John Wesley Hardin

John Wesley Hardin was born May 26, 1853, in Bonham, Texas. He was so mean he once shot a man just for snoring.  Hardin was shot to death in El Paso on August 19, 1895, by a man he had hired to kill someone else.

John Wesley Hardin was an outlaw and gunfighter of the American Old West. He was born in Bonham, Fannin County, Texas. When Hardin went to prison in 1878, he claimed to have killed 42 men. Hardin's criminal career resulted not only in the deaths of his victims but also in the deaths of his brother Joe and two cousins who were hanged by a lynch mob seeking revenge for a Hardin killing.

Hardin was born in Bonham, Texas in 1853 to James G. Hardin, a Methodist preacher and circuit rider and Elizabeth Hardin, described by him as being "blond, highly cultured, and charity predominated in her disposition". Hardin's father traveled over most of central Texas on his preaching circuit, until 1869, eventually settling in Sumpter, Texas, in Trinity County, where he taught school, and established an institution that John Wesley and his brother, Joe G. Hardin, would later attend. Hardin was named after the founder of the Methodist faith.

At that school, another child, named Charles Sloter, once taunted Hardin as the author of some graffiti on the schoolhouse wall, insulting to a girl in his class. Hardin denied writing the poetry and accused the other boy of being the author. Sloter attacked Hardin with a knife, but before he could strike Hardin, Hardin drew his own pocket knife and stabbed Charles twice in the chest and throat, almost killing him. Hardin was nearly expelled over the incident, even though it was his own father's institution.

At the age of 15, Hardin challenged an ex-slave of his uncle, named Mage, to a wrestling match, which he won, but had badly scratched Mage's face. The following day, a vengeful Mage hid by a path and attacked Hardin with a large stick as he rode past. Hardin drew his revolver and told Mage to back off, while Mage grabbed the reins of Hardin's horse and threatened to kill him. Hardin fired his revolver into Mage five times before he finally dropped the reins. Hardin then rode to get help for the wounded ex-slave, who ended up dying from these wounds three days later. The shooting could be claimed as a case of self-defense according to the laws of the day. However, Reverend James Hardin saw little chance of a fair hearing for his son. Texas was going through Reconstruction and as a "Johnny Reb" accused of killing a former slave in the Union-occupied state of Texas, where more than a third of the State Police were ex-slaves, the elder Hardin believed that his son had little hope of a fair trial; so he told John Wesley to go into hiding. The authorities eventually located Hardin, and sent three Union soldiers to arrest him. Despite being warned by his brother Joe, Hardin chose to stay and fight rather than run.

"I waylaid them, as I had no mercy on men whom I knew only wanted to get my body to torture and kill. It was war to the knife for me, and I brought it on by opening the fight with a double barrelled shotgun and ended it with a cap and ball six shooter. Thus it was by the fall of 1868 I had killed four men and was myself wounded in the arm."

Hardin was now living on the run...

On December 25, 1869, Hardin was playing cards with Jim Bradley in Towash, Hill County, Texas, Hardin was winning almost every hand, which angered Bradley, who threatened to "cut out his liver", if he won another. After Bradley drew a knife and a six-shooter, Hardin, unarmed, excused himself and left. Later that night Bradley went looking for Hardin, and upon seeing him on Towash Street, fired a shot which missed. Hardin drew both his pistols and fired, one shot striking Bradley's head and the other his chest. Dozens of people saw this fight and from them there is a good record of how Hardin used his guns: his holsters were sewn into his vest, with the butts pointed inward across his chest. He crossed his arms to draw. Hardin claimed this was the fastest way to draw, and he practiced every day.

Hardin's next fight was a month later in Horn Hill, Limestone County, Texas, where he killed a man in a gunfight after an argument at the circus. Less than a week after this incident, in nearby Kosse, Hardin was escorting a saloon girl home when he was accosted by a man demanding money. He threw his money on the ground and shot the would-be thief when he bent to pick it up. It was to be a year before he killed again.

After the last of these incidents, he found refuge among relatives, the Clements family. They informed him that by getting into the growing cattle market he could make money in Kansas. This would allow him to get out of Texas long enough for things to cool down. Hardin worked with the Clements, gathering cattle for Jake Johnson and Columbus Carol. On the trail to Kansas, Hardin was reputed to have fought Mexican vaqueros, Indians, and cattle rustlers among others.

Hardin is Arrested but escapes

Hardin was arrested in January 1871 for the murder of Waco, Texas, City Marshal L. J. Hoffman, which he claimed not to have committed. Unable to persuade a judge of his innocence, he was held temporarily in a log jail in the town of Marshall, awaiting transfer to Waco. While locked up, he bought two useful items from a fellow prisoner: an overcoat against the winter cold, and a revolver. Thus he was ready when a Captain Stokes of the state police and a guard named Jim Smolly tied him on a horse with no saddle to convey him to Waco for trial. Hardin was wearing the overcoat when they arrived. Under it, tied to his shoulder with twine, was the handgun.

