The Wild West, though long gone, continues to fascinate us through movies, books, and legends. We’ve built up these characters over time, sometimes romanticizing the era and bending the truth, but the core of these stories still grabs our attention. Even now, new discoveries and modern takes breathe new life into these old tales.
10. No Pardon For Billy The Kid
In 2010, the governor of New Mexico considered a controversial pardon for Billy the Kid. Back in 1879, Governor Lew Wallace (the author of Ben Hur) supposedly offered Billy a pardon in exchange for testifying about a murder he witnessed. Billy kept his word, but Wallace never granted the pardon.
Over 130 years later, Governor Bill Richardson debated whether to finally pardon Billy the Kid during his final weeks in office. This sparked a huge debate, especially among the descendants of Sheriff Pat Garrett, who famously killed Billy. They argued that Billy was a cop killer and a pardon would hurt their ancestor’s reputation.
Ultimately, Governor Richardson denied the pardon. He acknowledged evidence of the deal between Wallace and Billy but questioned Wallace’s reasons for backing out. Richardson also noted that Billy continued his criminal activities after the deal fell apart.
9. Finding The Murder Weapon In The Deep Creek Murders
In 2013, Max Black, a former Idaho representative and amateur historian, found what he believed to be the murder weapon in a double murder case from over 120 years ago.
The case dates back to 1896 during a sheep war in Twin Falls County, near the Idaho-Nevada border. Daniel Cummings and John Wilson, two Mormon sheepherders, were killed after grazing their sheep on cattle territory. Suspicion quickly fell on Jackson Lee Davis, known as “Diamondfield Jack,” who was convicted and sentenced to hang.
Before the execution, two other men, Jim Bower and Jeff Gray, confessed to the murders, claiming self-defense. Years later, Black used court records to find the crime scene. Using a metal detector, he discovered a .44 slug and an old 1878 Colt Frontiersman. Experts confirmed the gun’s age, and Black concluded it was Bower’s missing weapon used in the shootout, noting the filed-off sight.
8. The Execution Of Wild Bill Longley
Wild Bill Longley claimed to have killed 32 people, though many tales of his exploits were likely exaggerated. He was supposedly executed in Giddings, Texas, in 1878. Legend had it that his family bribed the sheriff, who used a trick rope, allowing Longley to live out his days in Louisiana under a new identity.
In 1986, forensic anthropologist Douglas Owsley began investigating this story. Locating Longley’s unmarked grave took 15 years. The casket contained bones, not rocks, and a DNA sample from a tooth matched Helen Chapman, a granddaughter of Longley’s sister. Additionally, a Catholic medal and a celluloid flower found in the casket were items Longley carried to the scaffold. These findings confirmed that Wild Bill Longley was indeed executed.
7. Did Butch Cassidy Make It Out Of Bolivia?
Butch Cassidy, the iconic leader of the Wild Bunch, has always been surrounded by mystery, especially concerning his death. In 1908, Cassidy and the Sundance Kid supposedly died in a shootout with Bolivian police while on the run in South America.
However, the bodies were never officially identified, and they were buried in unmarked graves. This led to rumors that Cassidy survived and lived under a new name. One theory, popularized by author Larry Pointer, suggested that Cassidy became William T. Phillips, who wrote a biography about Cassidy in 1934 titled The Bandit Invincible.
However, in 2012, researcher Jack Stroud proposed that William T. Phillips was actually William T. Wilcox, who had been in Wyoming State Prison with Cassidy. The resemblance between Wilcox’s mug shot and later photos of Phillips added weight to this theory.
6. Where To Bury John Wesley Hardin?
John Wesley Hardin, a notorious gunfighter with up to 42 kills, was shot and killed in 1895 in El Paso, Texas, and buried in Concordia Cemetery. A century later, a legal battle erupted over his remains when a group from Nixon, Texas, sought to disinter him and rebury him in their town.
They claimed to represent Hardin’s descendants, arguing he should be buried where he married his first wife and had his children. They also asserted that survivors had the final say over burial spots. El Paso officials and historians opposed this, viewing it as a publicity stunt to attract tourists. The courts ultimately ruled to keep Hardin’s body in El Paso.
5. Who Killed Pat Garrett?
The death of Sheriff Pat Garrett has long been shrouded in mystery. Garrett was killed on February 29, 1908, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was traveling with Jesse Wayne Brazel and Carl Adamson to resolve a land dispute.
Brazel shot Garrett and claimed self-defense. He was acquitted after a one-day trial, and Adamson, the only eyewitness, never testified. This version of events raised suspicions of a plot against Garrett, possibly organized by rancher W.W. Cox or gun-for-hire Jim Miller.
In 2017, Pat Garrett’s long-lost coroner’s report was uncovered. It was signed by seven members of the coroner’s jury and concluded that Wayne Brazel killed Pat Garrett. Whether this new evidence strengthens the official story remains to be seen.
4. How Did Davy Crockett Die?
Davy Crockett, the “King of the Wild Frontier,” is known for his heroic death at the Battle of the Alamo. However, in 1955, Jesus Sanchez Garza published a book claiming Crockett was captured and executed, based on the memoirs of a Mexican officer named Jose Enrique de la Pena.
The book initially went unnoticed, but when it was translated into English two decades later, it sparked outrage. Historians questioned Garza’s credibility, noting his self-published book and timing coinciding with the Disney show’s popularity. However, in 2000, a forgery expert declared the memoir authentic, based on the paper and watermarks matching those used by the Mexican Army at the time.
3. The Mummy Of The Wild West
In the 1970s, while filming The Six Million Dollar Man at an abandoned amusement park in Long Beach, a crew discovered a mummified corpse hanging in the House of Horrors. The mummy was identified as Elmer McCurdy, an outlaw who died in 1911 after a failed train robbery.
With no one to claim his body, the undertaker embalmed McCurdy, dressed him up, and displayed him as “The Embalmed Bandit” to recoup costs. Over the years, McCurdy appeared in carnivals and sideshows, his skin hardening and shrinking. He was finally buried in the Boot Hill section of Summit View Cemetery in Guthrie, Oklahoma, in 1977.
2. Did Jesse James Fake His Death?
Jesse James was killed in 1882 by Robert Ford, a former gang member seeking a bounty. Public opinion was divided, with many seeing Ford as a coward. A theory emerged that James faked his death with Ford’s help to evade justice.
In the late 1940s, a centenarian named J. Frank Dalton claimed to be Jesse James. While historians remained skeptical, in 1995, James’s body was exhumed. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) testing confirmed the remains were indeed Jesse James. Still, the idea persists for some, fueled by a headstone mix-up during an exhumation attempt of J. Frank Dalton in 2000.
1. Who Killed Johnny Ringo?
Johnny Ringo, an outlaw associated with the Cochise County Cowboys, died from a gunshot to the head. The question of who killed him remains. Suspects included Wyatt Earp, seeking revenge for his brother’s death, and Doc Holliday. However, timelines put them elsewhere at the time of Ringo’s death.
The coroner’s inquest ruled Ringo’s death a suicide, but many found this suspicious, citing discrepancies like an upside-down cartridge belt and the absence of powder burns. Author Steve Gatto, in his biography, suggested that Ringo was drunk, explaining the belt, and that the body’s decay obscured any powder burns.
These Wild West tales continue to evolve with modern insights and investigations, adding new layers to the legends and characters we thought we knew. From potential pardons to exhumed bodies and rediscovered documents, the Wild West continues to surprise us, proving that history is never truly settled.
What do you think about these Wild West mysteries? Which one fascinates you the most? Leave your comment below!
