In addition to being one of the deadliest gunmen of the Old West, John Wesley Hardin also

had the distinction of backing down Wild Bill Hickok in his prime.

And then there's the time he killed a man just for snoring, or at least that's how the stories

go.

Join me today as we take a look at both of these incidents, as well as discussing Hardin's

encounter with the Bloody Bender family of Kansas,

the time a belt buckle saved his life, and the lead-up to the infamous Sutton Taylor feud.

My name's Josh, and you're end of the Chisholm Trail.

Not only was it where the Texas cattle would be sold and loaded onto rail cars bound for the east,

but it's also where cowboys like John Wesley Hardin would blow off a little steam.

And it's hard to blame them, right? After all, they just spent over two months in the saddle,

choking down dust and performing back-breaking labor by day, while sleeping just a few scant hours

each night on the cold ground. By the time they hit Abilene, they was ready to have a little

fun, maybe even catch a few venereal diseases. Only problem was the good citizens Abilene had

recently hired themselves a tough marshal by the name of Wild Bill Hickok. Maybe you've heard of

him. Hickok had only been on the job for about a month and a half by the time Hardin arrived, but

he was already very much a celebrity in his own right.

Link down below for the episode, I did on Wild Bill if you're curious to learn more, but

needless to say, Hardin absolutely knew who Hickok was, at least by reputation.

And Wild Bill almost certainly would have heard about West's recent gunfight on

the Little Arkansas. Years later, a guy named Fred Duterstat, who was also in Abilene at that time,

stated that West, despite his age, was already considered a hero by his fellow cowboys, not only

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