One night while the three men were camping en route, Stokes went to procure fodder for the horses, and Hardin was left alone with Smolly. Smolly began to taunt and beat his 17-year-old charge with the butt of a pistol. Hardin then burst into tears and huddled against his pony's flank. Hidden by the pony, Hardin slipped his hand into his coat and untied the string that held his gun. He shot Smolly dead and ran. Later he "convinced" a blacksmith to remove his shackles.

A few days later, several of Hardin's relatives were gathering at Gonzales, 60 miles east-southeast of San Antonio, for a drive up the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas. They persuaded a rancher to hire Hardin as a trail boss for his herd. Toward the end of the drive, a Mexican herd crowded in behind Hardin's and there was some trouble keeping the herds apart. Hardin exchanged words with the man in charge of the other herd. Both men were on horseback. The Mexican fired, putting a hole through John Wesley's hat. Swift to retaliate, Hardin found that his own weapon, a worn-out cap-and-ball pistol with a loose cylinder, would not fire; he dismounted, managed to discharge the gun by steadying the cylinder with one hand and pulling the trigger with the other, and hit the Mexican in the thigh. A truce was declared and they went their separate ways. However, Hardin borrowed a pistol from a friend and went looking for the Mexican, this time shooting him through the head. A general fire fight between the rival camps ensued. The Mexicans suffered all the casualties. Six vaqueros died in the exchanges – five of them shot by Hardin.

A Texas Historical Marker reflects that in the 1870's John Wesley Hardin would hide out not just in Gonzales County, but in a specific vicinity of that county known as Pilgrim, Texas.

First Encounter with Wild Bill Hickok in Abilene Kansas

The Bull's Head Tavern, in Abilene, Kansas, had been established by gambler/gunman Ben Thompson with businessman and gambler Phil Coe. These two gamblers painted a picture of a bull with a large erect penis as an advertisement for their establishment. Citizens of the town (described by Dee Brown as "prudish") complained to Abilene's Marshal "Wild Bill" Hickok. When Thompson and Coe refused to take down the bull, Hickok altered it himself. Infuriated, Thompson exclaimed to Hardin, "He's a damn Yankee. Picks on Rebels, especially Texans, to kill." Hardin simply replied, "If Wild Bill needs killin', why don't you kill him yourself?".

By all accounts, despite Hardin's having been a dangerous man, he seemed to have, at the very least, respected Hickok. Later that night, Hardin was confronted by Hickok, who told Hardin to hand over his guns. Hickok did not arrest Hardin, for reasons unknown, although it was later claimed that Hickok had no knowledge of Hardin being a wanted man. Hickok did advise Hardin to avoid problems while in Abilene. One version is Hardin impressed Hickok by performing a "border roll" with both of his pistols (flipping the guns from the reverse position and cocking the hammers while pointing both barrels at Hickok).

Second Meeting

In Abilene, Kansas, Hardin again met Wild Bill Hickok, at the time the cattle town's reigning peace officer. Hickok took an indulgent attitude toward the young Hardin. He drank with Hardin, whored with him, and gave him advice. Hickock allowed Hardin to carry his pistols in Abilene, something Hickok never allowed others to do. For his part, Hardin was fascinated by Wild Bill and reveled at being seen on intimate terms with such a celebrated gunfighter.

At the American House Hotel, where Hardin had put up for the night, it is alleged that he began firing bullets through a bedroom wall and the ceiling above him, simply to stop the snoring of a stranger in the next room. The first bullet merely woke the man; the second killed him. Remorseful, and in the silence, Hardin realized that he was about to plunge into deep trouble with Wild Bill Hickok. Still in his undershirt, he exited through a window and ran onto the roof of the hotel portico—just in time to see Hickok arriving with four policemen, having been alerted by other guests. "I believe," Hardin said later, "that if Wild Bill found me in a defenseless condition, he would take no explanation, but would kill me to add to his reputation".

Hardin leaped from the roof into the street and hid in a haystack for the rest of the night. Toward dawn he stole a horse and made his way back to the cow camp outside town. The next day he left for Texas, never to return to Abilene. In his autobiography, Hardin claimed that following this shooting and some thirty miles from Abilene he ambushed lawman Tom Carson and two other Deputies at a cowboy camp but did not kill them, he only forced them to remove all their clothing and walk back to Abilene. Years later Hardin made a casual reference to the episode. "They tell lots of lies about me," he complained. "They say I killed six or seven men for snoring. Well, it ain't true, I only killed one man for snoring".

Wild Bill Hickok

Texas Ranger John Barclay Armstrong Ben Thompson

Surrender and Escape

In August 1872, John Wesley was shot by Phil Sublett with a shotgun after Sublett had lost his money to Hardin in a poker game. Two buckshot pellets had ripped through Hardin's kidney and for some time it looked like he would die. Hardin now decided he wanted to settle down and made a sickbed surrender in Gonzales, handing his guns to Sheriff Reagan and asking to be tried for his past crimes "to clear the slate." When Hardin learned how many murders they wanted to charge him with he changed his mind. A relative smuggled in a saw and Hardin escaped after sawing through the bars of a window.

