Outlawry and Justice

I recently received this question: Who is my favorite or most interesting Old West character? I’ve found the more I read about somebody the more interesting they become. The sporting men like Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday are among my favorites. All were flawed but they lived by a code, and they were loyal to their friends. The more I write about Billy the Kid the more I admire him. He dared to take on the corrupt establishment, including the notorious Santa Fe Ring and in the end the establishment won.

The term “gunslinger” dates all the way back to 1928 when Zane Grey used it in the novel, “Nevada.”

“Gunfighter” was a term used but it didn’t distinguish between gunman and gunfighter. Stuart Lake later made that distinction. “Speed is fine, Accuracy is Final,” is credited to both Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp. I tend to believe it was Bat because he became a journalist and wrote extensively on the western experience while Wyatt was more tight-lipped.

“Take your time—in a hurry.” advised Wyatt Earp

“I am a Shootist” said Clay Allison, while discussing his stock in trade. The shotgun was the deadliest weapon in the Old West. In those days, “Fast on the Draw” meant a man with a quick temper.

I compiled a list of alleged and actual kills from my old college lecture notes. Obviously, some of those early writers didn’t lie, they just remembered big. It was much like the amount stolen in a bank or train robbery and the actual amount actually taken.

Wild Bill Hickok: The claims were that he killed 10-30 men. Reality: Six or seven kills.

Killer Jim Miller: He doubled as a preacher and is said to have killed between twenty and forty men. At his lynching in 1909 he claimed to have killed fifty. Actually, it was more like a dozen or so. He wore an iron plate inside his black frock coat, which he even wore in the summer. I would nominate him for scariest face. Bill Longley: He claimed thirty-two kills. It was probably less than a dozen.

Harvey Logan/Kid Curry: Deadliest of the Wild Bunch, killed nine men.

John Wesley Hardin: He’s credited with 21 kills but there were probably more. The claims range from twenty to forty. He claimed to have killed more than 40 men but he was only in 19 documented gunfights. He can be credited with only 11 kills.

Who was the deadliest killer of them all? Western movie star, Lt. Audie Murphy, US Army WWII. A Medal of Honor recipient, he probably killed more men than all of the rest combined.