And his tally of up to 70 killed men made him deadlier than just about any Wild West gunfighter.įrank Hamer. But if we accept all known accounts as true, Frank Hamer still went through more than twice the combined number of gunfights that three of the Old West’s most famous characters had participated in. To put that in perspective, if we add up all the gunfights that Old West legends Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, and Billy the Kid took part in, the total comes to a possible maximum of 21 gunfights.Įmphasis should be placed on the word “possible” when it comes to Earp, Hickok, and the Kid, because some of those legendary figures’ gunfight accounts rest on shaky grounds. In a law enforcement career that lasted for nearly half a century, Frank Hamer survived 52 gunfights, was wounded 23 times in the line of duty, killed between 53 and 70 men, and was declared dead not once, nor even twice, but four times. The American West Lawman Who Survived an Ungodly Number of Gunfights That colored man caused me to be living today“.įrank Hamer, right, circa 1900. He was saved by a black field hand, and never forgot it until his dying day: “ A colored man was the best friend I ever had in my life. In retaliation, McSween shot Hamer in the back and left side of the head, and left him for dead. At age sixteen, while working on a ranch belonging to a Dan McSween, the proprietor offered him $150 to shoot a business associate. Raised in a devoutly religious family, he wanted to become a preacher when he grew up.
OUTLAWS OF THE OLD WEST CHEATS CRACK
Hamer was born in Texas in 1884, and in his youth, he was noted for keen intelligence, a photographic memory, and was a crack shot with a pistol. His career thus witnessed the transformation of law enforcement from that of legendary Old West lawmen, to the era of modern policing. By the time he retired in 1949, lawmen were part of an established bureaucracy of law enforcement, went from thither to yon by automobiles, used airplanes, and communicated via radios and wireless devices. Policing was minimal and often ad hoc, and sheriffs routinely rounded up posses when extra bodies were needed. When Francis “Frank” Augustus Hamer began his career in law enforcement in Texas in 1905, lawmen still chased cattle rustlers, bandits, and other outlaws across the West on horseback. The Lawman Whose Career Marked the Transition From the Old West to the Modern Era A young Frank Hamer, left, became a legendary lawman of the American West. Following are thirty things about some of the more fascinating lawmen and outlaws of the Old West. Still, the American West could get rough, and plenty of notorious outlaws gave often only slightly less notorious lawmen all the work they could handle to impose law and order.
Indeed, shootouts were often deadlier for bystanders than the participants, and gunslingers preferred to shoot their victims in the back when possible – it was safer for the shooter. The Old West was not all shootouts and gunslingers engaged in quick draw duels on Main Street.
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