Billy Thompson (gunman)
Encyclopedia
Billy Thompson, sometimes known as Texas Billy Thompson (1845 - September 6, 1897) was an Old West gunman and gambler, and the younger brother of the famous gunman and lawman
Ben Thompson
. The younger Thompson brother never achieved the fame that his brother achieved, and in his own lifetime was mainly referred to as the unpredictable and troubled younger brother of Ben Thompson. Factually, however, while a dangerous man, he also was a formidable opponent in a gunfight.
, Yorkshire
, England
, immigrating with his family and older brother to the United States as a child. His family settled in Texas
, and during the American Civil War
both he and his brother volunteered for the Confederate Army. His older brother would go on to fame as a gunman and later as a lawmen and Chief of Police
for Austin, Texas
. Ben Thompson was more stable than his younger brother, having an even temperament, albeit accompanied by a deadly side if need be. Known as having a violent and quick temper, the younger Billy Thompson often found himself in trouble, usually from violence.
His first known gunfight was on March 31, 1868. That day, while attending a fist fight between a White
man and an African American
man, a US soldier named William Burke became upset that the townspeople favored the black man, this being partly because the army were seen by locals as an occupying force following the war. When he lashed out verbally at Billy, the two argued, then later Burke apologized, asking to buy Billy a drink. The two men spent two hours drinking, then went to a bordello together. They argued a couple of times over minor things during their time together, but for the most part they seemed to have gotten along. After they entered the bordello, Billy Thompson went upstairs with a prostitute, and for reasons unknown William Burke again flared his temper against Thompson, and began walking the halls shouting threats against him. Finding the room in which Billy had entered, Burke kicked in the door armed with a pistol, and after the two exchanged shots, Burke fell badly wounded, and died the next day. Feeling he would certainly hang
for killing a soldier, Thompson fled.
, Billy Thompson killed another man, Remus Smith, and again fled to avoid arrest. In that instance, Smith, an 18 year old stable hand, slapped Billy's horse when it tried to nose in on some feed, which enraged Thompson. When he yelled at the boy, Smith, who was unarmed, told him to take off his pistols and come on, at which point Billy Thompson drew his gun and shot the boy twice. Remus Smith was well liked in the area, and the county would hunt for Billy Thompson for the remainder of his lifetime.
For five years he stayed on the run, often contacting his brother to help him with money. On April 18, 1873, Billy Thompson checked into the Grand Central Hotel in Ellsworth, Kansas
. His older brother Ben joined him two months later, and the two set themselves up in the saloon, Joe Brennan’s, as house gamblers. At the time, Ellsworth was an extremely busy cattle town. Sheriff
Chauncey Whitney was both well liked in the county, and extremely effective as a lawman. Within a short time of their arrival in town, both Thompson brothers became good friends with Whitney, but at the same time often had bad experiences with local police officer John "Happy Jack" Morco
. Officer Morco was well known for his boasting about how many men he'd killed, often heard to say he'd shot twelve men dead.
On June 30, 1873, Morco arrested Billy Thompson for carrying a weapon in town limits. Though angered, Thompson paid his fine. On August 15, 1873, Billy Thompson was drinking heavily, and had become extremely intoxicated and vocal. Sheriff Whitney had planned to leave town that day with his family, but feeling Billy might get himself into trouble, he chose to remain in town. That day, Ben Thompson introduced John Sterling into a high stakes game, on the pretense that due to his introduction, Thompson would take a percentage of any winnings. When Sterling left the saloon with over $1,000, without offering Ben Thompson his share, the latter sought him out. He found Sterling in another saloon, in the company of John Morco.
When Thompson demanded his cut of the winnings, Sterling, aware that Thompson was unarmed, slapped him. John Morco then pulled his pistol and backed Thompson away. Morco and Sterling then stood outside the saloon, yelling for Ben Thompson to come out and fight. Billy Thompson, hearing of his brothers troubles, ran to help him. Both brothers armed themselves, and walked out into the street. Hearing of the trouble, Sheriff Whitney responded, unarmed, and confronted the Thompson's, imploring them to accompany him for a drink and talk the situation over, to which they agreed.
