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August 23, 1877 — John Wesley Hardin Is Finally Caught For years, John Wesley Hardin had managed to stay one step ahead of the law. That changed on August 23, 1877. Hardin was one of the most notorious gunmen of the Old West—and by 1874, he was a wanted man after the killing of Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb in Comanche, Texas. Rather than stick around and face a Texas courtroom, Hardin disappeared. The hunt eventually fell to Texas Ranger John B. Armstrong, who followed Hardin'

August 2, 1876 On this day in 1876, one of the American West's greatest legends came to a sudden end. James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok was sitting in a saloon in the rough mining town of Deadwood, Dakota Territory, playing a friendly game of poker. It wasn't where he liked to sit. Wild Bill preferred facing the door so he could keep an eye on who was coming and going, but that seat was already taken. Moments later, a drifter named Jack McCall walked up behind him and fired a s

HAPPY 150TH BIRTHDAY COLORADO

What REALLY made the West "WILD"?