Mormon Kid Embree

Mormon Kid Embree is one of the best gunfighters in the west. Many men talk a good game, some are fast but not accurate, still others are not quick draw experts but deadeye shootists - the Kid Embree is all of them. He is confident more than a braggart, but is as fast and accurate with his right and left hands as any man that has ever lived.

Background: The Mormon Kid Embree is the son of a Mormon preacher and was born in Utah. Never much for church, though he did make appearances to keep his father happy, Kid Embree is always more at ease with the saloon crowd and especially at the card table. He is a natural poker player and since a very young age has made a fair amount of money doing it.

One day while at the poker table Kid Embree overheard a disturbing conversation with some folks whose speech let it be known they were from the southern United States. This caught Kid Embree's ear because he knew his father was a man who helped slaves to freedom and at that very moment there were a pair of runaways at the Embree home. Kid Embree's interest was really peaked when he heard his father's name and a plot to kill him as he left the church that Sunday come out of their mouths. These were the Jessup Brothers out of Louisiana, known slave hunters who retrieved escaped slaves to their masters. Kid Embree went to the sheriff, but he would do nothing for him, not knowing what to do young Kid Embree got his hands on a Remington revolver that one of the runaway slaves had been carrying. He snuck out of the house and made his way back to the saloon where the Jessup's still drank. Right in the middle of the room he raised the pistol and let it be known that he had heard that the men had plans to kill his father and that he would not have it. The Jessup's did not deny the claim and stood to defend themselves as they laughed at the youngster. The Kid Embree shot them both dead where they stood.

He went and told his father the entire story and in horror the man listened to his son. It pained him deeply, but he sent his son and the two runaway slaves off together as his son was a wanted man now. They headed west at first, as far as San Francisco, but then parted ways. Kid Embree boarded a train and headed to Texas where he had heard that the poker tables were plentiful. He has made a fair living as a gambler and every now and again he will come across someone who has heard he has a reward on his head or heard of his reputation as a gun fighter, but Kid Embree still lives and they are now but notches on his belt.

Strengths and Weaknesses: The Kid is an obsessive sort and made an art form of counting cards in poker before folks even knew what that was. In fact he is not trying to cheat, it is a compulsion more than anything and he almost has to do it if he's going to sit at the poker table.

His compulsion also lends to the fact that his guns, two Smith & Wesson Model 3 revolvers. One of the revolvers is blue and brass while the other nickel plated and so well polished it often glints in the sun. There have been many who complain to him that his pistol is a distraction, but Kid Embree always laughs that off.

Mormon Kid Embree is indeed wanted in Utah and it's a reputation that many a bounty hunter or young buck looking to make a name for himself is well aware of. As for Texas, the Texas Rangers consider it a favor that Embree killed the Jessup brothers as they were wanted for countless robberies and murders in east Texas.