As they walked to Brennan's, Morco and Sterling moved to intercept them. When another Texan yelled a warning to Ben Thompson, the latter turned and fired a rifle shot at the pair, and heard his brother fire his shotgun from behind him. Turning, Ben Thompson saw his friend Sheriff Whitney wither to the ground, shot. Believed to have been accidental, Billy Thompson did not rush to flee. Ben Thompson, upon seeing what had happened, stated "My God Billy you have shot your best friend", to which Billy responded "I'm sorry", followed by Whitney stating "He did not intend to do it, it was an accident, send for my family". According to later witnesses, Billy Thompson was not looking at Whitney, as Whitney was standing to his side, and had his shotgun cocked, with one barrel suddenly going off.
In later versions of that shooting, it was said his response to his brother Ben, when the latter said "you've shot your best friend", was "I'd have shot him if he'd been Jesus Christ". That never happened, nor was it ever said, a fact verified by witnesses years later at his trial. It would be the main fact of Billy Thompson's life that over the decades since has become completely destorted from what actually happened. However, rumors such as that fueled his notoriety, in the shadow of his older brothers fame.
Nonetheless, despite the shooting being accidental, Ben Thompson forced Billy on a horse and ordered him to flee town, but instead of riding fast, he simply rode slowly through, yelling for anyone who wanted to fight to come get him. Ben feared, probably wisely, that regardless of the circumstances surrounding the shooting, Billy would be lynch
ed. Sheriff Whitney died on August 18, 1873, resulting in a $500 reward being placed on Billy Thompson. Morco and Officer Ed Hogue ran Neil Cain, a Texas cowboy and friend to the Thompson brothers, out of town at gun point.
John "Happy Jack" Morco was fired over his having instigated the trouble, but not before he issued a warrant against Ben Thompson for assault, resulting in officer Ed Hogue arresting Ben. A short time later, the town council dismissed the entire police force, replacing it with new personnel. Citizens vocally expressed their anger toward visiting Texas cowboys in town from cattle drives. Town Marshal Ed Crawford instigated a dispute then beat one Texas cowboy, Cad Pierce, to death with his pistol during an arrest, after first shooting him in the side, and groups of vigilante
s roamed the streets looking to run out of town any Texans they found causing trouble.
Not long after the Whitney killing, John "Happy Jack" Morco, during a rant of boasting during a dispute with one Texan, was shot and killed by newly appointed Ellsworth police officer J. C. Brown in front of the Lizzie Palmer Dancehall. Ed Crawford was shot and killed a short time afterward by friends of Pierce, and Ed Hogue left town. With the shooting deaths of Sheriff Whitney and Remus Smith, Thompson became known as the troubled and dangerous younger brother to Ben Thompson, although this was not exactly the truth. With the exception of Remus Smith, which was a clear case of cold blooded murder, his other two shootings had been one in self defense and another accidental.
s. The Aransas County, Texas
Sheriffs Office regularly sent out warrants to Texas lawmen around the state, seeking Thompson for the murder
of Remus Smith. In June 1874, Billy Thompson narrowly escaped capture in Austin, Texas. Later that same year, he was captured in Mountain City, Texas
, but escaped and fled to San Antonio, Texas
, where he entered the Long Horse brothel with a friend. While there he hit a prostitute across the face, fleeing when two city police officers responded, resulting in a foot pursuit in which he again escaped.
He avoided lawmen for another two years, until Texas Ranger
Captain
John Sparks caught up to him in October, 1876, in Travis County, Texas
. Sparks was leading a small Ranger unit that was actually seeking rancher Neal Cain for cattle rustling. While raiding the Cain ranch, they came into contact with Billy Thompson. Ben Thompson was notified of his brothers arrest, and immediately sought an attorney
to represent him. Ben Thompson also notified Aransas County, in the hopes that they would extradite him to stand trial for that murder, rather than being sent to Kansas.
