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Details
SELMAN, John H. (1839-1896)
Saloon owner, soldier, law officer, rustler, gunman.
Document signed twice ("John H. Selman"), Shackelford County, Texas, June 10, 1883, being a petition for bail or outright release from jail. 1 page, folio, very fine. With custom 1/4 red morocco, gilt-lettered case.
"The petition of John Selman would show that petitioner is illegally restrained of his liberty by J.C. Jacobs Sheriff of Shakleford County Texas. That said Jacobs hold petitioner in custody by virtue of suspicion hereunto attached and demands of petitioner unreasonable. Before we come John Selman who on oath says the allegations in foregoing petition he believes to be true." Selman is in jail for cattle rustling and is currently Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff John Larn. His close friend Larn had a contract to supply beef to the Army Post at Fort Griffin. It was at Fort Griffin they came into contact with the Earps, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Killin' Jim Miller, Jesse Evans, and Pat Garrett. And they were widely suspected and jointly accused of butchering stolen cattle and selling it to the government. When Sheriff Larn was arrested and killed by a mob Selman, who had witnessed his capture from cover, fled the county. Warrants were issued. But for the next 18 years Selman worked both sides of the law and his reputation as a deadly gunfighter grew. In 1894, Selman killed Bass Outlaw in the line of duty, and in the next year shot John Wesley Hardin to death in the Acme saloon. This rare document is a particular reminder of the blurry line in the old West between lawman and outlaw, with the vast majority having had experience at being both. Here's Deputy Sheriff Selman behind bars (and about to get out).
Provenance: The Ronald J. Atlas collection.
Saloon owner, soldier, law officer, rustler, gunman.
Document signed twice ("John H. Selman"), Shackelford County, Texas, June 10, 1883, being a petition for bail or outright release from jail. 1 page, folio, very fine. With custom 1/4 red morocco, gilt-lettered case.
"The petition of John Selman would show that petitioner is illegally restrained of his liberty by J.C. Jacobs Sheriff of Shakleford County Texas. That said Jacobs hold petitioner in custody by virtue of suspicion hereunto attached and demands of petitioner unreasonable. Before we come John Selman who on oath says the allegations in foregoing petition he believes to be true." Selman is in jail for cattle rustling and is currently Deputy Sheriff under Sheriff John Larn. His close friend Larn had a contract to supply beef to the Army Post at Fort Griffin. It was at Fort Griffin they came into contact with the Earps, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, Killin' Jim Miller, Jesse Evans, and Pat Garrett. And they were widely suspected and jointly accused of butchering stolen cattle and selling it to the government. When Sheriff Larn was arrested and killed by a mob Selman, who had witnessed his capture from cover, fled the county. Warrants were issued. But for the next 18 years Selman worked both sides of the law and his reputation as a deadly gunfighter grew. In 1894, Selman killed Bass Outlaw in the line of duty, and in the next year shot John Wesley Hardin to death in the Acme saloon. This rare document is a particular reminder of the blurry line in the old West between lawman and outlaw, with the vast majority having had experience at being both. Here's Deputy Sheriff Selman behind bars (and about to get out).
Provenance: The Ronald J. Atlas collection.