The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-03-02
TOM HORN AND
HIS FAMILY
More About AntecedentS of the
Accused Wholesale Murderer.
He LOVED A SPANISH GIRL
RATIFICATION OF HIS GANG IN
COLORADO AND MONTANA.

4 '
People in all parts Of the
country that have heard Of
Tom Horn, the stock detective,
now awaiting trial on the charge
OF numbering Willie Nickel at Iron
mountain, and his various exploits.
have been anxious to know something
OF the past life Of the ex-scout and
Indian fighter. The story that he came
west from New York with his father
when a young boy, and that while
f1eighting on the old santa Fe trail has
father was killed by Apache Indians,
leaving him an orphan to ayenge the
murder Of his parent single-handed,
has been discredited by those who
knew Horn intimately 1t was gener-
ally believed that Horns past record
was not at all complimentary, and that
Horn himself desired that nothing be
known OF his early life.
Late developments show that Horn
inherited his lawless instincts, for his
father before him is alleged to have
been one Of the worst or minaIs that
ever infested the state of Missouri,
and at a period when that state was
made notorious by the operations of
the Jesse James and Scotland county
Scotland county, one who was instru-
mental in breaking up the notorious
gangs Of forgers, horse thieves and
sWlndlers, writes as follows:
His Father Failed.
4 CHANGED to see copies Of a news
paper with accounts Of the arrest Of
Thomas Horn for the killing Of Willie
Nickel and his confession Of the crime.
One Of the items stated that * is not
known where Horn came from. IL
may be OF interest to you to know
something about Horns antecedents,
for I have known all about the family
for a great many years.
Thomas Horn was raised IN Scot
land county, Missouri. When quite
young he went west, and was with
the army as a scout. He was a son
of Thomas Horn of Scotland county,
Who was a prominent stock dealer,
farmer and politician for many years.
1 was practicing law in that county
from 1875 to 1901, and was well &C
quainted with the family other than
this son, and often heard them speak
Of his work as a scout, and also Of
his acquaintance with the Mexican or
Spanish girl referred to in the dis
patches.
=
scale, one of our local banks acting as
agent for an Illinois bank that backed
horn heavily. He failed and the mat
ters were placed in my hands Cor col
lection. 1 at once discovered that very
many of the notes were forged, and
or further investigation found that
Horn had been doing a forgery bust
ness for years, assisted by memphis
bank and number of prominent citi-
zens as cOnfederates.
Had to Leave Missouri.
MY exposure forced him to fee the
country; he went to British Columbia,
where he is reported to have died some
years ago in poverty. and not by the
hand Of an Apache Indian on the Santa
Re trail, as has been generally sup
posed.
This Thomas Horn Cthe father) was
son of Hartman Horn, who was a
brother-in-law of Toliver P. Craig,
formerly Of Kentucky. In the period
before the war Toliver p Craig and
Hartman Horn were al the head of the
most noted gang Of title forgers and
sWindiers ever known in the west.
Their title fOrgeries were numbered by
the thousands and a 'ToliveE p Craig
Title in western Illinois was as much
synonymous of forgery as the term
JeffersOnian is of Democracy, and their
associates and tools were in almost
every county in the military tract
and were prominent in business and in
Office
Thomas Horn had three sons
Charles Horn, Thomas Horn and Mar
tin I. HOrn-al of whom have left
Scotland county" Then follows a his
tory of the operations of the Scotland
county gang, the Horn forgeries, the
Rhodes gang Of horse thieves and coun-
terfeiters. which operated in southeast
Iowa, and which gangs seemed to have
been united and under one head. The
Scotland county gang, the writer states,
seemed to have large and influential
relationship in Colorado and Montana,
with associates at Denver. Pueblo and
Great Falls, Mont, and probably at
other points in the west
G. s. WALKER.