38 Facts About Tom Horn

Tom Horn has since become a larger-than-life figure of western folklore, and debate continues as to whether he was actually guilty of Nickell's murder.

The dog was tragically killed when the young Tom Horn got into a fight with two boys, who beat Tom Horn and killed the dog with a shotgun.

At 16, Tom Horn headed to the American Southwest, where he was hired by the US Cavalry as a civilian scout, packer, and interpreter under Al Sieber during the Apache Wars.

Tom Horn did a great job in his work for the army and soon rose through the ranks.

Tom Horn was a respected scout by then, known for going out alone in reconnaissance missions and helping track down Geronimo's major stronghold.

Finally, on September 4,1886, Horn was present at Geronimo's final surrender and acted as an interpreter under Charles B Gatewood.

Tom Horn allegedly killed his first man in a duel, a second lieutenant in the Mexican Army, as a result of a dispute over a prostitute.

Tom Horn's ranch consisted of 100 cattle and 26 horses, and he laid claim in the Deer Creek Mining District near the canyon.

Tom Horn wandered and took jobs as a prospector, ranch hand, and rodeo contestant, but he is most notorious for being hired by numerous cattle companies as a cowboy and hired gun to watch over their cattle and kill any suspected rustlers.

Tom Horn often gave a warning first to those he suspected of rustling and was said to have been a "tremendous presence" whenever he was in the vicinity.

Tom Horn didn't stop, but went straight on up the creek in plain sight of everyone.

Later, Tom Horn took part in the Pleasant Valley War between cattlemen and sheepmen in Arizona.

Tom Horn worked on a ranch owned by Robert Bowen, where he became one of the prime suspects in the disappearance of Mart Blevins in 1887.

Tom Horn claimed that throughout the war he was the "mediator" of the conflict, serving as a deputy sheriff under three famous Arizona lawmen: Buckey O'Neill, Perry Owens, and Glenn Reynolds.

Tom Horn became known for his calm-under-pressure demeanor and his ability to track down anyone assigned to him.

Siringo later indicated that he respected Tom Horn's abilities at tracking, and that he was a very talented agent but had a wicked element.

In 1895, Tom Horn reportedly killed a known cattle thief named William Lewis near Iron Mountain, Wyoming.

Tom Horn was exonerated for that crime and for the 1895 murder of Fred Powell six weeks later.

In 1896, Tom Horn offered his service in a letter to the marshal of Tucson, Arizona, in getting rid of William Christian's rustler gang.

In 1900, Tom Horn began working for the Swan Land and Cattle Company in northwest Colorado.

Around the same time, Tom Horn suspected another cowboy named Isom Dart of rustling.

Tom Horn managed to track Dart to his cabin and saw him hiding together with two other armed associates.

Tom Horn tracked them all down and killed three other members of Rash's association.

Tom Horn passed this information on to Charlie Siringo, who was working the case for the Pinkertons.

Tom Horn left Tampa for Cuba, where he led some of the pack trains to the front.

Tom Horn considered himself lucky to have lost no packer during the war, although Tom Horn recalled that his men and he were under constant fire as they delivered rations and ammunition to the soldiers.

Tom Horn continued working as a packer during the war, though he and many of his men contracted yellow fever.

Tom Horn was still inebriated from the night before, but Lefors gained what he called a confession to the murder of Willie Nickell.

Tom Horn's trial started October 10,1902, in Cheyenne, which filled with crowds attracted by the notoriety of Tom Horn.

Only certain parts of Tom Horn's statement were introduced, distorting his statement.

Tom Horn's attorneys filed a petition with the Wyoming Supreme Court for a new trial.

Tom Horn was one of the few people in the "Wild West" to have been hanged by a water-powered gallows, known as the "Julian" gallows.

At that time, Tom Horn never gave up the names of those who had hired him during the feud.

Tom Horn was buried in the Columbia Cemetery in Boulder, Colorado, on December 3,1903.

The debate over Tom Horn's guilt remains as divided as ever.

Author Chip Carlson of Cheyenne, Wyoming, who extensively researched the Wyoming v Tom Horn trial, concluded that although Horn could have committed the murder of Willie Nickell, he probably did not.

Writer Dean Fenton Krakel believed that Tom Horn was guilty, but that he had not realized he was shooting a boy.

Ball maintains that he found no evidence of a legal conspiracy against Tom Horn, arguing that Tom Horn's penchant for brutality contributed to his being convicted of the crime.