![]() ![]() According to Great Gunfighters of the Wild West, Hardin used shoulder holsters instead of carrying his pistols at the waist. ![]() Part of his secret was the unorthodox way in which he carried his guns. Wes Hardin became an expert quickdraw, shooter, and killer. John Wesley Hardin carried his guns in an unusual manner. Related read: 9 Curious Facts About Annie Oakley, Sharpshooter Extraordinaire 3. While in the antebellum South Hardin may have expected leniency on the part of white authorities, this was no longer the case. Hardin then fled because Union soldiers occupied Texas at that time, and he believed he would not receive a fair trial for killing an African American.Īnother account recorded by a Freedmen Bureau Agent, however, described how Hardin shot Maje simply because the freedman objected to Hardin’s abuses. With help, Hardin returned to find Maje mortally wounded. Hardin then shot him and fled the scene looking for help. He then proceeded to chase Hardin with a stick and attacked. They were separated, but later Hardin on his horse, “Old Paint,” overtook Maje on the road.Īccording to Hardin, Maje accused him of cowardice. The two had apparently been involved in a wrestling match that turned heated, and nearly deadly. Hardin’s first murder was in 1868, when he killed a freedman known as “Maje” who was named after his former owner, Claiborne C. John Wesley Hardin murdered his first man at age 15.īy Hardin’s account, his first major act of violence occurred when he stabbed one classmate nearly to death in a fight that involved a girl. Related read: 20 Wild West Towns that are Still Inhabited Today - and Well Worth Visiting 2. He was also a child of the Civil War (Hardin wanted to enlist in the Confederate army at age nine), followed by the unstable period of Reconstruction.īut excusing what were at least 20 murders – Hardin himself claimed 44 – is difficult at best. It’s true that Wes Hardin grew up in dangerous times: he witnessed his first murder at the age of eight. In classic enabler fashion, his family discounted or at least excused the many murders their son seemed destined to commit, believing his excuse that they were all in self-defense. ![]() Wes, as he was usually called according to A Lawless Breed, was a beloved child. His father, Reverend John Gibson Hardin, and mother, Mary Elizabeth Dixon, had high hopes for their second son, whom they named after John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist branch of Protestantism. John Wesley Hardin was born in Bonham, Texas in 1853. It may come as a surprise, but one of the most prolific killers of the Old West was named after a man of the cloth. John Wesley Hardin’s dad wanted him to be a preacher. Let’s take a look at eight interesting facts about one of the Old West’s most infamous outlaws. Heck, his business card was even featured in Pawn Stars.Īnd those of a certain age may remember Hardin from old Time-Life book commercials which prominently featured the cold-blooded gunslinger for shooting a man just for snoring. Over the past centuries, Hardin made many appearances in literature and film, from Larry McMurty’s Streets of Laredo to numerous appearances on television where he has been loosely portrayed. John Wesley Hardin was one of the Old West’s most notorious killers: a ruthless outlaw who once killed a man just for snoring.Ī murderer to most, a folk hero to some, but one of the true legends of the Old West was the violent gunslinger John Wesley Hardin. ![]()
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