Tom Horn’s job was to prevent cattle rustling. He was a cowboy and professional gunman hired by a group of cattlemen in southeastern Wyoming. Horn is said to have boasted that “killing men is my specialty. I look upon it as a business proposition and I think I have a corner on this market”.
In 1901 Horn was accused of murdering 14-year-old Willie Nickell. Nickell’s father was the owner of a sheep ranch in Laramie County. Horn confessed to the killing under somewhat dubious circumstances. Part of his confession included the claim that “it was the best shot I ever made but the dirtiest trick I ever did.”
The trial lasted 4 days and Horn was convicted of first-degree murder, in part because of his reputation and his propensity to brag about his skills as a marksman and a cowboy. Horn was hanged in 1903.
Learn more about the life and death of Tom Horn in the T. Blake Kennedy papers at UW’s American Heritage Center.