John Wesley Hardin, at age 21, became a married man. But he still continued to kill and had sent some 40 men to their deaths.
By the time John Wesley Hardin had reached his twenty-first birthday he had killed some forty men. He had taken one bullet, but it only creased his side, when Charlie Webb risked his life to be the one to take Hardin out. Even though he was wounded, Hardin whirled around, fired, and shot Webb through the eye, killing him. Hardin made good his escape after this shoot-out but his brother Joe Hardin and his two cousins, Bud and Tom Dixon, were not so lucky. These three were caught and hung.
In spite of being busy shooting people, Hardin found time to truly, or as truly as he was capable of, fall in love. He married the girl but wedded bliss doesn't seem to have slowed this gunslinger down. Soon after the wedding he lit out again. This time Hardin's bullets ended the lives of two lawmen, Sheriffs Dick Reagon and Jack Helms.
Naturally, Hardin was on the run again. He was dodging the law the best he could but ran smack up against them at Pensacola Junction, Florida, in 1877. This time the law made their efforts good. John Wesley Hardin was captured by Texas Rangers. This time, Hardin was tried and convicted. He was sentenced to 25 years in Huntsville Prison.
Keeping Hardin company at Huntsville were two other men of his profession; John Wesley's cousin Mannen Clements that he had ridden the Chisum Trail with, and a really bad one-John Ringo.
In spite of the good company Hardin had while in prison he studied law. In 1894, after he'd served 15 years of his sentence, he was pardoned.
Hardin was a free man now and proceeded to pass the bar, then moved to El Paso, Texas and hung out his shingle. It seemed that John Wesley Hardin, ex-gunfighter, might just have a future that his hopeful Pa could be proud of. But Hardin had changed. He now strutted around, bragging about himself. He repeatedly got drunk and began pushing people around.
John Wesley Hardin continued.
