Horn was no Zane Greystyle romantic myth of the Old West, he was genuinely a daredevil, six-and-half feet tall, a crack shot and a fearless scout, tracker and Indian-fighter. He spent his boyhood on a farm in Missouri, but trekked to Kansas City in his teens and from there made his way to the Far West. As a scout he rode on the tracks of Geronimo, and later he was a range detective and an employee of the famous Pinkerton agency; finally he became a hired gun in the range wars between rival cattle barons. Horn killed several men without the law - what there was of it in Wyoming - showing much interest, but in 1903 he was accused of shooting a 13-year-old boy (which he denied to the end) and brought to trial. Sentenced to hanging, he managed to break jail but was recaptured and went calmly to the gallows before an enormous crowd; his funeral was equally spectacular. This is an absorbing piece of Wild West history, while the contemporary photos are quite fascinating.
B.F