Jim Miller 1866-1909: Perhaps the most baffling Texas outlaw was James Brown Miller, known as both “Killer Miller” and “Deacon Jim.” Miller was a practicing Methodist, and did not smoke or drink. But the sermons must have fallen on deaf ears since he was a known assassin and had been arrested numerous times for murder, including for the murder of his grandparents and brother in law. For his own protection, Miller wore a large coat with an iron plate sewn in the front. Miller was both the Marshall of Pecos, Texas, and a Texas Ranger. He didn’t earn those titles by being a repentant man who changed his ways, but rather by being a scheming man who realized that hiding his past could get him into positions of power.

But the man who lives by the sword dies by the sword, and in 1909, Jim “Killer” Miller was hanged by a lynch mob who was afraid that he would escape justice for the murder of Gus Bobbitt, an Oklahoma rancher and former Deputy U.S. Marshal. Witnesses at Miller’s hanging said Miller shouted “Let ‘er rip!” and jumped off his hanging platform on his own. In this picture Jim Miller is on the far left edge of the photo.

John Selman 1839-1896: Another man crossing the lines of good and evil was John Selman, who was tried for murder, theft and desertion of the Confederate army. Despite his wrongdoings, he later attained the position of Constable in El Paso. During the Lincoln County War, Selman headed a group of vigilantes known as “Selman’s Scouts”, who were accused of looting and rape. Because of the discordant nature of the conflicts taking place in the Reconstruction-era west, charges of heroism and villainy were both equally suspect. What is not disputed, however, is the fact that Selman shot well-known outlaw John Wesley Hardin in the back, killing him, and was subsequently tried for his murder (this was the second time he was tried for murder).

Like any good outlaw of that era, John Selman’s days ended after being shot in a gunfight with U.S. Marshal George Scarborough during a card game.

John Wesley Hardin 1853-1895: John Wesley Hardin was the son of a preacher, and the second son of 10 children. Hardin first became a fugitive at the age of 15 after killing a man after a wrestling match. In the following years, Hardin was captured by the Texas state police but later escaped. He assumed an alias, became friends with Wild Bill Hickok and killed several more men, one of whom was shot for snoring. Hardin was part of the Sutton-Taylor feud which made him the target of a lynch mob after killing two Texas lawmen. Hardin escaped the mob only to be caught by the Texas state police a second time, convicted of murder and sent to prison for 17 years.

Once Hardin served his time, he became a lawyer. He moved to El Paso where he eventually met his fate at the hands of John Selman, who shot him in the back following an argument over the arrest of one of Hardin’s friends.

Sam Bass 1851-1878: Though he’s probably one of Texas’s most famous outlaws, Sam Bass is widely regarded to have been a rather inept criminal. Bass’ one and only big haul was in September of 1877 when he and his gang made off with $60,000 in gold after robbing the Union Pacific Railroad gold train out of San Francisco. Bass died in a Round Rock shootout with the Texas Rangers and Williamson County Sheriff’s Department. Deputy A.W. Grimes was shot and killed in the shootout. As Bass fled he was shot by Texas Rangers Richard Ware and George Herold.

At the time of his death, Bass was only 27 years old. He claimed only to have ever killed one man.

Emmanuel “Mannen” Clements 1845-1887: Though he was never as well-known in the newspapers as Sam Bass, Emmanuel Clements was a cornerstone in the small world of Texas outlaws. Not only was he the cousin of John Wesley Hardin, he was the father-in-law of Jim “Killer” Miller.

Clements was a cattle rustler and a ruthless gunslinger known to have killed a pair of brothers for challenging his authority on a cattle drive, but that didn’t stop him from running for Sheriff of Runnels County in 1877, an election he lost. He was killed in 1887 in the Senate Saloon by Joseph Townsend, the city Marshal of Ballinger.

King Fisher 1856-1884: As a young man, King Fisher spent time in prison for horse theft. After being released, he began work as a cowboy. It wasn’t long before Fisher started running with a posse, sending raids into Mexico to rob and loot. After an altercation, Fisher killed three of his compatriots and assumed leadership of the gang.

Although he was a well-known cattle rustler and bandit, Fisher was popular in South Texas because he carried out most of his raids across the border in Mexico. In 1884, Fisher was murdered in San Antonio when he was ambushed in a theatre, along with Austin city Marshal Ben Thompson. The assailants were doling out what they saw as retribution for the death of a friend, who had previously been killed by Thompson.

The Newton Gang (active from 1919-1924): Often considered the most successful train and bank robbers in U.S. history, the Newton gang were comprised of Willis, Doc, Joe and Jess Newton, four sons of cotton farmers from Texas. The leader of the gang, Willis, claimed they had robbed 87 banks and 6 trains, and pulled off more heists than the Dalton Gang, Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch and the James-Younger Gang combined, all without killing anyone. In this picture from left to right: Doc, Willis, Jess and Joe. Along with safecracker Brent Glasscock, the Newton Boys (as they came to be known) pulled off most of their robberies at night in unoccupied banks. Their stealthy method allowed them to continue for five years before being caught for robbing a mail train from Chicago. The brothers all served time for the crime and then went back to Texas after being released from prison.

The Newton gang lived long enough to tell their tale, which was later adapted for a movie. The youngest Newton brother, Joe, lived out a long life in Uvalde, dying in 1989 at the age of 88. In this picture: Willis (left) and Joe (right).

Bonnie & Clyde (Active from 1932-1934): The legendary couple were the public face of the Barrow Gang, who, led by Clyde Barrow, terrorized Texas and the central United States for two years. Clyde Barrow was from a dirt poor family and began getting into scrapes with the law at an early age. He had several arrests on his record in his teens, and by the age of 21 he was serving time in prison. Bonnie Parker was much more of a normal Texas girl who enjoyed photography and writing poetry. She fell in love with Clyde Barrow after a failed teenage marriage brought her back to her hometown of Dallas. After the gang’s now notorious escape from their Joplin, Missouri hideout, several rolls of film yielded pictures of the young adults holding guns and smoking cigars. Although she became famous for these images, modern historians believe that Bonnie Parker probably hadn’t participated in any of the killings for which the gang became famous.

After a shootout with authorities in Louisiana in May of 1934, the couple were slain and left to be immortalized by Hollywood. Clyde was 25 and Bonnie 23.