Tom Horn
Encyclopedia
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Old West lawman, scout
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....

, soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...

, hired gunman, detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...

, outlaw
Outlaw
In historical legal systems, an outlaw is declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, this takes the burden of active prosecution of a criminal from the authorities. Instead, the criminal is withdrawn all legal protection, so that anyone is legally empowered to persecute...

 and assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...

. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged in Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

, for the murder of Willie Nickell.

Early life

Born to Thomas S. Horn, Sr. and Mary Ann Maricha (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....

 Miller), in rural northeastern Scotland County, Missouri, on the family farm of 600 acres (bisected by the South Wyaconda River) between the towns of Granger
Granger, Missouri
Granger is a village in Scotland County, Missouri, United States. The population was 34 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Granger is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land....

 and Etna
Etna, Missouri
Etna is a village in Scotland County, Missouri. It lies at an elevation of 755 feet ....

, he was the fifth of twelve children.

Scout

At sixteen, he headed to the American Southwest, where he was hired by the U.S. Cavalry as a civilian scout under Al Sieber and became involved in the Apache Wars
Apache Wars
The Apache Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the United States and Apaches fought in the Southwest from 1849 to 1886, though other minor hostilities continued until as late as 1924. The Confederate Army participated in the wars during the early 1860s, for instance in Texas, before being...

, aiding in the capture of warriors such as Geronimo
Geronimo
Geronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...

. On January 11, 1886, Tom Horn was involved in an expedition into Mexican territory in the pursuit of Geronimo as a packer
Packer
Packer may refer to:- People :* Alfred Packer, cannibal* Asa Packer, founder of Lehigh University* Billy Packer, American college basketball commentator...

 and interpreter. During the operation, Horn's camp was attacked
Crawford Affair
The Crawford Affair was a battle fought between Mexico and the United States in January of 1886 during the Geronimo Campaign. Captain Emmet Crawford was commanding a company of Apache scouts, sixty miles southeast of Nacori Chico in Sonora, when his camp was attacked by Mexican Army militiamen...

 by Mexican militia and he was wounded in the arm. Horn allegedly killed his first man in a duel-a second lieutenant in the Mexican Army Horn was present at Geronimo's final surrender, acting as an interpreter under Charles B. Gatewood
Charles B. Gatewood
First Lieutenant Charles Bare Gatewood was an American soldier born in Woodstock, Virginia. He served in the United States Army in the 6th Cavalry after graduating from West Point. Upon assignment to the American Southwest, Gatewood led platoons of Apache and Navajo scouts against renegades during...

.

Later, hiring out his skills with a gun, he took part in the Pleasant Valley War
Pleasant Valley War
The Pleasant Valley War, sometimes called the Tonto Basin Feud, or Tonto Basin War, was commonly thought to be an Arizona range war between two feuding families, the cattle-herding Grahams and the sheep-herding Tewksburys...

 in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 between cattlemen and sheepmen, but it is not known for certain as to which side he was allied, and both sides suffered several killings to which no known suspects were ever identified.

Career as a detective and lawman

He worked in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

 for a time as a deputy sheriff, where he drew the attention of the Pinkerton Detective
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...

 agency due to his tracking abilities. Hired by the agency circa late 1889 or early 1890, he handled investigations in Colorado and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...

, in other western states, and around the Rocky Mountain area, working out of the Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

 office. He became known for his calm under pressure, and his ability to track down anyone assigned to him.

On one instance, Horn and another agent, C. W. Shores, captured two men for robbing the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad
The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to Rio Grande or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, is a defunct U.S. railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow gauge line running south from Denver, Colorado in 1870; however, served mainly as a transcontinental...

 (on August 31, 1890) between Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi, Colorado
Cotopaxi is a census-designated place and U.S. Post Office in Fremont County, Colorado, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 47.The Cotopaxi Post Office has the ZIP Code 81223. Today, Cotopaxi remains a small train stop on the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad along the...

 and Texas Creek in Fremont County, Colorado
Fremont County, Colorado
Fremont County is the thirteenth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county is named for explorer and presidential candidate John C. Frémont. The county population was 46,824 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Cañon City. The Cañon City...

. Horn and Shores tracked Thomas Eskridge (aka "Peg-Leg" Watson) and Burt "Red" Curtis to a house (the home of a man named Wolfe) in either Washita
Washita, Oklahoma
Washita is a rural community in Caddo County, Oklahoma, located west of Anadarko on a bend in the Washita River. The post office opened October 31, 1900. The ZIP Code is 73094....

 or Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
Pauls Valley is a city in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,256 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Garvin County.-History:...

, along the Washita River
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...

, without firing a shot. In his report on that arrest, Horn stated in part "Watson, was considered by everyone in Colorado as a very desperate character. I had no trouble with him."

His termination from employment, however, was not as a result of his killings. In Charlie Siringo
Charlie Siringo
Charles Angelo Siringo , was an American lawman, detective, and agent for the Pinkerton National Detective Agency during the late 19th century and early 20th century.-Early life:...

