Isom Dart.
Isom Dart, also known as Ned Huddleston, was a prospector, cowboy, and outlaw in the American West.
Born into slavery in Arkansas in 1849, Ned helped Confederate soldiers steal food and goods during the Civil War. After being freed by the Emancipation Proclamation, he drifted into Texas and Mexico, working as a rodeo clown. However, he soon turned to cattle rustling in Mexico, moving the herds across the boundary and selling them in Texas. He tried to go straight many times but never entirely succeeded, always returning to rustling.
Over the years, he also worked as a prospector, broke broncos, and rode with the Gault Gang. In 1875, he moved to northwest Colorado, where he was involved in gambling and several fights. However, he tried to go straight again when he bought a ranch near Brown’s Hole and changed his name to Isom Dart. In 1899, during the Brown’s Park range war between the Two-Bar Ranch Cattle Company and area ranchers, he took up with Ann Bassett, a ranch owner and cattle rustler herself. Soon, the Two-Bar Ranch brought in Range Detective Tom Horn to suppress the cattle rustling and threaten the smaller ranches. In July, Dart received a note that he and certain other ranchers must leave the area. However, Dart chose to ignore the demand, and on the morning of October 3, Tom Horn shot him dead.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated May 2025.
Also See:
Adventures in the American West
Outlaws & Scoundrels Photo Gallery
See Sources.