The son of a Methodist preacher, Hardin was taught at home by his father and also at a school where his father taught. Hardin tried to run off and join the Confederate forces in 1862, but was dissuaded by his father. He killed his first man when he was 15 and then killed three Union soldiers who pursued him. During the early 1870s, Hardin is said to have killed over thirty men. He worked as a cowboy and trail boss and was an avid gambler. Many of his confrontations were the result of gambling and heavy drinking. He was finally arrested in 1878 and sentenced to 25 years in Huntsville Prison. After numerous failed escape attempts, Hardin began studying law and, when he was released early in 1894, passed the Texas State bar examination. In March 1894, he received an official pardon from the governor of Texas. He moved to El Paso in 1895 and argued with John Selman Jr., a lawman who had arrested and fined Hardin's mistress for brandishing a gun in public. Selman's father, John Sr., then had a heated argument with Hardin and later that evening, while Hardin played dice, Selman shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly, and then shot him in the body three times as he lay on the floor. Hardin had written his autobiography while in prison, a mixture of fact and fantasy, which was published posthumously in 1896. Hardin had become known as the most deadly gunman in Texas. |
