Tom Horn Artifacts at the Wyoming State Museum

By Evan Green, Firearms Historian

Tom Horn is one of the most controversial persons in Wyoming history. Born in Missouri in 1860, he left home as a teenager and worked as a freighter, cowboy and prospector before going to Arizona in 1881.  After arriving at the San Carlos Apache Reservation, he worked as a livestock herder and mule packer supporting the 3rd and 6th U.S. Cavalry in their pursuit of renegade Apaches who were raiding ranches, wagon trains and stage stations. Horn was eventually promoted to Chief of Scouts in 1885.

When Geronimo and the last of the renegades surrendered in 1886, Horn again worked as a cowboy, a deputy sheriff, and tried to start his own ranch. In 1890, he was hired as an operative for the Pinkerton Detective Agency. He arrived in Wyoming in 1892 and went to work as a stock detective for the cattle barons. He is credited with killing 17 alleged rustlers; perhaps two or four of the total were innocent men killed by mistake.

On July 18, 1901, 14-year-old Willie Nickell, son of an Iron Mountain sheep rancher, was shot from ambush and killed. Horn was convicted of the murder and hanged in Cheyenne on Nov. 20, 1903. His guilt is still debated today.

The Wyoming State Museum received its first “Tom Horn artifact” in 1920 and has accumulated almost 20 items alleged to be associated with the range detective and serial killer, the most recent arriving in 2021. In most cases, the Horn connection is based on the claim of the donor with no supporting documentation.

In the summer of 2024, I was asked by Museum staff to investigate the provenance of those artifacts. I utilized Museum records, several books on Tom Horn, records in the State Archives and multiple online sources. I consulted with archaeologists in the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources on specific artifacts. The goal was to determine which of the items could honestly be exhibited as connected to Tom Horn.

The following artifacts were eliminated from future exhibits.

Colt Single Action Army Revolver G-1995.80.1

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closeup of revolver

The serial number revealed this handgun was shipped in late 1907, four years after Horn was executed. Holsters and gun belts included in this accession were discounted because of the association with the revolver.

Smith & Wesson New Model Navy Revolver G-2021.48.1

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Revolver closeup

 The donor claimed this firearm was traded by Tom Horn to a Wyoming attorney in exchange for legal defense. None of the details in the story could be confirmed.

Handcuffs G-1920.45.6

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curved metal pieces linked with short chain

Donor “believed” these were used on Horn at the time of his arrest. Laramie County Sheriff Ed Smalley arrested Tom at the Inter Ocean Hotel on Jan. 13, 1902. In an interview reported in the 1941 Annals of Wyoming, Smalley said: “He came along with me without any protest whatsoever. I didn’t even put the cuffs on him.” 

 

Rawhide and Horsehair

Horn was reported to be accomplished artisan braiding rawhide and horsehair into ropes, bridles, hackamores and other horse gear. Multiple examples of work in horsehair are claimed to have been made by Horn, many while he was in jail.

Horsehair Bridle G-1971.59.1

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String-like bridle of braided fibers with spiral designs and pattern

The donor of this handsome bridle claimed it was made by Horn while he was in the Laramie County Jail awaiting execution. Ned Martin, author of Horsehair Bridles: A Unique American Folk Art, examined this artifact while doing research for his book. He said the bridle was obviously fashioned in a penitentiary, possibly the Montana State Prison at Deer Lodge, and could not have been made by Tom Horn.

“Horsehair” Quirt  G-1971.59.2

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a long quirt (short whip)

Donor said this quirt was made by Horn in the Laramie County Jail. Most of the fibers are nylon monofilament which wasn’t invented until 1935.

My research identified four artifacts which, with proper labeling and interpretation, can honestly be exhibited as associated with Tom Horn.

Horsehair Rope Remnant G-1953.36.1

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short piece of frayed rope

The specificity of details regarding this artifact lends credibility to its association with Tom Horn. Donor stated, “McMcarte (sic: McCarty from the Spanish mecate) made by Tom Horn in October 1901 behind a miner’s cabin below the Kite Ranch on the Laramie River on a stormy day when the cowboys were unable to work.”

Horsehair Hackamore G-1968.67.3

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long rope of varying thicknesses

This hackamore is in the “twisted” style of alternating white and black horsehair known to be used by Horn in a rope he made while incarcerated. The item has been used, damaged, repaired but can be attributed to Horn with reasonable certainty.

Horsehair Rope G-1939.14.1

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rope twisted onto itself, made of light and dark fibers

Willam “Billy” Clay owned a ranch west of Chugwater at the north end of the Iron Mountain range. When Horn was working in the area, Clay provided room and board. This rope is said to have been braided by Horn while staying at the ranch. Nanny Clay Steele donated the artifact in 1939 shortly after her brother died. The rope was in the same family from creation to donation.

Tom Horn’s Shoes  G-1958.47.1

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While not what might be the expected footwear for a range detective, these shoes were donated by the estate of T. Blake Kennedy, who was a member of Horn’s defense team at the Willie Nickell trial. Kennedy said the defense intended to introduce the shoes as evidence demonstrating that Horn’s shoes were larger than the tracks found at a couple of murder scenes.

Read Read Chip Carlson’s Opinion on Tom Horn

Check out Evan Green’s Firearms Friday Series with the State Museum