Gunfighters of the West

By William Howard

Ride the trail with William Howard as he tells the story of famous and not-so famous gunfighters of the old American West.
Among the gunfighters are the stories of Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickcok, Doc Holliday, Jesse James, John Wesley Hardin, Cullen Baker, Johnny Ringo, Bill Doolin and others. Each story is fast paced and no myths are included, only facts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Howard
• Release date: Nov 17, 2016
• ISBN: 9781370697571

William Howard

William Howard was born and raised in Colorado. He has been on faculty at Western Michigan University and Northern Michigan University. He holds a Doctorate in Special Education and worked in public education for 26 years. He travels often to Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, New Mexico and Arizona.

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Gunfighters of the West

A Novel by

William Howard

Copyright 2016 by William Howard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission from William Howard, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

All images, logos, quotes, and trademarks included in this book are subject to use according to trademark and copyright laws of the United States of America.

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Table of Contents

The Outlaw Billy the Kid: A Short Novel

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Wild Bill Hickok: Lawman & Legend

Doc Holliday: The Deadly Dentist

Jesse James: The Missouri Outlaw

The Outlaw John Wesley Hardin

Cullen Baker: The Texas Outlaw

Johnny Ringo: The Cowboy King

John King Fisher: The Fast Gunslinger

Luke Short: The Sporting Man

William Preston Longley: Bloody Bill

James Brown Miller: Deacon Jim

Crawford Goldsby: Cherokee Bill

Tom Horn: The Grim Reaper of the Rockies

Bill Doolin: King of the Oklahoma Outlaws

The Outlaw Billy the Kid: A Short Novel

Chapter One

He’s dead.

Are you sure?

Yes, I’m sure. Sheriff Garrett shot El Chivato dead just above the heart. All we can do now is mourn him.

The senoritas all cried hard. They took the Kid’s body across the plaza and placed it in a carpenter’s shop on a table. Washing the body clean they put new clothes on him. His friends put burning candles around the dead body and held a wake for the Kid.

An angry crowd outside hacienda demanded Sheriff Pat Garrett and his deputy be hanged for the ruthless assassination. They threw insults at the sheriff and deputy who took refuge in Maxwell’s hacienda until the next morning.

Billy the Kid had died at the age of 21. One day later they buried Billy the Kid near the hacienda next to his friend Tom O’Phalliard. One of the Kid’s lovers, Deluvina Maxwell put up a white cross at the head of his grave that read: Duerme bien Querido (Sleep well, beloved).

The news of his death spread rapidly across the United States. Some cheered but many mourned the Kid, especially in the Mexican community. This is his story ...

Chapter Two

When the Antrim’s small family moved to the booming town of Silver City in 1870, it had stores, a livery stable, blacksmith’s shops, a shoe store, a paint shop, three dance halls and fifteen saloons. Located in the southwestern part of the Territory of New Mexico, the city was near rolling and picturesque hills covered with pine, cedar and oak trees.

The three most popular saloons were the Blue Goose, Red Onion and the more refined Orleans Club, which catered to high rollers. Bartenders were available twenty-four hours a day to serve the thirsty miners and cowboys. Prostitutes openly roamed through the streets of Silver City and were a fixture at saloons.

Henry’s stepfather, William Antrim, was a frugal man who frequented the town’s gambling tables. He also spent a great deal of time prospecting at Pinos Altos, Chloride Flats and other areas near the southwestern areas of the Arizona Territory. As a result of his prospecting pursuit she seldom came home.

Due to a housing shortage, the Antrims lived in a small log cabin but felt lucky, because most of the newcomers settled for tents.

Henry and Joe were brothers and went to school together. Joe sat in the back of the classroom with the older students while the much smaller Henry was placed in the front with younger classmates. One day after school they came home together and played outside of the cabin.

The boys’ mother Catherine, an Irish woman, always greeted the boys and their friends with a smile. The cookie jar she kept in the kitchen never became empty. Her reputation as a cook and especially a baker was known throughout Silver City.

