constructed the trap was sprun
many times before the actual hangin
to insure against accidents. Exactly a
2 p.m. on the appointed day th:
convicted man was led to the gallows
While the hood was being placed ove
his head he made an impassioned ple:
in which he pointed his finger at on
of the men in the crowd who hac
climbed a nearby tree to witness th«
hanging.
_ “There’s your murderer!” he
cried. A moment later the trap wa
sprung. This execution closed the sag’
of courageous Christina, a true pionee
who had suffered much on this ra¥
frontier.
The old Geisel homesite at Nesik:
Beach is now a small state park witl
shrubbery and flowers underneath ‘
canopy of stately spruce trees. 4
‘ monument to her husband and thre:
sons reminds and informs the coasta
tourists who visit the wayside park 0.
the long-ago tradedy which fearles:
Christina suffered. @ bes
=
ee
rane
¢? shed
tiness of Wyoming some 98 years
ago. on Sept. 12, 1878. A wind
was blowing free and chilly across
the Laramie Plains just as it still
does. It whipped a streamer of black
coal smoke above the three wooden
H: FIRST glimpsed the big emp-
aes AR ES, 5 He Sg ase sg iv we 2 is FE meh
HORN, Tom, white, hanged at Wyoming, 11-20-1903
cars that a small Union Pacific en-
gine was pulling along the 56-pound
rails |aid only nine years before. The
railroad was still a fragile link be-
tween Omaha and San Francisco.
The loaf of bread and two apples
he had bought in Omaha were fin-
I meant to enclose this, as it refers indirectly to your subject.
Photos from the Wyoming State Archives and Historical Department
Chatterton
Wyoming
By CLYDE M. BRUNDY
ished off as his noontime meal. He
was hungry... without money...
alone in a frontier land.
At the age of 18, Fenimore Chat-
terton had arrived in Wyoming!
He bore a strong Eastern heritage,
a mingling of New England's stern
ARR Tie or eee
Fenimore Chatterton stands in front of the stagecoach as he and his staff arrive for a visit to Thermopolis,
_Wyo:, in May 1903. Such visits paid off later in the year when the governor needed support in big decisions.
5 :
+
48
code of personal conduct bred on his
grandfather’s Vermont farm with
the complexities of legal maneuver-
ing observed in his father’s law
practice in New York state and
Washington, D.C.
He forsook many career oppor-
tunities in the East — law, farming,
schoolteaching — for the excitement
and opportunities of pioneering in
Wyoming Territory. :
It was dark when the train halted
at the little town of Rock Creek,
many miles northwest of Laramie.
The conductor sought him out. “Son,
there’s a railroad beanery here.
Dana Thayer is the manager: he
wants to see you. J. W. Hugus of Fort
Steele sent a telegram saying to fill
your stomach at his expense.”
At today’s prices, young Chatter-.
ton probably ate a $15 meal.
The train continued westward
through the darkness. The young
man stretched uncomfortably on an
unpadded, wooden bench of a coach
and wondered what tomorrow
would bring. A distant relative,
serving as governess for the children
of Capt. Charles King at Fort Steele,
Wyoming Territory, had managed to
get a job for Chatterton. He would be
bookkeeper for the Hugus Trading
Post at the cavalry post on the banks
of the North Platte River. He hoped
fervently that his preparatory school
-education would suffice.
The train paused briefly at the coal
mining settlement of Carbon, then
sped noisily ahead. Chatterton’s rev-
erie was abruptly broken. The con-
ductor was telling aloud how a train
on this same schedule the previous
night had almost been wrecked by
the desperadoes Big Nose George
and Dutch Charley of Rawlins.
Spikes holding the light rails to the
>
@ March 27, 1977 @ EMPIRE MAGAZINE
STE SSS © atid Siteet aE ee)
aye eat
CHATTERTON continued
Ne . pis Pulled. A long wire had
a -g to the rail and run to a
et. It could be yanked, derailing
e train and leaving its baggage
overturned and ready for rolbhega. |
An alert track walker had noted
Toward midnight the train spilled
Chatterton onto the lonely Platform
at Fort Steele: then it faded quickl
ena desert darkness. The aithes
ewildered boy was directed to the
Hugus store Th
igus 5 ere he spent his fir
Wyoming night in a bed of quilts
: grocery counter.
mare Sunup he was roused and
ic aby the early activity of the
ee merchandise establish-
- He stood, Shivering in the cir-
ihe tae he became aware of
ed scrutiny of a tall
dressed man standing nearby. ee
Do you think
car of coal?” t
ray were the first words spoken b
- W. Hugus to his new employe. Y
“I never have.” l
‘hin Tee Chatterton replied,
we: Was given a team of horses, two
yee and a helper. Chatterton’s
etime of work in Wyomi
began. as
In that year, there
rueibaa in Wyoming Territory —
wine Albany. Carbon Sweet
yater and Uinta. All ec ten,
‘ ; ount
reached from Colorado to Mucihine
s militar i-
Son, strategic railroad and rites.
cation and Proximity to Rawlins the
sco ne was a busy commercial
pOt. Nailroad ties were i
high Medicine B sgl ook
ow Mountai
floated down th is ties
e North Platte Ri
Vv
to be loaded onto railroad cars at the
fort. From ranches a hundred mi]
distant came frei
————___
when “a’nfan’s word was as good as
his bond.’ Charge accounts were
paid without defaults.
Chatterton worked with both his
eyes and ears, seeking details of this
new land and the way its commerce
was handled. Days were long at the
store, up to 18 hours, and occasion-
ally he would fall asleep on the job.
And all the time his basic integrity,
his ability and his sense of humor
were making friends of the cavalry-
men and the ranchers. Proprietor
Hugus was well aware of the favor-
able impression his new bookkeep-
er-clerk was making.
Young Chatterton was granted a
week’s vacation during the summer
of 1879. He rode horseback to a place
known as Warm Springs, on the
upper North Platte River. He would
always remember the ride because
of the fragrance of sage. the myriad
wild flowers, the coveys of sage
chicken and the frequent sight of
antelope. sometimes a thousand
pronghorn in a single band. He re-
turned to the store at Fort Steele
with a love of the Warm Springs
area.
In all directions from the fort, the
land lay pristine and challenging,
always with a wisp of sage-scented
breeze and a sense of unfathomable
loneliness. Other than for livestock
corrals, no fences appeared in the
North Platte Valley until the late
1880s.
Fort Steele was both a trading
center and an outfitting point for
hunting parties. Trappers came to
swap a variety of prime pelts for
sugar, dried fruit, tomatoes, tobacco.
They were hungry too for news of
the outer world. It clattered overland
to the fort on thin. precariously-
poled telegraph lines.
English nobility, seeking outdoor
adventure and trophies, came often
to Fort Steele. They hobnobbed with
army officers, danced stately minu-
ets with the few ladies deemed so-
cially acceptable.
