The terms
"gunfighter"
or "gunslinger,"
as they are most often called today, are actually more modern words utilized in
films and literature of the 20th Century. During the days of the "real" Wild
West, men who had gained a reputation
as being dangerous with a gun, were more commonly called gunmen,
pistoleers, shootists, or bad men. That being said, Bat Masterson, a noted
gunfighter
himself, who later became a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph,
sometimes referred to them as "gunfighters,"
but, more often as "man killers."
Though
our Complete List of Old West Gunfighters
provides the names of hundreds of gunmen, many might not term them to be true
"gunfighters" in the popular sense of the word today. No, they didn't squarely
face off with each other from a distance in a dusty street, like movies and
television would like us to believe.
In actuality, the "real”
gunfights
of the
Old West
were rarely that "civilized.” Many of men listed on our
Gunfighters
Pages, many fought in the many range wars and
feuds
of the Old West, which were far more common that the "stand-off" gunfight. Most
of these were fought over land or water rights, some were political, and others
were simply "old Hatfield-McCoy" style differences between families or in
lifestyles.
Of those that fit more easily into the perception of
the "gunfighter," rarely did they kill as many men in
gunfights as most were given credit for. In many instances their reputations
developed from one particular instance, and as the rumors grew, so did their
prowess with a gun. In other cases, their reputations were enhanced by
self-promotion. Such was the case with
Wyatt Earp
and
Wild Bill Hickok.
Other lesser known
shootists,
that saw just as much, if not more action than their well-known
counterparts were men such as
Ben Thompson,
Tom Horn,
Kid Curry,
Timothy Courtright,
King Fisher,
Scott Cooley,
Clay
Allison, and
Dallas Stoudenmire, just to name a few.
It was often difficult to sort out the
gunfighters,
whose
occupations ranged from
lawmen, to cowboys, ranchers, gamblers, farmers, teamsters, bounty hunters, and outlaws.
In many cases, these violent men could move quickly from fighting on the side of
the law to utilizing their talents in a life of crime.
Though about a third of the
gunman died of "natural causes," many died violently in gunfights,
lynchings, or legal executions. The average age of death was about 35. However, of those
gunman who used their skills on the side of the law, they would persistently live longer lives than those that lived a life of crime.
During these violent days, most of the shootings occurred in
Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, California, Missouri, and Colorado.
©
Kathy Weiser/Legends
of America, updated
August, 2011.
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