The Horrell Brothers: Outlaws of the Old West

The tale of the Horrell brothers unfolds across the rugged landscapes of Texas and the New Mexico Territory during the tumultuous years of 1873 to 1878. These five brothers—Mart, Tom, Merritt, Ben, and Sam Horrell—etched their names into the annals of the Old West as notorious outlaws. Their story is one of a violent spree that left a trail of death and destruction, ultimately leading to their own violent ends. The brothers are perhaps best remembered for the Horrell-Higgins feud, a bloody conflict that, while less deadly compared to other feuds of the era, nonetheless captured the imagination of those who chronicled the Wild West.

The Birth of Outlaws

The Horrell family, residents of Lampasas County, Texas, found themselves at the center of a storm of violence beginning in 1873. It was a year that saw the brothers embark on a racially charged killing spree, one that would leave 18 or more people dead, predominantly targeting Hispanic individuals. This wave of violence included the murder of a Hispanic lawman and a white lawman in New Mexico, the killing of 11 other Hispanic men, and the wounding of one Hispanic woman. Prior to these events, the brothers had already claimed the lives of five lawmen in Texas.

The brothers' origins in Lampasas County were unremarkable at first. The Horrell and Higgins families coexisted peacefully in the area for a decade after settling there before the Civil War. But by the early 1870s, the Horrell brothers had become embroiled in a series of lawless activities. In January 1873, an attempt by Sheriff Shadrick T. Denson to arrest two brothers, Wash and Mark Short, turned into a gunfight involving the Horrell brothers, leaving the sheriff wounded though he survived. The escalating violence prompted a plea for help to Governor Edmund J. Davis, leading to the deployment of the Texas State Police to restore order.

The Saloon Gunfight

Governor Davis's response was swift. On February 10, 1873, he issued an order banning firearms within the town limits of Lampasas, Texas. Seven state police officers, led by Captain Thomas Williams, soon arrived to enforce the order. On March 14, 1873, a confrontation erupted when officers Wesley Cherry, Jim Daniels, and Andrew Melville arrested Bill Bowen, a brother-in-law to the Horrell brothers, for carrying a firearm. As tensions flared inside Jerry Scott's Saloon, a gunfight broke out, resulting in the deaths of four officers, including Captain Williams. Mart Horrell was severely wounded, with Tom Horrell also sustaining injuries.

A Killing Spree in New Mexico

In the aftermath of the saloon gunfight, the Texas State Police sent reinforcements to Lampasas County. However, Mart Horrell and his associates were swiftly arrested and placed in Georgetown, Texas jail. In a dramatic twist, more than 30 friends stormed the jail, freeing the captives. The Horrell brothers fled to Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory, where Ben Horrell formed an alliance with Lincoln County Sheriff Jack Gylam. On December 1, 1873, the two rode into Lincoln, indulging in a spree of drinking and carousing before discharging their firearms in the streets. Constable Juan Martínez ordered them to surrender their weapons, which they did, but went unarrested. Regaining firearms, they continued their wild behavior, culminating in Ben Horrell fatally shooting Martínez. A pursuit ensued, and both Horrell and Gylam were killed before they could escape town.

In retaliation, the remaining Horrell brothers killed two prominent Mexican ranchers. This prompted newly appointed Sheriff Alexander Hamilton Mills to form a posse to track them down. An intense standoff occurred outside Lincoln, but the brothers managed to escape. Undeterred, they later crashed a Hispanic celebration in Lincoln on December 20, 1873, killing four men and injuring a woman. The brothers again evaded capture. A friend, Edward "Little" Hart, added to the mayhem by murdering Deputy Sheriff Joseph Haskins, seemingly due to Haskins's marriage to a Hispanic woman. Shortly thereafter, the brothers encountered freight wagons near Roswell, New Mexico, and slaughtered the five Hispanic men maintaining them.

The Feud Begins

By February 1874, the Horrell brothers returned to Lampasas, only to find their reputation irreparably tarnished. Arrested for the murder of the lawmen, they were surprisingly acquitted thanks to a local jury. Despite the legal victory, their notoriety persisted, exacerbated by accusations of cattle rustling from John "Pink" Higgins. Once again, they faced trial and, once again, were acquitted.

Tensions simmered between the Horrells and the Higginses, culminating in the death of Merritt Horrell at the hands of John Higgins during a gunfight on January 22, 1877, inside the Wiley and Toland's Gem Saloon. The remaining Horrell brothers openly vowed vengeance against Higgins, his brother-in-law Bob Mitchell, and friend Bill Wren.

On March 26, 1877, an ambush left Tom and Mart Horrell wounded but alive. Higgins and Mitchell, sought for the Merritt Horrell shooting, surrendered to Texas Ranger Captain John Sparks, posting a $10,000 bond before being released. A courthouse burglary soon followed, erasing records, including their bonds. The shooting of Merritt Horrell was ultimately ruled self-defense, and charges were dismissed.

The Town Square Shootout

June 7, 1877, witnessed another deadly confrontation. John Higgins, along with in-laws Bob and Frank Mitchell, Bill Wren, and Ben Terry, rode into Lampasas. The Horrell brothers, already in town, squared off with their rivals at the town square. Gunfire erupted, leaving Bill Wren wounded, Frank Mitchell dead, and two members from the Horrell faction, Buck Waltrup and Carson Graham, also dead.

The Texas Rangers swiftly intervened, arresting the Horrell brothers. Texas Ranger Major John B. Jones mediated between the feuding sides, temporarily quelling the violence. Yet, less than a year later, Mart and Tom Horrell found themselves in Meridian, Texas, facing charges of armed robbery and murder. While jailed on December 15, 1878, vigilantes stormed the jail, executing them both. Their bodies were interred in an unmarked grave at Oak Cemetery in Lampasas, Texas. Although no proof emerged, it was widely believed that John Higgins orchestrated the killings.

The Last of the Horrell Brothers

With his brothers gone, Sam Horrell relocated his family to Oregon in 1882, later settling in California. He died in 1936, buried in Eureka. John Higgins, meanwhile, gained local fame as the man who brought down the Horrell brothers. His reputation grew as a range detective and feared gunman. In September 1877, he shot and killed Ike Lantier, a cowboy caught stealing cattle, in what was deemed self-defense. On October 4, 1903, Higgins fatally shot Bill Standifer, a former lawman, following threats against Higgins's son Cullen, a district attorney. By the time of his death on December 18, 1914, Higgins was reputed to have killed 14 men in gunfights.

Sources

For further reading and to explore this fascinating chapter of the Old West, you can visit the following sources:

• Horrell-Higgins Feud," Handbook of Texas Online C. L. Sonnichsen, Texas State Historical Association (archived from the original on October 23, 2012)
• "The Lawless Horrell Brothers"
• "Bad Blood, The Horrell Brothers"
• Texas Marker Remembering the Horrell-Higgins Feud

For a more detailed account, consider reading Frederick Nolan's "Bad Blood: The Life and Times of the Howell Brothers."