On May 26, 1874, Hardin, Jim Taylor, and others were celebrating Hardin's 21st birthday in Comanche, Texas when Hardin spotted Brown County, Texas, Deputy sheriff Charles Webb. Hardin asked Webb if he had come to arrest him and when Webb replied he hadn't, Hardin invited Webb into the hotel for a drink. As he followed Hardin inside Webb drew his gun, one of Hardin's men yelled a warning and Hardin spun around while drawing his own guns. In the ensuing gunfight, Webb was shot dead.

After a lynch mob was formed, Hardin's parents, wife, brother and cousins were immediately taken into protective custody; however, a group of Brown County men broke into the jail and hanged Hardin's brother Joe and two of his cousins. It is claimed that the ropes were deliberately too long, as grass was later found between their toes, in order to cause death through slow strangulation.

Shortly after this Hardin and Jim Taylor parted ways for the final time.

Jim Taylor was killed on December 27, 1875. Jim Taylor's cousin William Taylor was found guilty of murder in the second degree in 1875 and sentenced to 10 years. He escaped from Indianola during a September 17, 1875 cyclone and was tried in Indianola and Texana twice on a charge of killing Sutton and was acquitted. On November 17, 1875, William Taylor shot and killed Cuero ex-town marshal Reuben Brown, who had once arrested Taylor. Taylor died about 1890.

Finally Capture and he doesn't escape

Catching Hardin was no easy matter. The Texas Rangers caught up with Hardin when undercover Ranger Jack Duncan intercepted a letter that was sent to Hardin's father-in-law by his brother-in-law (outlaw Joshua Robert "Brown" Bowen). The letter mentioned Hardin's whereabouts as on the Alabama and Florida border under the assumed name of James W. Swain. Hardin was arrested on a train in Pensacola, Florida by Texas Rangers and a local authority. The lawmen went on board the train to effect Hardin's arrest. When Hardin realized what was going on, he attempted to draw his gun but got it tangled in his suspenders. Texas Ranger John B. Armstrong shot and killed one of Hardin's friends, knocked out Hardin, and arrested two others. Hardin's problems with his suspenders probably saved some lives that day including his own.

Hardin was tried for the killing of Deputy Charles Webb and was sentenced to Huntsville Prison for 25 years. Hardin was stubborn, sullen, and vicious the first five years in prison; this period was hallmarked by several failed escape attempts which were aptly punished. However, Hardin then began to adapt to prison life and ultimately used prison as an opportunity to better himself. He read theological books, was superintendent of the prison Sunday school, and studied law. Hardin was also plagued by recurring poor health in prison; the wound he received from Sublett became infected in 1883 and Hardin was bedridden for two years. Another event that marred Hardin's prison term was the death of his wife, who died on November 6, 1892.

The End of his life

Hardin was released from prison on February 17, 1894 after serving nearly 16 years of his 25-year sentence and being behind bars for 17 years since his capture. He promptly returned to Gonzales, TX as a 41-year-old widower who had three children who did not even know what he looked like. Within six months of release, two significant events occurred in Hardin's life. First, on March 16, he was pardoned, and then on July 21 passed the state's bar examination, obtaining his license to practice law.[19] On January 9, 1895 he married a 15-year-old girl named Carolyn "Callie" Lewis. However, the marriage did not work out, and it quickly ended, albeit never legally dissolved. Neither Hardin nor his wife ever disclosed why the marriage failed so abruptly.[20] Ill feelings about his failed second marriage probably contributed to Hardin's desire to move west, specifically to El Paso.

El Paso lawman John Selman, Jr., arrested Hardin's friend, the widow M'Rose (also spelled Mroz), for "brandishing a gun in public." Hardin confronted Selman, and the two men had a verbal dispute. On being told of the argument, John's 56-year-old father, John Selman, Sr., a constable, approached Hardin on the afternoon of August 19, 1895 and the two men exchanged words. Later that night, Hardin went to the Acme Saloon, where he began playing dice. Shortly before midnight Selman, Sr. walked in and saw Hardin with his back to him, and shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly. As Hardin's body lay on the floor, Selman, Sr. fired three more shots into him.

Selman, Sr. was arrested for the murder and stood trial where he claimed he had fired in self defense. A hung jury resulted in his being released on bond. However, Selman, Sr. was killed in a shootout on April 6, 1896 by US Marshal George Scarborough. Selman, Sr. and Scarborough had been playing cards and got into an argument. Both exited to the alley and shot it out, after which Scarborough returned alone.

Scarborough was arrested for murder as no gun was found on Selman, Sr. However, just before his trial a thief was arrested and it was discovered he had Selman's gun. He stated he had seen the shooting and stolen the gun before the crowd arrived. Scarborough was then released.

On April 5, 1900, four years after he shot John Selman, Scarborough was mortally wounded in a gunfight with two robbers.