Tom Horn: Competent and a Killer
Trailing Tom from Memphis, Missouri, to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Categories: Renegade Roads
By: Candy Moulton 07/01/2008
Incompetence is not a word to associate with Tom Horn, for from his teenage years until his death, he more than once proved he was the opposite. Of course, the area in which he showed the most competence (and for which he is best known) was in killing range rustlers from ambush.
Born in 1860 to Thomas and Mary Horn, then living in northeast Missouri where they farmed east of Memphis, Tom had two older brothers, Charles and William, and a sister Nancy, plus one brother who had died at a young age before Tom’s own birth. Later there would be other children in the family.
Tom began proving his competence at a young age, hunting with his loyal dog Shed. The boy, following an argument with and whipping by his father, struck off on his own at age 14. Traveling west, he first landed in Newton, Kansas, where he worked on the railroad. He and older brother Charles spent some time in the livery business in Kansas, but Tom was on his own by the time he struck Dodge City where he remained at least long enough to fight with some cowboys.
Headin’ to Dodge
To follow Tom Horn’s route today, start near Memphis, Missouri, and travel west on U.S. Highway 136 to Bellevue, Kansas. Then turn south on U.S. 81 to Newton, before driving west on U.S. 50 to Dodge City. This town is best known as a cowtown, and some businesses from that era have been recreated on Front Street; a city trolley tour will take you past all the historic sites.
Leaving Dodge City, Horn followed the old Santa Fe Trail route, which you can do by driving U.S. Highway 50 to La Junta, Colorado. Just west of Dodge City is an interpretive area where you can clearly see the ruts and swales left behind by the freight wagons traveling the Santa Fe Trail. Once at La Junta, turn southwest on U.S. 350 to Trinidad
before taking Interstate 25 to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Stagecoach Runs
Horn hit Santa Fe in late 1874, and by the following January had landed a job as a driver for the Overland Mail Stage Route, making a regular run between Santa Fe and Prescott, Arizona.
While Horn may not have spent much time enjoying the delights of Santa Fe—he was, after all, only about 15 years old at the time—this is a place you certainly want to explore. The Palace of the Governors has a historic and architectural appeal that resonates today, just as it would have during Horn’s time in the city. Now surrounded by eclectic shops selling art, jewelry and clothing, the Santa Fe Plaza intrigues and appeals to many tastes. You’ll find good dining, nearby lodging and local Indians selling their wares.
Horn first saw the open country west of Santa Fe from the seat of a stagecoach, but you can travel in modern style—in the air-conditioned comfort of your car. Even so, the scenery remains much the same: broad vistas and stunning buttes and bluffs where some of the native people live in homes/cities that have existed for centuries. Take Interstate 40 to Flagstaff, Williams and Ash Fork, Arizona, then turn south on Arizona Highway 89 to Prescott, the end of the line for Horn’s stagecoach run.
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