Some people were born to be bad, regardless of who they tried to be. John Henry Selman, Sr. (1839-1896) was the El Paso Constable who killed Bas Outlaw and John Wesley Hardin, later to be shot dead by City Marshal George Scarborough. It takes a bad man to tame a bad town, and even in the 1890s, El Paso was was still pretty bad. Selman was just the man for the job, at first glance, but there was something wrong with him deep down, but few would know his history until long after his death in 1896. John Selman started off by joining the Confederacy shortly after the Civil War began. He deserted a couple years later and married Edna Degraffenried, the descendant of a Count. He was arrested for desertion, which could be punishable by death, but the war ended and he was pardoned. Later on, he worked as a cattle hide inspector, preventing cattle rustlers from selling stolen beef. But some people noticed that his own cattle herd began growing, and the brands were a little sketchy. His boss, ex Shackelford County Sheriff John Larn, was caught with several hides from stolen cattle. He was arrested, and vigilantes made up of friends of some of the people he and Selman had gunned down, shot Larn to death through the jails window. Its possible these were the friends of four cowboys he and Selman shot to death, as they slept in their bedrolls. Selman was up in Lincoln County, New Mexico while the Lincoln County War was going on, murdering, rustling, and raping with the best of them. He called his band of riders Selmans Scouts, but the people of Lincoln called them simply The Rustlers. They got run out of Lincoln County and took up their criminal profession near Fort Davis. He eventually had a part in just about every war, skirmish, or feud in west Texas. Until the Texas Rangers took him down. In 1880 he was arrested by Ranger Joe McKidrict and was sent off to jail. He escaped and made his way into Mexico. He opened up a saloon in San Pablo, Chihuahua but it failed and he had to go to work at a silver mine. By 1888 the old charges were dropped and he made his way up to the nearest boom town, El Paso. 1892 found him wearing the Constable badge in El Paso. It wasnt long before he made history by killing a drunk and maniacal Bas Outlaw. But not before Bas had gunned down Ranger Joe McKidrict. Yes, Selman was working alongside the man who had arrested him eight years prior. In 1895, John Selman killed John Wesley Hardin, but his sworn testimony was flawed, in that the way he described Hardin spinning around with his gun in his hand, ready to fire. If this was true, Selman had a magic gun, because the bullet flew past Hardin, turned around, and struck him in the back of the head. The jury surely knew his testimony was a lie, but they were glad Hardin was dead, so they acquitted Selman of murder. It seems karma was going to make sure Selman got what was coming to him, whether he wore a badge or not. John Henry Selman was killed in an alley next to the Wigwam Saloon, exactly two years after he killed Deputy Bas Outlaw. His killer, City Marshal George Scarborough, was acquitted of Selmans murder, despite the hole in the back of Selmans neck. Photos: Selman, Scarborough
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 04:00:56 +0000
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