Always the Indians were a dis-
turbing phantom, hidden among the
folded hills, lurking in the high and
forested country off south. In Au-
gust 1879 the Ute Indians set fire to
timber up the river valley. The few
settlers fled to Fort Steele. They
were allowed to spread bedrolls on
the floor and the counters of the
Hugus Trading Post.
Scarcely 30 days later, troops were
mustered for forced and fast riding
to Meeker, Colo. Nathan Meeker, the
Indian agent to the Ute Tribe, had
been murdered by the Indians after
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‘ Planking
a time and place
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CH ATTERTON continued
a dispute involving a race track.
Maj. T. T. Thornburg would com-
mand the cavalry unit. He was in the
Hugus store. Chatterton heard the
major receive a warning from old-
timer Ed Bennett. Exert extreme
care. Avoid ambush. Thornburg
shrugged off all advice. He and his
command did encounter ambush.
Thornburg was killed and his troops
besieged.
Chatterton proved to be observant
and helpful at the store. He became
well-liked and implicitly trusted. He
studied the business acumen with
which Hugus was expanding his
operations and becoming wealthy.
As early as 1875, Hugus installed a
large ferryboat, charging $5 to make
a crossing of the North Platte River
with a covered wagon and team. He
also opened a large store and private
banking business in Rawlins.
By 1882 both sheep and cattle
ranches dotted the North Platte Val-
ley. Rawlins had become a busy
town. :
Despite the closing in of civiliza-
tion, with its rules and regulations,
Governor Chatterton and his
- > 21 Aeweeamtiann narade that was st
~ CHATTERTON continued
Post before leaving Fort Steele.
Without a cent in the safe for doing
business, and by signing a note for
$45,000, Chatterton assumed owner-
ship in 1883. Business continued to
be good; within three years the note
was fully paid.
But a different life’s work awaited
the young merchant. In August 1886,
Fort Steele was abandoned asa mil-
itary post. The troops were moved to
Utah, and with them went both a
large segment of the store’s income
and the pleasant social life to which
Chatterton had become accus-
tomed.
«With hopes of becoming the garri-
son’s storekeeper in Utah, Chatter-
ton made a long and arduous trip to
the new military post near Du-
chesne, in the remoteness of eastern
Utah. Military politics decreed thata
Nebraska man should have the
trader’s job. So Chatterton rode
back to Fort Steele a weary and dis-
appointed young man.
Soon a letter arrived from John W.
Hugus, asking the worried young
merchant to come to California. In
later years, Chatterton spoke wryly
party ride in a buggy in the Wyoming
Chatterton and the Hugus store were
the intended prey of a notorious
Rawlins outlaw gang. Jim Lacy,
Opium Bob and H. Carter laid plans
to rob the prosperous store on the
night ef a cavalry payday.
Somehow the Carbon County
sheriff got wind of the plot; a trap
was laid for the outlaws. Chatterton
would open the store safe for the
thieves, then lawmen would move in.
Chatterton felt that the idea threat-
ened his safety, but he was spared
the ordeal. The day before the
planned robbery, the three outlaws
were caught during another crime in
Rawlins. They were rounded up and
hanged at the stockyards by vigilan-
tes.
The vigilantes served notice on 60
more desperadoes to leave Rawlins
by sunrise. R
Only five years after his penniless
arrival at Fort Steele, Chatterton
became a business owner. Hugus,
seeking wider financial fields and a
warmer climate, decided to resettle
in California. He chose Chatterton
as the buyer for the Hugus Trading
SP
of this California trip as the one on
which he “missed the boat” for a
multimillion-dollar fortune. Hugus
wanted him to buy land at the Four
Corners, in the Los Angeles area. He
could buy land for $500 per acre; it
didn't look any better than the vistas
of the North Platte River to Chatter-
ton... and the Wyoming land could
be bought for $1.25 per acre. He de-
cided against the California invest-
ment.
The Four Corners? It became
downtown Pasadena!
Chatterton returned to his beloved
Warm Springs area in October 1886.
William H. Cadwell, the owner of
considerable land, asked him to sur-
vey along the east bank of the North
Platte River and lay out a townsite.
The townsite seemed a prospective
bonanza the following year, 1887.
The Union Pacific Railroad Com-
pany decided at that time to build a
line from Fort Steele to Denver, fol-
lowing the North Platte Valley into
North Park, then by way of Ca-
meron Pass and the Cache la Poudre
Valley to Fort Collins, and on to
Denver.
-
the Wyoming Bar upon motion of
Clarence D. Clark, who later became
a member of the T3.S: Senate. It was
an honor he felt he must justify by
furthering his education. In Sep-
tember 1891, he enrolled at the Uni-
versity of Michigan. He mastered the
entire four-year course in one year.
In 1892, he returned to Rawlins with
an LLBdegree — and one dollar in
ag ee he dollar to a painter in
He gave the dollar
payment for a sign: F CHATTER-
TON, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. A
partnership with David H. Craig,
Carbon County's prosecuting attor-
ney, led to a jaw practice that was
soon prosperous enough to have a
three-room office.
It was a time and place when po-
litical ambitions could be furthered
greatly. On July 10, 1890, Wyoming
had become the 44th state. Capable
men were needed for the new posl-
tions — executive. legislative. judi-
cial. Chatterton had much to offer
this new state of which he was vastly
proud. a h
Chatterton was realistic enoug to
be played in order to gain public of-
fice. But he believed that after elec-
tion any worthy official must rise in
stature through statesmanship. A
surprising number of Wyoming’s
early-day officials left a record of
distinguished service, of hard and
skilled work. The young state had
attracted many young men after
their graduation from Eastern col-
leges. Their skills went into building
every facet of Wyoming’s economic
life. A powerful political figure from
Pennsylvania once commented
wryly to Chatterton that the State of
Wvye.aing, a fledgling political umit
outin the desert. held more power In
the American Congress than did his
own state. Surprisingly, in 1890,
Wyoming had 4 population of only
60,700. The state’s total property
evaluation was $30,700,000; it was
subject to a levy of four mills.
Chatterton’s tenure as probate
judge and county treasurer was
short. At the first election of state
officers, in September 1890. he was
elected a state senator to represent
Carbon and Natrona Counties. The
finat caccian nf the legislature lasted
aged in Casper in 1904.
Construction began, with the con-
tractors based at Fort Steele. Again
the Chatterton store enjoyed a sea-
son of excellent business. But the
rails were never laid. The roadbed
grading had proceeded only 15 miles
up the valley when the Union Pacific
encountered bonding reversals and
its president, Mr. Adams, was re-
moved. The new line to Denver was
abandoned.
The railroad would have gone
through Warm Springs. Although
the railroad never materialized, the
scenic spot remained high in Chat-
terton’s esteem. He surveyed the
west side of the river. Then he gave a
new and enduring name to the beau-
tiful spot. Saratoga, Wyo., came into
being because Chatterton remem-
bered the great New York state
health resort.
