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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.
Dallas Stoudenmire (1845–1882) - A
lawman and
gunfighter,
Stoudenmire joined the
Texas Rangers
in 1874 and was city marshal of EI Paso,
Texas in
1881. He killed several men in that capacity. In 1882, he resigned as marshal
and became a
U.S. Deputy Marshal.
He was killed on September 18, 1882 by James and Doc Manning in El Paso.
More ...
Benjamin "Ben" Thompson,
aka: Shotgun Ben
(1843-1884) - Born in
Knottingly, Yorkshire, England
on November, 2 1843, the
Thompson family immigrated to the United States
in 1851. Settling in Austin,
Texas,
Thompson became a printer working for
various Austin newspapers. At the age of 15, he wounded his first man, in
an argument about his shooting abilities. By 1859,
Thompson had moved to
New Orleans where he worked for a bookbinder and killed his first man when
he saw him abusing a woman. When the
Civil War began, he returned to
Texas,
enlisting with the 2nd
Texas
Cavalry. After fatally shooting a teamster in an argument in May, 1865, he
fled to Mexico.
Returning to
Texas ,
he wounded his brother-in-law who was abusing his pregnant sister and
spent two years in the
Texas
State Penitentiary. Afterwards, he headed to
Abilene,
Kansas,
hoping to change his fortunes. For the next several years he moved about
Kansas
and Colorado,
primarily as a professional gambler and was involved in several shootouts.
Later he returned to Austin once again
where he became the city marshal in December, 1880. In 1882, while still
serving as an Austin marshal,
Thompson quarreled over a card game in
San Antonio,
where he killed the owner of the Vaudeville Theatre, Jack Harris,
allegedly his 21st victim. Though he was acquitted of murder, he was
assassinated on March 11, 1884 by
John King Fisher,
in the Vaudeville Theatre, in
revenge for the killing of Jack Harris.
More
...
 William “Texas Billy” Thompson
(1845-1897) – Brother to more famous gunman
Ben Thompson, Billy was
described as “mean, vicious, vindictive and totally unpredictable.” When
Billy was just a boy, he and brother,
Ben, emigrated from
Yorkshire,
England
with their family to Austin,
Texas
in 1851. During the
Civil War,
both men enlisted in the Texas Mounted Rifles. After the war, federal troops
remained in
Texas
for several years and in March, 1868; Billy was involved in a gunfight with
Private William Burk. After killing the soldier, the Thompson fled. Two months
later he killed another man in Rockport,
Texas
and when a warrant was issued for his arrest, he was on the run again, first to
Indian Territory
and then to
Kansas.
While in
Abilene,
Kansas,
Billy made the acquaintance of a dance hall girl and prostitute named
Elizabeth “Libby” Haley. Better known as “Squirrel
Tooth Alice,” the pair quickly began an affair that would eventually lead to
marriage and nine children.
Making his
living as a gambler, he and his brother
Ben, were both in
Ellsworth,
Kansas in
April, 1873. Four months later, in August, Billy killed
Sheriff Chauncey Whitney
and was on the run again.
Constantly
in trouble for one thing or another, Billy and Libby were constantly moving. He
was finally caught up with by Texas Rangers in October 1876, and was extradited
to Kansas. Amazingly, he was acquitted of the murder of Sheriff Whitney.
Afterwards, he made his way to Dodge City, Kansas.
Later, he
was known to have been in
Colorado
and
Nebraska, before he and Libby finally settled down in
Sweetwater,
Texas.
There, he purchased and worked a ranch, while she established a brothel in town.
In 1884, he was reportedly in
San Antonio and witnessed his brother being gunned
down by assassins. Amazingly, he took no revenge on his brother’s killers.
On
September 6, 1897, William Thompson died from a stomach ailment at the age of
52.
Davis "Dave" Tutt
(1839-1865) - Tutt was born in Yellville,
Arkansas and
because of his father's involvement in the Tutt-Everett Feud he became
experienced with gunfighting at an early age. He joined the Confederate Army in
1862, where he worked as a wagon master. When he was released, he made his way
to
Springfield,
Missouri,
where he primarily "worked" as a gambler. In July of 1865, he
met
Wild Bill
Hickok, when they were both playing cards in the same saloon. On one day
when they were playing
Hickok lost at the gaming table and when
Bill
couldn’t pay up, Dave Tutt took
Hickok's
gold pocket watch for security.
Hickok
growled that if Tutt so much as used the timepiece, he would kill him. However, on July 21, 1865, the two met in the public square and Tutt
was proudly wearing the watch for all to see. This insult of course
led to a
gunfight.
At a distance of about 75 yards, the two faced off. Tutt's shot missed
but
Hickok's hit the other man in the chest. The wounded man then
stumbled for about twenty feet before he finally fell to the ground
dead. Dave Tutt's body was buried in the
Springfield City Cemetery, but was later moved to the Maple Park
Cemetery, where it it is today. The site is marked
with a gravestone showing a carved pocket watch, playing cards and
pistols.
John Wilson "Texas Jack" Vermillion, aka:
Shoot-Your-Eye-Out" Vermillion (1842-1911) - A
gunfighter known for his
participation in the
Earp Vendetta Ride and his later association with Soapy
Smith. More ...
© Kathy Weiser/Legends of America,
updated May, 2008
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