The outlaw Tom “Black Jack” Ketchum met his fate not in a a gunfight or during a daring escape, but in a courtroom in Clayton, New Mexico. Following a failed solo attempt to rob the Colorado & Southern Railway near Folsom, New Mexico on August 16, 1899, Ketchum was apprehended—seriously wounded and alone. Unlike his …
Warren Earp Dies In Willcox, Arizona
Willcox, Arizona Territory – July 6, 1900 On this fateful day, Warren Earp dies in Willcox, Arizona. The youngest of the Earp brothers, Warren, died not in a hail of vengeance or in the middle of some grand vendetta, but in a rough-edged Willcox Arizona saloon on a summer night that began with intimidation and …
The Bisbee Massacre
December 8, 1883 — Bisbee, Arizona Territory It began like any other Saturday in Bisbee, a fast-growing mining settlement in the Arizona Territory, built into the rugged slopes of the Mule Mountains. The town had been established only a few years earlier, but by 1883 it was already a hub of mining and freight traffic. …
Mayor John Clum Assassination attempt
The air was crisp and dry on the evening of December 14, 1881, when Mayor John Clum stepped into the stagecoach outside the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Tombstone. Clum, editor of the Tombstone Epitaph and the town’s first elected mayor, was bound for Benson, a small but vital rail junction 25 miles west. He had business …
The Aftermath of the OK Corral
On a crisp autumn afternoon—October 26, 1881—the dusty streets of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, bore witness to one of the most infamous and hotly debated events in the annals of the American West. The sun had just begun to cast long shadows across Allen Street when tensions that had simmered for months between two rival factions …
John Gillespie Dead, Zwing Hunt Dying
By midday, the bodies and wounded had been prepared for transport. Deputy John Gillespie’s remains were carefully wrapped in canvas and placed in the wagon, his hat resting beside him. In the back, under armed guard, lay Zwing Hunt, still conscious but dying—his breath shallow, his shirt caked with dirt, blood and sweat. The return …
Billy Kinsman shot by May Woodman
On the morning of February 23, 1883, the bustling streets of Tombstone, Arizona Territory, bore witness to another tragic event. William Alexander “Billy” Kinsman, a 28-year-old Cornish-born gambler known for his frequent presence at the Oriental Saloon, was fatally shot by May Woodman, a woman with whom he had shared a tumultuous relationship. The Oriental …
The arrests of Hunt and Grounds
As Deputy Billy Breakenridge and John Gillespie stood watching the main house, the front door creaked open. A man stepped out cautiously—a freighter named “Bull” Lewis, a teamster passing through the area who had sought overnight shelter at the ranch. Right behind him came Zwing Hunt, rifle raised and eyes blazing. The outlaw had expected …
You must be logged in to post a comment.