Business at Fort Steele was dying
out. Now people found it more ad-
vantageous to shop at Rawlins or
Saratoga. Chatterton moved his
stock into a large, new building on
the west side of the river at Saratoga.
Warm Springs had become his
home.
Chatterton’s opportunities were
now rapidly broadening. Autumn of
1888 brought an offer from the Re-
publican Party for him to be their
candidate for probate judge and
county treasurer of Carbon County.
He sold the Saratoga store and cam-
paigned actively. Much of his cam-,
paign was entirely practical. Know-
ing that Carbon County was in fi-
nancial straits because of delinquent
taxes, he rode hundreds of miles to
enforce tax collections. Before elec-
tion, he had brought in all but
$40,000 of the $200.000 delin-
quency ...in just 30 days.
Chatterton was elected. garnering
the votes of many who had cursed
him for making them pay up.
Now he realized that his knowl-
edge of law was woefully lacking for
the proper conduct of his office.
When only 15 years old, he had
worked for a time in a Washington,
D.C., law office. During his clerking
days at Fort Steele he had continued
to read Blackstone’s Commentaries
and other law classics. It would not
be enough.
In 1891 Chatterton was admitted to
90 days — and Chatterton intro-
duced 18 constructive measures.
Several of them became law.
Asa staunch Republican, Chatter-
ton in 1893 was chosen to lead an
effort to defeat the well-entrenched
Francis E. Warren for U.S. senator.
The effort failed. and there was little
mutual liking between Warren and
Chatterton thereafter.
Chatterton never forgot his alle-
giance to Carbon County. As a state
senator, he was instrumental in hav-
ing the Wyoming Penitentiary
moved from Laramie to Rawlins. He
busied himself making sure that his
county got its full share of funds for
roads and for utilities and that it was
assured equitable treatment by the
powerful Union Pacific Railroad.
Late in 1897, he was a contender
for an appointment to the Wyoming
Supreme Coutt. He lost to his former
law partner, David H. Craig — and
blamed his defeat on opposition by
the railroad’s chief attorney, Judge
John W. Lacey.
Perhaps this defeat of his bid fora
place on the judicial bench was
foreordained. Chatterton, who had
come to Wyoming broke and hungry,
was on the threshold of statewide
responsibility. At the urging of De-
Forest Richards, soon to be Wyom-
ing’s governor, Chatterton’s name
was placed in nomination for secre-
tary of state. i
He quickly won his party nomina-
tion. But now began the arduous
task of “wilderness” campaigning.
Those who today flit across a state
by airplane in search of votes can
hardly visualize the difficulty of a
1,500-mile trip around frontier
- Wyoming with mules hitched to a
buckboard. A tedious trek. Rough,
rutted wagon roads. Gumbo flats,
Rock-strewn desert reaches. Moun-
‘tain barriers.
Necessities included a grub box,
water bag, sack of oats, lantern, buf-
falo robe and a bedroll to be shared
by Chatterton and Richards.
The route led to Lander and South
Pass City, then on through dust and
mud. A weary arrival at evening
often must be followed by a public
dinner and the necessity of dancing
all night with local women who were
starved for news and sociability.
Mes
HEE Ee
es!
&
Thousands of families | aaciaboal occ
North of Fort Washakie, Chatter-
a ton studied the terrain and the
h ve ked themse es e stream flow. Later, 300,000 acres of
rich land would be brought under
irrigatiom because of his sensing the
farmimg and ranching potential of
td i |
vast amd fertile acres. .
cou in a They came in turn to Thermopolis,
Mammoth Hot Springs, Basin and
Cody — then over the 10,000-foot Big
™ Horns to Sheridan.
_ = At Buffalo, their welcoming com-
P] mittee consisted of just one man.
pe Smolderimg anger still remained
; ” ; toward any politician from the
southern part of Wyoming. This was
an aftermath of the Johnson County
a 4 War of 1892, when the cattlemen’s
rene ver Sal es > raid reused sectional bitterness. Not
,] a E: a single person showed up for the
: scheduled two-hour political rally.
; (Two years later, Buffalo citizens
ba
What those 50,000 families wanted wasa_ and Capp Homes specifications. Your CAPP QUALITY — NO COMPROMISE would honor Chatterton with a spe-
quality, custom-built home at an affordable new home is enclosed and ready for the Capp doesn’t compromise on quality. The cial bamqmet because of his effi-
price. And yf gh It took time, — finishing you'll do. fact is, we've been building quality homes for ciency and his efforts on their be-
patience and hard work but completinga — wuat you DO 31 years. And over 50,000 families are living half.)
’ Finish-it-Yourself House was worth itlo ff dd comfortably in Capp Homes today... . and This swing about Wyoming drew
pe ig - nig regret they had was fe ditmag Aliee Capp docs hs part, oa you can too! to a close with visits to Gillette
You cox gre acoanuls ty ied 0 finale the aeciti work yourself or FREE 96 PAGE CAPP HOME PLAN- aerirvnrigtig eer rae a. ;
ire someone to help. And you ll get the —OVERSOPLANS —— oO 1 r
_house yourself, compared to the cost of e someone to help. “And i : NING GUIDE — OV Chatte Saved a. awe ak. Cael
ss
tello, Idaho, and spent many days
campaigning in the Mormon villages
of the Sitar Valley.
It would prove important for the
future that these two vote-seekers
realized the potential of farming and
ranchimg in Wyoming’s. western
regions.
In 1898 Richards became Wyom-
ing’s governor. Chatterton assumed
the duties of secretary of state. It
since has been said that no Wyoming
administration ever did more for
tillers amd grazers of the land. In
fairness, it should be pointed out
that Republicans had little opposi-
tion from Democrats in early
Wyomimg politics. Democrats were
just “few, foolish and mean.” Most
political infighting was between
members of two distinct factions of
the Republican party. Often one of
the opposing faction was more
feared — or despised — than a poor,
mistaken Democrat!
Busy with the duties of office and
his long-range planning, the days
moved quickly by for a fast-matur-
no ees TTR ee . Sasg : ing Chatterton. On Sept. 12, 1900, he
fs asain ee ete, ae alte SR eee eae was married to Stella Wyland, a
Poe get ~ ee at nag : graduate of Wellesley College. Miss
Wyland, 32 years old, had been prin-
cipal ef a girls’ school in Boise,
Idaho, and had met Chatterton while
teaching school at Rawlins.
Two daughters were born that
would add to the fullness of the
Chattertons’ lives — Eleanor, in 1901,
: and Constance, in 1904.
