Tag Archives: John Wesley Hardin

Today in Texas History – April 5

From the Annals of the Gunslingers –  In 1896, U.S. deputy marshal George A. Scarborough shot John Selman in El Paso.  Selman was a notorious gunman and gambler. Selman was perhaps best known as the man who killed John Wesley Hardin in 1895.  Selman, as Constable of El Paso, had also shot and killed former Texas Ranger Bass Outlaw on April 5, 1894 after Outlaw killed Texas Ranger Joe McKirdict.  Outlaw had been a close friend to Scarborough.  Selman was tried for the shooting and found not guilty.  On the second anniversary of Outlaw’s death, Scarborough called out Selman into the alley behind the Wigwam Saloon.   An argument ensued followed by a fight.  Scarborough claimed both drew their guns, and that he then fatally shot Selman. Selman died the next day. No gun was found on Selman’s body.  Scarborough was indicted for murder.  Conveniently before the trial, a thief was arrested who claimed to have stolen Selman’s gun immediately after the supposed gun fight. Scarborough was acquitted but was forced to resign his position as deputy marshal.    April 5 was an auspicious day for Scarborough. As with many of his ilk, he died at the end of a muzzle.  He died at his home in Deming, New Mexico on April 5, 1900 following a gun fight with cattle rustlers in Arizona.

Photo of U.S. Marshall George Scarborough from murderpedia.org

Today in Texas History – July 23

From the Annals of the Outlaws –   In 1877, Texas Rangers captured outlaw John Wesley Hardin in Pensacola, Florida. The Rangers finally caught up with Hardin when an undercover ranger intercepted a letter that was sent to Hardin’s father-in-law by his brother-in-law, the outlaw Joshua Robert “Brown” Bowen. The letter disclosed that Hardin was hiding out on the Alabama-Florida border under the assumed name of “James W. Swain”.  When Hardin realized he was in danger of capture, he attempted to draw a gun, but got it caught in his suspenders He was brought back to Texas and  tried at Comanche for the murder of Charles Webb and was sentenced to 25 years in Huntsville prison. Hardin served 17 years and was released at the age of 40.  He obtained a pardon, passed the bar and obtained a law license.  He practiced law in Gonzales for a time.  He moved to El Paso where he was shot dead in a bar in Constable John Selman, Sr. after a dispute over the arrest of Hardin’s friend and part-time prostitute the Widow M’Rose.