A number of Ben Thompson allies boarded a train
in Corsicana, Texas
, and word of this was passed to Ranger Sparks. By this time, Ranger Sparks was feeling that there would be an attempt to free his prisoner by friends of Ben Thompson, so while in Dallas County, Texas
, he requested additional guards from the county sheriff, and received several. With this overwhelming show of force, all rescue attempts to keep Billy Thompson out of Kansas were thwarted. Initially, the town of Ellsworth sought to have Billy jailed in Salina, Kansas
, feeling the jail there was more secure. However, with several more Thompson partsans showing up in town, the decision was made to instead house him at Leavenworth
.
John Prescott presiding. The prosecution had over a dozen witnesses to the shooting, while the defense had only six, one of whom was from Texas, with the other five being from Kansas. As it turned out, the defense witness William Purdy, from Atchison County, Kansas
, emerged as the most dependable witness presented.
Purdy, standing nearby, was an eye witness to the shooting, and heard clearly everything said by all those involved. His testimony was;
"Billy was standing still or trying to do so, as he was intoxicated. He had his eyes fixed on the party advancing on he and Ben. The shot of Ben did not stop them and they continued the same as before, and when being within about twenty feet of Billy Thompson, his gun being down below his breast, it went off, one barrel of it only, and the shot took effect on the shoulder and side of Whitney. Billy's gun was cocked, he did not bring the gun up, took no aim, nor was he looking at Whitney, who stood at his left. As the gun discharged Ben said "My God Billy you have shot your best friend", Billy replied "I'm sorry", Whitney said "He did not intend to do it, it was an accident, send for my family". There was no indication at any time that Whitney and the Thompson's weren't on the best of terms."
Others also testified of Whitney's statement after being shot, with the only difference being that some said he stated "send for my wife and child" rather than "for my family". The prosecution objected many times, claiming certain things were "irrelevant" or hearsay
, but they did not object to Whitney's dying declaration. A rumor that Billy Thompson stated after the shooting "I'd have shot him if he were Jesus Christ", rather than "I'm sorry", was never mentioned, nor did it ever happen.
In a trial
that lasted nine days, Billy Thompson was acquitted. Although that case was proven to have been accidental, amazingly, he was not held to be extradited to Aransas County, Texas, for the clear cut murder of Remus Smith, but instead was released. For the next three years his whereabouts were mostly rumors, but he is known to have arrived in Dodge City, Kansas
in May 1878. He is known to have been arrested by lawman Mart Duggan
in Leadville, Colorado
, in December 1879, for disturbing the peace, serving only one night in jail. Aransas County, in the mean time, continued their pursuit of him.
. He and a saloon owner named Bill Tucker had developed strong resentment for one another, supposedly over the affections of a prostitute named "Big Alice". Billy Thompson, drunk, stood in front of the saloon and fired two shots inside. The second of the shots hit Tucker in the hand, taking off one finger and mutilating others. Enraged, Tucker grabbed a shotgun and ran after the now fleeing Billy. Tucker fired two shots, missing, reloaded and fired two more, this time riddling Billy Thompson in the back, from his heels to his neck. Billy Thompson was arrested, but allowed to remain under guard at the Ogallala House Hotel to heal. Knowing his brother Ben's reputation, the local sheriff ordered a heavy guard.
Ben Thompson, hearing of his brothers arrest, felt his intervening would result in bloodshed. Instead, he asked his friend Bat Masterson
to travel to Ogllala and see if he could assist. Masterson did so, first meeting with Billy, then meeting with the ailing Tucker, who was bitter but willing to drop charges, for a price. Unfortunately, Ben Thompson did not have access to the amount Tucker wanted, therefore Bat Masterson eluded the guards and helped Billy escape, with them taking a train south. After the escape, a Keith County, Nebraska
grand jury
indicted Billy for assault with intent to kill. Those charges were eventually dropped, and the matter forgotten.
, and turned him over to the El Paso County Sheriff, where he was remanded to the custody of Deputy Frank Manning to be returned to Rockport. Foolishly, Deputy Manning allows Billy Thompson a night of freedom before his return, on the pretense he would return the next morning. He did not. On May 10, 1883, Aransas County Deputy P.P. Court captured Thompson in Arkansas
, and finally he was returned to stand trial for the Smith murder.