* Chatterton was a hardworking
ee ie ialene tides LAE PET OR EET RECON rare eaees meade oe and outspoken champion of states
Ges SSE RPL OAD LT HI SSA TEL a ORE Ro ss rights. He proved to be a zealous
~ guardian of Wyoming’s lands and
water and natural resources. When
ne at the bureaucrats of Washington tried
ce ara Meets mag : reais hyde teeta ea abet a ied ah ond - roughshod methods of imposing
Si eg fae Rg ES ee FA al sig oN their ideas and will upon Western
es ea gn OS gs — Peas par atae ; states, Chatterton fought them with
NES ope ster S Page PR ye * me ene Cae 1 * every means available. Often he
ae a : av achieved victeries and concessions
ee eat RE 56 @ March 27, 1977 @ EMPIRE MAGAZINE
Pa)
SOE: SRC ES ae en aR SS oe ci
way, but you did not cut the card,” drawled the lanky
Missourian.
“Damn you, Horn, you trying to make a fool of me?”
demanded the Kid in a threatening manner.
“No such thing, Kid, let’s try lighting matches, it will
calm your nerves a bit.” And so saying, Horn stuck six wooden
matches into tracks in the Baca Corral fence.
“Ready whenever you are,” grinned Horn.
One quick look at Billy the Kid told Horn that he was in
immediate danger — he could see the killer glaze in the boy’s
eyes. Quick as a flash his fist shot out, and the Kid sprawled in
the dust.
“We'll make it five shots — not six,” Horn said.
“What the hell’s the matter with you, farmer boy?”
“You know well enough. C’mon now, no tricks. We’ll use
five matches. I don’t aim to have you around me and me with
no bullet in my gun. This way I’ll have one left after the
match, and that’ll be enough to send you where you belong if
you get too fresh with your own gun.”
The results of the shooting match showed that Tom
Horn had lighted two matches; the Kid broke two and lighted
only one.
“To hell with this, how about some cards?” snarled the
resentful Kid, disgusted and possibly ashamed that someone
had come along out of a clear blue sky and had outshot him.
Not many people in Las Vegas like the Kid, and that
feeling also prevailed in the Martine saloon-gambling joint,
where the two youngsters went to play cards. But the Kid got
away with a lot of meanness because of his age.
It did not take long for a crowd to gather around the two
boyish players; some of them rooting for the stranger, many
neutral, some even who wished this plucky kid from Missouri
would rid the place of the boastful killer.
Luck seemed to favor Horn, for he kept on winning, and
with every winning hand, he watched more carefully. He
knew he was up against a mighty poor loser, one who would
kill him at the slightest opportunity.
The Kid tried every angle he knew to arouse Horn’s
anger but got nowhere. The calm, deliberate movements of
92
the boy from the Show-Me State stood him in good stead now
as they did in later years when he was a fighter in the Spanish-
American War, a detective, a Pinkerton agent, and several
other callings.
The climax came when the Kid deliberately dropped
face up, an Ace of Spades. The onlookers gasped. Surely
something would happen now . . . it did.
Tom reached across the table, but instead of picking up
the card, his steel-like fingers clamped down on the Kid's
wrist. The Kid squirmed, yet the wrist which no handcuff
could hold was seemingly a part of Horn’s own hand. ~
“T’ve had enough of this penny-ante quibbling,” he said
slowly. “Someone take off this jasper’s guns.”
| Several bearded men jumped to comply with the request,
anxious to see what was going to happen next. When the
Kid's guns were safely aside, he turned the boy loose. Then the
vicious Billy experienced something that he probably never
had before or ever would again. Tom Horn began to slap his
face — loud and hard slaps — so they would be heard all over
the place. The slapping kept on until the embarrassed and
tear-blinding Kid rushed from the saloon. He had indeed met
his match in Tom Horn.
II]
Early in January Tom learned that the Overland Mail
Route was hiring men for the route from Santa Fe to Prescott,
Arizona. He sauntered into their office one day and spoke
with the manager.
; .
ao ‘Hear you all are hirin’ men for stage work,” he drawled
in his Missouri brogue.
6
| “Yes, $50.00 a month and we provide rifle and ammuni-
tion.”
“Suits me.”
6é
You'll take the route from here to Los Pinos instead of to
Prescott, that is covered already,” said John Murry, who, Tom
later learned, was the manager.
Tom covered other routes as well. One day he was
93
instructed to return to his home base at Santa Fe, where he
was instructed to accompany another stage employee to
Beaver Head Station, in Arizona, on the Verde River, with
some mules to replace animals there.
After completion of the Beaver Head Creek assignment
Tom rode on to Camp Verde, a government post, where he
went to work for a man named George Hansen, essentially
hauling firewood to the post. Here Tom worked with more
Mexicans than whites, so it was only natural that he became
an expert in that language before quitting the logger job some
three months after. .
Although he was only sixteen years old, Tom s next job
was that of boss of the quartermaster’s horse herd. His job was
to herd the animals until they were picked up by the various
departments of the army which dotted Arizona at the time, all
assigned to the Fifth Cavalry. Things happened fast for young
Tom. He was out of a job just as soon as all the horses had
been delivered, but he always managed to latch onto some-
at Al Sieber, Chief of Scouts, rode into Fort
Whipple from the Tonto Basin area. At the fort he can
Tom’s prowess with weapons and his ability to speak Spanis
fluently. One day the colonel called Tom Horn into his office.
“Young man, I am getting ready to head south again.
How would you like to come along as an interpreter at $75.00
a month?”
Tom hesitated.
“You'll be with me all the time. I know the country and
’ ¢ it. ”
Mee eo was settled. Tom went with Al Sieber in midyear of
1876 to the San Carlos Indian Agency. Horn thought it was
odd that he had been taken along since he never did anything.
In later years he had this to say about it, “I think old Al
wanted me along for company. | was young and could do his
cooking and tend to his wants. Anyhow, it was fun and quite
an experience, to say the least.” .
On the Apache reservation young Tom quickly learned
their ways and their language, much to the delight of Al
Sieber, who had a genuine liking for the Missouri youngster.
94
“He was one of the finest men I ever knew,” Tom Horn later
said of Sieber. “He'd die for a friend with no questions asked.
He never got mad; only once did I see him really angry. This
was once when he caught an Apache brave making whiskey,
which was forbidden. The brave grabbed his rifle, but before
he could use it, Al nearly slicked his head off with one swift
sweep of his Bowie. It was awful. It made me sick for a spell.
Al then took the body and threw it into the pot where the
whiskey was being made. Sieber told the Squaws to take the
dead Indian to their village and to warn them against making
more whiskey. . ~
Tom later stated that things were uneasy in camp for“the
next two days; the men spoke little, and kept a constant vigil
day and night, fearful that an Indian reprisal might occur on
account of the death of the brave. However, no attack came.
It was in the area of their later camp on White River that
Tom Horn met the Apache Chief Pedro, so named because he
spoke Spanish. The chief was amazed and pleased to converse
_with Horn both in Apache and Spanish.