Time to wash up for dinner, she called out to both young lads.

As they cleaned up, older and bigger boy, named Joe, said, At school today Henry chased a girl with a dead mouse. He is always teasing someone.

Henry, did you do that? asked his mother.

Yes, I guess I did, he admitted. But I didn’t put a snake in the teacher’s desk drawer like I was going to do today.

It’s no wonder why the Mexican children call you El Chivato, which means The Rascal."

Changing the subject, Henry asked, Where is our stepfather?

He left again to do some silver prospecting south of here. I don’t know when he will be back, said Catherine, coughing hard.

He’s always gone, said Joseph.

I know, agreed Catherine. Maybe someday he’ll strike it rich.

I doubt it, the older brother said. He would gamble it away if he ever did find silver.

Then Henry looked concerned, saying, Mom, the kids at school call you a lunger. Are you going to die soon?

Lunger is a slang word for consumption. We don’t use that word in this home. As for dying, I guess we all will die someday, Catherine explained to the boys.

Catherine was battling a chronic respiratory illness. That’s why the family had moved to the Southwest from Kansas to the New Mexico Territory. Despite the dry climate, everyday her health continued to deteriorate and became progressively worse. Acid fumes from a smelter in Silver City added to her health problems. Still, her small family was not rich but had a roof over their heads.

A knock on the cabin’s front door interrupted dinner. Catherine answered the door. Hello, she said to the stranger.

Mrs. Antrim, I heard you sell baked goods, the stranger told her, knowing she had a talent for cooking and baking.

Yes, I do. Today I have sweet rolls, cakes, cookies and bread. Come in and look them over, she offered.

The man entered the cabin and bought all four of the baked goods. Pleased with his purchase, he said thank you and left eager to eat the sweets. It was through baking that she supported her family.

Boys, finish up your dinner now. There is a big baile tonight at the main dance hall. It would be fun if we went for the evening, said Catherine.

That night, Catherine’s bad cough settled down to nothing. She and her boys sang and danced. There were elaborate ballroom dances that frequently changed partners. The musicians played on guitars, horns, violins, harps and drums from a raised platform. Called bailes, they were often held at McCarthy’s hall. Henry’s favorite song was Turkey in the Straw. Many of the townspeople danced into the wee hours of the night. After a long evening the, Antrims finally went home.

The school principal and teacher rented McGary’s Hall on Main Street to hold classes. When Catherine met with the headmaster she always got a good report card for Henry’s academic work. The headmaster said, Henry does excellent work in arithmetic, geography, grammar, reading and penmanship. He is a bright scholar, has good manners and is polite. Although he is slender and slight he is active as a cat and the other schoolmates realize he has genuine courage. I want to include him in our new play, ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin.’ The proceeds will go to build a new school.

I know he likes school and Henry reads at home, said Catherine. He loves to sing at the school’s minstrel shows. The problem is he is associating with some misfits who are teaching him how to gamble and shoot a gun. His proudest possession is a deck of Mexican cards. He learned how to play Monte and gamble at the saloons. I’m worried about him when I die.

That evening Henry sang a sentimental song called, Silver Threads among the Gold at a minstrel show put on by the school. The song told the story of two people facing fear and denial while growing old. Its lyrics went like this:

Darling, I am growing old,

Silver Threads among the Gold,

Shine upon my brow today,

Life is fading fast away;

But my darling you will be,

Always young and fair to me,

Yes, my darling you will be,

Always young and fair to me.

When Henry and Joseph got home from school one day, their mother announced, We are going to the Apache Tajo for a while and try to regain my health in the hot springs.

They packed some belongings and left for Apache Wells, but Catherine’s dry coughing grew worse. Her body began wasting away as she continually hacked up bloody sputum. A friend of Catherine, named Clara Truesdell, had graduated from nursing school in Chicago and cared the sick woman for months.

In the presence of her two boys at her bedside, Catherine took her last gasping breath and her life ended at 45 years old. Her husband William was not there at her bedside when she died and missed the funeral, while searching for riches he never