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The
Three Guardsmen - This name was given in Old
West literature to describe the three effective
U.S. Deputy Marshals, Bill
Tilghman
(1854-1924),
Chris Madsen (1851-1944), and
Heck Thomas
(1850-1912). In 1889, this trio began the "cleaning up" of
Indian
Territory ,
which at the time, was known as a wild and lawless place. Working under
Judge Isaac
Parker in
Fort Smith,
Arkansas, the three men arrested more than 300
outlaws
in the next ten years and killed many others. Their main claim to fame was
their relentless pursuit of the members of the
Doolin-Dalton Gang, eliminating many of them systematically, and
apprehending those that would surrender.
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 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,
in the Vaudeville Theatre, in
revenge for the killing of Jack Harris.
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