Horn and Sieber were discussing plans to visit with Chief
Pedro for a while when twenty troppers of the Fifth Cavalry
rode into their camp.
As Lieutenant Wheeler dismounted, he spun around on
his heel, saluted Sieber, and said, “Colonel, we have news
that the Indians are holding you and Horn captive here.”
“As you can see, Lieutenant, we are safe and sound. You
can tell the people of San Carlos not to worry about us; we are
in good hands here,” grinned the amused Sieber.
Shortly thereafter, the squad of soldiers left the camp
and returned to San Carlos.
One day Sieber took Tom aside, telling him that Chief
Pedro had taken a personal liking to him and wanted him to
remain in the Indian camp when Sieber left.
7 “Tom, you are cut out for this type of life, I think. You
can ride, shoot well, scout, speak Spanish and Apache fairly
well . . . you’re a natural for this, if you like it,” Sieber told
the young man.
“Well, I sure like to hunt and to loaf and do no work, all
right. I may just try it. What about my pay and standing in the
95
= peste ae
= s by ° by
° "You'll still get your monthly pay oe you Il be a
ecial government representative in this Indian camp.
* That especially appeared to Tom so the deal was closed
those conditions. _
anes a trip to San Carlos one day Tom met some Mexicans
with a herd of horses to sell. Tom knew the animals had ah
stolen, nevertheless, he bought eight head of them, as te as
several saddles and bridles. It was near Christmas of 187 +
Tom brought a Mexican blanket, which he gave to s :
Perdo as a present. He was very pleased with the gift since he
liked Tom very much.
IV
j inted the
I ly 1877 Major Adna Chaffee was appointe |
first military Indian agent of the San Carlos Reservation.
Major Chaffee sent for Tom Horn and asked him to seek
help of Chief Pedro in bringing rebellious Indians onto the
reservation.
i haffee he
h ncil of talks Chief Pedro told C .
should ake his soldiers and kill off all os jar reali
could again come to the land. —
pe alae Chaffee asked Horn to seek Pedro’s advice as to
whether Horn should be sent among the bad Indians to ve
with them and perhaps effect a friendly attitude as he ha
ith Chief Pedro’s people. |
— in effect, Horn interpreted Pedro’s message as follows:
“No white man can go among these Indians and come
back alive. He would be tortured and killed and maybe aig
The chief refuses to send me there unless | have an escort o
“ re end of the talks which lasted nearly two weeks,
Major Chaffee agreed it would be foolhardy to send on into
the treacherous Indian country of the Cibicu, sO the ajor,
Horn, and his men returned to their White Mountains camps,
remaining there until late in May. . .
Returning to San Carlos, Horn was informed by his
96
superiors that the Department of the Interior had failed to
appropriate more money to pay for the services of the scouts
and interpreters.
“Worse than that, Tom,” Major Chaffee said, “you'll not
be allowe to live on the reservation either since you are a
white man.”
Tom Horn returned to Chief Pedro’s camp to wish him a
sad farewell. As he left he took with him many handmade
articles he had made while living with the Indians. These
were quirts, bridles, and pouches made of hair or rawhide.
“Where will you go, my son?” asked Chief Pedro. ~
“Sieber and some of us plan to visit Tucson,” "
Accompanied by Al Sieber, Frank Leslie (later a famous
gunfighter of Tombstone), and Ed Clark, Tom Horn and
several others made their way to Tucson, where they remained
for several months. There they met Ed Schieffelin, another
scout, who had discovered silver in the mountains near Camp
Huachuca, an army post in the Hualapai country of Arizona.
Some time before Schieffelin had told Sieber he had
found a rich silver deposit in the mountains, and to which
Sieber replied, “Ed, all you'll find in those mountains is your
tombstone.”
Schieffelin never forgot that statement. Ed had ridden
into Tucson from the mountains on muleback to record his
“Tombstone Mine” on August 25, 1877. Sieber and the rest of
his group got a big laugh out of it.
“Al, you and your friends should come back with me and
brother Al. There’s enough silver in those mountains for the
lot of us.”
“Maybe so,” said Sieber, “but the Dragoons are the
stronghold of some of Cochise’s relatives, to say nothing of
Geronimo when he gets the notion to break from the
reservation.”
Al Sieber and Tom Horn staked a claim, later selling it
for $3,000.00. Tom claimed it was not worth that much
money. Tom was not a miner to begin with; he hated the work
and confinement. He decided to supply the various mining
camps with fresh meat from wild game, making a fairly good
living at it for a while.
97
In October a detachment of soldiers visited Tombstone seek
ing Al Sieber and Tom Horn. It was about this ii time :
the two men had sold their mining interest to “a i ey ‘a ;
so they were ready to listen to what the army ha ” . hs
In a letter addressed to Al Sieber, Genera ;
requested that he and Horn report to Fort beton e at
consultation about the Indian trouble that was brewing. i
general told the two men that the Indians _ # :
dispensing home-made whiskey to the in = — e :
heap of trouble by so doing. He asked that Sieber ta 4p sus
old position of Chief of Scouts in an effort to supress an
See Early in 1878 Nana sent word that he ea a
both living in Mexico, wanted to return and live a
reservation. They would talk with no one except 8
whom they instructed to some to the Terras Mouse: hi .
some of the Apaches would direct him to the 2 i re P-
“Tell Geronomi that we will meet him in the c :
May moon. Only three of us will come, Sieber told the
From San Carlos, Sieber, Horn, and a nae = PY
Nana’s people, followed the San Bernadino — a
head to its junction with a ee ce inM Fas a lea
were crossing the river
nines e a ridge on foot from the — eevee e
“IT know you two,” ames the ee ee g
i he Mexican, “but who is t ?
oe eae explained to the brave who ier Horn was and
the explanation seemed to have the desired effect. a
The Indian on foot ali © be ad arias
imo to meet Siebers group. .
Nene at a ain: Indian,” Horn remarked to aes
“Maybe so, but mean as a rattler. He is a half bot re
Natchez, and he is one of the worst hostiles in the . ‘ elo ,
The brave, whose name was Halzay, told Sie Pace
Horn that Nana and Geronimo were waiting at ine Cop Oo ne
mountains for them, at the same time telling the Mexican
him to another place.
asa h was nearly noon when Sieber and Horn reached the
98
top of the mountain and saw stretched before them the main
Indian camp. Camp fires glowed everywhere, indicating that
there must have been well over a thousand Indians in camp. A
young Indian lad directed them to a place where camp was
made for them. There they also were fed and advised that the
council talks were scheduled for sunup the following morning.
Mejijilda, the Mexican, who had been raised by these
Apaches, asked Sieber if he might take Horn and show him
around the camp. It was amazing how well Horn was received
by the Indians; they appeared to think very well of him.
