Deputy Sheriff Charles Nichols has a dubious distinction—the first Dallas County (TX) lawman to die in the line of duty, back in January 1871. The incident is noted for another fact: one of the shooters was the youngest Younger brother, John (photo).
Details are sketchy, but all of the participants supposedly were drinking. Younger and a compatriot entered a store where Nichols and a pal were eatin

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