True West Magazine
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp approached Ike Clanton on June 2, 1881. He offered a deal: if Ike would turn over his friends who’d robbed the Benson stage six weeks earlier, Wyatt would give him the $6000 reward. Earp was hoping that a high-profile arrest would propel him into the sheriff’s office.
But the three robbers were killed within weeks of the offer. Ike accused Earp of telling others about the deal which put Clanton in danger with other Cowboys. The whole affair was another step leading to the OK Corral fight. Post Views: 33
In 1871, Wyatt Earp faced five years in prison for stealing horses in Indian Territory. …
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Ben Thompson Kills a Theater Owner – Take 1 A shooting in Austin foreshadowed a later event in San Antonio.
Gunfighter Ben Thompson is well-known for killing Jack Harris, owner of San Antonio’s Vaudeville Theater in 1882 mostly because it led to Thompson’s death in 1883. But there was a similar incident several years earlier.
Thompson and friends were partying at the Capital Theater in Austin on Christmas night in 1876. A fight broke out. Theater owner Mark Wilson opened up with a shotgun; Thompson returned fire, hitting Wilson three times, killing him. Thompson then mortally wounded a bartender who’d taken a shot at him. Thompson was acquitted on self-defense grounds.
True West Magazine
In 1883, John “King” Fisher was the acting sheriff of Uvalde County, Texas. He went after Jim and Tom Hannehan, who had held up a stagecoach. The brothers resisted; Fisher killed Tom, arrested Jim and recovered the loot.
Months later, Fisher was gunned down in San Antonio and buried in Uvalde. It’s reported the mother of the Hannehans came to his grave every year on the anniversary of her son’s death then built a fire on top of it and did a dance. Post Views: 199
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A Strange Escape King Fisher stole a horse, but got away with it thanks to the animal’s owner.
Texas gunman John “King” Fisher got into crime in an unusual way. In 1869, when he was 15, Fisher borrowed a horse from a rancher near Florence, Texas. But the problem was, he forgot to check with the owner before taking the animal.
A posse caught up with the teenager and took him into custody temporarily. Fisher soon escaped, helped by the owner of the horse. It seems the man knew the kid, liked him and didn’t want to see him go to jail. Later in life, Fisher stole plenty of stock and did spend time behind bars.