In this collection of colorized photos, let's take a brief look at the life of John Wesley Hardin, a notorious gunslinger who was not only good-looking but was educated and ruthless, too. Oh, and a pathological liar. Let’s not forget that he was a pathological liar, too.

A Teenaged Killer

Texas-born John Wesley Hardin was trouble from a young age, even though his father was a Methodist preacher, and his mother was described as “cultured and refined”. When he was 14 years old, another student at his school accused him of writing vulgar graffiti about a female classmate on the wall. A fight broke out and the other student drew a knife. Hardin disarmed the boy, then stabbed him with his own knife, nearly killing him.

The following year, when Hardin was 15, he killed his first man. According to the story, Hardin beat a former slave in a wrestling match, but the former slave was upset about the defeat. The next day, as Hardin rode by on his horse, the angry man ambushed him and brandished a stick. Hardin drew his revolver and shot the man, killing him.

He fled and went into hiding after the incident. As lawmen tracked him down and moved in to arrest him, he shot and killed four of them and began living as a fugitive from justice. 

In August of 1871, John Wesley Hardin even killed a man for snoring too loudly. The incident happened in Abilene, Kansas, at the American House Hotel. Hardin, his cousin, Gip Clements, and his cousin’s friend Charles Cougar, spent the evening drinking and gambling before retiring for the night. Hardin and his cousin shared a room and Cougar had the room next to theirs. In the middle of the night, Hardin was awakened by loud snoring coming from Cougar’s room. He pounded on the wall and shouted for him to roll over, but the snoring continued. Hardin, still drunk and annoyed that he couldn’t sleep, fired his gun into the wall separating the rooms. The snoring stopped. The next morning, Cougar was found dead with a bullet through his heart. Even though Hardin stated that his intention was simply to wake the snoring man, not kill him, he still earned a reputation for being so mean that he shot a man for snoring too loud.

Life on the Run … until He Was Caught

For the next several years, John Wesley Hardin lived his life on the run. But he wasn’t keeping a low profile. He killed several men – lawmen, fellow outlaws, cattle rustlers, cheating gamblers, and anyone who crossed him.

When he was captured in 1877 at the age of 23, he was known to have killed 27 people, but Hardin claimed that number was much higher. He said he murdered 42 people. Hardin had a reputation for lying and exaggerating. Since many of his claims could not be corroborated, he was not blamed for the other murders. Despite his high body county, Hardin’s murder trial ended in a sentence of 24 years in prison. He actually only served about 18 years. During his time in prison, Hardin wrote his autobiography, which is filled with outlandish and unsubstantiated claims. He also used the time to study law. He was released from prison on February 17, 1894, when he was 40 years old and still quite handsome. 

A few months after he was released from prison, John Wesley Hardin took and passed the bar exam. He received his license to practice law. On January 9, 1895, he married a 15-year-old girl named Callie Lewis, although the couple separated a short time later. Hardin moved to El Paso and took up with a prostitute named M’Rose.

In August of 1895, M’Rose was arrested for brandishing a gun in public. The arresting officer was John Selman, Jr. Hardin confronted the officer about the arrest and Hardin ended up pistol-whipping the young man. John Selman, Sr., a constable, former outlaw, and expert gunslinger, later approached Hardin and the two men exchanged angry words. Later that night, Hardin was at the Acme Saloon, enjoying a game of craps, when the senior Selman walked into the establishment, approached Hardin from behind, and shot him in the back of the head at point-blank range. Hardin fell to the floor and Selman pumped him with three more bullets, just for good measure.

John Selman, Sr. was arrested and stood trial for killing the dishy outlaw, John Wesley Hardin. He got off because he claimed the shooting was in self-defense. Even though he approached Hardin from behind and, in all likelihood, Hardin didn’t even know he had entered the saloon, Selman maintained that he saw Hardin reach for his gun so he fired in self-defense.