At sunup all the women and children left the carp,
leaving the area exclusively for the council talks. It was at this
point that Horn first saw Geronimo.
“He was a grand looking specimen of a man,” Horn later
said. “He was graceful, intelligent looking, and had eyes that
pierced right through you.”
Geronimo addressed Sieber and asked him what he had
come to his camp for and who his interpreter was to be.
Pointing to young Horn, Al Sieber indicated that Tom
would act in that capacity. Although Sieber was capable of
acting as his own interpreter, he suggested Horn do so in order
that there might be no misunderstanding in the contents of
the upcoming conversations.
Geronimo began his talk with a tirade against many who
had wronged him, and then said that he wanted to return to
live on the reservation, but feared reprisals from the Indian
agents and the soldiers. He talked for several hours, not being
interrupted by Sieber or anyone else in all that time. The
records indicate that Tom Horn related the following message
to Geronimo as stated by Sieber.
“You have asked everything that I cannot give you,
except to have these mountains moved up into the American
country for you to live in, and I will give you until sundown to
talk to your people and see if you don’t want these mountains
moved up there to live in. If you are entitled, by your former
conduct, to what you have asked for, then you should have
these mountains too.” With that Sieber turned and left the
meeting.
Geronimo rose and spoke, “We will meet here again at
99
RRIF Slat st
Spring, Agnes Wright, Willi
: ’ ght, William Demi
Tittsw ieating ee ‘eh Co., Glendale Calf WJomting
» W. G., Outskirt Epi r; ig
a Res Avoca, Iowa, 1927. Pisodes, Tittsworth Publish.
renholm, Virginia Cole, Footprin
, ’ ts @) .
Wallis Peo ae fos Co., Doughie Wyomiin I Wega:
» facella B., Stories of Early W 4 ar
Publishing Co., Casper, Wyoming 1936. Prairie
Wyoming, Guid ;
Ce uide to, WPA Project, Oxford University Press
JOHN fF
GUNSLID
|
|
|
|
|
Eagle Pass, Texas, ©
fiery evening sun set bel
street, a dusty thoroug::
cowboy who approached :
the stranger tied his moi.
Ten High Saloon. He hu
his claybank stallion; t:
studied the bat-wing doc:
toward the building. A
waist held a pearl-hanc
watched the saloon ent: |
“Daugherty!” the :
156
BOM RAEN OTE LEEUNOTS
@in the aggressiveness and self-reliance of most men_ half @
again his age, young Horn went to work for the Overland Mail
Route, at Santa Fe, as stock tender. A year later he was driving a
stage between Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico. When the
Santa Fe completed its eighteen-mile spur into the Territorial capi-
tal in 1880, the stage line abandoned the run. Elorn moved on west-
ward into Arizona. That he did some cowboying in Yavapai
County at this period in his life is evident, for he became recog-
nized as a champion roper and rodeo performer. He made his head-
quarters at Beaver Head Station, west of the Verde River, the site
today of the city of Prescott.
It was there that he became acquainted with Al Sieber, the
famous Army scout who had distinguished himself in the campaigns
against the Apaches. It was the beginning of a long friendship that
was maintained for the rest of Tom Horn’s life and bridged the
difference in their ages.
Through Sieber, Horn went to work for the government as
a paid employee, not as an enlisted man. The War Department had
made old Fort ‘Whipple, nine miles north of today’s Prescott, a re-
mount facility and had brought in several hundred horses from
California. Horn was put in charge of them, breaking and training
the animals. A few months later, Sieber asked him to go to the
San Carlos Apache Agency with him to act as Mexican interpreter.
“You picked up Spanish easily enough,” the old scout told him.
“Tf you live with the Apaches, I’m sure you'll soon be able to speak
their lingo.”
The hazardous life of an Army scout appealed to young Horn
as nothing else had ever done. Responding to the interest Sieber
had taken in him, he accompanied A] to San Carlos, where he was
lodged with old Pedro, a subchief of the Chiricahuas, who was
regarded by the military as a “friendly,” a faction that was out-
numbered ten to one by the several thousand resentful Apaches
who had been forcibly removed from their homelands by the Army
and dumped on the new San Carlos Reservation.
194,
4 ‘The Tom Horn Trail
Repeatedly large parties of so-called renegades, Te by Nana,’
young Victorio, and old Geronimo, were breaking away from the
Reservation to plunder and kill white settlers. When pursued by
the military, they found refuge by slipping across the boundary
into Mexico, where they were safe from pursuit.
When General Nelson A. Miles succeeded General Crook as
Departmental Commander for Arizona, Tom Horn had been on the
San Carlos Reservation for over a year. He could understand the
Apache language and speak it after a fashion. Al Sieber had taken
him on a number of scouting expeditions. Of him, Sieber wrote in
later years: “In making my side-scouts, I often needed the help of
a man I could rely on, and I always placed Horn in charge, for it
required a man of bravery, judgment and skill, and I ever found
Tom true to every trust confided to his care. I would always place
Horn in charge of all Indian scouts left behind. This required a
man who was cool and had good judgment to handle these scouts.
“On other side-scouts, when I took a few pack animals, I made
it a point to take Tom with me. Often times I had to split my
crowd after being out. I would always put Tom in charge of the
set of scouts, tell him where and the time to meet me, and what to
do; and I never had him fail to obey my orders to perfection. No
matter what came up—rain or snow, clouds or sunshine—Tom was
there to meet me.”
“High praise from that grim, taciturn old scout,” comments
Gene Cunningham, himself never one to overpraise.?
When General Miles took over, he was expressly ordered to
put an end to the raiding that was reducing ranch homes to
blackened ashes and wiping out the lives of white settlers. Wily
Geronimo, already an old man and the chief offender, retorted that
the Apache tribes were only fighting to retain their homeland, from
which the white man was dispossessing them, which was not true;
it was the Comanches who had pushed them back across New
Mexico into the southeast corner of Arizona.
195
Rg Wt
The Tom Horn Trail
Wuen, on the morning of November 20, 1903, in the jail yard in
Cheyenne, Ed Smalley, sheriff of Laramie County, asked the con-
demned man standing on the trap, the noose already draped about
his neck, “Have you anything to say before the sentence of the
court is carried out on you?” the answer was a sober, even-toned
“No.”
So Tom Horn died for the alleged killing of Willie Nickell,
the fourteen-year-old son of Kels Nickell, a homesteader and
sheepman, on July 19, rgor. Twenty-eight months had intervened
between the finding of the boy’s body at a stock gate, half a mile
from his home, and the hanging of Tom Horn. For two years he
had remained a free man. The state had no case against him. But
certain “powerful influences,” it was said, were determined to keep
the matter alive. Who those powerful influences might be, other
than the inner circle of the Wyoming Stock Growers’ Association,
I do not know. However it was, the Cheyenne Leader, controlled
by the Association, and W. R. Stoll, the Laramie County prosecu-
tor, convicted Tom Horn of the crime and hanged him for it,
It was not until after Tom Horn came to Wyoming, his long
career as Apache Indian scout, soldier, cowboy, and rodeo star
behind him, that whiskey made a fool and a braggart of him.