However, it had been fifteen years since the murder. Witnesses were sparse, and facts distorted due to poor records, with all of the lawmen who were serving at the time having long since moved on. The trial took only one day, amazingly with Thompson being acquitted. Ironically, this was the one killing committed by Billy Thompson that should have been an iron clad case of murder, but due to the many years that had passed, the prosecution had a difficult time proving their case. The case against him for the murder of soldier William Burke had never been pressed, with the general feeling that it was self defense. For the first time since his first killing, Billy Thompson was not wanted by the law for anything.
, in what became referred to as the Vaudeville Theater Ambush
. For a time, newspaper
s speculated that Billy Thompson would seek revenge for his brothers death, but he never did. He roamed for a number of years, making his living as a gambler, and is believed to have never held any other employment, passing through Cripple Creek, Colorado
, and often spending long periods in Houston, Texas
and Galveston, Texas
.
He died of a stomach ailment in Houston, on September 6, 1897. At the time of his death, Billy Thompson had killed four men, and wounded a fifth, with one killing being the shooting of the unarmed Remus Smith, another the accidental shooting of Sheriff Chauncey Whitney, and the other two killings and one wounding being during gunfights.
Police officer
A police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson
Ben Thompson was a gunman, gambler, and sometime lawman of the Old West. He was a contemporary of Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill Cody, Doc Holliday, John Wesley Hardin and James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickock, some of whom considered him a trusted friend, others an enemy.Ben Thompson had a colorful career,...
. The younger Thompson brother never achieved the fame that his brother achieved, and in his own lifetime was mainly referred to as the unpredictable and troubled younger brother of Ben Thompson. Factually, however, while a dangerous man, he also was a formidable opponent in a gunfight.
Early life, first gunfight
Born William Thompson in KnottingleyKnottingley
Knottingley is a town within the metropolitan borough of the City of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England on the River Aire and the A1 road. It has a population of 13,503....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, immigrating with his family and older brother to the United States as a child. His family settled in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
both he and his brother volunteered for the Confederate Army. His older brother would go on to fame as a gunman and later as a lawmen and Chief of Police
Chief of police
A Chief of Police is the title typically given to the top official in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. Alternate titles for this position include Commissioner, Superintendent, and Chief constable...
for Austin, Texas
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. Ben Thompson was more stable than his younger brother, having an even temperament, albeit accompanied by a deadly side if need be. Known as having a violent and quick temper, the younger Billy Thompson often found himself in trouble, usually from violence.
His first known gunfight was on March 31, 1868. That day, while attending a fist fight between a White
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
man and an African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
man, a US soldier named William Burke became upset that the townspeople favored the black man, this being partly because the army were seen by locals as an occupying force following the war. When he lashed out verbally at Billy, the two argued, then later Burke apologized, asking to buy Billy a drink. The two men spent two hours drinking, then went to a bordello together. They argued a couple of times over minor things during their time together, but for the most part they seemed to have gotten along. After they entered the bordello, Billy Thompson went upstairs with a prostitute, and for reasons unknown William Burke again flared his temper against Thompson, and began walking the halls shouting threats against him. Finding the room in which Billy had entered, Burke kicked in the door armed with a pistol, and after the two exchanged shots, Burke fell badly wounded, and died the next day. Feeling he would certainly hang
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
for killing a soldier, Thompson fled.
Notoriety as a killer
Thompson quickly ran out of money, and sent word to his older brother, a habit he would never break. Two months after the Burke killing, while in Rockport, TexasRockport, Texas
Rockport is a city in Aransas County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,385 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Aransas County. The coastal community has approximately 8000 citizens. Large windswept live oaks are a dominating feature of the area and the state's oldest live oak,...
