John
Peters Ringo better known as "Johnny Ringo" was born May 3, 1850 in
Greens Fork, Indiana. He was a legend of the Old West nicknamed "King
of the Cowboys. Despite his fame it's ironic that there are no records
to indicate he partook in a single classic gunfight. Author Louis
L'Amour stated that there was nothing in history to demonstrate that
Ringo deserved the reputation of being a noteworthy "badman."
Apparently he was mostly a bad tempered man who became worse under the
influence of alcohol. His principle claim to fame was that he shot an
unarmed man in a saloon for ordering beer instead of whiskey as Ringo
had requested.
Earlier in John's life as the Ringo
family was
traveling through Wyoming, his father's shotgun accidentally
discharged, killing him instantly. Ringo helped to bury his father on a
hill beside the trail. In the mid 1870's John moved to central Texas
and became friends with ex-Ranger Scott Cooley. After the killing of
Cooley supporter Moses Baird, Ringo committed his first murder of note.
He and and a friend confronted the man responsible for ambushing Baird
and shot him on his front porch as he was washing his face. Later on,
Cooley and Ringo mistakenly shot the brother of the guy they intended
to kill which resulted in both of them being sent to jail. They broke
out and parted company so as to evade the law.
Ringo
soon showed
up in Tombstone, Arizona. For the most part he kept silent and didn't
confront Wyatt Earp's faction until January 17, 1882. Two months later
the Earp Brothers suspected Ringo of taking part in the murder of
Morgan Earp. Ringo was deputized by John Behan to arrest the Earps at
the beginning of the vendetta ride. During the summer of 1882 on July
14, Johnny Ringo was found dead in the crook of a tree in West Turkey
Creek Valley. There was a single bullet hole in his right temple.
Ringo's horse was captured two miles away with his boots still tied to
the saddle. The death was officially ruled a suicide. There have been
many theories of who might have killed Ringo including Doc Holliday and
Wyatt Earp however it's entirely possible that Johnny having been
despondant over most of his friends being dead and having been rejected
by his family members in California actually did take his own life.
Information
for this biography was obtained from "Wikipedia" |