's book, "Two Evil Isms: Pinkertonism and Anarchism", he wrote that "William A. Pinkerton told me that Tom Horn was guilty of the crime, but that his people could not allow him to go to prison while in their employ." More likely than not, this was due to the agency's desire to avoid negative press. Siringo would later indicate that he respected Horn's abilities at tracking, and that he was a very talented agent but had a wicked element.

Horn resigned from the agency, under pressure, in 1894. Over the course of the late 1890s he hired out as a range deputy US marshal and detective for various wealthy ranchers in Wyoming and Colorado, specifically during the Johnson County War
Johnson County War
The Johnson County War, also known as the War on Powder River, was a range war which took place in April 1892 in Johnson County, Natrona County and Converse County in the U.S. state of Wyoming...

, when he worked for the Wyoming Stock Grower's Association; and is alleged to have been involved in the killing of Nate Champion
Nate Champion
Nathan "Nate" D. Champion was a key figure in the Johnson County War. Labeled falsely by the wealthy cattlemens association in Wyoming as a rustler, Champion was the first person murdered by a band of hit men hired by the cattlemen...

 and Nick Ray on April 6, 1892. In 1895, Horn supposedly killed a known cattle thief named William Lewis near Iron Mountain, Wyoming
Farthing, Wyoming
Farthing was a railroad station and post office in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Farthing is located southwest of Chugwater in the Chugwater Creek valley. The region was originally named Iron Mountain due to iron deposits discovered on a nearby ridge in 1850 and briefly mined in 1870...

. Horn was exonerated for that crime and for another six weeks later, the murder of Fred Powell. In 1896, a ranchman named Campbell who had a large stock of money was last seen with Horn and "disappeared."

Although his official title was always "Range Detective," he actually functioned as a killer for hire. In 1900, he was implicated in the murder of two known rustlers and robbery suspects in northwest Colorado. Just prior to the killings, Horn had begun working for the Swan Land and Cattle Company, He had killed the two rustlers, Matt Rash and Isom Dart, while he was following up on what became known as the Wilcox Train Robbery, and he was possibly working freelance for the Pinkerton Agency when he did so.

During his involvement in the Wilcox Train Robbery investigation, Horn obtained information from Bill Speck that revealed which of the robbers had killed Sheriff Josiah Hazen, who had been shot and killed during the pursuit of the robbers. He passed this information on to Charlie Siringo, who was working the case by that time for the Pinkerton's. This information indicated that either George Curry
George Curry (Wild Bunch)
George Sutherland Curry , also known as Flat-nose Curry, was an American robber of the American Old West. Curry was a mentor to Harvey Logan, who would adopt the surname Curry, and the two robbed banks together before both became members of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch...

 or Kid Curry had killed the sheriff. Both outlaws were members of the Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch was one of the loosely organized outlaw gangs operating out of the Hole-in-the-Wall in Wyoming during the Old West era in the United States. It was popularized by the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and took its name from the original Wild Bunch...

 gang, which was then known as "The Hole-in-the-Wall Gang."

He left that line of work briefly to serve a stint in the Army during the Spanish American War. Before he could steam from Tampa
Tâmpa
Tâmpa may refer to several villages in Romania:* Tâmpa, a village in Băcia Commune, Hunedoara County* Tâmpa, a village in Miercurea Nirajului, Mureş County* Tâmpa, a mountain in Braşov city...

 for Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

, he contracted malaria. When his health recovered he returned to Wyoming. Shortly after his return, in 1901, Horn began working for wealthy cattle baron John C. Coble.

Willie Nickell murder, Horn's arrest and trial

On July 18, 1901, Horn was again working near Iron Mountain when Willie Nickell, the 14-year-old son of a sheepherding rancher, was murdered. Horn was arrested for the murder after a questionable confession to Joe Lefors
Joe Lefors
Joe Lefors was a lawman in the closing years of the Old West. He is best known for the arrest of gunman Tom Horn in 1903 for the alleged murder of 14 year old sheepherder Willie Nickell, which has since come into question, and it has long been believed that Lefors falsified evidence helping...

, an office deputy in the US Marshal's office, in 1902. Horn was convicted and hanged in Cheyenne
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

 in 1903. The prosecutor in the case was Walter Stoll.

During Horn's trial, the prosecution introduced a vague confession by Horn to Lefors, taken while he was intoxicated. Only certain parts of Horn's statement were introduced, distorting the significance of the statement. Additionally, testimony by at least two witnesses, including lawman Lefors, was presented by the prosecution, as well as circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...

 that only placed him in the general vicinity of the crime scene.

Glendolene M. Kimmell, a school teacher who knew the Miller family, testified on the Millers' behalf during the inquest. She further testified that Jim Miller (no relation to the Texas outlaw Jim Miller
Jim Miller (outlaw)
James Brown Miller , also known as "Killin' Jim", "Killer Miller" and "Deacon Jim", was an American outlaw and assassin of the American Old West credited with 12 kills during gunfights - perhaps the most of his era.. Miller was referred to by the alias Deacon Jim by some because he regularly...

) was nervous on the morning of the murder. Jim Miller and the Nickell boy's father had been in several disputes with each other over the Nickells' sheep grazing on Miller's land.

In 1993, the case was retried in a mock trial in Cheyenne and Horn was acquitted.

