Criminals in American West

Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr (February 5, 1848 – February 3, 1889), better known as Belle Starr, was a notorious American outlaw. American outlaw Belle Starr was raised in relative wealth and affluence, but in her late teens she was romantically and criminally involved with Cole Younger of the Younger brothers and James brothers gangs. Belle Starr was clearly a criminal, and was prosecuted for several crimes including cattle rustling, robbery, and bootlegging, though she was convicted only of horse theft. For this she was sentenced to a year in prison, and released after nine months.

BELLE STAR

William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid and also known as Henry Antrim, was a 19th-century Irish American gunman who participated in the Lincoln County War and became a frontier outlaw in the American Old West. According to legend, he killed 21 men, but it is generally believed that he killed between four and nine. He killed his first man in 1877 at the age of 17, although he could have been as young as 15. He died from a shooting not with a revolver but a shotgun.

BILLY THE KID

James Butler Hickok, better known as "Wild Bill" Hickok, was a folk character of the American Old West. Although some of his exploits as reported at the time were fictionalized, his skills as a gunfighter and gambler, along with his reputation as a lawman, provided the basis for his enduring fame. A former buffalo hunter, Jack McCall, entered the saloon unnoticed by Hickok. McCall walked to within a few feet of Hickok, drew a pistol and shouted, "Damn you! Take that!" before firing at Hickok point blank.[ McCall's bullet hit Hickok in the back of the head, killing him instantly. The bullet emerged through Hickok's right cheek.

WILD BILL HICKOCK

John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon of the Old West. Hardin found himself in trouble with the law at an early age, and spent the majority of his life being pursued by both local lawmen and federal troops of the reconstruction era. He often used the residences of family and friends to hide out from the law. Hardin is known to have had at least one encounter with the well-known lawman, "Wild Bill" Hickok. When he was finally captured and sent to prison in 1878, Hardin claimed to have already killed 42 men, ] but newspapers of the era had attributed only 27 killings to him up to that point. While in prison, Hardin wrote a factually slanted autobiography, and studied law. He was released in 1894.

JOHN WESLEY HARDIN

Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847 – April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, gang leader, bank robber, train robber, and murderer from the state of Missouri and the most famous member of the James-Younger Gang. Already a celebrity when he was alive, he became a legendary figure of the Wild West after his death. Jesse and his brother Frank James were Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War. Barred by law from offering a sufficiently large reward, he had turned to the railroad and express corporations to put up a $5,000 bounty for each of them. On April 3, 1882, after eating breakfast, the Fords and James prepared to depart for another robbery. They went in and out of the house to ready the horses. As it was an unusually hot day, James removed his coat, then removed his firearms, lest he look suspicious. Noticing a dusty picture on the wall, he stood on a chair to clean it. Bob Ford shot James in the back of the head. James' two previous bullet wounds and partially missing middle finger served to positively identify the body.

JESSE JAMES

The James–Younger Gang was a notable 19th-century gang of American outlaws The James–Younger Gang was a notable 19th-

century gang of American outlaws.

JAMES YOUNGER GANG