Please answer the following question: Facts: - employer: pinkerton detective agency - years active: 1876 -- 1903 - weight: 200 lbs - caption: rare image of tom horn - height: 6 ' 2 '' - name: thomas '' tom '' horn , jr. . - occupation: us , assassin army scout , lawman , cowboy , detective Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of tom horn .
A:
thomas '' tom '' horn , jr. -lrb- november 21 , 1860 -- november 20 , 1903 -rrb- was an american old west scout , who carried out varied roles as hired gunman , pinkerton , range detective , cowboy , and soldier .believed to have committed 17 murders as a hired gunman in the west , in 1902 horn was convicted of the murder of 14-year-old willie nickell near iron mountain , wyoming .the boy was the son of sheep rancher kels nickell , who had been involved in a range feud with neighbor and cattle rancher jim miller .on the day before his 43rd birthday , horn was executed by hanging in cheyenne , wyoming .while in jail he wrote his autobiography , '' life of tom horn : government scout and interpreter '' -lrb- 1904 -rrb- , which was published posthumously .numerous editions have been published of this book since the late 20th century , and debate continues as to whether he was guilty of nickell 's murder .