Johnny Ringo - Cowboy

 Another of the old west bad guys was Johnny Ringo.  Born John Peters Ringo in Wayne County Indiana, his family moved to Liberty Missouri in 1856.  He was actually related by marriage to the Cole Younger gang.  His aunt was married to Coleman Younger, the uncle of Cole Younger.

Although some think he was college educated, it is doubtful since his family was not well off.  He was apparently an avid reader however, and could spout off Shakespeare and a little latin when he wanted.  He and Doc Holliday might have been friends in another day and time.

By 1864 when he was 14, Johnny and his family were in Wyoming on their way to California.  His father was killed as he stepped off the wagon while holding a shotgun in one hand.  It went off accidentally, putting an end to his life.  That's a hard way for a kid to grow up.

By the mid 1870's, Johnny was knee deep in the Mason County Wars in Texas.  He befriended Scott Cooley, an ex Texas Ranger, whose adopted father was a rancher in the area.  Johnny took the ranchers side in a war against cattle rustlers.  The adopted father Tim Williamson was arrested and killed for the hanging of two cattle thieves. Cooley retaliated by killing the deputy sheriff, scalping him and throwing his body down a well.   Nice company Johnny was keeping.  This is Scott Cooley.

One of Cooley's supporters, Moses Baird, was led into an ambush and killed, leading Johnny to his first murder.  James Cheyney was the culprit (or at least they thought he was) so Johnny and his friend Bill Williams, killed him.  Ringo was eventually caught and thrown in jail where he met John Wesley Hardin.  Now there's a pretty bad character.  Their gang broke them out and they parted company.

Time to move on to Arizona.  One thing Johnny Ringo liked was alcohol.  In December of 1879 a drunk Ringo shot Louis Hancock in a saloon when Hancock refused a complimentary drink of whiskey, stating he would rather have a beer.  Makes you wonder, right?  Luckily Louis lived.  There was no "attempted" murder in the old days.  Being rather cantankerous, Ringo tended to hang out with the Cochise County Cow-boys.  Not the cattle kind, but the bad guy kind of cowboys, so called because they stole cattle.  

On January 17, 1882, Johnny Ringo and Doc Holiday, having traded threats against each other, were both arrested in Tombstone by then Police Chief James Flynn who hauled them before a judge for carrying weapons in town.  Once released, Ringo was arrested again for a robbery in Galeyville.   He was also suspected of being included in the December 1881 ambush of Virgil Earp and the murder of Morgan.

The general consensus is that Ringo was out of town at that time, but Wyatt was adamant.  Wyatt Earp then killed Johnny's best friend at the time, Curly Bill Brocius.  It was upon the word of Florentine Cruz that Wyatt insisted Johnny Ringo was involved in Morgan's murder.

While Wyatt and his Federal Posse went after those they thought responsible, Johnny Behan got warrants from the local judge to arrest Wyatt and Doc Holliday.  Behan deputized Johnny Ringo and 19 others involved with the Cochise County Cowboys.  They never could find the federal posse. 

According to the movie Tombstone, Johnny Ringo had a run-in with Doc which ended in his death.  No one really knows for sure what happened, but Johnny Ringo's body was found laying up against a tree in West Turkey Creek Valley near the present day Chiricachau Park on July 14, 1882.  

His feet were wrapped in strips of cloth torn from his t-shirt.  It's probable he tied his boots to his saddle, a common practice to keep scorpions out, and his horse got loose from his picket and took off.  Here's the interesting part.  His colt single action Army revolver still had five live rounds in it.  No empty casing was found in the gun.  His gun belt was strapped on upside down.  He had a big hole in his temple along with a knife cut like someone was going to scalp him, but changed their mind.  It was ruled a suicide.  What??

He had been seen drinking a lot in Galeyville and talking about feeling his eminent death, and so they decided it was suicide.  He was buried at the base of the tree he laid up against.  It's pretty obvious someone killed him, but WHO?

In later years, his death was claimed by Wyatt who was in the area, but then denied later on.  Some think Doc killed him, but researchers say Doc wasn't even in the area at the time of Ringo's death.  

Another theory was Buckskin Frank Leslie.  While in Yuma Prison serving time for killing his wife, he told a guard he shot Johnny Ringo, thinking he would receive favor from the Earps, or maybe to enhance his reputation.  

So in the end, no one knows who really killed Johnny Ringo, but he is buried next to the tree where he was found.  There is a small headstone there today.  Although on private property, you are allowed to go visit him.  It will be one of my first stops when I return to the lawless land of southern Arizona.