, Billy Thompson killed another man, Remus Smith, and again fled to avoid arrest. In that instance, Smith, an 18 year old stable hand, slapped Billy's horse when it tried to nose in on some feed, which enraged Thompson. When he yelled at the boy, Smith, who was unarmed, told him to take off his pistols and come on, at which point Billy Thompson drew his gun and shot the boy twice. Remus Smith was well liked in the area, and the county would hunt for Billy Thompson for the remainder of his lifetime.
For five years he stayed on the run, often contacting his brother to help him with money. On April 18, 1873, Billy Thompson checked into the Grand Central Hotel in Ellsworth, Kansas
Ellsworth, Kansas
Ellsworth is a city in and the county seat of Ellsworth County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,120.-19th century:...
. His older brother Ben joined him two months later, and the two set themselves up in the saloon, Joe Brennan’s, as house gamblers. At the time, Ellsworth was an extremely busy cattle town. Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
Chauncey Whitney was both well liked in the county, and extremely effective as a lawman. Within a short time of their arrival in town, both Thompson brothers became good friends with Whitney, but at the same time often had bad experiences with local police officer John "Happy Jack" Morco
John Morco
John Morco, usually known as "Happy Jack" Morco was an alleged gunman by his own accounts as well as a corrupt lawman of the Old West, most notably during the wildest days of the cattletown Ellsworth, Kansas....
. Officer Morco was well known for his boasting about how many men he'd killed, often heard to say he'd shot twelve men dead.
On June 30, 1873, Morco arrested Billy Thompson for carrying a weapon in town limits. Though angered, Thompson paid his fine. On August 15, 1873, Billy Thompson was drinking heavily, and had become extremely intoxicated and vocal. Sheriff Whitney had planned to leave town that day with his family, but feeling Billy might get himself into trouble, he chose to remain in town. That day, Ben Thompson introduced John Sterling into a high stakes game, on the pretense that due to his introduction, Thompson would take a percentage of any winnings. When Sterling left the saloon with over $1,000, without offering Ben Thompson his share, the latter sought him out. He found Sterling in another saloon, in the company of John Morco.
When Thompson demanded his cut of the winnings, Sterling, aware that Thompson was unarmed, slapped him. John Morco then pulled his pistol and backed Thompson away. Morco and Sterling then stood outside the saloon, yelling for Ben Thompson to come out and fight. Billy Thompson, hearing of his brothers troubles, ran to help him. Both brothers armed themselves, and walked out into the street. Hearing of the trouble, Sheriff Whitney responded, unarmed, and confronted the Thompson's, imploring them to accompany him for a drink and talk the situation over, to which they agreed.
As they walked to Brennan's, Morco and Sterling moved to intercept them. When another Texan yelled a warning to Ben Thompson, the latter turned and fired a rifle shot at the pair, and heard his brother fire his shotgun from behind him. Turning, Ben Thompson saw his friend Sheriff Whitney wither to the ground, shot. Believed to have been accidental, Billy Thompson did not rush to flee. Ben Thompson, upon seeing what had happened, stated "My God Billy you have shot your best friend", to which Billy responded "I'm sorry", followed by Whitney stating "He did not intend to do it, it was an accident, send for my family". According to later witnesses, Billy Thompson was not looking at Whitney, as Whitney was standing to his side, and had his shotgun cocked, with one barrel suddenly going off.
In later versions of that shooting, it was said his response to his brother Ben, when the latter said "you've shot your best friend", was "I'd have shot him if he'd been Jesus Christ". That never happened, nor was it ever said, a fact verified by witnesses years later at his trial. It would be the main fact of Billy Thompson's life that over the decades since has become completely destorted from what actually happened. However, rumors such as that fueled his notoriety, in the shadow of his older brothers fame.
Nonetheless, despite the shooting being accidental, Ben Thompson forced Billy on a horse and ordered him to flee town, but instead of riding fast, he simply rode slowly through, yelling for anyone who wanted to fight to come get him. Ben feared, probably wisely, that regardless of the circumstances surrounding the shooting, Billy would be lynch
Lynching
Lynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
ed. Sheriff Whitney died on August 18, 1873, resulting in a $500 reward being placed on Billy Thompson. Morco and Officer Ed Hogue ran Neil Cain, a Texas cowboy and friend to the Thompson brothers, out of town at gun point.