192
a
«LHe £071 Tiorn rat
To go back to the beginning, Tom Horn was pO, 1861 of *
French parents, in the little town of Memphis, in Scotland County,
Missouri. It was timbered, rural country, cut up by creeks and small
streams through which the Mormons had passed on their enforced
exodus from Missouri to their new home at Nauvoo, Illinois.
His biographers describe him as a big, husky boy at fourteen,
far more interested in tramping the woods armed with the family
shotgun, hunting squirrels and rabbits, than in attending school.
When his father caught him shirking his share of the farm chores,
he used the strap on him, a recognized parental privilege of those
days. One night, after receiving what he considered an uncalled-for
licking, Tom did what so many thousands of boys have done: he
ran away from home.
Once he had made the break, he kept on going. There is some
evidence that he corresponded with Lucy, the eldest of his three
sisters, at long intervals. But there is nothing in the record to in-
dicate that he ever saw his family again. The frontier was his goal,
and he never changed course until he reached it. Passing himself
off for eighteen, doing a man’s work and earning a man’s wages, he
moved on from job to job. Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital, had
captured the shifting Texas cattle trade. Tom Horn must have
been there, but his name does not appear in the voluminous pub-
lished material on Dodge.
The Santa Fe Railroad was pushing down through New Mexico
in a feverish haste to claim another land grant; it was recruiting
men for its work gangs and paying top wages. This was an op-
portunity for getting ahead made to order for young Horn.
Whether he had been hired at Dodge or at some point east is not
important. He had a way with horses. Handling a four-horse rig
and delivering ties at the railhead became his daily routine. The
glare of the white-hot noonday sun did not bother him. The star-
filled nights healed a man. For the first time he found himself living
and working with Mexicans. He got along well with them and had
no difficulty familiarizing himself with their language.
193
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MAKERS
Tales of the Old-Time Peace Officers
and Desperadoes of the Frontier
HARRY SINCLAIR DRAGO
i Illustrated with Photographs
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DODD, MEAD & COMPANY |
NEW YORK
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Laramie. Horn was known to have been friendly with
a family with whom the Nickells had been feuding, and
he was suspected of committing the crime. But the only
evidence was the rock, and this was not enough to gain
a conviction. Five months went by, and it appeared that
the matter would be dropped. Then, in December 1901,
Horn received a letter from an old acquaintance, United
States deputy marshal Joe LeFors of Cheyenne. LeFors
invited Horn to Cheyenne to talk about a “stock detec-
tive” job in Montana that the lawman had heard about.
Horn got liquored up before the meeting, and LeFors
saw that he was kept well-supplied during the conversa-
tion. Talk turned to the Nickell boy’s death, and Tom
made several incriminating statements—statements that
he later claimed were made only because he was drunk
and eager to brag. But Tom’s loose talk sealed his fate:
LeFors had a deputy sheriff from Laramie County and
a court stenographer hiding in the back room of his
office. Every word of the conversation was taken down
and used against Horn in court. In November 1903 the
exterminator was himself exterminated on the gallows
in Cheyenne.
Dubois
Fremont County
Butch Cassidy once owned a ranch where the town
of Dubois now stands (in western Wyoming, on US
26 approximately sixty miles east of Grand Teton Na-
tional Park). Cassidy and a partner, Al Hainer, bought
the ranch in 1890 from two bachelors, Hugh Yeoman
and Charles Peterson, possibly out of Butch’s share of
the proceeds of the robbery of the San Miguel Valley
Bank at Telluride, Colorado.* ,
According to a local newspaper item, Cassidy and
Hainer “made the appearance of going into the horse
raising business,” but were soon pegged by local citi-
zens as “sports” who “spent their money freely” in the
neighboring towns of Lander and Ft. Washakie. Cassidy
and Hainer remained in the area for two years, during
which time Butch apparently engaged in little, if any,
outlaw activity.
The Hole-in-the-Wall
Johnson County
The Hole-in-the-Wall itself is unremarkable; in fact,
you cannot even call it a “hole.” It is more of a notch,
roughly V-shaped, near the rim of the “Red Wall,” a
Steep vermillion cliff in southwestern Johnson County,
about sixteen miles southwest (as the crow flies) of
Harvey (Kid Curry) Logan, member of Wyoming's Wild Bunch.
205
Kaycee. Kaycee is a tiny town of 275 inhabitants on
Interstate 25 about 50 miles south of Buffalo.
Tales about the Hole are endless and over the years
have been widely embellished. One of the most popular,
which has been told and retold until it has become fused
into Hollywood westerns, is that behind the Hole once
lay a classic outlaw town, replete with false-front stores,
houses with picket fences, and raggedy children running
about, all protected by towering cliffs through which
there was but one narrow entrance, guarded day and
night by sharpshooters. True, there is a valley behind
the wall, and once there were even rough-hewn cabins
here and there, but nothing resembling a town and
nothing quite so defensible. In fact, few persons familiar
with the area during the outlaw years could agree on
just how valuable it was as a hideout. Butch Cassidy
was supposed to have said that twelve men could stand
off a hundred at the Hole’s entrance, but the ability to
defend the valley at the notch in the Red Wall meant
little, because anyone familiar with the valley would not
attack in that direction. To the north, west and south
there were great rolling foothills, all of which contained
passable trails used by Indians for years.
Although the valley behind the Hole was not impreg-
nable, it was indeed secluded and thus offered a haven
for outlaws. Thelma Gatchill Condit, a local historian
cme ail
Union Pacific Railroad Museum Collections.
4
i
i
BNA EBS, te Se aikbe Sibi
HORN, Tom, hanged Wyoming, November 20, 1903.
Yo 3 >
OE LEFORS MET TOM HORN IN THE FALL OF 1901
in Frank Meanea’s saddlery shop in Cheyenne. The two
men were a study in contrasts. LeFors was several
inches under six feet and wore a bow tie, a waxed wal-
rus mustache, and a three-piece suit with the signet of a
fraternal organization on his watch fob. He had clean, vaguely
Germanic features, and at the age of thirty-six was growing a
bit soft above the belt. He looked like a cop.
Tom Horn was six feet, two inches tall and weighed 206
pounds, with broad sinewy shoulders and a slab-flat stomach.
Five years older than LeFors, he wore trail clothing and worn
boots. His thin hair was beginning to recede, and below his
RQ ICAW W291 <
A hired gun is silenced
on the Wyoming
cattle frontier
by William Kittredge
and Steven M. Krauzer
Caliwouy)
ESP
Marshal Joe LeFors
high forehead were small hard eyes that seemed long divorced
from anything like humor. He looked like bad news.
