Old Taos, New Mexico.
“Colonel” Thomas Means was a bully and a very mean man who lived in Taos, New Mexico, before meeting his just end at the hands of vigilante citizens.
A surveyor by profession, Means came to the New Mexico Territory soon after the inauguration of American civil government. He lived in Colfax County for some time and, for years, was involved in many of the events of the Colfax County War, which is part of the history of the famous Maxwell Land Grant.
He eventually settled in Taos, creating a continuous atmosphere of misery for everyone who came into contact with him. His insolent and confrontational nature frequently led him into trouble, making him such a nuisance to the more peaceable residents that drastic measures became necessary. He not only grossly insulted and often attacked anyone within his reach but also physically assaulted his wife so severely on several occasions that her life was in jeopardy.
Finding that the courts of justice were of no avail, several citizens in 1868 decided to organize the typical frontier institution known as a Vigilance Committee to end “Colonel” Means and all his meanness. Though the vigilantes warned him of his inevitable fate if he continued in his violent actions, Means ignored the threat. On January 2, 1867, when he drew his knife, fired his pistol at several people, and assaulted and nearly killed his wife following a “big spree,” he was arrested.
Vigilantes.
That night, a group of 15-20 heavily armed men “in disguise” entered the room where Means was being held and forcibly removed from the custody of his guards. The men then carried him to an adjoining room, which served as the county courthouse, and hanged him from a heavy rafter.
The coroner’s jury described Means as “not deserving of the sympathy of anyone, being as he was altogether a dangerous character, continually threatening the lives of peaceable citizens, without distinction and even the lives of members of his own family and innocent children.” The conclusion was that Means had died at the hands of “persons unknown.”
The following day, the community celebrated the swift removal of one of its most disagreeable and dangerous members. This marked the end of the career of a man once one of the most well-known and influential figures in northern New Mexico.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated March 2026.
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