Texas Jack Omohundro
| Texas Jack Omohundro | |
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| Born |
John Baker Omohundro July 26, 1846 Pleasure Hill, VA |
| Died | June 28, 1880 (aged 33) Leadville, CO |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation | Scout, Cowboy, Hunter, Actor |
| Spouse(s) | Giuseppina Morlacchi |
| Children | Texas Jack Jr., adopted son |
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John Baker Omohundro (July 26, 1846 – June 28, 1880), also known as "Texas Jack," was a frontier scout, actor, and cowboy.
He was born at Pleasure Hill, near Palmyra, Virginia, to John B. and Catherine Omohundro. In his early teens, he left home, made his way alone to Texas, and became a cowboy. He was unable to join the Confederate Army in 1861 because of his youth but, in 1864, he enlisted in Gen. J.E.B. Stuart's command as a courier and scout.
After the American Civil War, Omohundro resumed his life as a Texas cowboy. He participated in early cattle drives, notably on the Chisholm Trail. On one drive across Arkansas to meat-short Tennessee, grateful citizens nicknamed him "Texas Jack."
Shortly after the Civil War, Omohundro adopted a five-year-old boy whose parents had been killed by Native Americans. He cared for him and called him Texas Jack Jr., since his real last name was unknown.
In 1869, he moved to Cottonwood Springs, Nebraska, near Fort McPherson and became a scout and buffalo hunter. There he met William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody. Together, they participated in Indian skirmishes and buffalo hunts, acted as guides for notables such as the Earl of Dunraven, and led the highly publicized royal hunt of 1872 with Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia and a group of prominent American military figures.
Omohundro and Cody traveled to Chicago in December 1872 to debut in The Scouts of the Prairie, one of the original Wild West shows produced by Ned Buntline. Critics described Omohundro as physically impressive and magnetic in personality. He was the first performer to introduce roping acts to the American stage. During the 1873-74 season, Omohundro and Cody invited their friend James Butler Wild Bill Hickok to join them in a new play called Scouts of the Plains.
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Wikipedia