Tom Horn
| Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 21, 1860 Scotland County, Missouri |
| Died | November 20, 1903 (aged 42) Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Resting place | Columbia Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Tom Hale |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | US Army Scout, lawman, cowboy, detective, assassin |
| Years active | 1876–1903 |
| Employer | Pinkerton Detective Agency |
| Notable work | Assisted in the capture of Geronimo, disputably killed Willie Nickell |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) |
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg) |
Thomas "Tom" Horn, Jr. (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American Old West scout, who carried out varied roles as hired gunman, Pinkerton, range detective, cowboy, and soldier. Believed to have committed 17 murders as a hired gunman in the West, in 1902 Horn was convicted of the murder of 14-year-old Willie Nickell near Iron Mountain, Wyoming. Willie was the son of sheep rancher Kels Nickell, who had been involved in a range feud with neighbor and cattle rancher Jim Miller. On the day before his 43rd birthday, Horn was executed by hanging in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
While in jail he wrote his autobiography, Life of Tom Horn: Government Scout and Interpreter (1904), which was published posthumously. Numerous editions have been published of this book since the late 20th century, and debate continues as to whether he really was guilty of Nickell's murder.
Known as "Tom," he was born in 1860 to Thomas S. Horn, Sr. and Mary Ann Maricha (née Miller) on their family farm in rural northeastern Scotland County, Missouri. They had 600 acres (bisected by the South Wyaconda River), located between the towns of Granger and Etna. Tom was the fifth of twelve children. During his childhood, the young Tom suffered physical abuse from his father, and his only companion as a child was a dog named Shedrick. The dog was tragically killed when the young Tom got into a fight with two boys, who proceeded to beat Tom and killed the dog with a shotgun.
Horn allegedly killed his first man in a duel— a second lieutenant in the Mexican Army, whom he killed as a result of a dispute with a prostitute. At sixteen, Horn headed to the American Southwest, where he was hired by the U.S. Cavalry as a civilian scout, packer and interpreter under Al Sieber during the Apache Wars. Horn did a great job in his work for the army, and soon he rose through the ranks. In one instance, as Sieber, Horn, and the army were crossing the Cibicue Creek, they were ambushed by Apaches warriors positioned on high ground. The officer in charge of their squad, Captain Edmund Hentig, was instantly killed, and the men became pinned down under overwhelming fire. Desperate, Sieber ordered Horn and another scout, Mickey Free, to break away and return fire from a hill. Together with the soldiers, the men managed to repel the attack. Tom Horn and Al Sieber participated during the Battle of Big Dry Wash, and gained recognition when he and Lt. George H. Morgan slipped through the banks opposite of the Apache line, and provided covering fire for the cavalry as well as killing a number of Apaches warriors.
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