The First Lincoln County War

To track the Horrell boys of Lampasas, Texas, you can follow the trail of dead—including their own. During their nearly six years raising hell in Texas and New Mexico, they killed at least dozens and wounded others. All because Sam, Mart, Ben, Tom and Merritt Horrell took umbrage with just about anybody not named Horrell. Soon after killing four state policemen in a saloon shoot-out, the Horrells moved their cattle to a ranch near Ruidoso, New Mexico, in the fall of 1873. They found a wa