During the Old West era railroads helped connect the
entire country, some of the biggest cities in America were built, and
America set its sights on becoming a coast-to-coast nation.But
the most famous figures of the era are still the gunslingers, the guys
(and a few gals) who liked to settle their disputes with six guns rather
than stern words.
Gunslingers such as Jesse James, Billy the Kid,
and "Wild Bill" Hickok came to represent the Wild in the Wild West,
capturing the imagination of people who lived in the civilized world
back east.
And yet many of the deadliest shootists from the Old
West were overshadowed by the more famous names mentioned above, despite
the massive body counts they had under their belt.
John
Wesley Hardin is said to be "the worst bad man that Texas ever
produced", who claimed to have killed 42 men and committed his first
murder when he was just 15 years old.
Hardin was so quick tempered he supposedly shot a man for snoring.
"Killin'
Jim" Miller is another deadly shootist time forgot, and despite being a
bit of a dandy he is thought to have gunned down close to 50 men in
cold blood.
Jim's life of crime began when he blew away his
sister's husband with a shotgun after a disagreement, and was known to
tell folks he would kill anyone for money, including politicians,
marshals and Sheriff Pat Garrett himself.
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