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In 1887, he shot and killed " Long
Hair" Jim Courtright and in 1890, killed another man named Charles Wright who was trying to muscle him out of business.
In 1893, he became desperately sick from an unknown illness and died in bed at the age of 39. More ...
Charles "Charlie” Storms – (18??-1881) – A professional gunfighter and gambler, Charlie Storms was envious of the reputation of gunslingers such as Bat Masterson and Wild Bill Hickok, and though he was probably not intentionally following them, he tended to wind up in some of the same places. In fact, when Jack McCall killed Bill Hickok in the Number 10 Saloon in Deadwood, South Dakota, Storms was there. Allegedly, as Hickok lay dead on the floor; Storms grabbed one of his pistols as a souvenir.
However, Storms’ career as a gunfighter was never what he hoped it would be. Though he lived through several
gunfights in Deadwood, history found his next noteworthy escapade in
Tombstone, Arizona. Though some say that Storms arrived as a hired shooter in a bitter contest to control the gambling houses in
Tombstone, other historians believe he simply drifted there, like the many other gamblers and gunfighters calling
Tombstone home in 1881.
Riding in from El Paso, Texas, Storms immediately made himself known in
Tombstone's many gambling houses. On the morning of February 25, 1881, Storms was playing faro at the Oriental Saloon, where Luke Short was dealing the game. Storms, who had been drinking all night and was unaware of Short's shooting skills, began to make a number of rude comments to Short. Just as the two were about to pull out their six-guns, in walked Bat Masterson. Friends with both gamblers,
Masterson stopped the fight and talked Storms into returning to his room at the San Jose House.
For a short time, it seemed as if the confrontation had blown over, when suddenly, as
Masterson and Short were talking on the boardwalk in front of the Oriental Saloon, Storms reappeared, took hold of Luke's arm and pulled him off the sidewalk. Then Storms went for his gun, but Short beat him to the draw and shot him through the heart, blowing him backwards and setting his shirt afire. As Charlie was falling to the ground, Luke shot him again. As Storms lay on the ground dead, Luke Short turned to Masterson and said, "You sure as hell pick some of the damnedest people for friends, Bat!" One bystander reported that "the faro games went right on as though nothing had happened."
Afterwards, Luke Short was arrested and given a preliminary hearing but was found not guilty on grounds of self-defense.
William E. "Billy” Sutton (1846-1874) - A native of south
Texas,
Sutton served in the Confederate army in the
Civil War
and afterwards moved his family to Clinton,
Texas,
where he ranched and soon came into conflict with the Taylor Clan. He also
served as a Deputy Sheriff and on March 25, 1868, he shot and killed Charley
Taylor, when he tried to arrest him for horse theft. Later that year, on
Christmas Eve, Sutton killed another of the clan -- Buck Taylor, as well as
another man named Dick Chisholm in a saloon in Clinton,
Texas,
after they argued regarding the sale of some horses. These killings spawned the
Sutton-Taylor feud, one of the longest and bloodiest feuds in
Texas
history. Making matters worse for the Taylor faction was when Sutton was
appointed to the State Police Force, under Captain Jack Helm. The Police Force,
along with Union soldiers, was tasked with enforcing "Reconstruction,” much to
the chagrin of many a Southern sympathizer. Sutton led a band of "Regulators”
that at times, numbered as many as 200 men, which included such frontier
characters as cattle baron Shanghai Pierce, Indian fighter Joe Tumlinson, and
tough-as-nails lawman, Jack Helm. For six years, Sutton led the Regulators in
terrorizing the region, killing dozens of men, until finally Sutton was shot
down by Jim and Billy Taylor on March 11, 1874. When Sutton had tried to make
his escape, by boarding a New Orleans-bound steamer out of Indianola, the Taylor
boys opened fire on him, dropping him to the deck in front of his horrified
wife.
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