Tom Horn

Born: November 21, 1860, near Memphis, Scotland County, Missouri
Died: November 20, 1903 (age 42), Cheyenne, Wyoming

Tom Horn was an American Old West lawman, scout, soldier, hired gunman, detective, outlaw and assassin. On the day before his 43rd birthday, he was hanged for murder.

What do you know about Tom Horn? Try this US Old West History Made Easy Quiz. "Check Your Answers" at the end of the page.

1. At sixteen, he headed to the American Southwest, where he joined the US Cavalry as a scout and became involved in the Apache Wars.

Fact or Myth?

2. What Arizona range was is Horn suppose to have participated in?

Hooker-Parker Feud
Pleasant Valley War
Apache Pass War

3. He worked in Colorado for a time as a deputy sheriff, where he drew the attention of the Pinkerton detective agency due to his abilities in tracking. He was hired by the agency around late 1889 or early 1890. In his four years of employment with the Pinkerton Detective Agency, how many men did Horn kill?

Seventeen men
Five men
Ten men

4. In 1894, he is terminated from employment. What was the reason?

Committed robbery
Killing on American Indian
Shooting his boss

5. He hired out as a range detective for various wealthy ranchers in Wyoming and Colorado, specifically during the , when he worked for the Wyoming Stock Grower's Association during what range war?

Cowboy War
Coyote Range War
Johnson County War

6. During his involvement in the Wilcox Train Robbery investigation, Horn obtained information from explosives expert Bill Speck that revealed which of the robbers had killed Sheriff Josiah Hazen, who had been shot and killed during the pursuit of the robbers. Who was believed to have killed Sheriff Hazen?

Butch Cassidy
Sundance Kid
Kid Curry

7. In 1898, he joined the Army to fight in Cuba during the Spanish-American war. He never made it to Cuba because what did he contract?

malaria
measles
mumps

8. In 1901, Horn began working for wealthy cattle baron John C. Coble. On July 19, 1901, Horn happened to be in the area where Willie Nickell, the 14-year-old son of a sheep herding rancher, was murdered. It occurred in the Iron Mountain country of Wyoming. In 1903, who arrested Horn for the murder?

Joe Lefors
Buckey O'Neill
Tim McCoy

9. On the morning of November 20, 1903, after a large breakfast, Tom Horn was led to the gallows, where straps were buckled around his arms and legs. By all accounts, Tom was the least nervous of anyone at the event, even to the point of joking with the sheriffs gathered to witness the hanging. A noose was fitted around his neck, and the bound man was lifted onto the trap-door, which started the 'machine'. Thirty-one seconds later, the trap doors opened and the life of the range detective was over.

Fact or Myth?

10. Where is Tom Horn buried?

Columbia Cemetery, Boulder, Colorado
Mount Washington Cemetery, Independence, Missouri
Forest Park Cemetery, Houston, Texas

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