Horn was picking up a scabbard that Meanea had custom-
crafted for his .30-.30, and to make conversation the two men
discussed the finer points — sighting accuracy, muzzle veloc-
ity, penetration power—of the popular Winchester lever-
action rifle. LeFors found his new acquaintance ‘‘well posted
on small arms and rather inclined to brag.’’ After a time the
two men shook hands and went their separate ways.
LeFors and Horn, strangers until this meeting, had lived
similar lives, but now they worked different sides of the road.
Joe LeFors was a United States Deputy Marshal, and Tom
‘vs Killer Tom Horn
Horn, with his dark mean eyes, was the last and most deadly
hired gun in the West.
Joe LeFors was born in 1865 to farming folk in Paris, in the
northeast corner of Texas. He was the fourth of five brothers.
His father, James J., a Kentuckian, was fifty-seven that year,
and his mother, Mahala Wester, a native of Tennessee, was
thirty-eight. In 1878, the family moved to the Texas Panhan-
dle, where they farmed outside Mobeetie on the Sweetwater
River, in the area of the present-day town of LeFors. By 1880,
both parents were dead.
During the next five years LeFors was a freighter, mail-
route rider, and cowboy. He learned to handle a ten-yoke oxen
Both Marshal Joe LeFors ( upper left) and Tom Horn (above)
at one time served as livestock in vestigators for Montana and
Wyoming stock growers, but now the y worked different sides
of the road. Claimed Horn, ‘‘K illing is my specialty.’
(Below)A crowd gathers for the hanging of Tom Horn in
1903 as National Guard troops patrol the intersection of 18th
Street and Capitol Avenue in C heyenne. The large brick
building on the right is today a Masonic Lodge.
Horn believed that life was a
mean game with few rules, in
which the deadliest son of a
bitch with the most guns won.
team, work cattle, and adroitly avoid the renegade bands of
hostile natives who frequently left the reservations in the
Indian Territories to rustle range cattle and, when the spirit
moved them, attack isolated white ranchers and riders.
In the spring of 1885, LeFors signed on with the H Bar Y
Ranch at Gageby Creek east of Mobeetie. Hitting the trail on
April 10, the H Bar Y crew drove 2,900 head of yearlings and
two-year-olds 1,000 miles north across open range and
runoff-swollen rivers to Buffalo, Wyoming, in sixty days.
LeFors, sniffing opportunity, drew his pay and took a job on a
local ranch. A competent, honest, and responsible hand, he
was soon promoted to foreman.
In 1890 LeFors moved north to Miles City, the eastern
Montana livestock center, where he worked for the Murphy
Company, which had contracted to supply over 3,000 beeves
annually to the Sioux Indians at the Standing Rock Agency.
LeFors learned both Sioux and the hand-signing language that
served as a lingua franca among different tribes and whites,
and wrote that the Sioux named him ‘‘Tiatonka Che,”’ or Beef
Chief.
Miles City was the headquarters of W. D. Smith, chief
investigator for the Montana Live Stock Association. On
Smith’s recommendation, LeFors was offered a job as brand
inspector, assigned to northeastern Wyoming. LeFors was
looking for a new challenge and accepted. Although it would
be six years before they met face to face, another new inspector
had recently taken the same position with the Wyoming Cat-
tlemen’s Association. For a time, at least, Joe LeFors and Tom
Horn were colleagues.
Tom Horn was born near Memphis, Scotland County,
Missouri, on November 21, 1860, and ran away from home at
the age of fourteen, after his father had beaten him so bad that
the young Horn spent a week in bed. A job as a teamster took
Horn to New Mexico, where he quit to drive an Overland Mail
stagecoach between Santa Fe and Prescott, Arizona. At the
time, the Western and Chiricahua bands of Apache were wag-
ing perhaps the most viciously effective guerrilla war any
native tribe ever launched against Europeans, and Horn’s job
should have been somewhere between perilous and suicidal.
He managed to survive through luck and go-to-hell brass, and
by age sixteen was fluent in Apache and Spanish. That skill,
and the recommendation of Al Sieber, the German-born
Indian-fighter, got Horn a job with the U.S. Army. For the
next ten years, Horn and Sieber worked out of Fort Whipple as
scouts, translators, and mercenaries.
Geronimo’s surrender in 1886 ended the Apache Wars and
idled Horn. Still well under thirty, he served as a deputy sheriff
for a time and rodeoed on the side, taking the steer-roping
buckle at Phoenix one year. In 1890 Horn joined the Pinkerton
Detective Agency. During four years of service he was cred-
ited with breaking up the McCoy gang, a notorious bunch of
murdering train robbers, but Horn later claimed that he never
liked Pinkerton work. His trail finally led him to Wyoming and
a job that was not so different from what he was used to. In
1894, Tom Horn had lived by his gun for twenty of his
thirty-four years.
gi HE PROFESSION TO WHICH JOE LEFORS AND TOM
Horn turned within a year of each other was vari-
ously called ‘‘brand inspector,’’ ‘‘range detective, ’’ or
‘‘livestock investigator.’ The employer was either a stock-
growers’ organization or a single large rancher, and the in-
spector had no official law enforcement status. His general
instruction was to protect the financial interests of his boss, but
methodology and the lengths to which an inspector carried his
mandate varied with the man.
Stock growers were concerned about nesters, small ranch-
ers who took advantage of the several Homestead Acts to
claim, settle, and often fence off prime sections of bottomland
range with access to year-around water. Although claiming no
legal title to the land, the big ranchers did claim the rights of
usage, eminent domain, and capitalist prerogative.
In some areas, sheep were another worry. Grazing woolies
crop grass close to the ground’s surface, and cowmen believed
that this irredeemably ruined the range. The fact that they were
wrong did not stop them from harassing sheepherders and their
flocks.
Finally there was rustling, an unfortunate term that once
innocuously meant ‘‘gathering,’’ as in ‘‘rustling up some
grub.’’ Surely some men did steal cattle and horses as an
ongoing criminal enterprise; indeed, Joe LeFors was assigned
by his Montana bosses to the Powder River country of
Wyoming because it was a major corridor for driving stolen
Montana stock to the famous robbers’ roost of Hole-in-the-
Wall. But some stockmen used the accusation of rustling as a
general weapon in what was essentially an economic war. The
basically honest rancher who ignored the brand on a cow or
two during spring roundup was technically a thief though
hardly a threat to order. Among the completely blameless were
those who ranched near rustler hole-ups and kept their traps
shut from neighborliness and prudence, and those who were
simply getting in a local stock-grower’s hair.
Despite the similarity of title, Joe LeFors and Tom Horn
worked under different orders. LeFors was to recover stolen
Montana cattle that had been driven across the border into
Wyoming and to obtain convictions of the cow thieves as a
38
err
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