26 Facts About Clay Allison

Robert A Clay Allison, known as Clay Allison was a cattle rancher, cattle broker, and sometimes gunfighter of the American Old West.

Clay Allison fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.

Clay Allison was the fourth of the nine children of Jeremiah Scotland Allison and his wife, Mariah Ruth Allison.

Clay Allison's father was a Presbyterian minister who raised cattle and sheep to support the family.

Clay Allison helped on the family farm near Waynesboro, Tennessee, until the Civil War began, enlisting in the Confederate Army when he was 20.

On September 22,1862, Clay Allison re-enlisted, this time in the 9th Tennessee Cavalry Regiment, where he served under the Confederate "Wizard of the Saddle," General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

Once back home, Clay Allison was involved in several violent confrontations.

Allegedly, Clay Allison cut off the man's head and carried it in a sack for 29 miles to Cimarron, where he placed it on display on a pole in front of the St James Inn.

Clay Allison believed himself fast with a gun, but this changed when he was outdrawn in a friendly competition with Mason Bowman.

Bowman and Clay Allison became friends, and Bowman helped Clay Allison to improve his 'fast-draw' skills.

At one point on October 31,1878, Clay Allison was entangled in a small skirmish with Comanches during the ongoing Texas-Indian War in Wheeler County, Texas.

On January 7,1874, Clay Allison killed a gunman named Chunk Colbert, who was known to have already fought and killed seven men.

Clay Allison fired one shot, which struck Colbert in the head.

Griego reached for his revolver but Clay Allison was faster and shot Griego twice, killing him.

One garbled version of the triple shooting had Notorious gunfighter Clay Allison shot and killed a black sergeant and four soldiers in a bar where he was drinking.

In fact Clay Allison was arrested but released when it could not be proved he had been involved in the shooting.

Clay Allison deputized two men and returned with them to the saloon.

Clay Allison fired four shots, one of which killed Faber.

In March 1877, Clay Allison sold his ranch to his brother, John.

Clay Allison relocated to Sedalia, Missouri, and eventually moved to Hays City, Kansas, where he established himself as a cattle broker.

One time, several cowboys working for Clay Allison were purportedly mistreated by the local marshal's office.

Clay Allison maintained his ranch from 1880 to 1883 with his brothers, John and Jeremiah.

One story of the time tells of an intoxicated Clay Allison riding through Mobeetie in the nude, wearing only his holster and revolver.

In Mobeetie, on February 15,1881, Clay Allison married America Medora "Dora" McCulloch.

Clay Allison was hauling a wagon load of supplies when the load shifted, and a sack of grain fell from the wagon.

Clay Allison fell from the wagon as he tried to catch it, and a wagon wheel rolled over him, breaking his neck.