Boone May True West
Boone May

Boone May is not the biggest name in Old West annals, but he was a terror to outlaws in the 1870s—first as a shotgun messenger for the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage & Express Company and later as a deputy US marshal.

He was on a Deadwood Coach that was held up near Robber’s Roost, Wyoming in 1878.  He had to give up because women and children were present.  Days later, he ran into one of the bandits in Deadwood; a gunfight ensued, and while May was wounded, he managed to take down the outlaw.

Like this story? Try: Hero on the Run

Related Articles

  • Boone Helm was a bad man through and through. Born in Kentucky in 1828, he…

  • Daniel Boone might have held court under two “judgment trees,” the first in present-day Matson from 1800 to 1804, and the second, on his son Nathan’s property, after 1804. This site was located in 1987. – All photos by Johnny D. Boggs –

    It’s not the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., nor Judge Isaac Parker’s courthouse in Fort…

  • Western roundup of events where you can experience the Old West this February. Adventure Valentine…