John "Happy Jack" Morco was fired over his having instigated the trouble, but not before he issued a warrant against Ben Thompson for assault, resulting in officer Ed Hogue arresting Ben. A short time later, the town council dismissed the entire police force, replacing it with new personnel. Citizens vocally expressed their anger toward visiting Texas cowboys in town from cattle drives. Town Marshal Ed Crawford instigated a dispute then beat one Texas cowboy, Cad Pierce, to death with his pistol during an arrest, after first shooting him in the side, and groups of vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
s roamed the streets looking to run out of town any Texans they found causing trouble.
Not long after the Whitney killing, John "Happy Jack" Morco, during a rant of boasting during a dispute with one Texan, was shot and killed by newly appointed Ellsworth police officer J. C. Brown in front of the Lizzie Palmer Dancehall. Ed Crawford was shot and killed a short time afterward by friends of Pierce, and Ed Hogue left town. With the shooting deaths of Sheriff Whitney and Remus Smith, Thompson became known as the troubled and dangerous younger brother to Ben Thompson, although this was not exactly the truth. With the exception of Remus Smith, which was a clear case of cold blooded murder, his other two shootings had been one in self defense and another accidental.
Life on the run
For the next several years, Billy Thompson lived on the run from lawmen and bounty hunterBounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
s. The Aransas County, Texas
Aransas County, Texas
Aransas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2000, the population was 22,499. Its county seat is Rockport. Aransas County was formed in 1871 from Refugio County.-Geography:According to the U.S...
Sheriffs Office regularly sent out warrants to Texas lawmen around the state, seeking Thompson for the murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Remus Smith. In June 1874, Billy Thompson narrowly escaped capture in Austin, Texas. Later that same year, he was captured in Mountain City, Texas
Mountain City, Texas
Mountain City is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 671 at the 2000 census.From the early 1850s until the 1880s, Mountain City was a sprawling community on the old Stagecoach Road that served as an important hub in the ranching and farming industries of the newly formed...
, but escaped and fled to San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, where he entered the Long Horse brothel with a friend. While there he hit a prostitute across the face, fleeing when two city police officers responded, resulting in a foot pursuit in which he again escaped.
He avoided lawmen for another two years, until Texas Ranger
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
Captain
Police captain
- France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant....
John Sparks caught up to him in October, 1876, in Travis County, Texas
Travis County, Texas
As of 2009, the U.S. census estimates there were 1,026,158 people, 320,766 households, and 183,798 families residing in the county. The population density was 821 people per square mile . There were 335,881 housing units at an average density of 340 per square mile...
. Sparks was leading a small Ranger unit that was actually seeking rancher Neal Cain for cattle rustling. While raiding the Cain ranch, they came into contact with Billy Thompson. Ben Thompson was notified of his brothers arrest, and immediately sought an attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
to represent him. Ben Thompson also notified Aransas County, in the hopes that they would extradite him to stand trial for that murder, rather than being sent to Kansas.
A number of Ben Thompson allies boarded a train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
in Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana, Texas
Corsicana is a city in Navarro County, Texas, United States. It is located on Interstate 45 some fifty-five miles south of downtown Dallas. The population was 24,485 at the 2000 census...
, and word of this was passed to Ranger Sparks. By this time, Ranger Sparks was feeling that there would be an attempt to free his prisoner by friends of Ben Thompson, so while in Dallas County, Texas
Dallas County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,218,899 people, 807,621 households, and 533,837 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,523 people per square mile . There were 854,119 housing units at an average density of 971/sq mi...
, he requested additional guards from the county sheriff, and received several. With this overwhelming show of force, all rescue attempts to keep Billy Thompson out of Kansas were thwarted. Initially, the town of Ellsworth sought to have Billy jailed in Salina, Kansas
Salina, Kansas
Salina is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 47,707. Located in one of the world's largest wheat-producing areas, Salina is a regional trade center for north-central Kansas...
