Clay Allison & the Colfax County War

The Wild West Extravaganza

Wild West Josh

Education, History

4.8 • 667 Ratings

🗓️ 9 July 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Clay Allison might not be as famous as Billy the Kid or Jesse James, but he was every bit as deadly. He was also just a tad bit insane. Clay got his start riding for Nathan Bedford Forrest during the Civil War. Then, after a brief career as a Texas Cowboy, Clay drifted west and found himself knee-deep in the Colfax County War. From New Mexico to Colorado and beyond, Allison left a trail of bodies in his wake. But unlike many of the other notable gunmen of the time, Clay was not an outlaw. He just refused to back down. Who was the real Clay Allison? How’d the son of a preacher become one of the most feared gunfighters of the Old West? And are the stories of him tying a ribbon around his Johnson and severing the heads of his enemies true? Check out the website for more true tales from the Old West https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Join Patreon for ad-free and bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Clay Allison by Chuck Parsons – https://www.abebooks.com/9780933512368/Clay-Allison-Portrait-Shootist-Parsons-0933512368/plp The Colfax County War by Corey Recko – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/the-colfax-county-war-violence-and-corruption-in-territorial-new-mexico-volume-22-ac-greene-series_corey-recko/51761961/#isbn=1574419323 Tall Tales and Half Truths of Clay Allison by Donna Blake Birchell – https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/tall-tales-and-half-truths-of-clay-allison/37921850/#isbn=1467151033 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:22.5	For only $899 a month, join now. Content includes limited ads, subscription or tour and news.
0:27.5	For more information, go to amazon.com.uk.U.K. slash prime. Clay Allison may not be as famous as
0:32.1	Billy the Kid or Jesse James, but he was every bit as deadly, if not more so. He was also nuttier than a squirrel
0:39.0	turd. He got a start in the Civil War riding with Nathan Bedford Forrest. Then, after a brief
0:44.7	career as a Texas cowboy, Clay drifted west and found himself knee-deep in the Colfax County War.
0:50.6	Make no mistake about it, from New Mexico to Colorado and beyond, Allison left a trail of bodies in his wake.
0:57.3	But unlike many other notable gunmen of the 19th century, Clay was not an outlaw.
1:02.8	He just refused to back down. He also had a soft spot for the underdogs.
1:07.6	But who was Clay Allison really? You know, once you strip away all the legends and
1:12.3	tall tales. How the son of her preacher become one of the most feared gunfighters of the Old West.
1:18.4	And is it true that he once tied a ribbon around his tallywacker and performed a naked war
1:22.6	dance over the body of a vanquished foe? Stick around and find out. My name's Josh and this is the Wild West
	...

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