Gladys Johnson Sims and ex-husband Ed Sims (photo) were in the middle of a Texas-sized custody battle over their two daughters. They both came to Snyder, TX on December 16, 1916 so Ed could pick the girls up. Sims had been threatening Gladys and her family, so bad blood was in the air.
The girls didn’t want to go. Ed tried to grab one; Gladys opened fire with an automatic, wounding her ex. Gladys’ brot

True West May/June 2025
In This Issue:
Features
- Historic Hotels of the American West
- A Journey Through Wyoming’s Outlaw History
- A Journey Through Washington’s Wild Frontier
- Blazing The Oregon Trail
- Journey Through Time
- Did Brigham Young Order a Massacre?
- Mountain Meadows Scapegoat John D. Lee VS. A Firing Squad
- Mormons in the Movies
- An Indigenous Consultant Ensures Accuracy
- The Battle Axe And A Raw Deal
- Showdown: Bridger VS. Brigham
- The Mountain Man and the Mormon Moses
- The Ghosts of Mountain Meadows
- The War Before the War
- Mountain Meadows