, feeling the jail there was more secure. However, with several more Thompson partsans showing up in town, the decision was made to instead house him at Leavenworth
United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth
The United States Penitentiary , Leavenworth was the largest maximum security federal prison in the United States from 1903 until 2005. It became a medium security prison in 2005.It is located in Leavenworth, Kansas...
.
Trial and release
Ben Thompson hired local Kansas attorney Robert Gill to represent Billy. He later added Captain J. D. Mohler, Phillip T. Pendelton, and A. H. Case to the legal team. Court convened on September 3, 1874, with JudgeJudge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
John Prescott presiding. The prosecution had over a dozen witnesses to the shooting, while the defense had only six, one of whom was from Texas, with the other five being from Kansas. As it turned out, the defense witness William Purdy, from Atchison County, Kansas
Atchison County, Kansas
Atchison County is a county located in Northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 16,924. Its county seat and most populous city is Atchison. The county is named in honor of David Rice Atchison, a United States Senator from Missouri...
, emerged as the most dependable witness presented.
Purdy, standing nearby, was an eye witness to the shooting, and heard clearly everything said by all those involved. His testimony was;
"Billy was standing still or trying to do so, as he was intoxicated. He had his eyes fixed on the party advancing on he and Ben. The shot of Ben did not stop them and they continued the same as before, and when being within about twenty feet of Billy Thompson, his gun being down below his breast, it went off, one barrel of it only, and the shot took effect on the shoulder and side of Whitney. Billy's gun was cocked, he did not bring the gun up, took no aim, nor was he looking at Whitney, who stood at his left. As the gun discharged Ben said "My God Billy you have shot your best friend", Billy replied "I'm sorry", Whitney said "He did not intend to do it, it was an accident, send for my family". There was no indication at any time that Whitney and the Thompson's weren't on the best of terms."
Others also testified of Whitney's statement after being shot, with the only difference being that some said he stated "send for my wife and child" rather than "for my family". The prosecution objected many times, claiming certain things were "irrelevant" or hearsay
Hearsay
Hearsay is information gathered by one person from another person concerning some event, condition, or thing of which the first person had no direct experience. When submitted as evidence, such statements are called hearsay evidence. As a legal term, "hearsay" can also have the narrower meaning of...
, but they did not object to Whitney's dying declaration. A rumor that Billy Thompson stated after the shooting "I'd have shot him if he were Jesus Christ", rather than "I'm sorry", was never mentioned, nor did it ever happen.
In a trial
Trial
A trial is, in the most general sense, a test, usually a test to see whether something does or does not meet a given standard.It may refer to:*Trial , the presentation of information in a formal setting, usually a court...
that lasted nine days, Billy Thompson was acquitted. Although that case was proven to have been accidental, amazingly, he was not held to be extradited to Aransas County, Texas, for the clear cut murder of Remus Smith, but instead was released. For the next three years his whereabouts were mostly rumors, but he is known to have arrived in Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City, Kansas
Dodge City is a city in, and the county seat of, Ford County, Kansas, United States. Named after nearby Fort Dodge, the city is famous in American culture for its history as a wild frontier town of the Old West. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,340.-History:The first settlement of...
in May 1878. He is known to have been arrested by lawman Mart Duggan
Mart Duggan
Mart Duggan was a gunfighter of the American Old West who, although mostly unknown today, was at the time one of the more feared men in the west. He is listed by author Robert K. DeArment, in his book "Deadly Dozen", as one of the most underrated gunmen of the Old West.-Early life:Duggan was born...
in Leadville, Colorado
Leadville, Colorado
Leadville is a Statutory City that is the county seat of, and the only municipality in, Lake County, Colorado, United States. Situated at an elevation of , Leadville is the highest incorporated city and the second highest incorporated municipality in the United States...
, in December 1879, for disturbing the peace, serving only one night in jail. Aransas County, in the mean time, continued their pursuit of him.
Another shooting
On June 21, 1880, Billy Thompson was in Ogallala, NebraskaOgallala, Nebraska
Ogallala is a city in Keith County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 4,737 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Keith County. In the days of the Nebraska Territory, the city was a stop on the Pony Express and later along the transcontinental railroad...
