Scott Cooley & the Mason County War

The Wild West Extravaganza

Wild West Josh

Education, History

4.8 • 833 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Mason County War, also known as the Hoodoo War, was one of the bloodiest feuds in Texas history. In 1875, a conflict over cattle rustling in the Texas Hill Country escalated into a full-blown war between hill country ranchers and their German immigrant neighbors. Former Texas Ranger Scott Cooley launched a brutal campaign of revenge after the murder of his friend Tim Williamson, scalping a deputy sheriff and sparking a chain of killings that would claim at least a dozen lives in just twelve months. Even Johnny Ringo, who would later become infamous in Tombstone, got his start during the Mason County War. Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/ Buy Me A Coffee! https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/ Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/ Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/ Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:26.2	Surface repaired to smoothness, nourishment with a regimen use versus non-conditioning shampoo.
0:30.2	On August 10th, 1875, former Texas ranger Scott Cooley rode into Mason, Texas, and put a bullet in the head of Deputy Sheriff John Warley.
0:38.4	He then shot five additional rounds into the deputy's body before kneeling over and scalping him.
0:43.1	Right there in front of God and everybody.
0:45.5	This would mark the sixth killing in what's now known as the Houdoo or Mason County War.
0:50.4	A bloody feud that pitted Texas Hill Country Ranchers against their own German immigrant neighbors.
0:55.9	Or was all said and done, another six men would perish, one of whom at the hands of a young gunman named Johnny Ringo.
1:02.1	Maybe you've heard of him.
1:03.7	What exactly caused the Germans to go to war with their own neighbors?
1:07.1	Who the hell was this Scott Cooley guy and how to get so good as scalping?
1:10.5	And why, I pray tell, is the Mason County War,
1:12.8	sometimes referred to as the Hoodoo War.
1:15.0	Stick around and find out.
1:16.4	My name's Josh, and this is the Wild West extravaganza.
1:33.4	If you've ever spent much time in the Texas Hill country, you likely noticed a very strong German influence. And by the way, don't worry, we will get to the Mason County War here in just a
1:38.2	moment. First, though, I would like to offer up a little bit of context. You see it all started back
	...

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