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John Wesley Hardin rode through Texas, leaving 24 dead men behind him. So say some historians - and others said it was more. Hardin was so feared during his heyday that Texas mothers used to frighten unruly children with the threat, "Be careful - 'case ole Wes Hardin gets ya!"

But how tough was he? Hardin was violently unstable, and wisely most people stayed clear of Texas' most violent son, but no matter how tough you are - there's always some one tougher. And in the old west there was always a Sheriff/Marshal/Ranger tougher than the outlaws they chased. In Hardin's case there may have been two: Special Ranger Jeff Milton and US Marshal George Scarborough. It happened in about 1895 in El Paso. 

Wes had been out of jail for a about a year (after serving 17 years for killing Sheriff Webb) and was trying to establish himself as a lawyer - having studied the subject in prison. Soon he was strutting the streets with a married woman, Mrs. McRose. Now, Mister McRose was holed up on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. Seems the Texas Law wanted to talk to him about some herds of steers disappearing. Months later the law finally caught up with McRose and the gang he rode with and they got shot up good - killing McRose.

Hardin was drinking hard at the time, and not happy with haveing the grieving widow all to himself, he had to start running his mouth. Wes told all that'd listen that'd he'd paid Ranger Milton and Marshal Scarborough to take care of Martin McRose.  When Special Ranger Jeff Milton heard that he went looking for Hardin, finding him in Con Ryan's Parlor Saloon.

MILTON: Hardin, you've been telling people you paid me to kill McRose. You're a god-damned liar!

HARDIN: You can talk to me like that when I'm not armed.

MILTON: You're lying again. You're always armed. And you can go for your gun right now or tell all these men here and out loud that you lied.

HARDIN: Gentlemen, when I said that about Captain Milton I lied.

Scarborough got a written apology.