It is still debated whether Horn committed the murder. Some historians such as Chip Carlson believe he did not, while others like Dean Fenton Krakel believe that he did, but that he did not realize he was shooting a boy. Whatever the case, the consensus is that regardless of whether he committed that particular murder, he had certainly committed many others. Chip Carlson, who extensively researched the Wyoming v. Tom Horn prosecution, concluded that although Horn could have committed the murder of Willie Nickell, he probably did not. According to Carlson's book Tom Horn: Blood on the Moon, there was no actual evidence that Horn had committed the murder, he was last seen in the area the day before the murder, his alleged confession was valueless as evidence, and no efforts were made to investigate involvement by other possible suspects. In essence, Horn's reputation and history made him an easy target for the prosecution.

Execution

Tom Horn has the distinction of being one of the few people in the "Wild West" to have been hanged by an automated process. A Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Cheyenne is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming and the county seat of Laramie County. It is the principal city of the Cheyenne, Wyoming, Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Laramie County. The population is 59,466 at the 2010 census. Cheyenne is the...

 architect named James P. Julian designed the contraption in 1892, earning the name "The Julian Gallows," which made the condemned man hang himself. The trap door was connected to a lever which pulled the plug out of a barrel of water. This would cause a lever with a counterweight to rise, pulling on the support beam under the gallows. When enough pressure was applied, this would cause the beam to break free, opening the trap and hanging the condemned man. Tom Horn was buried in the Columbia Cemetery in Boulder, Colorado.

Films

Tom Horn has been the subject of two movies: Mr. Horn
Mr. Horn
Mr. Horn is a 1979 made for TV movie chronicling the life of Tom Horn. It was directed byJack Starrett from a screenplay by William Goldman.-Starring:*David Carradine as Tom Horn*Richard Widmark as Albert Sieber*Karen Black as Ernestina Crawford...

(1979) a made-for-TV movie starring David Carradine
David Carradine
David Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...

, and Tom Horn
Tom Horn (film)
Tom Horn is a 1980 western film about the legendary lawman, outlaw, and gunfighter. It starred Steve McQueen as the title character and was based on Horn's own writings.-Plot:...

(1980), starring Steve McQueen
Steve McQueen
Terrence Steven "Steve" McQueen was an American movie actor. He was nicknamed "The King of Cool." His "anti-hero" persona, which he developed at the height of the Vietnam counterculture, made him one of the top box-office draws of the 1960s and 1970s. McQueen received an Academy Award nomination...

. The McQueen film was not entirely accurate but McQueen's performance was praised and the film was well received. There was a third movie, "Fort Utah" (1967), a western fiction with John Ireland playing Tom Horn.

The History Channel aired (December 2009) the series "Cowboys & Outlaws" which featured an hour-long episode entitled "Frontier Hitman" about the life of Tom Horn.

In 1954, Louis Jean Heydt
Louis Jean Heydt
Louis Jean Heydt [April 17, 1905 - January 29, 1960] was an American Film, TV, and Theatre character actor from Montclair, New Jersey.-Early life:Heydt was born in Montclair New Jersey and Educated at Worcester Academy and Dartmouth College...

 played Tom Horn in an episode of the syndicated
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...

 television series, Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century
Stories of the Century is a Western television series that ran in syndication through Republic Pictures between January 23, 1954, and March 11, 1955.-Synopsis:...

, narrated and starring Jim Davis
Jim Davis (actor)
Jim Davis was an American actor, best known for his role as Jock Ewing in the CBS prime-time soap Dallas, a role which he held up until his death in April 1981.-Biography:...

. Walter Coy
Walter Coy
Walter Darwin Coy was an American stage, radio, film, and, principally, television actor, originally from Great Falls, Montana. He was best known for narrating the NBC western anthology series, Frontier, which aired early Sunday evenings in the 1955-1956 season.-Career:Coy performed on Broadway...

 appeared in the episode as Sam Clayton.

Further reading

  • Carlson, Chip, (2001). - Tom Horn: Blood on the Moon - Dark History of the Murderous Cattle Detective. - Glendo, Wyoming: High Plains Press. - ISBN 9780931271588.
  • Henry, Will, (1975). - I, Tom Horn. - New York: Bantam Books. - ISBN 9780553298352.
(NOTE: fictionalization of Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter and other documents) Also available as:
    • Horn, Tom, and John C. Coble, (2001). - Life of Tom Horn - Government Scout and Interpreter. - Narrative Press. - ISBN 9781589760684.
    • Horn, Tom, edited by Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., (1987). - Life of Tom Horn - Government Scout and Interpreter - Written by Himself: A Vindication. - Chicago: The Lakeside Press, R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company.
    • Horn, Tom, and Dean Krakel, (1985). - Life of Tom Horn - Government Scout and Interpreter: A Vindication. - University of Oklahoma Press. - ISBN 9780806110448.
  • Krakel, Dean, (1954). - The Saga of Tom Horn. - Powder River Publishing.
  • Tom Horn's Story - Hanged By The Neck Until You Are Dead at Tom-Horn.com (Horn's last letter proclaiming his confession being staged and not accurate)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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