392

HARDIN, JOHN WESLEY

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:1,500.00 USD Estimated At:3,000.00 - 4,000.00 USD
HARDIN, JOHN WESLEY
<b>392. JOHN WESLEY HARDIN</b> (1853 - 1895) Western frontier gunman said to have gunned-down over thirty men, including several sheriffs along the Chisholm Trail. Finally captured by Texas Rangers, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and spent much of his time learning law and managing the prison Sunday school. However, shortly after his release he returned to his old ways, holding up a faro game and soon thereafter was shot in the back of the head by gunslinger John Selman. A great D.S. "<i>J. W. Hardin</i>", 2pp. legal folio, [Texas, ca. 1872], a page from a cattle brand book listing several dozen brands, the age of the steer so branded, with the owner's signature beside each entry, in Hardin's case, he was owner of record of a three-year-old steer. In October, 1872 Hardin broke jail after his arrest for various murders, and tried his hand at stock raising, with little success. The document is additionally signed "<i>M. Clements</i>" ten times; most likely by Hardin's relative and later Pecos City deputy, with additional signatures of cattleman <b>JOSEPH MCCOY</b>. Some glue remnants along left margin, some soiling yet overall very good. A great association piece from the bloodiest time of Hardin's career.<b>$3,000-4,000</b>