. He and a saloon owner named Bill Tucker had developed strong resentment for one another, supposedly over the affections of a prostitute named "Big Alice". Billy Thompson, drunk, stood in front of the saloon and fired two shots inside. The second of the shots hit Tucker in the hand, taking off one finger and mutilating others. Enraged, Tucker grabbed a shotgun and ran after the now fleeing Billy. Tucker fired two shots, missing, reloaded and fired two more, this time riddling Billy Thompson in the back, from his heels to his neck. Billy Thompson was arrested, but allowed to remain under guard at the Ogallala House Hotel to heal. Knowing his brother Ben's reputation, the local sheriff ordered a heavy guard.
Ben Thompson, hearing of his brothers arrest, felt his intervening would result in bloodshed. Instead, he asked his friend Bat Masterson
Bat Masterson
William Barclay "Bat" Masterson was a figure of the American Old West known as a buffalo hunter, U.S. Marshal and Army scout, avid fisherman, gambler, frontier lawman, and sports editor and columnist for the New York Morning Telegraph...
to travel to Ogllala and see if he could assist. Masterson did so, first meeting with Billy, then meeting with the ailing Tucker, who was bitter but willing to drop charges, for a price. Unfortunately, Ben Thompson did not have access to the amount Tucker wanted, therefore Bat Masterson eluded the guards and helped Billy escape, with them taking a train south. After the escape, a Keith County, Nebraska
Keith County, Nebraska
-History:Keith County was formed in 1873. It was named after Morrill C. Keith, the grandfather of Governor Keith Neville.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 8,875 people, 3,707 households, and 2,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile...
grand jury
Grand jury
A grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
indicted Billy for assault with intent to kill. Those charges were eventually dropped, and the matter forgotten.
Arrest and trial for Smith murder
On October 23, 1882, Texas Ranger Captain George W. Baylor captured Billy for the Remus Smith murder in El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, and turned him over to the El Paso County Sheriff, where he was remanded to the custody of Deputy Frank Manning to be returned to Rockport. Foolishly, Deputy Manning allows Billy Thompson a night of freedom before his return, on the pretense he would return the next morning. He did not. On May 10, 1883, Aransas County Deputy P.P. Court captured Thompson in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, and finally he was returned to stand trial for the Smith murder.
However, it had been fifteen years since the murder. Witnesses were sparse, and facts distorted due to poor records, with all of the lawmen who were serving at the time having long since moved on. The trial took only one day, amazingly with Thompson being acquitted. Ironically, this was the one killing committed by Billy Thompson that should have been an iron clad case of murder, but due to the many years that had passed, the prosecution had a difficult time proving their case. The case against him for the murder of soldier William Burke had never been pressed, with the general feeling that it was self defense. For the first time since his first killing, Billy Thompson was not wanted by the law for anything.
Later life
On March 11, 1884, his older brother Ben Thompson was killed in San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
, in what became referred to as the Vaudeville Theater Ambush
Vaudeville Theater Ambush
The Vaudeville Theater Ambush, on March 11, 1884, was an ambush conducted against the lawmen Ben Thompson and King Fisher, carried out by enemies of Thompson. It took place at the Vaudeville Variety Theater in San Antonio, Texas.-Background:...
. For a time, newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s speculated that Billy Thompson would seek revenge for his brothers death, but he never did. He roamed for a number of years, making his living as a gambler, and is believed to have never held any other employment, passing through Cripple Creek, Colorado
Cripple Creek, Colorado
The City of Cripple Creek is a Statutory City that is the county seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Cripple Creek is a former gold mining camp located southwest of Colorado Springs near the base of Pikes Peak. The Cripple Creek Historic District, which received National Historic...
, and often spending long periods in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
and Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
.
He died of a stomach ailment in Houston, on September 6, 1897. At the time of his death, Billy Thompson had killed four men, and wounded a fifth, with one killing being the shooting of the unarmed Remus Smith, another the accidental shooting of Sheriff Chauncey Whitney, and the other two killings and one wounding being during gunfights.